Showrunners reading shorts vs pilots

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  • Showrunners reading shorts vs pilots

    Hi all,

    I've read a few articles & heard some podcast interviews that talk about how some showrunners find it refreshing to read short stories, short films or plays in addition to all the pilots & features they read when staffing. (Sarah Treem, Jenji Kohan and Jill Soloway come to mind.) Any of you use one of these as your sample when your reps are sending your scripts? Recently wrote a short since my pilot and feature are hard-hitting dramas and I wanted to show something with a softer side. Just wondering if this is more rare than what some of these interviews I've listened to make it seem to be.

  • #2
    It Depends

    I know it sounds like a huge cop out, but it really does depend on the showrunner and the needs of the room.

    It's rare that a showrunner will only look at a non-TV script. They're likely to look at a play or short when accompanied by a relevant spec (either sample or pilot). This leads to the next question, "Should I have a spec sample or a spec pilot?"

    The answer is: Yes! You should have both. From what I've gathered it's about a 40/60 split between those who want to read samples and those who want to read pilots. The reason for that seems generational in my experience. The showrunners who came up in the era of having to have two solid spec samples want to see spec samples. Newer showrunners seem to care less about the types of samples.

    It also comes down to the type of room. Some showrunners want rooms that can generate lots of diverse ideas, and aren't as concerned about whipping those ideas into scripts because she knows that she and her other producers, can whip a script into shape once the skeleton is there. Other showrunners want their rooms to be generating shootable scripts that needs the barest of polishes by the showrunner.

    I did an interview with Brent Forrester that touched on this subject. He fell into the sample & pilot camp, but when pushed came down on having two samples. We were talking about the sitcom world so take that into consideration.

    Your reps will ultimately send the package that they think has the best shot at getting you a meeting with that particular showrunner.

    HTH,
    Just my 2 cents, your mileage may vary.

    -Steve Trautmann
    3rd & Fairfax: The WGAW Podcast

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    • #3
      Re: Showrunners reading shorts vs pilots

      I know it's not TV, but to give another example, the Pixar people that come to AFF have often mentioned finding writers via short stories, poems, plays, etc.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: It Depends

        Originally posted by KitchonaSteve View Post
        It also comes down to the type of room. Some showrunners want rooms that can generate lots of diverse ideas, and aren't as concerned about whipping those ideas into scripts because she knows that she and her other producers, can whip a script into shape once the skeleton is there. Other showrunners want their rooms to be generating shootable scripts that needs the barest of polishes by the showrunner.

        Your reps will ultimately send the package that they think has the best shot at getting you a meeting with that particular showrunner.
        This makes a lot of sense - thank you!

        My agents only want me focused on pilots and not specs at all - though I wrote one anyway just to see if I could mimic a voice and found it to be a lot less challenging than writing a pilot since all the character legwork is done. That's not to say it was easy, just slightly easier than creating something original.

        Anyhow, thanks for the podcast link as well. I will give it a listen!

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        • #5
          Re: Showrunners reading shorts vs pilots

          Originally posted by cvolante View Post
          I know it's not TV, but to give another example, the Pixar people that come to AFF have often mentioned finding writers via short stories, poems, plays, etc.
          And I always wonder how that works. Did they specifically go looking for something different or did the agents send these samples along with regular scripts? But good to know that Pixar does it as I am a big fan of their films.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Showrunners reading shorts vs pilots

            Originally posted by cakepoplover View Post
            And I always wonder how that works. Did they specifically go looking for something different or did the agents send these samples along with regular scripts? But good to know that Pixar does it as I am a big fan of their films.
            Michael Ardnt booked Toy Story 3 off of Little Miss Sunshine, before it was released. word of mouth recommendation

            http://animatedviews.com/2010/toy-story-3/


            Meg LeFauve had a script in the Sundance Labs that found its way to Mary Coleman

            http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsono...ation-20160222

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            • #7
              Re: Showrunners reading shorts vs pilots

              It does happen. I don't know that I'd recommend it as an active strategy though.

              Unless of course you're just better at writing shorts or plays. In which case you're probably following the wrong career path.

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              • #8
                Re: Showrunners reading shorts vs pilots

                Originally posted by JoeBanks View Post
                Michael Ardnt booked Toy Story 3 off of Little Miss Sunshine, before it was released. word of mouth recommendation

                http://animatedviews.com/2010/toy-story-3/


                Meg LeFauve had a script in the Sundance Labs that found its way to Mary Coleman

                http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsono...ation-20160222
                Enjoyed both reads. Thanks!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Showrunners reading shorts vs pilots

                  Originally posted by juunit View Post
                  It does happen. I don't know that I'd recommend it as an active strategy though.

                  Unless of course you're just better at writing shorts or plays. In which case you're probably following the wrong career path.
                  Good point.

                  My produced short is actually what got the attention of my rep (then of course they asked to read other material) but I recently wrote another short (with plans to produce) just to have something tonally different from what I already have. I don't plan to write more (though never say never) but was just wondering if there was anyone here who knows someone that this has actually happened to. Sounds like it's more of a rare occurrence though.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Showrunners reading shorts vs pilots

                    Originally posted by cakepoplover View Post
                    Good point.

                    My produced short is actually what got the attention of my rep (then of course they asked to read other material) but I recently wrote another short (with plans to produce) just to have something tonally different from what I already have. I don't plan to write more (though never say never) but was just wondering if there was anyone here who knows someone that this has actually happened to. Sounds like it's more of a rare occurrence though.
                    writers write. anything that shows potential employers you can craft a compelling dramatic story, in whatever form, will never be a wasted effort.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Showrunners reading shorts vs pilots

                      Originally posted by JoeBanks View Post
                      writers write. anything that shows potential employers you can craft a compelling dramatic story, in whatever form, will never be a wasted effort.
                      And painters paint. But even painters have a medium for a reason; watercolor doesn't lay the same as oil doesn't lay the same as pastel.

                      Scripts and short stories and novels are all different artistic beasts and require their own deft stroke of the pen, and their own years to master. At the core is great story -- the talent -- but bringing that story to life takes skill. And skill takes time.

                      If you enjoy writing prose, go for it, but don't assume that just because you're a talented screenwriter it makes you a natural to whip off a short story or novel. They're just as hard, if not harder, to write well.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Showrunners reading shorts vs pilots

                        When I helped read for our show we would read shorts -- because they were shorter than reading a script -- but if we liked it we asked for a pilot. I guess the theory was, just because you can write a short story, doesn't mean you can write a great pilot and understand scene work.

                        We were right in a lot of cases. The pilots that followed them up were less than stellar.

                        With that said, that was just our show. I've heard of people being hired of short stories so it really just depends on the show/showrunner.
                        Quack.

                        Writer on a cable drama.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Showrunners reading shorts vs pilots

                          Originally posted by ducky1288 View Post
                          When I helped read for our show we would read shorts -- because they were shorter than reading a script -- but if we liked it we asked for a pilot. I guess the theory was, just because you can write a short story, doesn't mean you can write a great pilot and understand scene work.

                          We were right in a lot of cases. The pilots that followed them up were less than stellar.
                          And that's exactly what I'm hoping for. That they'll read my short since it's short & sweet and then ask for the pilot. Of course I'm hoping the reaction is that the pilot is just as good, if not better.

                          Anyhow, thanks for chiming in. Glad to hear it has happened.

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