Posted by Steve Guidry on 09/11/06 15:52

I haven't done this, but here's my best guess . . .

Find someone who's done it, and get some advice. I think that once they
realize how good it would be to have a guy like you as a friend, you'd have
no trouble getting them to open their rolodexes to you and maybe even
helping you pitch it. Emal me privately, and I will give you a

The same goes with the guys evaluating the show. Your position in the
industry - - even though it's in an allied part of the biz should be a real
asset. While I understand the "lessen my stature" argument, but you can
probably minimize this (or even turn it to a plus) by characterizing it as a
midlife fling or saying something like "I decided to do something like this
for FUN, instead of just working all the time - - it was either that, or
take a year off to sail around the world ! You should do the same thing,
Bob." I suspect that your colleagues will admire you for it, and wish they
had the guts to do something similar. You can spin that part of it, trust
me . . .

Steve


"PTravel" <ptravel@travelersvideo.com> wrote in message
news:nJXMg.5$7I1.0@newssvr27.news.prodigy.net...
> Those of you who know me, know that I'm a video-obsessed amateur who makes
> his living in a relatively non-creative but well-compensated profession.
> I've got an idea for something that I think I could be of use to one of
> the Discovery channels, and I've got enough well-produced material to
> provide 3 or 4 examples (I don't mean a demo reel, but full-length, fully
> produced "pilots"). My projects are shot in SD -- HD isn't a possibility
> unless the idea sells, in which case I would invest in HDV (but not HD)
> equipment.
>
> I was wondering how best to pitch this -- would a DVD with a cover letter
> to who ever does development at Discovery be the right approach, or would
> this mark me as a hopeless amateur? I'd assume that, at this point, 3/4"
> is obsolete. Do I need to get the projects transferred to Digibeta or
> something similar, just for the purpose of pitching?
>
> Any suggestions (other than, "leave it to the pros") would be appreciated.
>

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