Sizzle Reel Secret: How We Sell TV Shows

Announcer: Welcome to Producing Unscripted with Joke and Biagio.

Angry Man: Is this some kind of joke.

Confused Woman: Biagio-WHO???

Biagio: This episode. It’s episode 72 and we’re sharing our sizzle reel secret. It’s the secret I use on every single pitch tape we make. Do this one thing and your sizzle reels will instantly be so much more awesome. And I’m totally not kidding. Music courtesy Dave Pelman. Music Dave Pelman.com. Hey everybody, she’s joke, he’s Biagio. We’re married. We make unscripted film and television and want to help you do the same.

Joke: Hopefully by teaming up with us.

Biagio: All right. Well, welcome to episode 72. We started this 72 episodes ago. Yes.

Joke: Some good math there, right?

Biagio: Did you like that? That’s why I got into television and not into arithmetic. Ever. Anyways, as we kick off episode 72, first off, I wanted to say thanks so much. Much to the site dream jobbing.com I had never even heard of dream jobbing. Apparently it’s a site that helps people find their dream jobs and they listed the podcast Producing Unscripted. That’s this one as one of the top five podcasts and check out in 2016. It was a very nice surprise. Do you feel good about that joke?

Joke: I do, it was very nice. I, I personally find this a dream job. I don’t know how many other people might find it a dream job. Hoping, hoping you guys listening are hoping this is a dream job, I don’t know. Yeah. I mean, we have a good time.

Biagio: We have great times. I mean, listen, we’re going to reality TV. It’s a lot of hard work. So I’m so happy they put us on dream job. I just hope some kid who’s studying to be a doctor isn’t something like, you know what? Screw medical school. I’m going to get into reality TV.

Joke: Yeah. Anyone thinking about curing cancer, by all means, keep doing that.

Biagio: Yeah. No. That’s sad. If you like us or, you know, dying to be an unscripted TV, then I couldn’t agree more with Dream Job. And we’re very thankful that that they listed listed us over there because we are living the dream, by the way, a dream made possible because we know how to what pitch and sell TV shows. I guess that’s that’s pretty important in what we do. And that’s what we’re talking about today. You know, a key ingredient to our success. As many of you who know from listening to past podcasts, you know, is that we make great sizzle reels. You know, making a great video is it’s honestly it’s it’s probably the best way to convince anyone you found either great talent or a great business or some other great asset to base your TV show around.

Joke: And I feel like we’ve heard now that even in scripted, people are asking for sizzles just so that they get a sense of your passion, of the story, of the the tone of the piece you’re doing. So I mean, this is kind of coming that most people just they don’t get it until they see it. Right.

Biagio: Well, it’s true. I mean, listen, people have been doing that for years with fake movie trailers for their films, right? It’s like it’s like putting together an incredible tape that sells the energy, the idea, the creative passion behind your project. It’s it’s it’s very important. Now, that said, we see a lot of tapes.

Joke: A lot.

Biagio: And they’re all awesome, right?

Joke: In their own way, their own. I mean, here’s the thing. You know, obviously anyone who goes through the trouble of putting a tape together, it’s like, hats off because we know the amount of time and energy and work that takes. So, you know, listen, any tape that gets finished enough to be sent out, I think is is an accomplishment. But, you know, some tapes are better at what they do than others. Right.

Unidentified Voice: Oh yeah.

Biagio: I’m going to be a little bit harder on this. We see a lot of lack luster tapes and that’s a nice way of saying it. You know, we see tapes that feel nothing like a TV show. And it’s kind of like the people pitching TV have never watched TV, which, as you know, was another one of our pet peeves. But that is not going to happen to you. Oh fine. Listener. Nope. It’s not is a joke.

Joke: Nope.

Biagio: And why? Because we’re going to give you I saw like I used car salesman. We’re gonna give you the secret right now.

Joke: How we sell DV shows.

Biagio: Yeah. Don’t act like a used car salesman when you’re pitching a show to ATV executive.

Joke: I guess that’s an extra boat.

Biagio: That’s an extra bonus tip. But that said, we’re going to give you our secret today. Something I personally do on every pitch tape we make.

Joke: He sure does. It’s true. I’ve seen him do it. I’ve even helped him do it.

Biagio: It’s our secret. And now I’m going to share it with you. Our secret is. That was nice. Drumroll. Our secret is we get reference. Reference people.

Joke: I don’t know if anyone even knows what that means.

Biagio: All right, well, why don’t we explain what reference is? So it’s not really that great of a secret if people don’t understand it.

Joke: Right? So let’s at least it wasn’t a joke. So. Okay, so we reference materials, right? So it’s one of those things where when you’re selling a TV show or you’re selling a movie or you’re selling an idea, a project, you want people to be able to grasp on to something. Listen, it’s great to be George Lucas out there with Star Wars, and no one gets it. And it’s like, what? But.

Biagio: Well, when he was first trying to sell Star Wars, I think now people get Star Wars. But originally.

Joke: But originally, you know, be the first one out with the script named Star Wars. And it says, you know, X-Wing fighter and the Death Star. And people are like, I have no idea what he’s talking about. I can’t even visualize it. So obviously there’s those projects. And if you are, you know, that creative genius and by all means, you know, stop listening. But for everybody else who is selling a product, a script, a show or whatever that that you know at all resembles anything in the marketplace, which is probably a good barometer to actually sell. Then what we mean is you go look into that marketplace and you look for other things that inspire you, that creatively you’re like, yes, that’s it. I want to emulate this kind of tone or or this kind of style and looking at those other professional references, hence reference for your creative project to undertake. Again, doesn’t matter what you’re trying to do write a book, sell a TV show, but looking at what other people are doing and taking the best from that to inspire your vision and your creative choices is key.

Biagio: Okay, that’s all fine, well and good. But where do you find reference for a sizzle reel? I get it, it’s not like pros post or sizzle reels online. Most of the time we can’t. It would be a would be having all kinds of legal problems. So how do you know what is sizzle reel should basically feel like? Well, the answer is surprisingly easy. Okay, here’s what you do. You look at TV promos similar to your show concept TV promos. The commercials networks used to sell their shows to their audience.

Joke: Yeah, I mean, here’s the thing. It’s promos are selling the idea to the audience. So it’s a good place to look at what they use so that you can sell it to the executive, whose job then is to sell it to the audience. So kind of just do the job for them. Right? So let’s say you think you have a family who could be the next Duck Dynasty, you know, go Google Duck Dynasty series trailer or Duck Dynasty series promo, and you’re going to find perfect examples of what you need. And so the things to look at are pacing, graphics, looking at the music they use. Those are always great reference points. And, you know, incorporated figure out which parts of it that fit your show in your pitch, which parts you can emulate, and which parts really can help elevate your project.

Biagio: Look, I do this all the time, and a lot of, you know, I still edit on a lot of our shows. I still cut almost all of our pitch tapes. And and by the way, what I search for is crucial. Like joke pointed out, you want to find something called series promo or series trailer because yeah, it’s usually the first promo a network aired to educate audiences about the new TV show they were launching. You know, it’s how TV networks tell their audience what the show is about. So what I do is I just use that same idea to tell TV networks what our show is about. It makes sense, right? So look, here’s some real world examples. Just the proof is in the pudding. When I cut the pitch tape that sold our show, she made me do it to oxygen. I went and I looked at about 15 series promos for crime shows. I checked out what was on discovery ID, I looked at the other crime shows on oxygen. I checked out the music, the pacing, and I use that to heavily inspired the tape that sold. She made me do it okay. When I cut the tape that sold our MTV True Life special Secrets, Lies and Sex, guess what I did? I went and found every trailer I could for MTV True Life specials. There’s a bunch of them. They’re all over YouTube. It’s never been easier to find reference. I checked out the music, I checked out the pacing. I did everything I could to make the tape I was cutting live in that same space. It wasn’t a carbon copy, but it felt like it belonged with those other trailers. Now, when I edited the tape that sold our TV show Ghost Inside my Child, guess what I looked at? Yep.

Joke: Wait, wait. Let me guess.

Biagio: Can you guess?

Joke: Paranormal series trailers.

Biagio: How did you get. Oh, you’re so smart. This is why I married her. She’s so much smarter than me. But getting back to ghost inside my child, I looked at every paranormal a promo I could find. There’s a bunch of them all over YouTube for every major network. Yeah. I looked at the ghost hunting shows. I looked at the haunted house shows. I mean, they all have a similar style, right? So I’m looking at that and using that to inspire the tape that sold Ghost Inside my child. So you see the pattern here, right? I personally, and this is why I want to I want to make sure that you understand why I think this is a secret. You know, I personally have made over 100 hours of television. I’m still out there finding reference on every single thing I edit. Everything. Now, is that all there is to it?

Joke: No, I mean, listen, and it’s not just us doing it right. Like all the top movie directors we know are constantly watching other people’s movies for inspiration and and, you know, oh, like, that’s a great angle or this is a great shot or, you know, I really liked how they conveyed a certain emotion and this scene by doing this camera trick or whatever. So it’s important as an artist to keep consuming and experiencing art that that influences you. And so, you know, so the same thing that if you’re going to make a pitch tape, look at some TV promos, obviously you don’t look just at TV promos, but it will get you a long way towards your goal. For instance, if you’re out selling a docu soap, you’re going to need more than just a minute and a half or a minute promo, right? You’re going to need to show longer interviews, some slightly longer scenes. So, you know, the buyers get a sense of what the show is, how the characters relate to each other, how they interact together in front of a camera. It shouldn’t be very long, I would say, since most series promos are about a minute long, and once you add a couple extra minutes of footage and interviews, you’ll probably end up in the 3 to 5 minute range. And and that’ll put you in great shape. And that’s usually what we try to hit with these.

Biagio: Yeah. And also what I, what I do, I usually try to think of the front end and the back end of any tape I edit as the promo section, you know, and that front end and that back end, those should feel just like your reference material. So like I start flashy, I end flashy, I’ve got like a high energy introduction to the show up front, and then I wrap it up with a lot of action in the back, you know, highlighting all the drama or comedy or whatever it is your show is promising to bring, you know, in a big, action packed, fun, exciting way that feels like a TV promo. And as for the meat in the middle? Well, guess where you can find reference for that?

Joke: Probably on television.

Biagio: Watching TV.

Joke: Checking out shows that you’re trying, that you’re playing in the same sandbox with. Right? So if you’re looking for a docu series, you should obviously have watched a few docu series. If you’re pitching a game show, then I hope you’re watching game shows. So, you know you have to check out the shows that you’re that you’re competing with, that you’re b that you’ll be playing in the same sandbox with, that you’re going up against, and then you work to create that middle section to feel like it would belong in one of those shows.

Biagio: Yeah, totally. And you know, listen, I also I know Jokinen this again and I just want to mention it because I know we have a lot of different kinds of people who listen to this podcast. You know, you can use this technique of getting reference for any creative endeavor. Doesn’t matter if you’re cutting a movie trailer or writing a TV commercial script, it’s never been easier to find reference like YouTube is your best friend. That said, I’m going to give you one final bonus tip. Bonus bonus. You might feel like you’re a great editor or an okay editor, but really freak out when it comes to creating graphics for your tape. Okay? And I understand it. Like like picking up graphics skills takes a while. If you’re if you really can’t emulate the graphics you see on TV, I’m going to give you a total hack that anybody can do. Yes, it’s a hack.

Joke: It is an awesome hack tip though.

Biagio: It is an awesome hack.

Unidentified Voice: It is worth this price of admission.

Biagio: It is. And I’ll tell you what I’ve sometimes I’ve whipped out and I’ve just done this because I didn’t have time to make graphics. And I’ve done this on tapes that have sold TV shows.

Joke: There has been times when I said, stop, stop, you no longer have time for graphics, just do this instead.

Biagio: Just do this. So here it is. The graphic tip you can’t live without. If your show is a drama, use a black background with white text and make that font either Helvetica Bold or Helvetica Noia Ultra Thin. Got it. What if your show was a comedy or a lighter in tone? Haha. Use a white background with black text and make that text either Helvetica Bold or Helvetica Noia Ultra thin. Okay, I know all the graphic designers out there are going to hate me. As a matter of fact, there’s a whole documentary about the font Helvetica and why it’s lame.

Joke: And it’s a great documentary.

Biagio: It actually is a great documentary. But don’t worry, don’t worry. I promise you, if you do this, no executive will think you’re lame. And I guarantee you it’s way better than Comic Sans or half of the other really crappy fonts we see in pitch tapes.

Joke: Absolutely. So there you have it. Our top secret to making your sizzle reels shine. Get the reference and then do Biagio ultra awesome graphics hack. I look forward to seeing all your Helvetica fonts in your new sizzles.

Biagio: I do too, I mean, listen, it doesn’t matter if you’re the the, you know, a brand new editor or you’ve been editing for years. When you go and you look at reference and you emulate it, you end up with something that feels professional, plain and simple. All right. So now you’re going to go make some awesome sizzle reels, and you’re thinking that you’d like maybe to pitch them to a production company. If only there was a production company out there that took pitches from aspiring producers. We do. Wait a minute, we do. That’s right. As you know, joke and I own the company, Joke Productions. We make a lot of television. And we started this podcast because when we were starting out, nobody would listen to us, even though we knew we were talented and would have our own company someday. So we always said when the day came that we were successful, we would make it easy for people to pitch shows to us, and that’s what we’ve done. All you need to do to get started is head over to this website producing unscripted. Sign up for the newsletter and follow the directions.

Joke: And we look forward to seeing your pitches.

Biagio: That’s right. So that’s it. We’re out. We hope this was a useful tip for you. I guarantee you, if you take it, your sizzle reel is going to be a thousand times better. And now we’re going to get back to work because we are in production on four different projects right now. And it’s it’s exciting times. It’s exciting times. But thank goodness these podcasts are only like 20 minutes long because otherwise we would never get anything done. So we’ll see you all in two weeks.

Unidentified Voice: Bye bye. Producing Unscripted with Joke and Biagio.