Scout Productions President On Pitching, Producing TV Shows During Covid
On the fourth episode of The Rough Cut’s fifth season, Storyhunter co-founder Alex Ragir is joined by Eric Korsh, President of Scout Productions, and former President of Mashable Studio. Scout Productions is the Emmy & Academy Award-winning production company that produced Queer Eye, The Fog of War, and many more shows/movies. Alex and Eric talked about how Scout Productions has transitioned to creating video during the Coronavirus pandemic, what themes should be embedded in the content we create, the themes that are resonating, and how production companies can set themselves up to have their pitches green-lit.
On the go? Listen to the full interview on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, and wherever you listen to your shows!
Create Content That Brings People Together
“I think in terms of unscripted, which is largely the content that we make, we have to create content that is more unifying and that feels good. That’s sort of the opposite of what we find in political media or even in families and friends that have disagreements about their points of view. We think that unscripted has to be about feeling better and unified.”
Figure Out How To Make ‘Bubble Friendly’ Shows
“Bubble friendly content means that we have control over pretty much every aspect of the production. One of our bigger shows, Queer Eye, is not very bubble friendly. People need to be physically close and it’s hard to control when that might happen. The stars need to be out in stores, meeting people they’ve never met before. For us, we want to have a studio environment with a minimal crew that can be easily separated and tested.”
New Production Companies Should Build A Pipeline, Pitch Often
“Building an audience is about the hardest thing to do right now, and it has been for years. The platforms do not favor new things coming online. Established media producers can experiment a bit since they have an audience. But for new production companies, be tactful. Build a pipeline and pitch often. Don’t have your development process be so long and costly.”
Prove Your Content Can Be Produced Efficiently
“Digital let’s you provide a proof of concept, not necessarily that you built an audience, but that you can quickly and easily create a show. You can prove that the content is accessible. It’s not very costly or time consuming to create something. Using the tools you have well can help you demonstrate your idea.”
Create Video For The Platform It Will Live On
“You have to set out on an idea knowing if you’re creating this for streaming, digital or broadcast. Are you trying to build a show for an audience that might be platform specific? Because every platform has its own ‘rules of the road’. Build your asset, or your show, based on where you are pitching.”
Click here for all previous episodes of The Rough Cut.
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By Alex Ragir (Co-Founder) and Jake Watkins (Head of Stories)
