Latest posts from National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI)

Our phase two NSI Totally Television teams recently completed their second training session in Toronto and will head to the 2016 Banff World Media Festival in June.

We asked Josh Epstein and Kyle Rideout of Anything Co. and Natalie Urquhart and Tori Larsen of Flops to tell us about their NSI experience.

• • •

Josh Epstein (writer/producer), Anything Co.

NSI continues to motivate, support and enhance my experience in the Canadian film industry and this week was definitely the highlight. Where else can you get focused attention on your project from some of Canada’s finest? Here’s a highlight reel of my time in the second portion of NSI Totally Television.

CBC’s Michelle Daly started off with a bang. What does it take to get a show on the CBC? What doesn’t it take? We’ll get there though.

So great to see team Flops back with us. There is much luck, skill, writing, vision and expertise needed to get a show made in any country but especially Canada. Natalie Urquhart and Tori Larsen have all these tools and I only hope I get to spend as much time as I can stealing their secrets.

Shelly [Quade, program manager] and Sam [Linton, program advisor] are a wonderful team. They both bring so many varied skills to the process but what is most appreciated is their constant support for our teams. When picking who you want in your corner start with these two!

We started with legal advice from Gigi Morin, one of the more generous and helpful lawyers I’ve ever met. It’s a good start for us navigating the legalese of the TV world.

Mark Montefiore is someone I’ve followed for a long time in the film and TV world. You spend some time with him and you feel you can put the trust of your project in his hands. What Would Sal Do?, created by Andrew DeAngelis, is pretty spectacular. Loved the pilot. Very jealous at what these two have created.

Entertainment One’s Rachel Fulford is a powerhouse. She gave it to us like it is. ‘Cause she knows. I mean she’s the VP of creative. Loved her insight.

I may be a huge loser but perhaps my highlight of the whole week was Andrea Boyd’s budgeting session. I love talking budgets especially when they’re mine and someone’s showing me how to make them lower!

Brad Pelman and Mike McLaughlin came in with the low-down on selling TV in Canada and around the world. Try not to get depressed. Join Netflix or die? We’ll see.

Marissa Richmond and casting – loved the honesty that she laid out in this world for us. And, yes, I had lots of questions and, yes, many of them were about acting. Might as well take advantage of having a casting director at your querying disposal.

Whenever you have time with a showrunner: take notes. Listen to every word, and soak it in. Jenn Engels took us through the steps of her career and showed a path, however difficult to get to, from aspiring writer (ie. waiter, stand-up comic) to showrunner.

Kyle Rideout (writer), Anything Co.

The snowstorm warnings came in and lots of flights were cancelled. But somehow Josh and I made it to Toronto. We landed in the snow and I was on my way to the NSI Totally Television phase two boot camp. I cheered. The other passengers thought it was weird.

Over three days we talked in detail about our projects and heard incredible insight from within the ever-changing landscape of the television world.

We worked with a very diverse, talented group of professionals. And even got a sneak peak at some of the new series including What Would Sal Do? from NSI grads Andrew DeAngelis and Mark Montefiore.

Next up we’re working with our story editors to refine, hone and even rip apart (a little) our script.

Then off to Banff.

Natalie Urquhart (producer), Flops

The three-day boot camp was an incredible experience.

It was a chance to put our projects through conscientious critiques, and really evaluate what changes needed to be made to pitch the best possible final package.

Tori and I left each day feeling mentally drained but creatively charged and prepared.

NSI brought in some incredible guest speakers and we really felt we left with a much better understanding of the entire process from pitch to screen.

We spoke with producers, broadcast executives, casting directors, showrunners and distributors. It was full access to all the behind-the-scenes nuts and bolts that make a show possible.

Television is a rapidly evolving landscape and we feel we’re creating content at a time that is both terrifying and very exciting.

The clearest message was innovation. There is no one way to get your content out to an audience. We have options and a variety of platforms to explore.

Rather than get discouraged, these incredibly honest discussions with industry pros made us feel scrappy and more invested in writing our pilot with our voices and point of view as the focus.

We are now working our butts off to get our script and bible in fighting shape for pitching at the end of May.

The boot camp was the perfect launch pad to get us ready for Banff and everything else to come.

Tori Larsen (writer), Flops

The second phase of NSI Totally Television has been excellent. We caught up with Josh and Kyle from Anything Co. in Toronto last week for a three-day intensive.

The latest draft of their pilot is a great read; their insights and thoughts throughout the week were extremely helpful and encouraging. Meeting like-minded creatives is part of why this program is so beneficial.

Michelle Daly, senior director of comedy at CBC, chatted with us about the landscape of comedy in Canada at this time. CBC’s Schitt’s Creek has breathed new life into comedy, and will hopefully pave the way for more shows of its kind to be considered for development.

Michelle talked about the success of shows being tied to their creators having a strong point of view, in that they really want to say something with their work. Continually returning to this point of view is crucial as well as communicating it within one’s pitch.

Entertainment lawyer Gigi Morin walked us through development contracts which was endlessly helpful. She explained how to remain creatively embedded in our project once other people and companies are involved. This is so important for new writer/producer teams.

Mark Montefiore and Andrew DeAngelis, the NSI alums behind forthcoming comedy What Would Sal Do?, illuminated their path from script to screen. This was an NSI Totally Television project several years ago, and watching their finished pilot could not have been more motivating.

One concept Mark chatted about really stuck with me: he asked, “What edge can you bring to your project that no one else can?” In a practical sense, he brought the edge of being able to produce his show at a much lower budget than anyone else could. Knowing one’s edge in the pitching phase is extremely advantageous.

On day two Rachel Fulford, VP of creative affairs at Entertainment One, spoke about the importance of packaging projects right from the start. Attaching cast, a director and/or showrunner can be the deciding factor for broadcasters.

She furthered this concept by posing the question (similar to Mark Montefiore’s): “What else are you bringing to the table?” Working with individuals who have social media followers can bring a built-in audience and therefore a great deal of ‘buzz.’ Broadcasters are looking for this.

Andrea Boyd, SVP of production at Temple Street, walked us through our budget, line by line. We learned so much during this two-hour discussion. She gave us tips about where we could save money and what wouldn’t be negotiable in other areas.

We had, thankfully, over-budgeted and can now definitely see where we will be able to make changes to bring our total down to a very reasonable number.

Brad Pelman, CEO at Fremantle, and Michael McLaughlin, VP of sales programming at 20th Century Fox, wrapped up our second day. They took us through the process of selling shows to broadcasters, and who is buying and/or looking for what. I can’t imagine a more helpful presentation.

Not only did they give us insight into where they thought we should pitch our projects but they also told us how they would pitch our projects package-wise to specific broadcasters.

This session really felt like we were having the curtain pulled back for us to reveal insider information about the television industry in both Canada and America. I will definitely be going over the information package they gave us as we approach pitching broadcasters in the spring.

Jamie Schouela, EVP of marketing and communications at Blue Ant Media, kicked off our third day by giving us a crash course in marketing.

While Jamie comes from the factual side of the television business, he has much experience with scripted projects. I found it interesting, but not surprising, that marketing pros are now frequently hired from the get-go to sell projects to broadcasters. Jamie was cool enough to give us some ideas about how we could market our projects. Web series and between season online content really seem to be the best approach these days. Engaging ‘superfans’ to act as ambassadors for shows is a great way to reach the online community too.

Casting director Marissa Richmond gave us advice about casting our projects and negotiating exclusive actor contracts and options. It was great to hear an insider’s perspective on this.

Jenn Engles concluded our boot camp, talking about all things showrunning and being in a writers room.

She told us a really useful way of looking at a pilot: a document that details “a major event that sets a series of conflicts in motion.” These conflicts form the legs of not just the pilot but also the series at large. This must be evident from both the script and the pitch.

Jenn has pitched herself as a writer for a series already up and running, as well as her own projects. She gave us amazing tips for both. The biggest take away for me was to follow up from a pitch not with the pilot script for the project in question but with a different script that acts as a sample for what one is capable of as a writer.

Our three days in Toronto were carefully and expertly curated by the NSI team. We really couldn’t have asked for a better selection of professionals to speak with us about our projects and the industry in Canada at this time. Everyone was incredibly generous with their time, knowledge and suggestions.

Post boot camp on Friday and full of new ideas, Natalie and I went through our pilot, scene by scene. We also received an incredible set of notes from our story editor, Ley Lukins. Ley was recommended to us by Tassie Cameron and is brilliant with story. We’re so excited to be working with her on Flops.

Our plan moving forward is basically a page-one rewrite in which we will tone down the comedy and concentrate on the mother/daughter relationship. A quieter and more grounded tone will really benefit this script.

As we put pen to paper in the next few weeks, we will be practicing our pitch for broadcasters in May and for Banff. We can’t wait.

• • •

Apply for NSI Totally Television

We’re currently accepting applications for NSI Totally Television. If you’re interested in developing your TV series idea, find out how to apply.

About NSI Totally Television

The course provides hands-on series development training for producer/writer teams serious about getting their series concept made.

Each team is paired with execs from major Canadian networks, story editors and executive producers to help hone each concept and make it pitch perfect.

NSI Totally Television is made possible by Presenting Sponsor Bell Media; Program Partner Telefilm Canada; Supporting Sponsors Entertainment One, Super Channel, Corus Entertainment and Breakthrough Entertainment; Provincial Sponsor Manitoba Film & Music; and Industry Partner Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. NSI Core Funders are Manitoba Tourism, Culture, Heritage, Sport and Consumer Protection and the City of Winnipeg through the Winnipeg Arts Council.