eClass: Pitch That TV Show

Get your TV show concept on the air

Course is closed.
eClass:  Pitch That TV Show

DURATION/TIME 
8 weeks
September 5 - October 24
Online chats: Tuesdays, 9-10 pm EST 

LEVEL
Intro

ONLINE CLASS INFO
See our eClasses info page

PRICE
$499 ($475 for )
more info

Course Details

This workshop is for writers who want to start and manage a career in the television industry but have no idea where to begin. Is broadcast television the place to be? Cable? Or writing and producing mobisodes for future cell phone networks?

Today, television is a cyclical media business that includes pilot season, sweeps week, the new fall season, syndication, and over 500 cable networks and hundreds more proposed broadband offerings.

This intensive workshop will take a close look at the current trends in the television industry and offer the keys to surviving in a world that often breeds on familiarity. Many of today's favorites -- including the reality genre -- are new versions of audience favorites from the past. Your guide, Laurie Scheer, analyses the work culture of one of the most fascinating industries while offering an insider's insight to understand the essential qualities and strategies necessary for writers of all types. Explore areas where you will flourish within the often volatile television, cable, and digital media landscape.

In this class, you can expect to learn:
  • The television food chain from broadcast networks to weblets to cable nets and broadband offerings
  • Broadcast, cable television and digital media development 
  • Pilot season, sweeps week, the summer swipe-away, and the new fall season 
  • The writing process -- what goes on in the writer's room
  • The anatomy of sitcoms, dramas, and reality shows
    Working in Los Angeles or New York...or Bethesda or Atlanta
  • How to pitch ideas and become a working writer/producer
By the end of the class, you can expect to have:
Two salable treatments, high concepts, loglines, synopses, and pitches to match, and knowledge enough to survive in the world of television.

Admission Requirements:
Please submit a letter of interest including a brief work history.

The online classroom has several interactive components:
  • Instructors post lectures once a week. You can read them online, print them, or download them at your convenience.
  • Students post completed assignments for feedback and discussion by the instructor and class.
  • Weekly chats allow your class to get together via instant message. Transcripts are available for review if you can't attend. 
  • Technical support is available from mediabistro staff.

Instructor Bio

Laurie Scheer's Courses

Brand Yourself – (Class starts September 10)
Developing Online Videos – Los Angeles (Seminar on September 25)
How to Write for (and Pitch to) Women's TV Networks – Los Angeles (Seminar on September 23)
TV Writing: Spec Script – (Class starts September 8)
Writing Scripts for Online Video – (Class starts July 15)

Laurie Scheer
Laurie Scheer is a former vice president of programming for WE: Women's Entertainment and is currently teaching at Yale University. She has worked as an assistant, d-girl, and producer for some of the most powerful media conglomerates in the world, including ABC, Viacom, Showtime, and AMC-Cablevision. She has been a professor at numerous universities across the US and considers herself a media goddess, helping creative professionals realize their goals of working and improving 21st century media. Her book Creative Careers In Hollywood: From Extra Girls to Errand Boys (Allworth Press, 2002) chronicles and celebrates all of the movies ever made that feature women working in Hollywood. She also has a DVD, How to Pitch and Sell Your Screenplay.


Testimonials


Laurie Scheer has boundless enthusiasm and offers nothing less than the opportunity to succeed in arenas where you have previously only dreamt of succeeding. I never realized that such friendship, such encouragement, such genuine goodwill and such human connection could be capable between people who have only met through a computer until I took this wonderful class. --Paul Hagen

"Laurie's seminar was by far the best class I have ever taken in my entire life! Not only was she enjoyable, clear, and relevant, she's the most knowledgeable instructor I've ever had. She is excellent on every level, and I can't say enough how much I got out of attending. Honestly, this is why I've gone to mediabistro events since 1999. You're better than anyone else out here!" -- Jamila Bey

"Laurie's seminar was the best money I've ever spent! I learned more about how television programming works in 3 hours than I picked up in a lifetime as a television news reporter. I look forward to spreading the word about Laurie's vast knowledge, practical teaching style, and terrific personality." -- Brigette Polmar

"Laurie's class provided invaluable tips on how to break into and master the murky world of television writing and production. She's also one of the coolest instructors I've ever had, which gave her class the breeziness of summer camp. I would heartily recommend her classes to anyone interested in learning more about writing for film and television and anyone who wants to have fun doing it." -- Imani Dawson

"Laurie Scheer's generous advice about television writing helped give me the confidence I needed to negotiate the contract process. Because of her seasoned knowledge and her willingness to share it, I'll always remember that "if you are a professional, you're worth it," even when you're just starting out." -- Gina Laurie

"Laurie Scheer's classes are musts for anyone wanting to progress in the television industry. After bumping around TV jobs for a few years, I took Laurie's class, and it gave me the flashlight I needed to see the whole landscape of opportunities available. It is quite unusual to have someone offer to share their experiences, and even more unusual for them to truly want you to succeed. If you need to be convinced that you are capable of writing or creating a show, take Laurie's class." -- Tamara Federici, writer & former associate producer, Chappelle's Show

"Laurie Scheer is a professional who generously shares with her students her love and first-hand knowledge of the complex TV industry. She has a wonderful knack of encouraging writers, instilling confidence and still showing them where they have taken a wrong turn." -- Nancy West

"Ms. Scheer was informative, funny, and extremely knowledgeable about the business. I found myself riveted and wanting to know more after sitting still for 3 hours at the end of a long work day! If anyone is thinking of a career in television writing, this course and the instructor is your starting point." -Inger Slade

AvantGuild* Discounts on mediabistro.com courses are just one of the wonderful benefits of being in AvantGuild, our premium membership program. For just $59 a year, you'll receive instant access to our How to Pitch articles and other premium articles, transcripts from selected seminars and panels, and discounts on virtually everything we do (including eClasses and the Freelance Marketplace)! Click here to join now.