Perfecting the TV Pitch + Pitch Slam

WHEN Saturday & Sunday, December 1 & 2, 1-5 pm WHERE West Hollywood, CA MORE INFO Email us, or call (310) 659-5668. UniversityChic members: call 888-589-1963 to enroll with your discount. You must bring a college ID to the seminar. PRICE $300 ($275 for ) more info

Course Details

You've seen every episode of 24. You've read every script for My Name Is Earl. You've studied each season of The Amazing Race. And one thing's for sure -- you could write a better show than any of them. In fact, you already have an idea for the next Lost. Or How I Met Your Mother. Or America's Next Top Model. There's only one problem: You have to sell it first.

Hollywood has never been hotter for spec pilots and ideas. Networks are searching for the next big thing, and they're willing to take a chance on new voices.

Coming up with ideas is easy; it's pitching and selling that's hard. This class is dedicated to helping you tweak your idea, organize the pitch, and hone your selling skills. Whether you're working on tomorrow's hit sitcom, drama, or the next American Idol, we'll whip your idea into shape, then give you a chance to pitch it to some of the industry's top producers and executives at a Pitch Fest. Selling your first show is never easy. With this class, it just got a lot easier.

In this workshop, you can expect to learn:

• The must-have ingredients of every successful pitch
• Why different types of shows must be pitched differently
• How to organize your idea both verbally and on paper
• What visual tools will help your pitch
• How to make yourself indispensable to your own idea
• When to attach other elements -- actors, producers, directors
• How to meet the people who can buy your idea and make them want to buy it
  
  

  You'll have the chance to pitch to:
  
  --Scott Kamler, Development Assistant, Fox TV Studios
  --Jen Richey, Coordinator, ABC TV Studios, Drama Development
  --Colin Whitman, Literary Assistant, Agency for the Performing Arts (APA)
  --Tracy Wilcoxen, Creator (Wing Girls, Bunim Murray), Show Producer (Last Model Standing, E!), Segment Producer (A Perfect Man, FOX; The Bachelor, ABC)
  ...and more to come!

Instructor Bio

Chad Gervich's Courses

Chad Gervich is a television producer, author, and playwright who spent five years as a development executive and producer with the Littlefield Company, where he developed pilots and series for NBC, ABC, CBS, UPN, the WB, and FOX. Chad has worked in development and production at NBC Studios, Sony Pictures, CBS Productions, and Twentieth Century Fox where he was involved in the development, production, and maintenance of Love, Inc., Malcolm in the Middle, Like Family, Time Tunnel, Star Search, and Do Over.

Chad has created and produced Style network's hit series Foody Call and executive produced Celebrity Drive-By, a talk show pilot for E! Entertainment. Chad has also developed, written, and produced Dirty Laundry, a soap for FOX TV Studios, Wig Out, a Warner Brothers sitcom, and Fox Reality Channel's Reality Binge. He is currently executive producing Spellbound: The Witches of Orange County for The Weinstein Company.

Chad is the author of mediabistro.com's Small Screen, Big Picture: A Writers Guide to the TV Business and is a contributing editor for Writers Digest, where he writes Script Notes, a regular screenwriting column/blog. He also writes for Daily Variety, Fade In, Moving Pictures, and Orange Coast.

Testimonials

Chad is a very energetic and charismatic speaker with a non-judgmental, supportive teaching style. I left his class with tangible tools to move forward with the next step. -- Sue Karlin, freelance journalist, Newsweek, Forbes, Esquire

"Chad has valuable insights to share about the TV business and the craft of writing pilots. Whether you're a rookie or a professional, you'll feel focused, smarter, and ready to write." -- Wendy Calhoun, staff writer, NBC-Universal/NBC

"The course content was fabulous and exactly what I expected in terms of starting from scratch to getting into the minute detail. It was just perfect." -- Georgia Cassimatis

"Chad is very knowledgeable and is able to present all topics in an informative, logical way with lots of enthusiasm." -- Vanessa Amador

"Chad is passionate about television and very down to earth. I was very impressed with the candid nature of Chad's information and his honest responses to people's questions. He gave them real answers." -- Chayah Masters

"I started this class with a blank writing tablet and ended the course with a spec script that I would be proud to submit to an agent. That's worth the time and the money." -- Dylan Conroy

"Chad was a dynamic speaker and took his time to make sure that everyone in the class participated and got their questions answered. I will definitely take another class with him." -- Angie Truschel

"The presentation of the material was excellent. This is probably the best course I've taken." -- Roberta Cruger

"Chad is a great teacher and brings with him a wealth of information. I learned a great deal and the class is a heckuva lot of fun!" -- Susan Morris

"Chad gives you the edge of really understanding the business, what it takes to get those pitch meetings, and how to leave an impression that gets you the assignment." -- Erica Land

"Chad is one of a kind in the entertainment industry. He really wants others to succeed and shows you the pathway to do so. Take his class!" -- La Mer Walker

"Chad not only gives you the basics, but tells you how everything works when you're entering into TV pilot script territory." -- Jerome Cleary

"Chad is an invaluable resource on the art and business of writing for television." -- Sarah Schreckengaust

"Chad knows his stuff and breaks it down for both the beginner and someone who's already in the business." -- Stevie Mac