My Game of Thrones thoughts while walking the dog.
Episode 2 of “vlog while walking the dog” and my thoughts on the last series of Game of Thrones and about interactive narrative drama. that’s where the audience can influence the out come, Netfix re invented the style with Bandersnatch. I actually worked in one of the first as the sound supervisor. Roger Cook narrated and it was called Murder in Space!
Tips For Directors
I’ve been posting some of the things I say to director I mentor or train. The video is a collection of the tips so far. These are my own mantras that I use all the time. And they are not just about rules to be broken, they are built around being a better leader, more creative and most importantly reducing the stress that comes with the territory! So do follow me on instagram or facebook @jgtvdirector will find me. And please do let me know or ask me anything related to directing or TV in general. My youtube channel is a work in progress but i hope eventually it will become more useful.
Unboxing Rode Wireless Go
TV thoughts while Walking the Dog
Part 3 The Road to successful TV Format Development
Part 3 of Jonathan Glazier’s 12 week creative development plan
Revision
In true TV style programme construction, lets start with a recap. Start with a life changing personal vision that motivates you to execute.
Set 3 Goals, what do you want to achieve at the end of 12 weeks? Keep in mind you won’t get a commission in that time, so adding that as a goal will be setting yourself up to fail. The Goal given our frame of reference should be in the form of pitch ready ideas. If you have been at this a while one goal could be a new idea, a second to get the last 12 week idea pitched and commissioned, and a third goal could be to write your novel’s first chapter or to get the VAT done.
These basic goals are the corner stone of the idea, the VAT is a serious notion, you simply cannot create with the boring and mundane hanging over you, the system is designed to get things done and dusted and keep a clear mind.
Each goal will have tasks attached more on that later, but let’s deal with the biggest challenge first…
Ideas
I believe there are two types of idea, a professional idea and a non professional idea, let me clarify. We all have ideas and flashes of inspiration about all kinds of stuff, the ideas generated by these are non professional. I don’t mean they are not good ideas, on the contrary, perhaps my description of professional ideas will get the concept over. In a creative environment where people are paid for ideas they are locked in a room and given a task, to come upon with something creative. This is a professional idea. So when I say to my development team at the BBC we need a new stripped game show on BBC2, and the team gets to work to fulfil that brief, that’s professional creativity. When two people are at a dinner party and get talking, and one thing leads to another and they chat and come up with a great title for a game show, they wonder about how hard can it be? They spend the next 12 weeks refining the idea and send it to the BBC, it sits in a pile of other 3rd party (non BBC) ideas for a few months. Someone notices it because the title is good, the team get behind it and a deal is done and Fintan and Cathy become millionaires because they have devised “The Weakest Link.” That’s a non professional idea!
Having a non professional idea is Day one of the 12 week plan, sitting around to come up with an idea is day one of the professional 12 week plan.
good ideas
Clearly you want good ideas but what is a good idea? In the hard world of tv or most any other sector a good idea is one that sells. Yes I know I’d like to live in a world where a good idea is just that and we all celebrate a good idea with an improved life that costs nothing and makes the creator feel warm and fuzzy, doesn’t pay the mortgage though does it?
So we have to sign up to the fact that a good idea is worth money and also some times a good idea is just a good idea and nothing more, it won’t make a great TV show or any money. The other thing professional idea smiths do is research what ideas will have the best chance of being good, aka “selling”.
So development teams will look at the opportunity, competition and reward. Identifying a slot worth developing for. This can be depressing, what are the opportunities on Saturday night? We have Got Talent, X factor that’s almost 6 months of slots that will be very hard to get into, and actually it’s a waste of time to develop for any similar slot. The non professional ideas are not researched, but given these are “hobby” projects the need for reward is not so pressing and therefore these ideas may seem impracticable but they can at least sit in a file for years waiting for the right moment. Professionals have these ideas too but the only keep them as sparks of ideas and don’t waste valuable time developing until the opportunity becomes more likely.
where do ideas come from?
It’s not rocket science we all know ideas happen all the time and at any time, these are non professional ideas. The trick is capturing them and then executing or actioning those flashes of inspiration, most of us just instantly forget the idea or simply jump to the too hard, no time or not my thing frame of mind. If your vision means you are looking for ideas there’s also another down side, the moment you start looking your mind blanks! All of this is normal, just relax, people used to say carry a note book and pen, have one next to your bed etc. As it happens I actually do, I find pen and paper, with scribbles and crossing out, very creative, but you also have a phone, and if you are normal it’s never more than arms length away. Use that to record a spoken note or get a note app and writing it down, Evernote is great for this and I also use a OS/iOS app called things 3 for my todo note tracking.
Professional ideas come from brainstorming, or in plain English throwing a few ideas around. There are many techniques and academics dispute there effectiveness. My view is that blue-sky brainstorming lacks focus, I prefer set parameters and goals. I also believe that brainstorms are full of individual ideas that have been simmering in the minds of the participants,all generated when they were having non professional ideas. So brainstorming tends to really be about, “what do you think of this?” sessions. Many say no idea is a bad idea, so create a non critical session where no one is worried about speaking up. Well guess what, there are bad ideas and if you are so sensitive that being told so sends you over the edge, TV may not be your thing! (I think that’s an HR issue but hey that’s entertainment.)
But here’s the thing, you need to feed creativity you need to read, to watch, and to just move around. Do stuff counter to your actual task, go to art galleries, museums, to the pub, have a bath, this is where creatives get there eccentric status or even their time waster label. But all these things feed creativity and increase the chances of that flash of inspiration. And here’s an example of the issues creatives face. I was asked to mediate a session at IPC who publish many of the lifestyle magazines we read. I asked them to come up with an idea for a new magazine for 18 to 24 year olds, the room fell silent, I then asked them to do the same but for a new TV show, the room became alive with chat, arguments and what ifs. Ideas are the biggest challenge, feed creativity to maximise the chance of having and idea, and we are still only on day one of our 12 weeks!
There is nothing wrong with your idea being similar to an existing show too. Commissioners will always say they want new they want fresh. What they commission is the next iteration of a show or one in the same area, look at hole in the wall, total wipe out, ninja warrior and cannon ball. Each bettering the previous is somenway (cannon ball being the exception to that observation.
So part of the ideas process is to watch TV and know you slots and schedules. Follow trends and yes go for a drink, like me now, next….
Next comes development the start of the 12 weeks
Jonathan Glazier Cambridge UK
Creative Consultant
Lecturer
TV Format Developer
Executive Producer
TV Director
Part 2. Jonathan Glazier’s 12 week creative planning technique
Now some basics
Vision
For this system to work you need a vision, humm i can already hear the sighs. But creatively, vision is key and here we are talking about creativity. But lets be clear about what i mean in regard to vision. So your vision is to make a BAFTA winning TV show. That’s the worst vision you can have. You can have a goal of making a good TV game show, or drama, or some online content that gets some views. As I said BAFTAS are not won be great programme makers they are won by people wwho set out to make great programmes, just setting out to make a BAFTA winning show is not clever.
If at 7 or 8 you watched the BAFTAS and saw great speeches by David Lean and started dreaming that one day that would be you, that’s a vision because it motivates you be be the best you can be. If at 11 you got a paper round to save up for your own super 8 camera because you just wanted to tell stories on film for a living, that’s a vision because you have to be good for people to pay you. If at 22 you wanted to be the best multi camera director ever because it was the best job in the world and you dreamt that you could support your self and possibly a whole career maybe a family or a whole life doing something you loved, that’s a vision. It a vision of the life you want to die having lived. And its not too late to ever have a vision, I want to walk down the isle with each of my daughters and I don’t want diabetes but i do want to be buried with my own hips and knees, that’s a vision and my goal was to lose 50lbs, which I’ve done.
motivation
My point is that the vision, if big enough will provide big motivation to achieve your goals by executing your tasks. As a species humans are typically really bad at motivation or execution. You can tell people they will die from smoking but still that excuse of addiction is coughed up. Addiction is real, I know that, but a person who is addicted will act as though its not their problem as it’s the fault of the tobacco giant. All of which is true but to take responsibility with “I am addicted” is a huge step to envisioning a life clean from smoking and powerful motivation for giving up. Particularly if you couple that with and imagine you could have enough extra cash for… people take money over death under these circumstances.
12 times as fast
So your vision needs to be big, life changing, I mean really life changing and personal. Imagine standing on your yacht, or having the car you dreamed of. Or giving your family a new home. Freeing your self from stress with financial security. These big personal vision will drive you to your goals. And you will need several goal to achieve your vision on several sets of 12 weeks. But believe me you will get their much faster with goals over 12 weeks rather than 1 over a year. For the non mathematicians reading this that’s 12 times as fast!
Your vision is your life change, your goals are to make successful bits of content.
Next comes the first principals
Jonathan Glazier Cambridge UK
Creative Consultant
Lecturer
TV Format Developer
Executive Producer
TV Director
1. Introduction to my 12 week creative development plan.
Introduction.
I’ve been using 12 week techniques for a while now. Anyone who has signed up to “Best Self” or the “12 week year” will know how powerful these techniques are in helping reach your goals. In fact I’ve lost just shy of 50lbs in weight using the 12 week technique, if you know me you will understand the magnitude of that statement.
It’s no coincidence that in all my development seminars and my practical work in development and production I have always worked and advocated a 12 week cycle. 12 weeks pre 12 weeks production 12 weeks post. That changes depending on budget, some times 12 weeks start to delivery some times each stage is 12 weeks. In development 12 weeks from blank paper to finished pitch is always my goal.
So with that in mind I have decided to share my techniques online. So keep an eye out for details. I leave you with two thoughts. BAFTAS are not won by great programme makers. BAFTAS are one by people who decided to work at making great programmes. And Those people all dreamt of making that acceptance speech and they had a vision of the end goal and envision every step of the way, probably before even entering the industry. So if you are interested sign up and like my Facebook page where I will post details of this valuable technique.
First the background.
The 12 week technique is quite well known. Until you use it it seems like another promise all cure for changing your life, but it can. People have trebled their income, saved relationships and lost weight using the system. I lost 47lbs myself over 3 months. It’s remarkable and really simple to master but like everything hard to stick at. But do stick at it and it will change the way you think. And that’s the key, change, because we all do what we’ve always done and are surprised that we get the same results. So change. I don’t want to get into the detail of the actual 12 week thing, if you follow these posts you will get a good idea. But all I want to say is that the basic principle was about killing off annual targets. Basically because you can put off trying to achieve them because it’s all to easy to think you have bass of time and then come year end you chase leads run around and have to hit a years worth of KPIs in March. Imagine hitting those targets every 12 weeks? You now have a grasp of this powerful philosophy.
So why use the same system in the creative industries? Surely you can’t plan to have an idea, it’s all just open ended isn’t it, blue sky no rules?
Well sure you can operate that system if you want to spend a lot of money with few results. But it’s the same as not knowing what you want to do when you leave school, there’s no vision, no goal and you end up study a mis match of subjects you find easy and ultimately never fulfil your potential. No one starts a journey with out some idea of where they are going. Sure you can go with the flow, but ultimately you are probably heading for a destination of some sort. If you are a parent you will no the end result of an unplanned weekend, moaning children or fighting siblings. A well planned weekend with trips out, a game on the field, a dog walk dominoes pizza followed by strictly bath and bed means happy tired and most importantly happy occupied children. My point is that in every way a plan is better than none. So why not make it a structured 12 week plan full of goals, checks and ultimately a vision of an end product. Apple are creative and they have a road map, admittedly it’s annual, the iPhone comes out with very September but apple are creative and they have a plan.
Next step basics.
Jonathan Glazier Cambridge UK
Creative Consultant
Lecturer
TV Format Developer
Executive Producer
TV Director
12 Week Creative Development Plan
I’ve been using the 12 week techniques for a while now. Anyone who has signed up to Best Self or the 12 week year will know how powerful these techniques are in helping reach your goals. In fact I’ve lost just shy of 50lbs in weight using the 12 week technique, if you know me you will understand the magnitude of that statement.
It’s no coincidence that in all my development seminars and my practical work in development and production I have always worked and advocated a 12 week cycle. 12 weeks pre 12 weeks production 12 weeks post. That changes depending on budget, some times 12 weeks start to delivery some times each stage is 12 weeks. In development 12 weeks from blank paper to finished pitch is always my goal.
So with that in mind I have decided to share my techniques online. So keep an eye out for details. I leave you with two thoughts. BAFTAS are not won by great programme makers. BAFTAS are one by people who decided to work at making great programmes. And Those people all dreamt of making that acceptance speech and they had a vision of the end goal and envision every step of the way, probably before even entering the industry. So if you are interested sign up and like my Facebook page where I will post details of this valuable technique.