Butch Hartman, creator of the hit animated series The Fairly OddParents and Danny Phantom, looked out at attendees of Animation Magazine’s ‘How to Create a Winning Animation Pitch’ seminar and praised them for pursuing what can seem an impossible dream.
‘It takes a lot of gumption on your part, a lot of bravery,’ said Hartman. ‘It really does, because it’s not easy to sell a show. But if you don’t give up, I swear to you, it will happen for you.’
The reasons for wanting to sell (and then run) a show are obvious, Hartman says: It’s fun, even though it is a lot of work. ‘The guy who makes the show, the girl who makes the show, is constantly thinking bout it 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And it can be a pretty big burden, if you let it be. But I’m here to tell you also that it can be a lot of fun. And what it should be, mainly, is a lot of fun.’
But getting to that point takes some hard work of its own. Hartman then laid down a handful of what he called ‘profound’ rules for pitching a show.
First, he said, believe in your idea. ‘If you go in to sell your idea and you don’t believe in it, then the person you’re selling to is certainly not going to believe in it,’ he said.
Next, know your idea forward and backward, and be prepared to answer questions. ‘If you have any questions yourself about your idea, I would make sure that you answer them yourself before you go in and pitch for somebody,’ he said.
And while you need to know your idea well, it’s OK ‘ even preferable ‘ to not have nailed down every minuscule detail. ‘You want to give the person you’re pitching to room to contribute to as well.’
He repeated the importance of never giving up on an idea too soon. ‘If you’ve got an idea that you’ve pitched to one place, don’t blow it off ‘ go to another place. And if they don’t say yes, go to another place,’ Hartman says. ‘The one time to give up on an idea is if everybody’s said no. Then I wouldn’t give up, I’d put that idea aside and come up with another idea.’
You also always need to have another idea ready to go. ‘I can guarantee you’re going to need something else,’ he says. Because no matter how brilliant your show may be, there are plenty of reasons that the people you’re pitching to will have to pass and you’ll need something else to pitch when they say, ‘Got anything else?’
The ability to work well with people and run a business is an underrated and essential skill once your show gets picked up. ‘You’re going to need a staff full of people and you’re going to have to learn how to hire people, and how to work with people, how to fire people,’ he says. ‘I don’t like to do it, but you have to do it.’
In that process, it’s important to find people you trust to work on your show and contribute to it. While it’s hard for anyone to actually steal your ideas and make it stick, you can regret not being more picky about who you let contribute to your show.
Which, Hartman said, leads to the necessity of getting it all in writing and having an agent. ‘It’s worth it to pay 10 percent to someone to work it all out for me,’ he said. ‘You’re going to lose 80 percent negotiating your own deal, I guarantee you.’
In answering questions, Hartman suggested that anyone who wants to make animated TV series should learn everything they can about how such shows are made. Working in animation in some capacity would be helpful, but in any endeavor it pays off to get as close as you can to the job you want to do.
You also need to be as easy to work with as possible. ‘Don’t sell a show and be a jerk,’ he said. ‘I’ve seen it countless times. Shows are sold and they’re gone the next year.’
The specifics of a pitch need to be as memorable and direct as possible. Don’t overload anyone you pitch with reams of material. Also, make sure you rehearse your pitch so it comes off smoothly. Make sure any artwork or leave-behinds you prepare look good and remind them of your show.
That wrapped up Hartman’s presentation, which was only the first part of the Perfect Pitch event. In our next installment, our panel of animation execs talk about life from their side of the pitching table, offering even more tips and solid guidance for anyone looking to get their animated series on the air.
