In addition to a tight, killer script, every TV project needs a strong series bible or deck to help convey sustainability and its role in the marketplace. And execs commonly ask for pitch decks for features as well! So submit your Series Bible, Pitch Deck (20 pages max each), or both, and the exec will conduct a 30-minute notes call (1-hour if submitting both documents) to help you clarify and sharpen the supplemental material to help your marketing efforts.
Questions? Email terra@roadmapwriters.com
Let's make the pitch feel like a conversation. For feature pitches I want to know the first act. Take your time to lay out the characters, conflicts, hook etc. It is also helpful to tell me why is now the time to tell this story, what are the marketplace comps, and who do you envision packaging this with.
For TV, lay out the hook and premise, then I want to hear about the characters, their season and series arcs, and why an audience is going to invest spending time with them and this world of story.
Pitch the emotion. The jokes. The big moments. Let me feel the story. Grab me from the start and and never let go. Develop a clean line of action for your leading character. Know where you're going in the pitch when outlining the story.
I am drawn to high concept, commercial projects in both the film and TV space. I really like character driven stories across all genres and formats. I am especially interested in reading grounded action, sci-fi, and crime for both features and TV (HEAT; ARRIVAL; TOKYO VICE; MIND HUNTER; SHOGUN.)
I am also interested in true stories (EVEREST; SOCIETY OF THE SNOW; FORD V FERRARI) and stories that could be true (THE MARTIAN; HELL OR HIGH WATER.) I would love to read female driven projects (ATOMIC BLONDE; SICARIO; EX MACHINA) and projects that are diverse in an authentic way as well as adaptations from books, graphic novels, or articles.
I'm also a big fan of genre fare (PACIFIC RIM; DUNE; MAD MAX; JURASSIC PARK; FURY.) Sports stories, especially true ones or ones that could be true are also something I'm interested in reading.
If you have a project that can balance being both good and commercial and it has characters with depth and complexity, then I would like to read it.
Faith based projects, children's animation, musicals, or spoof comedies.
MJ Grogan is a Development Executive and Producer at ACE Content an Academy Award and Emmy winning production company whose credits include FREE SOLO and NatGeo's BECOMING COUSTEAU. He recently worked on the Hulu series MAGGIE, the Netflix adventure thriller BURIED, and Stacey Peralta's surf epic THE YIN & YANG OF GERRY LOPEZ.
With a background in feature films, television, and documentaries, MJ is currently developing and producing an off-road racing feature film with Netflix, a spy thriller with Working Title, a biopic of the Native American rock band Redbone, and an action comedy based on the bestselling novel The Blonde Identity.
Prior to joining ACE, MJ was a development executive at Legendary Entertainment and Disney where he worked on such films as DUNE, ENOLA HOLMES, GODZILLA V KONG, DETECTIVE PIKACHU, A CHRISTMAS STORY CHRISTMAS, THE JUNGLE BOOK, PETE'S DRAGON, TOGO and many others.
After registering, you will receive instructions on how to submit your material in your order confirmation email. After submitting your material, please allow 3-4 weeks to receive proposed times for scheduling your consult with the exec.
PITCH DECKS: These are visually-driven documents (20 pages max) that use images and short paragraphs of text to demonstrate the tone, world, character insight, key plot points, stakes, and theme of the series or feature. If the Pitch Deck is for a show, it will use some of the same sections of text as your Series Bible, but will be less extensive. When creating a pitch deck, always make sure that you are using images of a consistent size and quality, and that you use the same font, color code, margins, and other design specifications throughout. Click here for a Pitch Deck example! Want more insight? Consider signing up for our Creating Professional Level Pitch Decks webinar!
SERIES BIBLES: These supplemental documents are text-only (20 pages max), and can get requested when marketing any sort of TV show. Among other things, they should demonstrate what makes your characters unique and captivating, the focus and evolution of their arcs, the rules of the world, the hook of the story engine, the intended tone and theme, as well as why YOU are the best person to write this show from this perspective. Here's example #1 and example #2. Note: The formatting and organization of Series Bibles has changed since these examples were created, but addressing these sections in your own Series Bible will be a great starting point to make sure you're answering questions before they're asked.
**Please note series bibles and pitch decks are each limited to 20 pages maximum. Please contact terra@roadmapwriters.com for pricing on a consultation for material exceeding 20 pages.
Be sure to familiarize yourself with Roadmap's Code of Conduct.
Questions? Email terra@roadmapwriters.com
Cancellation Policy: You may cancel your registration for a refund or Roadmap gift card if you have not yet submitted your material for review. However, once your material has been received by Roadmap, your registration cannot be canceled. Having revised material or a desire to retroactively apply a discount or gift card code are not grounds for cancellation, refunds, or gift card credit. Once your material has been submitted, the only acceptable grounds for cancellation and a refund or gift card credit is an unforeseen, ongoing emergency on the part of either the writer or the exec resulting in more than 6 weeks without any scheduling update from the exec via direct contact or Roadmap, or a sudden change in the exec's ongoing availability. In the instance of an irreconcilable scheduling issue, the writer may still receive a written feedback report from the exec. In this case, the writer is not entitled to a refund or gift card credit as the exec has read the submitted material and provided written feedback in lieu of the call.