by Andrew Einspruch
Filmmaker Andrew Einspruch attended Screen Forever 2013, the conference of Screen Producers Australia, this past year and wrote a series of articles for the event, which he’s kindly allowing us to reprint here. These articles originally appeared in Screen Hub, the daily online newspaper for Australian film and television professionals.
On a sunny day in Melbourne, where the clouds had clearly been swept away, Kim Wright, Film Producer with the Sesame Workshop, talked about the things that make Sesame Street a success. Screen Hub`s Andrew Einspruch reports from Screen Forever, the Screen Producers Australia conference.
Sesame Street is an amazing success story. Now in its 44th season of 26 episodes each (that`s over 1,100 episodes all up), the perennial favourite of the two-to-five set has kept a loyal fan base of children and former children. It has now been around long enough that some of its original viewers are now grandparents, sharing the show with a third generation.
According to Kim Wright, a key part of the show`s magic of the show is keeping it current. Some of that has to do with the writing, some of it the on-air and off-air talent, and some of it is the ability to adjust its curriculum over time.
And, of course, there`s the comedy and the celebrities. If Bert reads a copy of “Fifty Shades of Oatmeal,” or Usher sings the alphabet, it makes parents want to stay tuned, which keeps the kids tuned in as well.
Wright talked about how the show is developed. Each season starts with a curriculum meeting attended by all the show`s producers and writers (there`s a Head Writer and a team of ten additional writers). There, themes and issues that will be highlighted in the season are discussed. For example, they might be emphasising the idea of self-regulation, which includes things like being patient and controlling emotions. From there, the writers go off to work on scripts that address these themes, and the usual iterative process of writing ensues.
The show is structured in blocks, and each episode is made up of a predictable set of different blocks. For example, there will be a Word on the Street block, a number block, a letter block, a musical number from Elmo, a piece from Cookie Monster in a series called Crumby Films (parodies of current movies), and so on. The show is pieced together over months, with different elements being filmed at different times.
Wright also discussed the film commissioning process. They put out a Request for Pitch (RFP) three times a year. These requests ask filmmakers to come up with ideas for short films that can be included in the show. They can be live action, animation or mixed media. They might be 30 seconds long or a two-minute piece for a music video. There will be two or three films in any episode, and they might be about a letter, a number or something to do with the curriculum. Sesame Workshop basically puts it out there, and it is up to producers to come up with an idea that interests them enough to commission it.
One production company that has done so recently is Brisbane-based Carbon Media. During the session, Carbon`s CEO, Wayne Denning, premiered their new piece for Sesame Street called “Five Kangaroos”. The clip features pop star Jessica Mauboy, a cast of indigenous children from Alice Springs, some Aussie-themed animation, and a catchy tune about the number five that will certainly be getting stuck in the heads of kids and their parents for years to come.
The budget for these commissioned films is nothing to retire on. Sesame Workshop is a not-for-profit, and their commissions range from $5,000 to $20,00. And it is a fee-for-hire deal, so the production company doesn`t keep the rights to anything.
Even so, as Denning described it, having a film on Sesame Street is great marketing for the company. It is a credit on a beloved show with a worldwide following, and it fits in well with Carbon`s international business strategy.
The company did get Screen Queensland support, and they called in plenty of favours to get the film done (including the lend of a chopper for aerial photography). But it has been a significant step for Carbon, who was able to use it, in part, to subsequently secure some of Screen Australia`s Enterprise funding.
Wright said they find filmmakers in many different ways. They might see something on YouTube they like, or get recommendations from colleagues or friends. She said she attends certain film festivals, and checks out festival entries on Vimeo. It might be an advertisement they like the look of. But once they find a filmmaker that interests them, it opens up the possibility of commissioning something. And often once commission can lead to others.
But, again, it is not all one-way. The RFP process gives filmmakers a chance to pitch a segment. If you can make them think, “Wow!” with your proposal and its presentation, then you can land a gig.
Wright also talked about do`s and don`t`s for pitches. In the “do” category, she said they are looking for well-thought-out and appealing pitches. They said that they need to be able to clearly see what the filmmaker has in mind. It might be useful to show them a sample character design, or a small section that serves as a demo. If it is a live action shoot, they`ll want to see what the location looks like.
And music is crucial. The music has to capture them, because the music makes or breaks the film.
In the “don`t” category, Wright said that it is a mistake to do too much in your film. Keep it simple. If you are doing a film about counting to five, then keep it to that. Remember that the audience is aged two to five, so they need you to keep it focussed.
She said don`t pitch them characters that you would like to do anything with outside of Sesame Street, since Sesame Workshop will own all the intellectual property. Those characters won`t be usable anywhere else. She also said don`t make it too “kiddie show” style, and not to make it seem dated. Your segment should be current and even hip.
And one of the biggest “don`t`s” is don`t pitch anything that has to do with any of the Muppets. No Elmo pitches. No Grover pitches. Nothing. They don`t commission those pieces.
But if you can keep the do`s and don`t`s straight, you might just be the next producer to find their way to Sesame Street.
Andrew Einspruch is a producer with Wild Pure Heart Productions. His latest projects are the feature film The Farmer, and the web seriesWisdom from the Paddock. You can follow him on Twitter at @einspruch and Facebook at Andrew Einspruch.
