These five steps will help you get on the road to developing your own reality television show or documentary with a professional, well-thought-out concept and a solid 30-second pitch.
1. THE TASK: The first step in developing your documentary film or program is research. As you start to dismiss your idea, do your homework. Think of all the reality TV shows you have ever seen. Which ones did you enjoy the most? Why? Take notes on them and actively search and try to find the most successful programs that match your concept and ideas. You’ll need them to write an effective “sign-in line” for your Reality TV-style online video series, show, or blog.
2. THE TREATMENT: The second step in the process of creating a television talk show or documentary concept is to write a one-page treatment. If you are writing a treatment for a reality show or documentary, begin the treatment with a single, well-written, solid paragraph that captures the reader’s attention and briefly introduces each of the topics that you will cover in greater detail in the paragraphs below. he. Simple dead … right?
3. THE RECORD LINE: Once you have a solid treatment, you can move on to step three. You will need to create a really effective registration line for your reality TV show or documentary film. Remember that a Log Line is a short summary of your television show or documentary concept, it should give a short synopsis of the main plot, and what makes it different or unique, as well as what makes it similar to other shows.
4. THE ACCOUNT GUIDES: The fourth step in developing a good reality show or documentary film concept is to illustrate your point and that means creating storyboards to visualize your concept. You want to give the reader a visual feel for your TV show or documentary. Do some homework on branding techniques and look for royalty-free images to help illustrate your story. If your concept is for a reality TV show or even a movie or documentary series, don’t be afraid to take pictures with a digital camera or use stock photos to create your storyboards.
5. THE SINGLE SHEET: The final step in developing your concept for a television show or documentary film is putting all the pieces together into a single one-sheet document that includes your registration line, edited copy, some key images, and a summary synopsis of your reality show or concept documentary film. For a reality show or documentary film producer, this is the equivalent of a headshot for an actor or model, or a sizzling reel for a director or cinematographer. It is your business card and the only thing that someone will actually read to the end. You need to grab the reader’s attention right away or you’ll quickly end up under a bunch of other really great ideas, or very likely under a thousand or more other really mediocre ideas.
Use each of these steps to focus on telling your full story in a clear and concise way. The reader will appreciate it and will probably give it time and consideration, which is probably 30 seconds or less. But again, it only takes a moment to make a good decision. Trust me, the media industry is glowing with content created in this exact way! By following the general guidelines in these examples, you will have a short document that explains your brand vision clearly and professionally.