"Training It" - Final Blog about SDCC 2013

            We use to call it the San Diegan, then in the year 2000 Amtrak decided to remain the train and it's been the Pacific Surfliner ever since.

            And so it was the Pacific Surfliner that Shannon and I traveled on down to the San Diego Comic Con International and then back home again.

            It is a great way to travel. Sitting back and relaxing, take a nap, read a book or write one. Sure beat being trapped in traffic on the 5 Freeway.

             It was also a whole lot less expensive then trying to get a hotel room.

            The only bad part of it was that we had to get back to the station about an hour before the train was scheduled to depart. We had reserved tickets, but for SDCC there were so many people getting on board that it filled up fast and we wanted to make certain we sat together (twice on the way down, we had to sit separately for about half the trip). On top of everyone trying to get down to the Comic Con, that was also the opening weekend for the Del Mar racetrack. Along with the over two hundred people that got on at the start, there would be nearly another two hundred there.

            So we couldn't attend any of the movie screenings or events that were held at night, because if we missed the last train we'd be probably be sleeping the train station or in Hall H. (Shudder the thought.)

            Having to wait in a line to catch the train sometimes proved to me entertaining then waiting to get into a panel at the convention.

            On Friday evening we got in line and as we waited three limo drivers showed up. One was a woman, and she must have found her client because wasn't there for long. The other two drivers were waiting for the arrival of the train from Los Angeles, which we would be catching to go home.

            One of the drivers held up a sign that read the name of a television production company. Of course I took notice of this since it is a company I would really like to work for. The other driver talked with him for a bit so it was clear they would be picking up clients that were part of the same party. So Shannon and I began to have fun anticipating who might be arriving from Hollywood for the convention.

            A few minutes before the train arrived, a woman walked up to the two limo-drivers and introduced herself. She was obviously there to make certain the VIPs arrived safely.

            She was really devoted to the job assigned to her, because making certain the limo drivers were there, and checking with the ticket booth for when the train would be arrived, wasn't enough for her.

            Her job, as studio representative, must have depended on making certain these actors arrived safely, because when the train did arrive. She marched forward through the arriving passengers until she found someone.  Then the studio rep brought the VIP over to the limo drivers, and turned right around swam up stream through the crowd, located another actor and brought him back.  She did this a third time. It was like lifeguard jumping into the water and bringing drowning people to shore from a sinking boat. (The metaphor doesn't quite work with a train.)

            Her bosses must have been upset that their stars were willing to travel with the great unwashed.

            I wonder how she survived getting each of her VIPS through the Convention up to whatever room they were going to have a panel in.

            That was Friday evening.

            On Saturday, the show was not who was passing by, or getting off the train, but rather who was waiting in the line with us.

            I'm not a name dropper so won't go into that because I respect the privacy of my fellow professionals, but it was really great to be among these people.

            Along with fellow animation writers who had been at the gathering earlier in the evening. There were also guests of the Con. One I actually got to speak with briefly about board games and being a nerd (oops I said too much.)

            The lesson in all that is, the best entertainment and networking doesn't always happen on the Con floor, and take the train you'll meet a whole lot more people then when you're stuck in traffic on the 5.       

            And so I end my set of blogs about Sand Diego Comic Con 2013.  Hope you enjoyed.

San Diego Comic Con 2013 and #Mission818

As I write this thousands of people are arriving into San Diego for Comic Con International and many are attending "Preview Night".  I've never been there on Wednesday nights. It originally was a special "Preview" for professionals and retailers, but now it has grown to be nearly as busy as every other day at Con.

Shannon Muir and I will attend the convention Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We are riding Amtrak trains to and from San Diego each day, but it is much more inexpensive and relaxing than trying for a hotel room.

We attend Con to meet up with many of our professional friends and network with many of the companies in attendance.

This year I am bringing #MISSION818 with me.

If you've been around my blog long enough, or a regular visitor and follower of my facebook or twitter feed you'll know what #MISSION818 is. For those that don't here is a brief description.

Shannon and I are engaged to be married, and I plan to move to be with her in the Glendale/Burbank area, and so my Mission is find employment in or around the 818 area code before our wedding.

I would prefer to find employment with an animation production company or comic book publisher, but am open to other positions and companies in that region.

I am a scriptwriter, having written professional in television animation, and been hired to develop series for independent producers. I am also a comic book illustrator, novelist, and book cover artist.

If I could have the exact job I'm after it would Senior Vice President of TV Animation Series Development, but that's not going to happen right away. In the mean time I'll be quite happy to assist the guy in the position now.  I'll even bring my own broom.

For my professional friends on facebook and twitter, you know that as I further my career I tag them with #MISSION818. So, this year I will be wearing a #MISSION818 T-Shirt and you all can find me in the Comic Con crowd.  See the photo to know what you're looking for:

Feel free to stop me and say hi, and like my facebook post. More importantly, lets talk about what I can do for you.

Hope to write a Post-Con Blog next week, or maybe some on spot posts to my facebook page while I'm there and let you all know how #MISSION818 worked out.

Thank you all for the support.

Thoughts after Pitching an Animated TV Show. Part 1.

BLOG - Animation Pitch

As promised, here are my first thoughts after having the opportunity to pitch an animated series.

This is not the first time I've pitched to television. The first time was a live action sitcom that I pitched to two of the cable networks. There was some interest but no bite, then an animated series to one of the educational networks. No bite or response there.

I can't tell you a whole lot about the current pitch itself because I expect to hear back from the producer with in the week.

Probably the most frustrating thing of the day was that I was late. Late by only a few minutes, but late all the same. The producer wasn't bothered by this, but it really shouldn't have happen. I'm prone to showing up places early, so this was really bothering me as I was stuck in snail crawling traffic. But I can't let that frustration get to me, admit it, apologize and move on. No excuses.

The next thing that came, as it should, was the casual chitchat. The producer was quite happy to show off how his office was starting to look better since they moved in. They even had their sign up since the last time I was there. We then ended up talking about the fly over of the Space Shuttle Endevour earlier in the day. One of those things that everyone was chatting about that day.  (I got to see it while it flew over Disneyland.) He also asked about how things had been with me since the last meeting. I told him about my part time job at the college's foundation and the scholarships they give out.

Let the producer guide the chat, it's his time and office, so when the moment is right he'll ask to know what you brought.

Based on what we had discussed during our first meeting I put together what I hoped would interest the producer. The first was a pitch for a complete animated comedy adventure series. That was followed up with two 'short subjects'.

I'll admit right here that I stumbled a bit in my transition between one pitch and another. But once I got past that things went smoothly.

When I was done with my three pitches the producer did mention that he had seen something similar to one of them before. Actually, he had seen it a lot, and he explained when he meant. I'm never one to ride the wave of what's currently 'hot'. Know that I won't be pitching any 'sparkly' vampires. The concept of my pitch, however, from what the producer had seen, had been on several people's minds. Sometimes that happens.

This wasn't a rejection, and he went on to say that after he read more of my pitch packet, if it had a unique enough hook there was still a change.

Sure I might be disappointed, but I did understand what he meant. I look forward to his thoughts.

He did react and know exactly what I was going after with one of the other pitches. So that was good.

The meeting was short, nice, and very friendly. Even if nothing further comes out of these pitches, it was a great learning experience. I now can put more notches into my animation development belt and work on the next one based on what I've learned here.

What comes next? More writing, more developing, and more meetings.

That last part for me is the hardest, the networking and getting to know more people to arrange such meetings, but over the last while I am improving with that as well.

This is all part of #Mission818 and things are going along very nicely.

Right now I'm contemplating if there is a way for me to pitch my novel "Revenge of the Masked Ghost" as a live action series. Now to find the right producers that would be interested in talking with me about it.

Thanks all for your support. Hope to tell you more when I hear back from the producer.

Kevin Paul Shaw Broden

Four Names of Professional Creativity

“Don’t take NO for answer!” Right, but it is an answer.

“Don’t take NO for answer!” Right, but it is an answer.
by Kevin Paul Shaw Broden

The other day a friend was griping about being told NO by studio executives after he pitched them a show idea. He was really upset, and needed to vent.

In the back of my mind, I’m screaming, “You Got to Pitch a Show!”

One of the greatest entertainment industry experiences I’ve had so far was when I got to pitch my own television series to two of the cable networks.

The difference between his pitch and my pitch was that he got an answer.

For my friend he received the answer of “No.” For me, I didn’t get any answer at all.

After weeks went by I had to write e-mails and make phone calls until I finally discovered that they had chosen to “pass” on my show. Somehow everyone else knew that both networks had passed on my project except me. They didn’t tell me.

‘Pass’ is another word for ‘No.’

A ‘No’ hurts, but not hearing anything hurts a whole lot more.

I have waited days, weeks, and even months to receive answers from story submissions, art consideration, and even job interviews.

This is one of those places where “no news is good news” doesn’t work. For one reason or another, the person you made contact with just doesn’t get back to you. Yes, a lot of them are busy and even their assistants don’t have the time to respond to every entry that is sitting in their slush pile of scripts, art samples, and resumes. Others however truly don’t like to say ‘no’. That makes them the bad guy, and they don’t want that. If I don’t respond, just take it as a ‘pass’, I don’t want to hurt your feelings.

Whether that’s true for all of them or not, I don’t know. But a form letter would be nice from time to time. At that least that tells me that my manuscript made it to your office. And if it required coverage, there might be a check mark next to the reason you chose to ‘pass’.

It’s an answer.

It might not be the answer you’re wanting, but it is an answer.

Anything beyond a form letter with even the smallest explanations of why they said ‘no’ is also not what you want to receive, but it is what you need to receive.

Now that you have an answer, learn from it, so the next time you submit – whether it's the same pitch or not – you will be better than you were before.

Next, here comes the part where I will freely admit I’m not good at:

Get an answer! Follow up.

Write a brief thank you message to whomever you just met with: the studio executive or the hiring manager, or whoever it. Thank them for taking the time to meet with you and briefly remind them what it was about.

After a couple of weeks if you haven’t heard back, write another short note. Reminding them of you and your project, and you hope to meet with them again whether it is on this or another.

As I admitted, I’m not good at this, but I do my best. My networking skills need improvement, but the only way to improve is to do.

Don’t be rude, but fight to get an answer.

So “Take No for an answer.” Learn from it, find out what they didn’t like. Improve upon it for the next pitch, interview, drawing, or audition. Turn it around and make their next answer to you a ‘YES’.