Script writing - how to get your PD or Sales Exec onside with your idea
Great script writing is a real art, but also a skill that can be developed and improved with practise and experience. There are SO many facets to it that it’s not possible or practical to cover them all in one short, digestible blog post. In future posts we’ll delve into a bit more detail, but today I wanted to focus on ONE thing - BUY-IN.
Whether it be the Program Director, Sales Exec/Account Manager, a direct client, whatever… at some point, you’re going to need to sell your idea or concept to one of the above in order to get it to air. One of the greatest pieces of advice I ever received on this front was this - the key is to get them to buy-in to your idea early, in such a way that they come to think it was THEIR idea in the first place.
I’m sure there’s a psychological trick or technique in here somewhere (anyone who knows about psychology, let me know!), but it’s definitely effective. Maybe it’s because they feel closer to the idea, with it being ‘theirs’? Perhaps. I’ve employed this technique multiple times throughout my career, and more often than not - it works. There’s always tweaks to the copy, the nuts and bolts as you’d expect. But using the above technique, the concept usually survives.
Great… so how do I do it?
I’m not talking about hypnosis or any kind or mind control here…. or even quirky psychological tricks. More like planting the seed of an idea early on in the process, a couple days before you make the finished piece, or at a team meeting leading up to an event. Sometimes deadlines won’t allow it, I get that… but for topics or events that are pre-planned, it’s perfect. For example, a festival or competition that runs every year. You know it’s coming, so get that seed planted for your crazy concept early on. Exactly how you do it all depends on the person you’re convincing. If you have a good personal and professional relationship with them and a healthy level of respect both ways, it’s going to increase your chances. And be subtle! Don’t ram it down their front and expect them to swallow it no questions asked.
An Example
I remember seeing a friend of mine (and excellent producer) Denzil Lacey post about this recently on social media, so thought I’d reach out and ask him to contribute to this blog. Here he gives an example of something similar he’s used to great effect.
In my spare work-time, I script and generate concepts and fully produce them to pitch to various Programme Directors across different channels on SiriusXM. More often than not, the concepts then end up on-air or are tweaked slightly to fit into a different element altogether. This is the type of production that excites me, because it hasn't been asked for - and it can really boost the overall sound as it can often be off-the-wall or out of the box. It also breaks up the daily grind and can make me work harder to create something that hasn't been heard before.
In February, I was on a Youtube rabbit-hole and I remembered I had a kid's VTech Laptop in the mid-90s and it had a "melody maker" mode. I remember the stock voice with the kids laptop was very striking and it comes into my head every so often. So, I found a guy who uploaded a video with all the stock sounds from the same laptop I had. I decided to work it into a show opener for a Throwback Hour on Diplo's own SiriusXM Channel.
I wrote down a basic story-board of how the piece would pan out. The concept was to be that Diplo was creating a melody on the device, so I even created an 8-bit version of "Daft Punk - Around The World". The programme director loved it instantly and replaced the old opener with this one.” - Denzil Lacey | Sirius XM.
Cheers to Denzil for the above, it’s a a good example of what I’m talking about. If you want to check him out, hit up http://denzillacey.com
So, next time you have an off-the-wall or crazier than usual concept, give the above technique a try. Maybe it’ll work!
Agree, disagree, thoughts, examples of something similar? Let us know in the comments.
Cheers,
Adam.