With writer's strike and Amazon/Netflix/etc canning a bunch of shows the animation industry for artists seems to have halted. Was wondering if anyone knows if studios are still looking for pitches? Also why do studios mostly only take pitches from represented people? Im trying to make some shows where characters are not all white, we need more stories made by black people for black people.
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There are a number of opportunities to pitch on this platform Andria Besancon . There's even a great animation contest going right now. https://www.stage32.com/happy-writers/contests/4th-Annual-New-Voices-in-.... By the way I am a huge animation fan and I agree that there needs to more diversity in the field. The animation project I'm working on reflects that.
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well, legally, now studios don't have a contract with trade unions, so anyone can submit their projects to producers. but whether they need projects, I do not know.
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From what I've heard, Netflix in particular is difficult to get to pitch to under normal circumstances. You need to have a pre-existing relationship or representation to get in to pitch. If the strikes change that, it would be interesting to hear.
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Hi, Andria Besancon. I'm not sure if Amazon, Netflix, etc. are looking for pitches during the strike, but it's best to wait until the strike is over to pitch to them. Here are the Strike Rules: www.wgacontract2023.org/strike/strike-rules
In the meantime, I suggest everyone work on spec projects and network so they're ready to move their projects when the strike's over.
I'd love to see animated movies and shows with Black cast.
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Maurice Vaughan Yes but animation isn’t under WGA we go by different set of rules. Most animated productions don’t even use WGA writers.
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That is interesting Andria Besancon . Didn’t know animation wasn’t under WGA.
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Martin Reese I’m not 100% sure if feature is different but I work in my television and we are u set TAG. I know the show I last worked on we were not subject to WGA. It’s weird cuz most Animation writers are TAG and some are WGA and there are those that are both. So some shows are affected and some are not.
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Hey Maurice Vaughan checkout MY DAD THE BOUNTY HUNTER on Netflix if you haven't. It's in its second season.
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You're right, @Andria Besancon. I looked it up. It is weird. Are you interested in just the studios? Pitching to smaller companies might be a great idea.
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Martin Reese I don't have Netflix right now, but MY DAD THE BOUNTY HUNTER is on my watchlist now that you mentioned it. Thanks.
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Studios rarely accept unsolicited scripts and pitches primarily for legal reasons, and that is true across the board, not just in animation. It reduces their liability, so you need your pitch to come through an agent or a producer. It's also very difficult to get an external pitch picked up by an animation studio. A lot of them have pitch programs that allow people who work there to submit ideas, and the established artists, directors, story artists, et al, who are already known commodities inside the studio, are constantly pitching ideas, so that's your competition when pitching from the outside.
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I'm not saying it's impossible. It's just very challenging.
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Brian Smith you are on point! I already pitched at the studio i was working at. They had open door policy for their employees. And it’s almost impossible to find an agent they want you to already have a form of media or a WEBTOON before they will even consider you.
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Andria Besancon Funny how there's that catch 22 in this industry where you can't pitch without representation and you can't get representation without something credited under your belt. That's the bane of the existence for nearly anyone in this industry. I think that's why we need more communities like this one to find like minded people that are willing to collaborate and bypass the gate keepers.
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Most studios and networks can't take scripts from non-represented people for legal reasons unfortunately