Screenwriting : Sizzle Reels by Jazmen Darnell Brown

Hi Jazmen, Unless your sizzle reel is completely amazing, I'd probably advise against it. I know a lot of writers do create sizzle reels, shorts or shoot an actual low budget pilot, unfortunately with small (if any budgets) thinking the concept and writing will draw the attention of execs -- and hope they're willing to overlook the imperfections (with the excuse "It's pretty good and we didn't have any money to shoot it! Imagine what we could do if we actually had a budget!") This only works if the idea is truly brilliant and/or the final product is really great. Otherwise, I feel you'd probably be shooting yourself in the foot. Execs are always looking for an excuse to pass. Giving them a mediocre sizzle reel is just that. Budget or not, the sizzle reel would still need to stand on it's own. An enthusiastic and passionate face-to-face pitch (to go with a brilliant pilot script of course) is always the best. The other stuff - sizzle reels, concept art, etc is all just a side show that can either enhance or detract from your pitch, depending on the quality. If you're an established writer/producer with credits and a budget, sizzle reels can be effective. But for most newer writers, it's generally a waste of time and resources. Comedy might be the lone exception, since it doesn't cost anything to make people laugh. So if you wanted to put together a short, pilot or sizzle for your comedy series - and you can do an amazing job with it - then maybe it's something to consider. Regarding "It's Always Sunny...", stuff like that does happen. Heck, "Sh*t my Dad says" was based on a Twitter account! These unusual cases do happen, but as you know, are far from the norm. Just my 2 cents. Best of luck!!