The Pilot
I have decided to pursue production of the pilot episode for a series I have tentatively called, The Journeyman. This week, I will be meeting with a producer who has done television development with Jerry Bruckheimer. I am hoping he can point me to some funding options as well as give me the low-down on product placement.
As I seek to “air” this series over the internet, I am also in a position to solicit advertisers. If we shoot this series low-budget and non-union as I expect it to be, we could feasibly shoot the entire 16-episode season for under 100,000. More would be nice and helpful, but it’s possible. If one commercial (positioned at the begginning of the stream, so the show runs uninterrupted) could bring 5,000, that would just about break the series even. It all sounds good on paper, but actually getting sponsors, advertisers, and investors is another story altogether.
Of course, there is the old adage of putting your money where your mouth is. I am going to do that. If I don’t find funding for at least the first four episodes by the end of October, I am going to do my darndest to fund the pilot myself. Doing just the pilot has drawbacks. I’m counting on shooting multiple episodes at the same time to reduce budget and increase story cohesiveness. But with the pilot, we could defer the pay of all the actors, shoot it in a very long and busy week, also picking up crew members who will donate their time for the credit, experience, and the free food on set.
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