CFC TV PILOT PROGRAM

OVERVIEW
Fast-track your series to im m ediate b roadcaster consideration – D o in m onths what usually takes years
b y sub m itting your series idea to the CFC TV Pilot Prog ram .

The TV Pilot Prog ram is desig ned as a fully-m entored,thoroug h im m ersion in dram atic television series
p roduction and p ackag ing, from concep t rig ht throug h developm ent, to p rep , p roduction, post and
delivery.

The Prog ram seeks to introduce new creators and p roducers to the realities of the broadcast b usiness
and p rovide them with a professional television develop m ent and p roduction exp erience where they will
b e trained to effectively deliver on their series idea. The p rog ram also trains the creative team on how to
b est p ackag e and sell their series in the m arketp lace.

The CFC works with b roadcast p artners to select up to 3 series concepts to further develop, p roduce
and deliver ½ hour p resentation p ilots for ½ hour or hour-long show concep ts. 2006 Broadcast Partners
included CTV, CBC, G lobal, CH U M, The Com edy Network, Showcase, The Movie Network, Movie
Central, Fam ily, and YTV.

Creators and p roducers com p lete the p rog ram with a b roadcast-q uality ½ hour p resentation p ilot that
showcases their creative and p rofessional ab ilities, increases their skills, and exp oses them and their
newly-develop ed series to the television m arketp lace.

Please note that p rog ram details m ay b e sub ject to chang e.

2489 Bayview Avenue | Toronto ON | M2L 1A8 | Canada | Tel: (416) 445-1446 | www.cfccreates.com
PROGRAM TIME LIN E
APPLICATION D EAD LINE – MU LTIPLE D EAD LINES EACH YEAR
The CFC will conduct p hone interviews with team s m oving forward for broadcaster consideration.

SH ORT-LISTED APPLICATIONS SENT TO BROAD CASTERS

The CFC shortlists p rojects b ased on p roject readiness, the creator and p roducer team , as well as m arket
and b roadcaster needs.

BROAD CASTER PITCH ES

Broadcasters short-list p rojects for p itch m eeting s. Short-listed team s are p repared b y the CFC Executive
Producer in Residence on how to take the m eeting and how to b est rep resent their series.

PROJECTS AND TEAMS SELECTED

Broadcasters inform the CFC of the p rojects that they would like to ‘g reenlig ht’for developm ent and
p roduction.

TRAINING AND D EV ELOPMENT – PH ASE I – APROX . 10 W EEK S

The creative team works with m entors to develop the scrip t and series according to b oth b roadcaster
and CFC considerations and notes. At this p oint the team s also particip ate in individually tailored
training and workshop s in order to b oth m ake the team b etter ab le to com p lete the p ilot, as well as to
im p rove their p rofessional skill set b eyond the p rog ram .

TRAINING , D EVELOPMENT AND PREP – PH ASE II – APROX . 4 W EEK S

The team m akes final chang es to the scrip t, assem b les creative keys for CFC and b roadcaster app roval,
holds rehearsals and tab le reads, and readies the p ilot for p roduction.

PROD U CTION W IND OW – 5 D AYS

Team s will go into production only when all b roadcaster and CFC app rovals have b een m et.

POST AND PACK AG ING – 12 W EEK S

FINAL D ELIV ERY

Team s will deliver a p resentation p ilot for b roadcaster evaluation and testing

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APPLICATION & SE LE CTION PROCE SS
The app lication and selection p rocess for the CFC TV Pilot Prog ram is intended to reflect the real world
of television develop m ent as accurately as possib le.

App licants app ly with a full p rop osal for their TV series. The ap p lication m ust include:

- Series p itch (5-7 pag es), including a one p aragrap h overview of the show, concep t, tone,
character descriptions, several sam p le season Istorylines, and the p otential direction for season
II.

- Pilot scrip t (or other rep resentative scrip t for the series) – hour-long shows should subm it an
hour-long scrip t, which will b e altered to fit production p aram eters during developm ent.

- Bios and CV ’s for creator(s) and p roducer(s)

- Preference will b e g iven to team s with television exp erience or credits – the producer m ust have
60 m inutes of p roduced credits or b e p re-app roved b y the CFC

- The creator and p roducer m ust ap p ly as a team .

Creators who do not have a p roducer should contact the TV Pilot Prog ram well in advance of the
ap p lication deadline to discuss p otential producers. Producers who are interested in m eeting with
creators in order to p articip ate in the TV Pilot Program should also contact the CFC as soon as possib le.

All live-action narrative g enres will b e considered – dram a, com edy, m ock-doc, serial, teen, fam ily and
children’s. The CFC will shortlist p rojects according to their creative excellence and series p otential, as
well as their m arket viab ility. Technical and creative innovation is encourag ed, with an eye to low-b udg et
p roduction.

Each prosp ective b roadcaster will b e ap proached with those series p rop osals ap p rop riate to their
p rog ram m ing needs.

All short-listed projects are g uaranteed to b e read b y a m inim um of one broadcast partner. Broadcasters
who are interested in m oving forward with any of the series p rop osals will take p itch/story m eeting s with
the relevant team s.

Broadcast p artners will p rovide an exp edited decision p rocess. U p to three p rojects p er year will b e
g reen-lit, each with its own b roadcast p artner

Short-listed p rojects which are not selected for develop m ent throug h the TV Pilot Prog ram rem ain the
p rop erty of the Creator and Producer team , and the CFC has no further ob lig ation to the p roject.

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TRAIN IN G OVE RVIE W
The TV Pilot Prog ram is an extended training p rog ram for em erg ing television creators and p roducers.

- The p rog ram runs for app roxim ately 6 m onths

- W hile not a full-tim e in session com m itm ent we req uire that the creator and p roducer m ake it
their first p riority

- The TV Pilot Prog ram p rovides m entorship throug hout the entire p rocess

- The TV Pilot Prog ram is not desig ned for creators or p roducers to take on additional key creative
resp onsib ilities (ie. director or editor).

Training is desig ned to address the individual needs of each team and p roject. A m ore com prehensive
p lan and schedule will b e develop ed as soon as the p rojects are g reen-lit. H owever, all team s will
actively p articipate in:

1. D EVELOPM EN T: PH A SE I
As soon as a p roject has b een accepted for develop m ent with a b roadcaster, training b eg ins. The
p rim ary p urpose of this training p hase is for the creator and p roducer to understand the collaborative
and consultative p rocess of ep isodic television. The team m ust learn to serve the creative, while m eeting
b roadcaster considerations.

The Executive Producer in Residence shep herds the creator and p roducer’s individual training , ensuring
that key consultants are availab le during developm ent and p roduction. For exam p le:

- For creators with sig nificant ep isodic exp erience as writers or story editors, the training will
em p hasize their eventual role as Creators on their own series

- For p roducers with sig nificant ep isodic production experience, the training will em p hasize their
creative and broadcast neg otiating skills

The first asp ect of ep isodic p roduction that b oth the creator and p roducer will b e exp osed to is the key
role of the b roadcaster and their inp ut into the shows that they develop . The team will take m eeting s
with b roadcast executives, and receive notes on how the series can b est fit the b roadcaster’s b rand.

- Each team will b e m atched with a story consultant who has sig nificant ep isodic television credits

- The story consultant acts as a creative collaborator in the further developm ent of the b ib le and
p ilot scrip t, and to help the team neg otiate and im p lem ent b roadcaster notes as the scrip t and
b ib le underg o rewrites

D ep ending on the needs of the individual creator and their p roject, the series consultant could b e
another writer, or they could b e a story editor, story consultant, creator, or executive p roducer – they will
not act as writers on the p ilot or b ib le.

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The story consultant will have no further ob ligations to the CFC or the series after the delivery of the
p ilot. Likewise, the CFC and creative team will have no further ob lig ations to the consultant.

The team s will p articip ate in workshop s and sem inars throug hout the course of develop m ent. Som e of
these workshop s include:

- Funding availab le and ap p lication p rocedures

- Clearances and E& O insurance

- Marketing and p ub licity realities and audience developm ent op p ortunities

- K ey casting

- Budg eting for a series

- Packag ing of the series

- D om estic & international m arketp lace/distrib ution

- Shop p ing the series to executive p roducers/p roduction com p anies and m anag ing the executive
p roducer relationship

- Building a writing team

- Protecting interests and rig hts

- The b usiness of m usic

- Business affairs and leg al workshop s

- New technolog ies and how to exp and content b eyond conventional b roadcast.

Team s will also m eet with the various production/p ost sup p liers and the CFC’s p roduction departm ent
to determ ine and negotiate the resources req uired to p roduce their p ilot.

2. D EVELOPM EN T/P REP: PH A SE II

The team p roceeds into form al p rep . They shortlist and p resent creative keys including the director,
editor and cast for Broadcaster ap p roval, as well as hold acting workshops/rehearsals in order to address
any final creative and p roduction considerations.

The team s will work with exp erienced professionals including a location m anag er, production desig ner,
costum e desig ner, casting director, and other key roles in order to b oth learn the considerations of their
p ositions, and to address the p ertinent issues of individual p rojects. These industry p rofessionals will
have no further com m itm ent to the team or the project, b ut if req uired, they m ay b e broug ht on as
m entors b y the CFC.

At the end of Phase II, the team will have m ade all necessary adjustm ents to the script, assem b led the
creative and production team , and readied the presentation p ilot for p roduction.

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3. P ROD U C TION & POST-P ROD U C TION & D ELIVERY
These p ilots will dem onstrate industry standard p roduction values.

- Each p ilot will b e shot within a 5-day shooting schedule, and will adhere to CFC union/g uild
ag reem ents and rep orting p rocedures

- Like all of the other CFC p roductions, the p ilots will recruit exp erienced and em erg ing volunteer
cast & crews

- Each production team will b e g iven m odest cash b udgets and access to in-kind deals with
Toronto’s top p roduction supp liers and p ost facilities

- Each team will have up to 12 weeks for p ost-p icture & sound and delivery

- Technical sp ecifications of individual b roadcasters will b e m et

- The p rog ram will introduce the creator and p roducer,as well as their series, to a num b er of
p roduction com panies in order to solicit their interest, feedb ack and sup port of the show and
team . This p rocess will ideally help b roker future relationship s b etween the team s, executive
p roducers and p roduction com panies

The CFC owns the com p leted p ilots, b ut the creator retains cop yrig ht of his or her written work sub ject
to the CFC having the rig hts needed to facilitate p lacing the p roject with a p roduction com p any and/or
b roadcaster.

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TH E ROLE OF TH E B ROAD CASTE R
Broadcasters are involved in every stag e of the p rocess, and the creative team should exp ect to g o
throug h the norm al rig ors associated with b roadcaster inp ut. In keep ing with standard p ractice, the
b roadcaster will work closely with the team s to provide feedb ack, counsel and app rovals, som e of which
include:

- Creative inp ut into the direction of the p ilot script, series p ackag e, key cast & crew, and
p roduction concerns/decisions

- All crucial stag es of p roduction and p ost p roduction, including roug h cut and fine cut screening s
and final m ix

Broadcaster developm ent of the TV Pilot does not include a license to b roadcast. H owever, b roadcasters
will have:

- the op tion to license and b roadcast the com p leted p ilots

- the op tion of further develop ing the concep t, test-m arketing , or ordering the series for
p roduction

- the rig ht of first neg otiation to license the series for production with the team s at industry
standard rates

If you are interested in ap p lying, or req uire m ore inform ation, p lease contact the CFC TV Pilot
Coordinator at tvp ilot@ cfccreates.com .

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