Chris Cantrill is part of our Comedy Room writer development group for 2018/19. He recently attended our introduction to writing for Children's day which is run at Media City in Salford in conjunction with the Drama Room writer development group.
Hello! I鈥檓 Chris, one of the 2018 Comedy Room intake*. My background is in live performance and I write and perform as one half of Yorkshire鈥檚 finest, meat-themed double act, . We鈥檝e been described as a 鈥楥annon & Ball鈥� meets 鈥楬ellraiser鈥� - it鈥檚 safe to say, we鈥檙e niche**.
At the time of writing, we鈥檝e had three Comedy Room sessions***. The first was about writing topical comedy, the second looked at the world of sitcom and today鈥檚 session focused on writing for younger audiences.
As the really tired dad of a two-year-old, I know their minds are terrifying, snack-fuelled chaos machines. A typical conversation with my son will go like this:
鈥淕ood morning!鈥�
鈥淒inosaur! Does Mummy have a bottom? Snack!鈥�
So, writing for children was a definitely a daunting prospect but after today it鈥檚 one I鈥檓 very excited about.
The schedule for the day was packed with speakers working in the different departments involved in producing 大象传媒 content for children. The Scripted Development team took us through the shows they make and how they develop the concepts. We heard about the exciting new ways in which Digital Content is changing how we tell and consume stories. We also learnt about the extra precautions you鈥檒l need to consider when writing for a pre-school audience.
Pitching 101
After lunch we split into groups and had to pitch an idea for a scripted show to John Knowles and Hannah Smith from the 大象传媒 Animation Department.
I鈥檓 sure to most rational folk, this is a truly chilling prospect****. However, it鈥檚 a skill you鈥檒l need in the wheelhouse. Being able to clearly articulate your vision for a project is the difference between it getting made or being quietly added to the dreaded C-drive mausoleum of unseen scripts.
Here are my tips:
Do
- Be creative! A pitch sits in a weird space between performance and business presentation. On one hand, you鈥檙e trying to sell a creative idea which should be exciting. The flipside being, it鈥檚 still a commercial proposal, so avoid making it a cringe comedy routine.
- Define your audience. 6 - 12 years old is a huge developmental chasm and finding something that pleases both ends of the spectrum is unlikely.
- Be concise and read the commissioning requirements. You should be able to define your idea in a couple of sentences.
- Listen to feedback. Being able to collaborate is essential and it鈥檚 the production team鈥檚 job to make sure your idea is as polished as possible before they sink a stack of cash. It doesn鈥檛 mean that you have to agree on everything but if a note is being made it鈥檚 most likely highlighting an issue which needs fixing.
顿辞苍鈥檛
- Download an air horn app to signal your presentation has ended.
- Respond to feedback by screaming, 鈥渢his interview is over!鈥�
- Interrupt the pitch with a fake call from the head of ITV in a futile attempt to initiate a bidding war.
Overall, it was a really fun and interesting day. Being part of the Comedy Room has been a fantastic experience. I鈥檝e had amazing opportunities, learnt from masters of the craft and been introduced to a peer group of hard-working, very funny oddballs.
That said, the 大象传媒 is a public body and there are many opportunities for everyone to submit work or learn more. It was either Pablo Picasso or Syd Little who said, 鈥淚nspiration exists, but it has to find you working鈥� and that鈥檚 probably the most valuable lesson I鈥檓 taking from the Comedy Room. You have to be working on stuff all the time and sometimes it really is as simple as sending an email and saying, 鈥榟ello鈥�.
Now, I've got to get back to some top-notch dadding as it鈥檚 just dawned on me I haven鈥檛 seen the lad in over an hour.
* The other Comedy Roomers call me 鈥楾he Cool Beatboxing One鈥�. Yeah? Guys?!
**Or in the words of an audience member in Cardiff, 鈥渃ease and desist.鈥�
****Scared of speaking aloud and failure? I鈥檇 recommend the immersive therapy of stand up comedy!