TOP TEN FINALISTS:
(alphabetical by pitch title)
Assisted Living: Brian Atchue
Blackacre: Richard Hillary
Crack-Duck: Danny Lacy
Dog Park: Sara Osburn
Gold: Kelly Brown
I Made America: Marc Muszynski
Kid Hermes: The Animated Series: Adam Blazak
Perennial: Cait Walsh
Pro: John Valley
The It Couple: Danielle Turchiano
SUBMISSIONS ARE OFFICIALLY CLOSED
Join us at the festival on Sunday, June 9 to watch the top ten finalists pitch LIVE to a panel of industry judges who will pick a single winner.
Do you have an idea for a TV show?
Something ground-breaking and fascinating? Perhaps a re-imagining of a classic series? Or some kind of Arrested Development meets Melrose Place meets The Usual Suspects? A story begging to be told episodically, now if only you could be stuck in an elevator with a powerful studio executive or producer, you would have just enough time to make them see its potential immediately!
ATX Television Festival and Final Draft are offering you that chance in our PITCH COMPETITION. You have ninety seconds to sell us on your original idea for a scripted series. Pitch any kind of show you want: a ½ hour for a traditional network, an hour drama for cable, a hybrid for original online content. Our only guideline is that it be for a scripted (non-reality) series and pitched in under a minute and half.
ATX Television Festival is creating an invaluable opportunity for industry hopefuls to gain rare access to the creative minds behind TV and some of the studios’ biggest decision-makers!
ATX Television Festival will screen all submissions and choose TWENTY-FIVE (25) semi-finalists to be judged by our panel of industry professionals including: Bill Lawrence (Creator/Producer of Scrubs and Cougar Town), Bryan Seabury (VP of Drama Development at CBS Network), Liz Tigelaar (Creator of Life Unexpected & writer on American Dreams, Nashville, and Revenge), Kyle Killen (Creator of Lone Star & Awake), Peter Billingsley (Executive Producer of Sullivan & Son, Dinner for Five, and Executive at Wild West Picture Productions), David Hudgins (Executive Producer of Friday Night Lights & Parenthood), and special guest judges, who will narrow the 25 semi-finalists down to TEN (10) finalists.
These TEN (10) finalists will compete at ATX Television Festival to pitch with twice the amount of time! Individuals or teams will get three minutes to pitch before a live audience to our panel of industry judges who will choose a single winner to then pitch to an ACTUAL DECISION-MAKER.
For more videos check out our video page here
How To Submit
Submitting is as easy as 1…2…3…
1) Have an idea. Got it? Good.
2) Film your 90 second pitch, and then upload it an unlisted video on YouTube (See – What is an unlisted YouTube video). This can be as simple as recording yourself on your iPhone OR as elaborate and high production value as you want to go. It’s your call, just keep it under 90 seconds (anything over will be disqualified and non-refundable).
3) Fill out the form below by accepting terms and conditions, entering your information, paying the $25 submission fee through Amazon Payments, and entering your unlisted YouTube link. Click Submit, and you’re done!
Good luck!
** You will get a confirmation email from pitch@atxfestival.com. If you don’t, please email the same address with your information for details.
Prize Breakdown
ALL ENTRIES:
ALL ENTRIES will receive a discount code for 25% off the latest version of FINAL DRAFT (retailing at $249). Use it to write the treatment or pilot with the best writing software on the market. Courtesy of our sponsor, FINAL DRAFT.
In addition, all entries will receive a $25 coupon code off any level of ATX Television Festival badge.
These two discounts/coupons more than pay for the $25 submission processing fee!
** Codes will be distributed at the end of the submission period and will be good for 2 weeks from the date of receipt. Festival badges subject to capacity. If badge is purchased and contestant makes FINALS or SEMI-FINALS ATX Television Festival will refund the purchase price. FINAL DRAFT purchases are final.
SEMI-FINALIST RUNNER-UPS:
FIFTEEN (15) runners-up (from the 25 semi-finalist group) will receive Panel badges to the Festival, allowing them to see any panels, including the Final Pitch Competition.
FINALISTS:
TEN (10) finalists will compete at ATX Television Festival (June 6-9, 2013) in Austin, TX [NOTE: travel not included] to pitch before the panel! Individuals or teams will have three minutes to convince judges in front of a live audience that they have the best TV show idea.
The TEN (10) finalists will each receive a Weekend badge to the Festival, plus two tickets to opening night premiere screening and after-party to start the festival off right, PLUS the most recent copy of FINAL DRAFT, thanks to our competition sponsors, Final Draft! Take your pitch that got you in the top ten and write the treatment and pilot script using the best writing software on the market.
WINNER:
Our panel of judges will choose ONE winner after hearing the 10 live pitches. This winner will receive a meeting with one of our judges (based on the show’s genre/judges’ availability) to explore the idea of his/her series and gain notes to better develop the series. After the pitch is honed, the winner will then get a pitch meeting in front of one of our studio/network partners (again, dependent on the show’s genre and style) to try and sell his or her pilot for production.
Submission Fee: $25
Dates
- Competition Launch: November 1, 2012
- Submissions End: January 18, 2013
- 25 Semi Finalists Announced: February 18, 2013
- 10 Finalists Announced: March 28, 2013
- Finalists must confirm attendance: April 11, 2013
Judges
- Bill Lawrence, Creator/Producer of Scrubs and Cougar Town
- Bryan Seabury, VP of Drama Development at CBS Network
- Liz Tigelaar, Creator of Life Unexpected & writer on American Dreams, Nashville, Revenge
- Kyle Killen, Creator of Lone Star & Awake
- Peter Billingsley, Executive Producer of Sullivan & Son, Dinner for Five, and Executive at Wild West Picture Productions
- David Hudgins, Executive Producer of Friday Night Lights & Parenthood
- Dina Hillier, Former VP of Comedy Development at Sony Pictures Television
Information on competition sponsor,
Final Draft
For over 20 years, Final Draft, Inc. has published Final Draft® software – the number-one selling screenwriting application in the world. Final Draft software paginates and formats your script to industry standards allowing the story to be the writer’s main focus. Our other resources for writers include the BigBreak Contest – an annual screenwriting contest designed to launch careers; the Insider View Webinars – in-depth interviews with industry professionals; and ScriptXpert coverage services. The recently launched Final Draft Writer and Final Draft Reader mobile apps for iPad allow you to write, edit, read and annotate FDX files easily anywhere, anytime. To learn more visit www.finaldraft.com