Make Reality TV & Documentary Series | A Podcast & Blog from TV Producers & Filmmakers Joke and Biagio
How do you get started producing reality tv, documentary series, and unscripted programming? It’s a big question! We’ve been able to produce unscripted television for a while now (over 100 hours and counting) and in our effort to give back to you, have a number of podcasts and posts to help you get around the fun, crazy journey that is our career — using our filmmaking talents to produce reality TV shows.
If you’re going to produce reality TV shows in this day and age, you need to be more than just an “idea” person, more than just a shooter/producer — you need to be a creative filmmaker unafraid to get your hands dirty.
We love meeting aspiring producers who not only want to shoot and/or edit their work, but collaborate with others to make great TV projects.
Whether you want to make films, web series, or produce reality TV shows, if you hope to succeed, you’ll need to come up with great shows, but be willing to reshape those shows as you team up and collaborate with different production companies, networks, or studios.
Below you’ll find our blog posts and podcast episodes about how to produce reality TV shows. As always, we hope the information helps you on your road to success, and we hope that when you do produce reality TV shows — especially your first endeavors — that you’ll consider teaming up with us!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:57 — 25.9MB)
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It’s episode 80 of Producing Unscripted, and today we’re answering your reality tv questions. How to stay creatively motivated? Should you work with a distributor? What concerns change as you earn more success? What’s the best way for a new producer to sell a show? This and more…all thanks to YOUR questions.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:19 — 19.9MB)
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Filming real people is crucial to making unscripted entertainment. It’s also very delicate. It takes trust, respect, forethought, communication, and silly arguments with lawyers. Here are five factors you must consider when filming real people. Don’t roll one second of footage without really thinking these through.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:21 — 18.1MB)
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Your first time on set? Your 1000th? No matter how many times you’ve worked a film or TV set, it’s important to remember setiquette. That’s a fun way of saying “on set etiquette.” The little things that you have no way of knowing if you’re brand new to Hollywood, or that veterans might forget when worn out after a long shoot, can make or break the way other professionals perceive you. So here’s a few tips to make sure your setiquette is running full tilt.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 11:06 — 11.4MB)
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Creative control. It’s something most artists strive for — even demand. At the same time, in the entertainment industry, there are a lot of entities entitled to shape the creative of a TV show or movie. So how much control can you really keep over your projects?
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:44 — 22.1MB)
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Sure, we’ve made a lot of television. Yes, we’ve had a few (small) films in theaters. But there’s always more to learn. And when it comes to pure, unadulterated, guerrilla filmmaking awesomeness, there’s no one better to learn from, more helpful, or just plain cool than Stu Maschwitz. Affectionately known to legions of Twitter fans as @5tu, he’s had a real impact on our careers. Today, we’ll share a few ways Mr. Maschwitz’s advice helped make us successful Hollywood producers. More importantly, we’ll show how @5tu can jumpstart your filmmaking success.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 10:27 — 10.8MB)
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You’re dreaming of working in the entertainment industry. But you have doubts. Are you too young? Too old? Live too far away? You can come up with a million potential stumbling blocks to your career. But is there a reason that you — you personally — can’t make it in Hollywood? Well, believe it or not, there is a simple answer (even if it isn’t an easy one) – and we give you that answer today.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:53 — 24.0MB)
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We just came off of an exhilarating – and exhausting – weekend shooting a cable network pilot for a huge, formatted TV show. In our sleep-deprived, semi-delirious state, it occurred to us this is the perfect time to discuss something we’re asked about often: making TV pilots. Rather than just blathering on (we did mention we’re a little loopy, right?) we’ve put together a list of 5 practical tips to both explore how TV pilots work, and help you when you’re out making TV pilots for yourself.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 7:36 — 7.0MB)
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“Remember, pressure is a privilege.” It was some of most mysterious — and meaningful — advice we’ve ever received. Today, we explain why this nugget of knowledge will keep you sane, drive you to new heights, and sleep better at night. Sometimes.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:05 — 22.4MB)
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TV versus YouTube – it’s something that comes up in discussions with aspiring producers on a daily basis. Why do some shows work better on YouTube than TV? Is TV always better than YouTube? What are the pros and cons of each? Today we’re going to tell you exactly why you may want one platform over another — and we bet many of the reasons will surprise you!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:41 — 22.0MB)
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Happy 2016! Today’s episode is all about new beginnings — in fact, it’s a big picture guide to making film and TV as seen from the point of view of new starts. We’ve made over 100 hours of TV and film. Every second of those final projects exists because we’ve embraced…the art of starting.