Pitch Bible
- penspeare
- Mar 6, 2023
- 12 min read
Updated: May 15, 2023
Contents
The Brief
Revised Treatment for The Brief
Poster Development
Pitch Bible Layout Development
Background Development
The Brief
Pitch idea - synopsis, tagline, title, poster/Netflix title card image
Character concepts and biographies
Basic outline/story of episodes
Background concepts and digital paintings/layouts of at least one internal and external environment
Production plan - showing list of tasks and approaches - similar to a Gantt chart but without dates
Style of show, target age/audience, animation genre/medium
No animation necessary
Think about pipeline, jobs, tasks, approaches
Not based on existing show/characters, but can use references/style pointers from current things as reference
Informal presentation of work and development in Week 12 for feedback
Final submission: Blog and reflective development and digital file submission with final pitch in PDF document
15th May 5pm - 40%
Production bible submitted as standalone digital PDF, collated into book/project, and uploaded straight to either Dropbox or to Blackboard
Research
Make sure you watch shows, and look at other pitch bibles - you have an entire folder on your desktop for this already!
Creative Outputs
Reflective Blog
Digital Portfolio - have this as a separate page JUST IN CASE
Creative Files
Do think about how the actual pitch bible looks; the layout and design. So things like font choice will be considered.
Introduction
Two twenty-something women meet in college and discover a mutual interest that they wish to explore without judgment. They soon release an extraordinary infamous evil that turns out to be pretty harmless actually.
(It's a little too long at the moment, but you get the idea)
Originally, I had conceived the idea for this series with creepypastas or stories from /r/nosleep I'd read around 2012 as the rituals that the two had released unwittingly, but I want to put it more in line with my previous module's assignment regarding the mock PhD proposal. The title of the topic was "Re-Inventing The Devil as the Personification of Humanity in Animation to Encourage Cathartic Reflection". So, the re-vamped version now has the two women accidentally summoning Satan, but he turns out to be a big softie that just wants to keep to himself. However, because of this, they have also inadvertently released a few other demons much to his dismay. Now, they have to fix it, or else he'll not be mad, just really, really disappointed.
Something, something the demons will parallel with the themes of each episode. These themes will also directly correlate with how The Devil has been used as both a scapegoat over the centuries for humanity's vices, but also as a liberator for the marginalised groups of society.
Here's the rough treatment bible (all text based, sorry) that I put together along with bits and pieces of research in early 2021 before I started the course. I like that I'm able to look back on it now with fresh eyes, and I can see what I want to keep, scrap, or develop:
[I've submitted as a separate text-based PDF]
...And that's what I had lurking on my desktop for nearly two years! I actually did want to use it for something major in the Masters while I have the support network to develop it properly, so I'm glad I wrote everything down.
Revised Treatment for the Brief
I'm working on a text-based pitch bible for it that I'll have to upload once I've finalised it, but I don't really want to mess around with my development and thought process in here, so I'll be sure to clarify the differences here!
[It's also included as a separate text-based PDF in the submission]
What is it?
Comedy-horror; pastiche
Monster of the week esque, a bit like Scooby Doo, but with an overarching plot;
Somewhat of a pastiche to The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo, at least in terms of the "get the ghosts back into the chest" aspect
It's a nod to a lot of fun comedy-horror movies, or campy movies, especially the Scooby-Doo! franchise, particularly the '80s and '90s direct-to-video movies, that also tipped its hat to those kind of films. As well as series of the likes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that had, not only an overarching plot, but a bit of a monster-of-the-week format for their episodes.
I've always loved that dark aesthetic with goofy, bright undertones, so that's why these kind of films appeal to me. I looked at games like Lollipop Chainsaw which is a fun one, as the main character, Juliet, seems to see the supernatural - that she was already aware existed - as more of an annoyance than anything! Or, in the live action movie Shaun of the Dead, where the titular character sees the sudden emergence of the supernatural as an opportunity to both prove himself and to finally get his act together.
The Setting
Two lady spooky nerds meet at their technical college. This particular technical college works in a very similar way to The Open University, in that you can make up your own degree, so they have picked a bunch of random modules or subjects that help them tailor their own degree for their own specific needs and career choice that makes it as relevant to them as possible.
Set in Belfast. One of the protagonists is from Belfast, whereas the other is from America or somewhere else, and I want her to act as the audience surrogate so that not only does it highlight Belfast as an actual existing place in the world, but it helps to expand the audience to feel less alienated while learning about the location setting as they go along. Played for laughs as well as a duo, but in a fun and friendly way.
Episode List
I actually have a full on series list, beyond just the four episodes that are required in the brief, so I will have to copy and paste them in here later.
(For the major project, I want to see about making a proof of concept video, but we'll see where I'm at skills-wise. If not a full piece (unlikely, to be honest), then I'd love to try to get some storyboards and possibly animatics drawn up for it)
Pilot/Episode One
They summon Satan, who turns out to actually be pretty cool. But oopsie! they also unleash a bunch of other demons and spirits who are a lot less cool, ranging from mildy obnoxious to straight up evil. They let them out, so they have to wrangle them back in.
Episode Two
[...]
Episode Three
So...please don't laugh at me, but I have always wanted to write a rock opera. Probably why I loved the video game Brutal Legend so much, and I used to obsessively listen to Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell on repeat in the late '90s/early '00s. So here's a musical episode.
Here the spooky nerds have encountered the Virtuoso Demon! Life has turned into a musical.
I kind of want it so it only affects these two, so they have to work around it, and they have their own audible theme music going on as well, so they have to figure out clever ways to avoid it. Like a lot of magical based media, it's tied to their emotions and, just like every musical, songs are generally based on both pivotal and emotional emotions [lol Anni what], so this will be fun for them.
Another point to note here is that Aoife lives with her deaf mother; both of them communicate with one another using sign language; it was always something I wanted to incorporate in the series, just as a normal "this is just a part of her life" thing (loved that one episode in The Little Mermaid animated series with the deaf mermaid, and that always stuck with me), but there's a joke in the episode that plays on Aoife's aloofness in that she generally sings to herself anyway, so she doesn't notice the supernaturally musical turn her life has taken for the day and, because her mum's deaf, she is completely blissfully unaware for ages. Selena, on the other hand, is pretty mortified and painfully aware of what's going on.
I also want this to serve has the "light-hearted" episode before the stakes get pretty serious for the finale, like I see in a lot of series. Emotionally easing the audience into the drama and all that!
Episode Four [...]
Satan is returned to his realm, and they all share an emotional goodbye.
Poster Development
I ran out of time to actually finish this the way I wanted to, but here's my process for mocking it up and the general idea I was intending to go with:
Characters
Aoife
She is super into her set design and animatronics. She is really interested in puppeteering and all the practical effects of cheesy horror movies of yore, and enjoys set dressing for plays and the like. She's bisexual which shouldn't really matter, but it's seen as a naughty word, so we're gonna highlight it every chance we get.
She loves her hard rock and classic heavy metal. Possibly the album art that inspired her to get into prop design and set building.
Aoife Visual Development
Selena
Eco-cyber-goth, big into her Wicca, but is pretty agnostic about it. She doesn't take it too seriously but enjoys the communal aspect, and "finding herself", whatever that means. She isn't quite sure herself yet, but she's working on it.
She loves her dark wave.
She's a bit of an audience surrogate type of character as well. I want the series set in Belfast but, so as not to potentially alienate the audience but to also try to draw in a bigger one, she has moved over from America to study and/or start anew, so there will be instances where she is unsure of certain cultural aspects or confused about slang. This way a wider audience can be reached, while also not completely binning the desired setting because it's "unfamiliar".
Selena Visual Development
Mood board with cyber-goths and alternative girls.
More brainstorming for Selena; combining the look of Cammie Gilbert from the doom-metal band Oceans of Slumber and Lucia Ciferelli from industrial metal/dance-rock band K.M.F.D.M., then I had to include some cartoon inspirations, such as Luna from the fictional band from the Scooby-Doo! franchise, The Hex Girls. She's a good inclusion as that's the sort of artistic style I'd like the series to go into.
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/535998793142155211/ [Accessed: 13/04/2023]
The Devil development
I realised as I was working out the character that the concept is quite similar to The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy where the two leads trick the Grim Reaper into becoming their best friend forever, whereas in this series, two college students accidentally bind The Devil to their one of their rooms except, unlike Grim, The Devil doesn't really care and sees it as a holiday and is a lot more passive about it. I think they could be friends though.
Similarly, the titular Lucifer is "on holiday", although he's more avoiding his albeit unfairly appointed cosmic duties and indulging in life's pleasures. This devil just wants to read and sip tea and not draw too much attention to himself.
Demons and Ghosts
Virtuoso Demon
I've only really had time to develop this guy as a smaller character. He's been quite intrusive in my head for the entire time, so he's been a lot easier and a lot more fun to develop as a result.
He's inspired by a lot of glam rock and metal that leans more on the spooky spectrum, like with Lordi, or So Long Until the Séance. I included some Dave Gahan from Depeche Mode because he has such a fantastic and animated stage presence that I wanted to invoke for the Virtuoso Demon; similar to Mike Tipping from So Long Until the Séance, especially with the switch between clean and unclean vocals that give two possible sides to the character... a silly, sometimes prankster version that doesn't take anything too seriously, then a side you never want to see.
My friend said he reminded him of Steven Tyler from Aerosmith and, just as I was about to argue that I didn't see it, then I found this photo:
Background Development
Again, crunched for time (the perfect time for Photoshop to start lagging on me, great), so I just put a quick brainstorm board together for The Devil's Domain, A.K.A. the refurbished loft room in Aoife's house.
This page is doubling as the interior background as well as the character introduction page for The Devil. Photoshop is, at the moment of posting this, lagging like crazy on me so it's a bit of a pain, but it gets the general idea across, so that I'm happy enough with. There's placeholders here, but they'll be replaced with descriptions and titles.
Here's some more background development:
Graveyard brainstorm board for the external background. I just quickly grabbed some photographs online of graveyards I liked the look and space of (if time permitted - and I intend to do this at a later date - I'd go out "location scouting" to really old, local graveyards and take my own photos), as well as some from existing media, such as the live action Hocus Pocus, and Scooby-Doo! Meets the Boo Brothers, a Scooby-Doo movie from the '80s, as this series is heavily inspired by that franchise. Both are comedy-horrors, so that fits the genre perfectly!
Pitch Bible Layout Development
I didn't get anywhere near as much of this done in the end as I would have liked, but the general idea was to have the pitch bible laid out as if it could have been a mini-episode in comic book form. It has the two lead characters on their way to class, going through their morning routine, while also showcasing in a "show, don't tell" way that demonstrates the characters' personalities. Their "biographies" within the pitch bible are their personal statements that they wrote (wow, that was hard to do) to apply to their in-universe technical college, and how they end up meeting for the first time. The style of writing also demonstrates what they are like as characters, e.g. Aoife's sounds a little simple-minded and is riddled with spelling mistakes as writing isn't really her forté, while Selena's is quite elegant, so they complement how the characters also look, while also giving us an indication on how they act.
Additionally to how they act, Selena very calmly - and as her name suggests - makes her way to class at a leisurely pace, while Aoife has slept in and is literally sprinting through the pitch bible; both of them passing episodes and other characters, melding a mini-story within the pitch bible together with information about the series that makes it a little more engaging.
I'm going to work on this after and give it a lot more TLC, as I think a lot of other things got in the way of it and it was pushed aside a lot.
I really love how in the Adventure Time pitch bible that characters, as they are introduced to the reader, would tend to interact with each other. It makes it a lot more interesting to read and, again, engaging for the reader.
I didn't have time to really, really perfect the look of the bible; so, there are some layout "doozies" that I want to fix after the submission deadline, such as maybe some text alignment issues, and playing around a bit more with other visual layouts.
Pitch Bible Layout Thumbnails
I was really crunched for time, so I had to find some resources online to work a bit smarter, for example: Aoife's personal statement is on a crumpled bit of file paper. I found some templates online to write over the top of them in Photoshop, like this:
Series and Movie References and Inspiration Stuff
Batman Beyond;
Castlevania, Netflix series; I say this series because of the animation studio, Texas-based Powerhouse, and the fact that the tend to launch their shows on Netflix
Trese; Some modern urban fantasy that also fits the general style and aesthetic of the series.
13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo;
Various direct-to-video Scooby Doo films from '80s/'90s:
Witch's Ghost
Zombie Island
Boo Brothers
Ghoul School;
Freakazoid!
The Real Ghostbusters
Buffy the Vamipire Slayer; [1997-2004ish], dir. J. Whedon;
Shaun of the Dead (2004), dir. E. Wright;
Possible Production Plan and Rough Pipeline
I ran out of time to make the pitch bible super pretty and adding a rough production plan to the document itself, but I'd like to discuss it a bit just here anyway.
Who'll Work on it and How is it Managed?
I would absolutely use Discord as the "studio" to wrangle people together, and organise meetings through the voice chat feature, a bit like how I implemented it in our group project. I could make specific channels for the different departments, for the "boring" stuff like budgeting, deadlines, etc.
I use Twitter a lot and I try to be active in the animation pool as it's actually quite good for networking. I've genuinely made friends, or at least friendly acquaintances with people, so it would be great to be able to create jobs through that as well, and potentially recruit people that way. So many people showcase their animatics work, their special effects work, etc. on Twitter and there is so much engagement with other independent shows made, and between the people who work on them.
How will it be Done?
2D animation all the way. I'd want the series to be made via Toon Boom because it's decent animation software that is also considered industry standard. Although, because it's an urban fantasy horror piece, it could benefit from some fun effects made with Adobe's After Effects. I would want it to be hand drawn, however; there are some instances where I think 2D rigging might be more beneficial (for example, although I haven't gone into detail with her, Aoife's mum appears a few times in the series who is deaf, so she signs. I think it would probably be easier to rig this), however; I don't have experience in that, so I may have to look into that a bit further. Ideally I'd want it to be traditionally drawn where possible though.
I want to take my pitch bible further beyond the assignment for it, so I'll be working on it a lot more in my major project module, so I think I'll be working that out in a lot more detail (then also perfecting the bible itself).
The biggest issue is budgeting and getting people to care about it, as I'd want to keep it independent. Having a small team of people working on a pilot, which will likely take about 2 years, honestly. I'm basing this on having seen Hazbin Hotel being made, and how they were hyping up the series by posting songs and animatics and, regarding the timeframe, it took about 2 years for it to come to full fruition. For this series, however, I'd want to make some animated shorts, a bit like the commercial bumpers I saw in the 2000s for existing animated shows. For my major project, I'd like to create a short "proof of concept" video for the series and, if I take it further beyond that, I'd want to make a few more, and hopefully that'll help build an audience and interest surrounding it.
Further References
How to Create an Animated Series Pitch Bible in 2023, Jauiden Llanes. 6th February 2022, via YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8oEYBmqeJg [Accessed: 16/02/2023];
via YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW_-zpKU-cU [Accessed: 16/02/2023]; (his example is kind of long for a logline, but anyway; the rest of the video is very informative);
[Insert your books on: "Writing for Television"; "Writing for Animation"; Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics"];
Some resources for making pitch bible:
Available at: http://freewallpaperdekstop008.blogspot.com/2010/04/old-books-and-papers-set.html [Accessed: 13/05/2023];
File paper templates Available at: https://timvandevall.com/templates/notebook-paper-template/ [Accessed: 13/05/2023];
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