3 Things we heard at The Telly Awards Digital Brunch + IFP Pitch Day

Regardless of whether a project is fiction or documentary, has a fantastic concept or a highly polished script, the people behind the project will always be key to its success. The panel consistently wanted to know more about the creators and why they were the right people to tell a particular story.

It goes without saying that the stories you can tell in a TV hour versus the ones you tell in a 10 part webseries will be drastically different. Our experts noted that the format is fundamental to understanding what these projects are and who the audience will be. They were also interested in ancillary content: Could the main project be edited for sharing across social media? Could shorter or longer versions be created that might reach a larger or more diverse audience?

With any creative pitch, identifying your competition and expressing how you’re different is key to success. A few projects were similar to existing series, but their creators delivered convincing and inspiring pitches by incorporating a unique format approach and emphasizing their access and personal angle on the topic.