Harry will remember this scene at this banquet for quite a long time. For Levi, this time's high-spirited talk has also brought him some benefits. His comments at the banquet quickly reached the ears of others.
On the second day, Alexander brought him the news: ABC had allocated 200,000 US dollars to let Levi write a script for a diversity plot and submit it. This is undoubtedly Adam's help, but it is also inseparable from Levi's efforts: he can directly let him write the episode script instead of the outline. ABC has complete trust in Levi. The production method of American TV series is very cumbersome: the production of a TV series is divided into multiple steps, and Levi knows some of these things.
When a person has an idea, he can submit his idea to the production company. If the production company can pass it, it will allocate about 10,000 US dollars and ask to write an outline. This outline requires about five pages. Once the money is paid, and the manuscript is submitted, it is equivalent to signing a contract. This outline is also considered to be a finalized contract. Theoretically, this idea is not allowed to be given to others.
Networks start sifting through next year's shows well before a season each year. Generally, the four major TV networks can receive thousands of ideas from various production companies annually. Only one-tenth of these ideas are required to write an outline, and most will be eliminated. For the rest 9,000 copies, their ideas can't be exchanged for a penny.
Generally speaking, for 10,000 ideas, the production company will screen them first, and the TV company will receive about 1,000 drafts from various production companies after the screening. Afterward, the TV network will screen again until 100 copies are screened, and if they can be used, ask the production company for the detailed episode scripts of these manuscripts. And for the remaining 900 copies, the income of those authors is 10,000 US dollars for the outline, and there will be no income for the next step.
At this time, the production company will invest in the script selected and ask the original author to provide a diverse script. Generally, it doesn't need too much; a few episodes are enough. For this script, the producer will give a fee of about 100,000 US dollars, which is the second income. Then, these episode scripts were written and submitted to the TV company. The TV company screened out about 30 scripts of the 100, which they thought were well written, and placed an order for a trial episode. And that's it for the remaining seventy copies. The TV company may treasure these scripts, which will be used when convenient, but generally speaking, there are only so many people with that kind of luck. For the 70 scripts canceled this time, 100,000 US dollars was their income. It wasn't until this point that a TV series actually began production. After being adopted by the TV company and an order is placed, the producer will spend some money to make a TV series. Of course, the money is not necessarily much, usually between 2 million and 4 million. If it is a 20-minute sitcom, it is only about 1 million. This amount of money is very small in the production of TV dramas. The production costs of many American TV dramas are incredibly high. For example, the production cost of the ER story reached 13 million US dollars for an episode in the later stage, while the salary of the leading actors in Friends is 1 million for each leading role, and the production fee of 2-4 million is the cost of the new drama.
Fortunately, American dramas have the characteristics of American dramas. Most American dramas are only willing to use newcomers. They rarely use actors who are very popular at the beginning. Only a few actors have paid a lot of money since the inception of filming. Therefore, a 2 million investment can also film many good dramas.
Then, after the first episode is filmed, it will go to the TV company for a trial broadcast. After the internal trial broadcast, let the TV network see if it meets their own needs, and let the advertisers know if they are willing to insert advertisements when such a TV series is broadcast. According to the requirements of TV networks and advertisers, only about 10 of the 30 trial films can pass. After completing this level, the TV company will place orders for half a quarter, order TV series for half a year, and start broadcasting until November. And the remaining 20 are equivalent to wasted work. If the producer has a good network, he can also find other people to buy these TV series and continue filming. However, it is tough to find someone else to take over; if no one takes over, the TV series cannot continue to be filmed. Many actors' resumes will mention that they have filmed a specific TV series, but unfortunately, it was not released, which refers to this situation.
Being rejected at this point is a big blow to both the TV series producers and the actors. Some actors are considered the main reason for the series' failure because of their bad movies, and their acting career has been dramatically affected. Some companies have never recovered because of significant investments.
And even the ten successful screenings are unlikely to have a good fate. These ten films are only ordered for half a season. After half a season, it depends on the market research report in November. If the ratings are unsuccessful, they will be cut off on the spot. If the rating response is successful, orders for an entire season will come. And after the end of the first season, whether there will be a next season depends on the ratings of the whole season. If the ratings are reasonable, it will be renewed for another season. It will be cut off on the spot if it is not good.
Ten thousand copies of ideas may seem like a lot, but in the end, only two or three TV dramas can be released and survive the second season. Some people think that the quality of American TV dramas is high, but they don't know that the high quality is because they are all selected from a million. This one-in-a-thousand method is very harsh. Behind a successful American drama, there are countless people who fall on it. This mechanism makes American dramas have many high-quality episodes.
Although the cost of casting a wide net is not small, the loss for the TV company is not significant. Even most big Hollywood companies like to throw money into TV series production rather than small-budget film production. The reason is also very simple. With the support of the TV network behind it, a TV series that costs tens of millions to produce will not lose money, but a low-cost movie of the same level may not be able to pay back.
A TV network like NBC only spends as much as 2 billion dollars annually on advertising. The same is true for ABC. They have lost tens of millions to expand their new dramas. "Full House" level TV series can make a lot of money. On the one hand, they are indeed betting on their eyesight. Still, on the other hand, they dare to gamble because the vast difference between income and expenditure is simply disproportionate. They may lose more than 10 million dollars a year, but it is possible to get a good drama successfully and return the money, so why not gamble? 60% of the annual income of the four major TV networks from TV dramas is used to produce new dramas. They are very concerned about the production of TV dramas.
After all, the US TV network has been operating for many years, and Americans already have experience making money and running it. They have various analyses and market assessments from the beginning of writing a script. Whether a TV series is good or bad, everything is pursued with the highest ratings. Such detailed planning and layout can ensure the maximum income for the TV station, which is the product of many years of experience.
In his previous life, Levi knew more or less about these things. At that time, he compared the TV series of the two countries: Unlike the United States, the investment in the production of new TV series in the domestic film and television industry only accounted for 10% of the total revenue of TV series. Many people complain that domestic TV dramas are not good-looking and dull and that the lack of talent and ideas in domestic is not as good as that in the United States. What is exhausted is talent rather than money.
It takes work to stand out from the 10,000 ideas. Compared with domestic, the income in the United States is higher, and the pressure of competition is more significant. Fortunately, Levi is considered a second generation, so he still has some privileges.
With Adam's attention and a Hollywood background, he didn't have to think about starting from scratch. ABC asked him to write the episode script directly, which was tantamount to telling him that he didn't need to consider the previous creative review and outline issues and just wrote the script directly. ABC guaranteed that someone would buy it and make money from it.
Levi was not surprised at skipping the first two steps: the first step of reviewing ideas is nothing more than brushing away those outsiders who are whimsical and overreaching. Some things are impossible to shoot. The second step of the review outline is to see if the story is worth investing in and whether it is necessary to shoot. To put it bluntly, these two checkpoints are for laymen. Since Levi is from a family of performers, he is not unclear about script production. Since he is not a layman, he can start directly from the third level.
There are many cases of producing American dramas like this. Generally speaking, it is the privilege of those who have connections. In his previous life, Levi could only lament that he did not have enough power to allow himself such a privilege. He was also disgusted with this privilege, but who would be unhappy with their benefits now?
Having a good father is not without benefits. Relying on the support of his relationship, Adam directly helped him win the qualification to write the episode script for review. After years of hard work, what he got in return is that he has changed from one in ten thousand contributors to one in a hundred. The probability of passing has been dramatically improved.
Although the appropriation of 200,000 dollars is just a small amount for the TV company, it is a lot for those who spend their days in Hollywood. What's more, there is an excellent opportunity behind this. If the review is passed, he can get millions of dollars for the first episode, and more may make him famous in one fell swoop.
And whether he can become famous depends on his performance.
However, performance or something has never been a concern for Levi. When Alexander came to the door with money and a few friends, Levi already had a rough outline of how to shoot a TV series in his heart.
"Nick, we now have 200,000." When he entered the door, Alexander shouted with considerable excitement, "This is the largest income since our company was established!"
"This is our first income. Even a dollar is the highest income. Besides, this is not what we earn. No matter how stupid Disney is, it will not offend someone less than a month before the Oscars' senior members." Clark glanced at Alexander with disdain, "200,000 is cheaper than buying a page to write a movie review, which is not a big deal." "Clark, don't say 200,000 is nothing; it's different in our hands." Levi stopped their quarrel, "200,000 is not much, but it's enough for us to write a script, right? With a small start-up capital, we have the capital for development, and ABC has given us an opportunity. How can money measure such an opportunity?"
Unlike his partners, Levi knows the value of an opportunity. In his previous life, he always complained about not having enough options. He has enough chance to make anyone look at him in this life. With such a good opportunity, coupled with his talent and knowledge, he had a lot of room to play on this big stage in 1996.
"So, let's get started—time for the show. Here we go!"
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