Randy Douthit knows what it takes to get a show on television.

就像住在鲨鱼坦克里一样。

“If you have a great idea, people will come to it,” Douthit says. “They will watch it. If you don’t have a great idea, start over.”

How do you know if it’s a great idea or just a passing fancy, like when you tell a story to somebody, and they say, “That will make a great movie or TV show”? The television business is a fickle business; it’s about risk and reward with millions at stake.

Does anyone know if a show will be a hit or a miss?

In any given year, hundreds of pitches are made — to the four major American networks (NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX) and streaming channels like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon — but few are chosen.

Fewer still are given the green light or the $2 million to $5 million necessary to make a pilot program, not to mention the significant time commitment.

Against All Odds

赔率不好。

When it comes to a hit, “Overspending is relative,” declares Ted Sarandos, co-chief executive officer and chief content officer for Netflix, adding if the show is a hit, it’s “money well spent, the way it is for [hit series like] House of Cards or Orange Is the New Black.”

business, you’re only as good as your last success. One has to have a stomach of steel and the staying power of a racehorse winning the Kentucky Derby.

At its best, the rewards can be enormous — in the millions of dollars. At its worst, the person who has the idea and shepherds it through to the pitch can feel like a child asking his father for a 10-cent increase in his weekly allowance.

兰迪·杜蒂（Randy Douthit）如何做

Randy Douthit has a successful track record. He’s been a director and executive producer and has had a hand in No. 1 shows likeCrossfire, Larry King Live, Judge Judy, and, currently running on the Amazon-owned streaming channel Amazon Freevee,朱迪正义.

然而,一连串的打击不顾arantee that a show will be picked up, so he has a step-by-step process to give him a fighting chance. It all starts with an idea. It takes time to gestate, articulate, develop, identify the potential audience by demographic, and understand how it may relate to similar shows past or present. Then the process needs collaboration: other people to understand it and develop the intangible concept into a product.

Randy Douthit Assembles a Team

Says Douthit, “I may have a small group of people, of development people. And they’ll have some ideas for different shows. I’ll have an idea for a new show.’’

然后合作开始了。

“Once we discuss it and flesh it out a little bit, then we put pen to paper and write a treatment,” he adds.

治疗是一种构图，描述了演出，主要要点，角色，Mise-en-Scène或舞台设计的构图。它的长度可能短于一页，没有长度限制。Douthit解释说：“如果治疗弹出，如果治疗有效，那么我们将继续进行。”“下一步是进行演示胶带。

‘’It’s sort of like a pilot, but it’s only a five-minute presentation.’’

Randy Douthit and His Team Go for the Green

The next step is essential because it requires a significant investment of time and dollars.

Says Douthit, ‘‘We’ll add music, we’ll add other elements to emphasize the story, we’ll add whatever it takes. We also have to keep in mind what audience it’s for.

“We have to decide who it goes to and then make sure it’s compelling. If it is compelling, you can get away with a lot.”

A crucial element not apparent to many viewers is a show’s soundtrack. “Music is important, more important than you think, because it sets the tone. It gives you a feeling,” Douthit explains. “People want to be attracted. You can’t have music that goes ‘screech screech’ … You’ve got to have music that’s inviting.”

The veteran producer reveals that for Judge Judy, they were using a version of the evergreen classic “Symphony No. 5” by Beethoven. For their latest collaboration, Judy Justice, Douthit couldn’t use the same composition. “So I went through a couple of music producers. Nothing really caught my ear.

“最终，我回到了制作贝多芬音乐的同伴身上，他制作了其他合适的东西。所以真的很简单。直到得到它，您才停止。你有点压力。你强调它。好的，这种音乐不起作用。这种音乐确实可以。我们如何合并它？然后我让所有人都签字。他们不得不说，好，我喜欢。 And that may be one of the most difficult aspects of the job is to find the right person and get them to OK it.”

Randy Douthit Has It Ready for Sale

The next step is to shop the presentation tape in hopes of getting the series greenlit. “Right now, I’ll pitch it to Amazon first because I have a deal with Amazon,” says Douthit. “And then we’ll take it from there, see if they like it. If not, we’ll do it someplace else. Or we’ll come up with a different show, something they may be more interested in.”

The toughest part,according to Randy Douthit，都是有创造力的。他说：“我认为直觉是重要的方面，因为您必须能够阅读人们。”“您必须能够看到他们想要什么，想要什么以及有趣的东西。对我来说，有趣的是，对观众来说，这很有趣。”