In the hope of empowering and emboldening the freelance community in the current TV climate, Media Parents hosted “In Development”, Media Parents’ Amy Walker was joined by Miranda Peters and Meredith Chambers, both legendary creators who shared their development thoughts with attending freelancers. Meredith will be attending Media Parents Spring Drinks on May 1st, along with Amy Walker and companies including Soho Studios, Big Fish Little Fish, Mentorn, South Shore, Box to Box and more… To sign up for the last few places subscribe here or see the Media Parents watercooler for link.
Meredith Chambers, Amy Walker and Miranda Peters - Media Parents In Development Online
Miranda Peters – Surviving 9/11 Exec Miranda Peters is Head of UK Development at Candle Media True Stories, Reese Witherspoon’s factual indie. The label, which was launched in 2023 by former ABC News chief James Goldston, hired Miranda Peters from Top Hat Productions. Peters credit list also includes the BBC’s Exposed: The Church’s Darkest Secret, Paramount+’s The Box, and Twitter: Breaking the Bird, currently on iPlayer.
Meredith Chambers is an executive producer whose credits include documentaries and formats including … Million Pound Menu (BBC2 and Netflix),Class of ‘92: Out of Their League (BBC and Netflix) and Celebrity Cooking School (E4). Meredith was Creative Director at Twenty Twenty where he created First Dates (C4), he was Executive Editor at BBC Wales where he exec’ed the BAFTA winning documentary ‘Between Life and Death’, and as Commissioning Editor for Documentaries at Channel 4, he commissioned and oversaw flag ship series including Hospital, Wife Swap, The Secret Millionaire and Cutting Edge.
He’s now working with independent producers as a consultant and exec on high end documentaries and formats. Meredith encouraged freelancers to be bold with the ideas they generate and pitch “anything in the middle won’t cut through”. Miranda echoed this “Beckham or Bust” sentiment. “Be strategic with what to pitch – crime pays at the moment – think of how to tell the story of a true crime in a different way.” And that thought goes for all ideas across genres.
"It's Beckham or bust for commissions at the moment" Miranda Peters
She added “Streamers just want hits – these can be surprise hits, but they want absolute buy-in and reassurance that the story is full of hooks, and twists and turns – this is most common in retrospective story telling. They don’t want observational docs (unless they are reality) – the BBC is the only broadcaster in the observational space it feels.” The BBC has redeveloped its pitching portal Amy Walker added, you can access it here.
Both Meredith and Miranda talked about the “why” of your film. Amy added - ask yourself in any genre, “Why? Why now? and Why this producer/ production company?”. Someone investing in your idea will undoubtedly be thinking about who they’re investing in, from on-screen to production talent.
Miranda shared that her company Candle Media True Stories accepts pitches from independent producers. They can expect to get a deal of between 1 and 20% of the production fee depending on how developed the film is. And if it’s a streamer budget, that could be a healthy chunk. In the crime space story spots (from a newspaper etc) can work, with elements that touch you, a rich, layered story. “Streamers want a story not only with twists and turns but that can feel like a new story completely from one episode to another – turning itself on its head.” Development teams are combing every area for adaptable stories – books, articles, plays – “It doesn’t have to be a new story, it can be an old story, well told”. Likewise pegs like anniversaries can be a good springboard.
"You need something no-one else has got" Meredith Chambers
Meredith stressed the need for “something no-one else has got – talent relationships and access can secure a commission. Be bold with where you aim your sights at this point – the talent is looking for projects too, it’s not just production that is struggling for work at the moment. There are some big names available – even doing daytime!”
“Titles say it all” says Meredith, in the fact ent and features space. Broadcasters may have first look deals and want to suggest talent, get involved with casting and producing in detail from an early stage. Often it’s relationships that get the commission over the line – as Miranda illustrated with the relationships that secured her recent access for documentary “Twitter: breaking the bird, currently available on iPlayer.
Whether you try to go it alone, creating a pitch deck, sizzle (“It doesn’t have to be glossy” says Meredith – “it can be two sound bites that make me think I must hear more”) and pitching direct to broadcaster via one of the portals “SKY replied to me recently within a week” Amy observed.
Join us for Media Parents Spring Drinks on May 1st, Central London
Or, if you decide to link up with a production company in advance, three key pieces of encouragement surfaced here:
Firstly, from Miranda “It’s your idea, stick to your guns and negotiate, taking the idea to several production companies to get a better deal if you need to”. Secondly, from Meredith, ”Even if you warehouse it through a production company and don’t get the best deal – you’ve still got something away. Your name is on it somewhere, it’s on your CV to your credit. Go for it and go boldly!” Thirdly from Media Parents’ Amy Walker: “There are plenty of freelancers on Media Parents who pitch ideas either to indies to get jobs, or who get series away. Don’t block yourself and if you want another opinion on an idea, reach out to Media Parents, Meredith through his Media Parents profile, or pitch to Miranda via Candle True Media. You just never know…”
Contact Meredith Chambers by logging in, here.
Contact Miranda Peters here.
Contact Amy Walker at Media Parents here.
Our next event is in person drinks in Central London on May 1st, join here:https://www.mediaparents.co.uk/signup/?t=freelancer
