This is awesome - thank you for sharing this. I was actually going to ask about this in a future Q&A, but now I don't have to!
I know that different companies have different package requirements, but I'm curious from your experience about more specific requirements such as how many sketches are usually asked to be submitted, how many pitches (and what exactly that means for sketch), or anything else specific that can supplement the package? If this is too much of an insider secret I get it (I don't want to get sniped), but thought I'd ask!
CH's asks changed over the years. The most was three sketches and ten pitches, but I think 2 sketches and five pitches is where we settled, and that was generally enough.
SNL for many years has asked for 3-5 sketches, one of which must be topical and one must be a commercial parody.
Late night talk shows will ask for segment pitches and monologue jokes. They may also ask for sketches.
Comedy news shows like The Daily Show will typically ask for a segment script (which is in its own strange, teleprompter-friendly format). They may or may not give you research to accomplish this.
(Note that a lot of these requests are necessarily topical, so it's a good idea to be on top of current events and you need to be ready to come up with something fresh for the packet. This is annoying, but not crazy considering that is also the requirement of the job.)
Pitching a sketch generally means pitching the game. There's a little more to it than that, but maybe something I should put in a full post instead of a comment. Essentially you want to explain why an idea for a sketch is funny, and get the listener to imagine beats for themselves, instead of laying out what you'll write beat by beat.
If there's a performing aspect to the job you might be asked to audition or submit an acting reel, but you shouldn't submit any supplemental material unless it's specifically asked for. Again, there's a LOT of stuff to read and extra material isn't always welcome.
So when it comes to sketches, a pitch is sort of a breakdown of the game and general "vibe" that the sketch will take, instead of a completed script for sketch? Which would make a late night talk show's segment pitch the same kind of thing, but for more of a "guy doing a monologue presenting something to an audience" medium than a "sketch comedy" medium
I'm probably trying to define the term a bit too much in my mind, but I think I'm getting a better general grasp on it
The pitch, regardless of medium, is your chance to convince someone that your idea is funny before you write it. For a sketch this could be as little as describing the game. A late night segment could take many forms: it could be something unscripted (games, man-on-the-street segments, stunts, etc) or something scripted but not in a scenic sketch format (desk segments, character bits, etc.). A segment pitch operates the same way as a sketch pitch -- explain what the idea is, why it's funny, and excite the imagination of the listener in 1-3 sentences.
But it sounds like maybe I should do a whole post on pitching to explain some of this with a little more detail and more examples!
This is awesome - thank you for sharing this. I was actually going to ask about this in a future Q&A, but now I don't have to!
I know that different companies have different package requirements, but I'm curious from your experience about more specific requirements such as how many sketches are usually asked to be submitted, how many pitches (and what exactly that means for sketch), or anything else specific that can supplement the package? If this is too much of an insider secret I get it (I don't want to get sniped), but thought I'd ask!
CH's asks changed over the years. The most was three sketches and ten pitches, but I think 2 sketches and five pitches is where we settled, and that was generally enough.
SNL for many years has asked for 3-5 sketches, one of which must be topical and one must be a commercial parody.
Late night talk shows will ask for segment pitches and monologue jokes. They may also ask for sketches.
Comedy news shows like The Daily Show will typically ask for a segment script (which is in its own strange, teleprompter-friendly format). They may or may not give you research to accomplish this.
(Note that a lot of these requests are necessarily topical, so it's a good idea to be on top of current events and you need to be ready to come up with something fresh for the packet. This is annoying, but not crazy considering that is also the requirement of the job.)
Pitching a sketch generally means pitching the game. There's a little more to it than that, but maybe something I should put in a full post instead of a comment. Essentially you want to explain why an idea for a sketch is funny, and get the listener to imagine beats for themselves, instead of laying out what you'll write beat by beat.
If there's a performing aspect to the job you might be asked to audition or submit an acting reel, but you shouldn't submit any supplemental material unless it's specifically asked for. Again, there's a LOT of stuff to read and extra material isn't always welcome.
So when it comes to sketches, a pitch is sort of a breakdown of the game and general "vibe" that the sketch will take, instead of a completed script for sketch? Which would make a late night talk show's segment pitch the same kind of thing, but for more of a "guy doing a monologue presenting something to an audience" medium than a "sketch comedy" medium
I'm probably trying to define the term a bit too much in my mind, but I think I'm getting a better general grasp on it
The pitch, regardless of medium, is your chance to convince someone that your idea is funny before you write it. For a sketch this could be as little as describing the game. A late night segment could take many forms: it could be something unscripted (games, man-on-the-street segments, stunts, etc) or something scripted but not in a scenic sketch format (desk segments, character bits, etc.). A segment pitch operates the same way as a sketch pitch -- explain what the idea is, why it's funny, and excite the imagination of the listener in 1-3 sentences.
But it sounds like maybe I should do a whole post on pitching to explain some of this with a little more detail and more examples!