How to make a kids TV show and get it on TV

How to make a TV show for children and get it on television.

For those of you reading this who don't know me, I am currently in production of season 3 of my kids' TV show which airs in numerous countries around the world.

Here's the thing.  Do it.  Just do it.  I'm not being simplistic and dismissive, read on. Don't wait for permission or approval.  If you have a passion for children's literature and want to turn it into TV, do it.  If you have a heart for telling your own stories and want to do that through the medium of TV, do it.

That's the most important advice I ever received.  Don't wait for permission, don't wait for approval, don't wait for somebody to tell you it's a great idea.  Don't wait for anybody except God to lead you.

Here's how I like to think of it.  There are two kinds of people, one in the majority and one in the minority: those who say 'I want to make a kids' TV show' and those who say 'I am going to make a kids' TV show.' I can't stress enough how important those two heart attitudes are to the success or failure of your project because here's the thing, you CAN do it.

I'm not saying you're hugely talented, I'm not saying your show is going to be brilliant, but what I am saying is that unless you make that second statement and speak it confidently into your own life, you are highly unlikely to succeed.  You see, so much of the difference between the wannabes and the doers is just that attitude.

'I want to' is waiting for support, permission, affirmation, leadership, a pat on the back, encouragement and even assistance.

'I'm going to' is saying 'I will lead, I will affirm my partners, I will encourage and assist, I will give approval to those who draw alongside.'

So how do you become the kind of person that thinks like that?  That may be a bigger question that I can't answer right here, perhaps there's a little soul-searching that needs to be done on your part but I will give you a clue as to how it worked for me. It's this.  If I didn't feel confident, I acted like a confident person and did what I thought a confident person might do.  If I didn't feel kind or generous of spirit, I behaved kind and generous of spirit as I thought such a person would,

Your speech is important too, not just to the people you are trying to communicate to, but to yourself as well.  Never say 'I am trying to make a kids' TV show', never.  Say 'I am producing a kids' TV show.'  You may feel like you are lying, but simply be sure that you aren't, get on and do it.  People will believe you, why wouldn't they?  You are doing what you say.  But so much of it is about self belief, which requires convincing yourself over and over again until you really believe it yourself.

I am not talking about any kind of deception whatsoever, please don't be tempted to exaggerate, that will put you in a very difficult position.  I remember when my wife first started teaching and had her first class to herself, she felt like a fraud.  But she wasn't, she was qualified and she was doing it.  What are your qualifications?  Getting on with it, doing what you say, that's what qualifies you.

Now that you're all pumped up and you're going to do it let's really make sure you're not wasting your time.  There are any number of ways you can go about it practically, I'll list a few that will help you.

1. Create a show 'bible' and tout it round existing studios who might be willing to invest with you.  This is the most cost effective idea, but probably the least likely to succeed since all you are offering is a concept.  But if it's brilliant...A 'bible' is a document which outlines characters, synopses of storylines for the first season, as well as outlining the scenario and themes, USPs etc.  It also contains artwork. Do an awesome one.
2. Create the bible as above but with a trailer.  This will really enhance the saleability as the concept will be strengthened and clarified.  Tout it around studios and investors.
3. Create a full episode and bible as above.  This will demonstrate you as a serious player with a fully realised show which is far more investable.
4. Create an entire season.  This puts you in a very strong position, you have 'hard assets', and the market is always on the lookout for quality content.  Here, the risk lies entirely with you, as sales and revenue are not guaranteed.
5. Remember, you ARE making a kids' TV show, you are not TRYING.

My own approach was somewhere between 2 and 3.  I then approached a local studio and we made season one together on a tiny budget.  Now, at season 3, budget is increasing, popularity is growing, and distribution is more widespread.

Now that some of the basic (very basic!) theory is out of the way, I just wanted to touch on a couple of things which will help ensure you succeed.

1. Go for quality! At every step, ask yourself how it can be done better.  Squeeze the absolute best out of whatever limited resources you have, and don't accept anything less.  It's incredible what you can achieve with a very tiny budget in live action TV.  My puppets are made from old towels, cereal boxes and children's clothes we no longer used.  I made the sets from old board I found in the garage when we moved house, and the paints were poster paints from the pound store.  And yes, they're on TV!
2. Research!  Understand your audience, what engages them and keeps them entertained.  The first half of our first season suffered from some real issues of lack of punch and flow, and the entire structure had to be changed to keep the kids gripped!
3. Listen to constructive criticism. It's tough, but get ready to be put through the mill. I'm not talking about nay-sayers and discouragers, Let them stew.  But people who are genuinely interested and have something to say, hear them out.  Be open hearted, be ready to adjust and don't bother being pointlessly defensive over your baby.  A one-man-show often ends up looking like a one-man-show, and is worse for it.  More ideas, more brains, more invention should be encouraged and sought.
4. Be original.  It's easy to think that you can make a kids' TV show because you've seen them all your life, you know what they look like and how they go.  With this attitude you'll probably just end up with a worse version of something which already exists.  Who wants that?  Think your idea through deeply, share it with people and adjust it according to feedback.  Give it back-story, enrich it with a well considered scenario full of meaning and purpose, give your characters purpose. Be original, so that if even the biggest studio saw you bible they would say 'Wow, we've never seen that before!'  If you're not original, why would somebody put money and time into your idea?  Make something new.
5. Consider live action before animation.  Puppets and human actors can be extremely cost effective, but animation is very expensive, even poor animation.

So, just a very short blog on the subject I wrote this simply to encourage you that it can be done.  I may write a blog post about how to do it with no money, how to do it with £200 and how to do it with £1000, but that's for another time.  Please share!  Below is an example of my kids' TV show, showing the cut-out sets and clothes puppets I mentioned above.