Work one-on-one with an executive at mutually agreed upon times around your schedule. To start, you'll have a 15-minute strategy call with your executive to get the lay of the land for the month. Then, you’ll have email access to your executive throughout, plus four one-hour story notes sessions. Work on a single screenplay or multiple scripts plus get additional notes on your pitch, brand strategy, and career advice - work your mentorship to its fullest potential!
Although the pitch is less central to the industry in Britain than in the States, the best pitches I've seen (and the ones Americans have told me were the best they've seen) have been by British producers. That might mean something as banal as 'Be yourself'. More helpfully, it might mean that, in a globalised market, what a creator has to offer is difference. You don't need to conform to what you think the pitch is supposed to be. Commissioners are looking the next stand-out project; it's okay to stand out. Confidence is good, clarity is crucial, but neither are attainable while you're pretending to be someone else.
The next comedy wave. It's been a while since anything new and funny has come along. By 'new' I mean 'not like THE OFFICE'. And I'm obsessed with format. I believe every truly great show invents its own format, a way of telling its story that's unique as the stories themselves. Thinking about format is a good way for new writers to prioritise how they tell story and how those stories can stand out in the marketplace.
Country and Western. Also, not great on projects where dialogue and characterisation are afterthoughts.
Fintan Ryan has worked extensively in British T.V. as a writer and producer. He created and executive produced THE ALIENS (Clerkenwell Films) and BAD CROWD (World Productions). He's worked on BAFTA-winning shows REV (Big Talk) and IN THE FLESH (BBC) as hits like PARTY ANIMALS (World Productions) and HUSTLE (Kudos). Most recently he was a writer/producer on THEN YOU RUN (Kudos).
Fintan has experience in the American market, successfully pitching projects to network and cable platforms. His sit-coms BAD CROWD (ABC) and LITTLE BROTHER (DIR. Sean Levy, FOX) both went to pilot. After some years concentrating on character-led genre, Fintan is back in comedy and is currently developing a comedy drama police procedural with VAL Productions.
As a writer, Fintan knows the route from spec scripts and pitches through to writers room story-conferences, all the way to on-set re-writes. He has a firm grasp of story, character and structure. As a show-runner and producer he has experience dealing with fellow writers, creative teams, commissioners and broadcasters. He's keen to pass on his knowledge of what broadcasters are looking for and what creators should look out for.
Private Month Mentorship
Each month mentorship kicks off with a preliminary 15-min. call to set expectations and lay out strategy for the month. Writer will have email access to the executive plus 4x one-hour consultations with the exec. Exec will read up to 4 scripts in one month (different drafts of the same script or 4 different scripts) and conduct 4x one-hour story notes calls. Calls can also include feedback on your pitch, branding, or career strategy.
If you pay with the deposit/payment plan, your second half will be due the 2nd week of the Mentorship. If you need a different type of payment plan, email dorian@roadmapwriters.com.
**Please note feature screenplays are limited to 120 pages maximum. Please contact terra@roadmapwriters.com for pricing on a Month Mentorship on screenplays exceeding 120 pages.
What To Expect
After registering, you will receive an automatic Order Confirmation email. Then Roadmap's Director of Consultations, Terra Joy, will get your mentor looped in with you! If you do not hear from Terra or the exec within 3 days of registering, feel free to email terra@roadmapwriters.com for an update.
Before starting your Month Mentorship, please ensure you are familiar with our Code of Conduct.
Cancellation Policy: You may cancel your registration for a refund or Roadmap gift card if you have not yet submitted your material for review. However, once your material has been received, your registration cannot be canceled. Having revised material or a desire to retroactively apply a discount or gift card code are not grounds for cancellation, refunds, or gift card credit. Once your material has been submitted, the only acceptable grounds for cancellation and a refund or gift card credit is an unforeseen, ongoing emergency on the part of either the writer or the exec resulting in more than 6 weeks without any scheduling update from the exec via direct contact or Roadmap, or a sudden change in the exec's ongoing availability. In the instance of an irreconcilable scheduling issue, the writer may still receive a written feedback report from the exec. In this case, the writer is not entitled to a refund or gift card credit as the exec has read the submitted material and provided written feedback in lieu of the call.