Show Proposal Guide
IU Student Television is always interested in creating new student-produced programming for the community and campus to view and enjoy. We would like to help prospective student producers make their visions a reality. For a program to be considered to become a part of IUSTV, it must first and foremost be something that will have an audience here in the Bloomington area, particularly something that students will watch. However, we will not consider programs that are likely to run for a very short period of time and then "drop out" of existence because its creators lose interest. Additionally, programs have a greater chance to be considered if it can continue to be produced even after its original producers have left/graduated. If your show is "adaptable" to a new producer/team after you have left, then it is of higher interest and value to IU Student Television.
How to get started:
First, plan out your program idea and give it some serious thought. Who will watch it? What will happen in it? Why will people continue to watch it? Many people have ideas for what they think will make great TV, but it requires quite a bit of planning before you should consider realizing it, and thus submitting it to IU Student Television. Follow the below Program Proposal guidelines, and you will be able to give us a better idea of what you would like your show to be like.
What can IUSTV do for you?
We are looking for new programs to add to our growing lineup of student-produced programs. There are different levels of involvement from IUSTV, depending on the staff, equipment, and studio space you will need. If you have your own equipment and staff and would just like us to air and market your program as part of our lineup, then we can do that. In this situation, however, there will be an IUSTV staff member helping to coordinate and ensure the quality and content of your program, as it will be associated with our organization.
Program Proposal contents:
In order to have a good program proposal, be sure to include the following:
- Proposed title
- Your name and contact information
- Genre
- Time length per episode/segment
- Production schedule
- Airing schedule
- Staff: who do you already have, who will you need, what will everyone be doing?
- Locations/set: where do you plan on filming your program?
- Equipment: what equipment will you be using, and where will you get this equipment?
- IUSTV relationship: what kind of help will you need from IUSTV?
Submitting a Program Proposal:
When your proposal is written and finished, please deliver 2 printed copies to our offices located
on the first floor of the Curry Wing in the Read residence center. Alternatively, you may email your proposal to
IUSTV programming director Jason Schiff at jaschiff [at] indiana [dot] edu.
Only proposals submitted as directed above will be reviewed. Materials to supplement your proposal, such as demo tapes, pilot
episodes, logos, sketches, etc, will be accepted and may be helpful to convey your program's vision.
What happens next?
After submitting your proposal, the Programming Director will review your proposal. Expect to receive a confirmation of proposal receipt within one week of submission. After that, there are several things that could happen, depending greatly on the type of relationship you want your program to have with IUSTV. It is truly on a case-by-case basis, and there is no definite set time when you will receive a solid answer. If your program is feasible, then you may be invited to meet with the Programming Director to lay plans for creating your show/airing it as part of the IUSTV lineup. If your program is not feasible, or still needs some more work and/or planning, you will be notified of such.
Please note that any materials submitted to IUSTV may be considered for production/airing as part of our lineup. This includes basic concepts and ideas as well as complete ideas. Although as the program submitter, you will in most cases be in charge of the program, this is subject to change. IUSTV must maintain a certain level of quality and control over a program to ensure that it is appropriate and acceptable to air through our organization, which is partially funded by various University departments.
If you have any questions, please email Jason or call the IUSTV offices at (812) 856-0267.