Producing Unscripted: Make Reality TV Shows and Documentary Series with Joke and Biagio is a new podcast designed to help people create, develop, and sell unscripted film and television projects.
Put out by award-winning filmmakers, unscripted TV producers and married couple Joke Fincioen and Biagio Messina, Producing Unscripted is a podcast with an intriguing twist: it not only teaches the basics of producing reality TV shows and documentary series, but Joke and Biagio will accept and review listeners pitches, and possibly even team up with them to pitch those concepts to networks.
Recently, the duo has used similar outreach methods to bring TV projects to air, notably “Caged” on MTV, “Ghost Inside my Child” on Biography Channel, and the MTV True Life Presents documentary special “Secrets, Lies, and Sex.”
By filling out a submission agreement, which is available to subscribers of the couple’s newsletter, listeners to the podcast can pitch show concepts directly to Joke and Biagio. These pitches will not be aired on the podcast, but the duo will connect via email and telephone with those who properly submit pitches to offer feedback.
Says Biagio, “We remember what it was like to be living in a one-bedroom apartment, knowing no one in ‘the business’ and developing show ideas in a vacuum. We always said once we found success, we’d make it easier for aspiring producers and filmmakers to pitch to us.”
Having grown their film and television company, Joke Productions, Inc., from a tiny studio apartment in Hollywood to a 7,000 square foot production facility near Universal Studios in Los Angeles, the married couple is well versed in the up-hill battle breaking into unscripted film and television presents, as well as how to navigate those waters successfully.
“We made a lot of mistakes along the way” says Joke, “so we’re handing out some free advice to aspiring producers, filmmakers, and documentarians. We want to give them the tools they need to create and sell shows. Along the way, we hope they’ll consider bringing their concepts to us.”
Travis Bible, Co-Executive Producer of Caged, says “Joke and Biagio met with my partner Steve Harris and me when no one else would, developed our show, and sold it to MTV. They always respected my opinion, and it was great being able to collaborate from pre-production through post.”
Producing Unscripted is now available in iTunes.
About Joke Productions, Inc
Led by wife and husband team Joke Fincioen and Biagio Messina, they are best known in the unscripted world for executive producing “Scream Queens” on VH1, “Rhett and Link: Commercial Kings” on IFC, “Caged” on MTV, and their award winning documentary”Dying to do Letterman.” Other notable credits include “Beauty and the Geek” and the NBC special “Science of Love.” The duo earned their documentary wings under acclaimed filmmaker R.J. Cutler (“The War Room,” “The September Issue”) and honed their reality TV skills working with luminaries like Mark Burnett. Their company, Joke Productions, Inc., is growing fast and Joke and Biagio have built a reputation for being terrific story tellers and hands-on producers. www.jokeproductions.com
