Development for small indies and individuals - How to compete without an in-house team

As part of our Step Up strand, we’re offering training to help individuals coming back into the industry after a break, moving into a new role or responsibility level, or improving skills in unscripted TV. 

Unscripted development has rarely felt more competitive. Budgets are tight, commissioners are under pressure, and small companies and individuals need to be agile - but also disciplined about where they invest their time and energy.

Most people working in development already understand the pressures of the current market. The challenge isn’t information; it’s structure. Knowing the landscape intellectually is one thing. Building a slate and a strategy that reflect it is another.

If you’re running a lean indie, building something on your own, or working without the support of a large development team, this live online session is designed to help you decide what to pursue, what to park, and how to move forward with more clarity.

Drawing on nearly 30 years of working in the industry - and having built and closed our own production company - we’ll share an honest look at what works, what doesn’t, and how to build a focused, sustainable approach that gives your ideas the best chance of survival.

This is not a session about how to have ideas or write better decks. It’s about building a smarter development strategy.

Who it's for

This course is for the following in unscripted TV:

• Individuals developing unscripted ideas independently.
• Start-ups and small indies without in-house development teams.
• Regional companies navigating the commissioning landscape.
• Producers who want to move from reactive pitching to strategic development.

The majority of our online short course offering is for those at early career stage and above. As a result, we generally require applicants to have at least 3 credits (unless working in a traditionally uncredited role or production studio role). If you strongly feel you would still benefit from the training, please email USF@screenskills.com so we can assess if an exception should be made.

We are committed to ensuring all our courses are accessible to everyone. This course is designed to be as interactive as possible. Please email the above address if you have any access requirements and we will be delighted to help, be that clarifying the form such interaction is likely to take or discussing reasonable adjustments

What it covers

Delivered with humour, honesty and first-hand industry experience, the session will include:

• The Reality of the Market – how commissioning decisions are really made, why ideas stall, and where small companies can compete effectively.
• Strategy Before Slate – defining what kind of company you are building, choosing your lane, and avoiding scattergun development.
• Smart Survival Tactics – when to self-fund, when to partner, how to approach bigger companies, and how digital, co-productions and alternative funding can support your slate.
• Building Commissioner Relationships – how ideas are sold internally, how to be useful to a larger partner, and how to build momentum without established access.
• Idea Resilience – pressure-testing your concepts so they are clear, scalable and strong enough to survive scrutiny.
• Staying Sane – handling rejection, protecting your time, and building a development approach that is sustainable long term.

The session will conclude with an extended open Q&A, giving participants the opportunity to ask candid questions about partnerships, pitching, survival strategies and the current commissioning climate.

Trainers 

Anna Blue and Will Spokes met 26 years ago as researchers on The Big Breakfast. No training, no handover - just two hours of live TV every morning in one of the most chaotic, high-pressure environments imaginable.

Since then, they’ve each built 27-year careers as entertainment creatives and development consultants, shaping, selling and producing some of the UK’s best-known unscripted formats - from genre-defining hits to inventive digital-first experiments.

Their credits include The Fortune Hotel, The Mash Report, Life Stripped Bare, You’re Back in the Room, Got to Dance, Push the Button, Saturday Night Takeaway, Taxi of Mum and Dad, and The Big Jubilee Street Party.

They still work actively in the industry, both as freelance execs and creative consultants - so everything they teach is grounded in what’s really happening in telly right now.

How to apply

This session will take place online via Zoom. Click ‘apply now’ at the top of the page and follow the instructions to apply for your place: you must login or register before you are able to complete your application.

If you need additional support to complete your application or require the application form in an alternative format please contact USF@screenskills.com

If you are no longer able to attend, we ask you to please use the 'decline ticket' function on the right hand side of the page so that we can release your place. Our sessions are often oversubscribed, so we’d like to give other freelancers the opportunity to fill available spots. Thank you for your consideration.

This session is supported by the ScreenSkills Unscripted TV Skills Fund which invests in training for the unscripted workforce thanks to contributions from broadcasters, SVoDs and production companies.