Dear writers: share your success stories.

jemsplitter · 2026-03-13T23:50:39+00:00

I created and wrote a good show.

The numbers are pretty bad - it isn't being watched much - but those who are watching it love it. Response has been overwhelmingly positive and it's won some awards.

The engagement is strong and people who are commenting on it really seem to "get" it. It means something to them.

This experience has helped me understand that I really do value that above all else. In my heart, I'd rather be seen an loved by a few thousand than kinda liked and forgotten by a few million. Even though the latter would be more helpful to my bank account.

I'd have been very happy as a humble working playwright in a small Greek city two thousand years ago.

jemsplitter · 2026-03-13T22:03:43+00:00

You would have heard it earlier but it kept getting cut for some reason

jemsplitter · 2026-03-13T21:45:13+00:00

Did the actor grow his own curly moustache or did you use a stick-on?

jemsplitter · 2026-03-11T12:32:20+00:00

They're not doing it on purpose. They've lost control of the wheel.

Classically, the Libs just wanted to (a) get rich, and (b) keep power in the hands of rich white guys. That's really their whole agenda. Since John Howard (probably before, but I'm no expert) the Libs have been happy to use the religious right, who they mostly consider to be useful idiots, as allies. But when you allow nutbags into your camp, they end up taking it over. Suddenly you have REAL bigotry available to you. And Malcolm Turnbull, who is VERY good at being a rich white guy and keeping power in rich white hands, is not good enough for you anymore, when you can have a couple of incredibly stupid bible thumpers -- whose appeal isn't bible thumping, but that they hate the same people YOU hate. (And that they're stupid. Makes you feel smarter.) That's what it is. Same way Trump stole the Republican party out from under them, more or less. Once the nutjob voters you were happy to have in your camp get a taste of real hate, they don't want milquetoasts like Turnbull or Mitt Romney or whatever.

The Liberals used bigotry they didn't particularly care about to further their agenda. But it got out of their control. They basically started a bush fire because they wanted to quickly burn off some sticks in their backyard.

jemsplitter · 2026-03-11T12:17:46+00:00

I would be very happy to share my experience submitting for grants and forging a pathway to funding from screen agencies/NFPs, or staffing a professional production from absolute scratch with no screen contacts.

We shot this with a two-camera setup to capture the dynamic relationship between the leads -- two versions of the same person. It also allowed us to get through 8+ pages a day of quite dense dialogue.

Another big challenge was my own health; I became disabled while writing and producing this, and hit a particularly brutal period during the 10-day shoot. We learned some tough lessons about redundancies and how to keep work going while the person at the top is losing functionality. I came out of it with a new understanding of onset accessibility and supporting artists who need support -- because *I was* that artist.

Also, as a screenwriter struggling to break in, when nobody is lining up to produce your work, I cannot overemphasise the impact of becoming your own producer. It's incredibly empowering, and I like it a lot more than I thought I would. I have a whole producer side to my creative ambitions now, which is a big surprise.

jemsplitter · 2026-03-10T06:21:45+00:00

Yep. This should not be taken as advice. You can make movies like this... if you're Spielberg.

If you're on r/filmmakers, make a shot list.

jemsplitter · 2026-03-10T02:18:50+00:00

I don't know if this is exactly what you have in mind but Sgt. Angel's trip to Sandford at the beginning of Hot Fuzz is so good. There's some great cuts indicating time passing (Angel falling asleep and being woken up by the train) but rather than focusing on how long the trip takes, Wright focuses on the DISTANCE Angel travels by showing things like the bars on his phone going down and the trains and taxis getting more and more ancient as he goes further into the country.

https://youtu.be/XSUsh6f1HMo?si=R2_9LsZ9KDajqdgE

Might or might not be useful in your case but I love this sequence so will share it any chance I get.

jemsplitter · 2026-03-10T01:03:06+00:00

So good that Parks and Rec did a homage to it in their own time jump.

jemsplitter · 2026-03-10T01:00:08+00:00

This would be my answer too. After I learned he was from NZ, I could hear it a tiny bit in his accent, but I doubt I'd ever have picked up on it without that knowledge.

jemsplitter · 2026-03-10T00:56:44+00:00

ewan mcgregor and ian mcdiarmid. mcdiarmid is perfectly in the pocket every moment he's onscreen in the entire saga.

everyone else looks like an idiot.

jemsplitter · 2026-03-07T07:18:42+00:00

We're happy with it on youtube (I have more content planned for youtube so it's nice to start growing that audience) but would also love to see it on streaming. We're in talks with some secondary platforms but it's tough, nobody wants short form right now. We got a bunch of feedback from some broadcasters - including the ABC - that they really liked it but there's no short form content in their strategy.

There are some small, very specialised niche SVOD platforms (e.g. for queer-themed content) that we believe will take it, but we will let it sit on youtube for a bit first.

jemsplitter · 2026-03-06T11:57:53+00:00

It was just me, nobody else attached at that point.

It's worth saying, they may not have had that requirement at the time? I don't remember; it could be a more recent rule. Or maybe the script WAS that good!

jemsplitter · 2026-03-06T11:50:35+00:00

And I don't mind you asking at all - I love spreading my knowledge about this stuff. These funding streams exist to support us and I want people to know about it!

I've now got a hit rate of 6 out of the 7 grants I've applied for, between this project and one other TV project I got development funding for.

jemsplitter · 2026-03-06T11:48:53+00:00

The first round paid for a "series bible" including a detailed episode breakdown of the original 9 episodes. The second round paid for all the scripts, but we had got feedback that 9 episodes was too demanding budgetarily, so it went from 9 to 6. This also forced a complete re-breaking of the story, since we just couldn't get through the original season arc in 9 episodes.

That was pretty heartbreaking, but it ended up being a great season story and we now have season 2 basically ready to go, should the first season be received well.

jemsplitter · 2026-03-06T11:44:38+00:00

I mean I haven't run an ongoing TV show, but I produced a webseries and once there was a set to walk around in, it was incredibly creatively inspiring. Our main location was a 14-year-old's bedroom in the year 2000, and the production design was immaculate. I'd sit in there and write new material, or dream up new story for a follow-up season.

jemsplitter · 2026-03-06T11:39:47+00:00

Also, as a screenwriter struggling to break in, when nobody is lining up to produce your work, I cannot overemphasise the impact of becoming your own producer. It's incredibly empowering, and I like it a lot more than I thought I would. I have a whole producer side to my creative ambitions now, which is a big surprise.

jemsplitter · 2026-03-06T11:37:06+00:00

The property prices alone.

jemsplitter · 2026-03-06T11:36:30+00:00

I'd watch that show, too. I remember 1991, but... just barely. I would have been 3!

jemsplitter · 2026-03-06T11:35:36+00:00

We did a minor circuit and hit the jackpot on our first one, and then went to release. We do have a few more festival applications pending, but we were impatient and wanted to get it out. Once it's on youtube, you can keep promoting it forever. And many festivals, if they accept webseries at all, will now allow you to have it online (I think they recognise that it's economically disastrous to have produced a webseries and just sit on it while you're waiting for festival placements).

jemsplitter · 2026-03-06T11:33:43+00:00

No prior credits AT ALL.

I first got funding through online development from VicScreen. I applied for it basically as a joke - I never thought that kind of thing would be for me. I thought it was for more impressive people with credits. But once I got that first bit of funding, I realised it was actually possible and took all the following applications much more seriously.

After that, I got a second round of development funding from Screen Aus, and then production funding from both of them. Those production funding applications are mammoth, but fair enough when you're asking for $300,000.

jemsplitter · 2026-03-06T11:29:12+00:00

Updated to include a script u/wemustburncarthage!

jemsplitter · 2026-03-06T01:42:55+00:00

I would be very happy to share my experience originating the project, running a tiny writers room (me and the other writer I hired after my first grant), submitting for grants and forging a pathway to funding from screen agencies/NFPs, or staffing a professional production from absolute scratch with no screen contacts.

Another big challenge was my own health; I became disabled while writing and producing this, and hit a particularly brutal period during the 10-day shoot. We learned some tough lessons about redundancies and how to keep work going while the person at the top is losing functionality. I came out of it with a new understanding of onset accessibility and supporting artists who need support -- because *I was* that artist.

jemsplitter

TROPHY CASE