Format & Story Consulting

New series often have a strong idea but structural gaps that only show up in the edit: no stakes, no reason to come back next week, characters who never develop. After 20 years in unscripted television, much of it in the edit, I spot those problems in development and fix them before you've shot a frame.

I work with creator-led productions, streaming start-ups, first-time producers and brands moving into series.

How I can help

Format stress-testing and consequence mechanics
Format development sprints that give production teams something they can budget and pitch
Story engines, interview approach and style guides
Story team briefs, sample shooting scripts and shot-list planning with your director
Capped, practical prep support for directors and production teams

Beyond broadcast: YouTube, brands and editorial strategy

The story craft that holds a broadcast audience works just as well on YouTube and in branded content. I'm available to help with:

YouTube and digital series

Developing channel formats and series, structuring episodes to keep viewers watching, story-first scripting and interview approach, and reviewing cuts for pacing and hooks.

Brand storytelling

Turning a brand's people, product or history into a story worth watching: finding the narrative, shaping the format and briefing the production team.

Editorial strategy

A clear creative direction for your content: what you make, who it's for, how episodes and series connect, and how to keep it repeatable on a realistic budget.

Not sure which fits? Send me a link to what you've made so far and I'll tell you where I'd start.

Selected work

Creator-led lifestyle series (luxury real estate)

A Dubai-based real estate creator was moving from standalone videos to a produced lifestyle series. I reviewed the pilot episode's structure and built a storytelling blueprint, including a voiceover script, a restructuring plan and a master interview script. I then developed a repeatable episode format covering a story engine, a production style guide, a visual signature suited to an observational approach, a sample shooting script and techniques for directing non-actors to sound unscripted.

Broadcast cooking format

I ran a development sprint with the production team to devise a cooking format they could realistically budget. I then wrote the format document that the pitch materials were designed from.

How it works

Engagements are scoped up front with clear deliverables and capped hours, so you know what you're getting. Most start with a structural review of a pilot, treatment or first episode.

Got a series in development?

Get in touch to talk it through.

Email me

Series Producer | Edit Producer | Development Producer

Contact

donald@luckybean.tv