How to make an Indie Pilot - Part 2: Case Study, 'New Earth'

Six months ago, I posted my first part in my blog series, 'how to make an indie pilot', which you can read HERE. We went into examples of different pilots (from the most popular to the more obscure) and wrote down elements we felt made a good pilot. For a brief recap, it was boiled down to:

1. Give people something to talk about

2. Give people something they can't get via traditional media

3. Be edgy (maybe)

4. Stretch your content

5. Iconic characters

6. Up the pace

Not all of these were needed to garantee success, but at least a few were seen in ever major example we explored. So now, as you get closer to hypothetically making a pilot of your own, let's look at an example currently in development: New Earth.

New Earth

New Earth is a currently ongoing pilot by Hekate Tales, a newly-founded production company based in London. Created by Andra-Maria Placintescu and Ariadna Gómez-Kelly, New Earth is summarised as:

"In the far future, five rag-tag mercenaries in an apocalyptic wasteland must work together to find a missing person, leading them to uncovering a large-scale conspiracy"

The pilot is currently crowdfunding it's initial stages, and has put together a crew to make pre-production work, some of which I'm lucky enough to be able to share here.

The girls from New Earth reached out to us after the last blog, with news of their own pilot. I (Liam) jumped on the project in an advisory role, so have been able to read the script and watch production as it comes together.

Lets take a look at the production and give our review at how development is going so far, it's strengths and places there could still be room for improvement. If you're someone considering making an indie pilot yourself, you may be facing many of the same trials as Hekate, making this a great, real-world case study of the challenges you'll face in indie animation.

As the pilot is not out yet, I'll be keeping my feedback general and spoiler free, of course. Let's break it down vs our six key points from before:

1. Give people something to talk about

   This is something New Earth has in droves. Built around a central mystery, Hekate have filled the story with mystery and intrigue they've woven into the plot and the characters. The story leaves the audience with lots of itches to scratch and a deep lore to dissect, meaning viewers will be talking about the various characters, districts and conspiracies to hold attention over until the next episode is released.

2. Give people something they can't get via traditional media

   Another tick here for the project. It's an edgier, gritter world than one is used to seeing on network TV. I am cautious that the whole demon aesthetic will become oversaturated in the space in a few years, but Cutanians (as New Earth calls them) are just one of the many species/designs on show in this vast world.

   I do worry that with the fast pace promoted by these kinds of films, a large cast will mean the characters will establish a rapport too quickly and feel hollow, especially with any story where gags are a key part of it's makeup. Reading the newest script revision, work is going into making the five leads iconic, relatable and engaging characters, and their interpersonal dynamics feel real and not jump too fast.

3. Be edgy (maybe)

   I'm pretty happy with where New Earth is in terms of tone. It's certainly not something you'd see on TV in the west. But, it's also not an edge-fest either. As said in the last blog, Hazbin-Hotel style edge (sex, swearing, violence) used too much or in the wrong way can make the whole thing feel immature or like it's trying too hard. From the latest script, New Earth is fitting just right in it's darker moments and themes, without taking itself too seriously and alienating people.

4. Stretch your content

   This one is currently hard to tell. Without being further along the line, it's hard to know what clips can be turned into side content or split scene-by-scene or beat-by-beat. It's something Hekate should keep in mind as they go, but building your whole story around TikTok-sized moments is also a bad approach, so this is one you kinda have to use what you have as you go. So far the team have been doing well with behind-the-scenes content and I know they have some unique marketing plans in the pipeline, to make this experience more than just a film and into a franchise worth investing your money and love into.

5. Iconic characters

   100%! The main cast, side characters and even the extras are well designed and thought out. With any ensemble, it's important that going forward, they keep them all balanced and giving their moments, but without dragging down the pace (more on that next). As covered in the last blog, a rich and colourful cast can give people favourites to latch onto and keep up engagement until your next installment.

   The only criticism with the cast I have so far is not showing them off enough. This will come with time as more art is made. As people connect with characters so easily, the team should push this element as far as they can go to build those connections early. Add them onto the crowdfunding page, re-share images of them frequently and have them front-and-centre.

6. Up the pace

   Having read the script, New Earth does certainly keep a solid pace, giving the viewer new characters, locations and lore to chew on in almost every major beat, without feeling disjointed. The humour is less prevalant than something more hyperactive like Hazbin Hotel, so it may not have the same 'clip-able' nature as some of those (again, not necassarily a bad thing). The upcoming experimental marketing and lore elements will hopefully make up for that.

   The script is long and has a lot of heavy lifting to do, so I wouldn't be surprised to see cuts made in the animatic/storyboard stage. With all the worldbuilding and physical descriptors needed the script will naturally be longer, but time will tell what the time clocks in at. Making storyboards for all of it regardless does mean that any cut scenes can be released to tide over fans, helping with point 4.

What next? And what about money?

Storyboarding has begun on the project, but a quick look at the Greenlit page reveals that (as of writing) the team have only raised 1/4 of their asking price. If your pilot doesn't reach it's goal in one go, is it a failure? Our answer - no.

Unlike network animation (where you secure funding from distributors mainly to greenlight production on your show) the indie route is much more focused on building the fandom as you make your pilot. This means, naturally, it'll take longer, especially if (like Hekate Tales) you don't have a pre-built audience, an existing fandom (from a comic you're adapting, for example) or previous projects as proof-of-concept, then it will be a slower start.

It's worth considering that unlike network shows (where marketing is handled by separate people and pretty much always starts after the show is finished being made) for indie productions those teams are most often the same people, so there's a further push early on to build an audience, reveal more than you would traditionally, and try and build a connection with your world/story/characters, before the film ever premiers.

Hekate have several upcoming steps that will give them new chances to reach new audiences and raise the remaining capital they need. Just a few examples:

• Showing off additional character designs and vis dev, connecting the world with more animation fans.

• Posting snippets of story and animatic. As a younger team without many previous credits, this will be a big show to any skeptics (who may have previously skipped on helping funding this) that the project is real and professional. It's a much harder sell trying to raise money for a project from absolutely nothing.

• Announcing voice actors: Obviously the team will have to spend money to make money here, but notable indie voice actors are achievable and can help legitimise the film in that online space. This can help get past the inexperience issue by aiming for one or two high profile names that can themselves bring in investment. Michael Kovach is rubbing his hands as we speak.

• Getting a trailer / snippet out. Seeing the final film (even just a style frame) in some tiny form will be a huge push for the crowdfunder in getting people sold and onboard. Seeing these characters move beyond a few images so far to fuller rendered and voiced characters can be enough to make a huge jump.

Regarding the last point, it's worth looking at where Hekate films are starting. Unlike, say, Lackadaisy (which came from a comic) or something like Heathens (which started with a full trailer) there is currently zero animation on the New Earth crowdfunding page. Ultimely, this will be the reality for most people trying to make their own pilot - without a healthy injection of money before funding even begins (or a lot of free time) having animation already is just not likely, especially if this is your first time creating IP.

As such, you shouldn't be down about not raising all your money in one go. Feel confident if you, like New Earth, can make 25% of your funding number without a second of animation, then the rest will come, as I believe it will for Hekate Tales.

How you run a professional production before you've received your money is a whole different issue however. One we will get into in a future installment of this series.

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Thanks for Andra and Ariadna at Hekate for allowing me to be objective and using New Earth as an example to showcase an indie pilot in current development. This is not a Cut the Mustard production or a joint deal, so my words here are objective and open.

If you're interested in supporting New Earth and following them for updates see their SOCIALS HERE and the CROWDFUNDER HERE.

Thanks for reading! Next we'll be covering more technical details, like production, organisation, contracts and money.