how to make a proper "one sheet"?
 

my partner pitched a series and he was told he needs a proper "one sheet" for

can someone be so kind to give me or direct me to some guidelines of how to make a proper "one sheet"

thank you

Wikipedia
 

As to the format, see here
As to how to lay them out.... I have no clue. Have fun.

jason

Most of Jason's reference I believe is for the feature film business. When I was making DVDs for retail, a one sheet was 8.5x11 layout that would be included in the DVD distributors monthly catalog mailing to retailers.

While art and style was important to get people interested, a lot of it was purely informational. For us, it was stuff like:

DVD Title
Running time
Track list (if applicable)
NTSC or PAL
Label or Production company name
Summary of special features

etc etc. You get the idea. Brick and mortar retailers would need this info to plan where/how they would stock the item, and online retailers want this info for the product database (check out a DVD page on Amazon to get that idea).

How this concept translates for a series for broadcast, I have no idea. Maybe these sheets would be given to network affiliates or syndication buyers? It would be finding out this info that would direct you next. Unfortunately, it sounds like you need to extract this info from somebody who has successfully sold a series...might be difficult.

You could try to fake it, but I'm not sure it would be the thing to do. The executive in question already knows you don't know what you're doing, but to try to fake it might send the message you're just winging the whole thing.

Here's my not very helpful reply...

The one sheet you are probably looking for is 8.5 x 11 inches with the following things:
-on glossy paper / looks nice
-double sided
-Front: Ad copy + visuals to grab reader's attention
-The back page would contain a little more detailed information about the show; some one-sheets don't really contain more than a few paragraphs of text
- Reader should have a decent idea of what the show is (you can do this in a paragraph).

-Title
-# of episodes
-length (i.e. half-hour, 22 minutes, 11 minutes)
-Contact info (i.e. phone number, email, address; company name)
-Genre (although this may be implicit)

The one sheet (for broadcast) is a sales document you would use in sales conventions (MIP, NAPTE, MIPCOM, etc.) as something like a brochure. At these sales conferences, you have tens of thousands of sellers all trying to sell their show (and several thousand buyers). One sheets are one of the tools of selling (as well as one-on-one selling, and stalking particular people at bars after the convention is over).

Like other kinds of advertising, it may be good to keep the one sheet simple (no more than a few paragraphs of information).

You should be able to skim over the one-sheet and find out:
Format: # of eps, length
Genre (i.e. preschool 3D animation)
What the show is about
Why you should buy it / selling message

This is what other people have told me.

2- Take a look at some one-sheets here:
http://www.ccientertainment.com/Portfolio.html#null

Not very helpful. Heh. I know a little, Glenn knows more!

Ahhhh
 

Now that link is a page full of good looking One Sheets. Very valuable link. Thanks.

jason