Episode 25: Studio Owner David Braun on Everything to Do with the Business Side of Pitching

This episode of the Animation Industry Podcast features David Braun, Creative Director at Open the Portal, a stop motion studio in LA. David shares the journey it took to create the studio from scratch, while also developing and pitching an original series idea to major networks. You’ll also learn: *The hardest questions a producer will ask you during the pitch *The #1 thing that will immediately impress any studio executive *A complete list of absolutely everything you need to prepare before you walk in to pitch your series ~[Sponsored Message]~ This episode is sponsored by the awesome team at Startastudio.com Start A Studio, is a new online school focused on the business side of animation. They have both free and paid courses, an online community and downloads to help you succeed in your animation career, and build your own cool, creative and viable animation studio. You can use the unique discount code ‘AIP’ in the checkout to save 20% on their popular Pro Studio Startup course. So, whether you’re looking to up your freelance game or plan and launch your own animation company, check out https://startastudio.com/ ~ David Braun is the Creative Director of Open The Portal, a creative development studio with a focus on stop motion animation. The studio recently directed two new TV spots for Rick & Morty, and have also produced projects for Disney, Katy Perry, Mattel, eBay, and many others. After 5 years of creating professional work for outside clients, Open The Portal has shifted focus this year exclusively to their own original concepts, and have a pitch for an animated anthology that they are taking out to studios and streaming services this summer. David started animating with his family's home movie camera when he was nine years old and hasn't stopped since. After high school he spent several years pursuing a career in music with his band Great Glass Elevator who were signed to Atlantic Records. Through the process of making original stop motion videos for them, he decided to make animation his career. David then attended the Experimental Animation program at CalArts from 2009-2013, and also studied for a year at FAMU in Prague. He won a contest through MTV as a student to interview Tim Burton, and has also worked on several animated commercials and TV shows. As the creative director at Open The Portal he loves nothing more than bringing animators and artists he loves and looks up to together to create new and exciting animated projects. Reach out to David at david@opentheportal.com Get in touch with Open the Portal Studio at hello@opentheportal.com Follow Open the Portal on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/opentheportal/ Learn more about this podcast at terryibele.com/animation-industry-podcast/