For the past 20 years, “media goddess” Laurie Scheer has been at the forefront of ever-changing Hollywood needs and relaying them to an army of devoted followers through her online and personally-led seminars and teaching at colleges throughout the country.
Since September, Scheer has been in our very midst sharing her insights at Flashpoint Academy.
On Saturday, Scheer will be part of IFP’s Producers Series talking about how to make an effective pitch, a topic she will repeat and elaborate on Sunday at the Chicago Screenwriters Network, and also advise on ways to get their work out.
And how do you that, from the Heartland?
“Know the marketplace, which is ever-changing,” she asserts. “Research it; it’s all there on the internet — who is running the shows, the leaders, what topics or stories are selling right now.”
Scheer should know. A Milwaukee native with a broadcasting degree from Marquette and a Masters from DePaul, she spent many years in L.A. She started out on the usual route of assistant and rose to VP/programming of WE: Women’s Entertainment at its inception.
She developed shows and produced at MTV, VH1, Showtime and other big companies from 1987 to 1994, and called those years of innovation “a magical time.”
Scheer took a Hollywood hiatus to write a book about movies that are about making movies, and followed by two other insightful books and a best-selling DVD, “How to Pitch and Sell Your Screenplay.”
For the past 15 years Scheer has been teaching at high level universities. She has been with pioneer writers’ site Media Bistro “for a very long time,” she says. “I teach locally in New York,” her present home base, “and in person in L.A., New York, San Francisco, Chicago and online.”
She is the pitching coach at NATPE’s convention and L.A. TV festival and will speak at the upcoming NAB on multi-platform and digital marketing.
“I like to share and inspire and want to help others find their path,” she says.
At her May 6 Media Bistro seminar here, Scheer will introduce a new subject, how to write for online. “This is a course for individuals who want to put something on YouTube or FaceBook. They have a great online idea but don’t know how to do it,” she says.
Currently, Scheer says she wants to be involved in multi-platform content and production. This is where she sees the future and “the real world” into which the fresh Flashpoint graduates will walk into.
Any advice for her Chicago fans? “Show up” she encourages. “Ninety percent of getting ahead in the industry is showing up. Go to meetings and events and meet people.”
Scheer’s May 6 Media Bistro seminar, “Developing Online Videos” seminar takes place the Theatre Building, from 7-10 p.m.
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