How 'Savage' Won ATX TV Festival's First-Ever Indie TV Pilot Showcase—and What Its Creators Learned

NFS: What was the inspiration for this project?

Connor Paolo (Writer/Producer): Savage emerged from Josh and my shared love of whodunits (Agatha is our GOAT), an article about a strange disappearance in the Australian outback, and a desire to tell wicked bedtime stories.

Fairy tales are my first memory of storytelling, and I’ve always wanted to create something that could begin with: “once upon a time…” Something where the lines between natural and supernatural bend and blur. Not because anything special happened, but just because that’s how life is sometimes. Savage is one of those stories.

NFS: Why did y'all decide to make a TV pilot for this story as opposed to a short or feature film?

Nicholas Logan(Producer/Cast): I acted in a TV pilot proof of concept with Anna Camp, whom Bridget and I have been friends with for a long time. It introduced me to the idea of Indie TV and excited me about its potential. Brittany and I were working together on Netflix's BOOTS at the time, and had become very close with the crew.

The three of us had just formed Picture Pool Productions and wanted to be at the forefront of something new, exciting, and capable of growth. So when Connor sent us Savage, we knew we had the project and the people to start building the foundation of a high-quality show that fit the model we were designing. One that makes sense for creators, investors, and distributors.

Considering this is a proof-of-concept pilot, shot on film, for an amount that would shock most people, I think we achieved that goal. We hope that creating a pilot proof of concept, rather than a standard short, attracts partners seeking new ways to create and own prestige content in an ever-changing landscape that constantly seeks new inventive programming.

NFS: Congrats on being the first-ever Indie TV Pilot Competition Winner from the ATX TV Fest. How did you find the festival experience, and would you recommend it to other indie creators?

Brittany Fallow (Producer): Thank you! We're still riding high from our incredible weekend at ATX. What makes ATX TV Festival unique is the easy accessibility to panels, screenings, and events, along with plenty of opportunities to connect with fellow filmmakers and industry professionals. There's nothing better than leaving a festival with a wealth of new knowledge and a whole new circle of film friends, and that's exactly what happened for us. Caitlin, Emily, and the ATX team genuinely want to see indie filmmakers thrive, and they go above and beyond to make that happen.

NFS: The pilot had a very unique Southern Gothic style and look. Can you share some insights into how the visuals were shot and pulled off?

Josh Bowman (Director/Producer): I have to give Daniel Katz my incredible DP and the overqualified crew all the credit with how they helped me pull off what seemed crazy on paper. When you’re shooting a pilot for under $90K you’ve got to be savvy and pick your poison sometimes, and they were instrumental to it all. I think shooting on film helped our precision overall because we knew we couldn’t overshoot.

There were a few references and tones that we wanted to play with to bring the world of Savage to life. We wanted to ground her life in the city in a gritty Friedkin 'French Connection' way, where I wanted to use zoom lenses and give the audience the impression that she was being watched. Shooting through doorways and windows - almost voyeuristically. Mixing slow push-ins with still frames. And that feel happens all the way up until she gets to her destination. Using dissolves in the edit also helped with this feeling of being in a dream - I wanted to play with that like our protagonist was in and out of reality almost. When she goes to Hamirral, we wanted to be more dramatic and theatrical because she was about to enter an entirely different world, almost like Oz.

But also this is where the horror begins, so we could play with light differently too - using candlelight indoors and headlights from the car outside. What helped immensely was using 35mm film stock and Cooke Speed Panchros lenses, which are incredibly flattering vintage lenses that have a painterly rendering. A big theme in the series is timelessness and eternity, and I thought shooting on film stock gives us this idea of an old photograph and the fact that a photo never dies.

Me, Connor Paolo, and Dan Katz did spend a couple of days driving around and shooting a lot of footage for Savage's road trip and some transitional moments out the back of a pick up truck in rural Louisiana which was a lot of fun - especially when you’re getting chased out of somewhere you’re not necessarily meant to be…but that’s a story for another time!

NFS: What's next for Savage?

Bridget Regan (Actor/Producer): Winning the ATX Indie Pilot Showcase was a real validation for all of us, proof that audiences and industry people alike are responding to Savage's story. Indie TV is still such a new space that there's no established playbook for what comes next, so we're exploring every available avenue. The good news is that the story is ready: Connor has already written a full first season. Now it's about finding the right partners to help us bring it to life. We're optimistic about what's ahead.

NFS: If you had to share any advice for aspiring filmmakers or television pilot creators, what would you like to pass along?

Connor Paolo (Writer/Producer): Find your friends and ask them for help. But don’t ask for permission. Don’t seek denial. Just tell the stories you want to and worry about who’s going to listen to them later. All of us are maniacs ranting alone on street corners until people start to gather around. But the people won’t gather if the maniac isn’t yelling. So just keep yelling.