How to Pitch an Idea for a Film

How to Pitch an Idea for a FilmHow to Pitch an Idea for a FilmFilm and television writers sell their ideas to the studios through the process of pitching. A pitch is roughly a ten to twenty minute period in which a writer will express the concept or world of their idea, the characters that inhabit it, and the basic storyline of the movie or pilot episode. Its a nerve-wracking process because you simply dont know what type of reaction youre going to get until youve laid your idea (as well as your heart and soul) on the table for all to see. That said, coming up with an idea that will make an executive jump out of their chairs is hard enough. The last thing you want to do is kill a great idea because you blew the pitching process. Having been both a writer and a development executive, Ive been lucky enough to have seen both sides of the table. There are a number of common mistakes that will kill your project, or at least hurt its chances for success. So, here are five tips that will he lp you dramatically improve your next pitch meeting Be Prepared It amazes me the number of writers who come to a pitch meeting who are unprepared to pitch their own idea. They try to wing it by making stuff up in the meeting rather than having their idea fully fleshed out before entering the room. Take the time to understand your concept fully. Know the world you intend to create as well as the characters you plan to have inhabit that world. Be clear on why you chose these particular people. What makes them interesting? Why would an audience want to watch them? These are questions you should already know the answers to well before going in. Additionally, no one will judge you if you need to have a set of notes at your side when youre pitching. They can come in quite gurke to make sure youre hitting all of your key points as well as not leaving out anything pertinent. Know Your Audience Where youre pitching is just as important as what youre pitching. Know the past projects o f the places youre pitching to. If the company youre meeting with is mainly known for its horror movies, chances are theyre not going to be all that receptive to your idea for a romantic comedy. If youre pitching to a network (broadcast or cable), know what else they have on air. You should familiarize yourself with their line up so you can have a better idea of the tone of their shows as well as the demographic they are targeting. Dont Oversell Depending on your idea, your pitch should be reasonably short and sweet. Keep it under fifteen minutes if possible saving the rest of the time to go over a few other details about your concept as well as to answer any questions that the potential buyers might have. Hit your target points concept, characters, story. Thats it. Anything more than that and youre likely overselling your idea and boring your audience. Realize as well that more is not always better. If the executives like your idea, theyll make the deal no matter how much swag you leave them. Be Respectful Few things annoy executives more than writers who are disrespectful (and obviously, vice versa but thats for another article). It can include anything from showing up late, being arrogant about the concept youre pitching, or ignoring, or worse, mocking projects they have developed in the past. Keep your opinions to yourself or at least until youre in the parking lot. Practice Your Pitch It technically falls under Be Prepared, but it deserves its own heading because there are so few writers who take the advice. Practice your pitch. Yes, this means create your pitch and then groe nachfrage it by a few friends, co-workers, relatives, the family pet, whomever. Its essential that you have a structured speech that will allow you to get out everything about your idea that you need to in a reasonable amount of time. By practicing, youll also be able to identify those areas where your pitch drags, gets confusing, or simply fails to sufficiently sell yo ur concept. Find a group of friends that might be willing to give you some constructive criticism. Realize that if they cant follow your pitch, its highly unlikely an executive will either. Selling your ideas in Hollywood is no easy task. But if you follow the tips outlined above, your chances for success will greatly improve.