Direct Marketing - How to Make a Movie Sales Pitch
Saturday, November 23, 2013
To a screenplay writer, delivering a movie pitch is the equivalent of delivering the pitch that wins the World Series. It needs to be the moment that catapults the writer's career. There are various types of pitches and many Hollywood nuances that a writer needs to be prepared to address. The pitch will present studio executives with many elements of the screenplay, including the genre, main characters and the conflict. The pitch not only needs to provide these details, but it must also be delivered in an enthusiastic presentation that makes the executives feel they need to work with the writer.
Selling the Pitch
1
Sell the writer along with the pitch. Remember, Hollywood is the town of meetings. The presentation should be animated and enthusiastic, and the presenter should be exceedingly likable. The movie will not be sold in one meeting. Being invited to the next meeting is always the goal of the current meeting.
2
Develop two pitches. The first pitch to prepare is the teaser pitch, or the short pitch. Develop three solid sentences to describe the movie. These three sentences will discuss the premise, the genre and the overall ideas of the film. This is the same type of explanation moviegoers get from movie trailers or the blurbs on the back of a DVD case. This pitch needs to be about two minutes. The goals here are to get the executives asking questions and to ensure the writer has all the right answers. The second type of pitch is the story pitch. This pitch describes the conflict and characters in much more detail. It also describes the story, dramatic changes or turning points, and the climax. The story pitch should be under ten minutes, if possible. Usually, industry professionals will let a writer know what type of pitch or what length of pitch they are prepared to hear.
3
Prepare for the meeting as if your life depends on it. Aside from being enthusiastic and charming in the meeting, it is vital to remember preparation. Remember to research the movies the executives have made in the past as that will serve as a guideline for what you can pitch successfully and allow you to demonstrate you've done your homework. Being prepared to make the pitch and to answer any questions that result is essential for anything else the writer will do to sell the movie. If the executives do like the idea, they will have questions from every angle of the movie-making process. Even if the executives do not option the movie, they will remember a writer with an excellent, well-performed pitch. Therefore, although what you offer initially may not be the movie they want, they may want to talk with you about other projects in the future.
Tags:
Direct Marketing, Marketing
Selling the Pitch
1
Sell the writer along with the pitch. Remember, Hollywood is the town of meetings. The presentation should be animated and enthusiastic, and the presenter should be exceedingly likable. The movie will not be sold in one meeting. Being invited to the next meeting is always the goal of the current meeting.
2
Develop two pitches. The first pitch to prepare is the teaser pitch, or the short pitch. Develop three solid sentences to describe the movie. These three sentences will discuss the premise, the genre and the overall ideas of the film. This is the same type of explanation moviegoers get from movie trailers or the blurbs on the back of a DVD case. This pitch needs to be about two minutes. The goals here are to get the executives asking questions and to ensure the writer has all the right answers. The second type of pitch is the story pitch. This pitch describes the conflict and characters in much more detail. It also describes the story, dramatic changes or turning points, and the climax. The story pitch should be under ten minutes, if possible. Usually, industry professionals will let a writer know what type of pitch or what length of pitch they are prepared to hear.
3
Prepare for the meeting as if your life depends on it. Aside from being enthusiastic and charming in the meeting, it is vital to remember preparation. Remember to research the movies the executives have made in the past as that will serve as a guideline for what you can pitch successfully and allow you to demonstrate you've done your homework. Being prepared to make the pitch and to answer any questions that result is essential for anything else the writer will do to sell the movie. If the executives do like the idea, they will have questions from every angle of the movie-making process. Even if the executives do not option the movie, they will remember a writer with an excellent, well-performed pitch. Therefore, although what you offer initially may not be the movie they want, they may want to talk with you about other projects in the future.
