I entered the Pitchfest X last Sunday. To be honest, I don't think I did very well. I ran short of time, and I shall be amazed if anything comes from it. It was my first time doing a pitch like this, and it was probably one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of my life! Having had a few days to think about it, I thought I'd like to share what I think I've learned and see people with more experience think. So here goes: 1. Always double check your appointment time: The Happy Writers blurb clearly states that you may not get the exact appointment time you booked. My Skype call came in an hour and forty minutes sooner than I was expecting. Fortunately for me, I was sitting at my computer rehearsing my pitch, so I didn't miss it. Next time I'll be sure to double check. 2. Keep everything much briefer than you think: I had a little animation to start my pitch, which left me about six minutes of live call. My pitch was rehearsed to last about four-and-a-half minutes, and I thought that would be about right. What I hadn't allowed for was introductory greetings and questions at the start. The following is a list of what I think I should have done and why: 2a. Logline: I always thought this was what you put on the poster outside the cinema ("In space, no-one can hear you scream" etc.). I was asked several times to describe what my film is about in one sentence, and I hadn't prepared that. I suspect that this is what the logline actually is. 2b. About me: I went into a list of stuff I'd done, which lead to some unnecessary questions and reduced my actual pitch time. I should have said "I'm Julian Tewkesbury. I'm the Director of this company from Devon in the UK". And left it at that - maybe mention it's a start-up. 2c. The world of the story: Again, too much detail (not necessary at this point). I should have kept it much briefer. 2d. The story: Yet again, much too much detail - to the point where it became difficult to follow the story. "I'm not sure people will understand the concept" was the comment. I should have kept it to something like this: "Protagonist lives here and wants this. Something happens, and as a result he goes there and does that. Then something else happens, something goes wrong and he ends up here. Then he has his "epiphany" and sets off home where everything turns out well in the end." 3. Don't read your pitch: I have a terrible memory, and I tend to waffle when nervous, so I wrote my pitch out and set up a basic autocue on my computer. It doesn't really work. The pitch lacks a certain conviction, and there's practically no eye contact with the person to whom you're pitching. You can't gauge the other person's reaction as you talk because your attention is on the text you're reading. Consequently you can't adjust the way you talk to take account of, say, bored expressions. It also makes the whole thing rather impersonal - more like a news report than a conversation about an exciting project. I hope this all makes sense, and, if anyone has any comments, I should be very glad of the advice. Finally, I would like to thank The Happy Writers and Stage 32 for allowing me this experience, and to thank Howard Rosenman for his patience in being so polite to a very green pitch.
Screenwriting : Pitchfest X - How was it for you? by Julian Tewkesbury
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nice article
loved ur article. Its scary even thinking about what u did, so I guess u very brave. Next time u will be more luckier, bec this was a learning curve. Best foot forward for 2014. U can do it.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Good luck!
Thank you so much, everyone, for your very kind comments. I'm not sure brave is the right word, though. Foolhardy, possibly?
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Thank you. I wasn't sure whether I should mention it yet. For everyone else's information, I had another pitch session today and put almost all of my ideas into practise. I still read, though, and I think the pitch was still a little on the long side, but my treatment was requested - Amazing! Thank you, Joey, for prodding me on this one - and thank you to the very kind gentleman to whom I pitched!
I meant to share that Lyse Beck sent me a link to something she had written for another newbie pitcher, and there's a whole heap of useful guidance in that. I used her recommendation about suggesting a director's style - and reading her pitch (!). It's here if you'd like to see it: http://www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/Pitch-fest. You have to expand all the comments to find it, but it's gold worth digging for. Thank you Lyse!
Thank you. Now we wait...
Congrats, Julian. Hope you guys had the chance to read today's blog entry. A great story that came out of a recent Pitchfest. https://www.stage32.com/blog/No-Boundaries
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Everything Julian just said is basically the exact things I've been teaching for pitchfest pitches for years. It sucks to learn the hard way in the moment, but it's a worthwhile lesson for the future. Next time, you'll kill em!
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Well, thank you, Joey. I'm very touched. I hope my stories are as pleasing : )
Practice your pitch until you don't have to read it verbatim. The more you do this the more your natural tendencies will take over and you won't stumble as much. Walk on a treadmill, walk around the block, whatever -- and just repeat it over and over, only referring to your written version as needed. When you know it by heart, you can answer questions and pick right back up where you left off without getting flustered. Pretty soon you may even come to enjoy the process -- especially with the gracious hosting skills of Joey!
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and I, you.
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Thank you for sharing your experience! I am planning to attend a pitch fest this summer and really need any advice I can get. I will start working on my pitch soon.
Great share, enjoyed the off the cuff open heart, lay it out there description. Being in sales 25+ years. People have the attention span of gnats. (Most) Let me get to it. Logline is an elevator blurb. You have 2 minutes (if that) to describe your show or service. IGE: You: "My show is an animation show, geared for children ages 10-14. I use a lot of science fiction, space ships. space stations, etc, all while delivering a good ethics message in it somewhere. I am the Head Chef and Dishwasher. I do it all. Then Shut up. They cannot see what you have in your head. They can only decide if it is a market that will help them in some way. If they are in that market, the next question should be, who would be the voices? Your answer should be, pending on the budget, will predicate on who we could use. My first choice would be Patrick Stewart for the Dad. Etc.... Have you ever seen the show (give example of a 'like show') have another if in case they have not. Maybe even a third especially as you deliver to different continents, what is hot in UK may not be in US. Find out what is hot in their demographic and share the like to it. Do you have toys that can be made from your 3d modeling? "you betchya"!
@Lyse, I was referring to the OP's 2a section where he was in fact asked to describe it one sentence. Just trying to open the OP's field of vision on it. How would you Logline his movie in one sentence?
That's a very useful link, Lyse. Thank you!
I had a similar "first pitch" ... I feel your pain.
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I learned from the experience, and got some great advice from others right here. So it's all right now. Still scary to do. Joey put me so much at my ease for the second one, and I think that made a huge difference too.
Joey does make a huge difference!
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Absolutely. Incidentally, I did another pitch last night and got requested, which is very cool!
Yay! Best of luck to you.
Thank you!