Screenwriting : For creating a Pitch Deck or Look Book, do you... by Tucker Teague

I use Adobe InDesign, because the type management and placement tools are really annoying or non-existent in the other options. I like being able to place text boxes and other elements precisely and consistently, as well as being able to add air between letters in titles and kerning lines to fit neatly.

What is a real b&%$# is finding the right pictures.

Tucker... PowerPoint is my go to program for creating a pitch deck. I tried google slides but it did not have the same capabilities as PP.

For images, I use pexeles.com. The vast majority is free. Even thought pitch decks are non commercial I still try and give credits at the end :) If I can't find what I'm looking for there, I just roam the internet.

For some of my decks, I will include actor/actress types to give the reader some idea of who could play the character (stating early that they are just examples, not attached).

Once I get a deck together, I then make a video pitch deck by recording it like one would a PP presentation. But I don't do it for all of them. And in these some parts are more wordy than they would verses one where I would actually be showing it to producers!

Feel free to see one of my examples (link below).

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Parageist Video Pitch deck:

https://youtu.be/8Ao3wYoNNPA

Indesign because that's my job :) Canva is for people without any design knowledge. It isn't bad though and they have a great stock library.

I've never made a look book, Tucker Teague, but I use Canva to make pitch decks. It's easy to use. The features I get with Canva Pro (the paid version of Canva) are great, like the picture background remover.

Photoshop. It has a learning curve. Expensive.

Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo. They were something like $50 each for life when I first got them. My background is in design, so very familiar with the Adobe Creative Suite, which is a complete rip off in my opinion.

I also sometimes use Photopea, which is basically Adobe Photoshop but through a web interface and free, plus I put together basic posters in Canva because it's just easy to use.

Thanks for mentioning Photopea, CJ Walley. I've been looking for a Photoshop alternative.

Caution: I tried pexeles.com on two different browsers. The anti-virus blocked it due to an infection.

I've been using photoshop for a while but recently have switched over to Canva Tucker Teague. It's super easy to use and looks great. I've not heard of Photopea so I'll have to look that up.

I'm a big Canva fan!

Christiane Lange I agree that dealing with fonts is very frustrating with tools that aren't built for those who can actually tell the differences in kerning, placement, and spacing in good designs from mediocre. Getting the fonts placed right has often been the last bugaboo in my design work. I've used various Adobe products over the years and love them, but I don't have access anymore. Maybe I'll change that soon. Currently I'm using GIMP (like Photoshop) and Inkscape (like Illustrator).

David C. Velasco over the years I've created hundreds of presentations with PowerPoint. I know the program very well and I love it. Currently, though, I don't have access to it. I'm thinking of using Google Slides, but maybe using another program to build the graphics. Thanks for mentioning Pexels. It looks like an amazing resource.

Raymond Zachariasse it's been years since I used InDesign. Great program. I agree, looking at Canva it's geared toward the non-design pros, but it also looks rather good. I suppose it depends a lot on what one wants to achieve and how much one really needs something exact and unique rather than a bit more common.

E Langley I was trying to figure out when I first used Photoshop. I think it was version 3.0 or 4.0 in the early '90s. I used Photoshop for a couple of decades when I was a pro photographer and graphic designer, but now I have a Linux computer so I use GIMP, which is like an older version of Photoshop and it's free. Basically it's just okay.

CJ Walley I checked out the Affinity products and they look great. BUT unfortunately they don't run on Linux, which is what I am running for the time being. But Photopea looks like is does work since it's cloud-based, so I might try it out. Thanks.

M LaVoie thanks for the input. I've heard industry pros on several podcasts talk about using Google Slides as their means of sharing decks and doing pitches on video calls. It just seems like a no-brainer, especially it one wants to send links rather than files.

Thanks Leonardo Ramirez and Ashley Renee Smith for your input. I got myself a Canva account but have not used it yet. I've heard lots of good things about it.

I use Canva. It's super easy and intuitive to use!

Tucker Teague Use Photoshop also for photography and graphics. Tried Gimp on Windows; same sentiment.

Tucker Teague I have used Gimp too for editing photos. Slightly wonky, but a good alternative to Photoshop. Adobe is definitely expensive, so I only subscribe to InDesign, rather than the full suite. Since I use it for other stuff besides pitch decks, it is worth it to me.

Maurice Vaughan For lookbooks, I find Google photo albums really nice. You can assemble and organize a bunch of photos, as well as add captions. Then you just send a link, or imbed a link in your pitchdeck.

Thanks, Christiane Lange.

Powerpoint is a great and easy to use tool for pitch decks, but if you have the know-how adobe indesign is fantastic. The important thing to remember is that it will always be the text in your pitch deck that needs to be on point to sell your project. Making it look nice is a bonus, so don't sweat it if design isn't your thing.

@M La Voie Thanks for google slides tip, the fact they can be interchangeable for investors is a bonus for me. @All In the past I used Publisher and simple E books for director’s vision look books. Now I have to do investor’s itinerary will experiment with google slides. I’m no techie though and as @Ewan points out don’t sweat it, so for some stuff I’m hiring a temp as no way have I got time to delve into coding or study new design packages.