I was wondering if a few of you would be willing to share your experiences with pitching? Your first time? Who did you call? How did it go? Were you creative after the 100th time of being hung up on? Cold clammy hands or stuttering and fumbling over words? Please share as I will be embarking on this just for fun in the near future! I want to be able to have fun with it as I know it wont lead anywhere right away but to make some laugh or remember you would be great.... Please share if you had any experiences that were off the wall or odd. ;)
Screenwriting : Pitching ...Cold or Hot? by Rachel Meyers
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I'll go first. I attended the Great American Pitch Fest this year in Burbank, my first foray into pitching (I've been an author for a while, but for novels pitching is done on paper). The pitch fest format gave writers five minutes with representatives from production companies. I'd read up on how to prepare a good pitch, Michael Hauge's book and others, wrote one which was about two minutes in length, and practiced until I knew it forward and backwards. Hauge recommends leading in with what inspired the story, something personal, and to compare your work to similar successful films to help . As prepared as I was, I was jittery as a wet cat for the first couple pitches. But I realized something. I wasn't getting a response, and it wasn't because I was nervous or my story wasn't good. I think the lead in material, the portion Hauge recommended that would show what was personal about what I'd written and why I was passionate about it, was too personal. I don't think they knew how to react to it. So I dropped it, and the portion about comparable successful films. Things went much better after that. Each time you pitch, it gets easier. And as you relax, they relax. Ideally, you want them to ask questions, so leave at least half your time for that. And if they break in, be prepared to stop and answer questions and discuss what you've brought them. Maintain eye contact, not in a sociopathic serial killer way, but frequently enough that you can read whether they're engaged or not (sometimes what you're pitching really isn't for them, and when you see that, wrap it up quickly and hope they ask the all important - "what else have you got"). While you're pitching, you may discover you have to change your pitch up a little on the fly to reach the person you're pitching, but that's okay, because you know your material. If you can, turn your pitch into a conversation, that's when your passion shows. Good luck.
Well I have to say that was great! Very helpful! Thank you very much for sharing!
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Our 2nd Pitchfest (in collaboration with The Happy Writers) is about to begin! Appreciate the support, Kathryn!
I'm taking it slow and you are right, Johnny, the first script is for the trash as it is the one that gives you the practice you need to make better scripts. Eventually you can come back to the first if its a good idea or concept and make it even better. I can't afford the pitch fests or even traveling to LA to make those connections. I am a single parent and basically a starving artist with a piece of paper that says I paid a lot of money for a degree I can do nothing with. I'm realistic in that my first few attempts at writing will be crap but its the experiences that I am after and want to learn from. I'll save up some money here and there but I really won't put myself out there in full force until I have several screenplays that I know for sure are a worthwhile investment. My child comes first above all else which means so does a day job. But that is why I like sites like these where I can learn from the experiences of others and get advice. No point in reinventing the wheel. =P We only learn from doing. :)
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I do a written pitch. Works for me. No clamy hands!
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Thank you very much for the ideas! I will check it out and see what I can get done. Again thank you all for the suggestions and ideas! I really appreciate them all!
Hello, for pitching I use Happy Writers. They set you up with pitch sessions with executives who want to hear your pitch. It is awesome. Costs a lot less than a plane ticket to meet someone in LA. And they can't hang up on you for your 8 minute slot. It is really cool. Good luck in all you do.
Thank you very much! I have been hearing a lot of good about this company so I think I will save up and give it a try. Thank you again!
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Joey Tuccio is a nice guy who only wants to see writers do well.
I love your 2 cents! Thank you very much for the help! I'm a Gemini so I like to be doing several things at once which is why I am looking into all aspects of the business of screenwriting and not just writing then taking the next step as I may end up missing something in passing or an opportunity that I may not have been aware of if I wasn't aware of all aspects involved in the whole process. I think that being well rounded will ultimately help me in the long run and I am totally taking notes on all that I read and all of the advice I have found so far. I have signed up for the seminar with Lee and I am really looking forward to it. I am also posting scripts on talentville to be reviewed and it helps to be able to read other scripts to compare and see the mistakes and professionalism of others. The more I read and the more advice I get both positive and negative fuels my fire and determination to make it into the industry. Again thank you all for being so helpful and giving with advice and suggestions! I can't wait to hear more! Thank you!
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Just had my second ever pitch session tonight with the online pitchfest through Studio 32. I don't know that there is any 'rule of thumb', so I simply told the story in 3 minutes. She seemed to like it, and I'm hoping to get some feedback from her very soon