ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

10 years, 7 months ago - Marlom Tander

Understanding what matters to the person you are pitching at.

I've just got a feature agreed (subject to me hitting various budget targets re key resources, so blagging hat now ON) because I gave the guy a pitch that showed him that my project would enable him to hit a bunch of metrics that mattered to him.

I'd have pitched that project totally differently to a different potential funder with different priorities.

10 years, 7 months ago - Rickardo Beckles-Burrowes

Thanks for following up Marlom and good luck with your meeting this week.

Rickardo Beckles-Burrowes
@Inkmoves

10 years, 7 months ago - Charles Harris

Fewer than you'd think. Most people try to cram far too much into their pitches. The goal isn't to sell the script - unless you have a strong track record you won't do that without them reading the script. Pitching isn't about a performance so much as having a conversation.

So the goal is to give just enough information to lead to a conversation, after which they ask to read the script - initially in no more than one to two sentences.

These two sentences have to hook the listener in with the genre and the core story - which essentially means the protagonist and the protagonist's key goal in the movie, with a nod towards the inner flaw that they will need to overcome.

Eg: Hamlet is a stylish revenger's tragedy about a bookish prince who learns that he must avenge the murder of his father, but can he overcome his fear of taking action?

Note: no setting up (no ghost!), no extra characters, no subplots, nothing but the facts ma'am. The facts.

Once they are interested, they say "tell me more" - then you start having a proper conversation.

PS - If you're interested, check out my Pitching workshop at Euroscript this weekend - http://www.euroscript.co.uk/selling.html

Charles

10 years, 7 months ago - Rickardo Beckles-Burrowes

Hi Marlom,

Thanks for your feedback thus and congratulations on getting your feature agreed.

How far should one go with involving metrics in a pitch (top level or granular data)?

10 years, 7 months ago - Rickardo Beckles-Burrowes

Hi Charles,

Thanks for following up here.

For me and the other people who may access this thread here, can you add when you will be having your next pitching class, thanks.

10 years, 7 months ago - Rickardo Beckles-Burrowes

Hi Charles,

I'm following you on Twitter as well. My handle is @Inkmoves and I will check your website.

Hopefully I can plug into your other classes, thanks.

10 years, 7 months ago - Charles Harris

Hi Rickardo

Thank you for asking.

After the masterclass this weekend (Jan 24-25) I'm running a free 45 mins workshop at BVE Expo in London on Feb 26 (and BVE is free if you book in advance, so hope to see you there) - then I've currently got seven writing deadlines (aargh!) and a number of other workshops, so the earliest possible date I have is August 22, though I'll be touching briefly on pitching in the ScreenPlay Bootcamp July 24-26.

If the August date doesn't happen, the next one after that will be next January...

I'll keep people posted here and on my blog - www.charles-harris.co.uk - C

10 years, 7 months ago - Marlom Tander

It's not about the metrics. It's about the goals of the person. In this case, those goals were metric based and my logic showed that was all doable.

Metrics are risky - they only work when you know what they mean, and the audience knows what they mean, and any discussion such as "so, this number here, what assumptions is that based on?" can be held in sensible mutual understanding. If you BS, you'll be sussed. If you use numbers they don't understand, caution keeps their hand in their pocket.

Key location blagging meeting this Wednesday, wish me luck :-)