Pitching to Win…

The 1st time that we (RnD) pitched a script to a development executive we had virtually no idea what we were doing.

I thought that a pitch had to describe the entire script. We had five minutes. We spent the entire time talking about the script. We interested three out of five execs. But, they liked the idea- not the pitch.

As time went by, we learned more about pitching. We talked to people about their styles and we spoke with developments execs about what they were looking for. One of the last times that we pitched at a pitching “event”, we interested 14 out of 15 execs that we pitched to. And, that one that was not interested asked us to send him other ideas; he was just not interested in the idea that we pitched.

It should be noted here, that the script that we pitched here was Phobia. The feature script that was optioned, went into pre-production and was derailed by Hurricane Katrina. We later shot Phobia – The Short as a prequel to the feature.
But I digress…

What we have found works best for us is to have a phenomenal 30-second pitch… If you are pitching at an “event” you usually have five minutes. If you are pitching “in real life” you may only have 3o-seconds…

Here is our secret formula. (If we help you make a sale, you must remember us and ensure that we are thanked in the credits.)

Be courteous and nice. Remember that the person you are pitching probably does not want to be there. Ask them how they are doing- and try to mean it.

Introduce yourself. You are pitching yourself here. Why would this exec want to work with you? If you have the opportunity to know who you are pitching before hand- research them. Can you find ANY common ground that you can mention?

Don’t flinch. No matter what. We have had people eat while we were pitching. Someone once pulled up a chair and started recording us. We even had someone take a phone call and proceed to yell to his girlfriend directions for her to get out of canyon country while she was losing her signal. Never let them see you sweat- no matter how much you may be fuming on the inside. They will appreciate it.

If you have multiple projects that you are ready to pitch, ask if they are looking for any genre in particular. Explain that you have numerous projects in a few different genres.

Now pitch. Ideally, everything up until this point has taken 60-seconds, no more than 90. Now, give the execs the best roller coaster ride you can in 30-seconds. Hit the important generalities. You don’t need to explain that the lead character’s name is John Locke… and not base on the character from Lost, but on the real life philosopher… No one needs to know the trivia at this stage.

BAM! You are done. Ask them if they have any questions. They will. Their questions will help you figure out if you left an important part out of the pitch and/or you will learn what this particular exec is focusing on.

If all does go badly, and you have time left, tell them you know that was bad and ask them what they look for in a good pitch. This is a last resort as some execs will see this as you trying to improve yourself, while others will take this to mean that you are simply not prepared.

Good luck.

Go forth and pitch…

Don.