Note: The following is based on what I learned in my screenwriting class in college, so please take whatever resonates with you.
Imagine this: You just completed your polished draft of a script and finally had the opportunity to pitch your script to a major studio. Huge news, right? But wait, how do you pitch? What happens? Don't worry, it's not that difficult. A pitch is you telling someone what your film is about, and if someone is interested, they'll either ask for the script and read through it, or they might pass and ask if you have anything else. Given the competitive film industry, 95% of scripts pitched are passed on, but don't let that discourage you. I've provided a few things to keep in mind.
TIP #1: Aim to keep your pitch between 5-7 minutes.
Okay, it's not that bad. Well, it could be stressful. But it's still achievable. Think about it like this. You're in a room with a producer at a studio. There are thirty minutes maximum. The reason it's best to keep your pitch between 5-7 minutes because if they pass on your script and want to see what else you have, then that gives you the time to pitch your other two scripts.
Now, if you only have one script and they pass, what will you do for the other 25 minutes? Never fear! Nobody's going to have a stopwatch and time your pitch, so if needed, you can aim to pitch your film in 10 minutes. Nobody's going to pull your arm off if you talk for ten minutes.
TIP #2: Keep it simple
A while ago I've talked about beat sheets and how effective it can be for your writing process. All you have to do is just simplify the major beats into 1-2 sentences. If you need some guidance on which parts of your beat sheet to have in your pitch, here's a simple guide.
- Logline
- Ordinary World
- Inciting Incident
- Mini Crisis
- Point of No Return
- Brief Trailer/popcorn moments/Teaser
- B story
- Testing
- Brief sequence to one hour turning point
- One Hour Turning Point
- Big Pit
- Rock Bottom
- Climax
- New World Order
- Closing image
- Opening Hook
The reason you mention the Opening Hook, or the theme, last is so we know "What's the overall message we're supposed to walk away with?"
TIP #3: Don't give too much away
Sometimes when we're nervous or anxious, our thoughts travel at millions of miles per second. It's exhausting and overwhelming. imagine if you were to explain a movie you just saw to a friend who hasn't seen it. You don't want to give away any spoilers or twist endings. The purpose of the pitch is to give away enough info, they want to read the script.
Here's how I can help:
I've mentioned on Linked In and other socials that I'm offering a new cheap service that's not currently on my website, mainly because it's special. If you want to practice your pitch, we can hop on a zoom, you'll have 10 minutes maximum to pitch your script to me, then in real time, I'll provide some feedback based on not only your pitch, but also your body language and how it came off to me.
And get this, it's only $10! It's cheap!
If you're interested, feel free to reach out to david@davidschwartzconsulting.com and lets pop on a call! I can't wait to hear from you.