HOLLYWOOD PITCH FESTIVAL BLOG - AUGUST 1 & 2, LOS ANGELES

A Pitch is Your Movie in Miniature
(Brought to you by The 13th Hollywood Pitch Festival - August 1 & 2 - Los Angeles - www.hollywoodpitchfestival.com)

Being able to give "good pitch" is key to a successful screenwriting career. If you can make a potential buyer "see" your film in just five, 10 or 15 minutes, you stand an excellent chance of getting that person to actually read your spec script - or hire you for a lucrative writing assignment.

To achieve this, your pitch must contain all the key elements of your spec (or proposed) screenplay. You need to clearly convey a clear sense of your characters, the conflict, the narrative, the climax and the resolution.

The pitch should represent the genre in which you're working. If you're pitching a comedy, the pitch should be funny. If you're pitching a romance, it should be heartfelt. If you're pitching horror, it should be terrifying.

In short, your pitch should be your movie in miniature.

Following is the structure for an effective pitch:

- The Introduction. Begin by stating your genre, the title and your log-line. Example: "I have a thriller called Jaws. It's about a small-town sheriff and family man who enlists the help of a nerdy marine biologist and a hard-boiled professional shark hunter to hunt down and kill a monstrous--and cunning--great white that's terrorizing the waters off his isolated New England island community."

- The Story. Now tell your story. Don't explain it - tell it. Tell your story the way you would a fairy tale to a child. Keep it simple, but embellish where necessary and always stick to the narrative.

Your pitch should have the same three-act structure as your script - and in roughly the same proportions. You need to include:

- Act One - The Set-Up. Where and when does your story take place? Who's your hero? Tell us his/her name, approximate age, occupation and - this is important - something about his/her character. What kind of a person is your protagonist? What does this person want? And what is he/she doing to try and achieve this goal? Give us one or two incidents that give us a taste of the early conflict and story direction. Who are the other important people in this character's life, and how do they impact the action? Finally, introduce the inciting incident, that is, the thing that changes the course of your hero's life and sets up the movie's main action. Then tell us how your hero intends to deal with this new, unexpected set of circumstances. What's the plan? As this is Act One, it should take up roughly one-quarter of your pitch. (Note: Many writers spend virtually their entire pitch on the Set-Up, leaving little time for anything else. Obviously, this is a poor way to sell your product.)

- Act Two - Development and Escalation. Now tell us how the hero puts his/her new plan in motion. Here is where you start to pay off on the premise you've established; show us how this is done through the description of two or three key scenes. Build toward your midpoint where there needs to be a big twist. Here, inevitably, relationships change. The hunter becomes the hunted. Friends become lovers. Or friends become enemies. Something major has to change at the midpoint. Then work your way through the other twists and turns of Act II, hopefully ending with your protagonist apparently defeated - or at least in a situation from which there appears to be no escape. Traditionally, second acts make up half of a movie's running time. Therefore, your telling of Act II should make up roughly half of your pitch.

- Act Three - The Final Battle. This is the "make or break" point of your screenplay, and of your pitch as well. Movies are ultimately all about their third acts, so you really have to ramp things up here. Don't just gloss over this section and cut straight to the ending. Make your third act as big, as complex, as suspenseful and surprising and unpredictable as you can. Put your audience on the edge of their seats while you make it look like your hero will never prevail until - WHAM! The hero comes through in the end (or maybe doesn't), leading to your resolution and, hopefully, a great final line or image to go out on. Like Act One, Act Three should be roughly 25% of your pitch.

- The Wrap-Up. This is a good spot to state your movie's "theme." What's the point? What's the lesson the hero learns - and the message the audience is supposed to take home?

Good pitching requires confidence, and this can only come from preparation, refinement and practice. Yes, practice. Memorize your pitch the way an actor would memorize a 5- or 10-minute-long performance piece. Practice in the car. In the shower. In front of a mirror. Get so familiar and comfortable with the pitch that you can recite it like the Pledge of Allegiance.

Pitching may be an art form, but it's also a skill - a skill than can be learned. Dedicate yourself to polishing your pitch to a fine sheen and you'll find yourself miles ahead of your competition. You may not make every sale but, trust me, you'll always be asked back. - ALLEN B. URY