The “ pitch ” [Russin & Downs] “No se escribe para decir algo. Se escribe porque se tiene algo que decir”. Francis Scott FITZGERALD

The “ pitch ” [Russin & Downs] ~~ “Pitching” means going to producer’s office and telling them a story idea you hope they’ll buy. It’s selling ideas rather than scripts. If the producer likes an idea, he/she might buy it and hire you to write it. Pitching is a common way to get a job in television, but it only accounts for about 12% of movie sales.

The “ pitch ” [Russin & Downs] ~~ Two Schools on “Pitching”: 1-- it’s a worthless waste of time and energy that could be better spent actually writing a script, instead of talking about what you’d like to write. 2-- is an essential way to try to sell more story ideas than you’d ever have time to sit down and actually spec.

The “ pitch ” [Russin & Downs] ~~ Pitching is a great way to refine your outline: -- you may find that you never seem to raccount scenes or whole sections. -- you may discover that you need to know more about your story’s world. -- When you tell someone a story, character motivations and their absence become more obvious.

The “ pitch ” [Russin & Downs] A good producer or executive -- A good producer or executive will often ask hard questions that you may not have thougth about that you may not have thougth about.

The “ pitch ” [Russin & Downs] ~~ The worst waste of time for a screenwriter is writing a screenplay no one wants. ~~ There’s an old expression which goes, “If everyone tells you you’re drunk, you’re drunk”.

The “ pitch ” [Russin & Downs] - THE SHORT PITCH ~~ A short pitch clocks in at no more than ten minutes. ~~ Producers and executives take pitches because they want to know what your story is and anything you can do to help them follow the narrative is a good thing..../...

The “ pitch ” [Russin & Downs] - THE SHORT PITCH ~~ A short pitch clocks in at no more than ten minutes. -- Tell them what genre it’s in, and perhaps identify a couple of other (successful) films that it might resemble..../....../...

The “ pitch ” [Russin & Downs] - THE SHORT PITCH ~~ Then go into a brief, visual description of your exciting hero, antagonist and central conflict. [It’s OK to refer to major stars whom you think might be perfect for the role].

The “ pitch ” [Russin & Downs] - THE SHORT PITCH ~~ Then outline the general course of the story, stopping to highlight two or three more of your most exciting scenes with a brief, visual description.

The “ pitch ” [Russin & Downs] - THE SHORT PITCH When you pitch a story you should be passionate. ~~ When you pitch a story you should be passionate. It’s a performance. (A verbal one).

THE EXAMINATION PITCH THE TITLE & THEMATIC PREMISE THE CHARACTERS THE PLOT (3 OR 5 ACTS) THE “HUMAN/INHUMAN VALUES” AT STAKE [THE PROMOTIONAL POSTER]