I wrote this "article" last November, after attending the Hollywood Sell Your Story to Hollywood Buyers event in LA. Here's the upcoming event - www.screenplay.com/events/news/hff_october_2004.html
I've change the log lines of the stories below, because the stories themselves have changed; edited polished and are now ready (I believe) for show, representation or sale.
The article itself is one I thought was some good information for other writers who plan on, or are attending pitch festivals or sessions, so they'd know what to expect.
It is one of the most exhilarating things you will ever do in this business/career... and you'll do it as long as you write and try to sell your material.
Believe me, you'll love them! :clap
PITCHING SESSIONS
Bobby Fleeks
(Seeking representation - again)
WHAT TO SAY, AND WHAT NOT TO SAY
Just returned from the “Sell Your Story to Hollywood Buyers” conference in Los Angeles, and boy, let me tell you I had a great time! It was one heck of a learning experience.
In hopes of not bursting anyone’s bubble of the fairy tale Hollywood, of writers struggling long over their keyboard, beating themselves up over every nuance of a word, or design frame. HOLLYWOOD TODAY IS LOOKING FOR STORIES and they will buy ideas!
But if you can’t give that story in a sentence, or two. And, tell the story in under five minutes, forget it. Your time’s up.
And that’s just how fast it went. Saturday, a trial period where we learned how to make a pitch. An art in itself. And don’t believe for any second that because you think you can write you can pitch. Not by any means.
Pitching is an art in itself!
I was amazed at how the producers would assist on the first day with giving us a chance to practice our pitches ahead of time, to see how silly or how great we actually sounded. I admit that first day I was pretty shabby. But after a night rehearsing I think I had it down.
Only a couple of really interesting stories got a second glance. A guy with a true story about his theatrical family, a tale of life aboard a military ship during a perilous time in our history, and a twisted comedic tale of death. I garnered some attention with a couple of mine, and was really excited at that interest.
It was a revealing, exhilarating, disappointing, rewarding, exciting and disturbing look at the way Hollywood REALLY works.
Advancement in any career is tenuous at best, but writing contains the most bizarre set of rules, which are hailed when they are standardized, praised when they stray from convention, and at the same time derided for the break with tradition.
In pitching, it is what made your story different from the rest. You have three minutes to tell your story and you better be able to include all the important elements important to the story, the character, and why we should care about your protagonist in that allotted time. Quite a daunting task!
First and foremost, you must understand a Pitch is not just stating your log line.
It is that, AND telling your story in a COMPELLING manner. And that’s the key – the secret to successful pitching. Telling your story in a way that is so compelling that the people want more. So compelling that they get drawn into the story. They want to know why, how, and what for?
One of the tricks taught at the Festival was the “ONE SHEET.”
It is a one-page view of the work you wish to pitch, with your log and brief descriptive pitch written out. Now you can either read it or say it (it’s best to say it to the face) but if you read just make sure you make enough eye contact to drill your idea into the brain of the receiver.
This is how your scripts get read after the pitching. If they like your pitch, and it sounds like something they could use and make some money with then they will tell you on the spot, whether you should send in that idea or they'll use that favorite love to hate line, “What else you got?”
So Hollywood does buy ideas. They are dying for something original. The only problem is, that not too many people have original ideas. You got six pitches at this last fest, and out of those, five of mine were good. One person came straight out and said too expensive for I Live, but one is going to contact me, two want scripts and the other two want to see something I just made up on the spot.
So you see Hollywood is desperate for you stuff. But just make it good and original.
Even if it’s a story about a little old lady crossing the street. Make it compelling!
Why is the little old lady crossing the street?
What’s on the other side?
Will someone try to stop her?
Does she get hit? Does she hit someone?
What makes the story of this little old lady compelling?
Now if she’s an 84 year retired super hero who’s going to pick up her unemployment check from the super hero’s welfare office, and has to stop a bank robbery with her withered body and failing super powers while saving a monster baby that about to get hit in the middle of the street. Now that’s compelling!
Here’s a couple from my one sheet that I pitched just to give you an example. You know some that you originally saw here, but can you guess which one I just made up while there?
These are all registered or copy written scripts, outlines or synopses.
Remember, Hollywood buys ideas. So at these pitch session, if you happen to do that, NEVER TELL THEM YOU DON’T HAVE THE SCRIPT! Just tell them you’ll get it to them.
Anyway, it was a trip and a heck of a learning experience.
Hope what I learned can help someone prepare for his or hers.
Ciao-
ON THE MARKET (as of 8/30/04)
Completed Scripts
MIND'S EYE
A little girl's mind holds the key to the future's end and two disgraced detectives must unravel the mysteries of her prophetic visions. Problem is, the new world's God wants to shape the future his way, and battles to keep the child's prophecies hidden and keep the truth unrevealed.
I LIVE
Log line:
A Black alien lands on earth, and a con man makes the world believe he’s god returned. Seeing the alien’s agenda is not holy, and on the run from the police, the FBI and Space Hunters out to bring them both to justice, the conman finds he must be the one to bring this deity down.
X-Stream
Log line:
A group of genius brats invent a way to travel to another dimension, and find it a perfect world… and ours an experiment… about to be ended. Now, these misfits must find a way to warn the world of cannibalistic plant people, who want Earth as their next smorgasbord.
The J.A.C.O.B.S. Project
Computers with bodies have taken over the world. Grown tired of serving they now want to reproduce. A tech brought in to create the spermal replicant to enable reproduction, doesn’t know they have used his own wife as an incubator for the first hybrid baby. He must stop this project, save his wife and with the aid of a replicant turncoat and an Aibo puppy, find a way to keep humans as the dominant force on the planet.
The bottom line to all this?
What sells is all that matters?
I write what I’d like to see, what I think others would like to see. And the truth for all is...
When you write your story, remember you'll have to talk it to someone to get it made -
So... it all boils down to...
Write a compelling story, and tell it in a compelling manner.
:lect
Bobby:thumbs
I've change the log lines of the stories below, because the stories themselves have changed; edited polished and are now ready (I believe) for show, representation or sale.
The article itself is one I thought was some good information for other writers who plan on, or are attending pitch festivals or sessions, so they'd know what to expect.
It is one of the most exhilarating things you will ever do in this business/career... and you'll do it as long as you write and try to sell your material.
Believe me, you'll love them! :clap
PITCHING SESSIONS
Bobby Fleeks
(Seeking representation - again)
WHAT TO SAY, AND WHAT NOT TO SAY
Just returned from the “Sell Your Story to Hollywood Buyers” conference in Los Angeles, and boy, let me tell you I had a great time! It was one heck of a learning experience.
In hopes of not bursting anyone’s bubble of the fairy tale Hollywood, of writers struggling long over their keyboard, beating themselves up over every nuance of a word, or design frame. HOLLYWOOD TODAY IS LOOKING FOR STORIES and they will buy ideas!
But if you can’t give that story in a sentence, or two. And, tell the story in under five minutes, forget it. Your time’s up.
And that’s just how fast it went. Saturday, a trial period where we learned how to make a pitch. An art in itself. And don’t believe for any second that because you think you can write you can pitch. Not by any means.
Pitching is an art in itself!
I was amazed at how the producers would assist on the first day with giving us a chance to practice our pitches ahead of time, to see how silly or how great we actually sounded. I admit that first day I was pretty shabby. But after a night rehearsing I think I had it down.
Only a couple of really interesting stories got a second glance. A guy with a true story about his theatrical family, a tale of life aboard a military ship during a perilous time in our history, and a twisted comedic tale of death. I garnered some attention with a couple of mine, and was really excited at that interest.
It was a revealing, exhilarating, disappointing, rewarding, exciting and disturbing look at the way Hollywood REALLY works.
Advancement in any career is tenuous at best, but writing contains the most bizarre set of rules, which are hailed when they are standardized, praised when they stray from convention, and at the same time derided for the break with tradition.
In pitching, it is what made your story different from the rest. You have three minutes to tell your story and you better be able to include all the important elements important to the story, the character, and why we should care about your protagonist in that allotted time. Quite a daunting task!
First and foremost, you must understand a Pitch is not just stating your log line.
It is that, AND telling your story in a COMPELLING manner. And that’s the key – the secret to successful pitching. Telling your story in a way that is so compelling that the people want more. So compelling that they get drawn into the story. They want to know why, how, and what for?
One of the tricks taught at the Festival was the “ONE SHEET.”
It is a one-page view of the work you wish to pitch, with your log and brief descriptive pitch written out. Now you can either read it or say it (it’s best to say it to the face) but if you read just make sure you make enough eye contact to drill your idea into the brain of the receiver.
This is how your scripts get read after the pitching. If they like your pitch, and it sounds like something they could use and make some money with then they will tell you on the spot, whether you should send in that idea or they'll use that favorite love to hate line, “What else you got?”
So Hollywood does buy ideas. They are dying for something original. The only problem is, that not too many people have original ideas. You got six pitches at this last fest, and out of those, five of mine were good. One person came straight out and said too expensive for I Live, but one is going to contact me, two want scripts and the other two want to see something I just made up on the spot.
So you see Hollywood is desperate for you stuff. But just make it good and original.
Even if it’s a story about a little old lady crossing the street. Make it compelling!
Why is the little old lady crossing the street?
What’s on the other side?
Will someone try to stop her?
Does she get hit? Does she hit someone?
What makes the story of this little old lady compelling?
Now if she’s an 84 year retired super hero who’s going to pick up her unemployment check from the super hero’s welfare office, and has to stop a bank robbery with her withered body and failing super powers while saving a monster baby that about to get hit in the middle of the street. Now that’s compelling!
Here’s a couple from my one sheet that I pitched just to give you an example. You know some that you originally saw here, but can you guess which one I just made up while there?
These are all registered or copy written scripts, outlines or synopses.
Remember, Hollywood buys ideas. So at these pitch session, if you happen to do that, NEVER TELL THEM YOU DON’T HAVE THE SCRIPT! Just tell them you’ll get it to them.
Anyway, it was a trip and a heck of a learning experience.
Hope what I learned can help someone prepare for his or hers.
Ciao-
ON THE MARKET (as of 8/30/04)
Completed Scripts
MIND'S EYE
A little girl's mind holds the key to the future's end and two disgraced detectives must unravel the mysteries of her prophetic visions. Problem is, the new world's God wants to shape the future his way, and battles to keep the child's prophecies hidden and keep the truth unrevealed.
I LIVE
Log line:
A Black alien lands on earth, and a con man makes the world believe he’s god returned. Seeing the alien’s agenda is not holy, and on the run from the police, the FBI and Space Hunters out to bring them both to justice, the conman finds he must be the one to bring this deity down.
X-Stream
Log line:
A group of genius brats invent a way to travel to another dimension, and find it a perfect world… and ours an experiment… about to be ended. Now, these misfits must find a way to warn the world of cannibalistic plant people, who want Earth as their next smorgasbord.
The J.A.C.O.B.S. Project
Computers with bodies have taken over the world. Grown tired of serving they now want to reproduce. A tech brought in to create the spermal replicant to enable reproduction, doesn’t know they have used his own wife as an incubator for the first hybrid baby. He must stop this project, save his wife and with the aid of a replicant turncoat and an Aibo puppy, find a way to keep humans as the dominant force on the planet.
The bottom line to all this?
What sells is all that matters?
I write what I’d like to see, what I think others would like to see. And the truth for all is...
When you write your story, remember you'll have to talk it to someone to get it made -
So... it all boils down to...
Write a compelling story, and tell it in a compelling manner.
:lect
Bobby:thumbs
