What is a film pitch?
A film pitch is a short, punchy summary of a film project or a work that has already been released in cinemas. Its aim is to entice a producer, investor or broadcaster to find out more, and even to finance or produce the film. The pitch is also intended to arouse public interest when the film (or show) is released for promotional purposes.
Why is a good pitch essential?
It is vital to write a good pitch for a film because it is this short text that will give the first impression of the film. It comes at a key moment, when you have to convince your audience that the film deserves to be seen and… financed. A good pitch has several impacts:
It captures attention quickly. Producers, distributors and investors receive dozens or even hundreds of projects and film ideas. A good pitch enables the members of the relevant professions to quickly understand whether the project is more interesting than others and deserves to be financed. A well-written pitch can help you get a meeting or financial support better than sending a complete script.
A good pitch is also a perfect networking tool, especially in the film and audiovisual industry. At festivals, cocktail parties, previews, etc. it’s not uncommon to come across a producer, a scriptwriter, a broadcaster, etc. You then have very little time to present a draft script with impact, to convince and make an impression. This is often called an “elevator pitch”: to put it plainly, you need to be able to sell the idea for a film in the time it takes to get to the lift.
How do you write a good film pitch?
Writing a good film pitch, as taught in some film schools, means mastering the subtle art of arousing interest without saying too much. An effective pitch has the following qualities:
It’s short and to the point. It’s a simple, impactful text of a few lines that takes between 1 and 2 minutes to read. It starts by describing the central idea of the film, the main character and his objective. From the very first lines, the interviewer or reader should also know the genre of the film and its tone (action, comedy, drama, thriller, horror, science fiction, fantasy, musical, etc.).
A good pitch grabs you right from the start. To do this, use a hook, i.e. a punchy opening sentence, an intriguing question or a strong image. Your pitch is a bit like a hook that immediately grabs your interviewer’s attention. For example, the pitch for Jaws might go something like this: A man-eating shark terrorises a peaceful seaside resort. The chief of police, a biologist and a fisherman set out to confront it”.
The structure of an effective pitch is clear. It is generally structured as follows:
- Who are the hero and the main characters?
- What is the aim of the film and the main protagonist?
- What obstacles will the main character have to overcome to achieve his or her goal?
- What twists and turns can we expect? Without giving too much away, what we are talking about here is an unexpected change in the course of the plot, likely to alter the viewer’s perception of the story or the characters.
The pitch highlights the film’s originality, showing what makes it unique without ever going into detail. It evokes the tone and any elements that will differentiate the film from others in the same genre.
It evokes an emotion, giving a foretaste of what the viewer is going to feel. The pitch should convey the mood of the film: will we laugh, cry, be scared…?
Here are some examples of good pitches:
For the film Avatar: A paraplegic marine joins a scientific mission on the planet Pandora, where lush jungles and mystical creatures populate a fragile ecosystem. He finds himself torn between his duty as a soldier and his desire to protect the world he now considers his own. The film takes viewers on a visually stunning and emotionally powerful adventure.
For the film Le Père Noël est une ordure: Behind the scenes at an SOS Détresse-Amitié helpline, on a Christmas Eve like no other, nothing goes according to plan. With volunteers on the verge of a nervous breakdown, visitors who are each crazier than the last, and a dodgy Father Christmas who turns up unannounced, the night promises to be… explosive.
Tips and mistakes to avoid
Giving away too much of the plot…
The golden rule is that a pitch should not summarise every scene in the film and, above all, should not reveal everything! Like a very short trailer, a pitch aims to arouse curiosity without revealing the twists and turns or the ending. So it’s important to keep the mystery alive, and not to divulge too many details, least of all the ending. Producers, scriptwriters and viewers want to be surprised. Giving them too much information takes all the fun out of discovering the film.
… Without being too vague!
A pitch that is too vague is one that uses general, empty formulas that can be applied to any film. The interviewer or reader should be able to guess the content of the film just by listening to or reading the pitch. If this is not the case, the pitch is not specific enough. It should be clear who the main character is, what their objective is, what the obstacle or conflict is and what makes the story unique. For example, don’t write ” This is the story of a woman who will experience things that will change her life.” Instead, replace this imprecise sentence with “ A careerist lawyer wakes up in a parallel world where she is reunited with her childhood sweetheart. She must choose between the success she’s known and love.” The pitch is clearer, we understand the theme, the dilemma, and it’s intriguing.
Writing a pitch that’s too long
Even if it’s a summary of a feature film, a pitch often takes no more than 5 or 10 lines. When spoken, it takes 1 to 2 minutes to read, because any speaker has a short attention span. A concise pitch will keep their interest, whereas a lengthy speech is likely to bore them. By going into too much detail, you can also drown out crucial information with superfluous details. A short, easy-to-remember message will leave a positive and lasting impression.
Adapting your pitch to your audience
Adapting your pitch to your audience, by speaking their language, is the key to capturing their interest. You won’t pitch in the same way to a producer, a competition jury, a journalist or a spectator. Always ask yourself the following question: “What is the person I’m talking to trying to hear or understand?” and adjust your writing angle accordingly.
Facing a producer or investor
Show that your film has strong commercial potential. Highlight the genre (you need to show that the film will be easy to sell), the target audience and the originality of the concept. ” It’s a low-budget psychological thriller, in the spirit of Gone Girl, designed for platforms like Netflix”is a pitch capable of holding a funder’s attention. Add references to successful films with which the project could identify (your film would be a romantic comedy in the vein of Pretty Woman, for example). Also mention the cast you have in mind and the location you think would be suitable.
In front of an audience, a reader
Convincing an audience simply means making them want to see the film. To do this, you need to focus your pitch on the story, the character, the emotion felt and the originality of the film’s universe. “It’s a slapstick comedy set in a world where people have the power to become invisible for a single day of the year. You laugh, you cry and you wonder what you would do in the characters’ place!
