Chapter 2
THE PERFECT PITCH
I don’t know how the word pitch first became synonymous with the art of describing a film but it seems appropriate. The film pitch is like the baseball pitch in that it is critical to the outcome of the game. While it is the pitcher’s job to get the ball over the plate, it is actually the catcher’s job to tell the pitcher what kind of ball to throw.

Your catcher is your investor or your funder. If you pay attention to your catcher you will have a better chance of winning the game. You know that you might have to adjust the speed and the trajectory a little here and a little there, depending upon to whom you’re pitching, but the goal will remain the same: you’ve got to connect the ball with the glove. To do this you will need to create a pitch that will sell and you need to work on it until it is perfect. This is one of the most important steps in the Art of Film Funding.

In the Appendix you will find a list of funders. Don’t even think about getting up there on the mound and going after these funders until you have perfected your pitch.

Go back to the questions in Chapter One that every potential filmmaker should answer and expound upon your answers.

1. List three compelling reasons why this film should be made. 2. Describe your connection to the story and explain why you are the only one who should make this film.
3. Who will benefit from this film?
Plus, tell me what the urgency is, why make this film now?

Write the story of your film.  Keep writing until you run out of steam, then walk away and let it sit for at least two days. Sometimes when you start writing you open a floodgate of creativity. Keep a little notebook in your pocket during the day and on your nightstand when you go to bed so you can jot down ideas as they come. Remember, an unwritten idea is an unfinished idea.
Now go back to your notes and edit everything down to two paragraphs or less. This becomes the first part of your proposal and the beginning of your pitch. The pitch must convey the meaning of your film while capturing all the passion, intrigue, drama, or humor of your story. It must move the audience and leave them wanting more. That’s why they fund you; they want to see the film finished.
Writing a pitch is like writing poetry or the lyrics to a song. Use words that give the utmost compression, force, and economy. As you work on your pitch, read it out loud. How does it sound? Does it roll off your tongue or does it sound clumsy? Rewrite it, read it out loud, then rewrite it again. Keep working on it until the words have just the right rhythm and pace.

Visually Describe Your Film
A pitch must visually describe your film. This is the first mistake most people make. They leave out adjectives. When you tell me that your hero is tall, dark and handsome, I have a visual. Add creative or nerdy and I have an even better visual, plus I have some “feeling” for him. The words you choose are paramount to creating the image for your potential funder. Your words must conjure up a vision of your film so as you speak them, your catcher can imagine your completed film.
Visually describing your film is the most important part of the pitch.

We don’t talk the way we write. I learned that from the first production I made. I wrote a script about my unique process of evaluating used tape. My company bought “1” and betacam tape from TV stations here and abroad.  Then we processed it on evaluating machines, repackaged it and sold it to other TV stations! We had lots of fun doing this and we made a very nice profit. So when my friend, IATSE Director of Photography Geno Talvin, promised to shoot this “little video” for me as a gift, I sat down and wrote a script that was the same as the copy I wrote to sell my evaluated tape.
He looked at it and said, “This won’t work.” Just as simple as that he summed up my two weeks of writing. He knew from shooting thousands of pages of dialogue that my script was the written word and not the spoken word. Well, I was adamant that it was perfect and I stood my ground. Geno, the D.P., just smiled that knowing smile and said, “We’ll use a lot of your short ends on this production!” And right he was, after 17 rewrites we finally had a decent script.

Please don’t make the mistake I made. Write your pitch, then speak it and rewrite it until it sounds natural. Actually if you can catch yourself on tape talking about your film, that is the best way to create your pitch. Use words that you normally use in conversation and you will see the difference between the written and the spoken words.

Sticky Story Pitch
What do you think is the most important element of your pitch?
After listening to thousands I think it is a “sticky story,” not just a story, but one I can easily remember.  When you pitch someone it’s an opportunity to spread the word about your film to all their friends, right?  Yes, but only if they can remember it.  “Made to Stick” by Chip and Dan Heath says that “too often you are cursed with too much knowledge.”  Bringing that wealth of info into a simple sticky story is the key to the perfect pitch.  I highly recommend this book.

A “sticky story” is one where you take all the knowledge you have on your film and transform it into a simple story, one that is easy to remember.  The first rule is to keep it simple, find the core of the idea.  You may have paragraphs of info; keep taking things away until you can’t take anything else out or you lose the essence.

Step one, find the core.  Think of journalists who create lead copy for articles and you get the story in a few words, they prioritize.  So can you. This simple story needs something unexpected; this is to be sure you get their attention.  You might ask a question that the film needs to answer.  It can be a surprise like a shocking fact or a point of interest they will remember or a massive change in direction for the film. 

You need something concrete, like specific people doing specific things or give them some facts.  Concrete ideas are easy for people to remember and they create a foundation.

Credible information makes people believe your story.  This can be a place for truthful core details and please make them as vivid as possible.  We need to see your film from the pitch.

Emotion is next.  I say, “Touch my heart and I reach for my pocket book.” 
We communicate through the heart chakra, so touch me with your story.
You can do this through one of your characters, let me feel them.
When you pitch me your “sticky story,” I want to walk away with your film in my mind forever.  Then I can tell my friends that I invested/donated to your film and brag about it. They can then tell their friends about this wonderful film and on and on it goes.  This is what you want.

Remember, you have carried this film for several years and your audience is just hearing about it.  That’s why brevity and a sticky story are needed to transmit your knowledge to someone who knows nothing about it.  This is an excellent way to create your pitch.

Find these elements of a sticky story, unexpected, concrete, credible and emotion from the long draft you made.  They are there, just put them into this format and begin to pitch yourself, then family, then friends, then no one is safe! 

The Winning Pitch by John McKeel
Just the thought of standing in front of an audience scared Jim. He wasn’t alone. A recent survey showed more people are afraid of public speaking than dying, so Jim worked very hard to memorize what he thought was a great speech. He wrote and re-wrote it until every word was perfect. Unfortunately, when it came time to deliver his talk, Jim was so nervous he forgot what he was going to say. He stumbled over his words. Jim stopped frequently and his eyes naturally rolled to the top of his head as he tried to remember those perfect phrases he had so meticulously constructed. He lost contact with his audience and the speech was a total bomb.

You’ve written a great proposal, but now you have to pitch it. Never confuse the written word with the spoken word. They are two completely different forms of communication. Beautiful writing can sound stilted and pretentious when read aloud. Great literature doesn’t guarantee great performance, so prepare an oral presentation orally. This is so important I’m going to repeat it. Prepare an oral presentation orally.

How is that possible? You know your material. You’ve lived and breathed your project for a long time. You’ve talked about it with friends, family and probably perfect strangers so your first exercise in the preparation of a great oral pitch is to sit down in a room by yourself and just start talking. Let the words come as you describe your passion. As you talk about it, certain sentences will stand out. Quickly jot it down and then keep talking. Again, remember this is an oral presentation, not a written proposal. Don’t write down any more words than it will take to remind you of the thought. The key is to get back to talking as soon as possible. It’s an oral presentation, so we are preparing orally for it.

If you are having trouble getting started with your talk, answer these questions out loud. Imagine that I am right there with you. Now let’s talk: 1. Your film is a jewel with many facets. Can you describe some of these facets and some of the other themes I will see in your final project?
2. Now, if you had to choose only one theme, what is the most important
facet? Why?
3. Who are you making this film for?
4. You seem very passionate about your project. Why?
5. Tell me about some of the characters I will meet in your film.
6. What do you hope people will take away from watching your documentary?
7. The three most important topics to address in your pitch are:
•What is this film about?
•Why make it now?
•You have to convince us our money won’t be wasted. Tell us why you will see this film through to completion.

After an hour you should have pages of great sentences that will trigger great thoughts. Now it’s time to find your theme.

Look over those pages of sentences you just wrote down. Do you see any themes? It’s time to take out more paper and write a different theme on the top of
each page. Now copy all of the sentences that relate to that theme onto that page.

Take a break. Have a cup of coffee. Play with the kids and then come back to your notebook. Look through all the pages. One will stand out. You’ve done
it! That’s your theme for this pitch but how will you organize those random sentences into an organized pitch?

Try giving a three-minute talk from just the notes on that particular page. A couple of things will happen. First, a natural rhythm will develop. You’ll discover
you need to say this before that. A rough outline will develop. You will also find that some of the sentences aren’t as powerful as the others. Discard them and you will be left with pure gold.

 (John McKeel wrote this for my monthly newsletter to filmmakers. If you want to be on the mailing list for information like this, please sign up on the first
page under newsletter at www.fromtheheartproductions.com.) this is a sample of the second chapter of The Art of Film Funding.