How To Structure a Pitch

Whether you’re looking for distribution for your film, looking for someone to buy your screenplay, or looking for an agent to represent you in the industry, every pitch has the same basic elements.  This blog entry is an outline of what those elements are, and how to build a roadmap that will give you the very best chance of success when pitching.

 

Before we get started with building your pitch, there are two basic questions you need to ask yourself.  In fact, this initial, crucial step is precisely where at least 50% of the actors, screenwriters, and other creative talent in the business shoot themselves in the foot when building a new business relationship.

 

Those two questions are:

 

What do you want?

What is this pitch about?  In other words, specifically what are you hoping to achieve?  Do you want an agent to sign you?  Do you want someone to give you money?  Make up your mind, and you’ll have something concrete to build your pitch towards.

 

Deciding what it is you want is one of the hardest things to do.  As soon as you give a specific definition for success in any particular endeavor, you are also creating endless ways to fail.  Like they say in the circus, don’t look down.  Don’t worry about everything that can go wrong right now – we’ll address what we can later on in the pitch-building process, and everything else will take care of itself.  For right now, define the endgame.

 

If you’re selling a script, getting a check is the endgame.  If you’re looking for representation, it’s signing the contract.  Ok?

 

Next question:

 

What can you give to get what you want?

In other words, what do you have to offer the person you’re pitching?  If you’re selling a script, what have you done to ensure the script’s success as a film?  If you’re pitching yourself to a representative, how much are you booking without them?

 

What’s in it for me?  What do I get?  That’s what every person in the world is thinking when you try to sell them something.  You’d better have some unreasonably fantastic answers to that question before you open a business discussion.

 

During the pitch, you’re going to find new opportunities to give them “WAM WIG” (What’s in it for me?  What do I get? ).  Don’t rely on that.  Organic processes only happen in rich soil, right?  You’re only going to get to know this person if you’ve anticipated their needs and provided for them.

 

With that in mind, put some thought into what kinds of things would be way more valuable to the person you’re pitching than whatever it is you’re asking for.  In the end, we all want a good deal.  What’s going to make this a fantastic deal for them, right out of the gate?

 

Just as importantly, can you actually provide that?

 

So…  Clearly, coming up with some careful, honest answers to these questions could potentially take months of research.  Then again, maybe you already know the answers.  Either way, let’s take a look at how to mold your value and goals into an actual presentation.

 

1)      ENGAGE:  This is where you tell the person you’re pitching who the hell you are, and what the hell you’re doing in their office (or on their phone).  In other words, you need to clarify your relationship with this person, you need to clarify your goals, and you need to give them a heaping plateful of “What about me?  What do I get?”  What’s more, you need to do it RIGHT NOW.  Then, RIGHT AWAY, you need to make sure the person you’re talking to has heard what you said.

 

If you’re asking for money to make a movie, something appropriate might be:

 

 “Mr. Investor, my name is Tennyson E. Stead and I’m the producer and director of Sam Bailey.  Right now, I’m going to make it painstakingly clear to you why it is you stand to make upwards of three times your money investing in this film.”

 

Then, I ask a question to see if they’re with me:

 

“First of all, are you aware of the overwhelming success of independent films like Slumdog Millionaire and District 9?”

 

Depending on what they say, I’ll know whether the investor is engaged.  If all I get is a monosyllabic grunt, I need to give them another piece of WAM WIG and ask another question.

 

2)      OPEN:  As soon as there’s a lively response to the engage, it’s time to open the discussion… and contrary to popular belief, the only way to open a dialogue is by asking questions.  Believe me, I know you’re just brimming with fantastic information to share.  Every salesperson loves to talk, but for right now the best thing you can do is sit on it.  Find out who this person is.  Find out what they need.  What’s more, find out if they already see the value in what you have to offer.

 

Asking questions is the only way you’re going to get any of these things done.  If you’re asking for money, ask them what they know about the success of independent film.  As them why they think movies like these have been so successful.  Ask them what benefits an investment like this can have for their portfolio.

 

If you’re pitching to an agent, ask them why they think it’s valuable that you’ve been booking the shows you have, or what benefit there is to all the webisodes you’ve been filming.

 

Basically, you want to ask them questions that demand actual, complex responses.  Stay away from yes or no questions.

 

In addition, it  helps to ask questions that keep the conversation focused on your goal.  Don’t be afraid to ask questions that keep the conversation on the topics you want to explore – after all, it’s your pitch!  If this other person knew more than you about this topic, they’d be pitching you.  For that reason, it’s good to use your questions to keep some control over the conversation.

 

Have a gigantic list of questions when you go into your pitch, and keep asking them until you’ve got the information you need to move forward, and you’ve established a rapport with them.

 

One other thing that helps is to ask a few questions that deal with the biggest risks behind what you’re proposing.  When was the last time this investor decided to make an investment that might lose them their money?  When was the last time this agent took on a client who had never booked a feature before?

 

When you ask these questions, you need to be prepared for the fear they can stir up.  Have answers to the really tough questions handy, so when they ask them you’re in a position to reassure and comfort the person you’re proposing to do business with.

 

3)      FEED:  Now, you can talk.  Start with the really big points, like the state of the overall film market (in the case of the investor) or the huge number of shows you’ve  booked (in the case of the agent).  Work your way down to the specifics from there, like how the investor recoups their money or the really close relationship you have with that one famous casting director.

 

The other thing to keep in mind here is that people only remember a small part of what you tell them.  There are two things you can do to make this easier on them.

 

First of all, make sure every piece of information you give them is really, really important.

 

Secondly, always ask them a question that makes them respond to what you just said.  If you’ve just told an investor that Sam Bailey shares a market with modern fantasies like Phenomenon and The Fisher King, ask them how they think those movies performed.  If you’ve just told an agent you were featured on CSI, ask them how many viewers they think the show has.

 

4)      ACTIVATE:  Here’s the scary part.  You need to get to the goal.  If you’re talking to an investor, this is where you tell them to fill out the agreement and write the check.  If you’re talking to an agent, this is where you ask for the contract.

 

Don’t be afraid to hear “No.”  When you ask for the thing you want, people aren’t always going to tell you “Yes.”  In fact, most of the people you wind up doing business with will tell you “no” up front.  When they do, ask them what it is they need to get them onboard.

 

Now shut up and listen.

 

Maybe you can give them the things they need.  Maybe not.  Either way, the best way to make this person happy and maintain the relationship is to be honest with yourself.  If you can give them what they need, give it to them and ask for the check.  Ask for the contract.  If there’s another, new “no” – find out what’s behind it and begin the activation process again.

 

If you can’t give them what they need, don’t try to fake it.  Don’t tell them they’re wrong.  Feel free to explore the issue, find out what they really mean by what they’re saying – but if you really can’t satisfy them, you’ve got to tell them.  If you can, refer them to someone who can meet their needs better than you can.  Do them a favor, and they’ll be happy to share their time with you in the future.

 

Pitching is a numbers game.  Your job is to make your pitch as tight and likely to succeed as possible, and then to keep pitching until it does.  Don’t be discouraged by any one individual “No”, and never be rude just because someone else is, or because they didn’t react the way you wanted them to.  If things don’t work out, say “Thank You” and move on.

 

Definitely, practice this process before you pitch a valuable contact.  Write your pitch down, rewrite it, rehearse it – practice it on the phone with your Mom and your friends.  Do it in the mirror.  Do it in your suit.  Do it in your pajamas.  Get comfortable with your roadmap, so you can pitch anytime and anywhere.

 

Most of all, don’t tell yourself that someone else will take care of this.  Film, theater, interactive, and comics are all collaborative arts.  That means we need to work with one another.  At some point, those relationships need to ENGAGE.  When we realize there’s a relationship worth pursuing, we need to OPEN them up.  We FEED those relationships to keep them healthy.  Then, when it’s time to work, we ACTIVATE our relationships and coordinate our efforts.

 

Take control of that process, and you’ll have a creative voice.  Leave that communication up to others and you may get to practice your craft, but you’ll never be a collaborative artist.

 

Those are the basics of pitching, folks!  Let me know if you have any questions!

 

-T

First Video Blog!

Hello, everyone!

After years of text blogging, I'm trying something new. Seems to me that letting you see my face is much more friendly and personal than a page of text once a week. If this works, please let me know and I'll be sure to offer up more of it!

Do you need a MIRACLE WORKER... and can't afford one?

Are you a producer or director who wishes you could clone yourself?

I'm the next best thing!

My work hours need to be limited to a reasonable work-week (irregular production schedules excepted), owing to the time my own first feature, Sam Bailey, is demanding of me. At the same time, it is urgent and important that I find a source of income before this month is over.

My solution is to offer you a fantastic set of skills at a price that's unreasonably low:

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- Everything I’ve done for Sam Bailey, the independent films I've helped launch into production, and even my short film was accomplished with nothing more than a cell phone and a laptop. Those accomplishments range from negotiating distribution for a feature film to organizing production, to haggling over prices with Oscar-Winning talent. I’d make a great go-to assistant for anyone from a director to a producer to a designer to a line producer.

- Through independent film finance, I have seven years of cold-calling sales experience. I’m fantastic on the phone in any capacity, and I’m very disciplined and hard working. Features I've helped to finance include Noah's Ark, Igor, Bob Funk, Beneath the Shadows, Bunyan and Babe, The Heroes of Color City, and Amarillo Armadillo.

- Those who have worked with me on set or on stage can tell you that my disposition on a crew of any sort is cheerful and tireless. I’ve unloaded many trucks, and I’m familiar with all varieties of rigging equipment, lighting equipment, and so forth. I’d make a great crew member, and my financial needs are not so demanding that I’d refuse work as a PA.

- I am an effective, efficient, crafty writer. Whether it’s technical writing, legal writing, marketing copy or development work, I’m going to offer creative, clean solutions that get the message across.

- Thanks to my work with 8 Sided Films, social media has become something I understand intrinsically, and I’d be delighted to help anyone organize their social media campaign as either an employee or a consultant. Freeing this business from the yoke of traditional branding is one of my long-term goals.

- I have a fantastic network, and maintain valuable relationships in film production, film finance, and film distribution. As a writer, I have agency and legal representation that I swear by.

- My greatest asset is my resourcefulness. I’m accustomed to making things happen with minimal resources, and I might as well get paid for it!

---

Someone with this level of experience in the studio system would cost several hundred thousand dollars a year! With all my entrepreneurial projects taking flight, I’m looking to offer these very same skills for a satisfactory living wage and the opportunity to build relationships.

Right now, someone has the opportunity to get a powerhouse working for them and behind them, at absurdly low cost.

I've worked miracles for many directors and producers in the past, I'm happy to offer references, and I'm ready to begin work immediately.

If anyone has any ideas, contacts, or knows of a problem someone would be willing to pay me to solve, please let me know!

Yours truly,
Tennyson E. Stead
tennyson@8sidedfilms.com
www.imdb.com/name/nm2488064

SHARDFALL: Sword and Sorcery Tabletop RPG FREE!

Millenia ago, one mortal began a war against the gods. Now, their power becomes your power as adventure takes you across the savage and beautiful world of Shardfall!

Do you have what it takes to bear the shard? Find out at: http://www.8sidedforum.com/group/shardfall

For the first time, 8 Sided Films is sharing the tabletop role-playing games to which we owe our name, COMPLETELY FREE OF CHARGE! Visit us at the 8 Sided Forum, join the Shardfall group, and download the e-book - 200 pages of epic battle against the gods! Aside from the text and printouts included in the PDF, all you need to play is a few pencils, scrap paper, and a handful of 8 sided dice.

http://www.8sidedforum.com/group/shardfall

Before the war, this world had a name. Now we call it Shardfall.

RESTORATION: Hard Science-Fiction Tabletop RPG FREE!

Take on the mantle of a restorer, and change yesterday to save tomorrow! You and your field team of elite time commandos will drop into the ever-changing past and unexplored futures, waging a secret war against mankind's extinction!

Do you have what it takes to be a restorer? Find out at: http://www.8sidedforum.com/group/restoration

For the first time, 8 Sided Films is sharing the tabletop role-playing games to which we owe our name, COMPLETELY FREE OF CHARGE! Visit us at the 8 Sided Forum, join the Restoration group, and download the e-book - over 200 pages of science-fiction action and intrigue! Aside from the text and printouts included in the PDF, all you need to play is a few pencils, scrap paper, and a handful of 8 sided dice.

http://www.8sidedforum.com/group/restoration

Welcome to the only war worth fighting. Welcome to the Restoration.

Why Fred Ward is Awesome

Remo Williams.  Gus Grissom, in The Right Stuff.  Where other actors might play tough and crazy, I always get the sense Fred Ward isn't kidding.

 

I just found these three quotes in Fred Ward's IMDb Pro quotes section, and I had to share them:

 

"I decided to act when I was in the Air Force. I was going with a stripper in San Antonio, hanging out with some bizarre fringe people - who considered themselves "show people" - including this 250-pound transvestite who designed costumes for strip joints, and a few gangsters. I was a young kid in the middle of this stuff, and it led to my decision. They weren't role models in a strict sense; more like the old freaks in the freak show. When I was younger I always felt like an outsider, and they said it was all right to be "the other." They had a nice little society, a little culture, and they dealt with life. So, as soon as I got out of the Air Force, I went right to New York. I figured that I could do anything I wanted. I had no one to answer to, nothing holding me back."

 

"Timber faller. It's the most dangerous, aside from combat, that you can ever have. There are a lot of ways you can get killed. A tree can "barber chair" - come back on you. "Widowmakers," which are dead limbs, can fall out. You can't predict what a tree will do sometimes. You have to watch sawdust and make sure the tree's not rotting. If it is, it might split on you. It's dangerous, it's hot - it's hard work. You have a big chain a saw that's rattling away and bouncing around, and you're slipping and sliding and standing on land that's sometimes nearly straight up and down. It can get crazy. On the other hand, I never wanted to work in an office under fluorescent lights."

 

"At one point I was doing theater in San Francisco and actually living in the theater. I was broke. I was boxing - working out in a gym - and this trainer got me into the union. He started putting all the guys in his stable into the union. So I started making money, stopped acting and saved, to get to Europe. I kept moving around. Three years later I started acting again, because acting drove me. But I was still restless. I studied acting in New York for only six months before I wanted to get a ship for Europe. I'd heard that in Brooklyn you could get into the Scandinavian maritime union and get a ship without having papers. Wound up in Florida, then New Orleans, then Houston. I eventually came to California, worked in a bowling alley as a short-order cook. I drifted, picked tomatoes and beans and lived in labor camps in Ventura County. I wound up in Big Sur. I just kept moving. I went to Ketchikan, Alaska, lived with the Indians in stilt houses, worked in a lumber mill. And I still knew I would get back into acting. Eventually I traveled to Yugoslavia on a freighter, then went to Valencia, Spain and then on to Tangier. I spent three months in Morocco. I wound up in Rome - and finally started acting."

Big Orange Cone

While I haven't been all that vocal about it, I'm in the middle of a massive transition in my life.  Financially and creatively, the work I've been doing for the last several years is finally coming to a head.  While Sam Bailey is a crucial focus of all this excitement, while Heartsgaard is obviously the ongoing realization of a fantastic relationship with my co-creators and my audience, I've only been sharing one part of the picture.

 

Now is not the time to share the rest.  We'll save that for the trade mags and the memoirs.  In the meantime there's a pitfall I've just stepped around, that I think merits a big orange cone.

 

Over the last few weeks, I've caught myself working harder and resting less.  While that may seem normal for a time of transition, it's not healthy for someone like me who already takes on too much, and is already in poor practice when it comes to relaxation...  By raising my output to unsustainable levels, I'm setting myself up for a crash.

 

My saving grace is that I've surrounded myself with people who are sensitive to my frailties, and to whom I listen.  Thank you to Marcus Lovemore in particular, who sat me down on Tuesday and showed me what I was headed for.  Now I'm working on scaling back, resting more, and trusting that some of these problems will probably resolve themselves before I get to them.  Instead of stressing over how I'm going to keep certain parts of my life running, I'm jettisoning the parts that haven't met my needs.  Instead of resisting, I'm streamlining.

 

So why would I try to crash my system?  Why would I want to screw things up for myself?

 

While a stable income and the freedom to pursue my craft have obvious appeal, it's still uncharted territory to my basic survival instincts.  Each of us has parts of our brain designed specifically to keep us alive, and I know I can survive where I am right now.  That part of my brain doesn't want things to change.

 

At the same time, I've created a situation where those changes are inevitable.  In fact, the only surefire way I can keep these fantastic changes from taking place is by removing the one element without which none of it works - me.  If I get sick or hurt, there's a good chance my financial situation and my workday will stay right where they are.

 

Guess what I was going to get by working so hard?  Yep - sick or hurt.

 

Our inner saboteurs have gotten very tricky over the years, because staying alive is extremely important when it comes to evolution.  Those parts of the brain don't understand civilization, or art, or money.  All that part of the brain can relate to is what we've experienced before, and how safe or unsafe it felt.

 

Thankfully, I've got the right people in my life.  Thanks to them, I'm looking at my stress as a sign that my survival instincts are pointing me towards the living and work conditions I already know - when what's best for me is to stand right here and calm down, so my subconscious can see that this new place is even more safe and secure than the old place.

 

Those moments when we don't have time to breathe are EXACTLY the moments we need to breathe the most.  If you feel the world is crashing down around your ears, remember that feeling that way doesn't make it true - and that we all have a very real, very chemical reaction to change.  That's the last moment any of us should be taking action, as much as it feels otherwise.  That's the saboteur, pulling our neurochemical strings to keep us alive.

 

Take those opportunities to calm down.  Call the people who you admire most, let them know how you feel, and listen to what they have to say.  You'll be back on track in no time, and you'll feel safer in the process.

A Word on Contracts

DISCLAIMER: In no way am I qualified to offer legal advice. Never listen to me when it comes to legal advice.

Today, I had a writer ask me which of two contracts was more "industry standard" and appropriate. While I see how he arrived at his question, that's absolutely not the way to make legal decisions.

Look people, contracts are tools. They are merely the means to an end, and have no intrinsic value in and of themselves. Treating the words of a contract like they carry more weight than your actual plans - that directly and utterly defeats the purpose of having a contract in the first place!

You're going to build some weird kind of house, because you don't have the right hammer to build the house you want?

In that regard, contracts are like screenplays. If the movie that's on the page doesn't help the movie getting made, for whatever reason, it needs to be changed - no matter how cool or well-composed the words might be.

Your actions should never have to bend to accommodate the terms of your contract. Instead, your contracts should be enabling and protecting your course of action. Write the contract you want, and sign that.

Don't commit to some contract you found on the internet because you think it's more "secure". Please.

Jacques Cousteau and Guerrilla Filmmaking

Lately I've been having a lot conversations with filmmakers just a few years behind myself, about how they're looking for their opportunity to get into production on their first film, get into a leading role, get behind the camera of a music video, or find good representation so they can finally get their career started.

 

Obviously, I've also been posting a lot lately on the importance of entrepreneurism as an alternative to all that waiting and looking for opportunity.  If there's one thing I hope people take from this blog, it's that people create their own opportunities.

 

In my life, one of the most inspirational and challenging stories on that very subject is the story of how Jacques Cousteau made his first movie about sunken wrecks off the coast of France.

 

We've all heard the story about how Robert Rodriguez sold his body to a lab for drug-testing to fulfill the budget for El Mariachi, yes?  If you haven't, it's a story Mr. Rodriguez used to promote the film, and has since used as an example of how making movies means thinking outside the box.

 

Robert Rodriguez, I adore your work and support your endeavors.  And I apologize upfront - because if you haven't heard it, Jacques Cousteau's story makes you look like a pansy.

 

It makes us all look like pansies, in fact.  That's the point.

 

When Jacques Cousteau was first building his plan for the production of this film, it was the early 1940's.  Over the few years prior, he'd been working with a small group of developers on the aqualung, had been exploring it's uses and limitations, and had successfully shot underwater footage with it.

 

Then the Nazis marched into Paris, took over his country, and put everyone on government ration programs.  Guess what?  Underwater movies about shipwrecks weren't high on the Nazi agenda in terms of resources.  Strictly speaking, Cousteau's movie was over before it even got started.

 

Except it wasn't.  Cousteau started raiding Nazi supply trains for food and equipment.

 

Ok, I'm going to say that again.  COUSTEAU STARTED RAIDING NAZI SUPPLY TRAINS FOR FOOD AND EQUIPMENT.

 

Am I suggesting that this skinny Frenchman was stealing war supplies from the single most organized destructive effort ever to mar the face of our little green and blue marble TO MAKE A MOVIE?

 

No.  I'm not suggesting that.  I'm fucking telling you.

 

Here's the thing...  They started shooting the film using these stolen Nazi supplies, and it wasn't enough.  Literally, with all the swimming these guys were going, it was impossible to steal enough food to make up for the calories they were burning.  Shooting this movie was starving Cousteau and his crew to death.

 

Do you think that stopped him?

 

Cousteau's reasoning was simple - if the fish can survive without starvation, so could he.  Both he and his crew resolved to derive their sustenance from the sea.  For a week or two, they tried fishing - but between the work of feeding themselves and shooting the film, they were still deep in the hole calorie-wise.

 

Seeing that, Cousteau and his crew began to watch the fish more closely.  Slowly but surely, they learned to swim and hunt in the sea more efficiently - by mimicking the movements of the fish themselves.  Like the ancient masters who invented the martial arts in China, Jacques Cousteau became a student of nature and was saved by it.

 

All so he could shoot his movie.  Under the noses of the very Nazis he had stolen his equipment from, in the face of a horrible death by starvation, in the cold waters of the Atlantic, Jacques Cousteau gave himself completely to the process of creating art.

 

Are you seriously telling me that finding representation is the key to getting your career started?!!  Do you really believe that "playing the game" is the best way to go?

 

This isn't Nazi-occupied France.  Once we build a concrete plan to make our work sustainable, we basically have all the support we need.

 

If that's too much work for you, then you don't belong in the same theaters where Jacques Cousteau screened his films, or where Robert Rodriguez first unspooled El Mariachi... because that's exactly the level of commitment our audience deserves.

Do you need financing?

If so, then you're not going to get it.

 

If hearing that sounds needlessly exclusive, believe me when I tell you that I empathize.  At the same time, no amount of anger or gumption will change the basic rules of economics.

 

Instead of focusing on how you need money to accomplish your goals, why not focus on practical ways that your goals can generate money?  Build a plan for how that process works, test it, gather evidence that it's viable, and then put the plan into effect.  If it works, money will come to you.

 

For just a moment, consider what purpose money was invented to fulfill.  At it's most basic, money is a measure of how much you've contributed to the community, and of how much the community owes you in terms of resources.

 

If you consistently use those resources wisely and efficiently, people will ask you to help them with their money.  If folks see you as someone with less expertise in managing community resources then they have themselves, why invest in you?  Why create waste?

 

Right now, you might be asking how in the world anyone expects you to gain that expertise, if nobody gives you the money to practice with.  Simply put, nobody does.  If people expected you to become a financial superstar, you're right - they'd be lining up to give you what you need.

 

Then again, why should they expect that of you?  In other words, how are you using your resources right now?

 

Focus on using your actions in an efficient way, and find the balance between keeping your short-term goals both ambitious and achievable.  Practice putting the resources you have to work, instead of spending all your time looking for more resources than you have.

 

Enjoy what you do, and do it expertly.  Learn to give to the community, and learn how to harvest what you've earned.

 

Eventually you'll find ways to make the money you need.  When you do, people will start lining up - asking you to please use their money instead.

 

There are no shortcuts. If I had realized this earlier myself, I'd have done a lot more by now.  At the same time, that's the process we all go through.

 

Hopefully, I've made that process a little more transparent for someone.