selling – The Story Department

How to Pitch in One Sentence

Jamie Campbell — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 23:33:57 +0000

I’ve heard thousands of pitches in my thirty years as a screenwriter. What I’ve found is that the majority of pitches were too long, unfocused and boring.

by Steve Kaire

First of all, you should pitch what your story is about, not what happens in your story. Pitching what happens in your story is a recipe for disaster. It becomes an excruciatingly painful unfolding of scenes that lack a cohesive core.

When you pitch what your story is about, your focus is sharper. Only essential details are included. Your logline becomes concentrated and condensed. You do not summarize your story from beginning to end. I’ll repeat that for emphasis. You do not tell what happens in Acts 1, 2 and 3! You are giving the premise or set up of your material. That premise should be intriguing and compelling. Pitching a unique premise draws the listener in and prompts them to ask to read the entire script. That’s what High Concept is all about.

When you pitch what your story is about, your focus is sharper.

The best practice for pitching is to pitch any movie in 1 sentence. Every film ever made can be reduced to a 1 sentence logline. If you can pitch your material in just 1 sentence, you’re forced to include only essential information and nothing extraneous. Once you can pitch your script in 1 sentence, then you can later add a few more sentences for detail, color and texture. For more practice, choose 3 films you’ve seen recently and pitch each of them in just 1 sentence.

– Steve Kaire

Steve Kaire is a Screenwriter/Pitchman who’s sold 8 projects to the major studios without representation. The last project he sold, he’s Co-Producing for Walden Media. A screenwriter for over 30 years, he holds a Masters in Dramatic Writing and has taught writing classes at the American Film Institute.
Steve was featured on the Tonight Show’s, “Pitching to America” and was voted a Star Speaker at Screenwriters Expo three years in a row. His top rated CD, “High Concept – How to Create, Pitch & Sell to Hollywood” is a best seller. You can find his website here.

Jamie Campbell

Jamie Campbell is an author, screenwriter, and television addict.

Jamie is proud to be an Editor for The Story Department.

Her latest series Project Integrate is out now.

jamiecampbell.com.au

The Easiest Genres to Sell

Jamie Campbell — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 23:33:22 +0000

There are genres that are much easier to sell than others. Below is a list of genres that are divided into three tiers.

by Steve Kaire

The easiest genres to sell are in Tier 1. More difficult genres are included in Tier 2. And the most difficult genres are in Tier 3. Writers can improve the chances of selling their scripts if they choose Tier 1 genres. Examples of recent films are given in each genre. Some films fall into more than one genre category.

Tier 1 Genres:

1. ACTION – Action films are the easiest to sell because they are popular in foreign markets since they are not dialogue driven. Examples: “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” “Terminator Salvation,” “Fast and the Furious 3,” “G.I. Joe,” “Quantum of Solace,” “Transformers,” “Live Free and Die Hard.”

2. ADVENTURE – “Land of the Lost,” “Up,” “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” “Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” “National Treasure: Book of Secrets.”

3. THRILLER: Also known as suspense films. “Angels and Demons,” “Whiteout,” “Taking Of Pelham 1, 2, 3,” “Michael Clayton,” “88 Minutes,” “Disturbia.”

4. COMEDY & ROMANTIC COMEDY – “The Proposal,” “The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past,” “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” “He’s Just Not in To You,” “Yes Man,” “What Happens in Vegas,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.”

5. CRIME – “RocknRolla,” “In Bruges,” “The Bank Job,” “Ocean’s Thirteen,” “The Lookout,” “Flashpoint,” “American Gangster.”

Tier 2 Genres:

6. HORROR – “The Happening,” “Quarantine,” “Saw V,” “The Collector,” “Last House on the Left.”

7. FANTASY – “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” “Twilight,” “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” “Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” “The Golden Compass.”

8. SCIENCE FICTION – “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Iron Man,” “Fantasy Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” “I am Legend,” “Spider-Man 3.”

Tier 3 Genres:

9. DRAMA – “21,” “Milk,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Atonement,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Sunshine Cleaning.”

10. MUSICALS – “ Fame,” “Mama Mia!,” “High School Musical 3: Senior Year,” “Cadillac Records.”

11. WESTERNS – “3:10 to Yuma,” “Appaloosa,” “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.”

12. PERIOD – “Sense and Sensibility,” “Across the Universe,” “ Becoming Jane,” “The Patriot,” “Jane Eyre.”

– Steve Kaire

Steve Kaire is a Screenwriter/Pitchman who’s sold 8 projects to the major studios without representation. The last project he sold, he’s Co-Producing for Walden Media. A screenwriter for over 30 years, he holds a Masters in Dramatic Writing and has taught writing classes at the American Film Institute.

Steve was featured on the Tonight Show’s, “Pitching to America” and was voted a Star Speaker at Screenwriters Expo three years in a row. His top rated CD, “High Concept – How to Create, Pitch & Sell to Hollywood” is a best seller. You can find his website here.

Jamie Campbell

Jamie Campbell is an author, screenwriter, and television addict.

Jamie is proud to be an Editor for The Story Department.

Her latest series Project Integrate is out now.

jamiecampbell.com.au

What Screenwriters Are Being Judged On

Jamie Campbell — Mon, 05 May 2014 23:33:11 +0000

As a screenwriter, you’re being judged in three different categories.

by Steve Kaire

The first is your material. When you’re in a pitch session, it’s your ideas and stories which are going to make an impression on the listener. Ask yourself these questions: Is your story unique? Are you approaching it from a different angle than we’ve seen before? In other words, does it have a hook? Producers and agents say that 80% of all material they read has a weak premise. And a weak premise at its core, no matter how well executed, is still a weak premise.

The second category you’re being judged upon is your presentation. How well do you pitch your project and do you conduct yourself in a professional manner? Is your title too generic or confusing? Are you clear on exactly what genre your material is? Is your logline intriguing and succinct?

Producers and agents say that 80% of all material they read has a weak premise.

The final category you’re being judged on is your understanding of how the business actually works. Even if your material and presentation are solid, how easy are you to work with? Are you too rigid to make changes that are asked of you? Are your expectations about money and credits within the standard parameters of the industry? And are you making unrealistic demands including wanting to direct or star in your script? If so, all your doing is sabotaging your career.

All of these areas are covered in depth on my High Concept CD for the cost of a pair of movie tickets. Information is power, arm yourself.

– Steve Kaire

Steve Kaire is a Screenwriter/Pitchman who’s sold 8 projects to the major studios without representation. The last project he sold, he’s Co-Producing for Walden Media. A screenwriter for over 30 years, he holds a Masters in Dramatic Writing and has taught writing classes at the American Film Institute.
Steve was featured on the Tonight Show’s, “Pitching to America” and was voted a Star Speaker at Screenwriters Expo three years in a row. His top rated CD, “High Concept – How to Create, Pitch & Sell to Hollywood” is a best seller. You can find his website here.

Jamie Campbell

Jamie Campbell is an author, screenwriter, and television addict.

Jamie is proud to be an Editor for The Story Department.

Her latest series Project Integrate is out now.

jamiecampbell.com.au

You Finished Your Script, Now What?

Jamie Campbell — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 22:33:36 +0000

So you’ve completed writing a couple of screenplays, now what do you do next? Writers constantly ask me this same question over and over again.

by Steve Kaire

Is it time to get an agent or manager? Should you try to get meetings with studio executives? Should you send out your scripts to production companies? Or is participating in pitch festivals in order to get your material read by industry insiders the way to go?

If you are early in your writing career, I would not recommend you seek an agent or manager at this time. I would fine hone my writing skills several more years before trying to acquire literary representation. I would get my hands on as many produced screenplays as possible and read them.

Decipher why some scripts work and why others don’t. I was an unpaid reader for 2 companies when I started out which enabled me to read over fifty film and television scripts.

If you are early in your writing career, I would not recommend you seek an agent or manager at this time.

I would not approach studio executives for the same reason. You don’t want to waste your best shots when your material is not ready. You have only one chance with any particular person or company. You want to approach them when your material is as good as it’s ever going to be.

I would recommend writers send out their material to production companies that have produced the kinds of movies that you’ve written. Don’t mail out your query letter to just any company. Do your homework and target companies whose credits are the same genre and budget that you’ve written.

Do your homework and target companies.

I would also suggest that writers participate in pitch festivals in order to reach lots of production companies in a single forum. This venue will also test and improve your pitching skills as well.

– Steve Kaire

Steve Kaire is a Screenwriter/Pitchman who’s sold 8 projects to the major studios without representation. The last project he sold, he’s Co-Producing for Walden Media. A screenwriter for over 30 years, he holds a Masters in Dramatic Writing and has taught writing classes at the American Film Institute.

Steve was featured on the Tonight Show’s, “Pitching to America” and was voted a Star Speaker at Screenwriters Expo three years in a row. His top rated CD, “High Concept – How to Create, Pitch & Sell to Hollywood” is a best seller. You can find his website here.

Jamie Campbell

Jamie Campbell is an author, screenwriter, and television addict.

Jamie is proud to be an Editor for The Story Department.

Her latest series Project Integrate is out now.

jamiecampbell.com.au

Don’t F@#%ing Pitch Like This!

Jamie Campbell — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 19:33:05 +0000

One Saturday I attended a fucking great series of talks sponsored by InkTip — a terrific fucking resource for screenwriters.

by Trevor Mayes

Why all the profanity?

Because I got to listen to one of my favorite columnists — Manny Fonseca — who’s known for his foul-mouthed, yet brutally honest and insightful articles for The Business of Show Institute newsletter. I highly recommend subscribing to the free weekly newsletter if you haven’t already.

When not swearing up a blue streak, Manny is a development executive for Kopelson Entertainment (The Devil’s Advocate, U.S. Marshals), where he’s always on the lookout for the next big script.

A Rogues Gallery of Pitchers

His talk at the InkTip Sessions on Saturday revolved around what NOT to do when pitching your script. As a veteran of many pitch fests, Manny’s seen it all. Here are some of the “types” that he and other execs hope to never see again:

The A La Cart

This pitcher gets to the table and plops down his list of scripts, then asks Manny to pick the one he likes. If you’ve got a bunch of scripts, not all of them are going to be suitable (Hint: “No Christmas Movies!”). Just do your homework and pitch the one you think is best for his company.

The Marketeer

This is the guy who comes to the table and starts talking about how the movie should be marketed. Everything from the actors who should be cast, to the tagline on the poster. This guy’s never had a movie produced, but he’s going to tell Manny how to do his job? Really?

The Show and No Tell

At the last pitch fest I went to there was this duo at a table who had a flip-chart that seemed to show every weapon under the sun. The exec at the table didn’t know what to do with these guys. They sure knew their weapons, but their ponderous presentation distracted from the script itself. Just stick to selling your script with words. If you can’t do it at the table, how are you going to present it to a room of producers, studio execs, etc.? Same goes for homemade trailers of your script.

Just do your homework and pitch the one you think is best for his company.

The Repped Writer

You have an agent or manager? What the hell are you doing at a pitch fest? Odds are if you’re at a pitch fest, then you’re not really represented. You might be “hip-pocketed” but you’re not an actual client. Hip-pocketing means that the rep will be happy to take a commission for your script if the right buyer comes along, but you’re not on their official roster of clients whose careers they’re actively working to build. Odds are, if you mention that you’re repped, you don’t know the difference. And that’s a big red flag.

The “I got Drew Barrymore”/”I got James Franco”

(He gets those two a lot.) First of all, just because you had a conversation with an actor once, and they expressed a polite interest in your idea, doesn’t mean they’re interested enough to actually star in your movie. Even worse, any mentions of actors being attached are met with high levels of skepticism. Don’t say you’ve got someone attached if you don’t. Manny will just call the actor to verify. Yeah, he can do that. And does.

The Contest Finalist

Some people spend most of their time entering contests. Every. Single. One. Think you’re more enticing to Manny just because you’ve placed in the finals of the Spuzzum Film Festival? Think again. There are only a handful of script competitions that producers, managers and agents get excited about. And unless you’ve won one of those contests, it’s not worth mentioning. In my opinion, The Nicholl Fellowship might be the only one where a semi-finalist standing carries some weight — but even then, Manny’s probably not interested.

Any mentions of actors being attached are met with high levels of skepticism

The Too Many Scripts Guy

Writing a great script is a lot of hard work. Writing dozens of great scripts is a lifetime of hard work. If you tell Manny you’ve written 50 scripts, that doesn’t impress him. It just tells him that you don’t rewrite. Almost every great writer will tell you that writing is rewriting. If you’re simply cranking out script after script, without much thought to revision, you may lack the discipline or habits required to make it as a screenwriter. And your scripts are probably terrible.

The “Have Some Traction” Guy

This is the guy who tells you that he already has traction with Producer A or Director B. That’s great — so why aren’t you making the movie with them? If these other people are so keen, then why are you coming to Manny? Keep your tenuous connections to yourself and just pitch your movie.

The Used Car Salesman

One of the best pieces of advice when pitching your script is to “just be normal.” Easier said than done of course. But you definitely don’t want to come across as a used car salesman. You know the type. They come to a pitch fest with their snappy speech patterns and rehearsed lines. Don’t do that. Just have a normal conversation with the person you’re pitching to that showcases your passion for your script.

Keep your tenuous connections to yourself and just pitch your movie.

Other Useful Pitching Tips

Don’t be nervous

You’re probably pitching to an intern. You probably make more than they do.

Don’t tell them it’s your 8th draft

It may be the 2nd or 10th draft of your script, but the producer, director, manager, agent doesn’t need to know that. It needs to feel like it’s hot off the presses, like no one else in town has read your script. Being first to read a potentially brilliant script is cool. Trudging through a script that’s been circulating through the fringes of Hollywood for years — not so much.

Don’t follow-up about your script

If someone has asked to read your script, there’s no need to follow-up. If they like it/love it, they’ll get back in touch with you. If they haven’t had a chance to read your script yet, you may risk irritating them by getting in touch with them. You don’t know what’s been happening in their lives… whether their mother just died, or whether they’ve been on vacation for a month.

—

Did you fall into any of the categories above?

-Trevor Mayes

Trevor Mayes is a screenwriter, script consultant, and cat whisperer who absolutely loves movies.

Through his website Scriptwrecked he has helped dozens of screenwriters, at all levels, improve their craft.

Jamie Campbell

Jamie Campbell is an author, screenwriter, and television addict.

Jamie is proud to be an Editor for The Story Department.

Her latest series Project Integrate is out now.

jamiecampbell.com.au

Titles To Tantalise

Jamie Campbell — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 20:33:14 +0000

You’ve put all your blood, sweat, and tears into your masterpiece, laboured over each and every word, you want to get your writing project noticed. The title is the quickest way to do it.

by Jamie Campbell

Many times, the title of a project is something you think of later, something you slap on the heading so that you’ve got something there. Anything will do, right? Nope, think again.

I went to a screenwriting seminar once, led by a writer who had worked for Disney for many years. Sometimes she would be given a title and told to find a movie that matched it. I figured if it was good enough for Disney, it was good enough for me and really started focusing on my titles.

It makes sense, really. The first thing someone reads is the title, it’s the first thing people ask ‘what’s it called?’, and it’s probably the only thing they’ll remember. Try imagining your favourite movie with another title, would it work? Maybe, maybe not.

Anything will do, right? Nope, think again.

And I know what you’re thinking – it’s the story people care about, not the flashy title or cover, and titles get changed all the time anyway. But you have to reel them in some way. You have to give them an excuse to read your story and if they like the title, they might get to the first page.

My two most successful series began with the titles. I had no idea what the stories were going to be, I just had a name for them. Cinderella is Evil popped into my head and I thought that was kind of a cool twist to the whole Cinderella is a perfect princess tale. The story went from there and the biggest feedback I get is that the title caught their attention.

Similarly with A Hairy Tail, I wanted something that sounded like a fairy tale. From the title I came up with a story revolving around an animal shelter, threw in some teenage romance, and I had a series.

You have to give them an excuse to read your story.

When those two series took off, I really started to believe in the power of the title. When I start a project now, I always begin with the name. It needs to be eye-catching, interesting, and stand out from the mass of other projects exactly like mine.

So what makes a good title? Who knows? Some believe in the short and punchy (Grease, Argo, Fight Club, Pitch Perfect, The Godfather). But then long titles can work too (The Sound of Music, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, The Lord of the Rings). Size apparently doesn’t matter.

What is important is that your title is easily remembered, unique, and says something about your story. When those three things combine, you are more likely to get noticed than another project with a boring title.

-Jamie Campbell