The Film Pitch
In the movie industry, a majority of the distribution and promotional funds for major studios will go toward just a few major titles per year, often called a blockbuster. These titles are carefully crafted to make a profit at the box office in just a few weeks and then do the same with DVD and digital sales a few months later.
Movie producers see many scripts and pitches for new films every week. When deciding what few films may actually reach the light of day, there are many considerations. Not only must a pitch be exciting, it must fit a clearly defined genre, hit a clearly defined audience, have cross-marketing appeal (toys, clothing, books, etc.), include sequel opportunities, include star potential, and be fresh enough that it won't seem old after the 2-3 years of production it takes to get a movie from pitch to the theater.
For this assignment you are to create a pitch to sell a new and successful Hollywood film. This film should fall into a well known Genre and be for a specific audience. The film should meet the audience’s expectation of what would be included in that Genre.
Your assignment should be constructed as a PowerPoint document and should include lots of pictures to help keep your pitch exciting. Make sure the details of your film are appropriate to the Genre and audience you have chosen.
The Assignment
Your pitch should include these 8 slides:
Slide One: Your name as Director and your Production Companies name
Here is your chance to see your name up in lights!
All films are made by a film production company. You will need to come up with a name for yours
Here are some examples you may have heard of before.
Bonus points: come up with a logo for your company
Slide Two: The Name, and Tagline of your film
The name of your film should be appropriate to its Genre (the next slide).
A film’s tagline, is a catchy short phrase used by marketing to help sell the film. They are often used on the film’s poster. Here are some examples:
Arachnophobia (1990) "Eight legs, two fangs, and an attitude."
Dracula (1992) "Love Never Dies"
Wayne’s World (1992) "You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll hurl."
Jurassic Park (1993) "An Adventure 65 Million Years In The Making."
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) "Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free."
Bonus points: Create a poster for your film which includes the title and tagline.
Slide Three: The Genre of your film and the films intended audience
Name the Genre that your film is in. The more specific you are the better! You may use a sub-genre or it might be a mix of more than one genre. You may want to include pictures of similar films in that genre.
Here is a list of different genres for you to use: 90+ Film Genres
Your chosen genre will have an intended audience. This is the people who are most likely to watch your film. Describe their gender, age, location and other media they would enjoy watching. Include pictures as examples of your audience.
Slide Four: The Basic Outline of the film – What happens at the start, middle and end?
Your film needs to follow the story conventions of the genre.
Explain what would happen at the start of the film (How is the story established?) what happens in the middle (how does it become more dramatic?) and what happened at the end (how is the story resolved?)/
Slide Five: Describe the three main characters of the film
Think about who your three main characters might be – it could be the protagonist (main character), the antagonist (villain) and the love interest or best friend.
Your characters should be ones you would usually see in your film’s genre. For each character include:
- Character name
- Their role in the story
- Their personality
- What actor will be playing them (you can cast whoever you want!)
Include a picture of the actors you will be using.
Slide Six: Two places the film will be set.
Certain genres are usually set in similar places. Include a photo and descriptions of where two scenes might be set from your film.
Slide Seven: Two significant props from the film.
A prop is an item that is used by the characters in a film.
Include photos of 2 props what would be used in your film and describe what character would use them and why.
Slide Eight: Trailer Music
What song or music would be used in the trailer that would help communicate what genre the film is in? Link to or embed a song from YouTube or Spotify.