Pitch with Passion: Another Successful Virtual Pitch Panel

Another successful Virtual Pitch Challenge has come and gone, and this season has been one of our best yet! This time around we focused on TV pilots, and set out to discover intriguing and unique show concepts through our TV Pilot Pitch Challenge. Our three winners and two current Fast Track Fellows put their best pitch forward in front of our panel of industry pros and received invaluable feedback from Darcy Donelan (Vice President of Development & Production at Voltage Pictures), Dan Seco (Literary Manager at Empirical Evidence, Kazuko Golden (Creative Executive at TwentyOne 14 Media) and Felicity Wren (VP of Development at the ISA). 

The biggest takeaways from our industry pros? These are key elements essential to any successful pitch.

1. Show your passion: Producers and execs want to feel your connection to your story, they want to know why YOU are the one person that can tell this tale. In the words of Felicity Wren, "We want the person talking about (the subject) to be to be very passionate...we want to get excited with you!"

2. Up the stakes:  One of the most important aspects of your story is what drives it, and including motivation in your pitch is crucial to your audience understanding why they should care. As Kazuko Golden said, "What is on the line for your characters?"

3. Define you characters: You should know your characters as if they are family members. When introducing your characters for the first time, it's key for your audience to quickly be able to learn their personalities. Darcy Donelan emphasized the importance of diving into your characters' traits and their relationships to each other to better understand the story. 

Now without further ado, please join us in celebrating the Grand Prize Winners and Finalists of our Virtual Pitch Challenge! 

Grand Prize Winners (ISA profile and pitch)

Bryson Lima - Spooky Society

LaTaveya Vault  - Transcendent

Michael Zakar and Zak Zakar - Pray the Gay Away

Finalists (ISA profile and pitch)

Aaron Braxton - The Sub

Alexandra Comeaux and Zari Panosian - n00bs

Anna Zabel - Belly

Audrey Farnsworth - The Skeleton Manning the Ship Inside of My Brain

Avery Rouda and Michael McLaughlin - Everlight

Barry Tidwell - Imagination Park - Episode 1 - The Audition

Briana Cole - GrandFam

Bruna Pias - Glitz

Buck Rivers - Ultra-Sim

Christopher Morrison - Blackwood: The Jones Episode

Collette Legault  - Heavy

Dani Hanks - Knotty

Danielle Coronado – Second to Nun

Drew Toop - Ultrabus

Duane Piedmont - Game of Toys

Erin Dooley - Senior Moments

Gary White - The Bourbon Boys Mysteries

Herman Wilkins - The Book of Ezra (Pilot) Death Come A Knockin'

Jacobo Fe – The Son of the Sun

Jade Shine - FLAGS

Jana Forkel - Z.U.P.E.R.

Jill Oliver and Spenser Davis – Spirit Force Five

Joey O'Connor - Among Kings

Joshua Maheu - Sugar

Kate Bailey - Sour Beer

Kate Imy - Unsinkable

Katy Dore – The Lost Pages

Kevin Johnson - Detention Centers

Lillie Gardner - Allegra Sparkle's Guide to the Great Composers

Mary Ann Koenig and Kim Amidon – The LAZER

Rama Teja - Suck It

Rodrigo Varandas - Student Affairs

Shirley Yip - House of Fortune

To learn more about pitching, check out some of our resources like our ProTips page filled with hundreds of helpful videos, classes, and webinars. Plus, we are now offering one-on-one pitch feedback sessions with Producer, Writer & Senior Manager of Events & Writer Relations, Shayna Weber. Click here to learn more. 

We look forward to hearing about your next big pitch success!