Creating Effective Pitch Decks (Part 2)

This entry is part of 2 in the series Pitch Deck:

QUOTES/EXCERPTS: One page.

Some dialog or narrative selections to give the reader a sense of the writing style works really well especially if the dialogue is superb. Comedies especially benefit from this because funny is funny in context or isolated.

If I was pitching the TV show Wednesday I’d certainly include her lines here.

At one point, Wednesday is encouraged by her new roommate to “take a stab at socializing”

WEDNESDAY
I do like stabbing. The social part, not so much.

You can’t really capture Jenna Ortega’s pitch-perfect delivery, but you can see how that would give a great idea of who the character is and the deadpan tone.

How about this line from a classic, Airplane?

STRIKER
Surely, you can’t be serious.

RUMACK
I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley.

Narrative can also be used in excerpt.

This is from a script by Alejandro Seri used in one of his pitch decks:

“He finds Elena holding an exhausted Javier in her lap, his ribs wrapped in fresh gauze. The image looks like the Mexican version of an Annibale Carracci painting of Mary embracing Jesus at the foot of the cross.”

Wow. Really beautiful and it gives the reader a sense of the gorgeous tone of the work.

CHARACTERS/CAST: 1-2 pages.

These are your characters and a thumbnail of the roles they play in the feature or TV series. Use main characters, perhaps 6-8 max.

I like including some actors’ or actresses’ photos along with character sketches. These actors are not necessarily who I’d cast, but have the look or feel of the characters as I see them in the roles.

A brooding Aubrey Plaza or perhaps the square-jawed Henry Cavill tell a story about the character as you see them. You instantly get Stanley Tucci in the role of condemned murderer Jefferson Grieff in Inside Man because Tucci can do both villainous and smart, as can the vicar character played by David Tennant. Their images connote a lot.

Thumbnail sketches of the characters can also be done (with or without photos) as a list to give a sense as to what role each character plays.

Mason Griffin – Type A. Pushes until it breaks. A bully. Not a nice guy.
Nathan Griffin – Mason’s younger brother. Finds life to be a challenge and drinks accordingly.
Gretchen Davies – on again/off again girlfriend of Nathan Griffin. A corporate planner. Conservative in dress and manner, but with a wild side she keeps hidden.
Summer Day – psychic. Not always the most stable person in the room, but sweet in disposition and always willing to help.
 
PRODUCTION TEAM: 1-2 pages.

Yes! If you have a team already assembled include them. A headshot, short bio, credits and press clippings if possible. It never hurts to tout the team especially if they have proven, solid resumes that will make investors feel safe. Again, perhaps not so much for a standalone script but for an indie film pitch, absolutely.

Do it as a page similar to the character/cast list.

TARGET AUDIENCE:  One page.

This may not be necessary, but if you’re targeting for a demographic like a YA audience, then I’d include this. Perhaps some stats also on how popular your particular genre is.

Is it a Horror or Sci-fi audience, Young Adult drama or fantasy, adult drama audience…? It can’t hurt to make that clear and perhaps use comparables (see next section). Saying it’s the same audience that likes Stranger Things gets a positive comparison to that show and defines your goals.

COMPARABLES: One page.

Comparing to successful films will never go out of style in Hollywood. Just make sure they are indeed successful and truly comparable. Including box office performance is a plus.

Saw: Budget – $1.2 Million / Box Office – $103,911 million worldwide

The Gallows: Budget – $100,00 / Box Office – $43 million worldwide

Paranormal Activity: Budget – $15,000 / Box Office – $193 million worldwide

CONTACT PAGE: One page.

You may think, well of course, but I have seen material sent out to producers without this. I like to also put it in several other places just to make sure (like on the title page.) Include company, representation (if applicable) and all contact information.

Is there a website? Include it but make sure it’s finished and fully operational. Social media, certainly. If you don’t want to expose your phone number get a Google voice number to use.

MOOD PANEL:  One page.

I’ve also seen a section in some pitch decks called a Mood Panel/ Mood Board.  This is kind of like a vision board. It’s a visual overview of the style and feel of the project.

Sometimes when a film or TV show is in prep the director or producers will put up a board with images of the styles they want, clothing, buildings, or time era. This is to give the writers’ room or production staff guidelines.

At Paramount I had a meeting with a producer in such a room. There were five cork boards with images up – everything you can imagine. You don’t have to go overboard, but what if you’re investor or reader doesn’t know what Steampunk looks like or means? Or Film Noir? Images are simple and easy and can give the “mood” or motif of the project.

EXPLAINER VIDEO/TRAILER: One page.

My last pitch deck had a trailer (explainer video as they’re called in business) that I had done for a film investment group. It went over well. These days there’s a ton of software available to easily do something like that.

A few hesitations:

If you’re showing it on Zoom or something similar (which was the case with mine) you need to make sure your Internet connection is as strong as possible. Sketchy playback is one of the ways a video can go south. Test it beforehand. Also, shut down anything like email programs and extra browsers that are accessing your Internet. You’ll need bandwidth.

If you’re not embedding the video (check your presentation software) and are hyperlinking to YouTube or Vimeo, and if your Internet goes down so will the video. This happened to me on a live presentation and I had to describe the videos – not my best moment. I learned to keep a copy on a USB drive in case this happened.

And of course, if you’re distributing a ‘paper’ copy of the presentation, put a link to the video in there so people can type it in.

OPTIONAL:

If you’re just pitching a script and not an indie production you’re basically done.

But there are other categories that might be needed if trying to convince someone to invest money.

People who invest want information on ROI (Return On Investment.) Usually, after production costs, investors get paid back first.

So if you know it, include the following:

Budget – if you can ballpark it. There are companies who break down budgets if you need accuracy. You may include low, medium and high ranges if you have them.

Distribution – if you have a distributor, even better. If not, perhaps suggestions as who would distribute the movie once it’s done.

Festival Strategy – is your goal to get some buzz at a festival? Not a bad way to go so throw in a few festival possibilities.

None of the above is essential, but all have value to round out your presentation.

I like pie charts if I have the information to fill it with. They’re visual and get across the point instantly.

Microsoft Word has a pie chart creator by the way. That’s what I used to create the one in this article.

CONCLUSION

Pitch decks have value and efficacy. Doing one as part of your marketing toolset certainly could not hurt and it helps you to understand how to pitch any project.