PITCHING TO PRODUCERS.
A TRUE STORY.
I have a feeling this may be the beginning of my life. Like the event I went to on Wednesday the 11th of September, 2013, may actually be a stepping stone, if not a funny anecdote I will tell in a number of years. Before I begin I wish to clarify I will not reveal names or locations, both for privacy sake but also so this may appeal to as many people as possible and not be viewed as a thing that can only happen in BLANK country or with BLANK production company.
DETAILS.
Firstly, the event invitation was simple enough to get, especially since it seems to be the first of it's kind. A production company and writer had organised a writer/producer speed networking event, where everyone gets 5 minutes with each other to exchange ideas, details, and opinions. Funny enough, I only heard about it through a different Facebook page group I was already with, which focused more on independent film crew work. When I say simple, I mean simply emailing saying Of course, I'm sure different events would have different protocols, but this seemed general more relaxed than low budget; more an experiment into the practicalities of future events than a spur of the moment sort of thing.
I prepared for the event in a space of just over a week, by focusing on a few key points;
- Pitches
- Business Cards
- Attire
Pitches:
Short and simple. It's always advised that pitches be as short as possible, but with a time limited of five minutes, this advice was to be particularly heeded to. I made a list of;
- Every idea I had.
- The formats I considered them for.
- The genre they best fitted in.
- A one sentence brief description of the premise
- And a comparison.
For example:
- Hell Spawn
- Half Hour Television
- Sitcom
- X is a careless bachelor, until his world is turned upside-down by the responsibilities of raising a demon baby left at his door step.
- It's "The Life and Times of Tim" meets "Little Nicky".
FYI! I LITERALLY just pulled that out of my ass.
I learnt all this for 20 different projects. Go big or go home! This was serious. I knew I needed to get them hooked and interested as quickly and as soon as possible. One thing that helped was Twitter. If you can get your idea down to 140 characters, you know you're being concise.
Business Cards:
I've been in far too many positions and situations in my life to know that this event absolutely needed a business card. This wasn't the kind of thing where you would be forgiven for not having a business card on you because you didn't expect to meet a producer in a bar. This was an event SPECIFICALLY for you to say "HEY! RIGHT HERE FELLAS! I'M OVER HERE!".
The biggest part of getting a business card was deciding the style you wanted on it. It wasn't just a case of having a piece of card with your name and number. You need something that says you. So from very early on, I knew I would have to design my own card. The following is the design;
At first, the ruled page looked seemed cliche and trivial, but along with the "drawn on" font text, you came across as charmingly childish, like a glossy sort of immature. On one side was the obvious contact details, while on the other was something original; a micro-pitch. The micro-pitch, as you can see, consisted of blank space on the back where I would write one of the pitches I had practiced, so effectively you would be giving each producer two pitches instead of one.
Attire/Clothing;
This was the most difficult and frustrating decision to make, even to the last minute. What do you wear to one of these? On one hand it was a business networking event, yet simultaneously this was the film industry... and you're a writer... and this event was in a bar... it's hardly a studio exec office. Solution? Smart casual. Something simple like a plain black shirt with rolled up sleeves, plain light blue jeans, and sneakers would give the desired appeal of someone professional, yet relaxed. I would however advice you to consider where it is you are going, since my decision was based on the fact the location was a bar, in the city, and the attendees were expected to be 20-40 somethings in the film industry.
THE EVENT.
The event was to take place at 7 pm. I arrived by 6:55 pm. Ideally, I would have been there earlier, but due to transportation and distance the bus ride took approx 1 hour and 20 minutes, while walking to the location took close to 30 minutes. The bar was within the city center, yet still far enough for it to be secluded and intimate enough. Once there, I walked up the stairs to the private room where the event was being held. I was especially early, which I could tell since literally no one was around to even tell me if I had the right place. None the less, I was the fourth person to arrive. But after a quick chat with the writers, the room was filled. Despite the invitation sawing to be there at 7pm, and that the event would start at 7:15pm, it actually started at 7:30pm. It was clearly a relaxed occasion and I felt slightly over-dressed and over-prepared.
We were then explained the way the speed networking would go about. Writers would remain seated, while the producers would rotate around the room every five minutes. Simple. So, with that, it begun.
From my experience, I would say you need a few things to pull something like this off;
- A sense of Humor & Perspective.
- Directness & Concision.
Sense of Humor & Perspective;
The event was very relaxed, smart casual, slightly bohemian, in a nice Dublin establishment, with similar minded people of various degrees, backgrounds, and ages. RELAX. It may sound fancy and glamorous (and perhaps to it is), but ultimately it is what it is; it's a group of human beings connecting with each other. Days before I was wracking my nerves, trying to get the unique combination of professional but not a "square". I wanted my business cards to be tactful, yet.... "hip". I suppose I made the right call, since everyone were impressed with the business cards, but used words like "oh, that's cool" or "oh that's mad". Yes, you're here to be professional, and so are other people, but be playful about it. Enjoy yourself.
For example. The very first person I talked to, turned out to be a writer. There weren't enough producers to go around, so they had to use one or two writers to fill in the gaps. I just laughed and had a nice conversation with someone like minded. The next person was a producer, and despite talking business, I did manage to slip in the odd note of a intrigue; I had a quick chat about feminism, time-travel, Desperate Housewives, and many others. Part of networking is about actually making a connection, and I'm quite happy to say I laughed as much as I smiled.
As well as that, bare in mind EVERYONE is in a similar situation you are in, or else they wouldn't be there. Every writer is there because they're like you. Every producer is there because they want to meet writers like you. There's nothing to be scared or worry about. Granted, don't go in with your pants down, obviously, but trust me, it would take a lot to put these people off you. The Film and TV industry in Ireland is miles different than the rest of Europe and the Western World. Whether better or worst is besides the point. The point is a smaller industry calls for less formalities and more modesty.
Directness & Concision.
With modesty and perspective in mind, there's no shame in simply being direct and steering the conversation for your own ends. With every producer, after a polite hand shake, I simply asked;
"What are you looking for?"
I wouldn't have kept this up the whole night if it didn't work the first time. A simple direct question such as those five words divulged a lot; everything from production company history, previous projects, and even intended future projects. Remember the preparation earlier I mentioned? This is what it was for. With just one or two keywords like "drama" or "co-production", I was able to whittle down my prospects and pitch the closest idea that fit that producer. This resulted not only in the remaining time left answering questions the producers had, but it also served as rehearsal and practice for the next producer in line, as well as serving as a mental note of who was who (i.e. Producer #5 was Idea #9). This also helped portray myself as a professional, and perhaps place a little pressure on the producers as well (if I had this idea down to a 't', who's the say another producer won't steal it). After any number of nervous pitches, imagine how refreshing and memorable a professional pitch may be.
AFTER WORD.
It is a marathon. A mental free for all. Everyone was exhausted. Granted, there was a short break, but still, everyone was pooped. A quick cigarette was recommended and welcomed, even if it was self-prescribed. All in all, it was amazingly worthwhile and was greatly appreciated by everyone in attendance. It's almost a rite of passage; tossed into the lion's den and expected to claw your way back out, it's a test of your endurance and commitment. It's what separates people who can write from people who are writers; the people who have an idea and the people who make ideas.
It instilled something that I had thought I lost before; a sense that there are people just like me who also want to do something, despite the current economic situation. That's probably the greatest reason to go to one of these networking events; for the sake of keeping yourself sane while being yourself.
