The conversation between Lara Brennan of PitchingPerfectly.com and Jeff Locker of Yale in Hollywood on Facebook simplified pitching for me. It narrowed down the definition to one image that I will remember: a toy box. All toys aren’t for everybody. I am looking for someone as Ms. Brennan said, who is “looking for my particular brand of crazy.” I loved that she encouraged listeners to develop and nurture our network, take classes, and give pitches as often as we can so that we can know our story.
This imagery made me think of my childhood. When friends would come over, I had all kinds of games and toys to play with. My favorites were jump ropes, Uno Cards, Monopoly, Jacks, and my bike. I loved going roller skating and listening to music too. I knew exactly what to do when my friends came over. With all the activities and the snacks I knew how to keep them happy. As a script writer, it is the same way.
I need to know the people I am pitching to and recognize what toys they want to play with. I need to do my research about them and understand who they are. It is important to look for things to connect me to them and curate my background with images that reflect me, my script, and my personality. For example, I have a Maya Angelou poster and doll on my desk which often starts conversations with people when they see it. Ms. Brennan stated that chit chat is important. Also, being intentional to share how I relate to the story and feel connected to it.
Another thing I will remember is that I need to watch the eyes of people that I pitch to. Are they glazing over because I lost them or are they emotionally overwhelmed and staring at me like a deer in headlights? Neither are good. When I started writing my script last year I did not know a lot about my protagonist. I was learning as I was writing and while doing that, I snuffed out the voice of the other main character who is a critical part of the story. She did mention that it is important to state that the script is based on a true story. And finally, I want to make sure that I don’t give everything away so people can pitch my film without me. All of these are things I am working on as I build my confidence in pitching my film.
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