Writer Teams Up With Producer On Project After Stage 32 Class

The idea of a pitch book never occurred to me until I saw Stage 32's promotion of such a couple of years ago. I had what I thought was a solid screenplay but no agent or manager. I had been fortunate to place in several nationally acclaimed contests with my story but no serious callers/producers, although I came close with CAA and Anna Sophia Robb (Bridge to Teribithia) as a possible attachment. I needed another tool.

At first, this was something I thought maybe I could do on my own. I studied a few online examples online and began formulating my book. The examples online were mediocre at best and my humble attempts were dreadful. The only saving grace of this exercise was the employment of our graphic artist here at my real estate office. She does good work.

Coincidentally, as I was playing with the development of my book a few years ago, I once again saw the Stage 32 sign-up email featuring one very talented P.G.A. accredited producer. I downloaded the class and spent the next few days reviewing the class material. Shortly thereafter, the producer and I began working in earnest on my book. As she explained, she liked the idea of the story.

The process included the following organization and production techniques of a standard screenwriter’s pitch book. With guidance, I wrote most of the copy and came up with many of the photos but the brains behind the concepts truly lie with my instructor who is now a producer on the project. Here's what I learned. 

Firstly, make the book as interesting and appealing as possible and know who your target audience is. And remember, this is a business. In my case, I was aiming for investors and independent producers. Get to the heart of the story including Logline and Synopsis on page 1 and never let up on the gas. And establish graphic presentation from the get-go. As I said I was lucky to work with a graphic artist one-on-one, but you can do the same with the availability of affordable software.

Secondly, divide your book into meaningful categories that the pros will recognize. For example, in my book, the next three pages featured my Cast Wish List. I selected the three top/starring characters from my story and researched potential actors I felt best represented the part. As this is a wish list, you have the freedom to choose whomever you like. (For example, I selected such notables as Millie Bobby Brown, Austin Butler, Veronica Bonell, Amanda Sternberg— you get the picture.) And don’t stop with just one example of your leading characters—go for three or four. You can go to IMDB and find this information, plus attractive talent photos.

Next, you need a professionally prepared Budget Top Sheet. This is not a detailed budget but more of an abbreviated at-a-glance rendition. This will give potential investors and business associates an idea of where you’re coming from and let them know you’ve already begun doing your homework. And speaking of investors, the next two pages discuss investment potential including possible returns and investor payouts. This is an area in which I learned so much. We crunched the numbers so that our presentation appealed to the widest spectrum of potential money guys and/or independent studios.

Then you'll include the Theatrical and Video Release potential. You may wish to discuss how many theatres you hope to attract and potential returns from video on demand, Foreign Rights, TV, etc. Film Comparables is next on the list. I chose four or five that I felt captured the essence of what my story was hoping to achieve. Included were film posters, opening box office numbers, and domestic gross. Your investors and producers will be interested in this.

The project’s Timeline and Production Schedule will let your target audience know approximately how long production will take. Additionally, this page may discuss state-funded film commissions that may participate with funding in the form of a grant.

If your Production Team is already in place, you can include them here. Director, Cinematographer, Executive Producer, Writer you will want to provide appropriate length bios, achievements, and photos of each.

Distribution and Marketing come up next. Here we decided to let our investors know we plan to connect with such notable distribution companies as Amazon, Netflix, Disney, HBO/Max, etc., and deck out the page with each company’s respective logo. 

Wrapping up our pitch book we want to include the Writer’s Vision (self-explanatory), an Awards Page (if such is earned from past projects), and last but not least, Contact Information. Make it easy for your target audience to get in touch with you.

The above took many months of preparation but has been well worth it. The pitch book can and should be another important tool in a writer’s toolbox. Lucky for me, the producer is sold on my project and has agreed to be part of the production team. This collaboration with the resulting pitch book has already paid off while attending last year’s AFM conference. I was able to schedule a few important meetings with studio principals who were highly impressed with my story thanks in large part to the pitch book. Thanks, Stage 32 for the incredible resource and introduction!

**Please note that this producer, much like all Stage 32 executives, is not with a struck company. This connection and attachment were also made prior to the WGA strike.**

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