Film promotion: writing a film pitch

Our production task for Assignment 2 involves coming up with our own film promotion for an original movie that we have created.

But before we create the promotion, we need to come up with a good idea for a new movie.

Work through the following tasks to develop your film pitch. Remember, it must be original and individual to you - this is NOT a group task.

Task 1: top tips
Read these top tips for coming up with your own idea:

1) Think carefully about setting and genre – a sci-fi pitch may be difficult to realise with the time and resources at your disposal.
2) Avoid major stars – you’ll need an original image for the film poster and unless you know Brad Pitt that will be a difficult photoshoot to arrange. 
3) Make sure the film’s narrative is easy to understand and follow – you only have a 30 second trailer to play with. If you can't tell the basic story in one sentence you need to work on it more.

Task 2: the key details
Come up with the basic idea for your film - title, genre, storyline, characters, setting etc. Discuss it with someone else and make sure you can tell the story clearly and easily.

Task 3: writing a log line
You now need to start building your film pitch for your idea. This is the chance to sell your film idea in approximately 150 words. 

The first part of a film pitch is the title and 'log line’ – a one sentence summary that will immediately grab attention.

Example log line - from Pirates of the Caribbean: "A 17th Century tale of adventure on the Caribbean Sea where the roguish yet charming Captain Jack Sparrow joins forces with a young blacksmith in a gallant attempt to rescue the Governor of England's daughter and reclaim his ship."

Write a log line for your original film idea.

Task 4: writing the film pitch
You now need to write the rest of your film pitch. Remember: you only have 150 words to play with. Make sure you include the following:

1) The ‘log line’ (a one sentence summary of the film's narrative or appeal) - in task 3 above.
2) Brief reference to your film's genre ("this film is an urban thriller...")
3) Brief reference to at least one similar film ("this film is a cross between The Italian Job and Spy Kids...")
4) Brief reference to the target audience for your film ("this film will appeal to the core cinema-going age group of 12-25...")
5) Indication of main characters ("The story is based around Jack - an honest guy who gets caught up in a major robbery - and Reuben, the villain who is after the money...")
6) Brief summary of narrative (what happens in the story)

Task 5: planning and sketching
When you have completed your film pitch - and it may take some time because you want a very good, original idea - you need to start planning your film poster and trailer. First, plan your photoshoot and work out who will be in your film poster and when you will shoot the picture. Then, sketch a draft of the film poster and start writing the text that will go on it. Remember: a film poster can be either portrait or landscape.

Help! Online resources
There are many resources online to help with writing a film pitch. Try Script Hollywood and the BBC Writer's Room for help.


Extension task
When you have finished your film pitch, planning and sketching, ask another student to look over your plans and suggest ways to improve them. Make sure you can tell the story of your film in one clear sentence - that's how you would sell the idea to a film studio in the first place.

If you have completed everything, you can start sketching a potential storyboard for the trailer of your film.