Assignment 2: 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 – the sci-fi genre is unavailable due to it being the exam topic but sci-fi would be difficult to realise anyway 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 simplify it.

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. You may want to start by simply brainstorming different genres and ideas.

Task 3: writing the film pitch
You now need to start building your film pitch for your idea. This is the chance to sell your film idea using just one side of A4. Use this template to build your film pitch - this will be handed in and marked as part of your Assignment 2 Production work.

Film pitch planning
1) The first part of a film pitch is the title and tagline - basically a slogan for your movie. E.g. Alien - In space no one can hear you scream. The Shawshank Redemption - Fear can hold you prisoner, hope can set you free.

2) Next, you need a 'log line’ – a one sentence summary that will immediately grab the attention of a film studio or your audience.

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."

The rest of the pitch needs to cover genre, narrative, character and target audience. Follow the template and you will cover all the aspects you need.

Use this example we've written for the Hunger Games to help you if you're stuck.


Task 4: 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 these ten top tips for selling your script to 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.

Homework: film poster photoshoot costume
The photoshoot for your film poster will be during Thursday's lesson. That means you need props and costume with you on Thursday.

IMPORTANT: Do NOT bring anything resembling a weapon in for the photoshoot. If you need a weapon for your genre you can add it digitally using Photoshop.

You also need to finish your film pitch if you don't finish it during the lesson.

Due: Thursday