Got :60 seconds? How do you pitch your idea? In an elevator. In a room. At a lunch. What if you have ten minutes? Or even thirty? The art of the pitch in any business is a finely tuned craft. But in the business of ideas it is absolutely paramount. Knowing what to include, what not to and how to structure your pitch is what every writer labors over before they head out to meet with studio executives, producers, directors, actors and financiers. Want to know how to get anyone to want to be in business with you? Here are a few tips:
Start with an intriguing lead. Leading questions are often the best way to lure someone in. “Have you ever been to an astrologer? Do you know someone battling cancer? Do you believe in past lives? Have you had a bad experience with a doctor?” Once you’ve piqued their curiosity in the subject matter, they’re more receptive to hearing the rest.
Who’s your hero? Pull them into your hero right away. Let them know who they should be rooting for and why. Explain what they’re after and how they need to grow. Flawed characters on difficult journeys that force them to grow make great stories.
Paint the plot. Give a clear picture of what the significant act turns are that propel your hero in directions they weren’t expecting. There should be three. They should build in drama and raise stakes. “Joe loves a girl. She is kidnapped. His best friend is behind it. She’ll be killed at midnight if Joe doesn’t do as he’s told."
Deliver a theme. What do you want your audience to ultimately learn from your story? "Crime doesn’t pay? Only the good die young? There is hope for politics in America? God will catch you if you fall? Best to end on a message that leaves the listener understanding why the story is being told in the first place.
Scripts that Sell
Every aspiring screenwriter wants to know how to write a script that will sell. Sure, you can write something fun to read around the campfire with friends and family, but don’t you really want to sell it to a major studio? To get paid? To get it made? But how do you do that? Here are a few tips!
1) Write something different. Yes, I know, Hollywood tends to regurgitate similar fare that has proven successful, but the studios already have 15 of those in development. Writing something fresh that they have not seen before will get it talked about in studio circles and heat up the market.
2) Know your craft. If you’re not setting up your hero’s need in the first ten pages, they will toss it on the pass pile. If the hero is not called to action by page 10, tossed. Over 120 pages? Tossed. Punctuation and grammatical errors? Tossed. And so on. If script readers find you have not spent the time hitting all the tenets of good storytelling, why should they take the time to read it?
3) Attract great actors. Studios buy screenplays they can get major actors to star in. So your job is to write compelling characters that will attract those actors to the project. Make sure your hero is heroic. Has depth. Has a want and need that are fulfilled. And is transformed as a result of the adversity they face. And clothes. Actors always want to know what clothes they get to wear.
4) Know the poster. Studios sell movies to audiences around the world by a poster. A title, a tag line, a face, an image. They only have seconds to reel them in on Fandango, Netflix or the Cineplex cue. So make sure your concept can be conveyed quickly. Is your title catchy? Your hero handsome? Your tag line intriguing? If it can’t be sold in seconds, it won’t sell at all.
Screenwriters make a 1,000 decisions a day facing the blank page. Be sure you have the answers to the ones above before you get started. They will help steer you down the right path toward success.
Good luck!
Michael
The Reason for Writing
Look around you. This is your life. Really. Sure, you have dreams, notions, goals jotted down of a life more grand. But as they say, life is what happens when you’re making other plans. Here we are in another January. Another year. What are you doing differently? The fact is there are a lot of things beyond our control. That’s part of life. So go easy on yourself with those. How about the things you can control? What are you doing about those?
You’ve always wanted to write. To tell a story. To tell your story. But how many of you actually are? Some philosophers believe we are doomed to make the same mistakes in life unless we learn from them and change. Others believe we repeat those mistakes in life after life unless we change. If you’re a writer, if that’s the reason you were put here on this earth, I think, you’re doomed to make the same mistakes unless you write about them for others to learn from and change.
That is your raison d’etre.
Has there been one story stuck in your head for days or weeks or months or years? What if you’re supposed to tell it? That is why it was put there in the first place. What’s stopping you? Just think… if I’m right, just writing it will open up a whole new world of possibilities for you. And, of course, possibilities for others.
Why not let this year be the year you tell your story? After all, you have a whole year. Twelve months. 365 days. That’s plenty of time to write a script or a book. Or even learn how to write one. And then do it.
There are plenty of people who can help. Who want to help. Whose raison is to help.
So what’s stopping you? Really.
The Long and Short of It
Stories are stories. Period. Long ones. Short ones. Middle-sized ones. Good ones all have the same basic ingredients. A hero we care about. Fighting for something they want. Obstacles standing in the way of them achieving their goal that force them to grow. And ultimately a resolution, often positive, but not always, of them getting, or not getting, what they want. Not so hard, right? Feature screenwriters have this preached and prodded into their brains from day one. But what about short filmmakers? For some reason, some of them don’t feel they have to tow this line. Where did they go off the rails? “Short films don’t have to have a beginning, middle and end,” I’ve heard them say. Instead, they can just be “moments” or “windows” or “slices of life” of a story. You know what they call those kind of films? Bad. Sometimes boring. Or one note. Some short filmmakers claim they don’t have time to tell a three act story. I call bullshit. Even :30 second commercials for Coca-Cola or AT&T will have you reaching for a Kleenex by the end. You know why? Because they pull you in, roll you round, drop you down, then lift you up. All in the time it takes you to wash a dish. Story structure is there for your protection. It’s not a contrivance. It’s not a formula. It’s storytelling. Sure, you can take the three act model and turn it on its ear. Just ask Quentin Tarantino. You can take the three act model and slice it into seven acts. Just ask James Cameron. But all in all, you want an introduction, a complication and a resolution. You pull that off, you’re well on your way to a sound story. If you don’t, you’re screwed. Of course, it helps if you know where your story is going. Where your hero is headed. Then you can plot the twists and turns to them getting there with relative ease. It’s those that dive into those uncharted waters with reckless abandon longing for the unknown that end up drowning in the murky abyss of the middle. Like taking a road trip, map out your route before you get in the car. Know your turns. Know your stops. Know your end! I promise having these elements in mind won’t rob you of the creative process. On the contrary, they will help you. And like any road trip, there will still be plenty of surprises along the way.
2016 Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition
The Call for Entries for the 2016 Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition is now open! We're looking for innovative and compelling storytelling, for characters that surprise and challenge, for words that explode off the page, and for narratives that twist and turn like a good, ol' country back road.
This year is particularly exciting for us here at ALTFF: we've started accepting both feature scripts and pilot scripts as part of our competition. You're more than welcome to submit in both categories (multiple times!). The three winners of our Feature Script Competition will be invited to participate in our annual Writer's Retreat. Over the course of this three day retreat, writers will work with industry mentors in an effort to improve their scripts, hash out ideas, and talk about next steps. The retreat culminates with a public staged reading of an excerpt of their winning script. Winner of the Television Script Competition will be treated to a one-on-one dinner with an industry professional to discuss their project.
Michael Lucker has been a great friend to ATLFF; he's a mentor and leader on our screenplay retreats, he's full of experience and advice; and most notably, he's a fantastic writer and teacher. Which is why we're offering 20% off to any of Michael's former, current or future students! When submitting your script to ATLFF on Film Freeway just type in discount code: LUCKER.
https://filmfreeway.com/festival/ATLFFscreenplaycompetition
If you have any questions at all, just e-mail the Screenplay Programmer, Ali, at ali@atlantafilmfestival.com.
Much thanks!