- Pitching ideas is an inevitable part of programme-making
- Whether it is to a room full of colleagues on your prod team or direct to commision editors, it provokes fear into most people.
Purpose of the pitch
- Allow you the opportunity to deliver a presentation of your idea and to flesh it out so your audience can visualise it
- To do before a pitch: Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, treats AKA Swot analysis
Prep for pitch
- Your idea must have an objective
- You should then write this into your proposal which is always in the present tense and has an active voice. Written representation of the visuals and your treatment
- Needs to ONE page in length
- Prepare this alongside your oral pitch which supports the written proposal. Expands on the idea.
In the pitch, you will be responding to a request for a submission to a particular brief.
SUGGEST ELEMENTS OF PRESENTATION
- Working title & location
- Your idea in one sentence
- Synopsis of your idea
- Target audience and channel
- Style and tone
- Central and minor characteristics/contributors/talent
- Format that adds to the programme, storytelling and usp
- Why this programme should be commissioned
- Running order
- VTS
- Basic camera plan and floor plan
How should you present your pitch?
- Use visual aids
- Show examples of clips and existing content which could illustrate what it is going to be like
- Bring it to life. Engage us to help us understand.
- Logically, walk through the show step by step.
- Check the viability
Body language and style
- Important to be enthusiastic and add colour to the written proposal in your verbal delivery
- Emphasise it's USP
- What makes it relevant now? Why should this be commissioned now?
- The more practice that you have, the better the pitch will be.
Responding to questions
- Be prepared to expand your presentation
- Take your time
- Have facts and figures
- Remain positive if you do not have an answer
Do's AND Dont's
DO'S
- Be brave and surprise
- Be passionate
- Challenge conventions
- Pitch ideas in a paragraph
- Pitch a top line
- Know existing output
- Develop dialogue with commissioners
- Pitch ideas and stories and not subject matters
DONT'S
- Send lots of ideas
- Don't have gimmicks
- Don't water down ideas
- Flog a dead horse
- Develop old message
- Make promises you cannot keep
- Ensure ideas are worked up
- Worry about fancy presentation
No comments:
Post a Comment