Breathe...
Low, Quiet Voice...
Talk Slowly...
Listen...
Those are the four things I scrawled on a piece of paper, right behind my computer, ready for the pitch.
Then my phone rang... and, it started. The two writers in the Los Angeles office and me, sitting at my kitchen table in Milan, looking at my cheat sheet... Breathe, Low Quiet Voice, Talk Slowly... Listen.
Listen is the key one, the difference between a good pitch and a bad one. And, as I got to be the disembodied voice on the end of the phone, I got to listen, a lot. The guys in Los Angeles handled most of the pitch. Mainly, I listened. That is, except for the first pitch... which was the project which has been my primary piece of work for the last year. For that I had to speak. I don't care how hard people think pitching is, try doing it when you can't see the people in you're pitching to. Sure, I had my rehearsed pitch... but the truth of the matter is, under those circumstances it is definitely better to be face to face, so you can read the room. It is all kinds of horrific to pitch into dead space. For instance, how the hell do you work out when to stop talking? It's harder than you'd imagine.
But, despite that... and despite some quality issues with the phone line (which meant I only heard 50% of the rest of the meeting), despite all of that we had a great meeting.
We pitched four ideas to one of the most important TV development teams in the world, and they liked everything! They're now reading every single project we put in front of them.
We have gone from pitching projects to talking about projects. And, so far, it's been lovely.
The question is, what can be learnt from this? The truth of the matter is, I'm not sure.
There are some basic truths about teamwork, research, preparation, proper development and industry knowledge... but they aren't revelations. It's just common sense to ensure your pitches match the output of the people you're pitching too. It's also common sense to develop and test your pitches with writers you trust and respect.
However, the more I do this, the more I understand that surrounding yourself with good people is the only piece of advice any writer really needs. And, obviously, the logical extension of that, is that a writer working in isolation isn't surrounded by good people.
The idea of writers working alone is almost a cliche, in fact, it seems hard wired into us... but, these days, with social networking, there isn't any excuse for a writer not creating a supportive community. Not necessarily by setting up a writer's group, but simply by finding writers you you share common ground with. Historically, this isn't even that strange, lots of writers have worked in clumps or ad-hoc communities. Read "Moveable Feast" by Hemingway some time, if you don't believe me.
A few weeks back I wrote about development teams (one writer, one script editor, one producer). I was saying how important it was to have three people to oversee the development of a project. Well, if you're not working with an established producer, there is absolutely no reason at all why three writers can't create the same process. Just as long as they are aware that someone has to step back and keep an eye on the business side of the project.
If I learnt anything about pitching to the majors this week, it's that writer development teams work... or maybe it's just that this particular writer development team works. What is definitely true, is that there are real advantages for writers to working together prior to pitching, rather than starting the collaborative process post pitch. Not as co-writers, but as development teams. Co-writing is a different story.
keep writing and viva la revolution
Posted via email from Filmutopia's Sunday Morning Movie Blog
