Photo via Go Into the Story.
Ninety seconds is more than enough time to pitch a well-defined story. The elements that make a story interesting and easy to envision, when stripped of less important trappings, can fit on an index card.
Nowhere was this more apparent than at the Austin Film Festival Pitch Finale Party last week. Nineteen pitches out of a field of 160 made it to the stage, to be judged by Ashley Miller (Thor, X-Men: First Class), Scott Z. Burns (Side Effects, Contagion) and Scott Rosenberg (High Fidelity, Con Air).
Though the winners ran the gamut in format, they all stood out because they nailed the elements that drew the judges in.
- Character. None of the winning pitches featured an average joe to whom something happens at the inciting incident. The winning characters were unique, active, and steeped in their environments. They were sympathetic people with a plan and an array of forces arranged in very natural opposition to them.
- Conflict. The winning pitches focused on a strong, unusual dramatic conflict for the characters. The hook.
- Clarity. The winning writers were able to convey complex systems in their stories with few words because the characters and their conflicts were developed so carefully that the plots elaborated upon themselves.
Before you write your script, give yourself the 90-second pitch test.
Annie is a screenwriter, story consultant, and reader for major screenplay competitions.
nywift
Related Posts
Women’s Weekend Film Challenge Launches Pilot Accelerator
This October, six to eight emerging TV writers — selected out of hundreds of expected applicants — will have the opportunity to pitch to studios and production companies including HBO, HBO Max, Warner Horizon Television, Jax Media, Berlanti Productions, Broadway Video, Element Pictures, Fabel Entertainment, Tornante and more as part of Women's Weekend Film Challenge’s (WWFC) inaugural pilot accelerator program.
READ MORENYWIFT Women’s History Month Spotlight: Leah Curney
We continue to celebrate our creative members who are making innovative impacts through entertainment, media, film, and television, with a special spotlight our NYWIFT Women Crush Wednesdays Podcast team members. Today writer, director, producer and performer Leah Curney discusses her latest short film, her introduction to NYWIFT through the New Works Lab, women's history inspirations and more.
READ MORENYWIFT Women’s History Month Spotlight: January Green
Happy Women's History Month! At NYWIFT as we continue to celebrate our creative members who are making innovative impacts throughout entertainment, media, film, and television, we would like to spotlight our NYWIFT Women Crush Wednesdays Podcast team members. Today's spotlight is January Green, a Manager of Digital Marketing Copy, SEO & product description pages, aspiring screenwriter, and imaginative feature film writer.
READ MOREWild Nights with Emily: A Retake on What You May Have Believed about Emily Dickinson
What happens when an esteemed comic actress like Molly Shannon, a screenwriter with a quirky perspective and a penchant for cinematic originality, political causes and literary scholarship, and a legendary American poet who some say has been misunderstood and misinterpreted by decades of academic critics collaborate?
"Wild Nights with Emily" happens. The unique film, thoroughly original and entertaining, is inspired by the life of Emily Dickinson. It’s also a creative spin on a literature professor’s reinterpretation of Emily Dickinson’s life and personal relationships.
READ MORE
