The Pitching Process

After careful consideration, the group decided that although all the ideas had their merits and could make for interesting pieces, the two strongest were mine (Scott) and Theo's. I say mine, but the original genesis of the idea came from some of Tom's previous work.

Despite being given very little time to prepare our pitch, we were ready. Originally I envisioned this as a one-on-one pitching session, where I, as project manager would talk to one or two tutors. I felt very comfortable with this - although pitching isn't exactly a great deal of fun, I've done it enough times to know its not worth getting stressed over - but on the day there was a change of plan.

We would be pitching to both the tutors and the class, in a move supposedly designed to 'add more pressure'. I actually feel that this idea was flawed, for a couple of reasons:

1. The tutors were trying to emulate a real pitch, but to my knowledge it is not common practice to pitch to that many people, although I'm sure there are instances when it does happen.

2. The main reason why I disagree with the way the pitching session took place was the fact that I felt the strongest part of my idea was the twist, something which obviously you would want to tell to the people hearing your pitch. Telling it to the whole class - the intended, and probably only, audience of the piece - however, diminished the effect the ending will have. Essentially that twist is now void as everyone knows it is happening. This has inadvertently added pressure to the film, as now I feel I will have to seek out a wider audience to know if the twist has been effective.

This is not a major complaint though, and there is no reason why this added pressure will not make us all work harder to create something we are truly proud of.

Because of the change in pitching style, I thought it was more appropriate for the whole group to portray a unified front and pitch together, and in hindsight I feel this benefited the group.

I think that the group are glad that the limbo idea was chosen. The day before the pitch, during a production meeting, we were all swaying towards Theo's money idea, but the more we looked at them, the more we realised the possibilities that the limbo piece offered. In the end I'm glad the tutors agreed, and despite an influx of relatively similar ideas, they chose the right one for our group.

One last point about the pitch, and something I wish I had talked about on the day:

Whilst giving feedback about the money idea, Chris said something along the lines of 'I liked the idea but you spoilt it a bit by mentioning that there is a similar film' (Not a direct quote by any means)

Again this links back to the idea of emulating a professional pitching session. If I was pitching a film to studio executives, I would automatically assume they know more about film than me. Therefore, it is much better for me to be honest and state that there is a similar film than not mention it and perhaps get called up on it. It is better to at least show I have a knowledge of film and have done my research.

Anyway, minor quibbles. We now look forward to the challenge! The group seem happy with the idea and seem to be really up for it, so hopefully in two months time we shall have a piece of high calibre.

NB: The above piece is purely MY views and opinions, and does not necessarily represent those of the whole group. Whilst I am almost positive they feel the same way it is better to be safe than sorry.