3 STAGES OF A PITCH

Pitch is transactional theatre. The quality of its performance is an important factor in the outcome. Each pitch has three stages:

1. The Prep. Before you segue into the pitch, the producer has to prep the room with industry small talk. Gossip is currency in prepping the room. Charm rules.

2. The Windup. The job of the windup is to warm up the room. No self-respecting producer will rely on a writer for personality and ease. Consider the axiomatic observation: good writers pitch badly and bad writers pitch well. The exceptions - good writers who pitch well - are a function of gifted personality. They’re charming. They are often the most highly paid, more often future directors.

3. The Concept. The wired producer must meet the optimal challenge, the mark of a truly gifted pitcher: present the concept whole - the miniaturization of the idea. It must be succinct. This is the famous high concept: seminal influence is the TV Guide log line.