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How to Pitch and Sizzle

IDFA Forum (C) TVMole

When pitching a TV show or independent documentary it is now almost impossible to get away without having to make a pitch tape of some sort (sometimes several over the course of your production). You can write pages of your directorial vision, storylines, subplots and mission to change the world, but nothing takes the buyer straight to the heart of your film like a well shot pitch tape (also known as a teaser, sizzle, pilot or sample, depending on where you are in the world and the context in which you are pitching). But what makes a pitch tape effective?

First of all you should consider what you need your tape to achieve. According to Danish editor Jesper Osmond (at IDFA 2014) the first thing your tape needs to do is to tempt commissioners by proving you have a compelling story to tell and that you are the right person – and have the ability – to tell that story well. You are showcasing you as a director as much as the idea itself, and in doing so, demonstrating your particular approach to the story.

Less is more

But it can be hard to find a way of both foregrounding the narrative and showing your directorial take on the subject in 2-3 minutes. Trying to squeeze too much information into a your pitch tape is a sure way to confuse the buyer about the film’s narrative/themes, and suggests that you don’t have a good command of your material. One way of getting your message across in a succinct way is to concentrate on showing just one scene. As an example, Jesper showed the pitch tape from Italian documentary The Perfect Circle (Il cerchio perfetto, 2014). The tape shows a conversation between a doctor and a patient, which managed to establish the setting of the film (a hospice), introduce the characters and demonstrate how the director was going to deal with sensitive and emotional material. 

Character focused

Another way of finding focus is to feature one key character. However, there is a risk that the commissioner will worry that this one person won’t be able to carry the whole film (not registering that they will be not be the only character in the documentary); alternatively they may fail to engage with this one character and in doing so dismiss the whole film. If there are two or three characters who are equally important to the narrative, such as two opposing lawyers about to fight a court battle, then you’d be better served by finding a way to introduce both characters in your pitch tape and show how their stories will develop in parallel.

Overcome objections

An important function of the pitch tape is to overcome objections that the commissioner might raise about editorial choices made by the director. The trailer for Sofia’s Last Ambulance, which shows the work of three Bulgarian paramedics, concentrates on their tense facial expressions as they ride to emergencies and struggle to treat patients in the back of their rickety ambulance. A paper proposal that states that patients would never be shown would raise objections in the minds of buyers, but the pitch tape proves that it works. It also allows the director to show how the use of sound design adds more drama and suspense than the use of a more conventional music soundtrack.

An effective pitch tape can’t be put together in an afternoon, and it’s highly recommended to get an experienced editor to cut the tape, as they may well be able to see things in your material that you have missed.

Integrate verbal pitch

Once you have perfected your pitch tape you should build your verbal pitch around your tape or they could work against each other. For example, at the top of your pitch don’t introduce a character and then show a pitch tape in which that character doesn’t feature, as that serves to confuse the audience. If you have key characters in your film that aren’t in the tape, talk about them after you’ve shown the footage.

Mikael Opstrup, Head of Studies & Co-production at the European Documentary Network, suggests you integrate the tape with the pitch like this:

1. The Story World – Introduce the setting of your film to the buyer – give them just enough background to transport you into your world. For example, The Believers (aka Football is God) tells the story of fans of Boca Juniors football club in Argentina who are so fanatical about Diego Maradona that they have formed the Maradonian Church with Maradona’s autobiography as their bible.
2. The Characters – Once you have introduced the world in a way that excites the listener to hear more, you can introduce your characters via the pitch tape in a way that suggests their journey over the course of the film  In this example, we meet Pablo, a young man who loves Maradona more than his fiancee (to her obvious, but quiet distress); La Tia, an eccentric elderly woman who is searching for the perfect plot in the cemetery that is exclusively reserved for Boca Juniors fans; and Hernan, a conflicted intellectual who is undergoing therapy in an attempt to come to terms with his devotion the club. Each character is identified to have a problem that they will find a challenge to overcome: Pablo’s fiancee loves him, but Pablo loves Maradona, how is the relationship going to play out? The viewer is compelled to want to see what happens. The way in which the characters are shot, tableau style, also shows the director’s visual style.
3. The Film – the practical production details – stage of production, budget, finance in place, funding sought.

This pitch format works well if you are pitching alone. Danish producer Sigrid Dyekjær has a multi-step pitch process that works well for a two-handed producer and director pitch which you can read here.

For those of you hoping to pitch at Sheffield Doc/Fest in June, you can find more pitching tips from writer/director Steph Wessell here.

And you can find tips on how to put together a sizzle reel for a character-driven reality show here.