Fade In Magazine Pitch Fest

[GeorgeOrwellian]

New to site. Anyone know anything about the Pitch Fest? I just received an e-mail pimping it. Next weekend, the 17th-18th, in LA. Looks like a potentially great opportunity to pitch/network w/ a slew of agents, execs, and the like. (Plus the writers of Wanted will be there. And Wanted looks boss.)
Just curious as to if anyone has been/planning to go.
-RKM

[DevelopmentExec]

I've taken pitches at Fade In - it's one of the better ones based on both the quantity and calibre of the prod cos, agencies, etc. who attend.

http://www.fadeinonline.com/events/hollywood_pitchfest/

The Great American Pitch Fest - June 20 - 22nd is another excellent event. It's become a mini Expo with classes taught by people like Linda Seger, Syd Field, Michael Hague, and Blake Snyder.

http://pitchfest.com/index.shtml

Pitch fests are probably the best use of your script marketing budget. There's nothing that can compare to making a personal connection with agents and producers. I'm far more likely to remember someone who pitched me in person, than someone who queried me.

If you can swing the fees and you are local - I'd suggest going to both - as well as the Screenwriting Expo in the fall which is the grand poobah of these events.

I highly recommend doing a little research on pitching and preparing your pitch. There are books on the subject, Creative Screenwriting sells some DVDS and there are even consultants who will coach you one on one.

It's kind of like speed dating and when you hear one pitch after another like that you can start to zone out (especially after hearing a couple of unprepared, muttering, stuttering unfocused pitches.)

The best note I can give you on pitching is to remember they are dialogues, not monologues - be sure that you listen.

Dev

[mario_c]

If you can swing the fees, and a plane ticket from Connecticut which starts at $500. Still, these all look promising. Fade In looks like the most high profile, but Screenwriting Expo really had a dynamite lineup. If I was already making money as a writer, I'd book a flight today. sigh.

[NikeeGoddess]

I've taken pitches at Fade Indid you ever go further with a writer? or did you just go home wishes you had worn better shoes?

[DevelopmentExec]

did you ever go further with a writer? or did you just go home wishes you had worn better shoes?

The vast majority, simply don't interest me. They are either too generic and familiar sounding, or not interesting enough to capture my curiosity. Sometimes I've been pitched projects that are genres we don't produce, which really irks me, because all these pitch fests provide attendees with blurbs about the cos, including what they are looking for.

Too many writers at these events don't know how to pitch. They hem and haw and mumble and stumble or are really hard sell or else they go into the minutiae "and there's this funny moment..." or "and there's this amazing action sequence where...." Never actually communicating what there story's area about.

I have requested scripts, and the majority have been lacking in execution - clearly written by amateurs. I've heard maybe 1/2 dozen really great pitches - fresh and commercial ideas, that I was really excited to read. In each of those cases I have been extremely disappointed by the scripts. But I remain hopeful, because I have come across some talented writers through pitchfests, even if we passed on the project they were pitching.

In all the years I've been doing pitch events, we've optioned two scripts we found through them- but that's actually probably a decent percentage, based on the number of pitches we listen to at those things and the number of submission requests we make.

[jonpiper]

Too many writers at these events don't know how to pitch. They hem and haw and mumble and stumble or are really hard sell or else they go into the minutiae "and there's this funny moment..." or "and there's this amazing action sequence where...." Never actually communicating what there story's area about.

I have requested scripts, and the majority have been lacking in execution - clearly written by amateurs. I've heard maybe 1/2 dozen really great pitches - fresh and commercial ideas, that I was really excited to read. In each of those cases I have been extremely disappointed by the scripts. But I remain hopeful, because I have come across some talented writers through pitchfests, even if we passed on the project they were pitching.


Sounds like what the American Idol judges go through during nationwide auditions.:)

[NikeeGoddess]

Sometimes I've been pitched projects that are genres we don't produce, which really irks me, because all these pitch fests provide attendees with blurbs about the cos, including what they are looking for. true, most people don't do their research but in defense of the pitchfests system... the "known" companies get slammed early with the masses and the rest are picked by the people who take their time. they usually end up with poor matches because of this and b/c the writer usually prepays then they feel compelled to not waste their money even if it's not their ideal company. i don't know if there's a way to fix this.

i know that the "preferred newsletter" from inktip warns you that if you query to a company with something that doesn't match their specific request then you will be barred or something. these inktip "what we are looking for" requests are very specific and not so generic as many of the companies give out at the pitchfests.

like this one: We are looking for completed feature-length tween action or action comedy scripts, i.e. stories that specifically target a 9- to 13-year-old audience. Specifically, we’d like to see action or action comedies in the vein of “Goonies.” Submissions must be for material that has no attachments.

or this one: We are looking for completed feature-length biopics about female rock stars. Submissions must be for true stories about real rock stars, i.e. scripts about the careers of women like Joan Jett or Pat Benetar. Please do not submit any stories about fictional characters or fictionalizations about real characters, as we are only open to submissions of real biopics.

this is the kind of information producers should be releasing. it would definitely weed out the submissions that much further.