Pitch (film)
Encyclopedia
A pitch is a concise verbal (and sometimes visual) presentation of an idea for a film
or TV series generally made by a screenwriter
or director to a producer or studio executive in the hope of attracting development finance to pay for the writing of a screenplay
.
"Pitch" is a contraction of the phrase "sales pitch
". A pitch is used throughout different stages of production, such as casting and distribution, as well as to urge film producers to further fund a project. Filmmakers who devise a pitch tend to manufacture a production package, which is handed out to each potential investor during the pitch. The package contains the basic information for the filmmaker's project, such as a plot synopsis and budgeting values.
Pitches are also heavily used in the television industry. Though these kinds of pitches usually are made via a script or teleplay
, certain animated
productions use a storyboard
. This novel approach has been taken in such animated programs as Phineas and Ferb
. Co-founders of the project, Dan Povenmire
and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, needed to convince overseas executives for The Walt Disney Company
to greenlight
the series, so they drew a storyboard and recorded it as a reel. They then mixed it and dubbed it over with sound effects, voices, and narrative, then sent the recording to the executives, who accepted it.
Television pitches can also be devised by the network or company that produces the program. Certain networks are pitched the idea of including a character in a series in order to boost ratings. Such pitches have been used with "Oliver" in The Brady Bunch
and "Luke" on Growing Pains
. Networks also try to force their ideas upon series' producers through their pitches, though their approach is business-oriented and their ideas are generally not favored by writers and viewers. In 1992, the crew of the animated series Rugrats
was approached by Nickelodeon
, which pitched the idea of a Rugrats Hanukkah
special. Paul Germain
, co-creator of the series, responded by suggesting a passover
special, which he dubbed a "funny idea." After they closed production for that special, they begin considering the Hanukkah special and eventually created it in 1996 as the episode "A Rugrats Chanukah
."
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
or TV series generally made by a screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
or director to a producer or studio executive in the hope of attracting development finance to pay for the writing of a screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
.
"Pitch" is a contraction of the phrase "sales pitch
Sales pitch
In selling technique, a sales pitch is a line of talk that attempts to persuade someone or something, with a planned sales presentation strategy of a product or service designed to initiate and close a sale of the product or service....
". A pitch is used throughout different stages of production, such as casting and distribution, as well as to urge film producers to further fund a project. Filmmakers who devise a pitch tend to manufacture a production package, which is handed out to each potential investor during the pitch. The package contains the basic information for the filmmaker's project, such as a plot synopsis and budgeting values.
Pitches are also heavily used in the television industry. Though these kinds of pitches usually are made via a script or teleplay
Teleplay
A teleplay is a television play, a comedy or drama written or adapted for television. The term surfaced during the 1950s with wide usage to distinguish a television plays from stage plays for the theater and screenplays written for films...
, certain animated
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
productions use a storyboard
Storyboard
Storyboards are graphic organizers in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence....
. This novel approach has been taken in such animated programs as Phineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb is an American animated television comedy series. Originally broadcast as a preview on August 17, 2007, on Disney Channel, the series follows Phineas Flynn and his English stepbrother Ferb Fletcher on summer vacation. Every day the boys embark on some grand new project, which...
. Co-founders of the project, Dan Povenmire
Dan Povenmire
Daniel Kingsley "Dan" Povenmire is an American television director, writer, producer, storyboard artist, and actor associated with several animated television series, best known as the co-creator of the Disney animated series Phineas and Ferb in which he also voices the show's villain, Heinz...
and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, needed to convince overseas executives for The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
to greenlight
Greenlight
To green-light a project is to give permission or a go ahead to move forward with a project. In the context of the movie and TV businesses, to green-light something is to formally approve its production finance, thereby allowing the project to move forward from the development phase to...
the series, so they drew a storyboard and recorded it as a reel. They then mixed it and dubbed it over with sound effects, voices, and narrative, then sent the recording to the executives, who accepted it.
Television pitches can also be devised by the network or company that produces the program. Certain networks are pitched the idea of including a character in a series in order to boost ratings. Such pitches have been used with "Oliver" in The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis. The series revolved around a large blended family...
and "Luke" on Growing Pains
Growing Pains
Growing Pains is an American television sitcom about an affluent family, residing in Huntington, New York, with a working mother and a stay-at-home psychiatrist father raising three children together, which aired on ABC from September 24, 1985 to April 25, 1992.-Synopsis:The show's premise is based...
. Networks also try to force their ideas upon series' producers through their pitches, though their approach is business-oriented and their ideas are generally not favored by writers and viewers. In 1992, the crew of the animated series Rugrats
Rugrats
Rugrats is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series premiered on August 11, 1991, and aired its last episode on June 8, 2004....
was approached by Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
, which pitched the idea of a Rugrats Hanukkah
Hanukkah
Hanukkah , also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE...
special. Paul Germain
Paul Germain
Paul Germain is an American animation screenwriter and producer. Among the shows Germain has written and/or produced for are Rugrats, All Grown Up!, The Simpsons, Recess, Even Stevens, Lloyd in Space, The Tracey Ullman Show, and Beethoven: The Animated Series...
, co-creator of the series, responded by suggesting a passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
special, which he dubbed a "funny idea." After they closed production for that special, they begin considering the Hanukkah special and eventually created it in 1996 as the episode "A Rugrats Chanukah
A Rugrats Chanukah
"A Rugrats Chanukah", titled onscreen as "Chanukah" and sometimes called the "Rugrats Chanukah Special", is a special episode of Nickelodeon's animated television series Rugrats...
."