American Film Market Dailies

Today the AFM hosted its annual Pitch Conference which drew an audience of more than 700 people – a full hous

·         The morning started out with moderator Pilar Alessandra, Producer Cassian Elwes ane!d Virgin Produced’s Tobin Armbrust sharing practical advice and the essential rules and tools of pitching.

·         The second part of the session consisted of 14+ filmmakers hitting the stage to pitch to our expert panel. Pilar, Cassian and Tobin shared unvarnished feedback on each pitch – explaining what worked, what didn’t, and why.

·         This Conference favourite is like Shark Tank meets The Voice.

Pilar Alessandra

Moderator

Instructor / Consultant, On The Page

“The four most important things I look for in a pitch are:

1. An energetic, passionate presentation.
2. Clarity of a story. Is it engaging? Is the story evolving?
3. A sense of genre.
4. A strong hook – that is what the producers today will be listening for. What makes your project special?”

Tobin Armbrust

President, Worldwide Production & Acquisitions, Virgin Produced

“Pitching happens in every facet of what we do. Selling is ubiquitous. It happens all the time. The key to a good pitch is knowing your audience. You’re always shifting how you pitch to someone – audiences differ.”

“Depending on who is pitching to you, certain assumptions are made from the beginning. If it’s someone very new to the business, you need them to be more elaborate with their pitch. They need to show you more.”

“After a good pitch, you want to give some advice and bat ideas back and forth. That’s infectious. As producers, we love that. On some creative level we want to have the ability to interact with whoever is sharing their idea with us.”

“Film in many ways is in its own very unique environment, and sometimes it can be very difficult to break into, but there are so many different outlets for your ideas now.”

“When you’re at an industry event, it’s always important to read the room. When you’re networking, ask initial questions, understand what that person does.”

“When you’re pitching to me and you’re staring down at your page, I start staring down. Always tell us first what you intend the project to be. It’s important to lay that out in the beginning.”

Cassian Elwes

Independent Producer / Agent

“In this particular business, your whole career is about pitching. Your life is filled with pitches. I’m not a financier, I’m a producer, so I have to take ideas and then sell them to someone else – someone who has the money.”

“I’m constantly waiting to hear that next great idea. It can come from anywhere and you have to keep your mind open to it.”

“I don’t stick to any genres because I don’t want to cut myself off from making a great movie. The movies that are interesting to me are the ones I would like to see.”

“I just love movies: that’s what it comes down to. So when someone pitches an idea and I go “I’ve never seen that type of movie before”, that’s what turns me on. It could be anything!”

“When it comes to making films, there are no limitations anymore. If you have talent, you’ll figure out some way to get it out there. You’ve got to be so passionate.”