the Crazy8s Film Society presents HowHow ToTo PitchPitch ShortShort FilmFilm A Complete Guide to Learning How to Pitch Yourself and Your Story

TIPS FROM Bill Hurst, Telefilm Kaare Andrews, Marvel Paul Armstrong, Film Producer/Celluloid Social Club Zach Lipovsky, Disney’s Mech X4 AND MORE!

Crazy8s Film Society 1st Edition 3 Credits

4 What Will You Learn In this eBook?

5 What is Crazy8s? Contributors

9 The Difference Between Story and Concept What are the Elements of a Memorable Story?

15 What is the Central Conflict and Why Does It Matter?

16 Tips on Pitching from In The Room

17 What To Prepare When Pitching - The Things No One Tells You Questions You May Be Asked In The Room

19 Key Points To Hit in a Three to Five Minute Pitch

21 Video Pitching Tips To Get Your Story & You Across

23 Video Pitches That Really Stuck Out

26 Final Thoughts

2 How to Pitch a Short Film Credits

Written by Alicia Bernbaum Associate Producer, Crazy8s Film Society 2017

Special Thank You to Contributors Paul Armstrong, Kaare Andrews, Stephanie Halber, Bill Hurst, Shauna Johannesen, Mackenzie Gray, Kristyn Stilling, and Zach Lipovsky.

Cover Art Pattern Created by BoldLove

Layout & eBook Design by Felix Cheng

Edited by Julie Bruns

Stills Photography & Group Photo by Wendy D.

The Crazy8s Film Society Executive Producer Paul Armstrong

Co Producers Kristyn Stilling Stephanie Halber

Associate Producers Alicia Bernbaum Julie Bruns Mathew Gilroy Alexandra Staseson

Crazy8s Board Crazy8s Created by Marc Stephenson, Sue Biely, DGC­BC, Andrew Williamson, Leah Mallen, Amanda Tapping, Richard Stevenson, Danny Nowak, Dylan Akio Rhonda Monteith Smith, Karen Lam

How to Pitch a Short Film 3 What Will You Learn In This eBook?

Congratulations! The contributors of this book have collectively watched over 200 hours of ou have just picked up an eBook video pitches and listened to more than Y that has been specifically written 200 in-person pitches in the almost 20 to help you prepare your pitch. After years Crazy8s has been around. Many 18 years of Crazy8s, the producers and of our contributors have pitched to judges have received a lot of questions networks and production studios to about pitching short film. These secure thousands of dollars of funding, frequently asked questions and tips production needs and support. have been compiled into this quick and easy read specifically for your benefit. Start thinking about your next story now Crazy8s is built around two stages of and how you can apply the tips here in judging - a video pitch and then an in this eBook because it all starts with the person pitch. As you move forward in pitch. your career, you may also find yourself pitching your project to a room of television execs, production studios, assistants and even your mother (your toughest critic) and you may find these tips useful there as well.

You will learn about the difference between a story and a concept, the elements of a successful and memorable pitch, and how to prepare for questions and suggestions.

This book is designed to inspire you to consider all aspects of your pitch, from the moment you walk in the door (or appear on camera), to your parting words. The principles taught here are about much more than just short film - they can be applied for television, feature film, short film or web series.

4 How to Pitch a Short Film What Is Crazy8s?

razy8s is an 8-day filmmaking Looking at the list of Crazy8s alumni, C challenge that provides funding many of the talented filmmakers have and support to emerging filmmakers to since gone on to have vibrant careers help them produce a short film. Crazy8s in the film industry. Dylan Akio Smith’s is run by the Crazy8s Film Society, a Crazy8s film Man Feel Pain went on not-for-profit society created by the the win Best Short Film at the Toronto Directors Guild of Canada to foster and International Film Festival, which led support local filmmakers. to his acceptance to the Canadian Film Centre, which all led to the production Since 1999, Crazy8s has given of his first feature film, The Cabin Movie. opportunities to 103 filmmakers and Zach Lipovsky’s Crazy Late landed him their teams of producers, directors, a spot on the show writers, cinematographers, art directors, On the Lot where he placed in the Top editors, composers and cast. Crazy8s 5 which landed him an agent in Los has given over $90,000 to produce fully Angeles and led him to be the executive funded, professional short films and producer and a director of Disney’s present them to an audience around the Mech X-4. globe. Other Crazy8s participants such as Kaare Andrews, Katrin Bowen, Cam Labine, Carl Bessai, Marc Stephenson, Elan Mastai, Matt Sinclair, Scott Weber, Kelly-Ann Benz, Kelly-Ruth Mercier, Bruce Marchfelder, James Dunnison, Coreen Mayrs, Harry Killas, Tracy D Smith, Ryan Bonder, Stephen Martin, Angelina Cantada, Zachary Rothman, Elle-Maija Tailfeathers, Mackenzie Gray, Nimisha Mukerji, Matthew Kowalchuk, Tony Mirza, Jem Garrard, Caitlin Byrnes, Scott Belyea, Shauna Johannesen, Joel Ashton McCarthy, The Affolter Brothers and Lawrence Le Lam (the list continues) have all benefited tremendously from the experience and have gone on to have successful careers in the film industry.

How to Pitch a Short Film 5 Contributors

PAUL ARMSTRONG Executive Director, 4+ years

Paul Armstrong is an award-winning film, television and theatre producer. He is the founder, programmer and producer of The Celluloid Social Club, a monthly screening of short films running since 1997. Through the Club he produces The Hot Shot Shorts which he also co-founded. Feature film credits include the upcoming documentary Cool Daddy for the CBC Documentary Channel as well as Lawrence & Holloman based on the play by Morris Panych; Moving Malcolm by Benjamin Ratner starring Elizabeth Berkley; the Genie Award nominated See Grace Fly starring Gina Chiarelli and Paul McGillion and Ill-Fated, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and stars Peter Outerbridge. Short film credits include Counter Act by the Affolter brothers, Anxious Oswald Greene by Marshall Axani winner of a record 13 Leo Awards. The Money Pet featuring Alan Cumming, Monster & Everything’s Coming up Rosie starring Jodelle Ferland & Ian Tracey and more.

KRISTYN STILLING Co-Producer, 2+ years

Kristyn Stilling is an integral part of the film community of Canada. Kristyn is the co-producer of Crazy8s and also sits on the video pitch jury. She is a Production Coordinator at the National Film Board of Canada, the Shorts Programmer at the Whistler Film Festival, Programming Director for the monthly webisode festival VanChan, and in her spare time (what spare time?) she is the Chair of the Vancouver Short Film Festival.

STEPHANIE HALBER Co-Producer, 1+ years

Stephanie Halber is multi-faceted in film and the performing arts. Stephanie is the Co-Producer and Production Coordinator of Crazy8s and was also a part of the video pitch jury. She is the Associate Producer of the Celluloid Social Club and the Hot Short Shorts contest. She has previously worked as the Programming and Community Liaison at CineVic Society of Independent Filmmakers. A graduate of the Canadian College of Performing Arts, she has a strong background in storytelling, has been an acting coach working with youth for the last five years and currently works with Casting Director Tiffany Mak.

6 How to Pitch a Short Film Contributors

ALICIA BERNBAUM Associate Producer, 1+ years

Alicia Bernbaum is passionate about stories, be it through writing, digital media, technology or film. Her experience in the industry includes promotions, acting, assisting with casting and production. She has now helped produced seven short films. She also has an advertising agency and marketing background. As part of her experience with Crazy8s she is involved with all aspects from story editing, production planning, sponsorship and working with film teams to shape their project.

BILL HURST Video Pitch Jury, 5+ years

Bill Hurst worked at the cultural funding agency Telefilm Canada, Western Region, as Content Analyst, Senior Content Analyst, and Interim Feature Film Executive from February 1993 to March 2012. Consequently, Bill has read and analyzed thousands of scripts and continues to do so.

KAARE ANDREWS In-Person Pitch Jury, 5+ years & Crazy8s Alumni

Kaare Andrews is a Canadian comic book writer, artist and filmmaker who hails from Saskatoon. He is most known for his cover work on Incredible Hulk and Iron Fist, as well as many other comic books published by Marvel Comics. Andrews wrote, pencilled, inked and coloured the 2014 relaunch of Iron Fist: The Living Weapon for Marvel Comics. Inspired by Jim Steranko’s work on Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Andrews is the only active comic creator at Marvel Comics to perform all creative jobs himself on monthly book.

How to Pitch a Short Film 7 Contributors

SHAUNA JOHANNESEN In-Person Pitch Jury, 1 year & Crazy8s Alumni

Shauna is an award-winning writer, actor and filmmaker. Her plays have been produced across Western Canada and her short film Bedbugs: A Musical Love Story garnered numerous accolades on the festival circuit, including Leo awards for Screenwriting and Best Female Actor. Shauna’s newest play Common Grace premiered in 2016 at Pacific Theatre, and her short film Trying won the Women In Film Matrix Award for Achievement in BC Film. Between writing and directing, Shauna regularly graces your living room via your TV set.

MACKENZIE GRAY Video Pitch Jury Member, 1 year & Crazy8s Alumni

Mackenzie Gray was born and raised in Toronto. A professional actor for over 35 years, he has appeared in over 120 films and television shows. Mackenzie is currently starring on Legion for Fox. He also wrote and directed a Film Noir short, Under The Bridge of Fear for the Crazy8s competition. This short was selected for The Cannes Festival Short Film Corner, the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) and the Whistler Film Festival and was purchased by the CBC. He co-produced and acted in the award-winning feature film POE: LAST DAYS OF THE RAVEN, and has written, produced and directed five short films.

ZACH LIPOVSKY In-Person Pitch Jury, 4+ years & Crazy8s Alumni

Zach Lipovsky is a director, who started working in the industry as a child actor. Crazy Late, his winning short for the 2005 Crazy8s, pushed him forward in the worldwide search for up and coming filmmakers for On the Lot produced by Steven Spielberg and . Zach was the only Canadian to make it to the top 18, beating out 12,000 filmmakers. While finishing 5th on the show, Zach’s talents gained the attention of Hollywood. He acquired LA Representation and began directing commercials. In late 2012, Zach went on to direct his first feature length movie Tasmanian Devils, a Syfy monster movie. He is now executive producer and director of Disney’s Mech-X4.

8 How to Pitch a Short Film The Difference Between Story and Concept and Theme

oo often great filmmakers come up with a concept and think they have a story. T They set off to pitch to executives and come up short when they are asked the tough questions of who the characters are, how they go after what they want and why. Other times a writer or director will have a complete story but they won’t know how to articulate it.

The Crazy8s judges want a story they can understand and connect to and you want a fully realized story that is simple to pitch.

Executive Producer Paul Armstrong describes a CONCEPT as “the kernel of the story, the broad outline of the…arc.” Think of this as the basic ‘what’ of your story before any details.

Example: “A man discovers the truth about his world…”

A THEME is inherently what an audience will connect with and the overall message of your story but it is not the story itself.

Example: “Love, redemption, revenge, a man who is trying to figure out his worth…”

According to Paul, a STORY “maps out the building blocks…to include the characters, the plot and the…arc”. Think of this as the who, the what, the when and the why.

An ARC is the characters journey of change from the beginning to the end.

While a concept and theme are starting points that can be the foundation for many great stories - how you take your concept and make it unique is up to you. A complete story needs to include a detailed main character, a central problem, something or someone that is standing in the way of the main character and a solution.

One concept for the 1999 movie The Matrix* is about a man who discovers the truth about his world. This could go many ways - is it about a mans relationship with his wife or is it about an office worker who realizes he doesn’t get paid as much as his co- worker? These specifics matter and that is where a theme turns into a concept which turns into a story.

How to Pitch a Short Film 9 In the case of The Matrix, it becomes the story about a reclusive computer programmer (main character) who is targeted by a malevolent cyber intelligence (something standing in the way of the main character) when rebels awaken him to reality - life as he knows it is a computer program controlling humanity (problem) and he is the only one who can stop it and save the world. Together with other rebels, they must shut down the cyber intelligence before its too late for humanity (solution). The question is, does he believe in himself? Can he save the world? Is he really “the One” to do it? (the central conflict and ultimately his character arc). Have the ending to your story before pitching. A story has an ending; without that it’s a concept.

Can you think of a theme or concept that you have and re-work it into a fully formed story? Once you know the difference between Story and Concept you can ensure you will always have your details worked out before pitching.

If you can’t tell your story in 5 minutes you probably can’t shoot it to be 10 minutes.

Shauna Johannesen In-Person Pitch Jury

10 How to Pitch a Short Film What are the elements of a memorable story?

I talked to a director friend [who asked me] ‘what is your movie about’…No no no [they said] the story is not the plot. The plot is she did this, they went here. The story is the journey of the character.

Shauna Johannesen In-Person Pitch Jury

There are many different ways to look at what makes a memorable and successful story. When you watched a movie in the past, was there ever a story that just came together and worked? You probably felt really excited by this movie and even told your friends to watch it because it was that good. Was it easy for you to share? Could you explain what happened without becoming confused?

This story likely had the following elements in place that made it good.

First off, a good story has a beginning, middle and end. This seems so basic that it should be unnecessary to think about but it’s important.

A good story has a beginning that introduces the characters, who they are and where they are before the problem or change occurs. Do your protagonists have clear objectives? Do your antagonists have clear objectives? This set up allows for a clear character transformation from the beginning of the movie to the end.

The middle of the story includes all of the plot that leads the character(s) towards their goal - but not without obstacles of course.

The ending is the most important part of the character journey. Did they get what they wanted? How did they feel about it? Did they end up with the one they love or d0 they let them go? This is where the central conflict (more on that in Chapter 4) is revealed and your characters journey is completed, bringing all the elements of the story together. The characters will have solved the problem and been changed by it either for better or worse.

How to Pitch a Short Film 11 One example of this is the 2011 Paul Feig movie Bridesmaids**, which follows the protagonist as she competes against another woman to be the best bridesmaid to the bride. The beginning of the movie demonstrates where she is before the wedding. She is down-and-out, without a partner and has recently shut down her baking business. When her best friend announces that she is getting married, it becomes a competition against another bridesmaid for who is the best bridesmaid. After shenanigans that include food poisoning and stealing puppies, our protagonist ends up realizing that during this competition she has lost the friendship of her best friend the bride. After pulling herself together, she learns that her fear of not being worthy of love/friendship anymore (the central conflict or the heart of the story) was false. She was always going to be the best friend of the bride no matter what.

A good story has an ending and when you pitch a short film (or feature film) you tell this ending to the panel of people you are pitching to.

I love seeing stories with fresh ideas. Stay away from clichés. What is it about your story that makes it unique? Think outside of the rectangle!

Stephanie Halber Co-Producer, Crazy8s

12 How to Pitch a Short Film Paul Armstrong • Don’t assume that what the judges liked in past years is what they will be looking for in future years as there are always new judges and tastes may change from year to year. That said, be aware of past Crazy8s films or the past films of whoever you are pitching to.

Alicia Bernbaum: • Tie your characters internal problem with the external problem and have them connect.

When we approached the viewing public with questions about what makes a good story, this is what was said:

No matter who your characters are or what circumstances have befallen them, it is imperative to have characters that people care about and sympathize with and can get behind on their journey.

How to Pitch a Short Film 13 References

* Village Roadshow Pictures, et al. “The Matrix.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 June 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Matrix.

**Apatow Productions, and Relativity Media . “Bridesmaids (2011 Film).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 April 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridesmaids_(2011_film).

26 How to Pitch a Short Film To learn more and purchase the entire ebook, please visit http://www.crazy8s.film/how-to-pitch-short-film

© Crazy8s Film Society 2017