Book to Screen Workshop
by Anne Gafiuk (Calgary Chapter member Guest Column)
“Anne, skip the book. Go straight to screenplay,” said my friend,
Susan, back in November 2011 as I read her a couple of excerpts from a story I
am writing.
“You need to find a
producer.” This came a few weeks earlier
from Paul, a colleague, with experience in television and film.
I thought: “Me? Really?
My tale is worthy of consideration?
Friends and family have confidence in me and are supportive....but
no...I’ll just wait...I’ll keep working on my World War II piece....and other
projects, too.”
I click on the link and read: ‘a coming together of Calgary/Southern Alberta television, film and digital platform
producers with writers and publishers’.
Do I sign up? Susan
and Paul’s comments return to me. I
register!
For
the next two days, I work on a synopsis and a mock-up of a movie poster,
approaching family and friends again. I
need their feedback, guidance and assistance.
I submit the file. And then I
wait....and wait...and wait. An email
finally appears in my inbox. I have not
been selected to do ‘the pitch’. Oh
well, I think, go! Listen and
learn. And: I can have a good night’s sleep!
I
show up about twenty minutes early, am chatted up by another attendee, both of
us fresh and eager to discover the process.
We exchange business cards.
About sixty people attend the
workshop, including ten hosts/organizers/panellists. Quite a mix of
individuals: playwrights, screenplay writers, producers, writers, novelists. Why are they all here? To have their book or story make it onto the
small or big screen. Some like me: sitting, watching, and learning. Others:
to offer support. And let's not forget: people are here to
network....me, included. The seminar begins. I watch, I make copious notes and then feel
relief I am not selected as one of the four people to present their pitch! By the end of the three hour workshop, I am
exhausted!
The panels, made up of award-winning
producers, stress the length of time it will take from concept to completion. It could be years! The timing might not be right for some themes,
they say. The key: have a producer lined
up. Make sure that this is someone who
loves the project as much as you do....someone who is like-minded, someone who
will invest the time and effort into the project. Do research as to what a
producer produces. The history and reputation
of the writer, filmmaker, and producer also are major players. (Yikes! I am an unknown!) And go out to forge relationships! Opportunity,
preparation, and luck, too, play important roles. “Do not give up!” they advise.
The time arrives for the four
pitches. The audience has a certain
anticipating energy. A chair, the ‘hot
seat’, I call it, is placed in front of us virtual strangers and next to the
four panellists...all wearing dark clothing of various hues of black. Is this an omen?
The first person to pitch was
eaten alive for her presentation but then the panel seemed to like her
story...had she only just told it. The second admits to being “scared shitless”. He is amusing, initially, and then his nerves
get the best of him. The panel likes his
main character and tells him he needed to have rehearsed the pitch to know his
story inside and out. The third: shy and quiet speaks to the outline provided
by the organizers at registration, but also has been listening and
learning. The panel is not so hard on
him. They ask questions. The fourth:
again, having the experience of the first three, wows the panel. He delivers! All four individuals receive 'constructive criticism' and congratulations for
their benefit and for us in the audience.
While all this is going on, I
cannot help but think of Dragon’s Den
or So You Think You Have Talent. I am so happy not to have been up there. Then I realize: missing from all of the
pitches is a visual...the movie poster or the book cover we were asked to
create. No one had one...and the teacher
in me knows to always have a
visual!
In summary:
- Be concise, clear, and appealing. Try to capture ‘the pitch’ in 30- 60
seconds.
- ‘The Pitch’ is all about the story. And both had better be great!
- Make your characters ‘real’.
- Make sure the story is topical, as it could take between 2-4
years to bring the project to fruition.
- Make eye contact with the panel.
- Rehearse ‘the pitch’.
Time it. Run it past friends
and family. Ask them to be brutally
honest and have them ask questions.
- Know your story inside out and backwards.
- Come ‘ready to play’.
- Create a relationship within the first three minutes of ‘the
pitch’,
- Never apologize.
- Wear black!
So what did I come away with? A great appreciation of what goes on ‘behind
the scenes’ to bring text to the screen.
More knowledge...and that can’t hurt.
Now what do I do? Work on my
story, add some spit and polish....put me out there, and meet more people! Oh, also get my name known by doing things
like this guest column. And don’t forget to wear black.