When Disney announced that JJ Abrams would direct Star Wars Episode VII, Prescott Harvey responded with an animated open letter called 4 Rules To Make Star Wars Great Again.
It resonated with millions of fans who were disappointed by George Lucas’ prequel trilogy and skeptical about Disney’s involvement.
The film went viral and JJ got the message.
Impressed, JJ invited Prescott to pitch a feature film concept at his company Bad Robot Productions.
Today, Prescott shares the story of how he prepared for his first feature film pitch, what he did right, what he did wrong and the new opportunities that followed…
Listen To My Interview With Prescott Harvey:
[ download the mp3 ] [ subscribe in iTunes ]
Join Us On The Storytellers’ Summit:
Whether you write children’s books, screenplays or novels…
…or draw storyboards or comics: You are a storyteller.
…and every storyteller understands that turning our lofty thoughts into a finished work often feels like an uphill climb…
The Storytellers’ Summit – a new online course from The Oatley Academy – will provide guidance from some of the entertainment industry’s best teachers.
We’ll help you master fundamental concepts like:
- Developing your protagonist
- Building a believable world
- Constructing a compelling plot
- Finding your voice
- Fighting writer’s block
Your story is waiting.
Join The Storytellers’ Summit today!
Awesome Links:
Music by Storybook Steve and Kangaralien
What Was Your Favorite Pitching Tip?
Which of Prescott’s points of pitching advice resonated with you most? …and why?
Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
So many podcasts today 😀 This is going be a good day, perfect to listening to right now while doing PD1 homework! *puts on headphones right now*
Can’t wait to hear what you think, Asta!
I loved Prescott’s short film. It is a great reminder that tone is an important aspect of storytelling. Similar to Brian McDonald’s armature, a consistent tone is something to hang your story on. A guide to continually refer back to.
I’m about half way through the episode and had to stop and comment. The step-by-step pitch process Prescott goes through is fascinating. I had to stop multiple times to jot down notes and ideas.
Of particular interest is the idea of keeping detailed notes of people he’s talked to and interviewed with. Every CTNX, I end up meeting folks that likely I want to talk to later, but the event becomes a big blur in my memory.
The same thing goes for project ideas and conversations. Get it on paper.
That’s such a good point, Matt. I think people are often afraid to take those kinds of notes because they feel like if they *really* care, they will simply remember.
But I know that for me, I remember things BY writing them down. I usually don’t even look at the notes again. Simply, the process of writing makes the information stick in my brain.
great point. When i interned I would get so many notes on my portfolio from people that I took notes on post-its and stuck them on the images.years later it was fun to re-read the notes and see if I had addressed the issues I had back then in my current work.
Wow (-my common reaction to Oatley Artcasts). having pitched with several different studios this not only brought back many similar memories – it gave me new hope.
When he said, “I’m still figuring out the rules,” and you responded, “There aren’t really any rules.” (Or something similar) – that was my favorite moment, because it’s so true.
There is one exception I thought of to something he said. I actually had a Skype pitch that went well, but it was for a short film and I had a GREAT working relationship to one of the key people in the room.
In my most recent pitch, I made the mistake of pitching the internal, emotional elements first and they wanted to hear the plot/suspense parts first. The pitch still ended up going well enough for them to consider the projects, but his pitch structure sounds much more effect.
Thank you so much for giving us this rare look into pitching, Chris. And good luck to Prescott in your awesome pitching adventures!
Cool Scott!
I’d love to hear more about your pitching experiences & can’t wait to hear what stuff you come up with with your new work/life work situation. I find skype interviews really hard. I usually do good in interviews and can match the energy level of the people in the room, but I feel like with skype all those non-verbal cues are lost. I had one interview where I was emailing back and forth and had a good repore with them, but once we talked on skype it felt really awkward.
I think things are generally better in person, but Skype is a big part of the business I’m joining, so hopefully it’s something that just takes time to get used too.
As far as a film pitch, it’s SOOOO wise to do it in person.
I’d love to tell you more about the pitching and personal projects when we have the time! I can’t wait to see your project, Emme and Oreo, all finished!
thanks! Just remembered. When I interned for my nickelodeon internship I was asked if I wanted to do it over the phone or in person. I was in northern California at the time and thought: of course I don’t want to drive 6 hours for that. Looking back years later kinda stupid on my part, but it all worked out 🙂
I don’t know if it was part of the pitching advice…but he mentioned something about always building relationships. It’s a good thing to remember.
I liked the part about “stepping across the threshold,” I sort of understand that scariness.
Great point Jennifer. If we think about it, if we want to be successful we artist have to often pitch ourselves. And if our goal is to simply build great relationships, we’ll probably be better off in the long run!
Hi Chris & Prescott,
Very interesting conversation. It caught my attention when he brought up ‘story theme’ during his pitches. Not only on this podcast, but Ive heard people at disney talk about ‘theme. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it, but it seems like the better way to think about story and I’m trying to incorporate it into my own projects.
In addition just hearing yet another story about how a personal project changed someones career outlook way more then generating generic portfolio pieces could ever do is very encouraging! Listening to this podcast over the years definitely helped push me into that mindset and I’m almost done with my first illustrated children’s book. Although it hasn’t majorly changed my career path in any way, I see a lot of positive energy and interest with my work from people that didn’t exist before.
Thanks!
Hi Pat!! 😀
I just wanted to chime in and agree with you. It’s mindblowing how personal projects have such a huge impact on someone’s career. So good…
hoping ours do to!
That’s the beauty of it all: SOMETHING positive will surely come out xD Or so I like to think. Even if it”s just growth…. which by itself is huge.
Cheers to our personal projects!! 😀 YOU ROCK!!!
Bombdiggity! After listening to this makes me want to have an arsenal of pitches ready to go. Key art and log lines. It sounds like using the J.J. Abrams formula for mystery in pitches is the best approach. Making it so producers are drawn in and ask questions. Stimulate their imaginations! 🙂
Right!? I’m also feeling super pumped and ready to pitch, hahaha! 😀 let’s wooork!
Loved the advise of pitching in person! I think this could apply to almost anything right? children books, comics? Also on how he pitches and how he wants the people who watch the pitch to engage in the story by asking questions is super smart! A great podcast!!
Let’s make some pitches!! :D:D
Great job on the questions Chris! You usually ask really good questions but this time you really got into super detail about everything. I appreciated that.
As for the pitching part, I actually haven’t gotten to the part of the summit for loglines but the pitching brings me back to a approach I had for collabs. I think it was Chris that said you can use a style bible to go recruiting people to collaborate with a project. I’m thinking constructing apitch for ideas can also work.
Great artcast! My favourite pitching tip was “it’s a conversation”