TOP EUROPEAN SHORTS FESTIVALS

  Top European Shorts Festivals by allal

Read More

Beauty by Rino Stefano Tagliafierro

Beauty from L on Vimeo.

Read More

Heather Hale's pitch on pitch

         Because the article read from script magazine about pitching is interesting,our weblog is honored to republish it because of the African and Asian readers and of course if  Heather Hale does not want our move , we will delete it immeditely because she has all the right .

About Heather Hale

Heather Hale is an approved independent producer with NBC/Universal. Her credits include: Absolute Killer (W, D, P: Meatloaf Aday, Ed Asner, Edward Furlong); The Courage to Love (W, Lifetime: Vanessa Williams, Diahann Carroll, Stacey Keach, Gil Bellows). Her projects have won Emmys, Tellys and Ace Awards. Tim McGraw has one of her true-life biopics under option. Tim Conway is attached to one of her comedies. She was the Vice President and Director of Event Programming for NATPE and the Industry Coordinator for the Independent Film and Television Alliance for the 2013 American Film Market. She is a member of the TV Academy and Show Biz Mensans. She is writing a book for Focal Press on "How to Work the Film and TV Markets" due out June 2015. Follow Heather on Twitter @HeatherJHale

View all posts by Heather Hale →

Producer’s POV: StorySelling – The Art of Pitching

By: Heather Hale | June 13, 2014

Pitching can be creative and (dare I say it?) even fun. And if you get good at it, it can empower and liberate you to do more of what you love to do:  write.

Writers are storytellers. But when they have to selltheir stories, they often freeze up. That’s an unfortunate and unnecessary career handicap.

Pitching is (of course) a completely different skill set than writing – but it’s just as learnable a craft and instinctive an art. And you’d do well to get good at it. Just as the secret to good writing is great rewriting, pitching takes practice.  But where do you even start?

At the beginning.

When an athlete is asked the first time to break down what they do instinctively into step-by-step instructions, often, the combination of moves they try to articulate seem disjointed. It’s only as the separate pieces come together into one graceful, natural movement that everything falls into place. You, too, can achieve that with your pitch: invisible (but flawless) structure, expressing authentic passion, resulting in genuine emotional engagement that inspires desired action.

Pitch Perfect

Have you ever raved about a movie or TV show that you absolutely loved (or even an exciting sports game) to someone who hadn’t yet seen it? Spoilers aside, your enthusiasm was probably contagious enough to make your listener want to see it, too (i.e., to take action).

You want to make whomever you’re pitching to, be genuinely excited to read your script (or at least think it sounds marketable enough to warrant their paying a threshold Reader to vet it for them). Sure, you want to sell or option a script or secure an agent or manager – but those are all downstream goals. What are the real goals that can actually be accomplished during a pitch?

     Primary Goal: Elicit a script request.

     Secondary Goal: Network (Build Your Relationships and Reputation)

Share Your Passion

For each and every pitch, your challenge is to translate whatever it was about your idea that got so under your skin that you were inspired – nay - compelled - to dedicate weeks to years of your life to create a whole world of characters to express the concept.

No one can give you that passion. As a writer, you should’ve come preloaded with that. That should be why you’re here: crazy enough to pursue this line of work. No matter what you’re pitching, to whom, where or how – your pitch should always start with a fantastic logline.

Loglines in a Nutshell

Loglines are without a doubt the hardest things you’ll ever have to write. And the most important. Books, blogs, videos, workshops and panels galore cover loglines ad infinitum, so let’s just cut to the chase and assume that ya’ll know that you need (give or take) something like this:

[Title] is a [Genre] about [an interesting, proactive Protagonist] who wants to/must [P’s Goal] but [Conflict = obstacles that get in the way/stakes if Protagonist fails].

or 

When [the inciting event happens], [our Hero], must [pursue the goal/drive the plot].

If your Protagonist is not pro-actively pursuing a plot-driven goal, then maybe you have more a character-driven or situational story, and you need to adjust your logline accordingly. If you have written a transformational character arc, make sure you point out your Hero’s flaw in your logline as it is key to your theme. An ironic twist at the end of a logline is always good for extra credit – especially for comedies and thrillers.

As always, look for the source of conflict in the story. In an action-driven piece, it will be in the goal versus the stakes against the ticking clock. In a character-driven piece, it will be in the situation. If you have created circumstances that accentuate a clearly defined central problem, perpetuating it from every angle (but never really actually solving it), then you may have yourself a TV show.

Pitching Scenarios

There are as many different kinds of pitches as there are opportunities. Let’s limit the spectrum of this blog to four environments:

• Brief Surprise Encounters
• Targeted Queries
• Pitch Fests
• Pitch Meetings

Each of these situations are wildly different. Inevitably, the approach, pace and architecture of each pitch will vary. If you have a chance meeting with someone on your Hit List in line at Starbucks, you may only have a couple of minutes to seamlessly work your brilliant logline organically into the conversation. This is the ambient white noise of LA.

If you’re targeting a handful of personalized query letters, cold calls or third party luke warm referrals, you might introduce your logline with a “What If…?” character or plot premise statement or close with the unique subject matter expertise you bring to the material.

Pitch Fests

The beauty to a pitch fest is that you can get right down to business. They know why you’re there. This professional speed-dating ritual is probably equally as painful on both sides. Of course, you want to greet them and build (quick) rapport, but with only 3 – 8 minutes all in, you’ve gotta race to get to and through your well-practiced spiel while ignoring the ballroom of competing hawkers all around you.

Most pitch tests are loud, noisy hot beds of chaotic, rushed desperation but a few organizations offer a higher quality experience by vetting both ways. RB and Joey Tuccio’s Stage 32′s Happy Writers’ Online Pitch Fests schedule professional, quality, cyber-face-to-cyber-face Skype pitches and NATPE’s PitchCon, a smaller and more intimate live event provides decision-makers specifically looking for TV projects a convenient forum to find them. Both deliver the actual decision-making executives they promise.

If you’re smart, you’ve already done your due diligence on who you’re pitching to and can replicate the Cliff Note version of what you’d do in a legit, scheduled pitch meeting (below).

Official Pitch Meetings

The Holy Grail. Actual real buyers. Hopefully with development money and access to distribution. One or more Execs have actually set aside time specifically for you, wanting to hear your specific pitch (that they might actually be interested in) or perhaps they are looking – now or in the near future – to hire a writer like you.

Before you go in: practice, practice, practice. You cannot over practice a pitch. Think of an actor who is so far off book they have the freedom and confidence to improvise, to be present and aware.

Trust your material. You know it (you wrote it). Relax. If you have practiced your pitch on your family, friends, writers group and anyone who would listen, you should have earned your confidence. Sure, you’ll still be nervous – you’re a writer not an actor or comedian. But if you record your pitch on video tape – and, like an athlete – study the playback, painful as the feedback may be -it’s also priceless. Fix the pitch and polish, polish, polish.

Pitch Architecture

Just as screenplays are highly structured, so too are pitch meetings. Now you’ve got a Hollywood eternity of 15 to 45 minutes to just squeeze in all of the following (in about this order): greetings, relevant and interesting intro, break the ice, build rapport, honestly acknowledge them for some of their work that you admire, don’t rush but segue on to the genesis or emotional inspiration for your project, slip in the title and genre to make sure they’re oriented, knock that logline that you rewrote more than your script out of the park, and move gently into your well-rehearsed pitch making it seem like more of a conversation than a presentation. Phew! (That’s “all” you’ve got to do!)

Hit a key milestone five minutes in and give them some mile markers: “That’s when we break to Act Two…” Don’t steam roll over them. Engage their imagination. Check in with them periodically. Ask questions. Show respect. Is the type of project they do or might be interested in?

Don’t just list the events of your beat outline. They want you to entertain them with a story – not just outline the structure. As you weave through your key turning points, make them FEEL the twists and turns. Hopefully they’re laughing if you’re pitching a comedy or on the edge of their seats if its a thriller. Emulate what the viewing experience could be through your verbal storyselling.

You already know: Show, Don’t Tell

Don’t Tell: Sell!

(sell, Sell, SELL!)

Don’t be so myopically focused on the artistic elements that you lose sight of (let’s be honest, here) – what the money guys (or gals) are in the room for: to discern how marketable what you’re pitching is. Can they make money off of it? It is Show BUSINESS.

And speaking of which, using comps can be Risky Business.  If you’re going to reference comparable precursor films or television programs, please use restraint with the “It’s ABC meets XYZ” mashups. Know your audience. Don’t mention their flops. It’s probably not even wise to use the labor of loves of their predecessors. Models you referenced for structure, theme or even casting inspiration while you were writing will only be of interest to your fellow writers. For the suits, offer up genre, rating or tone touchstones that were box office or ratings hits that appeal to your same demographic.

Questions are great. The more there are, the closer you are getting to a deal – so welcome them. PREPARE FOR THEM. This is the benefit of all that practice. What confused your friends when you pitched originally? Where were the slumps that bored practice listeners? Hopefully, you’ve pruned all that out. Know what the tough questions will inevitably be in advance – and be prepared with a kick-ass answer. Maybe even hold back a surprise twist knowing that this will be an obvious question to ensure they participate – and you are armed and ready.

If appropriate, this is your one chance, inside the ivory tower, to hear from the Horse’s mouth what they’ve got up their development sleeve – and what they’re really looking for. Mixed metaphors aside, dig about (gently) to ascertain future opportunities.

And CLOSE.

Ask for the Order. Would they like to read the script? Can you send a pitch package?  If they say yes…?Hallelujah! - and get the hell out of the room! (Do the jig when you’re out of their line of sight!) A good salesman knows when to shut up. You cannot do any better than a “Yes” and anything that comes out of your mouth after this will only offer them fodder to second-guess their decision. Say, “Thank you,” and leave.

If they have to pitch it further up the food chain (which inevitably they will), delicately offer that you’d be willing to come back and pitch it to anyone else who needs to hear it. If they’ll allow this, it takes the onus off them for a repeat, diluted performance and ensures you nothing will be lost in translation. Not to mention: you get to meet their boss (and begin to build that relationship, too).

Pitch your heart out. You already poured it onto the page, right? This is the second course. GOOD LUCK! I hope you knock it out of the park!

Read More

Italian filmmakers protest against Moroccan consulate in Bologna

Ali Karam
Rabat-Salé

Almi organised for the first time Moroccan Film Festival last Year spearheaded  by Adi Lasri .Now, Adil along with the same team that contains Morrocan staff with some Italian pro -labor in Bolognia such as Paulo Marzoni and Antonio De Pacco, have decided tobring film directors to Morocco .

Adil along with Aida, Mohamed , Lahcen and allal are eager to organize the second version of Film Festival but this time it is 100 per cent Italian . I mean too many talented film makers are interested to come to Morocco especially to Kenitra and Fes to orgonize th first Italian Film Festival spearheaded by ALMI,an association based in Bolognia.

Yet, Italian filmmakers protest along with Adil against Moroccan Consulate in Bolognia because of its bureacracy and indifference to the artistic project of ALMI. Italian artist will not come to Morocco until Embassy of Morocco makes an end to this bleeding ignorance to Moroccan mattersn states Dino Rossitto , an Italian film  maker living in Rome .

  Byan Italia by allal

Read More

house of fools by andrei konchalovsky

By Allal  EL ALaoui

Rabat-Salé

                     Watching foreign intelligent movies without subtitles makes good difference .When i watch the house of Fools by Andrei Konchalovsky in its original language,Russian , i do not need an interpreter because i undestand every word of it .Yet,i get the story , I mean all the movie construction because simply this film is visually understandable. Being a movie-goer myself helps me a lot to follow the structure  and presence of its characters. The film is excellent in composition, poetry theatre and the amazing performance of its actors. I follow the eye of the camera ( The eye of Andrei Konchalovsky )   whenever it goes through events ;conflicts and compositions .

 Konchalovski has presented  a chef-d'œuvre not only in cinematography , montage and acting but also in showing us  plots ,subplots and cadrage.His film is a genre that will remain burnt into memory.

                     The house of Fools is « a winner of several international awards,this films tells the story of a psychiatric hospital on the border between Russia and Chechnya during the second conflict of 1996.With medical staff vanishing to find help,the hospital’s patients are  left to run amok,.Blissfully unaware of the terror of the war,the patients stick out in the  hospital, whose « guests » alternate between Chechnan rebels and Russian troopers.

Read More

MOHAMED FOURAR CV

  Mohamed Fourar by allal

Read More

The New 10 Commandments of Writing Screenplays.

HONING YOUR CRAFT Written by Hal Croasmun on January 20, 2010.

Most people know about writing screenplays, but if you break these commandments, your soul will be damned to eternal amateur-damnation…

…Or maybe it’ll just be a bit more difficult to become a pro. Either way, you’ll want to really consider these guidelines as you write or rewrite your screenplay.

Writing Screenplays By Commandment

1. Entertain us…or it’s over!

Entertainment is the number one reason that people go to movies. Every producer and agent knows that. So it should be the #1 focus of your screenwriting. Become a master at making any character or situation entertaining and you’ll be a writer in demand.

To be blunt, if there is anything in your script that doesn’t entertain, fix it.

2. Make EVERYTHING more interesting.

The industry is filled with readers who are fed a gourmet diet of professional screenplays. If you want yours to stand out, it has to captivate their attention and cause them to forget that they are doing a job.

This should be an ongoing campaign of yours. Make your scenes more interesting. Make your characters more interesting. Make your dialogue more interesting. Make everything more interesting.

3. Give us a lead character we can’t stop following.

Professional screenwriters intentionally create characters we want to follow. They are unique, yet familiar. We can relate to them and want to go on the journey with that character.

In general, your protagonist should be the perfect person to lead us deep into this story and the conflict that is about to occur. Don’t settle for a good lead. Go for great.

4. Promise us something special…and deliver on it.

Somehow, you have to keep people reading until the last page. Here’s a solution.

About 15 years ago, I read a book called “A Story Is A Promise” by Bill Johnson. Since then, I’ve always looked at a script from the perspective of “What is the promise you’re making to the reader/audience and how do you keep it in a unique way?”

Essentially, you are promising some major achievement by the protagonist or some big confrontation that will happen in the 3rd Act between protag and antag. If the promise is strong enough, we’ll read every page to see what happens.

5.  Show us deeper meaning.

Deeper meaning can be built into the plot, character, situations, actions, and dialogue of a script. It doesn’t have to be profound, just beneath the surface…and perceived by the audience.

Audiences and readers just don’t appreciate on-the-nose writing. Subtext gives them a chance to interact with the film. They have an internal experience of the story because they are interpreting what the dialogue and actions really mean.

Because of that, it is just as important to take care of the subtext of a story as it is to create the surface story.

6. Put your characters through hell.

Great parents take care of their children and don’t let harm come to them. Great writers put their characters in the worst possible places to challenge their beliefs and physical limitations.

Don’t get the two jobs mixed up. Audiences don’t go to movies to see characters lead safe lives. They want to see your characters take risks, experience danger, and barely escape from challenging situations.

Writing screenplays will make you a tough task-master.  By your final draft, your characters should hate you for all the terrible things you did to them.

7. Free up your dialogue so you can express more character.

Beginning writers often fill their dialogue with exposition and story details, thus reducing the amount of character and creativity that shows up in that dialogue. Don’t do it.

Instead, put the exposition, information, and story details into the action and situations.

For example, instead of a trainer telling a new boxer that a certain philosophy doesn’t work, have him put the character in the boxing ring and learn it by having his ass kicked. Now, the trainer doesn’t have to lecture. In fact, he is free to talk about anything – breakfast, politics, his favorite dog, etc. – because the real meaning is being delivered through the action.

It completely frees you up so you can be much more creative with your dialogue.

8.  Turn cliches into fresh ideas.

In the film industry, a cliché is defined as “something we’ve seen before.” If you write a script with the same plot or the same lead characters or the same situations, people will balk at them.

Audiences want to see familiar stories told in different ways and familiar characters with something special about them. That means that your characters, situations, actions, and dialogue need to have something unique to them.

Your challenge: Hunt down every cliché in your script and brainstorm more unique ways to accomplish their purpose.  Give them a twist or unique spin or different voice.  It takes a bit of work, but it instantly improves your screenplay.

9. Give yourself permission to write shit in your first draft…

…and push yourself for perfection in your final draft. Not the other way around.

This is a better strategy for writing screenplays than trying to be perfect on the first draft and shoving yourself into writer’s block.

First drafts are the time for total freedom of expression, not criticizing your writing. You want to discover what you can about your story, characters, etc.

On the other side, writers often send drafts to producers that aren’t even close to ready. That’s the time to bring out your internal critic and make sure this is a perfect draft.

The more in sync you are with your creative process, the faster you’ll achieve perfection.

10. Rethink your script…until it is the most amazing it can be.

This is the ultimate challenge of a professional screenwriter – having to rethink the same script over and over until you discover the perfect way to tell this story.

Even if you think your story or character is perfect, you should have the skills to re-envision it in many different ways. Not only will this help you write a better story, it will also help you work with production companies and Studios when they request script changes.

Make those 10 Commandments part of your daily writing and someday, you’ll be soon be writing screenplays like the Hollywood writing Gods.

——

Read More