Story Selling: How to Develop, Market, and Pitch Your Film & TV Projects
Pitching is an art form that brings together content and communication channels. Regardless of What you’re pitching . . . Where, When and to Whom . . . the principles are universal. It’s How you pitch that matters ― and countless strategies combine elements in different combinations. This book details all of them, their construction and their applications, in a fun and interactive way that inspires readers to create memorable and saleable pitches to get their projects made.
“In the history of storytelling, two things have forever been true: one, it’s hard as hell to tell a great story; two, everything after that is even harder. Because asking the same person to be a great storyteller and a great salesperson is like asking the world’s fastest dolphin to win the Indy 500. So, if you’re a writer, take a minute to bitch and whine about all that and then buck up and buy Heather’s book about how to get your masterpiece off of your screen and onto everyone else’s. Because the campfire isn’t a campfire anymore, it’s platforms and streaming services and delivery systems and ten other things that have been created since the beginning of this sentence. And StorySelling is your GPS for how to get to there from here.”
~ Jeff Arch
Academy Award–nominee, Sleepless in Seattle
Dropbox of Story $elling & Story Telling Resources (email for password)
Pitching Resources
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Series Bibles (email for access)
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Series Pilots, Bibles and Format Treatments (email for access)
- 21 Series Bibles (Screencraft)
- Netflix: Television Pitch Workshop on Stage 32 (free webinar)
Festivals
A-Z Festivals Grouped By Country
Dropbox of Story $elling & Story Telling Resources (email for password)
Facts on Pacts (Studio Deals 2-23 – 2010)
StoryTelling Resources
- Netflix Television Pilot Story Structure on Stage 32
- Netflix & Stage 32: Writing Drama for Streamers
- Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling (as tweeted in 2011 by storyboard artist Emma Coats)
- 65 TV Pilot scripts (Screencraft)
- Michael Hauge’s 6-Stage Plot Structure
- Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey
- Vogler’s Writer’s Journey
- Save the Cat (15 Beat Outline)
- Erik Bork’s STORY PROBLEM
- Dan Harmon’s Story Circle
- Storyclock
- John Truby’s Anatomy of Story (22 Steps)
- One-Hour Drama
- Julie Selbo’s 11 Steps
- Kishotenketsu
- 7 Narrative Steps
- Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s South Park But/Therefore Plot Causality
Video Marketing Asset Samples
- Teaser Samples
- Trailer Samples
- 127 Hours Theatrical Trailer (2:40)
- Golden Trailer Awards
- Trailer Addict Trailer Awards
- CableFax Trailer Awards
- Rip-O-Matic Samples
- Kevin Tancharoen’s The Hunger Games Pitch Trailer
- Looper
- The Outsider Taskashi Miike (D) 2013 Ripomatic Trailer w/Tom Hardy proposed to star
- Slither (pitch to Gold Circle)
- On Your Doorstep
- We Are Monsters
- Feature Documentary Drug War
- Video Game (Chris Weakley)
- Search on Google (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)
- Fan mash-ups (but still illustrate the art):
- Sizzle Reel Samples
- Recut Trailers
- Recut Trailers (on YouTube)
- Mashable Recut Trailers
Comp Research Sources
- AFI.com/100years
- Studio System by Gracenote (formerly Baseline)
- Box Office Mojo (box office data)
- IMDb.com (Pro.IMDb.com)
- IMSDB.com (scripts)
- Luminate Film & TV
- Movie-Map.com
- Movie Release Schedule (The Numbers)
- Netflix
- Read The Dailies
- Rotten Tomatoes
- Studio System
- TasteDive.com
- TheMovieDb.org (also lists TV)
- The Numbers (box office, budgets, stars’ bankability data)
- VOD Charts (FlixPatrol)
- WhatIsMyMovie.com
- Wikipedia
Short Films
- A-Z
- By Film Length
- By Genre
- Reverse Chrono
Pre-Pro Resources
Clearance & Copyright
Budgeting Resources
Budgeting Documentaries