Pitch Conference

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I have read here about "pitch your idea" events and if someone knows where on here I can go to look up the thread, post it please, however....

I have been sent an event called a "pitch conference". It cost $325 to get into the conference and some of my filmmaker friends are considering attending.

What should we look out for? I remember reading that some of these pitch events are scams, so could someone give some pros and cons so that we can be well prepared and not get taken?

any information would be appreciated :)


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You know the only thing that bothers me about these "pitch conferences" is that, how do we know they wont just take your idea??

It is been said that the Whaschowski Brothers (matrix) put an ad in a paper about looking for pitches on sci-fi scripts years before the matrix and this woman told them all about the matrix... there was a long lawsuit that followed...

even if its not true, I am always cautious about pitching an idea to som1
 
I would think that a lot would depend upon who you're pitching to. If they're from legit large production companies, or even legit high level agents, it might be worth the money.

Personally, I'm not sure I'd pay to play.

Chris
 
These pitch fests make a lot of money.

They very rarely help out new writers. But try to tell that to the
hopeful and you will be called a hater - or worse.

Some of them ARE scams. Carefully check out what companies will be
attending. There is no legit reason to worry about ideas getting
stolen. An idea is pretty worthless - it’s the execution of the
idea that has value.

I’ve been to several pitch fests - not pitching, but as a rep from
a prodCo. What they usually do is pick their lowest “reader” or
story editor or most junior developExec and that person sits and
listens to pitch after pitch after pitch after pitch.

If something strikes them as interesting they will give out a
card. Maybe they will follow through, maybe they won’t. At the
end of the day they get their money (a percentage of the fees
paid by hopeful writers) and go back to work.

If your friends are willing to spend the money to mingle with
other wannabe writers and have 60 to 120 seconds in front
of a reader or story editor of a dozen or so prodCo's then it
might be worth it. I suspect the odds are much less of getting
a deal through this method than through the more traditional
way.

But no one is trying to steal ideas. Even the scam ones. They just
don’t have any clout or recourses to option a script or get a
movie made.
 
Scam fests...

directorik said:
These pitch fests make a lot of money.

They very rarely help out new writers. But try to tell that to the
hopeful and you will be called a hater - or worse.

Some of them ARE scams. Carefully check out what companies will be
attending. There is no legit reason to worry about ideas getting
stolen. An idea is pretty worthless - it’s the execution of the
idea that has value.

I’ve been to several pitch fests - not pitching, but as a rep from
a prodCo. What they usually do is pick their lowest “reader” or
story editor or most junior developExec and that person sits and
listens to pitch after pitch after pitch after pitch.

If something strikes them as interesting they will give out a
card. Maybe they will follow through, maybe they won’t. At the
end of the day they get their money (a percentage of the fees
paid by hopeful writers) and go back to work.

If your friends are willing to spend the money to mingle with
other wannabe writers and have 60 to 120 seconds in front
of a reader or story editor of a dozen or so prodCo's then it
might be worth it. I suspect the odds are much less of getting
a deal through this method than through the more traditional
way.

But no one is trying to steal ideas. Even the scam ones. They just
don’t have any clout or recourses to option a script or get a
movie made.
Click to expand...

Heed rik's caution...

Most pitch fests are there to make money for the people that put them on. Rarely will a prodco or studio send anyone worth a shit to a pitch fest to find a new pitch RATHER, they are simply sending them there to get a little experience in listening to pitches...

But that's not the real problem...

There are INDEED unscrupulous producers and writers who attend these events for one thing and one thing only... To listen to unsuspecting pitcher's ideas. These are producers that know a few writers that know how to write as well as writers who know how to write but have a difficult time coming up with an idea.

These people stand in the same lines, attend the classes, do whatever they can do to listen to as many ideas as possible. They are NOT interested in your screenplay... LOL.

Just your idea or concept.

filmy
 
I do remember reading here how alot of people go to these pitch events, but that they are sketchy at best. The overall feeling I got was that there are alot of hopefuls at these events, but very few actual results. And I was alittle worried about people I know deciding to spend money on something that may not really do much except take their money. In this economic climate, that is something to seriously consider.

I don't want any of my friends -- or anyone else for that matter -- to get "taken".


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