Are you full of ideas but without the means to implement them? At the September 2016 Camden International Film Festival (CIFF), a panel of industry insiders critiqued pitches by aspiring producers seeking funding for projects. Their ideas for documentaries included would-be films about a family of ambulance chasers, a drug rehabilitation facility, a high-end restaurant, and unfounded surveillance of private citizens. Most of the pitches followed a standard format: introduction, footage clip, and request for funding. Here are some of the panelists’ comments.
About storylines presented in the clips:
- Tell a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end.
- Emphasize human stories, let viewers get to know your characters. Develop the relationships between characters.
- Conflict is an important element. Highlight dilemmas, but don’t lead viewers down a predictable path, leave moral conclusions open to interpretation.
- Don’t numb viewers with too much repetition of any particular aspect.
About the structure of the pitches:
- Talk about yourself: what’s your background?
- Make sure that the clip delivers on your promises in the pitch’s introduction.
- Don’t read from note cards! Speak from the heart.
- Every clip needs an introduction, don’t skip it!
The panelists also urged each film-maker to define his or her audience, and to understand how that choice of audience impacts storyline. In the film about the restaurant, for example, the filmmaker must decide if the story is about fine dining, or about the contrast between the luxuriousness of the restaurant (and its clientele), versus the poverty of the workers preparing the food.
The CIFF has been screening dozens of documentary films in Camden Maine every September since 2005. The 2018 festival runs from September 13 – 16.