There are two types of movie pitches, the Standard Pitch and the Elevator Pitch. It’s wise to have both on-hand, practiced, and ready for your film. You never know which would be most appropriate for specific circumstances. So best to always be prepared.

Standard pitches usually run somewhere from twenty to thirty minutes. The film’s plot, characters, world, settings, genre and tone are all discussed in detail. Often visual aids and/or pitch decks are used to enhance the clarity of the filmmaker’s vision.

The entire movie should be discussed and broken down, with mentions of a few key scenes that really enhance the filmmaker’s intention. Comparisons to other films also comes in helpful. Finally, your pitch should end on a hook and an intriguing finish that leaves your audience wanting more.

This one is named literally so it can be fully completed during the length of a single elevator ride (where the Standard Pitch was twenty to thirty minutes, Elevator Pitches should be twenty to thirty SECONDS, max). The Elevator Pitch should contain the movie’s premise, as well as an expansion on the film’s logline, some character mentions, a few quick comparisons to similar films, and of course, that hook we mentioned.

When deciding whether to use the standard or elevator pitch, it’s crucial to know your audience. Be sure to cater specifically to which version is most appropriate for your listener.

Writing and shaping a good pitch is an involved process, and can be broken down into several components.

So before you get into any details or specifics about your movie, you should talk about yourself. Tell them who you are, how passionate you feel about the project, and most importantly, why you’re the one telling this story.

Does it hold some personal significance to you? Is it a true story? Grounded in truth? Is it entirely fiction but so inspiring that you couldn’t help but be the one to make it? The answers to these questions will give you true ownership of the work and project an air of authority when you speak about it.

Of course, right? But take a minute to really think through the title you’ve chosen. Make sure it best (and appropriately) encapsulates the story your movie tells. The title isn’t the part to rush through. More often than not, a good title will grab your listener’s attention and stir some interest in the project.

A logline is a one or two-sentence (maximum) description of a movie that hooks the reader through efficient and careful wording. Loglines should be expressive, eloquent, and succinct. Brevity is key when it comes to loglines; you want to make every word count.

A film genre is a categorization of movies based on similarities in storytelling, visuals and tone. Is it a comedy? Drama? Action? Romance? Something in between? Simply put, it’s the type of movie you’re making.

Themes are delineated from story and genre because they exist on a more subtextual level in a movie. The events that happen in a movie should relate back to the movie’s theme but you want to be careful not to constantly hit your audience over the head with it.

Typically theme can relate back to the specific reason(s) you were the one to make the movie. Something about this theme speaks to you, and you’re the one who’s chosen to artfully share the ideals behind it.

A summary can be looked at as a one-page treatment. In essence, it’s a synopsis of your movie (following the traditional three act structure, assuming your movie goes by one) as told in several paragraphs. The summary gives your listener a good sense of the movie’s overall story and plot. But be careful here not to dwell on too many small details; pitches are about moving the story along swiftly, not dwelling on minutia.

This section isn’t just for listing your characters, but rather, talking about them as multilayered, dimensional people who populate your movie’s world. You’ll want to describe your main characters, digging into who they are, what their pasts were like and how they’ll arc during the course of the movie.

Your audience is going to be spending an entire film with these characters so be sure they come across as complex and intriguing.

Are you executing your film in a specific visual style, like animation or CGI? Even live-action films can take on their own stylistic aesthetic (think the BLADE RUNNER and the SIN CITY movies) that’s inherent to the story.

If so, emphasize this. Describe how things will look and feel once the project is finished. Detail how this will affect your audience.

Then talk specifically about why you’ve made this choice as the optimum one for your movie (you’re not just doing it for the sake of doing something visually differently, there’s a real reason and purpose behind using this distinct style).

Comps are comparisons of your movie to similar ones. Here, you’ll want to start with genre, theme and setting. Then look for similar films as reference points (be careful here to keep budgets in mind. If you’re making a smaller character piece that happens to have the same themes as a big budget tentpole from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you might want to look elsewhere for a comp).

You also want to use movies that people are familiar with (this will avoid any unnecessary confusion or call for over-explanation). Sometimes, your movie will feel like a cross between two films of entirely different genres. In that case, you may want to use the “THIS-meets-THAT” technique to showcase the type of movie you’re making. The DA VINCI CODE, for example, could be pitched as an INDIANA JONES film meets THE OMEN.

Once you’ve listed your comps, you want to end on an enticing and fascinating hook. Something that encourages your listener/reader to want to know more and ultimately see (and invest in) your movie.

So your pitch is done. It’s ready to be told, sold and made. Here are a few places you can submit your work…

Film festivals have been the premiere launching pads for movies and careers for decades. Richard Linklater, Ryan Coogler, and Quentin Tarantino (among many others) are all filmmakers who saw prosperous careers after premiering their films at festivals.  Film Festivals is a tremendously resourceful website for submitting to the best film festivals in the world.

If your film is not yet produced and only exists in screenplay format, writing competitions are one of the best ways to get noticed in the Industry. Be sure to vet the contests you’re entering though. There are scam artists looking to make a buck by charging a high admission fee for entry while the competition itself holds very little cache.

Pitch festivals have an energy unlike anywhere else. You’ve got five minutes to impress an executive with your movie. If you think you’ve got what it takes, Virtual Pitch Fest, Pitch Competition – Austin Film Festival, and Hollywood Pitch Festival are some of the most renown pitch festivals.

Companies like peacockfilmfinance.com and Premiere Pictures International often provide movies they believe have successful potential in the market. Typically, they’ll offer funding not just for production but for marketing, sales and distribution once films are completed as well.

An Agent finds jobs for the writers and directors they represent. They do this by submitting their clients to executives and producers. If you’re contacting an agent, it’s usually best to have more than one piece of material ready to go. Agents will be looking to create a brand, not just sell a single work and be finished with their talent. They’re in it for the long haul. You should be, too.

Daunting, exhilarating, and everything in between, pitching a movie project is something of a rite of passage in the movie business. There are many different components and steps to completing a successful pitch, but if you’re passionate enough to put your heart and soul into a project, you should be willing and able to put an equal amount of dedication into getting it noticed.