Branding yourself sounds like Blade Runner, but emerging producers are being taught these android skills in the training for Cannes. Screen Hub’s Andrew Einspruch was there, reporting this, our final bit of coverage from Cannes.
One of the keys to success at a film market is presenting yourself and your project in the best way possible. Roshanak Behesht Nedjad of Flying Moon Filmproduktion gave a lot of insights at a session called “Branding Yourself and Your Projects” at the Cannes Film Market last May. Screen Hub’s Andrew Einspruch was there, reporting this, our final bit of coverage from Cannes.
Let’s start with some numbers. There were around 12,000 film buyers, sellers, agency representatives and wannabes at this year’s Cannes Film Market. Obviously, not all of them are empowered to write a cheque.
So let’s simplify for the point of illustration. Assume there are just 1,000 sales agents there who could actually make a decision, and they are there for the five main days of the market. Now assume they only have meetings with two people on any given day (which is absurdly low – it is more like five to ten per day, at least). So, 1,000 agents x 5 days x 2 meetings/day = 10,000 meetings. If they all saw the same people, that’s 5,000 projects being pitched.
The point being made by Nedjad? At a minimum, you are competing with at least 5,000 other projects. That’s your starting point, and probably a very low number.
Sobering.
“But the good news is they are desperately looking for projects. They are desperately looking for talent,” she said. “That’s what they want. That’s what they need. That’s their job. And they want to earn a lot of money.”
So when you are pitching at a market like Cannes, you need to know that the audience for your pitch is someone who can write a cheque: sales agents, distributors, financiers and funds. These are busy people, so you need to focus on what you can give them.
“You have to understand what they want, if you want to go through the meeting successfully. That means you have to understand what would make them happy. What makes a sales agent happy? Money. It’s a business,” said Nedjad. “The difficulty in our business is we are combining business, money, economy – tough, shrewd minds and points of view – with art.
“But your sales agent is not different to your normal audience. If they feel the emotion that you want to convey to your audience, if they are hooked by the same thing, then you’ll get their attention,” she said. “The main objective of a meeting with someone who does not know your project is to make them read.”
Nedjad then gave an interesting insight into what stays with people about a movie, using Titanic as an example. She listed five different moments from the movie:
* Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in the classic scene at the front of the boat.
* Winslet slapped by Billy Zane
* Winslet and DiCaprio fogging up the car when they have sex.
* The necklace dropped into the water.
* DiCaprio wearing a tuxedo, smiling and waiting for Winslet.
Now, answer some questions.
1. Which came first, the slapping or the sex?
2. Was Winslet at the front of the ship before or after the sex?
3. Did the necklace drop into the water in the first, second, or third act?
4. When was DiCaprio waiting in his tuxedo – in the first, second or third act?
How did you go?
(Answers: The sex comes before the slapping. The front of the ship scene is before the sex. The necklace drops into the water when she’s dying. And DiCaprio is waiting for her at the very end of the movie.)
The point is, 20 years later, people don’t remember the plot. And no one really cares. “The plot is only there to keep you hooked to 90 minutes, and so you can understand the emotions and move through them,” said Nedjad. What remains are the characters and the emotions.
And this informs your pitch and your synopsis.
“So we understand the universe. We know the characters. We know what their conflict is. We leave out the plot, because that’s details. And then we go to the resolve, because that defines the taste of your film,” she said. “This is basically the essence of your synopsis. Don’t waste your time on the second act. Don’t waste your time on details.”
So if you were doing a one-page synopsis, Nedjad would have you use half the page to set it up – the universe, the characters and the conflict. Then there would be two or three lines for the second act. The rest of the page goes to the third act – the resolution and how it ends.
Nedjad also discussed the elements of a package, in this case meaning the pitch documentation that you might hand to someone you are pitching to (either printed out or electronically). She suggested the following, collated in this order:
* Title page, including copyright notice, contact details (mobile phone and email are enough), and an image that represents the film. This image needs to be more than just a beautiful picture. It needs to give a taste of the kind of film it will be.
* One-page synopsis. Make sure it is readable, and properly broken into paragraphs. Don’t do like one producer did, and send out four pages of unbroken text.
* Financing plan, separated by countries if it is a co-production, and including percentages of the budget that each country represents. Also include any attached sales agents and minimum guarantees.
* Top page of the budget, which gives the summary.
* Cast list with photos, since someone might recognise a face, but not know a name. But only include people where there is written confirmation, since pretending you know someone or have them attached can backfire in seconds. It is a small industry.
* Heads of departments. If the department heads are not well known, then you can leave it at the director and writer. Again, only confirmed people.
* Images that give a sense of the film. If it is an animation, then pictures of the characters. If it is a period piece, then the costumes. If it is sci-fi, then something that gives a sense of it.
* Music, delivered on a memory stick.
* Statements of intention from the producer, writer and director. This is why you want to do the film, and gives a sense of the motivations of those involved. They should be written in the first person, and the statements from the producer, writer and director should all be different, but work together to convey the passion behind the project. One page each.
You’ll note that the script is not on her list.
Much of this is about branding yourself, as well as your project. “The importance of branding yourself is because there are too many of you out there. Sorry to say that, but it is really the reality,” said Nedjad. “So it is important to work out the essence of our story, the essence of your project, and to give it a colour.”
She also emphasised that this is a people business, and that people react in human ways. If someone does not like you, they won’t work with you. They may react to greasy hair, or to a way of dressing they find confronting, or to some unknown cultural breach, like crowding their personal space.
That does not mean you have to be perfect. It is OK to be imperfect, but it is important to be real, and understand that the people you are dealing with have feelings.
For example, Nedjad said the “one don’t” is uninvited pitching at a party. “If you have had a terrible day, you don’t want, at midnight, to listen to someone pitching her bloody story in all details of its plot,” she said.
“So if you are at a party or reception, don’t pitch your story. You be smart. Engage in small talk.” Present yourself. If someone asks about your film, then give them a couple of lines, maximum. The conversation can go from there. But pitching at a party when you are not asked to is, according to Nedjad, a “no go”.
Finally, she talked about the importance of your presentation. If someone does not like your project, they won’t pick it up. But if your presentation is good, they may well give you another chance. They might not take the film you are spruiking, but they just might pick up your next one.
Screen Hub