So, today I received an email from Stage32 telling me that the feedback from Rachel Paulson was ready.
It was my first pitch, so I didn’t have high hopes, but it seems I did slightly better than I thought I would.
- Pitch format was satisfactory. – I followed their tip sheet as close as I could in the time given, the 6 minutes given, flash by.
- Clarity of pitch wasn’t quite as good. – Maybe it was my accent. Maybe, I lost a bit of concentration when I realised the clock was ticking down. But fair comment.
- Protagonist and World setup could have been better. – Fair shout again. I should have practiced the delivery a few more times, I’ll know better next time.
- Obstacles and conflicts. – This was better. Still not brilliantly pitched but there are signs of encouragement.
- Clarity of Tone. This scored better and Miss Paulson easily grasped what I was waffling on about.
- Originality of Concept. This was a good score too. I’m pleased about this more than anything.
- Strength of voice. A good score again, although I’m not sure whether this refers to the pitch or that I was nice and close to the microphone.
- Then at the bottom of the feedback it says PASS. – At first I was really happy to see this. I had passed! Then I realised it meant did she want any more information, treatments, scripts. It was a pass.
However, all in all this was a most constructive pitch and feedback. I can now start to see where I need to hone down the pitch and how I should approach it in future.
More than anything this has taught me that no matter how great I think the story is, if I can’t sell it, it won’t get made.
Next week, I have another chance when I pitch to Charlie Osowik.
How’s everybody else doing?
