25 Word Pitch

While a good idea can quite easily be ruined by poor execution, a poor idea is much more difficult to save through good production skills.

Students often come up with overly-complicated narratives that they then struggle to contain in a brief teaser, or choose ideas that do not really 'work' in terms of allowing for interesting visual ideas.

The most important thing is to keep your ideas simple and to attempt to think visually when coming up with ideas.

Steven Spielberg said that"If a person can sell me an idea in 25 words or less, I know it'll make a good movie." Using this as a model, you will be required to provide a pitch to the rest of the class and be ready to answer any questions or field any other feedback.

Below are four different examples that may help you in terms of structure:

Egomania by Paul Alexander and Simon Braithwaite - "Hotshot young lawyer Michael Stark becomes so successful, so arrogant and so full of himself that his ego decides to go solo - with disastrous consequences."

The Cleaner by Peter Michael Rosenberg - "When a crime scene cleaner haunted by his past uncovers evidence that suggests LAPD cops are working as assassins, he becomes their next target."

Shoeless Joe by Andrew Clyde - "A holiday of a lifetime across the desolate heart of the Australian outback turns into a living nightmare for five friends."

Storage by Chris Denne and Matt Winn - "Terror stalks a storage facility. Survival for those trapped inside depends on the secrets in those endless units. But some doors are better left locked."