Headlamp Pictures Blog

Below is an invaluable tool for anyone seeking to write a pitch document for a grant, private investor, foundation or broadcaster. I’ve been referring to it for several years and re-read every six months or so. I’d add to the discussion several key points:

1) Describe (early in your treatment) what you want to accomplish with the project – is it a call to action?: Do you hope to get people to start a garden, cherish their kids, write their congressman, discuss your story with their friends, boycott the mall? Or is it a personal exploration? By exploring your sexuality, probing your family’s past, or creating animated fantasy worlds you hope to inspire others to reflect on the universal stories we share. Even if your project is a “straightforward” history doc or science show – try and define what reactions you are hoping it will stimulate in your audience. This will help define your entire project.

2)Consider your print format: find ways to bullet or break up your key points into quickly readable bites (you never know if you’ll be pitching this in person and your audience chooses to grab your paper and scan it while you talk.) Nothing is less appetizing than a solid mass of text with narrow margins and few paragraphs – no matter how well written.

3) Be sure to consider the ways that your project will stand out from others under consideration. What storytelling innovation are you bringing? Do you have a niche audience? Do you have 5000 followers on Facebook? Is there a video game or app attached to the project? Will you be screening on rooftops? Today, more than ever, funders are looking for innovation.

WRITING A BETTER ITVS TREATMENT

“If a story is in you, it has got to come out.”
- William Faulkner

TREATMENT
In the treatment section of the ITVS proposal we ask you to communicate your passion and to explain how you envision translating your story from page to screen – taking into account structure, theme, style, format, voice and point-of-view. What do these words really mean? Here, members of the programming staff offer notes on writing an effective treatment. Remember, these are only suggestions; your treatment will undoubtedly be unique – tailored to the specific demands of your story.

PASSION
When writing the treatment, don’t be afraid to infuse your words with passion. Your excitement and sense of urgency should be contagious.

STRUCTURE
Like the frame of a house, or a human skeleton, structure holds up all the parts of a story, supporting and organizing the elements into a coherent and interrelated dramatic whole. Structure determines how the story will unfold dramatically, how it will build – moving through moments of tension and conflict – from beginning to middle to end. Structure is the road a reader takes through the dramatic terrain of the program.Article continues…

SpringBoardMedia: Ken Price, Bukowski, Curation and Film

My favorite part of the show was over at the Franklin Parrasch Gallery in Midtown (only until April 20) – they have a collection of ephemera, books, postcards, album covers and even tequila bottles designed by or featuring art works by Ken Price. If you like his sculptures (I’m not as big of a fan of these as his other work, though they are what he’s most known for), then you must stop by to watch the ten minute video showing his process (layering up paint and then sanding it down to expose layers in patterns). Note to curators – put this video on YouTube once the show is over and his sales will likely triple. Anyway, the piece I most liked, and that I think is in a weird way most relevant to film, was a limited edition hard-bound coffee table book of Charles Bukowski’s Heat Wave, with drawings and original art work by Ken Price. The cover is the photo I’ve used here. As Black Sparrow’s website explains, the book was a large format (15×12) portfolio, with text by Bukowski (poems), illustrated with 17 black and white works by Price, handbound and including a disc of Bukowski reading his poetry and containing a compartment in the back with 15 original serigraphs which could be removed and framed. A limited, signed edition was made as well as a limited, unsigned edition and the entire thing came in a slipcase with a cool design.

I’m a fan of both Price and Bukowski (yes, I’ve not left my college reading days too far behind), but you don’t have to like either to think about how this could be used for film. Not every film, but some. I’ve often talked about ways to monetize content in a world where everything is increasingly becoming free – well, here’s a great example. I can see Price’s works for free, in galleries and online. Bukowski’s poems are all over the place, and even with his popularity, I can find them in numerous used bookstores for cheap. But this is a piece of art – when it first came out in 1996 it sold for about $3,500 and I imagine it’s worth much more now. I can’t afford it, but I bet the 100+ editions they made sold out. How can filmmakers duplicate this? Again, not everyone can, but I imagine there are fans who would buy something similar from many indie films. Perhaps stills from the film, coupled with the script, a DVD, etc. Or maybe the film, the soundtrack and text from an author that is in a similar vein as the subject of the film.  I’ve got lots of ideas for this, and I’m helping a few filmmakers whose films could definitely be re-purposed this way, but thought I’d share the idea with all of you, perhaps you can come up with an even better way to copy the idea in your work.