Film Pitch Essentials

A full-length standalone movie.

A complete movie told in a short amount of screen time.

A written script for a film or screen work, describing scenes, action and dialogue.

A screenplay written without a prior paid commission for that script.

A prose version of the story that explains what happens without using full screenplay format.

A first-person articulation of the director's relationship to, interpretation of and ambition for the project.

The writer explains why they are telling this story and how they plan to write it.

The producer explains why the project matters and how they will help make it happen.

The event that disturbs normal life and starts the main story moving.

A major transition that commits the story to its central direction after the setup.

A major turn around the middle that changes the story’s direction or meaning.

The story’s biggest confrontation or decision, where the central conflict reaches its peak.

The part after the climax that shows what changed and where things now stand.

A secondary line of action that supports, contrasts with or complicates the main plot.

A major, memorable sequence designed around a concentrated dramatic, comic or visual event.

A major event or decision that redirects the story's course.

A group of characters who share substantial story importance instead of one person carrying the whole story.

Events that occurred before the main story and shape current characters or circumstances.

The outcome a character consciously desires and pursues.

What a character must learn, accept or change for deeper transformation.

A limiting pattern of behaviour or belief that creates cost for the character.

A meaningful trajectory in a character's behaviour, beliefs, relationships or circumstances.

The continuing connection between characters, shaped by history, desire, dependence, conflict and care.

The repeatable laws, limits and consequences governing how a fictional or format world operates.

Permission to use the book, article, format, life story or other material your project is built on.

The paperwork showing who owns the rights and how they passed from one person or company to another.

A paid or agreed period giving someone the exclusive chance to acquire or use specified rights.

An agreement authorising a producer or representative to seek buyers or partners without necessarily acquiring the underlying rights.

A person or company genuinely connected to a project at a stated level of commitment.

A performer represented as meaningfully committed to the project at a stated level, which must be supported by evidence.

A director has formally joined the project in some stated capacity.

The full bundle of materials sent or shown as part of a pitch.

A document showing where the money to make the project is expected to come from.

A summary of major budget categories and total cost.

A company representing screen rights to buyers, often across international territories.

A company acquiring particular rights and releasing or licensing the work within an agreed scope.

Sale or licence of distribution rights before completion, often contributing to production finance.

Finance secured against anticipated value from unsold rights or other future receipts.

Two or more production partners make the project together under an agreement.

A known film or show used to explain where your project fits.

The director's specific understanding of what the work should make the audience see, feel and understand.

The system of choices through which the director intends to realise the material.

The planned way the camera moves while a shot is happening.

The process of finding, evaluating and selecting performers.

The overall design of the physical visual world, including sets, locations, objects, materials, colour and spatial character.

A real place used or proposed as a filming environment.

The planned movement and positioning of performers within a scene.

The different shots recorded so a scene can be edited clearly and flexibly.

A sequence of drawn or designed frames planning action, composition and shot progression.

A production list naming the shots or camera setups intended for a scene or shoot.

A rough moving plan of a scene used before filming or final animation.

Physical effects created during production instead of generated primarily in post.

A treatment focused mainly on the project’s visual style and tone.

A document collecting and organising visual or audiovisual references around specific creative questions.

An image used to show one intended quality, such as framing, light, casting, texture or colour.

The project’s overall attitude and emotional flavour.

An early complete edit used to judge the story and major choices.

The point when the edit’s timing and shots are meant to stop changing.

The director’s preferred editorial version, whose formal rights and timing depend on the production agreement.

Rebuilding the approved edit with the correct high-quality picture files.

A standard package of image, sound and metadata used for digital cinema exhibition.

Permission to combine a musical composition with moving images under stated terms.

Insurance covering certain legal risks such as defamation, privacy or copyright claims.

The legal rights that control copying, sharing, adapting and using an original work.