ScreenCraft Virtual Pitch
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About
In the age of social distancing, the ScreenCraft Writers Summit’s famous Pitch Competition is moving into the virtual world!
The ScreenCraft Virtual Pitch Competition follows the successful pattern of past years, allowing writers to submit their pitch of up to two (2) minutes in length (or no more than 350 words). Initial submissions will be in written form (see below) and semi-finalists will be asked to submit a self-filmed pitch via private video link. The finalists, selected from this round, will then be invited to pitch, live and in front of a virtual audience, to a panel of A-list industry professionals (Managers, executives, showrunners, etc).
Every year, the Pitch Finals of the ScreenCraft Summit were the highlight of the event: a celebratory chance to turn the spotlight on great emerging writers. This opportunity will now be open to all writers worldwide. Anyone can submit a pitch for their feature film, or series.
At a Virtual Event open to the public, finalists will pitch directly to the A-list jury of Industry Insiders and get live feedback. The winner will become part of ScreenCraft’s Development Program, and get bragging rights as “ScreenCraft’s Best Pitch!”
As an added bonus, the Competition will open with a virtual panel streamed for free online, featuring the Pitch Competition Judges as they break-down and share examples of what makes a great pitch. Join us to practice your pitching, see how your pitch stands up against the rest, and celebrate great pitches!
Benefits
The 10 finalists of the ScreenCraft Virtual Pitch Competition will have the exclusive opportunity to pitch live, over Zoom, to a panel of entertainment industry leaders (Agents, Managers, TV Showrunners, etc).
The overall Grand Prize winner will receive a $1000 prize, and will be welcomed into the ScreenCraft Development Program and receive personal introductions and phone calls with one or more top Hollywood literary managers who are looking for talented emerging TV screenwriters.
The top 3 winners’ project info and log lines will be circulated and recommended to our network of over 60 Hollywood managers, agents, producers and development executives.
ScreenCraft has a proven track record for getting writers signed with representation, and staffed in writing rooms. Past ScreenCraft winners have signed with reps at CAA, WME, 3 Arts, Anonymous Content, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and United Talent Agency.
Writer Success
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Rules
Submissions are accepted via electronic submission only, between August 1, 2020 and September 30, 2020.
Entry fee for each submission (whether short, TV pilot or feature film) is $25 until the early deadline on August 31, 2020, then $35 until the final deadline on September 30, 2020.
All participants must first submit a written, typed pitch of no more than 350 words. Written pitch can include a description of, but is not exclusive to: characters, plot, themes, tone, writer background, comparable projects, etc.
Pitches should be for feature films, and episodic series.
There is no limit to the number of projects you may submit.
Semifinalists will be announced on October 21, 2020. All semi-finalists will be required to submit a filmed video pitch of themselves, via private link, no later than October 26, 2020.
Instructions for submission of video pitch will be sent only to Semifinalists. Only submissions with a filmed video pitch will be eligible to advance to the finals.
Only 100 Semifinalists will be selected.
Video submission guidelines:
Video should be hosted on YouTube, Vimeo, or any public-access other video hosting platform
Video may be up to 3 minutes in length, given time to start/stop recording, but the pitch may be no more than 2 minutes in length.
There is no judging criteria based on video quality other than the clear ability to see/hear the writer(s). Self-filmed pitches via phone are fine.
No additional props, guests or support materials may be in the video, only the writer(s).
Writers should - and the judges will - consider this video pitch a rehearsal for pitching live.
The top ten (10) finalists will be announced on November 9th, and will be invited to pitch live to the Panel of Judges, over Zoom, on Wednesday November 18th.
Finalists must be available for the Pitch Finals event on Weds Nov 18th from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM Pacific Time (PST). Finalists who are not available for the event will be disqualified.
Winners will be selected and announced at the Finals Event on November 18th.
Entries must be received on or before the deadline dates by 11:59PM Pacific Time, and submission fee payment must be made in full at time of the submission. All entry fees are non-refundable.
All submitted material must be original, and all rights must be wholly owned by the writer(s).
Material must be submitted by the writer. Material written by writing teams must be submitted by one of the writers, with consent of the other(s). All writers must be credited on written document.
If a writing team is chosen as a winner, both members of the writing team must be available to live-pitch at the Finals event.
Substitutions of either corrected pages or new drafts of the entered material will be allowed for free within the first 24 hours, and for a $5 re-entry fee through our submission management platform Coverfly at any time until the finalists are announced. Please proofread your script carefully before submitting.
It is recommended that original material be registered with the WGA or The Library of Congress US Copyright Office before submitting to any competition, however we do not require WGA or Copyright registration.
Contact info may be included on the written pitch, however it is not required.
ScreenCraft claims no ownership nor option on your work. All ownership and rights to the scripts submitted to this contest remain with the original rights holder(s).