Sam Horley has worked in film sales for twenty years, and knows the minute she hears a pitch whether she can sell that project. In this short but incredibly fast-paced, information-packed session, she tells us how to get past the gatekeepers by being clear about what your project is.
Sam is a writer herself, but this one isn’t about the craft of writing – it’s a deeply practical, vital masterclass in getting your project across as clearly as you possibly can. It tells you how to be so clear about your idea that everyone who hears it says ‘I know who that’s for.’
Identify the Genres
So how do you get there? Start by looking at how we, as an audience, choose what we’re going to watch. In a whistle stop charge through the streaming platforms and channels available to us during lockdown, Sam identifies the NINE genres we should be using to label a project (whether it’s for film or TV). Yep, nine. Think you know them? Think again!
It’s all about ‘easy categorisation’, and this is the way to get past the gatekeepers. Over and again, Sam quotes a distributor’s answer to the eternal question of ‘what are you looking for?’
‘Originality that can be channelled into what is working in distribution.’
Avoid the Pitfalls
Sam emphasises the need to know now how to talk about your work, while presenting it in a way that makes it easily identifiable. Talking about ‘a ghost story’ is vague – is your ghost story a comedy or horror? Sam also advises against presenting things as a genre cross. Moon can be described as ‘arthouse sci-fi’ – but it’s classified on Amazon as ‘Drama’. Definitely don’t call anything a ‘cult film’ if it hasn’t been released yet.
The difference between formula and genre.
This was eye-opening. Ever described your film as ‘Coming of Age’, or a ‘Road Movie?’ We all have, but here’s why that’s not a good idea… What do Lord of the Rings, Thelma and Louise, The Hitcher, Finding Nemo and Little Miss Sunshine have in common? They’re all road movies. Making it absolutely stark-staring clear that ‘road movie’ isn’t the way to pitch your story. What it IS is a fantasy, drama, comedy, horror etc that follows the road movie formula. (I have to say the simple clarity of this blew my mind.)
Romcom isn’t a valid genre any more – who knew? For reasons I don’t have space to go into here, they’ve been rebranded. Go and watch what Sam has to say about this and how it affects Jennifer Aniston movies!
Don’t be British about comedy
What’s the worst pitfall in the world of genre and branding? COMEDY DRAMA. This made me shudder as I have so often described my scripts like this. But it makes total sense. Have the courage of your convictions (and ditch your British modesty, if applicable) and just call it a goddamn comedy.
Do your Research
Sam explains how to research and use ‘comps’ – what can you compare your script to, to make a sales agent, commissioner or producer sit up and say ‘I get what that is.’ Think about audience, tone, scale, genre.
The session includes a masterclass in research: now working for Gurinder Chadha’s TV company, Sam outlines in forensic detail how she went about doing her homework on how and where to place it. Again, it’s too long to outline here but you will take away SO much from it. She also gives a brilliant example of a film that didn’t sell – every single person passed on it – because it wasn’t clear what it was.
What to do when there’s nothing to do?
Sam finishes up with some advice for what we can do in lockdown: how it’s affected development and production, and how best to use the time. It’s all about homework – watching, researching, so you can be as clear as possible when selling your project. I cannot oversell how incredibly useful this session is; what are you waiting for?!
Abbie Heath is a screenwriter who writes comedy and drama about change and hope. Life changed forever after Talent Campus 4.
