TRAINING MANUAL
Volume One
How & where to sell your
Movie-scripts & Ideas!
Written & Compiled by
Jide Forbes
,All rights reserved. No portion/part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopy, recording, or by any information storage and
retrieval system without the written permission of the
Publisher/Author(s)
Copyright © 2011 by Jide Tomiwa
,CONTENT.
Marketplace of Ideas.
Story Structure.
Good Idea Hunting.
Pitchable Vs. Unpitchable.
The Story-Builders’ Gym.
Anatomy of a Deal.
Terminologies in the Movie Industry.
Direct links to Film Makers & Movie Investors.
, Marketplace of Ideas
I created this E-Book to accomplish one goal, and that is help you develop ideas for
film or television that you can sell to film makers. I hope this E-Book will entertain,
educate and inspire you. But mostly I hope you will come up with great story ideas.
You might wonder how you could possibly have a chance to sell an idea to a film
maker. After all, isn’t show business one of the most hotly competitive arenas on
earth?
Are there not thousands of fiercely ambitious souls fighting for the same
opportunity? The answer is yes–show business is competitive. As the joke goes, in
the movie industry your friends are the ones who stab you in the front. But… insiders
do not have a monopoly on good ideas. Good ideas are like lightning – they can and
do strike anywhere. Despite how cliquish the movie and television industries are,
they still depend on good ideas. Furthermore, when a good idea walks in the door,
no one in movie industry cares where it came from. They just want to own it.
What is a Good Idea?
That is the multi-million naira question. I could go into longwinded definitions, but
the simplest and most honest is this: you know one when you hear one. Consider
this story idea:
Two women undergo in-vitro treatments at a fertility clinic. The good news is both
become pregnant. The bad news is they were accidentally impregnated with each
other’s embryos. So they move in together to make sure the other behaves properly
during pregnancy. An odd couple, they clash comically.
That’s a great idea for a film. When you hear it, you instantly know it’s good. If
you have an idea that fresh and full of potential, you can sell it to a film maker.
Don’t I Need Connections?
Connections are essential. Having a good idea isn’t enough. You need a way
to present that idea to the people who can buy it. More to the point, you need
someone who knows how to pitch an idea so that studios or producers will want it.
The next chapter explains in detail about production studios and how you can sell
ideas from all quarters. This is not a new venture, what is new is the global reach of
the Internet. Now anyone anywhere on earth can be “struck by lightning” and have a
chance to sell their idea. Perhaps you already have a story idea. Or several. Maybe
you have been walking around with one for years. Now you have a chance to do
something with it.
Volume One
How & where to sell your
Movie-scripts & Ideas!
Written & Compiled by
Jide Forbes
,All rights reserved. No portion/part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopy, recording, or by any information storage and
retrieval system without the written permission of the
Publisher/Author(s)
Copyright © 2011 by Jide Tomiwa
,CONTENT.
Marketplace of Ideas.
Story Structure.
Good Idea Hunting.
Pitchable Vs. Unpitchable.
The Story-Builders’ Gym.
Anatomy of a Deal.
Terminologies in the Movie Industry.
Direct links to Film Makers & Movie Investors.
, Marketplace of Ideas
I created this E-Book to accomplish one goal, and that is help you develop ideas for
film or television that you can sell to film makers. I hope this E-Book will entertain,
educate and inspire you. But mostly I hope you will come up with great story ideas.
You might wonder how you could possibly have a chance to sell an idea to a film
maker. After all, isn’t show business one of the most hotly competitive arenas on
earth?
Are there not thousands of fiercely ambitious souls fighting for the same
opportunity? The answer is yes–show business is competitive. As the joke goes, in
the movie industry your friends are the ones who stab you in the front. But… insiders
do not have a monopoly on good ideas. Good ideas are like lightning – they can and
do strike anywhere. Despite how cliquish the movie and television industries are,
they still depend on good ideas. Furthermore, when a good idea walks in the door,
no one in movie industry cares where it came from. They just want to own it.
What is a Good Idea?
That is the multi-million naira question. I could go into longwinded definitions, but
the simplest and most honest is this: you know one when you hear one. Consider
this story idea:
Two women undergo in-vitro treatments at a fertility clinic. The good news is both
become pregnant. The bad news is they were accidentally impregnated with each
other’s embryos. So they move in together to make sure the other behaves properly
during pregnancy. An odd couple, they clash comically.
That’s a great idea for a film. When you hear it, you instantly know it’s good. If
you have an idea that fresh and full of potential, you can sell it to a film maker.
Don’t I Need Connections?
Connections are essential. Having a good idea isn’t enough. You need a way
to present that idea to the people who can buy it. More to the point, you need
someone who knows how to pitch an idea so that studios or producers will want it.
The next chapter explains in detail about production studios and how you can sell
ideas from all quarters. This is not a new venture, what is new is the global reach of
the Internet. Now anyone anywhere on earth can be “struck by lightning” and have a
chance to sell their idea. Perhaps you already have a story idea. Or several. Maybe
you have been walking around with one for years. Now you have a chance to do
something with it.
