Day Eighteen: August 15th, 2018

My last day at EEP was a busy one. First, I sent Laura more notes and an updated powerpoint of my pitch. She did not have time to look it over and give me feedback before the presentation, but that's okay. I wouldn't have been able to make the changes anyway because (as I mentioned numerous times before) I am not aloud to work on my pitch at their headquarters.

After sending Laura my updates, I spent the next couple of hours doing more research on Adam's second project. Eventually, the time came for Adam and Laura to debrief me on all the research I've done over the last few weeks.

The debriefing had "mixed" results. Adam looked intrigued and pleased when I made certain points; but I learned that there were other points he wanted that I did not do research on. To not give too much information away, I basically did research on events as a whole, as opposed to the people who contributed to those events. Nevertheless, Adam said it was okay and I helped him a great deal.

Finally, I presented my pitch to Adam, Heather, and Laura. It last about 15 minutes, and they generally liked it. Heather said it's "a great starting point." Then they gave me a lot of helpful feedback:

• When presenting to anyone, set it up early. It looks very unprofessional if you're setting it up at the last minute.
• Cut the logline down to one sentence. Earlier in the summer, Heather said it can be two, and no more than that. She confirmed she said this. Nevertheless, they think this pitch only needs one.
• If I can’t boil it down to one sentence, then I have to keep working on it. 
• Adam suggested a logline that is already a huge improvement:
• “Over the course of a decade, a group of privileged friends have their lives blown up when they must learn to handle responsibility."
• Don’t be in love with just one idea.
• Be ready to kill your “darlings” (ideas you think are brilliant, but the audience doesn't).
• Just because you think it’s good doesn’t mean everyone else will.
• Reference characters that people know.
• Have the main character drive the story/carry the plot.
• He or she needs to have moments of self-realization.
• Then he/she decides to make a positive change.
• He/she could narrate, but they don’t have to.
• The leader may not always be the main character.
• He may just be an example to the main character.
• He could be an example of what is possible once the main character gets his act together.
• The third act is the story overview.
• If people are hooked at this point, people will ask for the outline/summary.
• Have one ready for them whether they're hooked or not.
• The pitch is the appetizer, and the outline/summary is the main course.
• Contact information is on the last slide, along with a copyright notice (press option-g on the keyboard) and the year.
• It shows that it's privilege and confidential.
• It should be at the bottom right hand corner of every slide.
• The other corner should have the page number.
• Say what medium it is for (film, comic, graphic novel, animated or live-action television show, etc.).
• The more fanciful the title, the more unique it is.
• Balance rehearsal with improv.
• Know how you’re going introduce your first slide.
• That’s how you get them engaged.
• Agree with who you’re trying to impress.
• However, if you’re too wishy-washy about changes, people will think you don’t have confidence in your work.
• You WILL work with other creative people if it goes through.
• You gotta be confident, but also flexible at times.
• Think to yourself: “is opposition to this change going to make it or break it?”
• When you get really far into production, people get scared about where to go with the plot, and they won’t see it through.
• Finished, but shitty work is better than incomplete, but great work.
• The difference between successful, creative people and hobbyists is being able to finish something.
• Development can take as long as a year.
• Marketing may never end, but that’s a good thing. That means your idea is a hit.
• You’ll get a ton of negative feedback, so believe in your product.
• Something that makes sense in your head may be hard to explain.

      After listening to their feedback, I thanked all three of them for this unbelievable opportunity, and that I would be more than happy to return and assist them whenever I'm home on break. They immediately invited me back for January, so I can show them my progress on the pitch. In the meantime, I will keep in touch with Einhorn's Epic Productions via email.