NWSG borad member Betty Kim critiques Adam Sheridan’s pitch at SIFF.

Anyone who has ever attended the annual Seattle International Film Festival knows the festival is much more than a program of films from around the world. Mirroring the industry itself, SIFF’s approach highlights the collaborative aspect of filmmaking through forums and educational workshops.

And as part of SIFF 2017, the Northwest Screenwriters Guild tapped into the educational vein with its pitching and Look Book demo, held June 4 at the SIFF Filmmaker Lounge in Seattle’s Pan Pacific Hotel.

Screenwriters appreciate all too well the importance of a compelling pitch, but the idea of a Look Book may be a new concept to some. Look Books are brief video presentations — typically 90 seconds or so — that help producers, directors and studio executives experience how a film made from a screenplay might look, sound, and feel.

Geof Miller, NWSG president, explained how Look Books are an important part of the pitch, because the verbal pitch alone may not always help producers “feel” how the screenplay may translate to the big screen.

For the pitching demo, NWSG board member Betty Kim critiqued several pitches by NWSG members — one of whom, Kate Calamatta, shared her experience pitching in front of an audience. Kim is featured in Blake Snyder‘s Save the Cat Strikes Back for her pitching method.

The https://www.nwsg.org/pitches-feeling-the-fear/NWSG mission is to promote professional screenwriting as a career, and regularly holds events to help screenwriters develop their pitch, create look books, and gain a better understanding of the industry.

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