VPF Virtual Pitch Fest anyone?

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #16
    Re: VPF Virtual Pitch Fest anyone?

    Originally posted by Exponent5 View Post
    I've had what look like stock responses (check a box) and I've had personal notes that were very kind and wished me well.
    Yeah, I wouldn't mind stock responses really. I do like the 5-day response rule, as I think a big part of what unnerves me about the challenges of breaking in, once I feel I'm ready to go to town, is that I have a "wait and see" personality, combined with anxiousness. So I'd wind up querying like one or two companies/agencies, and then wait months to hear back before moving on to second and third choices. The real-time aspect of this is really what makes it valuable, and $10/pop ain't bad at all for that benefit.

    Thanks for sharing!

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: VPF Virtual Pitch Fest anyone?

      There's a huge range between super legit companies and....wannabes. When someone responds with a name then of course it's much easier to see who you're dealing with. Definitely a mixed bag. Not a knock against VPF, ijs.

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: VPF Virtual Pitch Fest anyone?

        Personally I'm a fan. First, I like to know and keep track of who or at least what company is reading my script, and second, I really believe that there are places that would have never looked at my script with simple cold-querying (in fact, I used to get those lovely responses from their legal dept.). Some of the peeps who asked for my script on VPF are behind 1 B-dollar hits.

        There are peeps that I used to successfully cold-query who now say "please be advised that I can now only be queried via VPF." So it seems more and more pros are relying on such services.

        Anyway, I think it's a good way to go. That said, always try to query for free first. Some people do respond, even at really big places. I actually got the producer of Harry Potter to respond directly to an unsolicited email. Class act, that dude.

        Also, just throwing this out there: a lot of peeps on this board always assume that if someone tells you they can only accept submissions through an agent, it's a polite pass. Not true. I've had at least 3 experiences in which major production companies asked to see my script but made it clear that they were bound by strict company policies. I managed to find some way to get it to them where they could be happy and I could be even happier (until they passed or never responded).

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: VPF Virtual Pitch Fest anyone?

          Originally posted by Rantanplan View Post
          Personally I'm a fan. First, I like to know and keep track of who or at least what company is reading my script, and second, I really believe that there are places that would have never looked at my script with simple cold-querying (in fact, I used to get those lovely responses from their legal dept.). Some of the peeps who asked for my script on VPF are behind 1 B-dollar hits.

          There are peeps that I used to successfully cold-query who now say "please be advised that I can now only be queried via VPF." So it seems more and more pros are relying on such services.

          Anyway, I think it's a good way to go. That said, always try to query for free first. Some people do respond, even at really big places. I actually got the producer of Harry Potter to respond directly to an unsolicited email. Class act, that dude.

          Also, just throwing this out there: a lot of peeps on this board always assume that if someone tells you they can only accept submissions through an agent, it's a polite pass. Not true. I've had at least 3 experiences in which major production companies asked to see my script but made it clear that they were bound by strict company policies. I managed to find some way to get it to them where they could be happy and I could be even happier (until they passed or never responded).
          Good stuff, man. It's interesting how the game is changing to trend toward this kind of third party service, between the BL 3.0 and VPF and others.

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: VPF Virtual Pitch Fest anyone?

            So I tried it and it seems cool. Only one read in ten queries, though. I did get a very interesting long paragraph response from one company that was very frank and encouraged me to keep trying. I appreciated that.

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: VPF Virtual Pitch Fest anyone?

              What can you include in your pitch aside from the logline?

              I have a feature script based on a short film (that's had some major blog coverage and won some awards) so would love to include something about that if I could, if it would help get a read.

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: VPF Virtual Pitch Fest anyone?

                Originally posted by mrl72 View Post
                What can you include in your pitch aside from the logline?

                I have a feature script based on a short film (that's had some major blog coverage and won some awards) so would love to include something about that if I could, if it would help get a read.
                They ask for:

                TITLE

                LOGLINE

                QUERY LETTER
                Which gives you 2000 characters to write a great pitch. Just make sure your logline sizzles.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: VPF Virtual Pitch Fest anyone?

                  When sending out pitches should you do it during normal business hours like when directly e-mailing someone, or does it not matter with VPF?

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: VPF Virtual Pitch Fest anyone?

                    Originally posted by entlassen View Post
                    When sending out pitches should you do it during normal business hours like when directly e-mailing someone, or does it not matter with VPF?
                    Doesn't matter, don't worry about that.

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: VPF Virtual Pitch Fest anyone?

                      Sony and UTA have been added to the list. Anyone have any recent experiences they'd like to share?

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: VPF Virtual Pitch Fest anyone?

                        I feel like VPF used to be a lot better and used to be worth the pretty steep $10 per pitch fee, but not anymore. First off, I know for a fact that a lot of the companies on their list are not even in the market for scripts from "new" writers, at the moment, and I know that many are listed as looking for scripts in genres that they they are no longer looking for scripts in, but they're kept on there anyway because either the VPF staff haven't bothered to check back in with them and update the list or maybe because they (the prodco. or agent or management company) want to keep collecting the -- albeit small -- fee they receive every time someone pitches them. After all, they don't have to do anything but sit back and receive the pitch, hit the "no thanks" button, and get some money via paypal. Also, VPF used to honor a "companies must respond within five business days or you get a free pitch" feature but that seems to have gone out the window. The last time I used them, a few months ago, it had been more than 5 business days, in fact I think it had been 6, and I sent in a polite notification to them saying I believed I was due a free pitch. No response. The company eventually did respond, though, but it was 8 business days after I sent the query.

                        So... I don't know... make your own choices and extract from the above what you will. Just relating what I know and my recent experience.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: VPF Virtual Pitch Fest anyone?

                          That's interesting, grumpywriter. If you don't mind me asking, I'm curious what sort of people you were submitting to: prodco's, agencies, management? How many pitches did you submit?

                          Also, you say you know as a fact that many of these companies aren't actually (still) looking for what they're listed as looking for, if they're looking at all. How did you learn this? Did you submit something to a company and get a response saying they weren't looking for that, even though it was listed for them?

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: VPF Virtual Pitch Fest anyone?

                            I had some fairly good luck with it. I think I bought about 20 pitches, I got 3 responses. Two from fairly prominent managers, and one from a very respectable production company that I'm still talking with.
                            And while 3 out of 20 is pretty good for a query rate I believe, I think it could have been higher, but I didn't do a good job of researching the market and the companies before submitting and so I pitched it in a way I shouldn't have, so thats on me. I'd use it again for sure.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: VPF Virtual Pitch Fest anyone?

                              Originally posted by Eric Boellner View Post
                              That's interesting, grumpywriter. If you don't mind me asking, I'm curious what sort of people you were submitting to: prodco's, agencies, management? How many pitches did you submit?

                              Also, you say you know as a fact that many of these companies aren't actually (still) looking for what they're listed as looking for, if they're looking at all. How did you learn this? Did you submit something to a company and get a response saying they weren't looking for that, even though it was listed for them?
                              Yes. That's happened before, too, where I've submitted in the genre they're looking for and then they get back saying they aren't actually looking for scripts in that genre at the moment.

                              But moreso it's because I have contacts/regular submission people at a lot of the companies that are listed. What happens is I'll sometimes use VPF for companies that neither I nor my manager have contacts at, as a way to try to get "into" that company and be able to submit to it regularly without having to go through VPF. Sometimes when I do that, and I'm perusing the prodco. listings, I'll see that Joe Smith at XYZ prodco. -- whom I've been submitting stuff to regularly on my own for years -- is listed as looking for, let's say, dark psychological thrillers. I'll then say, Really? I had no idea? And check in with Joe Smith, only to have him tell me that in fact they aren't looking for that and stopped looking for it a long time ago.

                              A recent example:

                              "Norman Twain" -- otherwise known as NTProds -- is listed as seeking "Web series, stage plays, Shorts & features with small casts; especially seeking Horror, Thriller, Comedy & underdog tales."

                              I've been submitting stuff to them for years outside of VPF (although I may have first gotten in touch with them through VPF, in fact I'm pretty sure I did) but, based on what I saw in VPF, I went ahead and pitched them a web series (outside of VPF, by regular email), only to be told that currently they are only looking for stage plays. And I was thinking, Good thing I didn't just plunk down $10 for that
                              Last edited by grumpywriter; 04-13-2015, 12:53 PM.

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: VPF Virtual Pitch Fest anyone?

                                I'm a huge fan of Virtual Pitch Fest. I've gotten reads from companies which in the past didn't respond to my email queries, and these are excellent companies with whom I now have an established relationship and an open door to submit more work.

                                The essential thing is to thoroughly research the companies before you pitch. Use IMDBPro free 30-day subscription if necessary. Do not rely on the brief blurb provided on VPF. Also, research the principals at those companies -- often their credit history (which may have been at other companies) will indicate their tastes.

                                The more research you do, and the more you refine and polish your logline and pitch, the better your response rate will be. Sure, some companies will just spit back the boilerplate "Subject matter didn't grab us" response. But I've actually gotten responses to pitches where the exec gave a detailed reason for passing on the pitch -- along with an email to use in the future to pitch directly to that exec.

                                I don't know about GrumpyWriter's experience, but the one time my pitch went over five business days I was sent a free pitch immediately.

                                Late Night Writer

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X