Watch the Pitch Competition at Catalyst

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

A big part of the business world includes pitching. When I was at AMSOIL we had all kinds of race teams and television shows pitching us to become a sponsor of their endeavors. The key consideration always boiled down to whether it was a win-win and in alignment with our own objectives or just a pickpocket enterprise seeking to have us fund their passions.

In short, over a period of two decades I was on the receiving end of countless presentations in which people were pitching ideas.

The media industry, too, is all about pitching as well. Writers pitch agents; agents pitch stories to studios and producers. Producers pitch projects to businesses, seeking sponsorship. Will the cycle be unbroken?

Pitching is how the industry works. That is why one facet of the upcoming Catalyst Content Festival includes a "Pitch Competition."

Just like the Oscars, there is a process of weeding out the players and selecting the best of the rest. It reminds me a little of the DECA program in which teams of high schoolers learn how to make winning presentations. Except this is a new level, and it's not a game.

The semi-finalists in the Catalyst Pitch Competition were announced this week, and they are as follows.

Coming For You
Created by Taylor Coriell and Adriana DeGirolami

A mockumentary-style comedy about a passionate film director and her crew who take their jobs as filmmakers way too seriously given that they are, well, making porn.

Georgi & The Bot
Created by Jade Daugherty and Fred Soligan

When Georgi’s company tasks her with training “Opto,” a robot that will eventually replace her, she accidentally teaches it to be a neurotic mess, jeopardizing both of their futures. ​

​Super Girlfriend
Created by Allyson Morgan ​

SUPER GIRLFRIEND is a superhero story, told from the perspective of the superhero’s girlfriend. When a woman finds out the man she’s falling for is part of an underground superhero network, she must she must decide if their new romance can survive her own priorities and his extraordinary circumstances.

* * * *

For me, this is an area of special interest. My mind farm produces more ideas than I can pursue, bot in the realm of writing and as an artist. No matter how good your ideas are, though, the matter of pitching (selling that idea) must be mastered or you'll never get it off the ground.

This is just one of many reasons I've been looking forward to seeing Catalyst happen and doing what I can to make it a successful event. Will I see you there?

Related Links
Catalyst Content Festival Schedule
Over the years I've produced a number of stories that I believe could be successfully translated to films. Some would be short form, a few could be features, and I can envision a couple of these as multi-years series television.
Short Form Film Ideas
The M Zone
The Empty Space
Full Length Film Concepts
The Red Scorpion
Coyote With Broken Mouth (A Black hills Story)
Multi-Season Series Idea
A Unremembered History of the World
Also available as part of this short story collection, Unremembered Histories