Your assignment is to pitch your idea for a short documentary.

Imagine you’ve got five minutes with a big donor who loves documentaries. Your goal is to get them to invest in your film.

You may submit your pitch as a one-pager – a one page written document (about three or four short paragraphs) with a few photos that tells the story you want to capture – or as a powerpoint, a short pitch deck (about three or four slides) – or as a short film trailer – or as something else.

I’m asking for a short pitch. It does not need to cover budget, market analysis, distribution, etc. But it should explain what the story is and how you will tell it. It should include: a logline, one or two sentences that capture the essence of the story; a discussion of your approach to it; and a few details on the characters or subject at the center of your story.

You need to show what your film is about and why it is worth our time. Make it concrete and particular. Consider these two loglines: 1) This is a film about my team. 2) A high soccer star finds the transition to college sports more difficult than he imagined. Which film do you want to watch?

Catch me after class or come to office hours if you want to talk through your ideas.

Submit your assignment on Moodle.

Some resources you might check out (though these examples are far more complicated than what I am asking of you:

• Jonny von Wallström, “Mastering Netflix Documentary Pitches: A Filmmaker’s Guide to Success” (2024) – online at Medium.com
• “Skate in Japan” (2020) – online at steffanroegriffiths.com and pitch deck
• Austin Canary, “How to Create a Documentary Pitch Deck (+ Examples)” (2024) – online at rev.com
• Greg Shaya, “Chainsaw Michelangelo” (2010) – online at Voices

Some examples of cool films that students have made in the past:

• The College of Wooster football faces off against Ohio State (in 1890) – the start of a great rivalry
• Her husband away at war in the Pacific, an old woman tells her granddaughter the story of how she and her husband communicated through their letters
• A young artist explains the (strange) ideas behind his creations (a mockumentary)
• Young people recall learning about the 9/11 terrorist attacks
• A young woman shares a video meditation on being a student in the United States while carrying forward the traditions of her Ghanaian home
• Students and faculty explore the rich tradition of croquet at the College of Wooster – and keep it alive (a mockumentary)
• Residents of East Cleveland recall the glory years of their downtown neighborhood – and hopes for the future
• A family shares their love for (and their disagreements about) The Game of Thrones
• A dance team prepares for the big show
• A football player and his coach talk about their goals for the year – and what it takes to thrive
• A passionate group of volunteers restores and reopens a downtown movie theater
• A meditation on the love of thrifting old clothes
• The College of Wooster mummy comes out of storage to teach students about ancient Egypt
• A young woman runs her favorite path – and meditates on the forces that shaped her life

Grading

The assignment is graded out of ten points, like most of our assignments. My rubric: 6 points: you’ve submitted an assignment, but it is missing important pieces; 7 points: you’ve submitted a more or less complete assignment on time; 8+ points: an interesting film idea presented thoughtfully; 9+ points: a pitch that show creative thinking, a compelling story, and an engaging presentation; 10 points: a truly superlative pitch. Any use of AI-generated text will result in failure.