How to craft the Ultimate TV and Film Pitch Deck

In the world of film and television, a compelling pitch deck can make all the difference between getting your project greenlit or being relegated to the rejection pile. A Film or TV Pitch Deck serves as your project’s visual calling card, providing a concise and persuasive overview of your material. To help you navigate this crucial aspect of the industry, we’ve broken down the essential sections of TV and movie pitch decks that can help you secure that elusive deal.

While reading this article it’s important to note that there are no hard and fast rules about what has to go in your pitch deck or how to structure it. The sections below should serve as a starting point, and you can add (almost) whatever sections you need. Be as creative and unique as you can — your goal is to get your story across in the clearest, and most engaging way possible.

• **Note: a lot of the foundation of this article was taken from a free film and TV pitch deck webinar which you can find here, along with an accompanying free PDF. It’s a much more in depth look at creating a great film and TV Pitch Deck.

Cover
The cover of your pitch deck is the first thing potential investors or producers will see, so it should be attention-grabbing and reflect the essence of your project. Use a high-resolution image or artwork that conveys the mood and genre of your film or TV series. In these film pitch deck examples below from Vicious & Co, you’ll see that each project utilizes a movie poster-like style that captures the essence of the project. While your design doesn’t need to be this detailed, ensuring that it represents your project correctly is essential.

Logline
The logline is a one or two-sentence summary that encapsulates the core concept of your project. It should be concise, intriguing, and pique the reader’s curiosity. Visually, you should utilize this page to add another story element to your deck, something that may not have been shown on the first page. It’s also the place we would add clickable links to trailers, websites, or anything else that is essential for your reader to see upfront.

Synopsis
The synopsis is your chance to provide a brief overview of your project’s plot and main storylines. Be sure to include the key beats of the story, while leaving enough room for intrigue. One of the biggest problems we see is clients trying to give way too much information during this section. It doesn’t need to be a thousand word summary. We recommend a maximum of 200 words per page. In most cases this should be more than enough to give an overall summary of your project. However, depending on the project and client, some decks do stretch longer than this. If you’re going over 200 words consider stretching the content over multiple pages, and make sure you also utilize those extra pages with great visuals. As with the logline page, you should try to add another visual element that helps build more of the story you are trying to tell.

Characters
In this section, introduce the key characters of your project. Provide brief descriptions of their personalities, motivations, and roles within the story. Include any notable character arcs or development that will make them compelling to the audience. Make sure to emphasize how these characters drive the narrative and contribute to the story’s appeal. List your characters in order of importance, and if you have very minor characters they can likely be omitted for the purpose of a deck. Visually, our approach is to typically give lead characters their own page and then possibly split supporting characters to 2–3 per page. Just don’t try to cram too much all one page.

Tone & Style
Use this section to convey the tone and style of your project. Is it a lighthearted comedy, a dark thriller, or a heartwarming drama? Describe the visual and narrative style you intend to use, and provide references to other successful works in a similar genre or style to help convey your vision. As a full-time film pitch deck designer, I’ve seen far too many people get confused between “tone & style” and overall story points. Let’s say you have a romantic comedy about a ballerina. Don’t simply pick films with ballerinas in them to use as reference images. For example, just because your film is about a ballerina, doesn’t mean you should use an image or reference Natalie Portman in the psychological thriller ‘Black Swan.’ Sure, maybe your rom-com has some similar plot points about a ballerina at a dance company, but that’s likely where the similarities end, and the thriller element of ‘Black Swan’ could likely confuse your reader. You’ll set up your tone far better by mentioning other rom-coms, even if the plot points or subject matter are different.

The World
Give an overview of the world your story is set in. Whether it’s a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a magical kingdom, or a bustling city, provide insights into the world-building elements that will captivate your audience. Explain how the world complements your story and helps create a unique viewing experience. Images as references are key. Be clear, tell and show people what your project is… and isn’t.

Comparable Titles
The approach to comparable titles can be different depending on what the purpose of your deck is. Are you pitching to a production company or studio, then your comparable title are likely for a tonal purpose — “these titles are similar to ours.” If you’re pitching a project for financing, then your comparable titles may likely be for budget and success — “these titles are a similar story… and they have a similar budget… and they achieved this level of success.” If you’re doing it for comparative budget and success, remember to include figures.

Episodes
For a TV series pitch deck, the most common approach is to outline the pilot and then also provide short summaries of the first season’s episodes. However, as with everything, this is not a hard and fast rule, and we’ve seen and worked on decks with all kinds of different approaches. Some people like to simply provide “episode ideas,” while others do an entire “season overview,” which showcases the season arcs but doesn’t break them into specific episodes. If using individual episode descriptions be sure to include main plot points, character developments, and how they contribute to the overall story. Highlight any notable twists, character conflicts, or cliffhangers that will keep viewers engaged.

Future Seasons
As with the episodes section, the approach to future seasons is up for debate. It’s become common practice to include outlines for future seasons (typically seasons 2 & 3). While this shows you know where you’re story is going, at this stage, it’s all theoretical. Showing that your show has “legs” is important but everyone viewing the deck is going to be aware these future season ideas are far from set in stone.

Team Members
Introduce the key members of your creative team — this can include the writers, director, producer/s, cinematographer, and any other notable crew attached to the project. Highlight their past successes and qualifications to showcase the team’s capability to bring your project to life. As much as your story will sell the project, having an experienced team in place that investors, a network, or a production company can trust will help even more.

Conclusion
Make your pitch deck your own and make it stand out, but make sure it also tells your story in an effective way. Screenplays that gain attention, do so because they are unique while also telling their story in an engaging way. Be unique, let your deck be unique!