Question: How Do I Pitch a Documentary?

A reader writes:

Any tips, references, links that would help me learn about composing a pitch for a documentary film? In this instance to the Major League Baseball Network. Similar in approach to a compelling magazine query?  And thanks for sustaining your blog!!

Firstly, you’re welcome for the blog. I do it all for you.

As for the question, my first reaction was to send our reader a follow-up:

Do you make documentaries?

Here was his (prompt) response:

No. Which I guess raises the obvious. What exactly do I have to sell?

His delightfully insightful and self-aware answer reminded me of an equally self-aware and insightful question that a student recently asked me:

Do people buy ideas or do they buy you?

The answer is a mixture of both, depending on the stakes. To use a magazine example, if you’re pitching a cover story then they’re buying you, because if you mess it up then the whole issue comes crashing down. If you’re pitching a 500-word tidbit for the front of the book, then they’re less concerned about you, because if you flake, then it’s easy enough to compensate for your incompetence, you worthlessness swine.

Major League Baseball Network may very well be starved for ideas, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that they’re not waiting for pitches from strangers with no documentary film experience.

Ideas are cheap. Execution is priceless. Become the person who can execute and the ideas will take care of themselves.