7 Mistakes to Avoid When Creating Your Pitch Deck

Creating a pitch deck is an important step in securing funding for your film project.  A pitch deck conveys your film’s story and creative vision.  Think of it like a bridge between your black and white script and how your project is going to be cinematically experienced.  Like anything worth doing, it's also a process that can be fraught with pitfalls and potential mistakes. Here are some common mistakes to avoid when creating your pitch deck to ensure your success:

Mistake #1:  Lack of focus

One of the most common mistakes is having a pitch deck that lacks focus. Like a good story, your pitch deck wants to seamlessly move from one idea to the next in a continuous train of thought. It also wants to be clear on the main points of the story, key players, and why this is a stand out project.  

When thinking about your pitch deck’s structure and focus, make sure it’s tailored to the specific audience you are presenting to (i.e. investors, talent, crowdfunders, etc.). It's important to know your audience, understand what they are looking for in a project, and what they value.  Researching is key.  When you know what people are looking for, you’ll know how to best communicate with them.

Mistake #2: Overloading with information

Your pitch deck is an introduction to  your project, meaning it wants to stay streamlined and easy to understand.  Often times, filmmakers is trying to cram too much information into your pitch deck or onto a page.  When things get overwhelming, readers will check out, causing you to look this potential investor or talent. 

Your pitch deck should be a bird’s eye look at your project, rather than a detailed breakdown of every aspect.  What is the must know information?  People will be skimming your deck, so the cleaner it is, the easier it is to digest.  If you have more information for them, put it in a supplemental deck that you can offer when they ask for more information.  With other information available elsewhere, it frees your deck up to be concise and focused on the key aspects of your project that will be of most interest to potential investors or producers.

Mistake #3: Key Information Missing

It can be really easy to miss things with our deck.  Make sure you have the following in your deck: longline, synopsis, main characters, visual references or style to show how your film’s coming together, creator’s or director's statement, filmmaker’s bio, contact info.  For a series, you may want to add a season 1 synopsis as well.  Also, make sure you are clearly stating what you’re looking for: i.e. funding for production verses development, distribution, etc.

Mistake #4: Poor design

The design of your pitch deck is important.  Even before investors and collaborators read a word, the way your deck look says everything about how professional you are, what this project might be about, and if it’s of interest to them or not.  No words required.  Poor design can make your pitch deck look unprofessional and unappealing, which can turn people off of your project and make it more difficult to get funding and the support you need.  Make sure your pitch deck has a clean, consistent design, and use visuals to help illustrate your creative vision.  If you don’t have the graphic design skills yourself, hire support.  Make sure they understand filmmaking and film storytelling.  The look of your pitch deck, especially your cover page, sets your first impression.

Mistake #5: Hard to read fonts

On the note of having a strong design, one specific detail to pay attention to is how easily your fonts are able to be read.  If the typeface you choose is difficult to read, then readers will not understand what they are looking at.  Use easy to read fonts for large passages or main information with more creative fonts reserved for titles and subheadings. 

Mistake #6:  Poor image quality or images that don’t support the story

Choosing the images for your deck is one of the most important steps because they start to bring your film to life.  It’s important to make sure you get high resolution images that can be blown up as needed.  There’s a chance your deck could go up on a large tv screen in a conference room and you want to make sure things look good.

The subject matter, mood, and tone of your images will set the stage for your story.  Make sure the images you’re choosing actually aline with the story you want to tell.  Sounds really simple, however you’d be surprised how often an image isn’t perfect, yet people use it anyways.  Keep searching to find what you really want to say.  And, remember that the images are about conveying the story of your film rather than adding backstory.  Backstory images are great for working with the cast and designers, however they can derail the story being told in the pitch deck. 

Whatever images you choose to include in your deck, those are what people will expect to see in the script and story.

Mistake #7: Lack of passion

Finally, one of the biggest mistakes you can make when creating a pitch deck is forgetting to include what makes you passionate about this project and why it matters to be told now.  Your excitement and love for a project will encourage and enroll others into that same excitement about the project.  Investors and producers want to work with people who are passionate and committed to bringing their projects to life.  Make sure your pitch deck reflects your enthusiasm for your film and communicates why you believe it's worth investing in. 

So, there you have it.  7 mistakes to avoid when making your pitch deck. By paying attention to these common pitfalls and avoiding them, you’ll create a more compelling pitch deck that will help you get the attention you’re looking for. Remember to keep your deck focused on the main story, know who you’re sending this to and what they are looking for, have strong design and clear type fonts, make sure your images are high quality and support your story, and make sure people understand how passionate you are about the project.

What’s Next?

To learn more about how to make a pitch deck that gets you attention, check out my free workshop: What Makes a Film Pitch Deck Stand Out.  Just register here.