General Motors Drives Your Stories

[johnronald]

Filmaka has partnered with General Motors Corporation, the worlds largest automobile manufacturer, to run a new contest. Up to 7 finalists will receive $5000 each!

We want your pitches for shows that will feature some of GM's new vehicles. They are not looking for a traditional commercial, but instead for an engrossing story in which a GM vehicle plays a memorable part. Submit a detailed written synopsis of a film 3 – 5 minutes in length, with 4-5 more episode ideas intended to total around 30 minutes of original webisodic content that can live on its own and potentially be viewed as "pilot" material, as well as your creative extension and distribution recommendations.

From these finalists GM can choose pilots to put into production and provide the appropriate vehicles for the shoot. A complete list of the vehicles GM wants to feature, and more info on the contest can be Found Here on our site. (http://www.filmaka.com/gm/)

We will start accepting submissions (in pdf format) in the middle of next week. Submissions must be in by MARCH 11th – so get cracking.

[rljfl]

removed comment. :)

[DrRita]

You two need to check your comments! There are filmmakers and screenwriters here who need these opportunities. Please understand that we do not swim in the same tanks as all of you and these kinds of things are just what get us into those open doors! Winning a contest like this can be just the credit an emerging screenwriter or filmmaker needs.

Thanks John, for taking the time to post this. I moved it to the screenwriting section.

[rljfl]

Sorry DrRita, wasn't meaning anything by it. I think it's a good opportunity, was making a lighthearted joke in reply to Phy.

[DrRita]

We work very very hard here in Hollywood to dispell the ugly myths that Christians are closed minded fundamentalists who hate everyone . . .

Please understand that it's just this kind of thing that drives them away. I'm so amazed that he even considered posting here . . . It must be because of something he read . . . Help us out, rljfl.

In Hollywood it's who you know or what you've done that gets you that reading by a studio exec. There is no queries (at least that will be read by anyone important) or "over the transom" submissions. Networking is our life, word of mouth our only way of finding out the possibilities. I know you meant no harm . . . perhaps you could edit your comment?

[rljfl]

Sure, no problem, and I do understand the screenwriters dilema, as I'm also trying my hand at that (so far I've only written one, for a contest a couple of years ago with no success. It's been collecting dust since).

[DrRita]

Hey, thanks!!! If you want help, want to pursue your screenplay writing, anything . . . just ask, I'm willing to help and share whatever I have in the way of knowledge, leads etc. You might start by posting the first ten pages in the screenwriter's workshop. Love to have more screenwriters on board.

[rljfl]

Well, I tried it. Uploaded my pitch and episodes today. Didn't cost me anything to become a member or to enter the contest. I probably messed up on the pitch (never wrote one outside of a contest that didn't have a "form" to fill out for the pitch), but we'll see.:) Had to take that step.

[DrRita]

Hey rljfl . . . I'm so proud of you. This weekend in our Act One class, two filmmakers came and gave the morning session. They talked about the pitch being the thing that sells your idea and that 95% of the executives you pitch to will never read your script . . . the pitch is the whole thing. Scary huh? In fact I have to write 10 movie pitches by the 29th.

Please keep us posted. I'm very interested to see how you did. Praying for you.

[rljfl]

That's where I need the most work, the pitch. Everything I looked up on it, though, talked about the pitch in person, nothing on written pitches (ie format, etc). So, outside of a form for other contests, I was left guessing. I wrote it with a title page, my contact info, then I started with the log line. After that I gave a brief, 1 paragraph overall description, and then I gave a short 1 paragraph summary of each episode. So, we'll see if that works or not.

[DrRita]

Sounds good to me.