Creating a Compelling Pitch Package with Producers Nina Yang Bongiovi (PASSING) & Larissa Rhodes (THE SOCIAL DILEMMA)
About this Master Class
Master Classes are in-depth, interactive learning experiences focused on craft and career building and led by renowned industry experts. Topics include fiction and documentary filmmaking, TV writing and production, and navigating and succeeding in the entertainment industry.
Learn how to create compelling pitch materials that attract the right financial and creative partners to successfully launch your project. Join acclaimed producers Nina Yang Bongiovi (Fruitvale Station) and Larissa Rhodes (Chasing Coral) in a three-hour Master Class as they share real-world examples, strategies, and practical tips for crafting pitch decks and other tools for both fiction and documentary projects that instill confidence in your vision and demonstrate your capability to bring that vision to life on the screen.
Topics include:
- What is the purpose of a pitch deck and what needs to be included in one?
- What other assets do you need to create for pitch meetings?
- Who is the audience for these materials and when do you approach them?
- How are fiction and nonfiction pitch packages different?
- How can compelling pitch materials elevate the conversation around your project?
- When do you need a sizzle reel or proof-of-concept video and how do you create them?
- What are common mistakes to avoid?
Resources:
Download the list of resources from Nina Yang Bongiovi & Larissa Rhodes
Master ClassTeam
Nina Yang Bongiovi
Instructor
Producing partners, Nina Yang Bongiovi and Forest Whitaker have gained a stellar reputation for having in-depth knowledge of film financing, creative and physical producing, and a knack for discovering talent, like that of Ryan Coogler (Marvel’s Black Panther), whose first film, Fruitvale Station (2013) was produced by Forest and Nina.
Together under their banner, Significant Productions, Nina and Forest have produced a number of critically-acclaimed films by auteur filmmakers, including Dope (2015) by Rick Famuyiwa, Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015) by Chloe Zhao, Roxanne Roxanne (2018) by Michael Larnell, and Sorry To Bother You (2018) by Boots Riley. More recently, Forest and Nina produced Rebecca Hall’s directorial debut, Passing, based on Nella Larsen’s renowned Harlem Renaissance novel. The producing duo is currently executive producing the premium tv series, Godfather of Harlem, which is in production on Season 2 at EPIX. Nina and Forest are consistently in active development on a slate of multi-cultural feature films and television projects that they love.
Significant Productions’ mission is to create opportunities and push inclusivity for underrepresented narratives and storytellers by championing culturally-significant films and television shows starring BIPOC talent, alongside diversified representation behind the camera.
Forest is a member of The Academy of the Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS), and the Television Academy. He notably received the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in The Last King of Scotland. Forest actively serves as a Special Envoy in Conflict Resolution for the United Nations, through his foundation, The Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative.
Nina is a board member of Film Independent, The Oscar Grant Foundation, Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE), and The Producers Guild of America. She is also a member of The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences’ (AMPAS) Producers Branch and the Television Academy. She is fluent in Mandarin, Chinese, and received her graduate degree in Entertainment Management from the Annenberg School at the University of Southern California.
Larissa Rhodes
Instructor
Larissa Rhodes is a filmmaker and the Head of Creative Development at Exposure Labs, where she develops projects that are environmentally and socially minded. She produced the Sundance, Peabody, and Emmy award-winning film, CHASING CORAL, a feature film following a team of adventurers working to reveal how the oceans are changing. THE SOCIAL DILEMMA is her latest producing project, which had its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Rhodes previously worked on the Emmy® Award-winning documentary, CHASING ICE. She holds an MFA in Film from Columbia University and a BFA & BA from the University of Colorado in Film Studies and International Spanish for the Professions.