Lydia Cedrone: «If We Pitch Something – We Want Something»

Lydia Cedrone, professor of the New York Film Academy, one of the best universities of filmmaking, came to Moscow to give a lecture to students of High School of Economics. In this event she told the listeners about different techniques of pitching and why pitch is important in filmmaking.

Who is Lydia Cedrone?

She is one of the deans of the New York Film Academy, which is connected with Universal Studios. Lydia is not only the producer and teacher of NYFA. She worked for The Walt Disney Co., Trimark Pictures and Savoy Pictures. For two years Cedrone collaborated with the producer and director Michael Mann and took part in the production of such films as «Ali», «The Man», «Faithful», «Memory» and others.

In 2009, HSE organized the first producer courses in Moscow, The lectures and master classes of this course were given by teachers from the New York Film Academy. At the same time, Lydia Cedrone came to Hitrovsky Lane – the Home of Media Department -  for the first time.

Ideas and tips of Lydia Cedrone

 

- What is pitching?

«Pitch is a very concise summary of what we are doing. For example, you have an opportunity to meet someone, and they ask you about sums that you are working on. You tell them – this is a pitch. It's a conversation with people».

 

- Why it's important to know how to pitch?

«I can’t show you images of what the restaurant will look like that you will invest in or the dresses that we will make. But there are many things we can do verbally. The documents  explain what this investment is about. If you are pitching something – you want something. You want money, you want people to give you things for free, you want them to work for free».

 

- Structure of pitching

«The most concise summary of your story called log line. One sentence, because the mind of the person already imagines when you continue to talk. You have a little «beginning-middle-end» structure. In one sentence. Then – use details for filling your log line.

 

Your log line is a frame of the picture and the goal of it is to keep the listener into the frame. It should not give all details of the story. We can follow that frame. So, pitching is a colored pencil that help to fill it in. You just describe your story, and the main details are important».

 

- Strategy of pitching

«If you are to pitch to investors, you already have an idea of the project. But you need some money to make it. There are two parts of the pitch: first one –the story pitch, what the story is about. This is the biggest part of the pitch. But we are not just creative, we understand that it is a business. So we also include the project pitch. We do not trap somebody in a conversation, we just talk.

 

We must have a delicate balance of offering and keeping that person interested in what you are saying. The person we are talking to, have an idea what will you talk them about».

 

- About time of pitching

«3 minutes for pitching is better than 5, 5 better than 10. More than 10 minutes – people will lose their focus on the story, their interest».

 

«I have been coming to this building, to this class for many years. And I am so happy to see the students of HSE again, happy to be there», – says at the end of her speech Lydia Cedrone. Tatiana Tihomirova, who is a dean of faculty of communication and media in HSE, agreed with a guest: «Yes, we have been working together… for more than 10 years!».

Students, who visited this event, were satisfied and inspired by the energy, enchantment and motivated speaker, as she told them a lot of interesting and useful things with a passion and great love for her work. 

Anna Sokolova