Nehst has been doing Aspiring Filmmakers Bootcamps for almost four and a half years. We’ve done them from coast to coast, north to south, and across Canada. I had a few reasons for establishing this program. I wanted to give back to aspiring filmmakers. Inside info, tips, and techniques I learned on the street are almost never taught in film school or in “packaged” film seminars. We give you the truth about the film business. We believe in Access – we want the pubic to be able to access our experience and executives. And we also want to access the public’s creative ideas and skills. In our bootcamps not only are you taught the principles of pitching your ideas, but you have the unique opportunity of selling them to us. Some Bootcamp members have impressed us enough to get hired to produce and direct feature films and national campaigns. Check www.filmboot.com for more info about those stories.
If you have an interest in producing, directing, acting, screenwriting, or crewing – this is the class I wish I had when I got into the business. People have told me it’s motivational and has helped them move their careers and projects forward. We have the current schedule listed in the column to the right. I really love going to different cities and meeting the filmmaking talent there. That’s why I started bootcamps.
President of Development
One of the secrets I teach in our pitching workshops and the Boot Camps is how to engage the listeners in a powerful way. We who pitch stories are in the “Once Upon a Time” business. The people you are pitching to are experts at listening to stories. They know what a good one is without having gone to film school, without understanding structure. Executives have been listening critically to stories since they were little kids. They know what gets their attention and what makes them want to drive their parents crazy asking them to read the same book over and over. So here’s the secret — make believe the people you are pitching to are little kids and the first words of your pitch are “Once Upon a Time.” You say these words in your head, not out loud. I don’t care if it’s a non-fiction pitch, that’s a story too. Don’t be condescending or change you voice into fairytale voice. But if you can get your executives lying in bed, wearing their PJ’s, with their chin propped up in their hands, looking up at you, well then you’ve hooked them. Forget getting good at pitching, get good at telling stories. “Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away …”
– Jeff Silverstein, 2010
It’s tough to get your script read by someone who can fund it. Not so hard to enter a contest ; there are lots of those willing to take your entry fee ; some reputable, many not. As part of Nehst’s Access philosophy we decided a number of years ago to accept scripts, treatments, and ideas online at www.pitchnehst.com. You don’t need an agent or a lawyer. You must sign a release form so we’re allowed to read it, and there’s a small registration fee of $10. We’ve heard people question the fee over the years, even though the average screenwriting contest charges between 50 and 100 dollars. Our fee helps defray the costs of this program, and to be honest helps “weed out” those who aren’t serious. Nehst has bought scripts for development through pitchnehst and from live events such as the Boot Camps. People sometimes get impatient for our response, but we tell them that there’s a backlog of people who have submitted; the important thing is that we are reading them. As opposed to those studios, production companies and agencies who will not even open your envelope. We are looking for the next great script. Perhaps it’s yours.
