In his new article, published in Portuguese on June 5th in the “Revista de Cinema” and in Spanish on June 17th in the “Audiovisual451”, Steve Solot, LATC President, and Associate for Latin America, Olsberg•SPI, points out the five commandments for audiovisual projects to be well prepared for the international market.
The English version of the article is below.
The five commandments for preparation of successful audiovisual projects for the international market
By Steve Solot
The technical preparation of audiovisual projects for the international market is crucial to expand the reach and monetization of productions. The format known as “Pitch Deck” is the most common presentation tool to buyers, distributors, sales agents, streaming platforms and other potentially interested parties attending festivals and markets around the world.
Those of us who frequent the audiovisual markets know that Latin American producers are often not well prepared to present their projects internationally. Ideally, one should arrive at Cannes, TIFF, AFM, EFM, Ventana Sur and other markets with a tablet, laptop or USB drive with their presentation ready for previously scheduled meetings.
The art of “packaging” a project for international markets requires an investment of time and resources to ensure an attractive and complete presentation. To create a Pitch Deck, the producer can use a template format, or commission a presentation from a designer, or do it at home, but the key is to consider at least the following five commandments for a successful presentation and a beneficial result:
- The presentation should unfold narratively as your film would. Start by defining the genre, the setting, the logline, the synopsis, the director’s vision, and introducing the main characters, outlining the conflict, and an idea of the resolution, adding carefully selected images. This flow helps the target audience, visualize the film or series and connect with its story.
- If you want to negotiate rights at market meetings, the “deal memo” must already be prepared with information on territories, windows, deadlines, collections calendar, etc.
- All rights and intellectual property of the content must be registered and cleared.
- The English of the text must be well written, grammatically correct and without spelling errors.
- If possible, it should include the three most sought after elements for negotiation: cast, funds raised, attached director.
Investing in the internationalization of audiovisual projects opens doors to strategic partnerships, co-productions, sources of financing and distribution opportunities in multiple countries, but requires technical preparation of the projects to achieve the multiple potential benefits.
