"THE PITCH" FAQ: (Frequently Asked Questions).

WHO? WHERE? WHAT? WHEN? WHY? HOW?

What's the storyline of "The Pitch"? "The Pitch" is copyrighted, approximately three and a half minute comedy short about a group of Hollywood screenwriters "pitching" their ideas to a producer. It could best be described as a "novelty" or "high concept" short with a "hook" or "punch line" at the end which we can't reveal here.

What type of actors are you looking for? Basically about a dozen voices that would be representative of the type of writers who go into "Pitch" meetings in LA. That would be mainly males, 20-30 years of age and a few females 20-30 years of age.

Will there be any screen time?  Yes and No. "The Pitch" consists of a series of overlapping, edited voice-overs, i.e., voices over various screen images. Part of the novelty and effectiveness of the short is in specifically not showing any on-screen faces during the running time of the short.  However, as we realize that as actors we all want as much screen time as possible, what we will do is in lieu of on-screen time, is to flash the headshots of everyone who does a voice-over in the end credits with their name, so technically, YES!, everyone who is chosen will ultimately see their face on screen.

How long will the auditions take? We don't like to keep actors waiting. We'll have everyone read approx. one minute (1 min) of the script. While that may not seem long in visual terms, in audio dialog terms, a minute is more than adequate to know if a voice is usable and fits in well with other voices. 

When will I know if I've been chosen for the voice-over? Again, we don't like to keep anyone waiting. Depending on how many actors show up we will try and notify those who qualify as soon as possible. The more people who show the longer it would take to review all the voices on tape. The following is an important point to keep in mind: we have to see how the voices contrast against one another. We would only notify you if you have been selected, not if you haven't been. We will post the results on the website so it's best to keep checking back as we update it.

When will the actual recordings be held? After we make our determinations we will select a one time location where and week day when the actual final recordings will be done. We will try and let everyone know as far in advance as possible.

What type of character voices are you looking for? Unlike a face, or body, or even a singing voice, it's hard to characterize a speaking voice. A voice isn't inherently as categorizable as a face. Basically actors who can read and project a clear, almost over  enthusiastic, excited voice. Who are flexible in terms of taking direction. I.e., who can slow down or speed up their delivery. Who can raise or lower their pitch. Who can read with emotion off of a sheet and talk rapidly but distinctly.

Will I be assigned a character? No. The voices will all be edited into a sometimes seemless, sometimes choppy flow in post-production. One person will begin a sentence only to have another person's voice pick up the dialog half way through. Think of some of the most recent popular radio commercials where different people's voices are edited together and you'll have grasped what the basic intent is.

Will I need to rehearse my lines? Technically no, because you'll be reading off of a script that consists mainly of dialog.  However, since you will be reading all the parts it would greatly help. The reason for this is that it will give our sound editor the maximum flexibility in audio post production editing. Of course the more you've gone over the script, the more natural you'll sound and less likely that you'll flub a line. However because of the energy of the delivery, we don't expect anyone to read all the parts without breaks to catch their breath, and we can stop and start the recorder, as well as have you re-do any line if it's 'flubbed'.

How long will this all take? We'll give each chosen actor a maximum of fifteen minutes. The script has a running time of a bit over three minutes. If you absolutely required 5 takes to get it right that would be about 15 minutes per actor. We are renting the studio by the hour and there will be other actors waiting to read their parts, that's why if you can rehearse and nail down your delivery in one or two or three takes, it will mean that things will go that much more smoothly.

If I flub a take do I have to start at the beginning of the script? No. We'll do audio "slates" of the various takes so as not to drive our sound editor crazy, but if you've read half way through and flub a line, you would not start from page one, only from the beginning of that line.

When will the short be finished? We can't predict that. The voices have to be edited and then only after that can we begin shooting the visuals. Once the visuals are complete, everything, including sound and visual efex must be editied together, and that's often a long drawn out process that's best not rushed. We'd like to see the final product as quickly as everyone else, but we're borrowing equipment and services and are dependent on the schedules of various crewpersons. We also realize the more you rush a project the quicker the quality can decrease. We want the best short possible. We'll hopefully have it finished sometime in September but we don't want to declare a due date only to have to retract it.

Will I receive a copy of the short? Yes. Everyone who does a voice-over on the project will receive a dvd copy of the short as well as a screen credit.

What will happen to the short once it's finished?  Once completed, the short will be entered into select film festivals. Additionally it will go to various talent agencies both in NY and LA. 

Do you have any other projects beyond "The Pitch"? Yes. "The Pitch" is just the first in what is planned to be a series of shorts, each progressively more involved than the previous one. So even if you are not chosen for whatever reason for this project, we will keep you in our database for the next project, or the following one. It's not a reflection on you if you're not chosen. Remember, we have to by necessity limit the total number of voices.