I’m considering plunking down $300 to go to a pitch fest, but I’m wondering if they’re really worth it.

--Raffi

For readers who don’t know, a pitch fest is an event where aspiring screenwriters pitch their screenplays to a group of Hollywood-types, who hopefully will want to read-slash-buy their scripts, or at least offer suggestions for improving their pitch technique.

A few years ago, I was on a (free) pitching panel for a local screenwriting conference. It was interesting, but I’m not sure it was terrifically helpful for the writers who pitched. (In fact, the other writers in the audience may have learned more just by listening to misguided pitch after misguided pitch, and the criticisms thereof.)

I’ve heard tales of studio executives buying ideas they heard during a pitch panel, but I don’t know of any verifiable success stories. If any readers have experiences, positive or negative, with pitch panels, please help Raffi out by leaving a comment.

I've heard that it's fine to use up to 30 seconds of a song in your film without breaking any copyright laws. Is there any truth in this?

--Trey

There is absolutely no truth to that. I often work with Evan Greenspan who has one of the premiere music clearance companies in the United States (EMG). Just for fun, Evan made up a pin that said: ”Use a note, go to jail.” Obviously, it’s not really that bad but as time has gone by, the requirements surrounding the use of intellectual property have become more and more stringent. I believe one reason why publishers and record companies have really clamped down in recent years is because licensing their product to film and television etc. has become more and more lucrative in a time where CD sales have fallen drastically. When I directed Wayne’s World we needed a few notes of the beginning of “Stairway to Heaven” to have while Wayne was trying out the Fender Stratocaster in the store. Being a low budget picture we were shocked to learn that only a few notes of “Stairway to Heaven” hovered around $100,000. If you listen closely, you will notice that those are not really the notes and we had to fake it.

Licensing music for movies has become very complex and expensive and generally holders of the publishing and master rights don’t give special consideration just because you’re poor or your picture is low budget. They do, however, like to work with up and coming filmmakers and will on occasion work “step-deals” so that exorbitant costs for music don’t have to be paid up front. They are diverted to the distributor when a picture is sold. Having a big price tag on your music that has not been paid is somewhat of a hindrance when you go to get distribution, but if you have no choice, it’s the way to go.

Why is it that a film (especially a colour film) shot in 16mm but projected in 35mm, looks so much better than something shot in 35mm but projected in 16mm? Aren't they passing through the same 16mm bottleneck?

--Henry

Interesting question. I guess it’s a question of where the bottleneck is in the process.

One thing that 35mm projection has going for it is that the image brightness tends to be better (assuming a large image) and also the optics aren’t quite as critical. 16mm projection also has sound problems with such a small track to play from. It’s actually more or less disappeared because it is not that much better that DVD projection which is so much more convenient and can have great sound.

If one set up a very controlled study you’d probably find that you could achieve a more or less equivalent image via the two processes: in real life blowing up 16mm is a common and much used process so the expertise is there to do it well. The reverse process used to be common 20 years ago but now must be rare except for use in out-of-the way places.

John August's screenwriting credits include Go, Big Fish, Titan A.E. and both Charlie's Angels movies. His current projects include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Tarzan, and Corpse Bride. He also maintains a screenwriting-oriented website at johnaugust.com.

Born and raised in Boulder, Colorado, John earned a degree in journalism from Drake University in Iowa, and an MFA in film production from the Peter Stark program at the University of Southern California. He lives in Los Angeles.

Got a question about screenwriting? Send it to Ask a Writer.

Got a question about directing? Send it to Ask a Director.

If you are considering working in the movie industry, Oliver Stapleton has written a brief guide available at www.cineman.co.uk.

Got a question about cinematography? Send it to Ask a Cinematographer.