FAQ - The Pitch Film Fund

Who can apply to The Pitch?

Anyone who is eligible to work in the UK and is 18 years old or over on the closing date. You can apply if you’re from overseas, but everyone is responsible for their own travel/accommodation/visas etc.

Do I have to be religious to enter The Pitch?

Nope. Entrants can be of any faith or none. We’ve had atheists win The Pitch, which presumably shows that God doesn’t hold a grudge.

What should I include in my pitch?

Your pitch must include inspiration from a story, character or book from the Bible. You can simply chat straight to camera, telling your story and why you want to make the film, or you can include storyboards, or material you have filmed. Check out previous pitches for examples of how it’s been done. Or look at the All About page to get a handle on what we’re after. You need to own the material you use to pitch with, or hold a licence to use it (as explained in more detail in in our T&Cs here).

Is there a particular style of pitch you prefer?

For anything related to length, style or content of a pitch video check out our Advice page.

Why does the short have to be based on a Bible story?

Because! For a more in-depth answer to this question check the Why The Bible? section.

Can I pitch an idea I already have?

Yep. As long as it takes inspiration from the Bible, as outlined above, and is owned by you. Don’t nick someone else’s idea or try to reverse engineer your Transformers movie into Genesis or something.

Can I use a short story based on the Bible?

One of the reasons that we ask people to adapt directly from the Bible is that it doesn’t come with any rights issues. Short stories usually do. Of course, a short story based on the Bible will have a source text, so why not go back to the original and start there?

What should I include in the pitch description with the video?

This description should complement your video and set out the concept, genre and inspiration of your pitch. It should strengthen your filmed pitch rather than simply repeat it.

Does my pitch need to be in English?

No, but if it is in another language it must be subtitled, or dubbed, in English.

Can I register now and upload my pitch later on?

Yes.

Can I pitch to make a documentary?

Nope. Not unless you can travel in time and record, say, the feeding of the 5,000.

Can I pitch to make a feature?

We love your enthusiasm. But sadly, no.

Can I pitch to make an animation?

Buzz Lightyear in Proverbs – love it. And yes, yes you can.

May I submit more than one pitch?

No. Don’t be greedy. Choose your best idea.

Can an idea be submitted by a team?

We all collaborate, that’s part of the industry, but we only guarantee one person a place at our residential and finals. So, you’ll have to choose one person to apply. If you are successful we work with the winner to build a team, honouring, as much as we can, their collaborators.

When will my pitch be viewable online?

Pitches that make the In Consideration stage will be made public on the website, a couple of weeks or so after the closing date (depending on the number of entries - there's a lot to watch...)

Do I have to promote my pitch video online?

Nope. You sit back and relax – if you can – once you’ve submitted. Our judging process will take it from there. More on the judging here.

What permissions do I need in my pitch video?

Because all our pitch videos sit online on our website, we need copyright clearance for them. For more information on this head to our T&Cs.

Why do you charge entry fees?

We want to make The Pitch an even playing field – which is why we always have a long early bird entry period, where you can apply for FREE. Unfortunately, if this was the only entry type everyone would enter at the last minute (creating mayhem for us). So, we have a standard and late entry periods, to encourage filmmakers to submit before the last 24 hours. All the money from entry fees goes towards supporting filmmakers with our awards.

What is the time commitment if I enter The Pitch?

If your entry makes the final ten then you will want to be available for the residential training in December and of course the Finalists’ weekend in January.

If you win The Pitch then you need to be as flexible as possible in terms of getting the film made. The amount of time may depend on your role – a writer may not need to be as available as a director, for example. We understand everyone has to make a living and many people have family commitments. The film does have to be made in the first six months following the Finalists’ Weekend, though, so please bear that in mind. Don’t book a cruise or anything.

Is The Pitch only based in the UK?

The Pitch Film Fund accepts submissions from all over the world, but you must be eligible to work in the UK and willing to cover your own travel costs. More on this at the T&Cs.

Do you accept submissions year-round?

We currently don’t have capacity to accept submissions year-round or unsolicited material. Despite that, we are always up for a chat if you want to discuss an idea.

I can't log in, what should I do?

Gnash your teeth, weep and then make sure you have done the following:

Checked you have entered the correct email address (sorry, we don’t mean to be insulting, but it’s an easy mistake to make).
Make sure you have typed your password correctly. Passwords are case sensitive, so make sure your CAPS LOCK is not on. We’ve all done this, there’s no shame here.
If you have forgotten your password, simply click the ‘Forgot your password?’ button under the login section.
If you still can’t log in then contact us at [email protected] and we’ll try to help.

I forgot my password, how do I recover it?

Click the ’Forgot your password?’ button under the login section (you can do it!). Then enter your email address and wait for an email which will contain your password.

Technical Specifications

This is where we go on about the fiddly technical stuff to do with encoding your video etc. None of these are formed as questions, so just imagine there’s an upward inflection at the end of each sentence – as if you are Canadian.

Video

For best results, we recommend using H.264 (sometimes referred to as MP4).

Uploading and converting your video may take some time, often several minutes depending on your connection speed and the file size of your video, so once you submit your pitch please do give it time to complete this process.

You will be able to view your pitch once it's uploaded, to check it's working, by logging into your account.

Wlmp files

A wlmp file is a Windows Live Movie Maker Project file, which may be used on your local computer – if you have a PC – to link your images, videos and audio files into a timeline to create the video. Once you have your timeline in the project file ready, you will need to use 'File' > 'Export video file' (or similar) to export the timeline into a useable video format.

Frame rate: 24, 25, or 30 FPS

It’s best to encode your video at the frame rate you shot it at – unless that exceeds 30FPS (frames per second), in which case you should encode it at half that frame. For example, if you shot 60 FPS, you should encode at 30 FPS (and who are you, Peter Jackson?)

Data rate: 2000 kbps (SD), 5000 kbps (HD)

This setting controls both the visual quality of the video and its file size. In most video editors this is measured in kilobits per second (kbps). Use 2000 kbps for standard definition or 5000 kbps for high definition video.

Resolution: 640x480 (SD), 1280x720 (HD)

Choose 640×480 for 4:3 SD video, 640×360 for 16:9 SD video, and 1280×720 or 1920×1080 for HD. If you have the option to control the pixel aspect ratio (not the display aspect ratio), make sure it's set to '1:1' or '1.00', sometimes referred to as 'square pixels'.

Audio

For best results we recommend using AAC for the audio codec. The highest quality audio rate we currently support is 320 kbps. 44.1 kHz is the highest audio sample rate we currently support.