pitch, fundraising, videoI need to create a 1-minute video pitch for an entrepreneurship contest that I’m entering. The problem is, I’ve never done anything like this before.
I know what I want to say in terms of the “big three”: the problem I’m solving, how I’m solving it, and how I plan to monetize my solution. I even have a working demo (it’s a web platform), so the product itself is somewhat “proven”.
One possibility is that I just put on a suit and give a 30-second pitch followed by 30 seconds of demo.
But the medium of video is so much richer than anything I’m used to designing.
Should I film in a studio, or some place more lively?
How can I come up with a soundtrack that isn’t cheesy?
Should I try to get footage with potential customers?
I have no experience with filmmaking, and would be borrowing a camera from a friend.
In short, how can I best take advantage of film medium to convey my pitch?
Get It Done: Producing video content takes time, and for some, lots of time. Create a video production schedule, and stick to it.
Get Help: If you need tips, checkout the Stack Exchange for Video Production.
Know Your Audience: Core part of this is knowing any rules that are required. Next, if it’s possible, if they’ve posted advice on what to do, give some serious thought to it.
Just Be You: It’s hard to believe, but nothing is worst than being a fake - just be you. One key exception to this is you don’t smile, give it a try, and just make sure you know how to “fake smile”.
Get to the Point: If you’re hoping someone is going to watch your video all the way through, don’t waste the first 20-30 seconds with some special effect intro – give them the core points and a reason to keep watching too.
Make the Ask, then Make It Again: Always surprises me that some people forget to directly ask for what they want. Ask for what you want, and make sure you repeat it too.
Copyright Infringement: Pretty simple, don’t do it.
You might find a few creative ideas and figure out "do"s and "don't"s by watching, for example, student competition videos, such as these. Try watching them as a "judge", you'll probably notice what might work.
As a bonus, you could probably enlist one of the video authors to help you at a reasonable expense.
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