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#pipelinewriters there was a request during the last happy hour that I start a thread on pitch decks. I have years of experience making decks for clients. So I'll post some things I've learned that I think will apply to our #writingcommunity. Be forewarned, this is super long.
Also, I will structure these bi-weekly, and we can go through this process together! So this first thread will be about 4 choices: Software, Size, Animation, & Aesthetic. To effectively start, you will have to have make these decisions.
You will have to decide on which software to use. The top three are PowerPoint, Keynote, and Google Slides. I think all are fine, but I typically work in PowerPoint. If you see me mention something in PPT, there will be something on YT that translates into what you are using.
Lastly, honorable mention goes to the Adobe cloud suite, which is helpful but generally the most expensive, and has a bit of a learning curve. I would recommend the Adobe route only if you are comfortable with their product suite and will focus on an animated show.
Also, I will do considerations or pros and cons for every decision here. So some factors for the choice aside from cost will be what you are most comfortable with? What have you used in the past? Projection and Distribution?
I think the desktop apps(PPT & Keynote) are generally more tactically responsive and can do a lot more processing for larger files, due to local handling on your computer. If you love autosaving to the cloud & need access across multiple devices and collaboration, G Slides wins.
All are equal if you are deciding on sharing/distributing in PDF format. Lastly, if you use the Adobe suite, you will probably be converting into one of these formats, PDF, or a video for sharing.
For projection in conference rooms, most projectors are tool agnostic. Though I give a slight edge to PPT for connecting to conference room systems. Whenever that starts back up. :-)
I don’t know why but occasionally, I've seen some trouble sharing from Macs in conf rooms. You WILL need to project in PPT, Keynote, and Slides if you want to display animation in your deck as the PDF format will not show that. For my example, we will use ppt.
Ok, next decision. Standard size(4:3) or widescreen(16:9)? The newest versions of PPT and G Slides are defaulted to 16:9. Keynote defaults to 4:3. Considerations for this will be: Distribution, Projection, and Appropriateness.
I've heard some folks say that 4:3 is easier to read for execs on tablets? Not sure how true that is? I believe if you are sending in PDF, it won't matter. They will default to a view on whatever their Adobe reader settings are.
For printing, I think the edge goes to 16:9. When printed and bound the slides just look better in this format, especially with the bigger paper.
Projection- Most of the physical projectors in the enterprise environment(especially at hotels) are older. Even if the screens are capable of handling 16:9 the projector may not. If you have 16:9 and want to project with an older projector, it will automatically be letterboxed.
Honestly, what a studio or company uses won't matter BECAUSE you can change it! Yes, seriously, you can convert back and forth as needed!!! This is available from the design tab in PPT.
For this reason, I recommend starting from 4:3 and then convert if and when needed. If starting from 16:9 -> 4:3 you may "smush" graphics and text. Also, the design reason for starting at 4:3 is that there will be a lot less negative space in 4:3, so slides won't appear empty.
Lastly, appropriateness. Sometimes you just don’t need widescreen? If your project is a period piece from the 1700s, I doubt the extra real estate on the slide is going to help much.16:9 might be good for Sci-fi and fantasy, animation within the deck, and sweeping visuals or art.
To animate or not to animate? This one is probably going to be the toughest choice. In my experience, animation is difficult because it's so easy to overdo.
Honestly, you can probably tell how adept some is in communicating in a slide medium by the animation. I personally use animation very sparingly and largely to show complex sequential processes.
I think the considerations here will be based on your project. Is it a half-hour animated show? Then probably use some animation to show character movements or to pan an animated landscape. You may not need it for a lot. Same for sci-fi/fantasy.
Time might also be a factor here. Hate using the 1700s example again but animation didn’t exist in that original time period. Why would it exist in your deck now? If you do use animation, understand that it will be challenging convey in print or distribute in PDF.
Another thing on animation, you will have to practice your pitch's vocal timing to animation, especially if you have a lot. You don’t want to be talking while a really cool animation is happening on screen. Why would you? You spent all that time and effort for the impact!
Lol, still reading? Aesthetic - this one is also hard and very project-oriented. @JLisaJay had a thread recently about fonts for the title. Use them in your deck too! I recommend using that font for the first page of the deck. Then switch to a more readable font for rest of it.
Your overall aesthetic should tie into the thematic elements of the show. So Courier New would have been perfect for a pitch deck for 'Episodes'. Some other things to think about for aesthetic is the color choices.
If you are familiar with filming, think of how you would color grade your project. Maybe use similar colors? This one will take a lot of research, especially if your project is set in the future or the past.
All around awesome guy @smiley_jayson mentions looking at up to a million pics for a pitch deck. Yeah, it's that involved. Luckily, you can google the top fonts and color palette for a specific decade or time period.
I think the key here is to make sure there is harmony between your story and your images, fonts, and color choices. For my deck, I have something in an 80s' newsroom, so I can't make my deck look like Bladerunner 2049.
Here are some resources to help build your first title slide. Please note, I'm not affiliated with any of these companies. I won't do stock images, because I think most are familiar with the common resources.
https://youexec.com/ - Has awesome FREE slides in various formats. This is also a good resource if you want to see what is considered a good current aesthetic: Clean lines, crisp animation, max visual impact. Just follow their attribution rules or use for inspiration.
https://infograpia.com/ - Same as above(and less free) but more focused on infographics. If you are also doing the business side of your pitch deck, like marketing or merchandising projections and tie-ins, go here.
https://www.flaticon.com/ - If you have a lot of icons in a deck, head over here. Things that can be found here are road signs, app or device screen mockups, stick figures, screen icons of real world companies, etc.
https://fontsinuse.com/ - This is a font archive and can help you search popular fonts for geographic areas or time periods. They also do it by industry. Is your show set in car shop in the 50s'? GO HERE! You will find out what font to use on the sign outside and the mags inside.
https://www.myfonts.com - Ok, you found the fonts you need. Now you need just a couple of words written like the title in that font. Use this place for its preview feature. Cool, now you don’t need to install a whole font package!
Ok. Hope this is helpful! I'll post my choices and an image of my first slide this week. Happy Writing!
