SOLAIRE PITCHUP MATERIALS PREPARATION GUIDE
What to provide according to your project stage and route
This guide explains the information, documents and creative assets Solaire PitchUp needs from you to prepare your project package. You do not need to write the finished Solaire PitchUp presentation yourself. Provide clear, accurate source material and Solaire PitchUp will structure, edit and position the relevant information for professional presentation.
Requirements vary according to your role, the project's current stage and what you are seeking. Begin by identifying your route, then provide the core and route-dependent materials relevant to your project.
YOUR ROLE
WHO ARE YOU IN RELATION TO THE PROJECT?
- Writer seeking a producer
You have written the screenplay and want a producer or production company to develop the project and move it towards production.
- Writer offering a screenplay for option or acquisition
You are offering rights to a producer, production company or buyer. An option gives them exclusive rights for an agreed period; an acquisition involves purchasing the relevant rights.
- Writer-producer
You are both the writer and actively developing the project as a producer.
- Producer or production company
You are developing or controlling the project as its producer.
- Other
Briefly explain your relationship to the project.
CHOOSE YOUR ROUTE
WHERE IS THE PROJECT NOW?
- Screenplay seeking a producer
- Screenplay available for option or acquisition
- Writer-producer project in development
- Producer-led project in development
- Packaged production seeking finance
- Packaged production seeking commissioning
- Production seeking sales or distribution
WHAT ARE YOU SEEKING?
- Lead producer
- Option or acquisition
- Development finance
- Production finance
- Co-producer
- Commissioner / broadcaster / streamer
- Sales agent
- Distributor
Your project status and objective determine which additional production, finance and market materials are relevant.
WHEN DO I NEED PRODUCTION MATERIALS?
The materials you need depend on who is taking responsibility for developing the production and what decision you are seeking next.
WRITER SEEKING A PRODUCER OR OPTION / ACQUISITION
You are not expected to provide a detailed production budget, shooting schedule or finance plan. Your immediate objective is to secure the producer or company that will take the screenplay into production development.
WRITER-PRODUCER / PRODUCER-LED PROJECT
As the project advances towards production, the screenplay is broken down scene by scene. The breakdown informs the shooting schedule; the schedule informs the production budget; and the budget becomes a foundation for the finance plan.
SEEKING DEVELOPMENT FINANCE
A complete production schedule and budget may not yet be required. Development finance may be used to advance the project towards detailed production planning, packaging, budgeting and finance readiness.
SEEKING PRODUCTION FINANCE
A credible shooting schedule and production budget will normally be required so that financiers can understand how the production will be delivered and how its costs have been calculated.
THE PRODUCTION PLANNING ORDER
SCREENPLAY → SCRIPT BREAKDOWN → SHOOTING SCHEDULE → PRODUCTION BUDGET → FINANCE PLAN
Script Breakdown → Indicative Shooting Schedule → Preliminary Budget Extract
CORE MATERIALS
Provide the following information as accurately and completely as possible. PitchUp will use it as source material when preparing your package.
PROJECT
- Project title
- Format
- Genre
- Language
- Country / principal production territory where known
- Development status
- Rights / ownership status
CREATOR
- Writer / creator
- Your role in the project
- Contact details
- Website / IMDb where relevant
- Exact project credits
CREATIVE MATERIALS
- Logline
- Synopsis
- Selected screenplay sample
- Visual materials
- Character pitch material
- Relevant creator information
Production company, budget, financing, attachments, schedule and market materials are not universal requirements. Provide them where they exist and are relevant to the route being pursued.
PROJECT INFORMATION & CREDITS
REQUIRED CORE DETAILS
- Project title
- Writer / creator
- Your role in the project
- Format
- Genre
- Language
- Country
- Development status
- Rights / ownership status
- What you are seeking
- Contact details
- Website / IMDb if relevant
- Exact project credits
WHERE APPLICABLE
- Production company
- Estimated or confirmed budget
- Finance secured
- Existing attachments
- Co-production partners
- Commissioner / broadcaster
- Sales or distribution relationships
Be accurate about what is confirmed, what is in development and what is still being sought.
ROUTE-DEPENDENT MATERIALS
These materials are requested only where they already exist or are appropriate to the project's current stage. Do not create production or finance information simply to make the project appear more advanced.
SEEKING A PRODUCER OR OPTION / ACQUISITION
Prioritise:
- Professional screenplay
- Strong story materials
- Rights / ownership clarity
- Creator authority and connection to the material
- Relevant track record or expertise
- Comparables and evidence-based positioning
- Clear statement of what is being sought
WRITER-PRODUCER / PRODUCER-LED DEVELOPMENT
Add where sufficiently developed:
- Production approach
- Key attachments
- Preliminary script breakdown
- Indicative shooting schedule
- Preliminary budget range
- Funding strategy
- Co-production strategy
SEEKING FINANCE
Add:
- Production budget
- Shooting schedule
- Finance plan
- Finance secured
- Remaining finance gap
- Intended use of funds
- Confirmed attachments
- Rights documentation
- Appropriate due diligence materials
SEEKING COMMISSIONING / SALES / DISTRIBUTION
Add where relevant:
- Market positioning
- Priority audiences and territories
- Route to market
- Confirmed production and finance status
- Key attachments
- Sales / distribution proposition
- Relevant commercial evidence
PitchUp asks for what is materially relevant to the next professional decision.
VISUAL MATERIALS
Please provide approximately 15–25 high-resolution images showing how you envisage your project.
Include, where relevant:
- Principal protagonist(s)
- Antagonist or opposing force
- Important supporting characters
- Key character relationships or groupings
- Principal locations and environments
- Important scenes or story moments
- Period, costume and character styling
- Interiors and production design
- Important objects, technology, creatures or visual motifs
- Images establishing the overall tone, atmosphere and visual style
Landscape 16:9 images are preferred wherever possible. Please label images clearly with the character, location or scene they represent.
Provide only categories that are relevant to your project; visual materials should clarify the creative proposition rather than fill a quota.
CHARACTER PITCH VIDEO
Provide a three-minute pitch narration in the voice of one or more characters.
Choose, for example:
- Protagonist
- Antagonist
- Protagonist + antagonist
- Protagonist + mentor
Guidelines:
- Clearly identify who delivers each section
- Characters appear one at a time — no conversations or dialogue exchanges
- Characters speak directly to the viewer
- Convey the premise, conflict, stakes and tone in each character's own distinctive voice
Solaire PitchUp will use this material to create the character-led pitch video.
The character pitch should reveal the project through a distinctive dramatic voice. Avoid simply repeating the written synopsis.
SAMPLE OF WORK
Provide an 8–15 page PDF containing a carefully selected sample of your strongest screenplay material.
Choose one of the following:
- One continuous sequence
- Two to three strong scenes
Your sample should demonstrate:
- Character
- Dialogue
- Conflict
- Tone
- Dramatic potential
- Use standard screenplay formatting
- Include the project title and writer's name on the document
- Do not submit the complete screenplay
PitchUp will link this PDF directly from the finished project package.
Select material that demonstrates the project at its strongest rather than attempting to summarise the entire screenplay.
YOUR CONNECTION TO THE PROJECT
Help us understand why you are specifically equipped to tell this story. Answer these questions candidly and concisely. Solaire PitchUp will use your answers to develop the creator positioning within the finished package.
INCLUDE:
- What drew you to this story?
- What personal, professional, intellectual or emotional connection do you have to the material?
- What experience, expertise, research or access strengthens your authority?
- What perspective do you bring that is distinctive?
- Why have you committed to developing this project?
PROFESSIONAL TRACK RECORD
Where relevant, provide:
- Previous film, television or writing credits
- Professional experience
- Awards, selections or recognition
- Specialist expertise
- Previous projects
- Relevant collaborators or professional relationships
First-time screen creators are not expected to manufacture a production track record. Relevant professional, specialist, lived or research experience may provide meaningful creator authority.
EVIDENCE OVER ADJECTIVES
Commercial positioning should be supported rather than asserted. Avoid describing a project as highly commercial, globally appealing, timely, unique or strongly positioned without explaining the basis for that claim.
WHERE RELEVANT, SUPPORT POSITIONING WITH:
- Appropriate comparables
- Audience evidence
- Genre performance
- Territory relevance
- Subject or cultural relevance
- Existing audience or IP
- Festival, broadcaster, streamer or distributor context
- Credible market or industry research
Provide the evidence, sources or relevant information available to you. PitchUp will assess how strongly that evidence supports the project's commercial positioning and how it should be presented.
State what the evidence demonstrates. Do not overstate what it proves.
Further Reading
Explore related Solaire guides and resources.
A structured self-assessment to help you evaluate whether your project is ready for professional pitching.
An interactive tool to measure how prepared your project is across key creative, commercial and production criteria.
Step-by-step guidance on how to submit your screenplay to Solaire PitchUp, including formatting and materials requirements.
Browse a selection of projects that have been packaged and presented through the Solaire PitchUp process.
Learn about the writers, directors and producers who work with Solaire PitchUp and how to join the community.