Expanding the Five Finger Pitch

In this second week, let’s continue to work with the story we developed for our Five Finger Pitch, which should loosely conform to the model for the character-driven three act screenplay.

In this exercise, let’s fill it out to a full Ten Finger or Two Handed Pitch. The first five fingers remain the same. That part of the pitch focuses on the story’s lead character, the setup and your approach to the material. To fill out the story in more detail, let’s use the other hand. These five points will focus on the details of our story’s “Has Trouble Getting it” and follows through to a resolution.

If you used your own story for the Five Finger Pitch but are finding it too challenging, in the time frame of this course, to complete this extension exercise with that story, do feel free to switch to a film you already know.

• The Thumb will summarise the first half of the second act. It’s all about the protagonist heading off with the original plan. At this point, the action may go more or less to plan, despite the obstacles.
• The Index Finger will address the story’s midpoint. Events at a story’s midpoint often address the changes that occur within the protagonist(s). Until this point, the audience may see the characters more clearly than they see themselves. Midpoint action often forces the characters to recognise their own changes, bringing some of the internal wants and desires to the surface. It may be falling in love, growing to trust another character, or perhaps seeing someone else as a fraud or bad influence. At this point, the characters often must take note of their inner needs, as well as the external goal that drives the plot.
• The Middle Finger will summarise the second half of the story, right up to the crisis moment, when everything goes wrong. As the story moves toward a conclusion the range of options narrows and the obstacles or opponents begin to close in on the character. If it leads up to a victory, it will be a false victory. In most cases, it leads to near disaster.

• The Fourth Finger covers the character’s moment of doubt and change, which sets him or her off to the final confrontation.
• The Pinky Finger describes the story’s climax, the final events, confrontation or action that will, once and for all, resolve the story question.

In the next step you will have the opportunity to create and share your Ten Finger Pitch.

Michael Lengsfield