Published: January 11, 2021 | Last Updated: November 13, 2025
Getting funding for your projects and collaborators can be extremely difficult. Even if you’re looking to sell an idea, it can be difficult to illustrate the concept you believe to others. This is where having a creative deck comes in handy.
A creative deck is a slideshow or presentation that serves as a mood board and illustrates the basic story of your idea.
Creative decks are used for various media ideas, from movies to television and podcasts. If you have a meeting with a producer, actors, or any potential collaborators, this is a great way to show how serious you are about your idea and get them excited.
Often, creative decks are shared outside of in-person meetings.
They can serve a similar function to film treatments (you can read how to write film treatments here) as a first look to interest people and, due to their visual nature, often are more effective at catching attention.
What Is In A Pitch Deck?
A creative deck includes a title page, an overview of the story, an introduction of the main characters, and often a slide at the end illustrating the next steps or explaining why this idea matters.
Creative decks shouldn’t be exhaustive. Typically, they are around ten slides. Going over 15 slides risks being too long, so be cautious.
Keep in mind that your overview shouldn’t be too long. A lot of the time, it can be done in one to three slides. As for character slides, you don’t need every single character. Limit it to the main protagonists and antagonists.
Finally, decks should be a visual experience. Carefully select photos that convey the mood you’re trying to get across. Long blocks of text will also get in the way of these photos, so be cautious. Pictures, in this case, really are worth more than words.
When To Use A Pitch Deck?
The first and most obvious is when you are pitching ideas in person. If you are an indie filmmaker, this can even be used when pitching an idea to your friends and peers. If you need to secure funding or help in any way, having a creative deck helps get people on board.
However, there are many other uses for this as well. Creative decks are often sent via email as a first look at an idea.
Decks can also be sent alongside treatments or scripts. While it is always risky to send unsolicited material if you have a script requested and a creative deck to accompany it, that can help get the reader more excited.
Finally, if you have a high-concept story, such as a fantasy or sci-fi one, a creative deck is hugely important in conveying tone.
Sometimes, at first glance, it can be difficult to ascertain who the audience is for certain ideas, whether they’re a comedy or drama, or if they’re grounded or more imaginative. Still, if you include pictures to accompany it, those questions most likely will be answered at first glance.
Related Reading: How to Create a Creative Brief?
How To Make A Pitch Deck
There are many different ways to make a pitch deck, which can be as simple or complicated as needed.
I started making decks in college using PowerPoint. It’s a straightforward program, but you can still get a lot done with it.
The images in this article are all from an example pitch deck made in PowerPoint. You can download and use the PowerPoint template here for free:
Overlaying images, using simple but effective borders, and carefully selecting text can be enough.
Keep it simple!
Honestly, it’s better to be simple than to complicate things overly. The best thing you can do is be consistent. If your deck looks messy, people will think your idea is too.
As I made more decks, I started using Adobe Photoshop and InDesign.
Depending on your circumstances, adding lighting, shadows, and other effects can help set your idea apart.
It certainly isn’t necessary and will hurt your pitch if done poorly, yet attention to detail is always appreciated and shows that you take your idea seriously.
Some more important notes are to try and include your logline. Having this on the first or second slide will get your concept recognized quickly.
Don’t hold off information!
Don’t try to hold off important information for a reveal.
You’re trying to sell yourself right now, so make your introduction as interesting as possible.
Pay attention to the characters and actors.
Additionally, be careful about how you describe your characters. It can help to have pictures of actors and characters from other movies that fill a similar role. That said, don’t expect to have an actor.
Make it diverse so that there are plenty of options. Especially if you pitch to a studio, you don’t know people’s relationships, and it may not be a great idea to be hung up on one actor.
Even if you’re an indie filmmaker and can’t get well-known actors, having well-known faces to communicate a certain type is very effective and can excite potential financiers.
Some Common Mistakes
I’ve seen a lot of creative decks that have missed the mark for a variety of reasons.
The most common mistake people make is to include massive blocks of text. Sometimes, this is okay for the story overview, but it shouldn’t be difficult to read.
If your deck looks like your treatment and is just as wordy, then it’s pointless.
Try to make it as concise as possible. It should be exciting and engaging, and if there are any questions, you can answer them later.
Make it easy on the eyes!
Another problem is simple things that make presentations hard to look at. Pick readable fonts over “fun” fonts. If you’re doing a sci-fi film, a sans serif font is great, but don’t try to do the whole thing in Blade Runner text.
Also, be careful about how your images and text are aligned. The eye shouldn’t be jumping around, and there should be consistency between slides.
Borders on images can be beneficial for keeping things organized. It is also useful to make sure your text blocks are somewhat similar in size between slides.
Finally, make sure it’s readable. I often put an image in the background of each slide. I frequently darken the image or put a drop shadow on the text to make the text legible.
Colors like white, yellow, or black are often the most readable. If necessary, you can put your text over a solid-colored background.
Things To Keep In Mind While Pitching
When you’re presenting your deck, it’s a pitch. You will be selling people on your film, so it’s important to illustrate how much you care about your idea. To do this, utilize common presenting tactics to make things interesting.
Don’t read exactly what’s on your deck. You will most likely be giving or have already given your audience a copy, so make it more personal. Go a bit off the book and make it sound natural. It can also help to ask questions and engage the audience.
Another way to keep the audience engaged is to draw parallels. Just like it’s useful to have recognizable actors on your character slides, it can be handy to give some well-known examples of films that are in a similar genre to yours.
That said, the most important thing is to communicate why your film is unique and necessary. Doing so is a very effective way to end a pitch.
Conclusion
I hope that clarifies what a creative deck is and how it can be used. There are many different ways to make one, and a lot of it depends on the scope of the project and personal preference.
In my experience, the abovementioned tactics have been the most effective at getting positive feedback. If you’re starting in the industry, designing good creative decks is a huge selling point if you’re looking for assistant work.
A creative deck has so many different uses, and I strongly recommend making one for every script or idea you intend to share.
In fact, making these can help clarify your idea and tone. It’s a great creative exercise, and it starts to get quite easy after you make a couple.
Read Next: What’s a Movie Synopsis?
