Monsters of Men Pitch Deck
In this project, I created a pitch deck for the screenplay Monsters of Men by George Lin. Working closely with Lin, I produced a highly polished piece he could present to potential investors that conveyed key elements of the screenplay with strong visual storytelling.
Brief
This project’s scope was a roughly 30 page look-book style pitch deck to bring Lin’s passion project, Monsters of Men, to life. Working at NBC, he’s surrounded by myriads of media but this time, he put himself in the creator role. In Monsters of Men, Lin channels the compelling storytelling of psychological thrillers and combines it with the striking visual elements of highbrow horror. I had the pleasure of reading the script then bringing it to life in this graphic pitch deck.
“A vagrant, still reeling from the harrowing aftermath of childhood sexual abuse, seeks out his rehabilitated abusers to forgive them, but when he learns they never truly reformed, his earnest mission of forgiveness transforms into a plight of vengeance that unexpectedly reaches the highest levels of society’s elites.”
— Monsters of Men Logline, George Lin
Ideation & Exploration
To begin, George told me about films that visually inspire him including many from Wes Anderson and A24 studios. We also reviewed some pitch deck templates he had considered using before deciding to reach out to a designer for help. He also shared dozens of images that embodied the look and feel he wants his screenplay to convey. Many of these ended up in the final deck.
George and I agreed that the deck should feel immersive and can visually tell just as much – if not more – than the written elements. As such, nearly all of the inspiration for this project came from the script itself. I spent time researching elements that would appear as props in the film including the New Jersey State Police website, sex offender registries, and camcorder UI elements to work into the deck as Collin, the main character, walks investors through his story.
Design Process
Once I was thoroughly familiar with the screenplay, I began sifting through images and deciding which were most representative of Lin’s vision for Monsters of Men and tied into the copy he provided for the summary of the film.
In version 1, I focused on laying the conceptual groundwork so I could ensure Lin and I were on the same page. He provided about 1,000 images that inspired him so at this point we were able to connect, making sure that any which were particularly special to him made it into the final design. I also provided three different concepts to for the cover that we discuss and refine to guarantee an impactful first impression.
For the final version, Lin and I agreed that we could take some of the defining elements a step further. The camcorder elements were somewhat vague so I added a table of contents that resembles a setup menu, corner framing, and a battery that depletes throughout the deck until it encounters a “battery defect” at the end, prompting the viewer to contact the manufacturer (George Lin). I also edited many of the images to create stronger cohesion and harmony, pushing the theme of “gritty but pretty” and transitioning to the darkest portion of the deck, “red for dread.”
Results
The result of this project was a 38 page pitch deck to walk investors through Monsters of Men, outlining the plot, Lin’s goals as a filmmaker, and other key elements including the look, tone, characters, and comparables.