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The Pitch

#16 - Interview with Actor & Filmmaker Adam Sinclair

38 min episode · 2 min read
·
Interview With Actor

Episode

38 min

Read time

2 min

Topics

Career Growth, Relationships, Fundraising & VC

AI-Generated Summary

Key Takeaways

  • Aviation Career Economics: Pilots can earn $120,000 annually within three years of training for $80,000 total cost, reaching $475,000 on narrow-body aircraft and $564,000 on wide-body aircraft after four years with airlines, surpassing lawyer and doctor salaries with faster training timelines.
  • Pitch Deck Over Sizzle Reels: Invest $500 in professional pitch decks with Getty images and polished design rather than expensive sizzle reels or pilot episodes. The deck should precede meetings so executives already understand the concept, making in-person meetings about budget and partnership fit.
  • Jedi Mind Trick Pitching: Present bullet points that guide executives to believe they created the show concept themselves. Reference comparable existing shows like Last Chance U as anchors, then demonstrate differentiation. Pitch to accountants and Silicon Valley decision-makers, not creative executives, using data and flowcharts.
  • Audience Test Before Professionals: Pitch unfinished ideas to friends and non-industry contacts first to refine messaging and gauge genuine reactions. Only approach professional buyers with polished pitch decks after multiple informal pitches validate the concept has legs and you can articulate it clearly without rambling.

What It Covers

Actor Adam Sinclair discusses launching First Take Aviation flight school and The Arc docuseries, addressing aviation industry inequity where only 1.2% of pilots are African American and 3.4% are women, while detailing his TV pitch process.

Key Questions Answered

  • Aviation Career Economics: Pilots can earn $120,000 annually within three years of training for $80,000 total cost, reaching $475,000 on narrow-body aircraft and $564,000 on wide-body aircraft after four years with airlines, surpassing lawyer and doctor salaries with faster training timelines.
  • Pitch Deck Over Sizzle Reels: Invest $500 in professional pitch decks with Getty images and polished design rather than expensive sizzle reels or pilot episodes. The deck should precede meetings so executives already understand the concept, making in-person meetings about budget and partnership fit.
  • Jedi Mind Trick Pitching: Present bullet points that guide executives to believe they created the show concept themselves. Reference comparable existing shows like Last Chance U as anchors, then demonstrate differentiation. Pitch to accountants and Silicon Valley decision-makers, not creative executives, using data and flowcharts.
  • Audience Test Before Professionals: Pitch unfinished ideas to friends and non-industry contacts first to refine messaging and gauge genuine reactions. Only approach professional buyers with polished pitch decks after multiple informal pitches validate the concept has legs and you can articulate it clearly without rambling.

Notable Moment

Sinclair reveals his initial pitch deck was hastily assembled in mixed fonts as a rough draft, but his agent immediately sent it to four major studios before he could polish it, generating instant interest that forced him to professionalize the materials rapidly.

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Episode Transcript

Look, it's our ugly home. Retta is back for a historically hideous season. It's our one hundredth ugly house. This place is mayhem. That is impressive. And if these walls could talk Do you cry a lot? I do. They'd have a lot to say. What in God's name is this pit? Don't get too close. No. No. You've seen the show. I'm scared of that. Ugliest House in America, season premiere, Wednesday, January 7 at eight on HGTV. The holidays mean more travel, more shopping, more time online, and more personal info in more places that could expose you more to identity theft. But LifeLock monitors millions of data points per second. If your identity is stolen, our US based restoration specialists it, guaranteed, or your money back. Don't face drained accounts, fraudulent loans, or financial losses alone. Get more holiday fun and less holiday worry with LifeLock. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit lifelock.com/podcast. Terms apply. Hi. Welcome to another episode of Pitch, connecting storytellers with the world. I'm Leah Saint Marie. And I'm Angel. And today, we have a friend of ours on the podcast, Adam Sinclair. Hello. Welcome. Adam, you're known for Rosolian Isles, Ecstasy, '24. The list goes on and on and on. As an actor. As an actor, please. Yes. And we have an we have an interesting back story. We met on set two, three years ago. It's not that long ago, is it? Yeah. Jesus. Johnny Maroney. Yeah. The time is flying. Two, I think, two, maybe two and a half. Two and a half years ago, because I've been to two of your birthdays. So that's two. My goodness. Wow. I was young a young web person after when you met me. Yeah. I held up a video on YouTube of bow tie tying to help you tie that bow tie. That's that's when we connected. That's correct. This was on set? This was on set. But I also, accidentally had him come to set early because I was line producing a thing. I called him in. Do you remember this? 7AM call. I wasn't used till lunch day after lunch. I felt awful. It's pretty standard. So It's not, like, out of the ordinary for talent. I made up for it. I got him some alcohol. Did I throw a tantrum? No. You were very lovely. Good. I I bought you alcohol. That's really why I did throw a tantrum. Which, then we did a short film together, all three of us. Yes. It was a lot of fun. That was a that was a good time. Two dresses. Up in Malibu. Right? Yeah. Lovely Malibu. My bullshit jiu jitsu. In Malibu. Yeah. It was an romantic time. Yeah. Kevin's gonna have it on the website soon, actually. Oh, great. Yeah. So for our listeners out there, check out Adam Sinclair and Me, in a short film directed by Leah entitled Two Dresses. Two Dresses. What's the quick …

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  • Reference comparable existing shows like Last Chance U as anchors, then demonstrate differentiation.
  • Actor Adam Sinclair discusses launching First Take Aviation flight school and The Arc docuseries, addressing aviation industry inequity

company

  • Actor Adam Sinclair discusses launching First Take Aviation flight school and The Arc docuseries, addressing aviation industry inequity where only 1.2% of pilots are African American and 3.4% are women

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