The Elevator Pitch

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When we were first assigned this project, we were at a loss for what process to create. We felt overwhelmed with the infinite possibilities of processes we could duplicate. What would stand out more so than just duplicating daily, mundane routines? From our viewings, “The Smokehouse” and “Scriptures” were completely different processes, yet they both represented an event—whether it is something that occurs daily or infrequently—in a very creative way. While working with a partner, we were able to combine our creative minds to develop a process that was less common and more innovative. However, it is still a process that has a beginning, middle, and end and tells the narrative of an act of human labor, whether that act be quite rare. We were inspired by our 30-second elevator pitch for our next project: The Historical Story. We recreated the process of entering an elevator, running into someone famous—in this case our made up film critic named Benjamin Thevenin—, pitching a 30-second pitch for a movie, and being embarrassingly rejected.

Recording an event that does not occur often is interesting because it puts into perspective the unpredictability of daily life. While this process was staged, we tried to stay true to what a real chance encounter in an elevator may have been like. The fact that this process is only an audio piece makes it that much more difficult to clearly demonstrate our process. However, it forces the audience to personalize the process and create their own meaning. Similar to the silent film “L'arrivée d'un train en Gare de la Ciotat,” where the audience must imagine what the train would sound like as it comes into the station, our audience must visually imagine the scene we set up for them sonically. Just as everyone knows what the sound of a train sounds like, we can all imagine what an elevator pitch would possibly look like. However, each person has minute differences in what they hear or what they see due to past experiences they may have had with either a train or an encounter in an elevator.

For our process, we found an elevator with typical “elevator sounds,” such as indicator beeping and the voice of a woman repeating the floors we pass. Because there was no elevator music, we decided to add to the ambiance and create our own elevator music, simulating the stereotypical elevator experience. We used an additional person to be the “pitch-giver,” who recreated the fake scene with their own improvised dialogue, adding to the spontaneity of this type of situation. After multiple takes due to unexpected outside elements, our finished product turned out to be truly representative of our chosen process. Every sound within the 60-second piece added to the visual authenticity of our process. Whether it is played out on a screen or heard through audio recording, our understanding of the given process and our creative imaginations inspire us to visualize the process in our own unique way.