The Pitch
The Pitch is a 23-minute short film within the family friendly drama genre. Official selections include twenty-four festivals, with ten major festival wins and ten nominations including best director, best young performer in a short film, cinematography, best music score, and best student film.
Ten-year-old Madison Halley is the star Pitcher of The Comets. Her father is the team manager and raised Madison to pitch, play ball, and to “never quit." Yet, he secretly plans to divorce his wife and leave Madison.
In the midst of the championship game a mysterious legend from baseball’s past brings Madison a chance to see the reality of her parent's relationship, and to influence her father at his darkest hour.
For Madison Halley, everything in life comes down to the last pitch.
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Colin SpriggDirector
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Colin SpriggWriter
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Colin SpriggProducer
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San San OnglatcoProducer
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Kate Rees DaviesProducer
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Mart PerhachProducer
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Madelyn SpriggKey Cast
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Patrick MulderrigKey Cast
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Belinda GoosbeeKey Cast
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Colin SpriggComposer
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Project Type:Short, Student
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Genres:Drama
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Runtime:23 minutes
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Completion Date:July 31, 2013
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Production Budget:25,000 USD
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Red 1
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:Yes
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Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards, 2017Hollywood
United States
Best Director of a Student Short Film -
San Pedro International Film FestivalSan Pedro
United States
December 1, 2016
Winner Best Student Film -
Glendale International Film FestivalGlendale
United States
September 29, 2016
Rising Star Award (Madelyn Sprigg) -
The Los Angeles Movie AwardsHollywood
United States
November 16, 2016
Winner Best Student Film -
The International Film Festival of Cinematic ArtsBeverly Hills
United States
October 19, 2015
Winner Excellence in Directing a Short Film -
Action on Film FestivalMonrovia
United States
August 13, 2014
Best Young Performer in a Short Film -
The Other Venice Film FestivalVenice
United States
October 16, 2013
Best Film Score
For me, film making emerged later in life. I'm now 52, and I serve as the Director of Information and Technology at ABC Unified School District in Cerritos, CA. Combined with my creative abilities, film making proved to be a blissful integration of technology and creativity. The Pitch took me three years to complete.
I enrolled at the UCLA Extension film studies program to take film music and film production courses. This was critical to actualize my dream of creating a high quality short film.
UCLA powered my already high levels of inspiration. Taught by industry leaders willing to share their expertise, not only was this inspiring, it bridged the gap of practical knowledge I needed to integrate the varied disciplines involved with film making. I met many like-minded people at UCLA who would later contribute their talents to my film. It was an honor to have worked with the many professionals I did who contributed their talents to The Pitch.
As a young person, I won the Fullerton Union High School talent show in 1980 and 1982 for original compositions I performed on the piano. Song writing has been a part of my life since about the age of 12. It was especially rewarding to compose music for The Pitch. I studied the music of Thomas Newman and Alan Silvestri before creating twelve original cues for the film. What makes The Pitch different is, in lieu of orchestration, I retained each cue with a solo piano. I decided after much thought that the solo piano best told the intimate story of the film’s young protagonist Madison Halley.
The Pitch is a personal story for me, yet elements of it could be apart every family’s story. While not an autobiographical statement, much of the content was derived from my experiences as a manager of my daughters' All-Star softball teams, a married man, and a father of four young children. I am happily married and owe a debt of gratitude to my wife Geni for the support and time that was required to achieve the final cut of The Pitch. I hope you enjoy the story as much as I did creating it.