Reading this post by Jay Rosen in PressThink this morning, it sure is clear the Film Biz is besieged with many of the same problems and misconceptions as Journalism is. My thoughts below are a reflection through my lens of what Rosen wrote on his site:
Good stories are built on commitment & focus — which is very hard to do when you have to do something else to earn a living. We can’t just rely on each
Let’s say you produce a prize-winning director. And they just won a very big award. They have a story they wrote that have wanted to make, and now they can basically write their own ticket to do whatever it is they want to do. This story has the possibility of casting big stars and shooting in glorious locations. You know it will be a fun shoot, and well funded.
The question is not whether you do that movie or not. Of course you do. You’re going to get paid well (which is rare these days), and have some real fun working with people you like in a place you have always wanted to be. What could be better than that?
The question is what happens when the film is finalized in terms of picture and sound. What if the film is just not good? Not up to the director’s previous work?
By Melanie Coombs
FIRST TIME AT THE FEST: 20 Guidelines* for a successful Market or Festival (*Producers don’t do Rules; ‘everything is negotiable’)
Over the last decade I have assisted new Producers as they attend their first market or festival. Here are 20 tips to help you enjoy the event while looking after yourself, your project and your professional reputation.
1. PRODUCING IS NOT COOL – tragically for us all, if you haven’t been completely humiliated you probably haven’t really financed your project. Be warm, not cool, and be all the things that make you a Producer – an Advocate, an Enthusiast, an Eccentric, a Charmer and an Artist.
2. PRODUCING IS NOT A COMPETITIVE SPORT – help each other. It is so rare that you are ever genuinely competing with your fellow producers – you have different taste, projects, Directors and are approaching different investors at different times. By working as a friendly colleague you will not only help others but will get their help in return. And you wont be alone as you go about the often frightening business of pitching into the marketplace for the first time.
3. DO NOT PITCH UNLESS ASKED TO DO SO.
by Katherine Bruens
I work professionally as a Producer and Production Manager in the advertising industry and independent film world here in San Francisco. I am also one half of a partnership that has produced three micro budget features here. Rather than become frustrated that the market in San Francisco has demanded that I spread my attention between these three worlds, I’ve embraced this hybrid. This market gives me a way not only to maintain my freedom to usher forward new personally driven works, but it also allows me to produce media through a broad spectrum of strategies, sometimes with vastly different amounts of money. What’s more, in the end these projects are all trying to achieve a similar result.
I recently did some lectures in Australia & New Zealand. Being asked to speak, gives me a chance to reflect. One or two days of 6-7 hr marathon lectures leads me to want to be able to sum it all up. This exercise in summation is one of futility, but that does not stop me from trying.
What have I learned over the years? What can be done to make better films? What can be done to make a better film industry and culture that actually supports & benefits the creators and appreciators of ambitious and diverse film? How can our culture actually lift up our world? I don’t pretend to know the answers, but I have fortunately learned some things (and I believe in sharing, declaring, and collaborating).
Yesterday, we ran part one. All of this is courtesy of Andrew Einspruch and Screen Hub. And of course Screen Australia who brought me to Sydney for a two day lecture last month. Today: part two. (P.S. There are 98 more parts to this lecture but it requires a few more trips to Sydney before I can spit it out!)
by Andrew Einspruch
“For Hope, who is a producer is pretty simple. It is the person there from the beginning of the project to its end.” Daunting but true, and Andrew Einspruch tracked his definition for being there down to his feeling for percentages.
As Ted Hope made abundantly clear on the second day of Hope for Film, effective feature film producers have to know a lot of stuff, and have to keep at it to learn more. Here’s a brief list of things he rattled off:
– Dramaturgy and script development
– Breadth of available actors and crew
– How to maintain the line during production
– How to elevate a project during its creation
– A solid business and financial background in the media space so you can determine the value of what you are creating, and then do that evaluation.
– Who the foreign sales companies are and their reputations (Hope’s own list has 72 on it).
– The meanings of the various film festivals, and what it means to launch at one vs. another.
– How to manage the 90+ territories that are out there (generally sold as about 60).
– The different digital platforms that are out there, and how they can help you sell your film.
– Having big opinions on marketing and distribution, and the wisdom to know you are not always right.
– What brings people together to create an audience.
It is an overwhelming list of knowledge and understanding. “The nice thing is that there is probably no one out there that can answer all those questions,” said Hope. “But it doesn’t stop you from striving to hit it and to try to have the best practices available to you.”
