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.”
