Five Filmmaking Producers' Skulls Serenade

You may believe a thorough knowledge of filmmaking:
Everyone think this is all very cool!
Be up in blue sky on delicate wings shaking,
Darkness eyes stave the banished carcass full...

Filmmaking - Five Good Producer Skills

You may believe a thorough knowledge of filmmaking and the entertainment industry is enough to make you a good movie producer. While it certainly helps to know the nuts and bolts of movie production, and even the details of financing and marketing a movie, that knowledge is not enough to create a good producer. It might make for a good studio executive, or other job out of the fray, but you need to develop specific skills, to help you make an independent film.

The first and most important skill you need is organization. If you were the kid who kept the minutes of the club meetings, edited the yearbook, or organized the prop-closet by era, you already have this skill. It is something that is hard to teach, but you can certainly learn it, to become more organized.

If you are the person who can’t find his keys and has no idea how much is in your checking account, you need help. Get organized. There is simply no substitute for it.

Buy a book about getting organized. I recommend “How to Get Organized When You Don’t Have The Time,” by Stephanie Culp. http://snurl.com/gqg5

Or take a Franklin - Covey course. Do whatever you have to do, but get organized.

Second, you need to be able to make decisions quickly. Despite the best planning, things change moment-to-moment during production. You will have to decide right now whether to set up the next shot despite the looming storm clouds, or to move on to another location, completely disrupting the schedule.

The best way to develop this skill is to completely bury your doubt. Know that you are in charge, any mistakes to be made are yours to make and you will suffer the consequences of bad decisions. If you act decisively, and accept blame when necessary, your cast and crew will accept your decisions unquestioningly.

Third, you must be a good negotiator. You will have to make deals for every single thing on the set - the equipment, the sets, the crew, the film stock, everything. Even if you’re borrowing your mom’s station wagon, you will have to convince her you will take good care of it, and return it washed, and with a full tank of gas. Everything will have to be negotiated.

When negotiating rates, know the maximum you can pay for any one line item on your budget and try to shave 20 or 30 percent off of it. If they negotiate up, you may still save 15 percent or so off what you expected to pay.

There is one thing you need to know when negotiating: You can always say no. If you can’t get the deal you want, just say no. Practice it. No. There is no need to be a jerk, just make it clear that you will take your business or offer elsewhere. If a crew member doesn’t want to accept your day rate, he doesn’t have to. You will find someone else (assuming you set your rate at a reasonable low-budget level).

Fourth, a producer also needs diplomacy. It’s surprising how often a film shoot devolves into a third-grade playground. In just a few short weeks, cliques form, rumors start and friendships are formed and ruined. Crew members and actors will, believe it or not, come tattle to you. Sometimes you will have to intercede in petty squabbles and personality conflicts. The trick is to smooth ruffled feathers while not making one combatant feel like you’ve taken another’s side. That will only set factions against you, and that’s the last thing you want on your set.

And fifth, of course, you will need energy. Lots and lots of energy. Caffeine helps to get you started after only a few hours sleep, but it is no substitute for real, healthy human energy. One of the things you must do during pre-production is get yourself in shape for the rigorous weeks of shooting. You’re in training, not for a sprint, but for a marathon.

Working on lower budgets, independent films often have a much tighter schedule, making for longer days and fewer days off. Take it seriously beforehand, and train like a champion. Exercise, eat healthy, and take vitamins and supplements to build your energy stores, so you can get through it.

After you have these five basic producer skills down, you will be ready to develop your knowledge of the filmmaking process and the entertainment industry, by producing a successful independent film.

Written by Angela Taylor, Hollywood producer, and a seven-time Telly Award winner. She teaches Independent Producing at http://hollywoodseminars.com.

Filmmaking Rate Card Verse

Filmmaking - Don't Pay Rate Card!

If you want to broadcast across Hollywood that you are an amateur, pay the rental company’s published rate card amounts for your production equipment. No professional pays rate card!

I don’t even know why they bother to print rate cards, except to give you an idea of the top of the price range, how high not to go in your negotiations.

You can get a deal on anything, but you have to ask. It really is as simple as that. You don’t have to know anyone or say a secret password. Just ask.

Let’s use dolly rental as an example. Now, you don’t just rent a dolly. I mean, you can, but that’s all you’ll get: the dolly. No tracks, no wheels, no camera mount, no seat—just a dolly. You want to rent a “dolly package.”

When you call to rent your dolly package, plan to shave 20% or so off rate card. Ask if they’ll throw in extra days. If you need if for eight days, ask for the weekly rate. (Usually two to four days rental).

Get the dolly first, then start adding in the extras. You need dolly track. Pay for the curved pieces, and ask for the straight ones for free or half price. Go through the entire equipment list that way.

There are two things to keep in mind when you call for a deal:

1) The equipment isn’t making any money sitting there unrented. They’d rather have it out for half price than not have it out at all.

2) They never rent at rate card. Odds are good the person you’re talking to doesn’t even know what the rate card prices are.

It’s called haggling. They do it with every single person who calls. You aren’t asking for anything special.

If you can’t get everything at the price you want, tell them you’ll have to check and get back to them. If you can call around and compare prices, do it. If you live somewhere where there’s really only one place to rent a dolly, be slow getting back to them, anyway.

When you call back, say, “Look, I just can’t go that high. Can you work with me some more on this?”

The person you are talking to wants to help. When she was eight years old, she was not saying, “When I grow up, I want to work at a production rental house.”

Odds are good that, like you, she is a filmmaker. She feels your pain and will work with you however she can.

If you’re working on an extremely limited budget, try this: Tell the person on the phone how much you can spend: “Look, I only have $1,200 budgeted for my dolly rental, and I need a jib arm, twelve feet of straight track, six feet of curved track, hard-surface wheels, and a seat, for ten days. What can you do for me?”

They’ll tell you what they can do for you. You may have to make concessions on your equipment list, but then again, you may be surprised to hear them say, “Yeah, we can do that.” You have to A-S-K to G-E-T.

Of course, there will be times when you just can’t get what you want, no matter how much sweet-talking you do. If there are a lot of shows shooting at the same time, rental houses won’t be as willing to let things go out cheap.

You still don’t have to pay standard prices, (I’m not kidding - no one pays rate card), but you may not get exactly the deal you want.

The Rolling Stones were on to something: you’ll get what you need. It’s more of a pain in the neck to work with less track, but you can do it. You may have to sacrifice the jib shot, but maybe you can get that hand-held. And maybe you can adjust the schedule so that you need the dolly less than eight days.

This process applies not only to your dolly and your grip and lighting equipment, but your post-production, as well. It’s a similar process, shaving percentages and getting extras, when you negotiate for your lab and editing.

The business of Hollywood is dealmaking. It starts when you put pen to paper. It continues through buying scripts, hiring actors and selling your movie. You have to make deals at every step along the way. Start haggling!

Angela Taylor is a Hollywood producer, and a seven-time Telly Award winner. She teaches Independent Producing at
http://hollywoodseminars.com.
© 2005 Angela Taylor, All Rights Reserved. You may forward this in its entirety to anyone you wish. Hollywood Seminars, Box 2449, Hollywood CA 90078 USA
This article is available for reprint in your ezine, website or ebook. You MUST agree not to make any changes to the article and the RESOURCE BOX MUST be included.
info@hollywoodseminars.com

Filmmaking Money Ode

Filmmaking - What To Do Until The Money Arrives

If you are not busy making your movie, you should get busy making your movie.

“How can I start,” you whine, “when I don’t have any financing?” I know it seems you can’t roll film or tape until you have some money, but your lack of funding isn’t permanent, is it? You will have money at some future time, won’t you? You must have faith that things will get better, or they won’t.

So that’s a good place to start. Generate a little faith, and step out on it. Actively visualize how your film will look, and sound, and how it will be financially successful.

Visualization is key here. It literally costs nothing, but makes the real movie possible. I recommend the book, “Creative Visualization” by Shakti Gawain. http://snurl.com/gr88

Ignore any negative people in your life, and drive yourself on faith that your movie will get done. Visualizing your movie may seem like a waste of time, but is one of the best uses of your time. Visualizing your movie is working on it.

A present lack of money should never keep you from working on your independent feature. Besides visualization, there are many things you can do until the money arrives.

Work on your script. Read it, then read it again, and rewrite it. Punch up the dialogue, fix the scenes, weed out weak characters, get to the point of each scene.

Your script is never perfect, it needs work. Working on it a terrific use of your time before financing arrives. Have parties, where you and your friends read it aloud, just like doing a radio play. Take note of audience response, and revise accordingly. After each revision, read it again, and again.

When funding comes through, you will know your script inside and out and upside down. You’ll know the scene numbers, without looking at the script.

Once your script is polished, start planning. Now you need to be as artistic as possible. Read your script again, with your Director hat on. Imagine what the players look and sound like. Make notes in the margins of your script, and figure out how you’re going to do it. For now, don’t even think about the money.

Once you’re sure how the movie will go together, start breaking the script down. Make lists of all the cast and crew and props and costumes and locations that you will need. Assemble your ideal team, on paper. Figure out how many special effects shots there are.

Then make up your preliminary schedule. Think through the shots and get a real understanding of how long setups and shots will take. Just because a shot only takes two sentences in the script, doesn’t mean it will only take twenty minutes to shoot.

Obviously, after you’ve broken down the script, and know what you’ll need to buy, then you make up your budget, last of all. Really think about each line item and do some research to determine realistic costs for crew and equipment. Call labs and rental houses and get rate sheets.

The good news is a practical budget and schedule and artwork will help you get financing. When you show Investor Prospects you’ve really put some thought into how the money will be spent, they’re much more likely to see it your way, and give you the money.

You might read “Secrets Of Raising Money For Your Movie,” by Sam Longoria, to learn how to gather and approach investor prospects.

http://secretsofraisingmoneyforyourmovie.com

You should be using your TBF (time before financing) to network. When you call those labs and rental houses, get to know the people who work there.

Ask for names, and write them down. They’ll be good resources when the time comes, to get things at a discount. Not only can they help you on rates, but they’ll know crew wanting to break into features, who will also work at lower rates.

Join a filmmaking group. A good one is IndieTalk, http://indietalk.com It’s online, and you can reach it from anywhere. Networking with other positive filmmakers gets you moral support, and you can learn from the mistakes of others. Be selective, don’t hang with people unless they have a “can do” attitude. If you let them, individuals and whole groups can waste your time! If all they want to do is argue or debate, move along.

Pitch in! Help out on other filmmakers’ shoots, to get a better idea of how a set runs, and how long setups and shots take. This helps scheduling your own film.

By lending a hand to other filmmakers, you also make deposits at the favor bank. You will need to visit the favor bank repeatedly as you make your film, so it’s best to have an account there. If you help on their projects, it will be hard for your new filmmaker friends to deny you assistance, when you call.

Put your face before the industry. Filmmaking associations have events where industry professionals speak. Go to these. Be bold, and push through the minions and introduce yourself. Go to film festivals and be sure to attend the mixers and panels. Go to film markets, and sit in the lobby and talk to everyone.

When your financing comes through, and you have a green light to start pre-production on your film, you will already have done most of the work, just about everything but casting. Your schedule and budget will be done, you will have leads on crew and equipment, and your script will be in top form.

Angela Taylor is a Hollywood producer, and a seven-time Telly Award winner. She teaches Independent Producing at
http://hollywoodseminars.com.
© 2005 Angela Taylor, All Rights Reserved. You may forward this in its entirety to anyone you wish. Hollywood Seminars, Box 2449, Hollywood CA 90078 USA
This article is available for reprint in your ezine, website or ebook. You MUST agree not to make any changes to the article and the RESOURCE BOX MUST be included.
info@hollywoodseminars.com