Where is the future of film financing? China and Norway. Seriously, those two countries are becoming heavy hitters in the film production world. We’re going to see a lot more content coming from them in the near future.
China is building theaters faster than any country in the world. Their box office ticket sales are rising as the US audience dwindles.
Think global for sales and also for production. Take advantage of production incentives in other countries but as listed above, be aware of limitations and resources an incentive country has to offer.
Whether it starts online or it’s through a book, start building an audience as early as possible because it will only help bring your project to life faster. As discussed in the social media panel, new technology platforms are a great way to generate an audience but there are limits. Although social media influencers appeal to a younger demographic, this audience is very relatable and obtainable. The key with this audience in particular is honesty and authenticity.
On the Social Media panel, the celebrity Viners were asked how they built the audience they both shrugged and genuinely had no idea. They just kept posting what felt honest to them and the fan count continued to grow.
Partner with other producers who have the connections or experience you don’t have. Join forces. Don’t be afraid to cold call or email, just don’t always expect a return call. The best is to get recommendations to companies or contacts through referrals.
Partnerships with companies are important, as well. Find companies which seem to be natural fits for the types of projects you’re making. Don’t approach a reality TV production company with an idea for an indie drama, unless of course you hear that they are specifically looking for material like that.
Variations on this theme resonated in many of the panels.
The Vine panelists at the 2015 Produced By Conference: Brandon Calvillo, Klarity, and Walter Newman.
This is a very important one because the biggest questions distributors, investors, festival programmers, advertisers, brands, audience members, EVERYONE asks is: “what is your movie about?” and “who is in it?”
Who is in you film or series will help the project stand out. For financing, a recognizable cast will attract pre-sales. Audiences also want to see their favorite actors on screen. That isn’t going away.
One panel that gave advice to producers based on a question from the audience talked about dealing with difficult talent. Ian Bryce, producer of Transformers, talked about how important reputation is. Listen to the experiences other producers have had with cast and directors. If talent has a bad reputation, get ready for trouble on set that you’ll have to deal with. It’s better to avoid problematic talent.
A producer’s job is to moderate the creative appetites and make a happy set. Easier said than done sometimes!
Bryce is very much the mellow diplomatic producer and says he “treats artists like a son or daughter and walks them through the process. ‘Over-communicating’ goes a long way. “
When trying to find these talent attachments, partnerships with other producers will help but consider a good casting director. They will get your script to talent agents especially if you don’t have representation.
There is also mention of YouTube, Vine, and social media talent that have large followers. But keep in mind their limitations as performers.
Casting is 80 to 90 percent of the success of your shoot. If you cast the wrong person, you’re screwed.
This really is advice for a lot of areas of producing, and life in general. When pitching, when coming up with the financing deals, when developing partnerships, be as clear and simple with your message so it’s easy for you and others to communicate.
Have a clear road map with smaller, attainable goals that will lead to the ultimate goal of finished content.
There were two panels about pitching for television and pitching for film. These panels were set up like an episode of Shark Tank and moderated by producer and amateur stand-up comedian Mark Gordon. Mark hilarious put people on the spot as they pitched to a panel of seasoned production veterans.
In the pitching panels, a big piece of advice is to be clear about the story and what the pitch is about. What is the arc? Who is the character? Is there a good role to attract an actor to this project? It seems like a simple concept but so many pitches easily became meandering and go on tangents that confuse and muddy the ideas.
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Very interesting stuff here, I like the idea that CONTENT IS KING and that one should be HONEST AND PASSIONATE about one's work. I am also encouraged that Graham King thinks that there is a lack of new ideas and original stories in the industry today, being "out there" myself...but none of this ties in to the fact that one's chances of getting a film made are reduced if one is an outsider. Maybe that's the problem...or part of it...it feels to me like they are contradicting themselves in some of these comments? I wonder if anyone agrees??
Great post! And yes, Philip, you are right about the contradictions. I think there are a lot of story ideas that industry outsiders, women and people of color have pitched in the past that have been ignored. Hopefully, now that films with women and people of color have proven their ability to make money and engage audiences, we will see more innovative content. It will take producers with vision and the desire to take risks to usher in a new era of original storytelling. America and world is waiting for us.....the outsiders!