ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

11 years ago - Vanessa Bailey

Ho Blaise! As soon as you say the word "wedding" a producer will go "Kerching! That's already potentially expensive and logistically complex". BUT could be a fantastic film!

What sort of producer do you need? Is it one to handle finance.or one to spearhead the creative process, too? An Exec Prod might just concentrate on the finance side - helping raise funds and budget for you according to your most cost-effective script and a Producer might help with the overall creative implementation of that budget and the running of the shoot. Sometimes it's easier to split those jobs as they are both big undertakings :) Bottom line - it will be the story and then it's viability that attract a producer. :) Best of luck with it - sounds exciting :)

11 years ago - Jamie Kennerley

Hey Blaise. Thanks for coming back on this. I hear you, and they do have to say that - that they will award based on what's put in front of them - but that disguises the fact that an award-winner with 3 great shorts under their belt goes straight to the top of the pile. They simply won't give 150k to a first-time writer-director with no background in fiction. And most of those other guys there who were looking for producers - well, they almost certainly won't get it either.

You may think I'm being cyncial, but I'm not, I'm being realistic. A friend of mine is about to produce his first feature - I think the budget is around 300k or 400k, with around half of that being private funding I think, and the rest BFI-related. It took him about 2 years to get that funding in place, and only happened because of 3 exceptional shorts he made, one with some relatively famous actors.

Yeah, if you can get a producer that's interested in putting you and your project forward and has the requisite experience, then of course - go for it! The experience will be worth it, whether you get it or not. But here again, I think you'll find it very hard to get a feature-level producer to take the project on. Study the background of previous awardees - you'll learn more from doing that by from any of us on here. If you match the profile of previous directors then it's worth a shot. If you're way off the mark, then I'd recommend making a couple of top-notch shorts, and using those to get your feature script even read, as a start. You won't get official funding for a feature with no track-record Blaise, sorry man.

11 years ago - Abid Khan

Thanks guys, all really good information! But going back to Blaise original heading question - "What's the best way to get a producer attached to my project?"

I'm assuming it's a combination of networking, cold-calling, being at the right place at the right time, attending festivals and just luck - or is there another way? Breakfast clubs or Producer circles? I know about pitching events but that's only mainly for writers to improve there elevator pitch or there is some hidden agenda behind the event.

11 years ago - Nadia Akhtar

Hi Blaise (and everyone!)

Sounds like a really interesting project.

This might be of interest (networking) just email Sawant from LIFF and it's free to attend.

https://bafta.ticketsolve.com/shows/873518142/events?show_id=873518142

I am also interested in the scheme but I think I will apply next year. Did you go to the masterclass with them? They have also set up a Facebook page for people looking to specifically collaborate for that.

Best of Luck!

Nadia

11 years ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

In terms of attaching a producer, I really do think showing what you can bring to the project above and beyond a script/cast will help. There are probably x,000 scripts written each year of which a teensy fraction are made, there are x,000 jobbing actors who will be pleased to work on a feature. Is the script award-winning? Are the cast 'names'? Have you got a friend whose friend is Brad Pitt's hairdresser's boyfriend who has somehow got the script to him and he's agreed to do a cameo? Have you got anything standout? That's what'll turn heads at any of the events/ways you've mentioned above.

If you can bring any angle the producer can explore to see if they can raise extra finance it'll help a LOT. If you have a star cameo, they can talk to sales agents and see if they can get a sales guarantee to cashflow, which means distribution as well. That's a good thing to go equipped with, they will see the value of the 'name' (rather they will know a 'name' has value, and will ascertain that value from a sales agent).

Again, production is all about the money. Even the word 'showbusiness' is one third 'show' and two-thirds 'business'. Show you're business-minded and your cup of coffee is going to be a lot more positive than 'I have got a script, I'm going to star in it and direct it, and it requires helicopter shots around Buckingham Palace, zebras, dolphins and 500 children'!! Producers are frequently open to approaches, especially if they include a free cup of coffee/pint, just in case you're the guys with the 'killer' project and Brad Pitt. Just don't try to bluff an experienced producer as they've seen it all before - be frank about what you do and don't have and what you're looking for, they'll give you mountains of invaluable feedback (or total piffle) in return. Probably a good idea to be prepared with short and long treatments. Forget cliffhangers and intrigue (they don't care), just hit all the major plot points and twists :-)

11 years ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

Hi Blaise, In your searches make the most of your wedding supplies connections - maybe approach producers with those deals already done, so you can reduce the perceived cost and risks and make the project appear more appealing. If you can get a limo for a fortnight for free for instance, that's a big deal. It can sit in studio and be a set!

11 years ago - Blaise Singh

Thank you all for some valuable feedback. The script was written with budget in mind and has always been a micro budget feature with a view to produce it in conjunction with the contacts I have in the Brit Asian wedding industry. For this particular project, to enter the Microwave scheme, I need to collaborate with an experienced producer in order to apply for the £150K fund and development support. The producer should have a feature credit and a London based production company in order to qualify so I guess it would appeal to a relatively new producer who is looking to take their career to the next level with the guidance from Film London.

So far I've got a pitch document/screenplay/links to previous work which I've been presenting to various producer contacts I've made along the journey. I think I'm on the right track judging by the consensus of the filmmaker/auteur being aware/conscious of cost/benefits from the outset. I guess it boils down to individual taste and especially with comedy being subjective, depends on if the producer 'gets it'.

I will take on board all the comments in making a compelling pitch to potential producers. If anyone knows of anyone who'd be interested in collaborating by all means get in touch :)

Regards,
Blaise

11 years ago - Marlom Tander

My advice, show that you understand the cost of the logistics and marketing costs.

Logistics :-

Accommodation. "Crash at my place" is great for cast/crew of 4 and young, for a weekend, But once you have more people, longer shoots and older bones you soon get into B&B or self catering.

Transport - do you need to move people /kit around? Will you need vehicles? Drivers?

Catering - cast and crew won't function for long on squash and sandwiches. DIY doesn't work for any groups bigger than dinner party size.

Shooting Schedule - a decent stab at how many days it will take. Any producer you want to work with will see right through you if you're claiming to to be able to do a 4 week shoot in 2. He wants to see that you know your 4 week shoot will take 4 weeks.

Do you own maths, but you'll probably be looking at £30 - £50per person per day food/transport, more if accom needed as well. If 15 people over 20 days at 50 a day that's £15,000. 20 people over 25 days and its £25K. Allow the shoot schedule to slip and each overrun day will cost double, or more.

Then marketing.

Once you have your lovely movie, how do you intend to sell it? Send it to a few people and hope? Go to the markets and network the shit out of them? Go to markets and exhibit/screen? If markets, how many people will attend? Again, do your maths but it would be crazy to spend 150 on a film and NOT be able to sell it properly.

Show a producer you get these business nuts and bolts and that will go a long way to establishing confidence.

General tip for budgeting - assume you pay properly for everything in the first version.

Then go through slashing the numbers with detailed analysis and quoted costs. E.g. Accom starts as B&B but then you rope in all your friends to offer their spare rooms and suddenly you can put a defensible ZERO where previously it read X THOUSAND. The local pub agrees £15 per day for unlimited teas/coffee and a basic but filling lunch, etc. A nice reduction on your working assumption of say 20. Etc.

Good luck.

11 years ago - Abid Khan

I know it's great to have a Business Plan in place to show a Producer that the film is cost effective and can be delivered on time..and have an exit strategy BUT isn't this the job of the Producer?

Or is the Producer's job to work on the details of reducing these costs and getting better deals set up to ensure the success of a film. It seems the filmmaker has to do all the initial hard work to scope the whole project before a Producer jumps on.

My question is, shouldn't the Producer most of this work or are they the people that hold the golden keys that unlock other doors of opportunities that improve the production? I guess the real question is which Producer do you need ?

11 years ago - Marlom Tander

Abid - treat it as a sales process. You have a film to sell and you need a producer to buy.

So, yes, all of the above, to whatever extent your life allows :-)

But from what I've seen - all serious connections are made by networking - when your actor friend (who you have told will get the lead) talks to his actor mate (who is too old for the part but fancies a supporting role) who phones his mate "The Producer" who says "OK, lets have coffee".

Just remember. It's not coffee. It's an audition. No pressure :-)

11 years ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

Production is all about the money, and although £150k ($250k-ish) sounds like a lot of money, it goes a shockingly short way to producing a feature. Producers are interested if they think something is possible inside the budget, so it may be necessary to tailor the script for the budget.

I know some here disagree with me, and that's fine and I wish them well. I maintain that keeping things legit with full chain of title,etc means the money isn't enough for 'lavish' unless you have access to some of the things required already (eg stately home, limos, lighting packages, etc). Location shooting is always costly, and each cost opens up another cost behind it. Want 'strong' sunshine for a shot? Get an 18k head, but then you may need a cherry picker to mount it on, then you need a rigger to rig the lamp to the basket, then a genny (you can't power it from domestic mains), meaning a genny op, but the genny needs to be overspec due to the initial surge, so it comes on a truck, which means an HGV driving genny op, which means driver working hours directives, which means... well you get the idea.

Or you spend more on casting to make the film more attractive - but one of that cast is Equity, so all cast have to go on equity deals, so you have to escrow the cast fees as well as pay them, so you need cashflow on the escrow...then find a 'favoured nations' clause in a deal, and be stuck trying to provide //identical// top-levels of dressing rooms, etc for them., getting them into the same hotel etc...

The reason I mention this stuff is not to scare you off, but that I want you to be able to have a project which a producer/line producer can get behind. As such, maybe list out what assets and access you have already, and really concentrate on an estimated budget (informed estimates, not 'Rigger - £50, Grip - £50') based on the script. It needn't be pound-accurate, but it should be able to tell you broadly if it's a £150k film or a £500k film!

Producers get excited where a project is both fun and viable - they will want films out in the world as much as you will, but cannot make money from nowhere so will tend to be cautious unless you can show your script is cheap to shoot/edit/fx etc. If you can show your film is affordable, and show that you've thought about how to shoot and style it cost-effectively, you may be able to get some guidance from someone who's done it before and can advise/put their name to it :-)

11 years ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

"I know it's great to have a Business Plan in place to show a Producer that the film is cost effective and can be delivered on time..and have an exit strategy BUT isn't this the job of the Producer?"

You're absolutely right of course, but when people are asking for help applying for xyz funds for a script, they are already producing the film by the action of trying to get it financed and made. If the writer was just pitching in script pitch, then a producer may see/like/find some money/etc., but the act of seeking finance and assistance to get it, they're already producing!

11 years ago - Jamie Kennerley

To offer a little bit of realistic advice here Blaise, the fact that you are even asking the question means it's highly doubtful you will get anywhere at all with Microwave. The Microwave team will not give 150k of tax-payers money to someone without a track record of making highly successful fiction shorts.They simply won't. I

f you were one of those people you would already have enough producer contacts, or a single producer that had risen up with you and was now prepared to take you to the feature level. The fact that you haven't means - I'm afraid - that you are very much an outsider when it comes to an application like this. They don't know and you don't have a track record = a big risk. Even with whatever else you can bring to budget in terms of contacts and faciliitation, this doesn't really add much in the eyes of the Execs at Microwave. They don't need convincing that you and your producer can pull off a feature for 150k, they need to be sure that you can make something good that will reflect well on the scheme, and that you are an important director in the making. Unfortunately - whilst you may think these schemes are all about the money and making it work - they are actually about much much more than that. The idea that you should be thinking about budgeting, logistics and marking costs, as some people are suggesting above is utterly ridiculous. You need to be a successful and driven director for the Microwave team. Unless you can prove that you are going to be who you want to be, then you won't get it.

11 years ago - Abid Khan

Thanks everyone, really useful information and extremely helpful! Good Luck with all your projects!

11 years ago - Marlom Tander

Abid - if you take a concept/treatment/script/package to a Producer and say "it's a 6 week shoot and I reckon we need to spend a couple million", then yes, all the numbers are his problem. Budget is driven entirely by casting and production values decisions. He'll be interested in story and creative.

But if you say "I need 150K" then the Producer knows that it's a bare bones operation with no scope for upsets. That means he needs to know that the filmmaker knows what his vision will cost, because, (if he's a busy producer with a number of projects), YES, it'll be you doing the deals for kit, locations, accom etc. If you don't like that, rope in a mate to be your line producer :-)

11 years ago - Blaise Singh

Hi Jamie

Firstly thanks for taking the time to reply to the tread. I understand where you're coming from with regards to track record. However, I'd have to disagree with:

'If you were one of those people you would already have enough producer contacts, or a single producer that had risen up with you and was now prepared to take you to the feature level.'

Reason being, I've attended the microwave open day where many of the writers/directors were actively seeking producers and microwave even had a networking event to meet producers. The also have a facebook group as Nadia kindly mentioned to pitch projects for other team members. A question was also raised regarding the 'success' of previous film (festival winners, etc) and the consensus was that also that would raise the profile of the application, ultimately they would be judging based on the samples of work submitted in the application.

The odds may be against me as I'm not an award winner, but I believe in the project and it's worth a crack (if I can get an experienced producer on board) nonetheless don't you think?

Moreover, Microwave is just one scheme of many and there are plenty of other funding opportunities which the producer would deal with.

Have a great weekend :)

11 years ago - Jamie Kennerley

And if you can show me what the other feature funding opportunities are I'd love to see them...!

11 years ago - Xavier Santiago

Hi Blaise, et al:
As a producer, I find it difficult to disagree with, on multiple levels, the sage advice people have offered on this thread. Most producers who are bit removed from film school, tend look at a whole host of factors and those extend beyond the financials of "hand-to-mouth" and look for the long term potential in a project. That being said, it doesn't mean they will not take a hard look at a project and consider it. Basically, don't expect something for nothing as a producer's responsibilities described herein and elsewhere are extensive. My pet-peeve for example, is when a writer/director, who has 1-3 shorts expects an option fee for a feature and for my team to do all the heavy lifting. You bring as many assets to the table and if the story is right, it will inspire us to feel passionate about the project as well. But do bear in mind, at this level, producers tend to have 3 projects in development or pre-production, 3 in production and 3 in post.
If you have questions, please PM me and we might be able to set up a conf. call.
Good luck!
Xavier