The Complete Guide to Film and Digital Production The People and the Process Third Edition Lorene M. Wales Routledge Re hosesCorres mataContents List of Figures xvii Preface — xix Acknowledgements xxi Part! Development and Pre-Production Film Development and the Producers 3 ‘The Producer's Job 3 ‘The Executive Producer 4 Line Producer 6 Working with First-Time Directors 8 Associate Producer 9 Assistant to the Producer 10 Producing in the Field 10 Producing Live Events 11 Producing Documentary 15 Producing Mobile Content 18 Producing Animation 18 ‘The Psychology of Producing 19 Film Development 22 Acquiring the Script 22 Working with Writers 23 Developing the Package 24 Acquisitions, Contract, and Deals 26 Summary 32 References 32 Script Breakdown and Scheduling 33 Scheduling a Film: Step-by-Step 34 ‘The Script Breakdown 34 viicopra raatAe Development and Pre-Productioncoprared maa1 Film Development and the Producers ‘Well, think tke anything [producing], it's just storytelling. I think at the end of the day what I love most about producing is helping hold the vision for the story and making sure the right people creatively are associated with the project to create that vision. Stephan Schultze, Producer, Executive Director of Cinematic Arts, Liberty University DP THE PRODUCER'S JOB ‘The producer of any media is, or should be, a leader. She is the one person on a proj- ect who is responsible for everything—the process, the budget, the people, and ulti- mately the final product—whether it be feature film, documentary, mobile content, or live events. Notice I don't say the producer does everything, because a good producer knows how to delegate. The producer definitely has to have the ultimate vision for what the project needs to be and also the ability to communicate that vision to the director. A producer is the type of person who is highly self-motivated, who can take a great idea and transform it into a great film or show. A producer will know how to navigate the film development process and get people interested in funding a project. Being a pro- ducer is seeing all the possibilities of a project and having the ability to put together the right people and elements that will make it work. What makes a good producer great is a combination of many factors: > Knows how to handle people. A producer not only deals with paperwork such as budgets and cost reports but also must lead a large group of people in often stressful situations. If someone does not perform well, the unit productionCope rata4 Film Development and the Producers manager (UPM) or producer may need to handle the situation and either help the person improve or, if necessary, fire that person, > Able to handle confrontation and personality conflicts. The business of making a film or any show involves a large group of people working extremely closely for ong hours. Conflicts are bound to arise, and do ‘Able to handle a large volume of details and people all at once. ‘Able to handle stress. Good at motivating people, able to get them to work in tough situations, knows what makes a good script, and how to get the story on the screen. Good at rewriting, as is usually necessary on any project. vvvvyvy ‘Able to match a script with the director who would be best for that project. | once produced a short film about the Holocaust. | had two very able directors up for the position. My final decision was based on the sensitivity and maturity of one of the directors, even though the other director had better technique. > Able to deal with prima donnas. Unfortunately, the industry is full of them, and itis hard to see them coming. You may find a prima donna in the form of a director of photography (DP) or even in a production assistant (PA). A good producer knows how to handle these kinds of people. > Able to fire people. Ability to hire the right people for the right positions and fire the ones who don’t work out. > Knows how to delegate. While it is sometimes good for a producer to be hands-on, a good producer gets a lot done in a short period of time by knowing what should be delegated ‘The producer generally is the final authority of a project, but there are some excep- tions. For instance, in some cases the producer of a film is the final creative authority, even over the director. However, this is not always true. You may use a well-established director with much power but have a producer who is just starting out. In this case the director would have greater creative authority. D> THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER ‘There are many different kinds of producers. In single-camera production the execu- tive producer (EP) is most likely the person who puts a project together. This person creates a “package” that may include certain stars and a director. In other productions the EP may be the person who is actually funding the film. People who are investors and may not have any experience in the film business could also fill this position. Or the EP could be someone in the business who is hired to supervise the production for the investors. Having this title helps them retain fiscal control. In higher budget filmscopyeditFilm Development and the Producers 5 the EP could be the representative of a company that has invested in a film, and hired to oversee the production. Or he could be a wealthy investor who has put a significant amount of money into the film (sometimes millions). In some cases, though rare, this position could be what is known as a courtesy credit. This means it is someone who may have invested heavily but takes little part in overseeing the production, relying instead on a good line producer. ‘There are many different styles to producing. Some EPs prefer to oversee at a dis- tance, merely reading production reports and watching dailies on video or digitally. ‘They would still have the right to approve or not approve significant budget or script changes, anything that would significantly change the original essence of the project. ‘Their authority is still in place, and they have the right to step in at any moment if there is trouble, but they rarely come to the location. In fact, if you have this kind of EP, and she does show up at your location, you can bet there are problems somewhere, perhaps with the budget or dailies. If that same EP is actually seen on set for a while, there is an even greater level of trouble, most likely with the director. ‘Then there are the more hands-on EPs. These kinds of producers are frequently on location, and may occasionally be on set. They scrutinize the rushes, sending notes to the producer and director daily. Some films may have more than one EP. I once worked on a picture that had three EPs. Two of them were people who had invested their personal money in the film, and one was a representative of a production company that invested money in the film. Having multiple EPs can get complicated, depending on their involvement. It is easier to get approval for something from one person, rather than tracking down three. In addition, the three members must agree on certain issues related to the production, which ino small feat. Just remember that each situation is different. Following isa lst of possible duties for the EP during pre-production, production, post-production, and wrap. Pre-Production ‘May have shopped the script around and raised funding for the film. ‘Approves the budget based on the amount of money invested in the project. > > > Approves or hres the producer and sometimes the director. > Holds meetings with producer and director to discuss vision of the project. > Ifit has not been done already, may secure distribution for the project. Production > Reviews production reports to monitor the progress of the shoot. ‘Steps in if there appear to be problems, such as using too much overtime, or maybe the director is shooting too much footage. Usually the EP will rely on the producer to deal with most problems.copritos maa6 Film Development and the Producers > Approves more funds if warranted. For instance, | worked on a film once where there was so much rain in the city where we were shooting that we lost a full ‘week over a two-month period. The EP was consulted and deemed it necessary to shoot another full week, which cost the production extra money. D> May review footage to monitor the progress of the project. Post-Production > Reviews all cuts of the project to see how it is taking shape and makes recommendations. > Works with the producer to spend out the budget: > May review/approve marketing materials for distribution, > Works with the distribution company to assure delivery of the project. > ‘Works on his or her next project. ‘There are certain qualities that make for a good EP. An EP: Is a self-starter. This is not someone who is sitting around waiting to be hired. > > Is entrepreneurial enough to create his or her own job. > Is good leader, able to be perceptive with deals and people. > Understands the industry, has a vision for it, and yet has business expertise. One other note about EPs. I recently executive produced a film where I represented the investors. I made sure in the development phase that the operational agreement (con- tract between the investors and the production company that produced the film) gave me the right to approve the budget, the hiring of the director, any script changes, and that we had input in the post-production process. I could have negotiated for final cut approval, but had confidence in the line producer to take care of that. Just understand that there are no hard rules here. In this industry you get what you negotiate for. D> LINE PRODUCER Learn how to get a better understanding of people skills and have a very strong grasp on your storyteling ability. Really understand story, and that means not get- ting in the way of the story being told. You can’t grandstand just because you want things a certain way. When the director's doing something, you gotta be there to support them, you gotta know how to support that vision and make sure you hire the right people. Stephan Schultze, Producer, Executive Director of Cinematic Arts, Licopy mata