CTPR 410 Lecture 8 - The Producer (Indie) PDF

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CTPR 410 Lecture 8 – The Producer (Indie) I.

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Vietnam War a. Characterization – mental illness at first / anti-heroes changed to the challenged hero b. Indie film making c. Late 1970s were when the films started to get made d. Stress the anti-war effort in contrast to propaganda efforts i. Compared to WWII when we were fighting a war for democracy e. More counter-culture form of entertainment f. Abundance of film footage that was making its way back from the actual war i. Could show ppl what the war was really like; how terrible it was The Producer (Indie) a. Exhibition (finishing convo from last week i. Department focused on marketing research: test screenings, advertising materials, tracking 1. Test screenings to refine the film 2. Test advertising to refine marketing approach 3. Tracking – a guage of audience interest in a piece of material, film, or tv a. Tells you what demographic is interested in your movie and their level of interest daily b. Although “long-tail tracking” exists (a couple of months from the release of a movie), the most important is 3 weeks out c. Measuring: i. Unaided awareness – a person recalls your movie without prompting ((high unaided means messaging is breaking through) ii. Total awareness – the person recognizes it on a list of titles iii. Definite interest – a person is definitely interested in seeing your movie iv. First choice b. Market Research i. Research focuses on: 1. Demographics – age, ethnicity, gender 2. Psychographics – behavior, attitude, and values of consumers ii. Capability – early potential of a property (pre-greenlight) iii. Marketability – attractive to an audience (positioning studies) c. What’s the primary job of a producer? i. To get the movie made! ii. Specific objectives:

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Development Packaging Finding financing Oversight of production Finding distribution (this sometimes comes with the financing, but not always) iii. Where do projects come from? 1. To be able to develop a piece of IP or an original idea, a producer must be attached in some capacity a. This means making an option deal with IP holder i. Author (if it’s a book), creator (of a game), etc b. If it’s an original piece of material, like a script, it’s convincing the writer to let the producer “shop it around” (find financing for it) i. Loose attachment that says if the producer can find financing, they will be attached as the producer of the film c. Sometimes, if it’s a producer’s original idea, its about finding a writer to either commission, write the idea on spec, or pitch it to a financier iv. When does it go to a financier? 1. If it’s set up in its early stages (as a pitch, for example), then the financier will be a bigger part of the development process (finding a writer, attaching a director, etc) 2. If its packaged, it’s more of a conversation about moving the project towards production faster 3. Why does a producer want a movie to be made quickly? a. To get paid cooner b. Producer salary is baked into the budget of the movie and is generally paid upon green light of a movie, along with backend compensation upon release of a movie c. Sometimes there is a “development fee” but this is minimal and wouldn’t exist in an indie 4. Generally, in an indie production, a producer will put together a whole package before looking for a financier What is an Indie Production? a. A production that is made without a distributor at the outset i. In other words, a production that is independently financed b. Where does money come from in the Indie space? i. Pre-sales 1. A producer can separate out certain distribution territories and sometimes certain media and terms 2. This means a producer can pre-sell certain territories in advance of the production

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3. How does this work? a. At a film market / film festival, a producer can bring the package to market and sell specific territories to the highest bidder b. This in certain cases can finance the entire production, sometimes can be a way to show international interest to a domestic partner that might be more incentivized to also pay 4. This also means a producer can pre-sell certain formats a. For example, in the 1980s, during the boom of home video, a producer could secure an advance from licensing home video deals Financier 1. A producer can bring a package to a financier 2. If it’s far enough along, this can be treated as an “acquisition” and a financier might just buy domestic distribution and not be involved in the project with any creative input 3. Negative pick-up Bond company 1. Loan from a bank based on advances from pre-sales, or guaranteed distribution upon delivery of a picture (negative pickup) 2. Built around a completion guarantee – a form of insurance that a producer will complete and deliver the film a. If the shoot is going over (not making their days or weeks), the bond company will come in and tell them what to do b. Falling behind is usually because a director’s vision isn’t specific enough DIY (Do it Yourself) 1. Allows you to retain the full rights to your picture 2. Usually low budget enough that its projected revenue is lower than it would cost for a distributor to open the film 3. Rely on self-distribution (video-sharing sites, etc) Production 1. Producers main job on set is quality control – beholden to whoever is paying the bills, while keeping work on budget and on schedule 2. The “boss” on a film set – final say in all the hires and who’s fired 3. Creative guidance for a director – focusing director on what coverage to get, how to get it, etc 4. First audience for the director in post-production, and intimately involved in all the notes, testing, etc Distribution 1. Need to connect independent iflmmakers with an audience

2. But how? 3. Acquisitions model: a. Film festivals b. Film sent to a distributor upon its completion c. Distributor seeks out film vii. Benefits to working outside the system 1. Less oversight 2. More creative / compelling stories that you might not necessarily be able to tell in the studio system a. Unique and provocative storylines 3. Less money at stake, compared to movies developed within the studio system which have more broader targets 4. Since indie movies are often less traditional / overtly commercial, they must be made for a lower budget, which means there are certain limitations on the creative 5. Self-fulfilling prophecy: since its cheaper, there’s less spectacle, since there’s less spectacle, it’s considered more “indie” and it may be harder to secure a large marketing budget 6. How do these movies distinguish themselves? a. Exciting filmmakers / exciting voices b. Unique stories c. Quality which creates word of mouth viii. Downside to working outside the system 1. More risk c....