Independent Films - Factors to Consider Before You Become a Producer
You just watched "Juno" and you think to yourself, "I could do that.
" Fair enough, but before you run off to make the next "Little Miss Sunshine," there are a few things you would do well to keep in mind.
First, lower your expectations.
Filmmaking is extremely hard, and even if you manage to make a good movie, there are thousands of great movies every year that go unnoticed.
Just as it is unwise for a high school senior to neglect finals to practice basketball in hopes and expectations of going pro after graduation, so too would it be rash for you to quit your job and empty your bank account because you think your script idea is doable and worth millions.
Secondly, the world of independent movies is fiercely competitive.
As camcorders have become cheap and simple to use they have also progressed tremendously in terms of video quality, making the prohibitive costs of professional filming equipment a problem of the past.
Further, the development of video-editing software has trended similarly toward the better, easier, and cheaper.
If competition does not dissuade you, your next concern is script.
Writing one will be a labor of love, but is nothing compared to the difficulty of changing it.
Imagine pouring your heart and soul and countless hours into the construction of this brilliant script, only to face heavy edits, cuts, and even possible rewrites.
This is precisely what you will be forced to do, as countless unforeseeable problems will trigger scene and dialogue changes.
Suck it up, because watching your art slowly stray from the original vision is nothing compared to the monster that is post-production.
Video editing is a grueling process that demands a mixture of persistence and caution, as each step you make at this stage directly impacts the final product.
That, combined with the near-impossible task of successfully and affordably promoting your film, makes the work between the filming and the distribution by far the most daunting.
" Fair enough, but before you run off to make the next "Little Miss Sunshine," there are a few things you would do well to keep in mind.
First, lower your expectations.
Filmmaking is extremely hard, and even if you manage to make a good movie, there are thousands of great movies every year that go unnoticed.
Just as it is unwise for a high school senior to neglect finals to practice basketball in hopes and expectations of going pro after graduation, so too would it be rash for you to quit your job and empty your bank account because you think your script idea is doable and worth millions.
Secondly, the world of independent movies is fiercely competitive.
As camcorders have become cheap and simple to use they have also progressed tremendously in terms of video quality, making the prohibitive costs of professional filming equipment a problem of the past.
Further, the development of video-editing software has trended similarly toward the better, easier, and cheaper.
If competition does not dissuade you, your next concern is script.
Writing one will be a labor of love, but is nothing compared to the difficulty of changing it.
Imagine pouring your heart and soul and countless hours into the construction of this brilliant script, only to face heavy edits, cuts, and even possible rewrites.
This is precisely what you will be forced to do, as countless unforeseeable problems will trigger scene and dialogue changes.
Suck it up, because watching your art slowly stray from the original vision is nothing compared to the monster that is post-production.
Video editing is a grueling process that demands a mixture of persistence and caution, as each step you make at this stage directly impacts the final product.
That, combined with the near-impossible task of successfully and affordably promoting your film, makes the work between the filming and the distribution by far the most daunting.
