problems: one might be wildly overconfident,
while another might be shaking in his boots
before every take. It is entirely likely that the
director will, at points, be unable to see the
forest for the trees.
4
A CHEERLEADER
I don’t know anything about actual box-
ing, but I have always watched with fascina-
tion the role of the manager in boxing films.
On the surface, the manager feels almost
pointless. The fighter is in the ring, being
pummeled into delirium, and the manager
is yelling “stand up!” or “hit ‘em with your
right!” or “cool it off!” What does this do for
the fighters?
It lets them know they are not alone. Film-
making is a collaborative process, and some-
times the most valuable thing a producer can
be is present and, occasionally, yelling.
5
A TETHER
On my own first film as a director,
The World Is Full of Secrets, I functioned as
my own producer. I thought, having produced
films for several other directors, it would be
easier to handle producing myself than to
outsource. I was gravely mistaken, and left
wandering in the wilderness, at the mercy of
whatever wild animals might cross my path
due to this decision. Organizationally, I was
forced to hold the contradictory goals of the
director and producer outlined above in my
head at all times. In post-production, I was
agonized over how to complete the project.
A director without a producer is more alone
ELENA BURGER (C) AS BECCA
IN THE WORLD IS FULL OF SECRETS PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF RAVENSER ODD38 SPRING 2020 MOVIEMAKER.COM
than necessary, more estranged from reality. If
you foolishly choose to produce your own film
alone, as I did, know that you’ll be constantly
required to split your brain into two.6
A GUARDIAN
There is one principle thing in cinema
which must outweigh everything else: the
idea. If you do not have an idea, then all of
the rest—the cast, the crew, the equipment,
the financing, the distribution, the critical re-
ception—doesn’t matter at all. Treat the idea
like a small child; keep it clothed, warm and
fed, regardless of the circumstances.
A good script can overcome a weak
production or lack of financing, but all of
the resources in the world cannot elevate a
bad concept. A good script is surprisingly
malleable; if you keep focused on the core
elements, the particulars can be quite elastic.
On a high-budget film, it is possible to form
the production around the script: locations
can be obtained or constructed, complex
camera movements or special effects can
be executed. That’s why you have all that
money. For a low-budget production, with a
good script, the opposite is necessary: take
the amount of money you have (this amount
can be anything: $250, $2,500, $25,000, etc.)
and seek out how to shape the script to cor-
respond to the available resources. Perhaps
you can drop locations; perhaps you can
imply what you used to show; perhaps you
can condense and compress characters and
events. The independent producer must be
aesthetically minded, and creativity comesinto play here: the ability to look at a scene
and understand both what it should cost and
what it could cost... and then to contemplate
how to make it cost even less. If the origi-
nal idea is not preserved (or meaningfully
transformed) in this process, the results will
be disastrous. But, if you can find a way to do
with $25 what you should do with $2,500, it
can be sublime.7
A NAYSAYER
Your script won’t get better during
production. If the script isn’t working yet, you
are not ready to shoot. Unless you are in the
enviable position of having money that must
be spent by a certain date, consider where you
are at in the writing process before jumping
into the production process. A good producer
won’t be afraid to tell a writer/director that
the script isn’t ready yet, or that a particular
casting decision is problematic, or that it’s a
horrific mistake to try to use music you can-
not afford to license. You’ll sometimes find
those you are working with are overeager and
optimistic; that’s their privilege, but not yours.
You’ve got to be pessimistic and never forget
that Murphy’s Law is true.
That being said: This is not a commercial
endeavor. If you are thinking of it as one, I
would urge you to stop. Your picture will al-
most definitely lose money, so presumably you
are doing it for other reasons. Those reasons
can, and should, dictate how you proceed
(with or without a script, or in any other way
imaginable). Resist the temptation to imitate
commercial productions—most books you’ll
read or interviews you’ll watch will be about
that kind of filmmaking. If you have less than
seven figures in your budget, you are probably
not doing that kind of filmmaking.8
AN ACCOUNTANT
What should be learned from commercial
filmmaking: pay extremely close attention to
every dollar spent. If they are your dollars,
this is usually quite easy; if they are someone
else’s dollars, just pretend that every time
you swipe the card, it is coming straight out
of your bank account. Some things will cost
what feels like a monstrous amount of money
but are unavoidable. But there are lots of
little places you can save money, and if you
pay attention to them, you can cover those“
IF THE SCRIPT ISN’T WORKING YET, YOU ARE NOT READY TO SHOOT.
”