There’s something you need to except right now. You are going to hit a brick wall at some point on your journey to be a producer (in fact this really applies to all fields whether director, talent, etc). In fact, you’ll probably hit more than you’ll ever be able to keep track of.

There will always be those who think you can’t do a job you know you can do. Who think you still haven’t proved yourself. Who don’t believe in the same philosophies of pay it forward and scratching each others backs as you do. Who don’t work as hard as you do. Who want to cut corners, take short cuts and not raise each project to a higher standard than the last. There will be plenty of people to tell you no or it’s impossible. You will probably never quit trying to justify what you do and why you do it to believe who aren’t in the business too. There will be people who are pursuing it more for hobby and fame versus passion and profession.

You will find yourself knocked on your ass and deflated on occasion. There will be times when your ready to pull your hair out, scream, shout maybe even throw a few things. Man or woman you will shed tears. You will lose sleep and precious time with family and friends. You will have to make hard choices. You will have to give of yourself time and time again.

You will be broke. No sense in sugar coating it. Go into it understanding that up front. It’s a labor of love. You have to prove to your self and others what you can do. You have to build your name and credits. You have to get experience. And that often means working for free or next to nothing. Especially in the beginning. Even if you eventually get a multi-million dollar deal it probably won’t ever cover the gas, late nights, sleeplessness, time away from family and friends, food, expenses and everything else you have to put into it. And film projects done well take a minimum of a year (depending on what your working on and what phase you came into it) from beginning to end so it’s not like you can start your first project today and have something to show for it tomorrow. So then you find your self juggling your day job with your dream job so you can support yourself while pursuing what you love.

There will be projects that fall apart or never get finished for one reason or another. You won’t always have much say or control. There will be projects that never get off the ground. There will be conflicts of all sorts some you never even imagined.

It takes time. Me, you, each of us need to except that and know it whole heartedly upfront and going into it. It takes time, patience, determination, perseverance and a whole lot of belief in yourself and your end goal. We have to be strong, pick ourselves up, wipe away the tears, brush off the dirt, bandage the wounds and just find a way to climb over that damn brick wall. It’s a wall after all. It’s not like it reaches to infinity which makes it climbable. Which means we can climb it and make it over the top. We just have to figure out a different way. After all, we’re producers. Isn’t problem solving one of our biggest job descriptions.

Most of all. Know you aren’t alone. Why do you think I’m writing this post. I’ve been there. I’ve had to give myself pep talks, overcome things, climb walls I thought I’d already climbed, stop and reevaluate things, juggle bills, felt guilty over time taken away from my kids, work multiple jobs and most of all dust the dirt off my bruised ego and the ass I was knocked on more than once.

But at the end of the day I love what I do and there’s not another career path for me. It’s who I am. And if nothing else I’m doing what I love and teaching my kids to do the same. To follow their dreams and passions.

So my first suggestion to you is to make sure it’s who you are. Really think about why you want this. What does it mean to you. What are you willing to give up and do for it? How much time are you willing to give it and put into it? Even if you never find fame and fortune do you think it’ll still all be worth it?

My second suggestion: find a theme song. Something that inspires you, drives you, helps cushions the blows and even gives a helping hand when you been knocked down and had the wind deflated from your sails. Play it whenever you need to. It’s also nice when it just randomly plays on the radio as if the universe knew you needed it. The song can change and you can have more than one. These days mine is Sky Full of Lighters by Eminem.

My third suggestion: surround yourself with people who will love and support you no matter what but who are never afraid to tell you exactly as it is and ask you questions you should be asking yourself.

Hello,

Whether you’re just getting into film production or been doing it for years, there is no denying the importance of film festivals.  I recently had the opportunity to volunteer with the Jacksonville Film Festival and had such an amazing experience.  The people you can meet, the things you can learn and just realizing what the process is like is well worth your time.

Even if you don’t have a film showcasing at a festival I highly encourage you to start attending festivals.  It’s important to see how the festivals work, how they choose films, meet the people choosing the films, see what kinds of films are being chosen and what happens at a festival.  Not only that but as always you need to put yourself out there, meet people, network – and what better place to do that than a place full of other film people including, talent, fans, crew, directors, producers, investors, distributors and just anyone and everyone you could imagine meeting.  No matter what size the festival is, you’re still bound to meet people and start making important connections.

Now remember, don’t just start walking up to people and asking them (or telling them) what they can do for you.  Take your time to get to know people, talk to them about your projects so you build their excitement and faith in what you’re doing.  Cultivate relationships, collect business cards – and make sure you take plenty of your own business cards.  Have projects to talk about.  And have fun.  Go to as many events and workshops as possible.  Take everything in, observe, listen and learn.

I had such a great experience.  It was hard work and I didn’t get to go to all the events and workshops I’d wanted to, but I have no regrets volunteering with the Jacksonville Film Festival.  So start by finding a festival near you and go from there.

Good Morning,

I’m sitting here prepping for ‘Journey to Paradise’s open casting call tomorrow in Palm Coast and thought it would be an excellent time to talk to you about casting calls.

Here are a few points to keep in mind when casting for your projects:

• First make sure you know what you’re looking for.  Before your casting call you should look at the project, examine every character you need and what you’re looking for in that character.  Be specific but not so specific that you pigeon hold yourself into one idea and aren’t open to another in the event a better option presents it’s self.
• You will always need more than one casting call, so when you’re planning out your pre-production schedule go ahead and throw a few of them in there; never expect or think that you’ll find exactly the person you need for every role at the first audition.
• Never cast after the first audition and most especially never tell the talent they have the role after the first audition.  You may think someone is really good and just perfect for the part, but how would you really know if you haven’t seen anyone else.  I know it’s a scary thought to let them walk out the door and not have them signed if you really like them, but let me share a secret with you – the talent isn’t going anywhere.  Anyone showing up for an audition realistically knows they won’t have an answer the same day – they may hope for it, but they know better.  In fact they all know the process could take weeks if not months.  I know, I’ve heard the worries of “what if they sign on for another project in the meantime?”  OK – so what if they do?  It’s the job of talent to work in projects and often those projects are happening simultaneously.  That’s why we ask them about their schedules and when it comes time for production schedule accordingly.  It’ll be ok – just don’t cast on the spot.  I can’t tell you how many people I know that have done this and ended up regretting it.
• If you don’t find what you need from your casting call then just schedule another casting call.  Whatever you do, don’t cast from what you have just because it’s what you have in front of you.  If you didn’t like the choices auditioning for the part then don’t settle and say “I’ll make it work” just because they’re the only ones that showed up.  Instead schedule another casting call, send out emails, contact agencies.  Just don’t settle – it will affect your project.
• Don’t cast based on if a person looks the part.  Remember that looks can be deceiving.  Movies create looks all the time.  We make people look old, young, fat, bald, wrinkled, different skin tones, different hair colors and so on.  Appearance is pretty easy to change.  What’s not easy to change is someones ability to act.  And no – not everyone can be turned into an actor / actress with the right director.  If the ability isn’t there it just isn’t there.  Acting is a skill and a talent.  Just like with any other skill or talent, not everyone has it.  That would be like saying anyone can sing.  We’ve all watched clips of American Idol – we know that’s not true.  The same with acting.  Don’t cast for a role because the person has the right look, cast because the person can act like the character and breathe life into that character.  The look will come.  If you ask a person to say something sad and then have them repeat it it happy – and there’s no difference, most likely they won’t do your character justice no matter how much they look the part.  And that will affect the successful outcome of your project.
• Plan on video taping the auditions and making notes.  And go ahead and accept that not everyone will bring a headshot or resume.
• Be patient and plan on a long day.  Be prepared for people who have no acting experience at all.  Realize that sometimes you’ll have 3 times as many people show up and sometimes you’ll have only a handful show up.
• Don’t rush the process.  Not everyone can play the same type of role.  One person may bring just a little bit different characteristic to the role than another.  Plan an adequate amount of time for casting.  With proper planning you won’t ever feel like you’re in a bind and just have to pick whoever you can get your hands on.
• Always remember that the project is yours and whoever you hire for any role, not just cast, is a direct reflection on you.  So make your choices wisely.  Not out of favoritism, looks or who you owe a favor too.  Ultimately you always need to side with what’s best for the overall welfare of the project.

Good Morning,

One of the biggest obstacles in film making is raising the money.  Especially if you’re an independent production without a big name attached to your project.  And if you’re making a short versus a feature it’s almost impossible.

Fortunately for us there are now numerous ways to help get funding for projects.  Two of those resources are IndieGoGo and Kickstarter.  Both are websites designed to specifically help individuals to raise money for their creative projects.

Some tips for using either of these sites:

• make sure you research which site is right for your project, what the fees are and how it works
• review other campaigns to see how they did it, where they went wrong, what they did right
• really plan out what you want to accomplish with the campaign
• keep the amount reasonable – if you need to fund your whole project and it’s a lot of money, then break it down into categories and do several campaigns for different phases
• make the incentive packages worthwhile – you can get creative with these, and often they don’t have to cost you much money
• post regular updates so that it keeps the campaign fresh and people interested
• base it off of your project business plan and proposal – don’t use these sites as an excuse not to to do the business side of film; you might not make any money off of it or you might find a lead for an investor – either way you should solely count on it and you should always be prepared for potential investors, besides it will only enhance your project
• and yes, you’re going to have to spam it – but we’re producers after all – marketing ourselves and our projects are part of our biggest job – getting the word out, making people interested, drawing attention, and finding investors; you may not like to do it but you’re definitely going to have to get used to it.