CHAPTER 3 - NICE STORY, NOW WHAT?
OK, so you have a script that you absolutely love and think you can make. Now what?
Well, to say that movie making is the ultimate collaborative art form would be selling the matter short. You cannot make a movie by yourself. Well actually that’s not one hundred percent the truth. I saw a short film made by a crazy guy from New Jersey. He wrote it, starred in it and shot it (the camera was locked off the entire time). Very Bizarre to say the least, but that’s a whole other story. For your own sanity, it is safe to assume that you cannot make a quality film by your self. So, for you to take the next step you will need to surround yourself, not just with talented people (that’s a given) but with talented people you can trust. I can’t stress this enough.
All thoughts you ever had of fair play, trust, truth and reliability go right out the window the minute you step into this world. I am not saying everyone in this business is a shyster or crook, however I don’t think it would be terribly inaccurate to say that for every honest person in this business there are three dishonest ones. I am sure there are many people who feel this way and are afraid to say it but it is the truth. Making a film is hard work and there is an endless supply of people who would love to jump on your bandwagon to make a buck off your hard work. I know you are thinking, ‘jeez this guy is jaded” and “well I don’t know anyone like that”, you may not know any now, but have no fear, they will find you. So it is imperative that your inner circle be staffed with people you can trust. Now you ask, “How do I find people I can trust?” One way is to hire all those people you met on those student film shoots and PA jobs you did when you took my advice and canned the idea of film school in order to go out and live it. If you didn’t take my advice and don’t have all those great connections now, well your shit out of luck aren’t you? OK, not really, but it is going to be a lot harder in the beginning.
So, who can you trust? The people most trust worthy, are the people who stand the least to gain financially from your endeavor but the most to gain artistically. Let me try to explain. Let’s take your DP (Director of Photography, Cinematographer or in the UK, Lighting Camera Man or DoP) for example. If your DP has a fantastic reel and he/she really wants to shoot your movie because he/she really connects with the material then you can probably trust this person not to try to screw you. If your DP has a decent, but short reel, they may see your project as fodder for their reel and try to force unnecessary shots into the film just to put on their reel. I have seen it done in the past. This person will put his own need in front of yours and the film. You don’t need a person like this on your set.
Making a film in many ways is like organized chaos. You can’t be everywhere at once, so you need to put your trust and the fate of your film in the hands of your producer and your crew. You need a producer who you can not only trust but who, as in any good relationship, is going to have your back when the proverbial shit hits the fan (and it will, trust me).
If your crew is solid, then you can be assured that you have a team that will help guide you to the completion of your film. However, a crew that consists of bad attitudes, self-important personnel and untrustworthy department heads will ultimately crash and burn. The only loser will be you. These people will walk away and get another gig on another show while you are left with the bills, headaches and consequences of a failed movie attempt. This is not something that is easily walked away from and it will follow you through your next few projects. Five successes are easily wiped out by one failure in this business. You need to hedge your bets and a solid crew will help to ensure that.
