Finding a Producer: What You Need to Bring to the Table
Looking to get your film produced? Here’s what you need to bring to the table.
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Are you looking to turn your directorial ambitions into reality? To be successful, you’re going to need to find a good producer to help bring your film to life. While producers work on films for a variety of reasons, minding your p’s and q’s when bringing your project to the table can help you find the best producer possible.
Here are five things every producer likes to see when deciding to take on a project.
Strong Concept
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Ideally, your strong concept is also a strong and well-revised script, but not all projects start out that thorough. However, you need a resolute understanding and comprehensive knowledge of your concept – you can answer every question about the story, the characters, and why the project matters.
Here are some tips for concepting and developing your story.
- 9 Quick Tips for Coming Up with Great Short Film Ideas
- Pop-up cinemas: top 10 tips for creating your own
- 8 Great ‘Proof of Concept’ Films That Got Picked Up by Hollywood
Storyboard/Shot List
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If you’re directing your project, you need to show that you’ve put thought into how you’re going to shoot it and what the shots will look like. Just saying it takes place in space might be too ambiguous for a producer to figure out for you. Once you get into pre-production, you can finish up a working storyboard and shot list with your DP.
Check out these storyboard and shot list resources.
- The Benefits of Storyboarding Your Next Film
- Free Storyboard Template for Film and Video Projects
- The Unifying Power of Storyboards
Budget
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Perhaps the most important aspect is that you need to have a budget in mind. Producers can do a lot of awesome things – like even raise funds – but you need to bring a number to the table. This takes into account everything from the type of camera you’d like to shoot on, to talent costs, to the total scale of production.
Budget resources to read up on.
- 12 Indispensible Tips for Budgeting Your Indie Feature
- How To Create A Film Budget – Learning The Production 411’S
- The Essential Guide for Crafting Film Budgets
Shooting Schedule and Locations
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A realistic shooting schedule will help you crunch the numbers as well as find available resources. Your own availability is highly important as well. Having locations in mind, along with a game plan for how to access them, will help you make decisions about which days (and how long) to reserve for shooting — which will affect production times.
Shooting schedule and location scouting articles.
- How to Break a Script Down Into a Shot List
- Location Scouting Tips: The Whys and Hows of Where
- Free Location Fact Sheet for Film and Video Productions
Distribution Plan
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While this used to be a pretty straightforward process, the rise of VOD and many different streaming services is quickly making distribution a subject to keep in mind during the earliest discussions of your project. Shooting for a theatrical release versus uploading online create very different production cycles – also, if you’re looking to shoot a lead-up teaser or anything before crowdfunding, this is where you bring your ideas to the table.
Finally, some film distribution resources to consider.
