Make Films, Not War

The last couple of days I’ve been distracted, because I’ve been engaged in a heated and protracted slanging match with a Hollywood screenwriter over at indieclub.com.

On the surface the argument has been centered around our different beliefs re: the role of script consultants in the micro-budget filmmaking development process. His take is that script consultants are bad for a screenwriter’s development, because they’re all frustrated, failed, writers trying to scam a quick buck from us… and that they force writers to give up their unique voice in favor of formulaic approaches.

My argument is what it’s always been, if you’ve no contacts in the industry who can steer you in the right direction, using a credible and professional script editor is a good idea… especially if you can find one who is able to nurture your development.

On a deeper level, I think the argument is about something else… it’s about the difference between how a film maker or screenwriter used to build a career before the digital revolution and how that’s different now.

Only a few years back, when feature film production was expensive, there was a tried and trusted way of making your move from wannabee screenwriter into the industry… that was: read a lot of scripts, read the core books on screenwriting technique, write a script, put that to one side and write another one… punt that script around some screenwriting competitions (especially those that provided notes), write another script … hold some script readings and figure out where your dialogue is working or not… show your script around your mates and see what their reactions are… then, when you think you’ve got a winner, punt your script around some agents and production companies, and see if you get a bite. Whilst you’re waiting for the rejection letters, write another script.

In basic terms, read scripts, write scripts and eventually you’ll either get it right or give up.

This is the course of action being pushed by my nemesis… and, as far as it goes, there is nothing wrong with that as a strategy.

However, the second HD met Final Cut Pro at consumer price levels, other possibilities emerged. It’s these opportunities that 1000dollarfilm and the whole micro-budget film movement, is all about.

My take is this… as a screenwriter I didn’t really start to understand where I was going wrong, until I saw my first two features on the timeline. Woody Allen, once said “I don’t ever know how the film should have been written until I’ve finished editing it.” That’s always been my experience as well… actually seeing the script I wrote as a completed feature film, is always the point at which I start to see the flaws in the story telling.

What I learned from these experiences, was the value in my personal development as a writer, in having films go into production. The problem is, as long as film making was an expensive and time consuming process, then the process was going to be a slow one.

The truth is, that no matter how many screenplays you read, or how many scripts you write, or even how many screenwriting seminars you attend, the test of whether a script works is when it gets produced. I know any number of competition winning screenwriters who have yet to see any of their masterpieces turned into an actual movie. Personally, I don’t have the stamina to keep on writing for year after year, without any result.

Now, because in the past films have been so expensive, there has never been the opportunity for new talent to go through the process of writing a script… no real way making the film existed, for you to see how it plays out and then learning from your mistakes. No genuine production company can afford to invest a couple of million dollars in getting a writer through that process.

What this has meant in the past, is writers have had to develop blind… they write, they send stuff out, but they have to get good enough to attract someone’s attention before they get either the opportunity to see script become a film or any professional development. Far too many writers, who could have become real assets to the industry never find their way out of the wilderness.

The purpose of micro-budget film making… and here I’m talking about $7,000 or less, is to give developing screenwriters and filmmakers the opportunity to learn how to make films by making films. You write a script, you do the best job you can, and then you shoot it, for as little money as you can.

Then you do it again… you still do all the other stuff… you still read scripts, you still read screenwriting books… but, as well as that you either acquire the skills to make the film yourself, or you find a local indie director who wants push their career forwards.

As you progress in both skill and confidence, you reevaluate what you’re doing… so, maybe by your third feature, you decide you’re still going to work micro-budget, but this time you’re going to attempt to create a film that can distributed. You actually make a sub $7000 film and take it to the market.

My take on the way the industry is swinging, is that digital production is going to force all but the star driven Hollywood movies into down sizing and down scaling. Production is going to get cheaper all over the industry.

Not only that, but the whole micro-budget movie movement is a real opportunity for filmmakers and writers to make films that never could have survived pre-the digital revolution. I agree wholeheartedly with my nemesis when he says that finding a unique voice is key to creating great films… where I disagree, is how you get there.

Now, the danger of moving from wannabe writer to micro-budget writer/producer is it’s easy to get locked into a ghetto mentality, where you start to believe that micro-budget and self distribution is the only level you can play at… it does happen. And the other danger is that when you green-light your own projects, you’ll not apply the same critical values that you would if you were commissioning someone else’s script.

So, here are the guidelines that I use for green-lighting a micro-budget script for production:

1) Don’t green-light any film where you haven’t mocked up the film poster and market tested it on at least forty people
(with positive responses to the question… would you rent this film, if you saw it at Blockbuster?)
2) Don’t green-light any script that hasn’t been read by someone connected to the industry, whose judgement you trust
3) Don’t green-light any script that hasn’t had a successful actor’s “read through”
4) Don’t green-light any script for production, that hasn’t had an option offer from another production company.

The basic rules of micro-budget are simple: $1,000 is a good budget, $7,000 is the max… always attempt to make something you can sell… and finally, always work with people who know more than you do.

Now, anyone who thinks that I’m peddling a painless “technique that guarantees success” can think again… there is no formula for success… however, what I am peddling a strategy which allows you to learn from failure, instead of having your early failures scupper your whole career.

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