Introduction

Dear Producing Class,

Thanks for a wonderful first class! It's always a pleasure working with you here in Trinidad. I'm looking forward very much to the course.

Here is a resume of the points we covered in class, as well as tasks to complete before the next class in October 2009.

The aim of the course is to give you a practical overview of the job of the Producer. During the course you will produce a small project from Concept to Delivery, with the aim of going through all the steps necessary to Produce the film. If posible put aside the jobs of writer, director, actor and try to think as a Producer.

What is A Producer?

1. Dictionary definition: a producer is a person by whom a film is made. Literally "to produce" meaning "to make"; responsible for delivery of the film "product".

2. The producer is responsible. The buck stops with him/her. He cannot go home early, say "I have something else to do", have a family etc... The Producer gets done whatever has to be done. If no-one else is available to do something, the producer has to do it.

3. The producer is a Leader. (has a vision and achieves it)

4. The producer is a Manager. (needs people skills to manage cast, crew, writer, director etc)

5. The producer is responsible for raising and managing Finance on the production.

6. The producer is responsible for bringing the film in "on time, and on budget"

7. The producer is responsible for ensuring that every aspect of production is implemented and runs smoothly.

8. The producer is responsible for delivering the Project to the highest production value posible, within the available budget.

This requires creative thinking and problem solving, thinking outside the box.


The following are the areas of responsibility of the Producer. The course will be evaluated as follows on these areas:

1. The Proposal (10%) - The producer has responsibility to visualise the final product at the projects inception. What is the product, what is its market, who is its target audience. Is the product viable. What is the financing scenario (where will the funding come from).

The Proposal comprises:
Project description,(including Concept, Treatment, and Script if available) Target Audience, Marketing plan, Budget, and Financing Scenario. Key Creative elements - style, cast, Key Crew (ie cinematographer), music. (This can all be brief but it needs to be laid out)

2. Legal (10%) Contracts provide the legal framework on which every aspect of the production is based. Ownership of the project, compensation of all parties, and music copyright are some of the elements covered by contracts.

3. Script Breakdown (15%). A key stage of prep, the Script Breakdown breaks every scene into all its different elements - eg Cast, Day/night, location, props, costumes, special effects, time needed to shoot etc. This detailed breakdown is necessary to produce ...

3. The Budget, Schedule, and Cashflow: (15%) The Budget costs each and every item in the Breakdown, and all other elements needed to deliver the project.

The Schedule lays out the most efficient timeline for achieving the shoot, based on location, cast availability etc etc.

The production Cashflow lays out how much money will be needed when during the production.

4. The Shoot (15 %) ...During the Shoot, time is money, so effective planning (as above) is essential.

The aim is to follow the Schedule precisely in order to bring the show in "on time and on budget" according to the Cashflow. (not go over budget).

During the shoot weekly and daily production and cashflow reports are produced (and sent to funders/producers/banks etc) in order to monitor and keep production on track.

5. Post-production (15%) Everything that has to happen to deliver the final product to the highest level, including editing, music composition, sound mix, grading, Master outputs etc.

* Journaling (10%). You are required to do a report of production progress at least 1ce a week. This will give an opportunity to think through challenges and get feedback from other class members.

* Attendance (10%). If you are late or absent from class you will lose 10% of your final mark. As a Producer it is essential to be on time if not early for all meetings. It is not acceptable to be late or absent without providing a valid reason in advance.

Things to do for next class.

1. In your groups, complete your Proposal (including script) and put it up on blog.

2. Each person to journal weekly (not 2 lines but a good exploration of where production stands to date!)

3. Download Celtx Script and Production software (celtx.com) and figure out how to use it to do your Script Breakdown. At your next class Annabel will cover the Script Breakdown in detail.

That's it folks. I'll see you in October. I am available through this blog and will respond to your posts. You can also email me directly to francesannesolomon@gmail.com.

Love,
Frances-Anne