First producing class seemed pretty good. If it carries on like this, it could prove to be very helpful. While I don't actually want to produce in the future, I definitely think it's worth gaining an understanding of other people's jobs. I find it easier to work with people when I understand their job as well as my own.
Notes from Class:
-Line Producer manages budget and works with AD to schedule
-Producing is creative and you should always have a relationship with and an opinion on the content
-Hollywood Roundtable
-In any other industry, a producer would be called a Production Manager
-Script is everything
-Nag, nag, nag. Always be persistent, but always patient
-Writing on spec is writing for free. It Is speculative as to whether the film is made or not
-Festivals are a marketplace to sell your film
-Producing takes a lot of convincing yourself and the entire creative team that you’re right and this project is going to be amazing, in the face of a hundred people telling you it’s garbage and not replying to your emails
-If you’re given 5 pages of notes to give to a writer, maybe select the 3 most important notes. The chances are the person who gave the notes will have forgotten
-During development, the producer works extensively with the writer before the script is sent to the financier. They are then given notes by the financier and develop the script further.
-Sometimes if money is low, the producer is asked to defer their fee. This is a risk because it relies on the film making money.
-The producer is there to make scripts better, not to write.
-Check out John Yorke’s website Do’s and Don’ts for script development
-When giving notes to a writer, be truthful, but be careful with how you say it
-If your notes make the script different but not better, don’t give them. Your job is to work with what’s in front of you
-Spelling mistakes aren’t your job to point out. They will just piss the writer off
-Make an effort to meet in person and build a relationship. Have a discussion about notes instead of ‘do what I tell you to’ in a text message
-Stay upbeat all the time
-Don’t give all of your notes in one go. If you’ve lots of notes, it is a development and you won’t solve all of your problems in one go anyway
-Don’t speak prescriptively. Never say “Cut this character”, say “Do we need this character? I’m not convinced”
-All writer wants to know is what works, what doesn’t and how to fix it
-Give the writer one set of notes regardless of how many people they are from; compile the most important ones
-If you keep giving the same note and the writer doesn’t do it, sometimes you just need to accept it and move on
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