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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

producing books..

David Mullen ASC said:
Writing books about cinematography pays even less!
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David, you have 25$ of my money:)
everyone who sits on my toilet learns about cinematography
(dont take offense... its just the only place i get time to read:)


but im looking to give another author some more cash to now learn about producing:)
 
Zakaree Sandberg said:
David, you have 25$ of my money:)
everyone who sits on my toilet learns about cinematography
(dont take offense... its just the only place i get time to read:)


but im looking to give another author some more cash to now learn about producing:)
Click to expand...


Hilarious..thanks for the laugh
 
Hi Zakaree, from a legals point of view I can recommend The Independent Film Producer's Survival Guide.

I am not sure if there is a new edition, I have the second edition that was updated in 2005 so a little out of date, although that's probably only reflected primarily in sections related to state of the industry and online arenas. It's a very sturdy document regarding the legal processes involved in producing and how that relates to the practical side of things.

I can also recommend What I Really Want To Do Is Produce - it's a series of interviews with a wide range of producers, from both the independent and studio world, those of a creative bent and those who are pretty much just in the movie financing game. It really helps show what a disparate job 'producing' is as well as giving some insight into how some producers got where they are.

For low budget film making you probably can't go past The Guerilla Filmmakers Blueprint as a step by step how to.

Finally, Buck Houghton, who produced over 100 episodes of the original Twilight Zone series, wrote a book called "What a Producer Does" back in 1991. I think it's probably by far the best insight into the importance of the producer as a creative partner, and of all the above books has probably had the most impact on me in terms of the way I see producing and I thoroughly recommend it.
 
There's an old book which I'm not sure if it has been updated for today's world, but it was pretty much the only book you needed of producing for many years, covered a remarkable scope - Gregory Goodell's Independent Feature Film Production. Now, today's world is TOTALLY different - but don't read something like oh... Robert Rodriguez's book which doesn't give you the whole truth, that will screw you up a bit and get you in a bind.
 
Mark Allen said:
There's an old book which I'm not sure if it has been updated for today's world, but it was pretty much the only book you needed of producing for many years, covered a remarkable scope - Gregory Goodell's Independent Feature Film Production. Now, today's world is TOTALLY different - but don't read something like oh... Robert Rodriguez's book which doesn't give you the whole truth, that will screw you up a bit and get you in a bind.
Click to expand...

I've got that one as well - my personal take on it is that it's a very practical guide but quite out of date... It's very well suited to learning the roles of everyone who will be working with and understanding the scope of production and a production offices intricacies from memory, but depending on which end of producing you are looking at you may find it a bit too out of date and a bit too practical/production manager type stuff (which goes back to the impossibility of actually defining what it is a producer does.).

Still, totally worth a read as well.
 
Zakaree Sandberg said:
as much fun as cinematography is..
and as much of an art it is..

its not the money maker:)

so id like to keep it and my big money making apart!

anyone know good books on producing?
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Zak, i kinda thought that cinematography could earn you a fairly reasonable wage?..maybe you`re talking about BIG BIG bucks when you say it`s not the money maker?
A lot of talk here about good rental with MX`d Red`s for example..
 
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How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and
Never Lost a Dime
by Roger Corman

Corman had a formula that worked for a very long time..but as he says
the difference is back in the old days ALL of his films got some
form of theatrical release..and he had the exploitation..teen..and horror
markets to himself. Now Studios make medium/high budget
versions of the films he used to make. How many vampire..
zombie..apocalytic..gross/out teen comedies have been released in
the last few years ?

Michael Bay's producers have found a financial formula
that's foolproof. Just remake every classic horror
movie from the '70s and '80s w/ a low budget..creatively they
do nothing but always turn a profit. Not much of
a trick..take movies that were homeruns originally
and turn them into solid singles.

But really don't need a book to produce..one
just needs access to good scripts and money..both of
which are always in short supply..to..nonexistant.
 
If you've been working as a DP for a few years, I'd say you're already well on your way to becoming a decent producer. I've shot too many projects where the producers, and all the other management folks on board, hardly knew anything about the technical side of making a film. How on earth do they expect to be very good at managing something they know nothing about?

As for making the "big bucks", I'd say film, in general, probably isn't the best bet around. Course, I suppose it depends on what you define as "big" money.
 
I second what Chris says.

I'm currently doing a part time masters degree in Film Producing and Business Management not to make big bucks cause well i couldnt give two shits about earning big bucks as long as filmmaking can stay as my day job. The reason i am doing it is to fill in some gaps in my knowledge from the business side - especially things like IP.

Will have a look for a reading list that i am bound to have around somewhere. That should be pretty comprehensive.

Quick annedote I remember being told about a producers...

The devil walks into a producers office and tells him "I will grant you success in business, everyone will love you, all your projects will be a success, you will live the high life till the day you die. For this gift I will take the souls of your wife, your children, your grandchildren and great grandchildren".

The producer replied "So where's the catch"
 
I think filmmaking is absolutely a good way to make big bucks, it just depends on what you're doing. One of the things that attracted me to the industry is first of all I love films and I love the idea of creating something indelible like a movie, something that can touch so many people or entertain them at least. But another big appeal to directing, at least, was that I knew the sky is the limit in earning potential. I'm one of the types of people who doesn't care if something is extremely difficult as long as there is possibility. You know if you're working as an SFX artist, you will never, ever be rich doing what you do. Even if you're a senior SFX artist for ILM, what are you going to make per year? $200,000? $300,000? Even if it was $500,000, it's still not big money. But the richest directors are some of the wealthiest people in the world, like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and James Cameron. Heck Todd Phillips made $38 million on The Hangover.

There is BIG, BIG money in movies, you just have to be one of the few who makes it to the absolute top. And crew positions are never going to get rich, no. You have to be above-the-line for that. I would say if you're doing film for the money, though, your heart is in the wrong place and it's going to be tough to slog through many brutal years and brutal days where you're making very little money just in hopes that one day you hit the mother lode. I'm certainly interested in making a lot of money, but my main priority is being able to do a job that I absolutely love and that is filmmaking. I would still want to be a director even if there was no more than $30,000 a year in it for me. It would still be worth it because it's just too much fun to want to do anything else!

That being said, of course I like the idea at least that there is always somewhere to go, you can always move up. I don't like any type of work where your money or power is limited. I like to know that the top directors in the world are some of the wealthiest, most powerful people in the country, because at least you know no matter where you are, you can always move up, and that motivates me to keep challenging myself and keep working harder and never give up. It's not like being a software engineer where you get into a certain position and you just basically cruise along.
 
The most important tool you need as a producer is this:

A telephone.


:)


David
 
If you want higher earnings in a technical position, consider transferring your DP skills over to photography work. I've met far more wealthy commercial photographers than I have DP's. I know a few who make 1 million + a year, course, like any profession, there is always the top of the line super star earner. "Results not guaranteed", LOL.
 
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