It seems filmmaking breaks down into two arenas:
1. Filmmaking for the shear joy of it… The art of it… and
2. Filmmaking as a financial venture.
Filmmakers tend to mix and confuse these two elements all the time.
Typically, one will embark on a movie project from the exciting creative prospects of it all; then to descend into the headache-producing world of financial, legal requirements, sales, contract issues, etc. Somehow they will raise their head and shout, “Hey, this isn’t what I signed on for”… and they’re right.
It happened because they weren’t clear on their objectives at the beginning. They had only planned on making a movie… not embarking on a start-up business enterprise. That is the prime reason for most financial failures of most small movies... No planning for a financial venture.
When the filmmakers sat down at the table, they were planning out a movie… something wonderfully creative… something that would make them stretch their creative muscles… something that would feed their creative soul. Somewhere along the way, the idea entered: “Hey, maybe we could sell this thing and make some money too?... You know, get a distribution deal and see this movie in real movie theatres. How hard could that be?” They probably don’t say that last sentence. That question doesn’t even enter their mind at that point. It’s more likely thought of as merely a “standard process” and at the end of the chain, checks arrive in the mail. Sometime after the movie is made, the rude awakening is what arrives instead.
So I would propose we separate the two thoughts on moviemaking. Let’s be clear if we’re making the movie for the pure and simple pleasure of making it, versus making it as a “product” to be marketed and sold by a business enterprise. That would sure help in keeping things in perspective and reduce a lot of angst.
I'll be talking more about how to do this on the new site: www.thestudiocenterfilmschool.com
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