In this episode, Chris and Jason talk about the risk/reward balance of being "first money in" on investment and what to do if you're not.
About the MAKE IT Podcast The MAKE IT podcast is a platform for the voice of independent filmmaker. We offer a variety of educational, aspirational, and entertaining content that promotes the success of creatives across the filmmaking community and the film industry. Our Filmmaker Conversations with industry professionals are dedicated to sharing the advice, knowledge, and insights of experienced filmmakers while exploring what it truly means to be an independent creative in the highly competitive world of filmmaking. Each filmmaker conversation is backed by thoughtful research that allows us to uncover the raw, authentic truths behind each filmmaker's journey. Through our Indie Talks, we share our thoughts and perspectives on navigating independent film from the perspective of Advisory and Executive Producers. We discuss topics that are relevant to filmmakers across a wide spectrum of filmmaking perspectives, and we do our best to uncover hidden truths and new developments in the film industry. Our goal is to help filmmakers avoid the pitfalls and obstacles on the business side of film so that their filmmaking creativity can thrive. Our Industry Insights provide bite-sized actionable advice that filmmaking professionals and creatives of all kinds can use to keep their heads up as they continue their filmmaking journeys. With advice sourced from the filmmaking community, we build upon the wisdom of our filmmaking guests to provide our audience with truly aspirational and inspirational content. The Mistakes in the Making series gives our filmmaking friends an opportunity to speak directly to our filmmaking audience to share a specific lesson they've learned through a mistake they've made. We are firm believers that mistakes can be the gateway to success when we open our hearts and minds to learning from them, sharing them, and using them to Be Better. The Film Investment series is a conversational series of 52 episodes geared towards the would-be film investor. Each episode, facilitated via a friendly conversation between hosts and friends Christopher Barkley and Jason McConnell, highlights a unique aspect of the film investment process. In addition to being a great resource for film investors, it serves as a reference for filmmakers regarding the many considerations that must be made when seeking film investment.
Updated: Jul 21, 2021
“The best skill you can have…is being totally open to the idea that you can’t do everything. You need to find the best people you can to be around you.”
- Joey Von Haeger, Writer/Director
We've come across several independent filmmakers who believe that they can be a "Jack of all trades" when it comes to bringing their filmmaking visions to life. Though being able to do a lot of things well is truly an asset, success requires turning good to great and, in the end, a "Jack of all trades" is a master of none.
As Joey tells us, the best skill is one's ability to build a team that represents the best of the best. This doesn't just mean hiring people with great resumes; it means surrounding yourself with skilled people who share in a collective vision of success. Here are a few things to keep in mind when building your team:
Have a Clear, Measurable Goal
Success in filmmaking can mean different things to different people. Some people create for the sake of self-expression whereas others create as a form of education. Some people create to make a stand whereas others create to make a profit. When building your team, you need to be able to clearly articulate what your goals are for your film and how you plan to measure success. This will give potential team members an idea of what they are signing up to do and helps to shape their thinking about how they can best leverage their talents to achieve the goal.
Define Your Values, Principles, and Cultural Expectations
Highly skilled people are only as good as their ability to collaborate and cooperate towards meeting a common goal. The effectiveness of collaboration and cooperation is often determined by the team's culture. It's important to define that culture up front so that potential team members can assess themselves against your stated values and principles. No matter how skilled someone might be, if they don't align with you on a personal level, they can break you on a professional level. Consider documenting a short list of team values and principles and making those available during prospecting.
Find People Who Complement Each Other
When building your team, it's important to find people with complementary skillsets as well as complementary experiences. For example, if you're making a documentary, it will be important to find team members who have worked on documentary sets in the past. This promotes a common expectation around the production style and rules of behavior. The goal here is to create a sense of cohesiveness with everyone understanding how to execute their roles in the context of the production.
No Mercenaries
For Chris and I, this is a first principle and a lesson learned from our early days in filmmaking. If you are going to build a team, build a team of people who will be there for the life of your film. This doesn't mean that they'll be fully dedicated to working on it every day in perpetuity, but that they'll be dedicated to helping you achieve your vision. Your team should be more invested in the goal than they are in the paycheck if you truly want to make the most out of their collective experience and expertise. If they're not in it for you, they're not in it for real.
As a filmmaker, you can't and shouldn't do everything. After all, filmmaking is a collaborative affair that is far greater than the sum of its parts. Build a team that will be there with you for the long haul and you will all continue to grow together.
As always,
Be Better. Be Creative. Be Engaged.
Updated: Aug 21, 2021
"When it's feast time, when things are going well, you get a little cozy."
- Matt Williams, Actor/Director
Every independent creative goes through periods of feast and famine. It's inevitable when your career is based on your ability to create art and to find an audience for it. When things are going well, the money and the accolades pour in and your confidence is at an all-time high. But what if that high can actually create a corresponding low? What if your feast is actually causing your famine?
As Matt says, "...when things are going well, you get a little cozy." Cozy can mean complacent and complacent can mean neglecting the hard work that got you to the feast in the first place. The last thing you want to do is to allow your success to be the cause of a creative drought. So, how do you avoid the famine? Well, here are just a few things you can do to keep the ball rolling:
Network
The best time to network is when you are on top of your game. When you're on top, you'll meet others who are at least equally as qualified as you are. By reaching out and creating relationships with these people, you can position yourself for projects with collaborators who have a proven track record for success. Exchange business cards, social profiles, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses and don't forget to stay in touch. Networking isn't about building a contact list; it's about building relationships.
Stay Grounded
It's important not to lose sight of the work that got you to where you are. If you were taking classes, keep taking classes. If you were working with your agent to find new opportunities, keep working with your agent. If you were exercising and eating right, maintain those good habits. Everything you were doing up to this moment led to this moment. Don't throw away the process while celebrating your progress.
Be Humble
When things are going well, it's easy to let success go to your head. The more highly you think of yourself, the more likely you are to look down on others. Though people admire confidence, they despise arrogance. By practicing humility and showing gratitude for the people and the process that got you where you are today, you'll build a positive reputation amongst your peers. This is just the type of social credit you'll need to keep the momentum going.
Though we wish nothing but good times for our creative family, we know first hand the ups and downs of the independent artist. As Matt explained during our podcast discussion, those ups and downs are often out of our control, but it's easy to self-sabotage when you get too cozy. Here's to putting in the work and maintaining focus on all the right things so that the famine is few and far between.
As always,
Be Better. Be Creative. Be Engaged.