Producing for the Screen from Focal Press is a collection of essays written by and interviews with working producers, directors, writers, and professors, exploring the business side of producing for film and television. In this book, over 30 industry professionals dispel myths about the industry and provide practical advice on topics such as how to break into the field; how to develop, nurture, and navigate business relationships; and how to do creative work under pressure. Readers will also learn about the entrepreneurial expectations in relation to marketing, strategies for contending with the emotional highs and lows of producing, and money management while pursuing producing as a profession.
Written for undergraduates and graduates studying filmmaking, aspiring producers, and working producers looking to reinvent themselves, Producing for the Screen provides readers with a wealth of first-hand information that will help them create their own opportunities and pursue a career in film and television.
Table of Contents
- INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS PRODUCING?
- CHAPTER 1: GETTING STARTED
- THE CURTAIN-RAISER: FINDING THE FLAME, FANNING THE FLAME
- An interview with Lianne Halfon By Amedeo D’Adamo
- MOVING TOWARDS A CAREER: WHAT ARE THE DOORWAYS?
- JUMPING INTO LOW-BUDGET PRODUCING: THE WRITER AS WEB-SERIES PRODUCER: DRIVING THE INDEPENDENT WEBISODE
- By Lydia Yeoman
- WATCH YOUR METRICS, CHANGE YOUR WORK, AND JUST KEEP PRODUCING! A QUICK GUIDE TO PRODUCING FOR YOUTUBE
- An interview with Bruna Capozzoli By Amedeo D’Adamo
- CASE STUDY: THE SMALL PRODUCTION COMPANY
- An interview with Graziano Chiscuzzu of 5e6
- STORY PASS: HOW TO HELP A WRITER MOVE FROM A PITCH OR STORY IDEA TO A FULL STORY: PART ONE– CHARACTER AND CHARACTER ARCS
- By Amedeo D’Adamo
- CHAPTER 2: STICKING IT OUTSTORY RADAR AND GENIUS-SPOTTING: ON WORKING WITH DIRECTORS
- An interview with Jack Lechner
- WORKSHEET: TEN STEPS TO PRODUCING YOUR FIRST FEATURE: YOUR INITIAL PRODUCING PACKAGE
- MEDIA LABS: THE NEW DEVELOPMENT DEAL: A WAY TO CREATE BUZZ, RAISE YOUR PROFILE, NETWORK AND IMPROVE YOUR STORY
- By Gabrielle Kelly
- "ARE WE ALL MAKING THE SAME MOVIE?": THE DIRECTOR-PRODUCER RELATIONSHIP
- An interview with director Adam Salky, head of the AFI’s directing concentration By Amedeo D’Adamo
- KNOW YOUR PRIORITIES:THE ART OF THE BUDGET: WHERE TO SPEND, WHERE TO SAVE
- By Peggy Rajski
- WELCOME TO POST-PRODUCTION: HOW TO WORK WITH THE EXPERTS
- An interview with Niko Remus
- THE COST OF DISTRIBUTION: HOW TO KNOW WHAT YOU WANT
- By Avril Speaks
- STORY PASS: HOW TO HELP A WRITER MOVE FROM STORY TO SCRIPT: PART TWO– CHARACTER OBJECTIVES AND RELATIONSHIPS
- By Amedeo D’Adamo
- GOING ’ROUND THE TABLE: STICKING IT OUT
- A conversation on dealing with rejection
- CHAPTER 3: FINDING SUCCESS
- WHEN GOVERNMENTS GIVE YOU MONEY TO MAKE YOUR MOVIE: COMPARING THE US AND EU PRODUCING ENVIRONMENTS
- An interview with Nevina Satta
- FINDING YOUR AUDIENCE: CREATING THE WRITER-DIRECTOR-PRODUCER TRIANGLE
- An interview with Roshi Nedjad
- GETTING THE BEST FROM YOUR TEAM: HOW DO YOU COLLABORATE?: THE 2-TO-1 RULE FOR ARTISTIC COLLABORATION
- By Amedeo D’Adamo
- ON BEING FOCUSED, HONEST AND PREPARED: HANDLING THE COMPLICATED DYNAMICS BETWEEN PRODUCERS AND DIRECTORS
- An interview with Joost de Vries By Amedeo D’Adamo
- WHAT KIND OF PRODUCER WILL YOU BE? ON ISRAEL’S CO-PRODUCTION LANDSCAPE
- An interview with Katriel Schory By Amedeo D’Adamo
- SCREEN PRODUCING "DOWNUNDER": THE MEDIA-PRODUCING LANDSCAPE IN AUSTRALIA
- By Ian Dixon
- WORKSHEET: TAKING CHARGE OF YOUR MARKETING CAMPAIGN: WHAT ARE THE MARKETING HOOKS OF YOUR FILM?
- By Amedeo D’Adamo
- GOING ’ROUND THE TABLE
- A conversation on coping with risk
- CHAPTER 4: GETTING AHEADTHE PATH INTO THE STUDIO: GOOD DRAMA MAKES GREAT HORROR, AND OTHER TIPS ON MOVIEMAKING
- An interview with producer Jason Blum By Chris Green
- ESCAPING THE ALAMO: HOW DIRECTORS SURVIVE PRODUCING
- An interview with Director Kimberly Peirce By Amedeo D’Adamo
- "A HIGH CALLING IN A LOW PLACE": ON RUNNING A STUDIO
- An interview with Thom Mount By Amedeo D’Adamo
- PRODUCER TIPS: FINDING YOUR AUDIENCE: A SHORT PRIMER ON MARKETING DEMOGRAPHICS
- By Amedeo D’Adamo
- NATIVE AMERICANS STORM THE SYSTEM: A PRODUCER’S APPROACH TO RACISM
- An interview with Patricia Gomes and Ian SkorodinBy Amedeo D’Adamo
- NAVIGATING THROUGH POST: FINDING THE CREATIVE PINCH-POINTS
- An interview with Polly Duval By Amedeo D’Adamo
- STORY PASS: "WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THAT SHOW AGAIN?": DEVELOPING TITLES THAT SELL
- By Amedeo D’Adamo
- CHAPTER 5: STARTING AGAINTHE WRITER-PRODUCER IN TV: COMBINING LUCK, PREPARATION AND OPPORTUNITY
- An interview with Miranda Kwok by Amedeo D’Adamo
- CASE STUDY: THE SHOW-RUNNERS OF SPAIN: HBO’S PATRIA AND GLOCAL PRODUCING
- By Itxaso del Castillo Aira, Marian Gonzalez-Abrisketa and Andoni Iturbe Tolosa
- STORY PASS: WHAT IS STORY TONE? HOW CAN IT BE GUIDED AND DEEPENED IN PRE- PRODUCTION? : A TECHNIQUE FOR PRODUCING YOUR PRE-VIS SESSIONS
- ON CASTING: "NEVER CAST ONE CHARACTER AT A TIME"
- A short conversation with Lianne Halfon (Producer, Ghostworld, Juno, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Young Adult )
- "ALWAYS COME TO THE TABLE WITH SOMETHING" : THE ART OF NEGOTIATING, HIRING AND HANDLING PEOPLE
- An interview with Carolyn Pfeiffer By Amedeo D’Adamo
- ASSOCIATE PRODUCING AND POST SUPERVISING
- An interview with Mary Prendergast
- CASE STUDY
- Producing in the green economy: Emellie O’Brien builds a company where before there was nothing but waste
- GOING ’ROUND THE TABLE: A CONVERSATION ON REGRET CONCLUSION
- RECOMMENDED READING AND RESOURCES
- INDEX
About the Editor
Amedeo D’Adamo currently teaches in the Directing discipline at the American Film Institute and filmmaking and producing at Universita Cattolica, Milan: he is also the Lead Teacher for the studio-funded Native American Feature Film Writers Lab in Los Angeles. He was the Scientific Director of the EU-funded Feature Development Program Puglia Experience (2008-2011) and the founding Dean and then President of the original Los Angeles Film School, where he also co-created and ran the Feature Film Development program. He has also taught at many universities and labs including Royal Holloway, Universita Svizzera and the University of Zurich, and with his wife Nevina Satta he designed and ran both the University Feature Development Lab and the University Doc Lab for the Locarno Film Festival. Together they also co-founded The Traveling Film School, a non-profit organization that provides free film and theater training to children in underdeveloped regions; it has built small tuition-free film schools in Cameroon and Sardinia. His book Empathetic Space on Screen (2018: Palgrave Macmillan) is about how character is expressed through production design, cinematography, and soundtrack. His features have been seen in festivals such as Rome, Miami, Austin, Torino, and others.