INDEPENDENT
FILM MAKING
A TO Z
by Vic Alexander
©1995-2007 Victor Alexander Library of Congress, USA
PART I
THE SCREENPLAY
The screenplay is the most important element of a movie. It
represents the story content, its structure and style.
Many people dream about making movies; but, until they come up with a
screenplay , they can't accomplish anything.
The first thing a film maker has to think about is how to
come up with the right idea. There are three main considerations.
The first one is what does the audience want to see. Movie audiences
have different tastes. Generally, American audiences enjoy comedy and
romance movies. International audiences prefer action. The film
industry people involved with exhibition of movies talk in terms of
audience demographics. There are no hard rules about what audiences
want to see or more importantly what they'll pay to see. Sometimes
there is a difference. It can be safely said that all audiences want to
be entertained, one way or another.
The second consideration is, what does the distributor want?
If you ignore this, then you'll end up having to distribute the movie
yourself! That's a lot of fun. You get to go to Cannes and watch nude
sunbathers on the beach!
Figuring out what the distributors want is no easy thing,
unfortunately. It would've been great if you could go to a distributor
and ask about the type of film they'd be prepared to market for you.
"Give us an action picture like the 'Terminator'," they may tell you
one day. By the time you make a picture like that, say in a year, even
if you succeeded in matching it pretty well, the distributor may tell
you that such films aren't doing well now. "Comedies are doing great.
Give me a comedy with so and so today, I'll advance you your entire
budget!" Distributors love to talk like that. They usually have just
such a film themselves, which they've gambled on and financed, possibly
with pre-sales. Now, they desperately want to sell it, to you if need
be, and, you're no film buyer, you're a film maker. Get the idea!
They're always in the "sales mode," particularly during a market or
festival. Talk to them later when they're in their offices in-between
markets--they become coy. They'll beat around the bush. They won't tell
you what they want. Just make a movie and give it to them, with no
advance from them. That's why they talk like that. They want something
for nothing. You take all the chances, do all the work; they do all the
talking and grab the up-front money from territorial buyer deposits --
sometimes all the money.
There are all kinds of distributors. They seldom agree on
what sells and what doesn't; but, somehow, you need to still find out
the general trends. No matter how the movies' market changes, there are
some general types of genres that you should consider before you begin.
The third point is this: you are a film maker and you chose this
profession because you believe in your own unique gifts for the art and
business of movies. You got to please yourself as well; but, remember
the first two considerations. Let these temper your desires, if you
want to survive in the world of film.