JONATHAN McCOY HOSTS FIND ANSWERS WITH ADVICE ABOUT CUTTING COSTS
Jeff Nichols' Take Shelter was able to maximize production value with their VFX making deals the indie way.
Q: My producing partner and I are putting together a budget for our film. We were hoping it would come in under a certain amount, but it’s looking like it is going to climb way above that. What can we do?
Jonathan McCoy, Line Producer: Maximizing production value is the name of the game. Getting people to participate in the movie for free or for reasons other than financial gain is something we all want to do, but few know how to do it well. Finding people who want the experience of working on your film and are willing to perform above-average work for lower pay is a talent. Find the budding new VFX company who is dying to break out of TV and really wants a studio film credit. Find the experienced Art Director who’d give anything to Production Design a film. Find the experienced editor who just always wanted to work with your director. And honestly, it’s about finding the right people at the right times in their careers, and that is about being aware of who you know and everyone you know knows. These connections are valuable. Just as everyone wants to be connected to big time stars and producers, being connected to the new talent set who will eventually replace you is just as valuable on the other end.
Product placement is easier said than done, but it’s always worth a shot. “Nothing is ever as effective as a well-written letter,” a producer I work with a lot says. And a well-written letter costs 44¢. Be clever with brands and how they can work for you. Find brands that may turn you down and before they get the chance, invert that potential denial into positive exposure…convince them why participation in your film is actually smart.
Don’t be lazy. There are plenty of support companies and networks out there that will make the jobs easier and more professional, and they will cost you money. Try and think outside the box a little with how things are done, without re-inventing the wheel. Try to be aware of what your crew is and isn’t capable of as regular human beings. For example, you can’t expect crewmembers to do the jobs of three people nonstop, but it also doesn’t hurt for the producer to help the caterer set up chairs if he’s a little behind.
Producers and directors should exercise austerity with production dollars and lead by example. Fly coach. If they do, so will everyone else. Stay in a mid-range hotel. Ride in the crew van to set, or better yet, drive themselves. Eat at catering with the crew and be aware of what things cost. Even though they may not really understand how a budget works, if they ACT like they respect the budget, the rest of the crew will too.
Read about Take Shelter here.
–As answered by John McCoy for Film Independent
McCoy began his career in advertising where he produced TV and radio commercials for Fisher-Price Power Wheels®. After confronting the moral dilemma of hawking gas-guzzling toys to children, he made the switch to independent film in 1999. McCoy’s recent projects include co-producing The East (Fox Searchlight/Scott Free – coming out fall 2012) and A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas (New Line).
February 1st, 2012 • 2 Comments
2 Responses to “JONATHAN McCOY HOSTS FIND ANSWERS WITH ADVICE ABOUT CUTTING COSTS”
Leave a Reply
Great advice. You must lead by example. All too often I have seen producers take excess and with the other hand ask crew to take a cut. As producers, yes we sacrifice in the beginning, during, post, however, we along with usually the writer/director and some actors have the most to gain if things go well.
In addition to some of the strategies mentioned above, take a look at your script. Can some pages be cut? Can some characters or locations be consolidated? If so, that could also cut your days saving you tremendous amount of money.
Also, before determining your budget make sure your elements, the story, cast, genre justify the budget. I call it value-based filmmaking. These are smart questions you’re asking and I appreciate forums like this for us all to share as I learn new tricks every week. Thanks.
Great Advice and interesting article, thank you for posting. Another avenue is to take advantage of tax credits, up here in Canada there are tax credits for shooting in specific areas, (ie: Northern Ontario)which can save a production hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars, depending on your budget of course. I look forward to reading future articles.
Cheers.