The Future Of Film Production

+ Near-term wins post-strike

Photo by Chris Murray on Unsplash

This week I’m wading into the future of film production.

Now that the Actor’s strike is behind us (Hallelujah!), we can all get back to packaging our projects which incidentally, has come into sharp focus on the heels of AFM last week. One of our FS Pro members summed it up better than I could…

I’ve always said AFM is what you make it. Walking around with just a script looking for money is an impossible task. But having a script and a bit of a package (director, a name or two you might be able to get for a price, a budget, key-art and plus a little equity) and things can get interesting and more serious meetings will happen. Believe me I've also been the guy walking the halls and hanging out at the Loews pool area looking for money with only a script too, but this time around several of the sales agents I met with said they are now co-funding if you bring some equity to the table with a package.

In short, why should we care about packaging our indie projects? Because simply put, in today’s post-strike enviornment, getting your film financed depends on it. Aside from a few outlier cases, we all need to embrace the fact that to build a financially sustainable model for your slate, packaging talent (at all levels) is necessary and should be commensurate with your budget.

---

Deal Alert! Early Black Friday Access

In celebration of the SAG strike ending I’m extending early access to one of our key Black Friday promos this year - Packaging and EP Consulting Services at ‘Friends & Family’ rates.

Because why not get a head start on attaching talent to your project now, before the year ends, and make every effort to trigger a green light for next year…

Here’s the deal - if you commit now to having us help you package your project (Packaging consulting) or Packaging plus pulling all the financing pieces together (EP Services), we’re offering special rates that won’t be available next year. Or after Nov.24 for that matter.

So if this sounds like just what you’re looking for right now, head over to this link to get the ball rolling by filling out the application at the bottom of the page. I’ll respond quickly with whether I think I can help and how I can help, and provide a customized discount quote. I’m hell-bent on putting together a slate of client projects for 2024 for which I can leverage my expertise and network to get over the finish line. Let’s do this!

---

The Future Of Film Production

Let’s face it - fundamentals are fundamentals. No matter if you’re producing your film or series in the US or foreign lower cost locations, you still want the best crew for your budget and the footprint and infrastructure to match. Those are the basics. But let’s take things one step further….

In talking to a bunch of filmmakers and producers over the last few weeks spanning both MIPCOM and AFM I'm seeing so many models in play that I’m truly optimistic about the future of film production IF you are willing to be adaptable and flexible, beyond just the basics.

For example, one Producer friend with an A-list project is going so far outside the traditional indie film financing box to trigger production next year, it actually reminded me of a whole other way of doing things. He’s determined because if they don’t get a green light soon, they lose their star and Producers don’t get paid a dime. And no the actors’ agency is not being helpful with packaging and financing - it’s falling squarely on the Producing team to do all the heavy lifting. For him, when ‘traditional’ financing didn’t come to pass (aka the front door), he figured out a side door to go through.

I’m doing the same on one of my own projects - going through a back door to trigger production from sources I wouldn’t have even known existed six months ago.

The future of film production - at least in the near future - lies in adapting to a contracting market in the US, inflation and high interest rates, while leveraging lower cost locations, international tax schemes and soft money, alternative funding sources, and valuing films in a different way, through a different lens and extending out the timeline on recoupment and profitability.

I think the future of film production also relies on more cooperation, partnerships, and equitable collaborations. Sharing resources and spreading risk. To that end, I’m finally seeing some sales agents come down to earth on the talent names that must be attached to a project to trigger their involvement. The reality is, A-list stars now that the strike is over will be booked up for some time and not available for smaller Indies. So we all have to open our minds on how a project can work with smaller names that are in alignment with the downward pressure on budgets.

Personally I’m excited about the future of Production and particularly navigating it all next year which will be a ‘transition’ and ‘dust settling’ year. Who’s with me?

Comment below what your thoughts are on the future of Production and what you have planned for 2024….

On that note, I’ll wrap things up for today. I hope you all have a lovely weekend ahead and I’ll speak to you again next week!

Stacey

++++++++++