Is it just me, or are things picking up?
I know I say this as we approach the two weeks of the year that no one in the film industry will respond to an email. Like they’re European or something.
I also know that Carri Twigg told us to take all of August off, but I am DOUBLING DOWN on August, and by no choice of my own, ready for it to be my busiest month post mat-leave.
In this Newsletter:
•Being on set in LA (with a baby)
•Allowing constraints to help shape your work
•How to land an agent that can help you get your next project off the ground
Producer’s Statement
I just returned from my first trip to LA this month for an incredible short doc with incredible collaborators. I will share more on this project soon – but it’s about the transformational power of art and the people who participate in it - not for fame, not for money, not for a career, but because they love it, because it’s hard, and because it helps them process and make sense of life.
It was very meta being there filming this as a passion project, with a dedicated crew of 15 people that use the practice of filmmaking as our way to process and make sense of life.
Running and operating a business for our creative endeavors means that much of my time is spent in sales, budgets, schedules, contracts, insurance, payroll, so many phone calls, and so much paperwork. I was so grateful to be on set making the work this weekend. Rae and I got to be in the field together, which we hadn’t done in many years because we typically must divide and conquer – and it was just…. so…. joyful.
However, it had its fair share of complications. I was recently talking to some producer friends about what we were up against. They mentioned the documentary The Five Obstructions, where Lars von Trier challenges his mentor, Jørgen Leth, to remake his 1968 classic short film The Perfect Human five times, each with increasingly outlandish guidelines (ie: no shot longer than 12 frames, make it in Cuba, make it an animation), and how each different set of constraints become part of the DNA of the film. It’s a great watch for filmmakers, and how rules, boundaries, and discomfort can push artists into new, surprising territory.
In the style of The Five Obstructions, here were some of our obstructions for the shoot we were just on in LA:
No funding: everyone must agree to do the project because of their passion for the subject and the process.
An A-List celebrity will direct it in a verite style with crowds of around 500: all subjects and crowds should act as they would, if the filmmaking team wasn’t there.
The film must be shot in LA on 12 hour days, and producer must have a six month old with oral motor function issues that have prevented her from eating from a bottle, so producer must breastfeed every 3-4 hours throughout the day.
Sound like fun!? It was, and we captured a powerful story, all thanks to a passionate and dedicated crew, a visionary and egoless celeb, and a supportive husband who flew to LA with me so he could bring the baby to set on demand.
Real talk: Dealing with Constraints
1. There is no version of making collaborative creative work that is easy.
Every artist, and every project is dealing with a different set of constraints, and you need to use whatever you’re up against as a tool that shapes your work, not something that is hindering you. For example: We leaned into the creative strengths of our team and focused on that as our visual language and approach rather than setting an unattainable style goal that our crew wasn’t resourced to execute.
2. Filmmaking is terrible
All of it is hard and uncomfortable. A messy chaotic journey of story, logistics, insecurity, beauty, failure, brief moments of clarity, losing your way, exhaustion, and only getting to the end by sheer force of will… and that’s all before you try to get an audience to see it. Defunctland said it best:
*Please note that we’re here for you fellow masochists!*
TOOLKIT:
Watch:
Golden Nugget:
For those looking to level-up ie: you’ve made a few projects, had a few good jobs and are looking to package and sell that first thing on your own or with a team you really believe in… There are many ways to do this, but our work at Culture House was able to get funded and sold because we work with an agent (WME). We are lucky that our agents have been our fierce advocates and cheerleaders, but the most important aspect of an agency is that they get you in the right rooms and meetings with funders, distributors, and talent. Before we had representation, we strategically partnered with creators, producers, and directors that had agents. Then as we all started to work together on the project, our collaborators with the agents helped get us the meetings with streamers and distributors. We continued building relationships with these agents, and this eventually led to getting represented ourselves. So, if you don’t currently have an agent, start to think about your access to people/companies that do have an agent – this will help ensure that you are maximizing the opportunity to pitch or share your project with the right network, as well as starting to build the pathway to your own representation.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Let me know what you think in the comments!
Appreciate you,
Nicole
Inspirational piece
Wow! Beautiful post about the passion you need to get things done!