Recently I asked everyone on my email list what their #1 goal for 2024 was so I could make them a step-by-step plan as a new year’s gift to them

There were 3 goals mentioned more than anything else, and I’ve created a plan to make each of them happen in the next 12 months

Ready for a concrete plan to make your next film? Let’s dive in

Plan 1: Finish the draft of your next film 

Your plan for this goal can be created on however you best like to work, so here’s a framework for you to tweak and adapt based on your personal preferences:

1: Creative brainstorm work – get all your ideas onto the page (things like writing snippets of dialogue or scenes can be done here too)

2: Practical prep work – character bios, outline and a beat sheet

3: Writing (the first time) – the first draft is you telling the story to yourself, so it’s okay that it’s messy. You might want to work methodically, scene by scene and setting milestones for yourself based on how many scenes or pages you’ve written. Or you might be better working randomly – taking the snippets of scenes and dialogue you’ve already written and filling in the rest of the scene as inspiration strikes

4: Review and notes – read your first draft, make your notes and make your edit plan

5: Edit – go through this phase methodically, focussing on cutting and making changes first before you do any rewriting

6: Repeat steps 3-5 until you feel happy sharing the draft with a few trusted friends and colleagues for feedback

Read more: The Basics – 3 Essentials for Making Your Own Film

This goal requires more than just a plan though. When you are the only person keeping yourself accountable, it’s easy to fall behind – or fall off completely

The most effective way to stick to a goal, especially a creative goal like writing, is finding (or building) a small group of people working towards similar goals

I won’t get too into studies and data, but the short version is that 90% of people without a group/community tend to abandon their plan in under a year. When you give them a group or community they tend to do 85% better, which is a huge margin

The purpose of the group isn’t to make you feel bad if you fall behind or don’t go as quickly as you were hoping, it’s more about keeping all of you aligned to your original plan and helping you get back into it when you fall behind (because we all fall behind at some point!)

So if you don’t have one already, I’d focus on building a group of 3-6 other writers (or creative people) where you can check in weekly or monthly, keep each other focussed and even read each other’s work and share feedback 

Plan 2: Find a producer to work with long-term

This was an extremely popular goal! In order for you to be able to do your best creative work you need a practical partner to work with

Here’s a step-by-step plan for finding the right producer for you to collaborate with:

1: Make a list of the dream characteristics, traits and qualities of your ideal producing partner. Maybe they’re the serious, super-focussed one, or they’re the energetic one that manages all problems or obstacles with a sense of humour. Work out exactly what you’re looking for in this person

2: Define what this person will get from working with you. Before you start reaching out to people you need complete confidence and certainty in why it will be worthwhile and rewarding for them

3: Consider the types of films you want to create and look for similar films that have been made within the last 5 years. They should be similar in terms of theme and scale (eg. Don’t add multi-million dollar blockbusters to your list if the main projects on your slate at the moment are low-budget indie features)

4: Research the producers behind those films and add them to your master list of producers to contact

5: (optional, but can be very useful) Start posting in Facebook groups (the ones that producers are most likely to be in). In the post you should introduce yourself, describe the unique kind of films you’re wanting to create, say you’re currently growing your network of producers and include a call to action to get them contacting you

6: Begin contacting and scheduling meetings with producers. The goal is to get to know them and find out if you’re going to be a good team. Don’t go straight in with pitching your films as you won’t be able to get to know each other if you do that

7: Review all the producers you’ve spoken with. Which ones feel like the best fit?

From there, you can go in whichever direction you like. Bear in mind that one producer will generally be able to work on one film at a time, so if you’re only aiming for one producing partner then you’ll be making one film every 2-3 years

If you want to go faster, then you’ll be looking for 2 or 3 producers to work with

Plan 3: Raise funding and make your next film

Everyone’s big goal: get the money so you can actually make the film

A common question people with this goal asked me was whether they should focus on funding or building a team first.

It’s always a bit chicken-and-egg when it comes to funding and a team. You need to do both at the same time, but you can’t confirm one without the other

Generally you’ll want to confirm cast and HoDs with letters of intent first, then funding is more likely to confirm 

Here’s a step-by-step plan for you:

1: Create a logline, short synopsis, treatment and pitch deck for your film (if you haven’t already)

2: Build a list of producers, cast and HoDs that you’d like to work with on this. In terms of producers, I usually recommend looking at films with similar themes and of a similar scale, then finding the producers and companies who made those films

3: Contact the producers (aim to contact 5-8 per week) and find out if they’re currently interested/have availability for new projects

4: Aim to have as many meetings with as many producers as possible (a lot of them will say no or not yet, which is why we’re going for quantity at this stage)

5: Keep going until you have a producer who says yes to the project

6: Together with the producer, explore the best funding options based on the script’s unique opportunities and create a finance plan

7: Start building the team and creating the package (eg. Cast, HoDs etc). This will primarily be letters of intent until you secure the finance

8: Create the materials you’ll need (this will vary depending on which financing options you’re going for)

9: Start raising the finance

10: Pre-production, early marketing, generally get people as excited about the film as possible 

11: Make the film!

Read more: The best advice I’ve ever been given about pitching, financing and selling your projects

What’s your goal for this year? More importantly, do you have a concrete plan to make it happen?