3 Ways to Get Producers to Take You Seriously

I know how crazy the imposter syndrome can get when it’s just you and your ideas. We often find ourselves thinking ‘oh but I haven’t got enough experience, my IMDb looks pretty light, I’ve only ever made low or no-budget projects before…’

It always comes up, especially when you’re about to have a meeting with a producer, or you’re even just gearing up to send a treatment or a pitch deck

So let’s start to get rid of that imposter syndrome and get producers taking you seriously at the same time

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Oh and this works for investors, funding competitions and other business-related people in the industry too

If you’re ready to build your career as a writer, director or producer around making the projects you love, then you’re in the right place

The First Step

The first step all writers, directors & producers have to take is learning that it’s never *just* about the idea. You might have heard me say this before and it’s a crucial, if slightly mean, lesson all filmmakers have to learn

It doesn’t matter how developed your characters are, how much world-building you’ve done, the idea is a fraction of what the other person is reviewing and considering

So understanding that is the first step to being taken seriously as a filmmaker

3 Essential Questions for any Producer

Producers are definitely creative people. We’re not just looking at return on investment and audience breakdowns. We care about story and character, and the messages behind them

But in order to do our job properly, we have to know who’s going to watch it, who’s going to pay for it, and why should it be made now?

This is what I mean about the idea only being a fraction of what’s important

If you can answer those three questions, then your pitch is already looking much stronger in the eyes of the other person

Understanding that the idea is only part of what matters, and knowing the answers to those three questions are the pre-work, or the foundation, if you will, on which you can start to build with the three ways you’ll get producers to take you seriously

1: Speak their language

You’re already off to a great start with the three questions, now build on that

This doesn’t mean suddenly reading up on in-depth audience insights and becoming addicted to spreadsheets

It just means being au fait with what they do and what their job involves

In the same way producers have to know about beat sheets or storyboards, for example

By speaking their language, they’ll automatically separate you from the tons of other writers and directors with ideas and vision, but who the producer won’t feel totally confident in (because again, it’s not just about ideas and vision)

2: Relevant pitch materials

Showing up with the relevant documents that look professional and well-made is such a great way to stand out and be taken seriously

The general industry-standard is a treatment, which is a one or two page text-only document with key info related to story & character

The pitch deck is much more expansive, and is usually max. 10 pages. It’ll not only include a synopsis and character info, it also has key creative info, audience info, similar films known as comps or benchmarks and desired or attached cast

It gives a much more well-rounded overview of the project as a whole, as well as giving you the chance to make it visually match the tone and feel of your project with images and colours

For me, I love to see a good pitch deck because it means the writer or director is already considering things like audience and distribution

While I definitely don’t expect them to know the ins and outs of it, them speaking my language is so valuable to me and gives me a good indicator of how professional they are and how well they understand the industry

Remember the producer is looking at you as a potential collaborator, so if you’re speaking their language and showing you understand their work and the industry, you’re already off to a fantastic start

3: Build your development slate

(aka do what the professionals do)

There are so many benefits and reasons why your own development slate is essential (even if you’re starting out or don’t feel like you’re experienced enough)

My personal favourite reason is so you always have something to pitch and you never lose an opportunity when someone isn’t in love with the idea you’re telling them about

The system I teach to my clients when we’re building their slate together is to organise their projects in terms of scale, so that when they’re in a meeting or just casually chatting to someone, they can mentally scan through the projects that will be most relevant or interesting to that person and their pitch stands a much better chance

Because again, it’s not just about the idea

I’ve actually just sent someone an email to say that I really liked their script, but it’s just not for me. It doesn’t mean their idea or script is bad, it just means I’m not the right fit for it

So being able to tailor your pitches is a great benefit of having your own thriving development slate, but the reason it’s going to get producers to take you seriously is because every professional filmmaker has their own development slate

It shows you’re committed to your career and as a writer or director (or both) a large part of your job is being an ideas machine

Your slate means you won’t have to miss out on any pitches unnecessarily, and also puts you in the camp of professional writer or director

Read more: Build Your Development Roadmap

So quick recap: the two pre-work steps are to understand that it’s never just about the idea and answering the three questions: who’s going to watch it, who’s going to pay for it and why should it be made now?

The three ways you’ll get producers to take you seriously are by speaking their language, showing up with relevant pitch documents and having your own development slate

Which way are you going to try?

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