Create Your Own Opportunities as an Indie Filmmaker

As a filmmaker, you might be familiar with the endlessly frustrating feeling that your job, your opportunities and your career as a whole are dependent on other people

I’ve never loved that feeling and I’ve also never been comfortable with the concept of being dependent on others, especially in such a fast-paced industry like film where it’s impossible to have someone else’s best interests at heart. In short, no one is going to give you anything without a lot of drive coming from you

And that’s the way it should be. But what do you do when, even after all that drive, you’re still struggling to get in touch with producers, or secure backing on your next project? Can you ever fully create your own opportunities when it comes to the big things?

Yes, absolutely, even in the middle of a pandemic. If this is what you’ve been missing them I’m glad you’re in the right place, and if your friends in the film industry are ready to create their own opportunities as well then send them this link

If we’ve not met before, I’m Charlotte. I’m a film producer and career coach helping you and other indie filmmakers build a successful career around the projects you love so you can get paid for your time and talent while staying true to your vision

So even if we haven’t met before, I’m willing to bet my entire notebook collection on two things (and let me tell you, it’s extensive. I’ve been known as the Stationery Freak since I was 5)

Is this you..?

Firstly, you’re an Ideas Machine

There is nothing that excites you more than getting the first glimmer of inspiration for a new story. You might be the ‘have to get it all down on paper immediately!’ type, or you might prefer letting it sit and develop in the back of your mind for a few days or weeks

Either way, you’re a creative through and through, and your own notebook collection is dedicated to stories, worlds and characters that you’re waiting to bring to life on the big screen

Read more: Build Your Development Roadmap

The next thing is that when it comes to actually getting your inspired ideas onto the big screen, that’s usually where you struggle

I believe the technical term is Analysis Paralysis, but I like to call it Biscuit Aisle Fatigue. Picture the scene, my Mum is faced with an entire aisle of biscuit options. Does she want plain biscuits, chocolate biscuits, the ones on offer… the list goes on. It’s roughly 5 seconds after being faced with all those options that her eyes start to glaze over, and we have to drag her into the next aisle

Too many options

This is the exact same process I used to live on a daily basis when I had all these ideas and so many options for where to get started

Should I apply for BFI funding?

Maybe I should see what competitions are open now?

Oh no, I should make the pitch deck first

But what about other creatives? Should I attach the director before getting the funding?

In film, there’s no wrong way to do something, especially with shorts. So even while you have all these ideas, it’s so hard to create your own opportunities because you don’t even know which opportunities to begin working on

Step 1: Connection & Producers

So here’s how we break it down

If you’re a writer or director, then the first port of call for you will be producers and production companies

Funding is never your responsibility as a writer or director (or both) and it’s actually what trips most people up. The thing is, unless you’re a producer, you won’t have that knowledge, that experience or those contacts – meaning ‘finding funding’ is one impossible uphill struggle that you never really get out of

So put down the funding applications and stop the Google search

Your focus is going to be on finding producers who are making things you love and creating a connection with them

But before we properly get into that, we need to make sure your development slate is in perfect condition

Step 2: Irresistible Development Slate

When a big chunk of your job (as it is for writers and directors) is selling producers on ideas and concepts, you need to make sure you have a good variety of projects to choose from. That way you never miss an opportunity by pushing a project that will never be the right fit for that producer

Instead of having two or three ideas that you’re constantly pushing, you’ll create far more opportunities for yourself with 15 to 20 ideas that are less developed, but solid enough for you to discuss them for 5 minutes with a producer

So grab your notebooks and start creating your own development slate with a minimum of ten projects. You don’t need scripts for all of these, just a logline and some key information like setting, genre, comparables and some character info

You never know when someone might fall in love with a logline on your slate, and that could be the key that unlocks everything

Step 3: Your Producers’ Network & Tailored Pitches

Now that you have a good variety of projects and ideas to choose from, you can start reaching out to producers and building a connection with them

Again, focus on that connection, that personal relationship, rather than any particular project

At this point, you don’t know them yet (and vice versa) so you can’t really judge which projects will interest them

Get to know them, build that relationship and then scan through your projects to find the two or three that best appeal to that particular person

Now that you’re tailoring your pitches to each person you’re going to get a much better response (especially if you’re used to the glazed-eyes look when you pitch someone an idea they’re definitely not interested in)

Read more: 6 Steps to Rebuild Your Network

Recap: Hello Opportunities

So to recap: build your development slate and create connections with producers

You’re going to have plenty of ideas, meaning you never miss an opportunity because you always have the perfect answer to ‘what are you working on?’

You also skip the Biscuit Aisle Fatigue because you now have a bank of producers that you have a great relationship with. This means as soon as you develop a new idea, you can ask yourself who this project will be the best fit for, and go directly to them

Read more: 8 Tips for Emailing Producers

It also means that you’re going to be on their list for writers or directors they enjoy working with, which means more emails asking you if ‘you’re interested in working on this project’

These are two fun and manageable things you can put on your to do list for this week to start creating and boosting your opportunities as a filmmaker, even in a pandemic