'Women Make Movies' Chair Deborah Zimmerman leads ‘What do Producers Do?’ A compelling session taken from 2013’s festival, where our foxy panel of producers - founder of Motto Pictures Julie Goldman, Tigerlily’s Nicky Parrott and Rachel Wexler of Bungalow Productions – speak candidly of their collective industrial experiences.
So, how did they get started? Each producer shares her version of ‘how to make it to the top’, revealing the various pathways – whether it was door-knocking, photograph-taking or cup-of-tea-making – that led them to their successes as producers.
Unlike productions of fiction, the Documentary medium excitingly provides scope for shooting over a changeable period of time. The women discuss the handover between Director and Producer, and the organic creative relationships that manifest between the separate strands of a production team. Where does creative responsibility lie? Are the distinctions between Exec, Creative and Line Producers as cut-and-dry as they appear, or is the role of a producer a hybrid of all of these things?
Our animated panel talks money, distribution and non-formulaic, ‘clean slate’ approaches to successfully producing powerful and memorable docs (which work)! They discuss obstacles in ownership; sticky wickets in copywriting; and the elasticity of producer fees. How can achievable budgets and realistic financial thresholds in filmmaking be met? More importantly, how does one tread the thin tightrope that stands between raising funds for a project and surviving to complete it!?
A serious must-hear for industry-insiders, aspiring producers and kick-ass women riding the doc-making wave: an elucidating insight into an exciting, evolving sector, and the triumphs and tribulations it entails. Complete with a quickfire Audience Q&A, this dynamic podcast sheds light on one of the industry’s most sought-after yet mystified roles. Don’t wait for the fog to clear – download today by searching ‘Sheffield Doc/Fest on iTunes, and get inspired!
Written by Lucie Eaton