Nick bolton aidc net work play presentation the art of perseverance feburary 2015
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Presentation on 'The Art of Perseverance in Australian Feature Filmmaking' Australian International Documentary Conference 'Net > Work > Play' February 2015, Adelaide By Nick Bolton www.theartofperseverance.com.au
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Nick bolton aidc net work play presentation the art of perseverance feburary 2015
- 1. Nick Bolton, Director TEN ALPHAS Tuesday 24th February 2014 Australian International Documentary Conference, Adelaide NET > WORK > PLAY
- 2. The creative
- 3. The creative
- 4. Screen Australia Number of credits per Producers, Directors and Writers of Australian feature films 1970-2013 WHO # 1 2 3 4 5 Producers 973 68% 14% 7% 4% 7% Directors 674 66% 15% 9% 4% 6% Writers 1003 74% 14% 6% 3% 3% TOTAL 2650 69% 14.3% 7.3% 3.6% 5.3%
- 7. Aps slides 2
- 8. APS 2012 Key findings 1. 4,000 ‘producers’ which clearly isn’t sustainable in a country the size of Australia 2. A producer is generally very well educated and experienced in other sectors and has generally aware of the notion of psychic income. 3. The lack of interest in financial success was extremely shocking. 4. Most producers self-describe themselves as creative 5. A lack of familiarity in legal, financial and technical requirements. 6. A desire to improve their skills
- 9. APS Slides 1 – slide 68
- 10. The selection policy By region Australia only By format Feature & documentary only By role The Originator By credit Film in Production or distribution Industry Expert 40 x 1 hour interviews, most filmed
- 11. So can we define Perseverance? Grit in psychology is a positive, non-cognitive trait based on an individual’s passion for a particular long-term goal or end state coupled with a powerful motivation to achieve their respective objective. Source: Wikipedia
- 12. But can we measure it?
- 15. Types of perseverance in filmmaking PERSONAL PERSEVERANCE Physical Perseverance Mental Perseverance Relationship Perseverance
- 16. Types of perseverance in filmmaking PERSONAL PERSEVERANCE PROFESSIONAL PERSEVERANCE Physical Perseverance Intellectual Perseverance Mental Perseverance Technical Perseverance Relationship Perseverance Collaborative Perseverance Leadership Perseverance
- 17. Types of perseverance in filmmaking PERSONAL PERSEVERANCE PROFESSIONAL PERSEVERANCE Physical Perseverance Intellectual Perseverance Mental Perseverance Technical Perseverance Relationship Perseverance Collaborative Perseverance Leadership Perseverance FINANCIAL PERSEVERANCE Opportunity Cost Perseverance Personal Investment Perseverance The Funding Search Perseverance Payback Perseverance
- 18. Types of perseverance in filmmaking PERSONAL PERSEVERANCE PROFESSIONAL PERSEVERANCE Physical Perseverance Intellectual Perseverance Mental Perseverance Technical Perseverance Relationship Perseverance Collaborative Perseverance Leadership Perseverance FINANCIAL PERSEVERANCE CREATIVE PERSEVERANCE Opportunity Cost Perseverance Clear Vision Perseverance Personal Investment Perseverance Expectations Perseverance The Funding Search Perseverance Payback Perseverance
- 19. The weaving matrix Perseverance DEV FUND PRE PROD POST MKTNG DIST Personal Professional Financial Creative
- 20. Show End of the Trailer
- 21. The X Factor
- 22. John Maynard, Producer The Bank, Balibo, I’ve never made anything I hadn’t wanted to make. That’s the secret. Always want to make it.
- 23. Mark Grentell Director Backyard Ashes Love. I’m always very selective because I know its going to take 5 years out of my life.
- 24. Rebecca Barry Producer, Director, Media Stockade I am a Girl, The Surgery Ship Sue Maslin Producer, Filmart Media The Dressmaker Ideas that matter, Miscarriage of justice Missing gaps in history A social justice theme
- 25. Rebecca Barry Producer, Director, Media Stockade I am a Girl, The Surgery Ship it has a social impact, to change the way people think, act or feel about the world
- 26. Michael Budd Director Love of my Life Horror has a huge online audience. I don’t particularly like horror but it could get revenue.
- 27. Key Learnings - Personal Perseverance
- 28. Mark Grentell Director Backyard Ashes For the first time in my life, I checked in to a gym and went for 9 months.
- 29. Rebecca Barry Producer, Director, Media Stockade I am a Girl, The Surgery Ship Sue Maslin Producer, Filmart Media The Dressmaker I went on a ten day course, where we had to give up coffee, alcohol, sugar and other stimulants, and learn how to switch off, to learn how to sleep. Best thing I ever did.
- 30. Enzo Tedeschi Producer, Distracted Media The Tunnel, Event Zero, AirLock My wife and I mutually agreed on me becoming a full time filmmaker as we started ‘The Tunnel’ I cant fuck it up. or she’ll kill me.
- 31. Rebecca Barry Producer, Director, Media Stockade I am a Girl, The Surgery Ship I was filming all over the world on ‘I am a Girl’ often in war ravaged countries My partner and I agreed to speak to each other every single day
- 32. Key Learnings – Professional perseverance
- 33. Kingston Anderson CEO, Australian Directors Guild Film is a collaborative art You cannot do it on your own
- 34. Enzo Tedeschi Producer, Distracted Media The Tunnel, Event Zero, AirLock I was so honest with everyone, Look mate, I cant afford you but I love your work, I think you’ll like this project and I think we can do some great work together.
- 35. Rebecca Barry Producer, Director, Media Stockade I am a Girl, The Surgery Ship Sue Maslin Producer, Filmart Media The Dressmaker I take the same approach with my crew, especially Heads of Department, as I do in the auditioning of cast. They are as, if not more, important.
- 36. Mark Grentell Director Backyard Ashes Everyone needs a mentor and everyone needs to be a mentoree.
- 37. Key Learnings - Creative perseverance
- 38. Marshall Curry Writer / Director, Marshall Curry Productions Street Fight, Racing Dreams, If a Tree Falls If you are at a party, and three people tell you are drunk and should go home, then maybe you should go home.
- 39. Rebecca Barry Producer, Director, Media Stockade I am a Girl, The Surgery Ship Loving your project is the key, but that’s not enough. You need to know it inside out.
- 40. David Court Head of Screen Business, AFTRS I can see it in someone’s eyes when they are unflinching in their resolve and have an answer to every question.
- 41. Key Learnings - Financial Perseverance
- 42. Amin Palangi Writer / Director, Palangi Productions Love Marriage in Kabul Make sure all your revenue streams are in the film industry such as teaching, even if that does make other peoples drams come true!
- 43. Mark Grentell Director Backyard Ashes I reckon I lost $200k in wages by working for free on Backyard Ashes over 5 years
- 44. Rebecca Barry Producer, Director, Media Stockade I am a Girl, The Surgery Ship Sue Maslin Producer, Filmart Media The Dressmaker Always allocate the Opportunity Cost of lost wages on the bottom line as a loan to the company.
- 45. Mark Grentell Director Backyard Ashes Momentum gets you the financing. It’s so hard to get but once you have it do NOT ever let it stop.
- 46. Rebecca Barry Producer, Director, Media Stockade I am a Girl, The Surgery Ship It took years to get funding for ‘I am a Girl’ until gender inequality came to the fore, into the zeitgeist. Sometimes its best to wait for the right time.
- 47. David Court Head of Screen Business, AFTRS Even if its all signed, it can still fall apart. The deal is only done once the money is in the bank.
- 48. The easiest and the hardest Perseverance DEV FUND PRE PROD POST MKTNG DIST Easiest 0 0 2 23 6 0 0 Hardest 9 14 0 0 4 2 2
- 49. The creative
- 50. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Nick Bolton 0412 101726 nick@tenalphas.com.au www.theartofperseverance.com.au
Editor's Notes
- Thank you Marcus and welcome everyone Whenever I mention the words ‘The Art of Perseverance in filmmaking’, I get the same reaction, a knowing giggle or snigger, and a look upwards for heavely intervention Everyone here has persevered in filmmaking Infact you would be quite familiar with this
- We’ve all had these thoughts during the creative process The little voice The doubting voice Its such a dangerous voice NEXT SLIDE
- The British psychologist Dr Steve Peters calls this little voice the Chimp Paradox. We all have our chimp nattering in our brains. We need to control the chimp I urge you to read the book. Many Olympians credit Dr Peters for their success. How do we get ourselves off the ropes when things are going bad. How do we regroup and get ready for the next big project? Career sustainability is a big issue in the creative arts and especially in film NEXT SLIDE
- Screen Australia researched this and looked at the number of credits given to writers, producers and directors over a 43 year period. That’s a very long long time Explain the results Not the best What are the reasons, talent drain overseas, lack of financial reward, demand exceeding supply…. Wouldn’t it be great if we could tap into the insights of the experienced filmmakers and see if we can learn from them, and enable more first timers to make, 2, 3the filmmakers with one or two films to make more films. What inspires a filmmaker to undertake a film project? Out of all the art forms, the film is the big daddy of them all. I generalize and simplify, but a poet could write a poem right now and perform it in the foyer at lunch, so could a painter, a singer songwriter. They are solo pursuits requiring little financial input or indeed return. Recorded music, opera, theatre these are longer pursuits dependent on many many people and much capital investment. The feature film take the longest, requires the most people and the most investment. NEXT SLIDE
- Now we all familiar with the traditional filmmaking process Interestingly marketing has pushed itself to the beginning due to the disruptive nature of the internet The bottom line shows the average time for each part, development and funding typically taking over 50% of the time of the film. This “funding gap” is the bain for many producers. How do you fill it with income. The average feature film take seven years on average to complete. That is a long long period in someone’s life. NEXT SLIDE
- Seven years ago in 2007. twitter was launched and this man launched a thing called the iPhone. So why do we subject ourselves to seven years of our lives to make a film. The odds of ‘success’ both critical or commercial are stacked against us, yet we’re all drawn to it. I was introduced to the Australian Producers survey done by Deb Verhoeven at Deakin Uni, David Court at AFTRS and few other clever clogs NEXT SLIDE
- After the success of the small pilot survey in 2009, the second ‘wave’ or survey was produced in 2012, it surveyed over 450 producers in Australia as to their motivations. Deb summarized the survey to me with these 6 key findings. NEXT SLIDE
- There are 4,000 ‘producers’ which clearly isn’t sustainable in a country the size of Australia A producer is generally very well educated and experienced in other sectors and has generally aware of the notion of psychic income. The lack of interest in financial success was extremely shocking. Most producers self-described themselves as creative A lack of familiarity in legal, financial and technical requirements. A desire to improve their skills It’s a lengthy document over 120 slides, so I wont go through it but this slide is worth some time
- This table asks How much does each of the following drive or motivate you as a producer? If Dark green is ‘drives me a lot” and light green is ‘drives me a bit’, look how 100% of recipients state satisfying creative vision is highest Criteria such as ‘achieving critical acclaim’ , ‘pressure and excitement’ ‘contributing to the art form’ all rate highly The first red bit we see, which means “does not drive me at all” is a ‘steady income stream” 5th out of the 14 options ‘reliable working arrangement’ ‘influencing public opinion’ ‘helping others realise creative vision’ ‘being well connected’ ‘ winning respect of others’ ‘ winning awards’ ‘big hit’ The worst performing criteria is ‘being well known to the public” with 42% saying they are not driven, But look at the penultimate criteria “ making a lot of money” has 51% of producers saying it is a neutral driver or doesn’t drive me a bit or not at all. Now the report is very quanitiative in nature, very data heavy, very black and white I wanted to hear a voice I decided to ask the industry. NEXT SLIDE
- I received some sage advice from Deb Verhoeven in restricting your sample to a series of criteria so you identify trends much easier. I have stuck to Australia only, I am only interested in feature and documentary, not TV, web, etc I am only interested in the person who has generally driven the project from start to the beginning – whom I dubbed The Originator. The entrepreneur. They must have a credit I also spoke to Industry Experts. NEXT SLIDE
- But first I wanted to research perseverance And Wikipedia provided this definition of Grit which is what psychologists call Perseverance. I thought perseverance was an intangible feeling, an unmeasurable thing, so I was surprised to hear you can measure it NEXT SLIDE
- Do check out the work done by Angela Duckworth at Penn University I have put the link up on the Message Board on the Net Work Play Pathable – go and do the test! Check out some of the questions I have overcome setbacks to conquer an important challenge New ideas and projects sometimes distract me from previous ones My interests change from year to year – not very helpful if a film takes seven years to make. Setbacks dont discourage me But the Grit Survey is not very specific to film, And The Australian Producers Survey looks at motivations for sure, but still doesn’t tell me, or advise me, as to how people get through the filmmaking process. I wanted to expand on this, explore the colour compared to the black and white data, to find their soul, I wanted to hear their stories. NEXT SLIDE
- What is it that makes Werner Herzog persevere for 12months in his attempt to push a steamboat through 1km of Amazon rainforest, to make his film FitzCarraldo. That’s not 12 months of ‘production’ to make the film, that’s 12 months to clear the jungle and many may men to pull a steamboat by hand. Les Blanks film ‘Burden of Dreams’ documents this madness and is well worth a watch. By the way you now the game where we all have a famous person lookalike, NEXT SLIDE
- well Werner Herzog and AIDC’s Joost den Hartog must be related… NEXT SLIDE
- So I started to talk to people, and started to jot down the types of perseverance, and was able to categorize them Now this isn’t a finite list, but it’s a good starting point. Lets start with Personal Perseverance Burn out is a recurring theme, how do we feel physically How do we feel mentally, inspired and driven or under pressure and stressed? And then I was interested in the personal perseverqnce with your partner, or kids. If they are outside to the film industry, the perseverance is madness, it is insanity
- A feature film is a huge step up professionally and lots of risks are taken, so how does one perseverere intellectually, learning about new technical requirements, collaborating with key creatives and leading a team across many many disciplines
- And of course the element of financial persevrerance needed to be explored. Working through development and funding stages, usually unfunded, there is an opportunity cost of the lost income of not applying your skills and expertise to fee paying projects And if you are the champion of the film, you are paying out capital to secure the pre sales. Then there is perseverance required to source the funding from the investor, all the rejections, and then all the negotiating from a low position of power. And even if you do secure the funding, there is then the pressure of paying back the investors, if you can, before you get paid.
- And amongst all these perseverances, there is trying to maintain creative control, how do fulfill your creative vision. Maintaining vision amongst the creatives, against pressure from the investors and other stakeholders, And then issues during production, or post production meaning the vision has to be compromised.
- So now I had my four categories of perseverance to map against the filmmaking process.
- So what did I learn from these inspiring filmmakers Is it possible to define “The Art of Perseverance in Australian filmmaking” PLAY TRAILER: So there you have it - The Art of Perseverance of filmmaking is all about chocolate, job done. John was making the shrewd point that you need to know your audience. Just saying Chocolate isn’t enough, There are lots of sorts of chocolate Milk chocolate may be the most popular but sometimes its better to go for dark chocolate a less crowded sector but still with many many fans. Yes you need to love your project but if you are the only one who loves it, then its just a passion project.
- So before I investigated my four types of perseverance I asked everyone what was the reason for pursuing their particular project What was the X Factor for their project What possesses Terry Gilliam to pick a project that he had to paint the flowers yellow. Do watch Lost in La Mancha, the documentary about Gilliam’s quest to make Don Quixote
- It’s a simple premise but often an overlooked one. Taking the job for the cash isnt the same as wanting to tell the story
- Really really ask yourself if this project is for you. If you can justify the seven years, that justification is a great driver
- Some practitioners only pick projects because it fits on certain criteria. If it doesn’t, then they don’t pursue it. They create a ‘brand’ for themselves of projects that complement each other.
- Having that ‘creed’ helps determine your project selection criteria,
- Only one of my interviewees, Michael Budd, admitted commercial reasons for making his first feature film: Michael said “Threatrical distribution is so hard so I looked at what sold online. Horror has a huge online audience. I don’t particularly like horror but I could access a community who were prepared to buy it online.” So lets get into the four types of perseverance.
- First up personal perseverance, I used this iconic image of Sam Burgess, he bust his jawbone and eye socket in the first minute of the Rugby League Grand Final, carried on, inspired the Rabbitohs to their first title in decades, got man of the match, With a minute to go, with the game won he broke down in tears of joy. Now Sam’s efforts during the game are impressive but it’s the years of training and dedication that enabled him to do that.
- And in some ways filmmaking is the same. Mark Grentell had the foresight to realise he had to be in top shape if he was going to lead a group of people through the filmmkaing process. He got himself physically fit
- For her film The Dressmaker, Sue Maslin was negotiating with seven different lawyers in four different time zones. She was up all hours and it was taking a toll Her partner advised she wasn’t firing on all cylinders Which leads me to the next important element – your partner.
- The role of the partner cropped up a lot. You can see what drives Enzo on a day to day basis. Filmmaking is a selfish practice. If you have family and children to support and provide for. Mark Grentell had just had his first child when I interviewed him. He commented how he could not have done Backyard Ashes if he had a newborn during the process.
- Your partner can be the one person to drive you through the stresses of the process. Bec and her partner communicated for emotional support and as well as security.
- Lets look at professional perseverance. I love this image. The lesson to take out of it is that as the leader, you are often the big hippo and feel you have to do all the supporting But this research revealed that sometimes you can be the baby hippo as well.
- Collaboration is key to building a team of better individuals around you: You cannot do it on your own Many a first time indie filmmaker try’s to do too much on their own and spreads themselves too thinly
- Enzo tried to source the best people he could even though he had miniscule budgets for The Tunnel. His project was so out there and disruptive that may wanted to join him on that crazy and successful ride.
- At the other end of town, The Dressmaker will be one of the biggest films made in Australia to be released in 2015. Sue gets the best. She collaborates with people far more experienced than her in their department. She trusts them to do their job.
- Mark had never directed before Backyard Ashes. I loved listening to him how he used his naivety to empower the crew. He was so switched on to how important culture and morale is in getting better results. The passing of learnings down the chain is very important to him. But with this tam how does one maintain their creative vision.
- No this isn’t a shot from last nights Opening Party but it does reference a Last year at AIDC I interviewed from twice Oscar nominated doco maker Marshall Curry on The Art of Perseverance We were talking about perseverance in post, during the edit and the fine line between sticking to your guns and listening to feedback Marshall said, NEXT SLIDE
- if you are at a party and three or more people are telling you are drunk and should go home, then maybe you should go home. “ So you need to have a vision. And We’ve already established that love and passion of your project is the key But that’s still not enough
- Creative perseverance comes from knowledge of the subject matter. Being able to articulate every aspect of the project to anyone at any time.
- Because if you do know it inside out, you can answer every question You can’t get caught out You have no doubts in your mind and so no one doubts you. No investor, no cast or crew member, no distributor, no interviewee can doubt you They can see your passion is backed up with knowledge. David court has seen many a pitch in his extensive career and says And the benefit of knowledge for your subject matter is that It builds that momentum which I’ll get to.
- First we need to look at financial perseverance. The legendary Apocalypse Now was planned as a 90 day shoot and eventually went for 298 days, A $12m budget escalated to $46m, and that was in the 70’s It was initially a critical and commercial failure, now its an iconic film, Do watch the doco about it :Hearts of Darkness - A Filmmakers Apocalypse.” How do we persevere as filmmakers, stumping up all the cash at the front end, rejection after rejection for investment, if there is interest you have little negotiating power, youre the last to get paid….
- Everyone mentioned how they MAKE SURE they HAVE MULTIPLE REVENUE STREAMS: amin chose to have all of his within the industry, lecturing script assessing, writing study guides, so he was surrounded by like minded folk. but many had part time jobs outside of the industry
- The ‘gap’ in lost income we talked about earlier does have a value
- Sue Maslin puts the value of that Opportunity Cost into the Balance Sheet as a loan.
- I talked about momentum briefly in Creative Perseverance, and many filmmakers talked about it Getting the train to leave the station is the hardest thing Jumping on board the ship Persuading the stakeholders to jump on board creates momentum which helps with funding so much Backyard Ashes funding started with a fundraiser in Wagga Wagga, the film is set there, and Mark credits that small event as the catalyst for all the funding that eventually led to deals with Cricket Australia and many brands. It started the ball rolling. Creating momentum is incredibly important You need to be aware when you dont have it, or you have lost it
- IT’S ALL ABOUT TIMING as well as Momentum. The project might not be right, right now, it might be better to put it on hold and wait for the world to catch up.
- But a word of financial caution from DC. Its very easy to commit to costs once a deal is signed. Its only really done when the money is in the bank. So there are just a few insights. I could go on for hours. The filmmakers were all so generous with their time and honesty and I thank them very much for their support. Many are here this week so do go and talk to them more. My take on it is that Perseverance is a double edged sword. Yes you have to be very focussed and but also flexible and nimble to adapt. To stay strong to your beliefs but open to suggestion and feedback. To wrap, I did ask a few quantitative questions as well. Small sample size noted
- One of which was to ask where your perseverance has to be at the highest eg hardest, and lowest, eg easiest What does Hard and Easy mean you may ask. You persevere physically during long Production shoots but that seems to be less stressful than financially persevering during Development and Finance I guess no real surprises here in that filmmakers love the Production bit the most and had to persevere the most during Development and Funding So I hope this project might help to stop the little voices in our heads,
- And next time you are at stage 3 or 4, You can take solace that we all go through the same issues, we all have the chimp nattering away I hope The Art of Perseverance can help stop the doubt in our hearts Will give us all the confidence to get back on the horse and pursue our dreams And help reduce the burn out and brain drain My project didn’t end with a thesis. Far from it. Its just the beginning. It’s a website, it’s a social community The documentary is in post production and I hope to release if it a few months time. It’s a speaking presentation and it’s a Panel Session at events where I interview more filmmakers I am also developing an educational outreach program taking the format around the Schools and Unis and indeed the corporate boardrooms of Australia If any of you in the audience can see this benefitting your organisation, or if you can help me get it out to as many people as possible, then I would love to talk further
- I’ll take questions in a minute. Thank you for listening, I hope you didn’t have to persevere too much. As I went through my research and interviews, I asked people to sign my promotional postcards (one of which is in your delegate pack ) I asked people to sign them with a word or phrase that sums up perseverance to them. I’ll scroll through them as I take any questions as they give interesting perspectives! Many thanks for your time and I hope the insights keep you persevering with your art.