How
many notices have we seen from directors who have a great idea for a
film, have written a script themselves and now ‘just’ need a producer
to raise a hundred thousand to make it? What could be simpler? And
let’s not forget that all-important incentive… no fee, but you’ll get a
VHS copy of the film if, and when, it’s finished! Wow, as a producer
myself, I’m drooling and chomping at the bit to get a piece of that
action! Who wouldn’t?
Anyone
trying to gain employment in the Britain's film industry knows how hard
it can be getting a foot in the door. Three years at film school and
all the enthusiasm and determination in the world still can't guarantee
you a job in an industry that measures success in terms of who you have
worked with and what films you have worked on. Here's a story that
shows how one aspiring filmmaker got his first lucky break. Not only in
the crew, but in front of the camera as well. Tim Maguire – Director of
The Rosslyn Enigma explains…
The
only people who truly know how much blood sweat and tears go into the
making of a feature length movie are those who have done it themselves.
The effort required is also in indirect proportion to the size of the
budget - the smaller the budget the greater will be the effort
required.
This particular story is that of Neil Oseman ("Hereford's Stephen Speilberg" - The Guardian) a freelance lighting camera operator. Between jobs, Oseman co-wrote, developed, shot, post-produced and finally... distributed his film in his home town, sandwiched between trips filming corporates in London, reccees in Italy and being a Director of Photography on a film shooting in upstate New York. Oseman always travels with his own film file and story boarding kit to while away the travel time working on his own movie.
Anyone interested in the process of filmmaking at zero budget levels will find Neil's diaries on the making of his film Soul Searcher, a revelation and a thoroughly absorbing read. Neil Oseman has allowed us access to his diaries and his archive of film artwork, to put you more fully in the picture - his picture, Soulsearcher......
Producers are different things to different people, making this question difficult to answer. There are no detailed job descriptions and no two producers handle their jobs in exactly the same way. Is it any wonder that both audiences, and many 'insiders', are bewildered by the proliferation of producer credits in films?