Gary Fleder answers the questions aspiring filmmakers ask most often:
1. Do I really need to go to film school to be a director? What did you learn in film school that you couldn’t have learned just by doing? Should I start in undergraduate school, or can I catch up as a graduate student?
I remember going to the Sundance Film Fest in 1992 – and the sensation of Park City was this scrappy neo-noir crime pic called Reservoir Dogs, directed by a guy named Quentin Tarantino (a moniker custom-made for branding), who hadn’t gone to film school. He was a natural filmmaker who seemed to have learned quite a lot about the process by studying the films and directors he admired. Lightning struck again a few years later when P.T. Anderson made his debut with Hard Eight, followed by the exuberant Boogie Nights. Anderson, too, didn’t feel the need to go to film school – and, also like Tarantino, was a gifted and passionate storyteller. I thought about this as I was, back in ’92, screening my USC short (Air Time) while Tarantino was off making a big buzz with his feature.
There are many other examples of writers and directors doing well without film school, but it worked for mortals like me. I endorse it, for the following reasons.
One, I think the sense of community – cultivating collaboration and partnerships in film school – is incredibly important. I just liked being around other people who were as obsessive about the craft; not so easy to do sitting at Starbucks, flicking keys on your laptop.
Also, my undergrad experience at Boston University and my grad-school encounters at U.S.C. School of Cinema-Television showed me that, if I wanted to explore a certain facet of the filmmaking process (say, editing or sound-design or cinematography), both the gear and the teachers (and, esp. at U.S.C., the working professionals) were there to help.
At B.U., I was lucky enough to find a professor, an award-winning documentarian, who was more than eager to eviscerate me for my mistakes as a filmmaker. My first impulse was to tell him to F-off, but I adopted him, instead, as a mentor. He encouraged me to work on my weaknesses rather than hide behind my strengths. He also taught me the most important thing about succeeding in the movie biz: being reliable.
As for whether or not you need to go to undergrad film school to make grad film school more seamless, my answer may surprise some. I’d say you’re better off studying something else, whatever — literature, botany, history, entomology – so you have stories worth telling when you hit grad school. The techniques of filmmaking can be learned pretty quickly. But life experience is a whole other thing.
2. Do I need to move to Los Angeles in order to have a career as a filmmaker?
If you look at Martin Scorsese’s career (most of us film geeks have, natch), you’ll see that he gained real success when he moved AWAY from L.A. in the early 70s – left post-Roger Corman (Boxcar Bertha) – and, heeding the advice of John Cassavetes, got back to his passion and roots. (The great irony is, I learned a few years ago that Scorsese shot a lot of Mean Streets in Los Angeles!)
Things are changing rapidly in the film business – the economics, the infrastructure of distribution and exhibition, to name a few – but it still seems to me that a lot of what’s required to get films cast and financed is happening in L.A. The major agencies are based there; many actors live there; so a trip to L.A. will likely be necessary if you want to meet with financiers, casting directors, and actors.
On the other hand, being in L.A. can be creatively enervating (yes, that’s my opinion). If you’re a writer, especially, and you can find some way to live outside of L.A., I encourage that. But my guess is, once that new script is written – and folks like it – you will be back in L.A. pretty quick to put it together.
I’ve always been a fan and advocate of regional filmmakers and filmmaking, so if you can raise financing and assemble a cast in New Orleans, New York, Chicago, Miami, or Toronto, then have at it. Go where you’re inspired. Go where you will do good work.
3. I’ve got a great idea for a movie. How do I raise the money to make it?
The idea needs to find its way into script form. Even if you’ve written – or own the rights to – a terrific novel, folks will want to read a script. Yes, people sell pitches, but less frequently these days; and it’s even more difficult if you haven’t sold a script, or been produced, before.
For a discussion on raising money, there are better books – better sources – to check out than I, but it all depends on how much money you need to make your film.
If you need Blair Witch money, you won’t need much: just enough for basic gear and a way to feed your smallish crew. If you need several hundred thousand to a million or more, you can either hound rich relatives, raise money using limited partnerships (e.g., the Coen Brothers with Blood Simple), or try and get name actor(s) to sign to excite financiers (as Tarantino got Harvey Keitel in the aforementioned Sundance hit). If you need millions to make your picture, there are myriad equity players (and foreign-sales folks) who will be there if you can attract a star. The same goes with a real studio, but real studios are the trickiest of all, especially for a new filmmaker.
4. I shot my own movie on hi-def, and everyone I’ve shown it to thinks it’s terrific. How do I get it in front of a wider audience?
I tell young filmmakers, making your film is half the battle; getting people to actually see it is the other half. Marketing – for a short-subject and, especially, for an indie feature – is crucial. Web sites, one-sheets, trailers, press packets, behind-the-scenes clips – they’re all necessary to compete and stand out amidst the clutter.
As for getting your HD film seen, if it’s a short-subject, there are a lot of terrific film festivals out there (Slamdance, Sundance, Cannes, Berlin, among others), and many of the shorts that have screened well on the circuit have gone on to Oscars (Ray McKinnon’s The Accountant and Aaron Schneider’s Two Soldiers, to name a couple). If it’s a feature, again, the festival circuit is a great place to get your film seen and, if it’s good enough, picked up for domestic theatrical and DVD distribution.
That said, before you go into the festival circuit — especially with a feature — you need a kick-ass entertainment lawyer and, God willing, a smart agent who understands the business essentials of this world. Without a good lawyer and equally skilled agent, you will likely get crushed in a deal. Another option (and I’ve seen this work) is to go to a reputable and seasoned producer (or filmmaker) before hitting the festival circuit. They can slap their name on your film, yes, but they can also help you manage the madness of deals and bidding . . . and may even be able to help you raise more money to, say, fix your sound mix, enhance visual effects, or land a better composer for a richer music score.
5. How do I get an agent? What do I need one for?
William Goldman did an excellent job of answering this question in his must-read Adventures in the Screen Trade. So I’ll just pilfer his answer: use anyone you know or have a connection to — friend of a friend of an aunt — to gain access to an agent at a non-schlocky agency. This mainly applies to writers, as filmmakers can screen their films at festivals and, if the film is fantastic, they’ll have agents swarming them (this is often the case when top film schools screen student shorts).
A word of caution: it’s hard enough to call in a favor to have someone read your script . . . but it will be nearly impossible for that someone to read a second draft. Ergo, whichever draft you send out, make sure you’ve had twenty people who don’t lie to you read it and assure you that it’s solid.
(Oh, and that includes vetting typos. Speaking from experience, if you encounter four typos in the first two pages of a script, you start to drift a little . . . and think about errands you need to run, dog food you need to buy . . . )
6. If what I really want to do is direct, is it worth it for me to take a job doing something else in film production? What’s the best use of my time?
There are many different opinions on this topic, but I’m a big believer that you can only get good at directing by doing it. A writer writes. A director directs. Et cetera. If you want to work on set for a while, say as production assistant, then great. But don’t do it for long. My advice would be, find a job where you can earn enough – with flexible enough hours – so you can focus on your filmmaking. It’s like aviation: hours logged in the cockpit.
If you want to direct, have the ego to say just that. Declare yourself. Find a piece of material – or generate it – and go do it. With the easy availability of camera and editing gear for a few thousand dollars, you no longer have any excuse not to be shooting a passion piece, be it a short or a self-contained feature.
Director Gary Fleder brings a photographer’s eye and a musician’s ear to every project, be it epic film or intimate TV drama.