It certainly was an interesting month of September to end my MFA career in Business of Film, but I sure did learn a lot and am looking forward to my next ventures. I survived a hurricane and learned how to better negotiate salary in an interview, so overall, I’d say this month was super successful. Business of Film has been a helpful part of my curriculum at Full Sail and it was very enlightening to finally look at the business aspects and logistics behind film with all that money, money, money. Altogether I would say I met most of my original objectives for this course.
One of my objectives was focused on making sure our film was completed and everything was in order for the title cards and credits. I would say looking back this objective really doesn’t fit the structure and goals for this course and wasn’t fulfilled. I am however very thankful that Peter gave us time around class to complete our final uploads of all the credits and visual effects shots. Having that time and support helped get everything in order for our film’s first screening. Also to have the financial support to send our film off to some festivals is much appreciated. On a somewhat similar side note with the first screening of our film coming in September I learned through this class that this time of year isn’t the best for premieres. Typically, that date means your film isn’t expected to do well and you should look at what else is coming around that period. If I could choose a theatrical premiere for Lemonade Stand I would choose a month or two ahead of now like mid-July to the start of August since families could all go together, or possibly January when more people will have holiday breaks and free time. Keeping track of film’s box office incomes on Box Office Mojo will forever be a useful tool to have and I’m glad this is involved in the course a lot. I now have the opportunity to always stay on top of how movies are doing and this is super important to be a successful business person in film.
Another objective I had for this month was to create a strong campaign image. I do feel in varying ways this objective was fulfilled throughout this month. This course was beneficial with all the focus we put on branding within the film industry. I learned that studios today are all about production and distribution. One major factor that I will take away from this course curriculum is that your pitch for your film is all about the way that you brand it and sell yourself. The pitch must answer who, what, when, where, why, and how. When you create a campaign image for your production there are a mix of factors that drive the production’s value; the time, the ability of repeat consumption, differential pricing, and exclusivity. Business of Film put my mindset in the right place for future works of mine or that I will work on in how you must think about profit versus what is profitable from the film. I will keep a Producer role in mind as well as I move forward in my career path and have it be a role I work into. The fact that when you are at the top of the line you’ll get a piece of the gross profit is rather convincing to stick with Producing and put up with all the headaches it requires.
My final objective was to make a strong trailer for use with our festival submissions, which we did not complete on time . Much of post-production has been a huge learning experience for me and keeping up with the work flow it requires. Also technical elements of having time code burn-ins on our footage threw me off. I am thankful Justin pointed it out so we can fix those changes quickly before we begin to submit within the next few weeks. Overall I think a better goal for this course would have been to get a solid idea of our film’s value and create a strong festival strategy for Lemonade Stand. I believe our thesis film has major possibilities to do well during our festival run and I hope we can raise some money in the future to submit to as many festivals as possible. I think we could better organize our strategy as of now to make a game plan. I will keep my fingers crossed that Lemonade Stand will become a great exposure for me as a filmmaker and Producer, and in the future I receive an opportunity to look at agents and managers for my work. Within the next 5 years I want to get into the DGA union so I can continue to work hard at the rates I deserve. Everything we discussed about unions and what they provide for those in the union was beneficial to me. I plan to always work hard in this industry and will be better prepared to receive the benefits I know and understand now with all my learnings in Business of Film. I feel ready to step out into the real world and that anything is possible if you ask.
