Making a First Feature: the 5 Producers You'll Need
In December 2016, I brought some pages to a writer’s night. Flash forward 8 years later, and I self-released my debut feature Scrap with my company Rue Dangeau. Here's who helped me make it happen!
In 2016, I never thought I would ever be a bonafide feature film producer and distributor.
Since graduating from USC, I’d produced a digital series and numerous shorts, but an entire feature film still felt elusive and nigh impossible.
While luck, timing, and my own tenacity played a big part in getting SCRAP here, looking back, I can identify 5 key producers who really helped me make SCRAP happen. These people guided the project along the past 8 years in various stages as it was developed, funded, shot, finished, launched, and ultimately finagled into a true indie success story.
If you are planning to direct your first feature, whether you’re also producing or not, it’s crucial you build a team around you who can play different roles to help shepherd the project along at every stage. There’s nothing harder than “going it alone” on a feature.
Here’s 5 types of producers you will definitely need in your corner:
The Cheerleader - In the development phase, you might not even have a full script. Maybe you’ve just got an idea, and you have no clue where you’re going to get the money, or if it’s even possible to make your feature the way you imagine it. At this point, you need a champion, a cheerleader who will look you in the eye and say, “I believe in this project! Let’s do it!!”
SCRAP started its journey as a proof-of-concept short film shot back in 2018, and the only reason that happened was because of my incredible producer and friend Sapna Gandhi. She believed in the idea even when I had doubts, and every time I spoke to her she was relentless, “When are we going to make that script? What about that script? Let’s do it as a short!”
You need a Producer who can be your teammate and who will be able to help you get the ball rolling. Without Sapna’s positivity and endless enthusiasm, SCRAP would have never even kicked off.
Because of her, the proof-of-concept was completed on time and under budget in 2018 and we premiered at the Beverly Hills Film Festival in 2019, which led to meeting a lot more people who eventually helped make the feature version a reality!
The Sage - Okay, so you made your short film proof-of-concept (or maybe you’ve just got a stellar feature script), and you’re finally ready to start pre-production on the full-length feature. You’ve cobbled some money together, got the LLC set up, are hiring crew, casting, circling shoot dates, and suddenly it’s all starting to feel exciting and terrifying and oh-so-real. At this point, you will need a Producer with feature experience.
My sister Marion Kerr, who is also an amazing writer, actor, director and producer, was invaluable in helping SCRAP get organized and realistic about how this shoot was actually going to happen.
She had done the same thing on her first feature GOLDEN EARRINGS in 2009, and had subsequently produced and directed a number of projects. I tell other prospective first-time feature directors that ideally you want 3 Producers who have all done multiple features at your same budget-level to come on board during Pre-Production.
It can be tempting to just work with friends or bring on people simply because they express interest, but a feature film is a multi-year project, and the decisions that are made in pre-production, especially in regards to budget, hiring, and logistics, are going to have a huge impact months (or let’s face it) years down the road.
If someone doesn’t bring much to the table in terms of their network and experience, then they really shouldn’t be on your feature as a Producer. Taking a chance on a green producer could potentially really hurt the project, and that can be tough to see in those early “honeymoon” stages.
That’s why “The Sage” is such an invaluable role. This is the one person who you’ll need to talk to when shit hits the fan, which it inevitably will, and who will tell you the uncomfortable truths. Marion was such a great problem-solver and sounding board, and luckily couldn’t ever ditch me because we share genetic material! 😉
The Heavy - Finally, you’re on set! For myself as SCRAP’s director, it was incredibly challenging to be the lead producer while simultaneously directing. I never quite felt like I could solely focus on directing, because there was always so much additional producing work to do, not to mention the fact I was also playing the lead role of Beth in SCRAP! But the extent to which I was able to focus on the directing is largely thanks to my steady line producer Curt Chatham, who was on set every day, often the first person there and the last to leave.
Curt was invaluable in covering the logistics of so many things — from catering, to permitting, to transportation/parking, to SAG paperwork and getting location releases. I still have a massive Chain of Title binder he created sitting on my closet shelf.
Having someone experienced in that UPM role is crucial, and unfortunately often overlooked in the low-budget indie space when money is so tight and jobs are cut or combined. I kept joking that Curt was my “guard dog,” and as a director/producer you really need someone who will jump in and have your back when the hours on set get long and mini-crises pop up.
“The Heavy” doesn’t have to be a jerk — Curt is one of the nicest, most accommodating people I’ve ever worked with — but they do need to have an air of credibility and authority. In moments where things felt shaky on the set of SCRAP and I was worried something important wouldn’t get done, I knew if I pulled Curt aside and had a 30-second conversation with him about it, he would handle it, even if it made him the “bad guy.”
“The Heavy” can’t run around playing peacemaker. The best producers during production are confident leaders who can run a set, communicate clearly and firmly with department heads, help the 1st AD ensure you make your days, and above all hold the line when it comes to the budget. Find a point-person who will have your back and who can take tasks off your plate. Talk to other people who have worked with them. This is a role you have to vet (but also, vet everyone!). Checking references should not be optional for an independent feature; it’s essential.
The Guidance Counselor - Okay, so you made it through the shoot! Now what?
At this point, you’ll need a Post-Production Producer or Supervisor. But on a smaller film such as SCRAP, I didn’t have the budget for that position and had to take on that role myself. However I still needed someone I could rely on to help guide me through the steps of post-production. It’s quite the journey to go from a bunch of drives with raw footage to an edited, color-graded, sound-mixed, composed, VFX-ed DCP drive for festivals and final ProRes with your 5.1 audio prepped for distro. Unless you have post experience, all of the steps and technical skills involved are brand new, and it’s definitely more complicated when you’re moving from shorts to features.
Luckily for me, my extraordinarily experienced and kind editor Toby Yates stepped up and filled much of that Post-Producer role, and probably should have gotten some type of Producer credit on the film.
Toby went above and beyond — dropping off hard drives, giving me workflow advice, suggestions on how to coordinate all the aspects of the film’s completion, and highlighting potential pitfalls when it came to program compatibility and file organization. With two dozen features under his belt, he knew the ropes so well and could always compare SCRAP to a similar project from his career, sharing anecdotes and providing wisdom on even basic things such as time management and interpersonal communication.
Bottom line, you will need fresh blood during post, someone who hasn’t been through the wars of production and someone who can give you moral support and bring new eyes and new excitement to the project. Even if you can’t afford a Post Producer, find someone who can play that role and help re-energize you. I also have to thank our excellent finishing facility for SCRAP, The Garrison, and especially Peter Berg, who brought so much ease to the post-production and finishing process!
The Girl Friday - Finally, as you’re premiering the film, doing the festival circuit, and figuring out distribution, you will need someone who can help you out with the million small tasks required during this phase. My incredible associate producer Makenna Tuttle was an absolute rockstar at that. I was in the midst of working on my second feature film while SCRAP was still doing festivals, and Makenna was 100% down for any and all tasks I needed help with.
Her taking on such a heavy (and frankly, at times probably a bit dull) workload allowed Team Scrap the ability to divide and conquer. I was able to be much more present to promote SCRAP in its festival journey because of her willingness to pick up the slack.
Not all of producing is glamorous, and until you go through the journey of festivals, sales, distribution, PR, marketing, and delivery, it’s impossible to understand just how much work it is. Be ready to have someone who can step in (or step up) when the film is approaching completion to help it stick the landing!
You need a small army of talented, driven, competent, and (hopefully) emotionally mature people to make a successful feature happen, and no producer can do it all by themself. Without Sapna, Marion, Curt, Toby, and Makenna, SCRAP would not be available now on Amazon and Apple!
The only type of producer I didn’t have on SCRAP that in hindsight I wish I did was one with sales, distribution, and delivery experience. I’m grateful I was able to learn all of that myself and I feel lucky I was able to self-distribute the film with Rue Dangeau. There’s nothing more satisfying than owning and controlling your own film, but this is one area you don’t want to have to learn on-the-fly if you don’t have to. And even though I’ve emphasized how vital experience is, I also think what is commonly undervalued is attitude and personality. Make sure everyone on your team is incredibly positive — possibly almost to the point of delusional.
Making an indie is such a long process, and on reflection, one of the things than made Sapna, Marion, Curt, Toby, and Makenna so wonderful to work with was their unbelievably optimistic outlook on everything. If you’ve ever worked with a “glass half-empty” producer, you will know how quickly it can create a toxic work environment. Things will get hard because that’s the nature of the beast. You need Producers who can pivot when problems arise, think outside the box, get excited to pull rabbits out of hats, and in the words of Project Runway’s Tim Gunn, “make it work.” A film is an LLC, a business, but it’s also a creative endeavor and in order for the film to shine artistically, there needs to be joy in the making of it.
The people you choose to work with will ultimately have the biggest impact on your experience of a film, so choose well and wisely.
Scrap is available NOW to rent or purchase on AppleTV, Amazon, Fandango at Home, Google Play, and Vimeo-on-Demand!