For the past couple of years I’ve been toying with the idea of writing a book about film producing. Specifically, how to build a career as a producer, starting out making short films and progressing to feature films. I didn’t want to write something that was an anecdotal, and just talked about my experiences, but one that went into great detail about every aspect of film producing. I am largely self taught as a producer and learned by making mistakes, asking mentors for advice and learning as much as I could as quickly as I could. So I wanted to help people, the way other people had helped me. But there was always one thing getting in the way - TIME.
5.30 am train journeys, airport departure lounges and sterile hotel rooms were really the only places where I would find the time to write hurried notes about the various aspects of producing and I was almost always tired or half thinking about a meeting I was about to have or had just had. So unsurprisingly the book was taking quite a bit of time.
Then the unexpected happened. I was at the Berlin Film Festival and I bumped into a producer friend of mine from Lombardi in Italy. He was in a mad panic because his wife had just called him to say the city had been locked down because of the Covid 19 pandemic. As the festival went on, more people started to debate how the pandemic would unfold and how it might affect film production. I said to a friend ‘if the world comes to a stop, I might just have time to write my book’. The world did come to a stop, and work was not as important as keeping everyone safe and healthy.
As we rolled into March knowing that we weren’t going to be able to make any films or videos for the foreseeable future, I sat in the office thinking how to use the time. Anyone who knows me, knows I have a compulsive need to work and keep busy. If I am not working on ten different things, I tend to get down and bored with life. I needed a new project.
As we all came to terms with a new reality, we started to plan and work on a project called Above The Line. A producing masterclass that wasn’t a book, but instead a series of videos, addressing various aspects of a producers role. I dug up all my book notes and the pages I had written and started dividing them up into shorter segments. Lucy, Jack and I worked tirelessly on designing a secure website, social media channels, a marketing strategy and most important of all - video content. Talking to camera is not something I have done a lot of in my life, and I can’t say I was particularly enthusiastic about it. In the end though, I realised that I wanted to talk directly to people and let them know what life is like for film producers.
Our plan is to create a database of advice for new and emerging producers. From writer agreements all the way to planning festival releases. We’ve filmed hours of content, with more filming to take place soon, and we will upload roughly an hours worth of videos every two weeks. The masterclass won’t solve everyone’s problems, as the only way to become more experienced is to actually go out into the world and make films, and make things happen. But I’d like to think that we’re encouraging people to take the step towards producing and giving them a good foundation to build upon.
Of course like any new venture, the first few months will be a baptism of fire. We will have to modify things and listen to feedback, adjusting things as we learn. But we have so many plans and hopes for the site and the community we hope to build, that I hope it is a success. For anyone who wants to sign up early you can find the website here: www.abovethelinefilm.co.uk