How Do I Get My Film Made?

When you tell people that you are in the industry sooner or later, someone is going to say this to you. “I have a great idea. How do I get it made?” What I tell people is both encouraging and discouraging and that is “Anybody can do it.” Furthermore, you don’t need to convince hundreds of people of the greatness of your idea. Nor do you need to go to film school or have any special education. You only need to convince an audience of one that your idea is terrific.

But that’s when it gets tricky – that one person has to be able to write a cheque and sometimes it takes years, if ever to find him/her. But if you do and you can get that first person to sign on, it becomes easier.

I’ll use myself as a case history. I was a fulltime composer in film and television in the mid-1990’s when I started thinking about making being involved in the entire filmmaking process. I had never taken a filmmaking course, never written any screenplays or proposals – actually I had hardly any writing experience at all because my Master’s thesis in Music was an original piece of music. But what I did have was this very strong feeling then as now that stories and characters involving the Chinese cultural diversity needed to be increased in North America because of well… The Changing Face.

So I started writing words, dramatic scripts and documentary ideas. (I still do that today.) It was rather painful but eventually I would up with a six part documentary series proposal idea on a history of the Chinese in Canada. I talked to all kinds of people about the idea and got lots of good feedback and kind support.
Armed with this knowledge that "the people" wanted this series made, I went to the NFB and CBC and Knowledge Network about this and had a meeting at then head of the BC Region for the CBC, John Kennedy. He liked me and what I was proposing and then said, “I’ll work with you on a one hour program, not a six part series.” More than that, he wrote a cheque and more than that, he offered his guidance for over a year on various drafts of the documentary proposal, “Beyond Golden Mountain.” He didn’t like what he was seeing but had the patience to work with me until I got something that he could support for production. Beyond Golden Mountain won or was nominated for several industry awards. It remains relevant today and CBC recently re-acquired the rights to broadcast it again.

Thank you John for being that “audience of one.” It took me hundreds of meetings, phone calls, presentations to all kinds of people but eventually I found that right “audience of one.” Interestingly, when I went in with my letters of support etc., he never wanted to see them. His attitude seemed to be, "I'm paid to make decisions and I will make decisions on how I best see fit."

The takeaway that I want everyone to have is that ideas, not education or background, is the lifeblood of the industry. The industry is more fragmented now and money is ever more competitive to get but if you can, find that “audience of one” who can help you achieve your idea. My late father was quite a successful life insurance salesman and his philosophy was, “If one person closes the door on you, knock on the next door. The law of averages dictates that sooner or later, someone will let you in.” At the same time, be flexible in modifying your dreams. Whoever writes that cheque is going to want to have input too.

Next week, Cam Hui comes back with another insightfully entertaining look at business and the arts.