Gabrielle Nadig, writing on Dear Producer, has revealed Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before I Became an Independent Film Producer.
She makes these six main points:
- Producers are Filmmakers and an essential part of the filmmaking process.
- You will work on each project for far longer than you think.
- To the industry, the director is king. (Sorry producers.)
- It is very unlikely that you will move up in the industry as fast as the directors you work with.
- There is no ladder to climb.
- You have to create your own opportunities.
She concludes by asking for a system that rewards indie producers for discovering and nurturing the next crop of filmmakers.
My take: thank you, Gabrielle, for a great, heart-felt post, and sharing your experience in producing so far. As to a system that rewards indie producers for discovering and nurturing emerging filmmakers, perhaps you could become their managers or agents? This would guarantee that as they advanced, you could too. Or, maybe we need an Alliance of Independent Producers that would lobby buyers on behalf of its members to make sure experienced and successful producers get better terms.