The Invisible Mentor

Interview With Alison Duke, Writer, Producer & Director, Goldelox Productions

This interview was first presented in the October 2006 issue of my newsletter Ambeck Edge

 Challenge: The business of filmmaking is very subjective. My clients are community-based organizations, government agencies and corporate businesses. They hire me to make films and videos for their companies in the form of short documentaries, Public Services Announcements and/or corporate videos. When I’m offered a contract to make “something,” usually there isn’t a script attached. Usually it’s just a concept. The only concrete things attached to it are the budget for the film and a delivery date. They may or may not have a research file on the subject available for me, or know the precise audience who the film is for. In addition to not having a script readily available, most of my clients didn’t go to film school so they don’t have the appropriate film grammar to explain what they want in the film or the film’s look or style.

A major problem working this way was that most people did not understand how much time and effort goes into producing films. Because TV, and Hollywood make moviemaking look easy, people have skewed ideas what things really cost. Yet when it comes to visuals, everyone has this uncanny way of knowing what they like (and what they don’t like) when they see it. An obvious business challenge working this way, was knowing what the client really wants, which means getting into the client’s head and figuring out what they want me to deliver without spending too much time and money so the production can arrive on budget and on schedule.

 Resolution: I educate the client about what it will take to make their film. Once attached to the job, I book a show and tell with the client. A show and tell is a creative meeting where I show segments from my previous work that may represent the feel and style of their project. For completely new ideas or concept, I present sketches, animations samples and even audio clips of what I have in mind for this new work. I’ll go over the cost of producing these audio/visuals and also talk about the overall challenges of creating particular visuals or audio for our timelines. Once the client approves the ideas they want, I give them a production contract. In this contract, I incorporate as much details about the creative, including responsibilities and timelines. I also affix a budget and payment schedule so that payments are released as we achieve creative milestones such as script approval, subject selection and so on. I go off and write the script.

 I don’t start the actual filming until they sign off on the script. When the production is in progress, things always change and it is very easy to get sidetracked in creative conversations. When the situation is clearly defined on paper people are more able to anchor back to the overall objective and director of the job.

 Lessons Learned

1.  Establishing a creative work environment with my client takes work. I can’t assume that it is just going to happen, I have to nurture it. The environment must have balance though, with a clearly defined hierarchy of who has the final say because it is easy to give in to ideas and try to satisfy the whims of everyone involved in the project
2. Creating this type of work environment enhances the overall execution and workflow of the project.
3. You can actually do more damage to your reputation as a creative person by working on projects, which lack overall vision, execution strategies or adequate support systems to help you deliver. When I started out doing this I did a lot of different things. I am very selective in what I do now

Formula for Success

Understanding my client’s needs, providing good service and being passionate about what I am doing is key. I love filming and I try as hard as I can to keep abreast with technology and trends. I read a lot of film books, magazines and web sites, and I also do a lot of research for each job so I am as prepared as possible. The bottom line is that I love learning about what I do. I feel that when I know more I am better able to give my clients products they can use for a long time.

Excerpt: Ambeck Edge October 2006

Further Readings

Internet Movie Database (IMDb) Alison Duke
Hear the Story

Related posts:

1. Is Due Diligence a Part of the Solution to Business Challenges?

Comments are closed.