Producing : Pre-production Process by Maurice Vaughan

Maurice Vaughan development funding comes before pre-production, in my mind Maurice.

Hi, Geoff Hall. Isn't development funding part of pre-production?

Maurice Vaughan not in my view, Maurice. It’s the first glimmer that the project may be a goer! We will sign a casting director, get the producer contracted, the first ad and a few others and then when that has attracted the full production budget, then pre-production can start in earnest.

That makes sense, Geoff Hall. I like that process. Thanks for sharing it.

That’s a very good post Maurice Vaughan I am still learning the process, but I agree with Geoff Hall

Hey Geoff. I'd like to ask how successful this process has been. I'm new to all this and I'm trying to get a sitcom I wrote produced (Award winning :)). My biggest concern is budget. I'm worried that if I do the steps you mentioned and do not secure the financing, I will lose my all of my credibility.

First thing you need is the script. How can you plan anything else if you don't have that? Now I've written a screenplay starting with an exciting climax and working backwards to figure out how to get the major characters to that final location, but you still need the story first.

Why try and get a team together first? What if between getting the team together and finishing the business plan, some of your team finds another job? You can't tell them they can't work.

Location first? Do you own the location? Does it have power? Any scene can really be shot in any location with AI and green screen.

Get the story first. Break it down into a shooting schedule, contact undervalued talent to get their interest, shoot for a realistic budget and then build it so when you are in front of an investor group, you can answer any question they throw at you. You want to convince them that your story is going to entertain a huge portion of the movie going populace and that they will revisit your film throughout their lives.

Investors know that they will never make money on your picture past 15 years but they do value repeat viewings and that won't happen if your story is garbage.

It's an entertainment industry. The general public don't care if you're avant garde to the point of artsy incoherent madness. They don't care about your cause or your agenda because someone else pushed their agenda on them before and they didn't like it then sitting in a traffic jam because of it. They're won't feel different about your agenda especially when they had to pay for it. While they want to have an emotional connection to your characters, they don't want to be suffocated by some soul tearing drama that leaves them exhausted because they probably have dramas of their own and they're not getting paid to pretend to have them. so.....

Be entertaining. That should be your first priority and your final result.

A lot for producers to think about, Philip David Lee. Thanks for sharing. I've seen producers get their teams together first. That way, the team can help each other during pre-production to get the projects off the ground.

Maurice Vaughan That's fine if you're in bed with a studio head and hob knob with the rich and elites. I don't think anyone looked at the script for Killers Of The Flower Moon when they dropped $200M for the budget of that movie plus another $60M for P&A all for a worldwide gross of $156M. However for us struggling independents filmmakers, we don't have the luxury of overinflated budgets and delivering multi-million dollar loses. I'm not sure why the producers of that project weren't arrested for fraud.

Now you can't have a more solid project than I have right now for the price tag of $1.5M for the budget. I've done everything myself and have gotten good reviews so far. I have a cast and crew ready to go when the funding is in, but I won't tie them up while everyone else is too busy working both thumbs up their rectums because one thumb is no longer a challenge.

Ultimately, it comes down to whatever works best for you If you work with me, I've already done all the heavy lifting. I like to have a story first and be at a position where I can answer whatever question is thrown at me. I do not plan my path through shadows. The light of knowledge guides my actions.

Horatio Lewis Tihanyi Hi Horatio, this is such an early stage process that you shouldn’t be worried about credibility. Knowing your budget is the first thing, then working out your development fund. I had an experienced Producer look at the script and he told us the budget and then the development fund was 5% of that.

It allows us to get the main crew on board and the casting director will get a name attached. This then becomes the draw for the rest of the investment.

Hey Maurice Vaughan - chiming in. There's a lot of good advice and perspective here. I'll share mine just to add to the conversation. I do believe that everythng starts with the script. Even Hitchcock said you only need 3 things to make a good movie - the script, the script and the script. The industry is divided into two kinds of people - writers and readers. While some do both, broadly speaking, writers write and everyone else reads. Actors, directors, producers, agents, managers, directors of photography, production designers, line prodcuers - all read and build their financial planning or creative vision based on the script. So starting with a script is usually the strongest kick off point because its the organizing principal for everyone to come together around - from the money to the creative execution. Then creating a sound and realistic schedule and budget is my next step. Now we know what needs to happen to finish. Along the way, conversatons with creative partners or crew or cast can be ongoing - and some folks can even commit to the project based on schedule - building the value for investors/buyers but not taking them out of other paying jobs, as Philip David Lee suggests. When the film is financed, all or in pieces, moving forward with the actual cast, crew, locations and all else can come together for the set dates of production. Some will be who you had been speaking with, some flolks will be unavailable and others can then be slotted in. I always look at a movie like a train. A lot of people get on and off the train and then final crew and cast are whose on the train at the end when it pulls into theaters. Brian Grazer once told me that a producer has to keep the finances and creative process in line, like two skis going down a mountain, and if either gets too ahead or behind the other a project can "fall down". So, while there are always exceptions to every rule, starting with a script and building forward with budget/schedule, finacing and then team building leading to the shoot is the most standard approach. Also, this is just my own perspective, I don't think creative tone or vision should ever be limited. I love light and fun and entertaining films but Leaving Las Vegas is a super depressing film that cost $4M and made over $70M worldwide. There are audiences for all kinds of visions and stories - just make your story well. Also, Killers of The Flower Moon was made by Apple Studios and was considered a flop at first but if you dig deeper it has turned a profit for Apple when streaming rentals and - most important to Apple - new subscribers in that time period are factored in. Streamers want subscribers and Oscar nominations help so they are just playing a diferrent game than straight box office returns, which were no doubt low compared to the production & P/A budgets.

Hey, Sam Sokolow. Thanks for chiming in. Great advice and insight! Some movies that flop at the box office have great stories, great directing, etc. It's other factors that make them flop sometimes, like poor marketing.

Sam Sokolow this was a masterclass! I go to save this message for me! It’s easy to understand! Thank you!

Maurice Vaughan Marketing is a strange beast for me Maurice because it really makes no sense. While streaming and looking for something to watch, you come across a movie and say "Oh, he made a movie?" Then you look and see it came out 2-4 years ago. You never heard of it or even saw a trailer for it.. Distribution, whether it's theatrical or streaming is a scam for most film. One is counting tickets and the other is counting minutes and depending where you sit in the waterfall, you're either getting a trickle or a drought. Meanwhile The theaters and distribution are getting drenched. If you hear about a movie coming out because one of many YouTube reviewers are either trashing or praising it and you go to find the trailer, you find out the trailer was dropped 2-3 months ago.

Take Wolf man and One of Them Days. Wolf Man cost $25M and OOTD cost $14M. No real "oh wow" stars in either film. All I heard about was Wolf Man and absolutely nothing about OOTD. To this date, OOTD is still making about $8M more than Wolf man and doing it in about 680 less theaters with both films being released 11 days ago. Marketing is broken. The current plan doesn't work anymore. Don't even get me started with Captain America: Brave New World already with a monumental budget and bad word of mouth now with Anthony Mackie coming out saying Captain America no longer stand for America.

Anything can create a bomb. Investors, producers and filmmakers all have to think smarter. The hype of the hype won't do it anymore. You need a solid story, responsible budgeting, actors that keep their points of view to themselves and a marketing plan that is active when principle shooting begins to maximize every ounce of your films earning legs and as I always say, make it entertaining!

I've experienced that a lot, Philip David Lee. Not hearing about movies and shows until months and years later.

I saw a lot of promo for WOLF MAN, but not a lot for ONE OF THEM DAYS and like you pointed out, ONE OF THEM DAYS is doing better at the box office.

"The hype of the hype won't do it anymore." Yeah, movies and shows can't survive on just hype. I've heard hype for movies and shows, and I was let down when I watched them.

My favorite marketing is when the filmmaker/company gives just enough to get me interested in the movie/show. Like short trailers.

Ha! “Buy the script.”

In all the indie features and shorts I’ve been a part of, I can’t think of any where the writer was paid.

Usually the script was written by the director/producer who was also raising the money. So no fee for the script.

In that case, the creator is talking up their idea, assembling a team to shoot test footage, scout locations, etc. Then find funding.

@samsokolow Great advice and outline of the development to prep to production process. Love the Grazer quote, so true.

I've heard the same thing, Mike Boas. A lot of directors/producers write the scripts on indie films because there isn't a budget for scripts, especially short movies.

Geoff Hall, thanks for the information. I've never heard of term "Development Fund" before. I got some homework to do. I have 6 1/2 out 8 episodes written and won a lot of film fest awards. I have a detailed business plan, full budget per episode breakdown, a trailer and a production video breakdown. Working on Show Bible and Pitch Deck.

Thanks again Geoff. Very much appreciated.

Lots of good perspectives and advice from you all. I've been in or seen first-hand all of the situations you mention, from independents to major studios, to documentaries. It's a lot like alchemy, isn't it -- getting the right ingredients in the right order with the right timing. And often it's different for each situation. Wishing all you sharp, creative minds the best of luck with all your projects, however you go about it. And thank you all for letting others know what worked for you and how.

Not to split hairs, Maurice, but it’s not that they don’t have the budget to buy a script from someone else. It’s that they want to produce their own script.

Mike Boas It creates less headaches. Arguing with writers can be depleting. After heated talks with myself, I'm exhausted. I wish I would just shut up and listen to myself once in awhile.

from Democratic republic of Congo, looking forward to having a production

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Great question, Maurice Vaughan! As a former Development Exec, my process before even getting to the pre-production stage often varied depending on the particular project. If we found a spec script that interested us, then the writer was already attached, so the focus shifted to assembling the right elements—whether that was a producing partner, director, or key talent—to build the pitch together and make the package more enticing for buyers.

If we were acquiring a book, the process was different because we needed to find the right writer to adapt the material. That meant looking for someone who not only had the right voice but also aligned with how we envisioned bringing the story to life. In some cases, if the book was a bestseller or if we acquired a different strong piece of IP, we could package it with the right creative team and pitch it directly to a buyer. If they were interested, they might pay for the script's development, meaning the writer would at least be paid for each draft and revision. But that was rare—more often, we needed a well-written pilot or feature draft as part of the package to engage a network, studio, or streamer.

Even though that script would go back into development with the buyer to tailor it to their needs and audience, having a strong draft upfront was usually necessary to get a deal done.

If we were starting from a story concept, we had to solidify the right creative team first, ensuring we had a cohesive vision before pitching. And once the team was together, the process of getting the pitch materials—and sometimes the script—into the best possible shape was its own, sometimes very long, process.

"My process before even getting to the pre-production stage often varied depending on the particular project." I think that's a helpful mindset to have since each project is different/has different needs, Ashley Renee Smith. Thanks for the insight.