Green Light Ready: A Masterclass For Creatives
What a viral pay controversy taught me about the blind spots in this business, and why I'm teaching a masterclass on budgeting and scheduling for creatives.
It’s been a doozy since I got back from Tribeca. Our clip of Bob Odenkirk talking about the value of great producers went small town viral, doubled our Instagram following, and brought a slew of new creatives to our community!
I guess all along we just needed a respected, well known actor to talk about the value of producers for the algorithm to care about us. 😬 I’m elated tbh.
And Bob isn't wrong. But the reality of making a living as a producer is complicated.
In other noteworthy news, Brazil is crushing it in the World Cup, I’m embarking on a new chapter that I’ll share more about next month, and my adorable toddler, who missed me immensely, gave me the best welcome home gift: a summer cold that turned into an ear infection and took my actual voice.
Ahh children, they are so magical! So precious! So gross!
So if you noticed I went quiet in your inbox or on the Substack app, lo siento mucho. And if you didn’t notice, no offense taken. We are all so overstimulated already that a little less noise was probably my white elephant gift to you. You’re welcome.
While my voice is still not fully returned, I have much to say, so let’s get into it.
Obsessed with Obsession
It started when art director Sally Choi shared on social media how little she actually made on the film. That set off a wave of conversation, and a lot of outrage.
Then producer Mynette Louie, an OG AOP guest, stepped in and created a mock waterfall to quiet down the loud people who don’t really understand how waterfalls function, or how much money filmmakers actually take home once everything is said and done. I posted about her breakdown, and reading the comments was wild.
It became clear to me that there are a lot of blind spots and gaps in people’s knowledge about how the entire cycle of a film actually functions. Most people seem to never really think beyond locked picture. And then there’s the rhetoric that all you have to do is make a movie for under $1 million (hard), make it exceptional (exceptionally hard), and then you too can be an outlier like Obsession and make over $371 million at the global box office, on a $750,000 budget!
That is such a great unique story for that team. I’m happy for them and even happier they shot the film in LA. But…sorry to burst your bubble, the reality is that most indie films rarely break even. And no trade publication is writing about that. And no producer or financier is showing you the books to dissect what, if anything, course have been done differently.
I’ve felt that gap from both sides of the table. Filmmakers who confidently think their film can be done for under $3M, when one look at the script tells me it’ll land closer to $5M. Or creative execs who have pivoted into producing and are exceptional at development, but struggle to back a $3M script into a sub $1M price point without losing what makes the idea unique. Or worst, upsetting a filmmaker who can’t conceive of making their film for a number they consider creatively stifling.
That gap is where the blind spots live. And it’s exactly where I want to meet you.
Masterclass: Green Light Ready
Last fall I ran two short film budgeting workshops, born out of learning that many established TV writers I knew wanted to direct and were unsure how to begin, or how much a short should even cost. So I taught these small, scrappy, proof of concept classes on Zoom. I figured a handful of people would show up curious. Instead they filled up fast, and the question I kept hearing afterward was: can we do this for a feature?
A feature is such a big undertaking, and I was struggling with how to make it dynamic and fun for creatives without getting too deep in the weeds of scheduling and budgeting. Those are courses onto themselves for a reason!
However, a lightbulb went off and I’m excited to share how I can share my knowledge with you.
Green Light Ready is a three part live masterclass for producers, writers, directors, executives, and anyone who has ever wondered if the number in their head was doable.
Over the course of one week, we’ll read a kickass unproduced script, build a schedule, and construct a budget from scratch, together. By the end you’ll understand:
How to read a script like a line producer
How the schedule drives the budget, not the other way around
The pros and cons of union versus non union work in the sub $1M space
What it actually takes to get a film made for under $1M
How to read basic financial projections and recoupment waterfalls
This isn’t about shrinking your ambition to fit a spreadsheet. It’s the opposite. The filmmakers and producers who get more at bat than others understand the economics and financials of the biz side of showbiz. They write within those constraints intentionally, and it helps producers raise financing proportionate to the risk, whether that’s a first time filmmaker, an execution dependent sci-fi film, or a newcomer lead in a drama.
I’m pricing this course at $999, which is a steep discount for 6 focused hours of 15+ years of knowledge. Sign up before Friday for $25 OFF using the code EARLYBIRD.
My dream is that you take these principles into your creative process, so you feel empowered to write, produce, and fundraise for a price point that’s actually doable for your film. [cue Alexandre Desplat’s “The Shape of Water” score]
Green Light Ready runs July 15, 17, and 22 from 10A - 12PM, live and virtual. Thanks to our partners at Cinapse, you’ll get a free trial of their scheduling platform plus 15% off when you sign up.
Keep creating, keep hustling. And as always, thanks for doing this life thing with me!
