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    Making Your Film for Less Outside the U.S.
    Making Your Film for Less Outside the U.S.
    Making Your Film for Less Outside the U.S.
    Ebook385 pages5 hours

    Making Your Film for Less Outside the U.S.

    By Mark Dewayne

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    About this ebook

    At last, here is a definitive step-by-step guide that explains everything needed to successfully produce and distribute films overseas. Following the advice found here, filmmakers will learn to make films in foreign countries that cost less money and allow the artists greater creative control. Chapters include: scheduling and budgeting, foreign censors, accommodations and office rental, scams to avoid, foreign film festivals, working with digital equipment, and more. An in-depth study compares production costs between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, England, France, Bulgaria, South Africa, the Philippine Islands, Hong Kong, Australia, and Thailand. The author offers a sample budget for an overseas film shoot and offers tips for cutting costs on transportation, location fees, wardrobe, hair and makeup, catering, and equipment. Interviews with nine entertainment industry veterans reveal marketing and distribution trends in the American film market for foreign-made projects. And special chapters are included on writing for overseas production and on new technology as it relates to digital film and video provide essential insight to today’s filmmaker. Directors, producers, screenwriters, and actors will learn how to turn their film projects from a dream to reality.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAllworth
    Release dateMar 2, 2006
    ISBN9781621532002
    Making Your Film for Less Outside the U.S.

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      Book preview

      Making Your Film for Less Outside the U.S. - Mark Dewayne

      Preface

      By now we have all heard about Runaway Production. The entertainment industry unions have found common ground and a uniform voice in their protests against the practice of film companies taking their productions to Canada, Mexico, and other foreign countries rather than shooting them in the United States. Actors, drivers, and studio craftsmen marched as one in 1999 against the State Capitol in Sacramento, California, demanding that something be done to keep production at home where it belongs. Over fifteen thousand film workers and vendors crowded Hollywood Boulevard on August 18 of that year in a rally of historic proportions. Complaints resonated like an oft-repeated litany: It’s not fair. They’re stealing work from us. I have a family to feed, house payments to make. Why are they taking work away from us?

      Of course, the answer may be that the script requires exotic locations that cannot be duplicated accurately in the United States. Artistic integrity is always a consideration, but there is another primary reason why film production has been leaving the United States—money. It costs less to produce a film in Canada than it does in California. It costs less to shoot a film in many countries than it does in the United States. Arguments abound as to why this is so. Certainly the higher wages demanded by union performers and craftspeople here has much to do with it, but there are other contributing factors. For instance, how can a producer resist a two-for-one exchange rate that increases his or her budget from a $2-million film to a $4-million film, simply by crossing a border? And how many producers can resist the temptation to have their budgets further enhanced by foreign governments offering below-the-line incentives and tax rebates? We who have made our living from filmmaking in the States must contend with these realities, and that means, first of all, accepting them as such and seeking viable solutions. Our competition is willing to make sacrifices in order to get our business. Are we willing to make sacrifices in order to keep it? Let’s accept this indisputable fact: Producers will continue to shoot their films on foreign soil as long as it is financially feasible to do so.

      There were several options on how to compile this book. I could have arranged the chapters by pre-production and production; by professions of the interviewees; by regions of the world; or by topic. I have chosen to combine all four of these options:

      Interviews are arranged by chronology. The producer’s first task is to set up the film and research the locations, and then comes production and postproduction.

      In the pre-production period, the producer will consult location scouts, film bonding executives, and film commissioners or film services organizations in the foreign countries. The production section is comprised of interviews with production managers and producers who have actually experienced filming in foreign countries; thus, the interviews are arranged by profession.

      The interviews with film commissioners and local production entities are arranged according to regions of the world.

      The questions asked in interviews are arranged topically so that readers will be able to compare the answers given by the various interviewees. This is helpful because readers will note the differing perspectives and be able to draw their own conclusions. You will note that the interviewees were asked many of the same questions. This was necessary in order to recognize the general truths.

      Finally, I have combined all the information from the various sources into a step-by-step guide to producing a film in a foreign land, with special sections on digital video and marketing/distribution of finished product. Lists of resources are included to aid the producer from start to finish, making this book not only informative but also immensely practical.

      Please understand, this book has not been written as a manifesto encouraging runaway production, but neither has it been written to discourage it. It is intended as a truthful guide for independent producers, to present the realities of filmmaking abroad—both the advantages and the disadvantages. Yes, a film may cost much less if you decide to produce it elsewhere, but there are also pitfalls and dangers that should be recognized before making that decision. Being forewarned is being forearmed. By reading this book and wisely considering the advice of the experts who were interviewed, you will gain a clearer understanding of how to produce a film for less money outside the United States. And, after gaining this knowledge, you may decide to shoot the film in your own backyard.

      Part One

      PRE-PRODUCTION

      The independent producer with a terrific idea or a dazzling script (at least in his opinion) must resist the temptation to dive in headfirst before researching the depth of the pond and how hot or cold the water might be. Preparation is the key to filmmaking. The wise producer will try to anticipate every possible problem, know the answer to every possible question, the solution to every possible crisis. Of course, you will undoubtedly be confronted with a situation that is a complete surprise, but at least, if you have done the homework, you will be able to improvise with a higher degree of success.

      It is always preferable to visit the potential foreign locations yourself, especially if you are a low-budget film producer. Travel and accommodations cost money, but not nearly so much money as can be lost through lack of knowledge. It’s better to spend some money now and at least have a nice vacation than make a critical mistake that will cost much money later, or may even shut down your project. Another option, if your budget will permit, is to hire a consultant or location scout to do the work for you; or you could hire a local producer with an established track record and reputation for filming in that country.

      The following three interviews will shed much light on the subject of pre-production when it comes to filming in a foreign country. Pay special attention. Our experts will raise ideas and questions that you perhaps have never considered, but definitely should.

      Chapter 1

      Location Scout/Manager Paul Pav:

      Watch Out for Hidden Costs

      Mr. Pav has had a long career as a location scout and location manager for every kind of film, from low-budget independents to big studio films. His credits include: Congo, scouted Zaire, Uganda, Zanzibar, Costa Rica; Contact, shot in Puerto Rico, Fiji, scouted Tahiti and Cook Island; Mission to Mars, shot in Canary Islands; Uncommon Valor, scouted Mexico but shot in Hawaii; Sandblast, scouted Morocco; and Snow Falling on Cedars, shot in Canada; and numerous other projects.

      Initial Decisions

      Unveiling the Hidden Costs

      Contrasting Work Ethics

      Filming Low-budget for Top-quality

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