Manifesto
These are the principles of film-making that lie behind the overall Yaysayer mission.
People want to watch good films
1
The audience for good stories, well-told, is the same as it ever was. The audience values authenticity, originality, beauty, excitement, wit, heart, thrills, intelligence and moral weight. Just as they always did
Film-makers want to make good films
2
Pretty much everyone wants to make a film that audiences love. That is a bigger incentive for most of us than money, fame and career progression. Everyone, all the time, should be pursuing their own idea of a good film.
We don’t want to lose other people’s money – or our own
3
Film-making shouldn’t depend on handouts or gullible investors. That breaks the sacred link between artist and audience. If your livelihood depends on your audience, you have the audience in mind the whole time.
Film-making should follow a viable economic model
4
Money invested should be earned back from audiences and return to where it came from – so it can fund the next film. Film-makers should want to be part of that cycle, not to divert cash from it into their one project.
Film-making should be a viable career – for those who can deliver
5
We can’t do it for the love of it. We often do, but we can’t. Film-makers need careers in order to remain committed to their craft. No career progression = no artistic progression = no artistry in the industry.
It’s no use just complaining
6
Too many film-makers moan: ‘It’s not like it used to be.’ ‘It should be different.’ Creatives who sit around saying that the investors won’t take risks should take those risks themselves. After all, if your film is a great financial investment, put your house on it. Kirk Jones did this with I Swear.
The risks should link to returns
7
All investments are risks. Investments in media and entertainment products are particularly risky and unpredictable – investment in original, untried stories, especially so. But film-makers should still expect investors to invest with an eye to potential profit. Maybe the plan doesn’t pay out, but there has to be a plan.
We need a film-making model for now
8
Our model has to be built on current technology, market conditions, capacity and audience behaviour. There will always be a way to make good films now.
It’s actually free
9
You can make and distribute a film for free. Or at least you can if you own a mid-range phone and a decent laptop and are content to put the film online. OK, so there is a big difference between ‘a film’ and ‘a good film’. And, yes, posting it on YouTube is not real distribution. But the starting point, the square one is: you can tell this story for free. Every penny you spend after that needs to have a reason attached, and the reason can’t be ‘that’s what it usually costs’.
We need to spend less money
10
A $5m-dollar film is considered a ‘micro-budget film’. Do you wonder why the cost of a large house in one of the world’s major cities is less than the cost of a 90min film when the key parts of the film-making process are – on the face of it – free?
We need to understand virality but be wary of it
11
Build your audience online, they say. And you can’t get better advice than that. But there should be a health warning. Optimising for algorithms and chasing likes will damage the art and the artist. The machine will tear both apart if we let it.
There is nothing wrong with people’s attention spans
12
Anyone who tells you attention spans have changed is not paying proper attention. What’s changed is the options. In the old days we watched boring network TV because it was all there was. Now we don’t have to, so we don’t. If the viewer’s attention isn’t filled by the thing they’re watching, they look for a better option. If they’re looking at their phone during the film, it’s because the film is boring. They’d still rather keep their attention on the film.
There’s no escaping the fact that if we’re trying to spend less money it means paying people less – at least until the financial value of the project is established and revenue is shared. We need to be transparent about what people can expect to get and do our best to make sure that future revenue is shared fairly; someone who works for low pay – or nothing – is an investor and should be treated as one.
We want people to be paid fairly
13
If you write yourself a feature film, dreaming of £10m+ production, and then try to make it for, say, £10,000, the final result will probably fall short of your expectations – and the audience’s. But what if… you write a feature film where ten thousand is the ideal budget? And if someone tried to give you more you wouldn’t take it? What would the script be like? What would you not be able to include? What would you have to rely on? Which parts of a brilliant film cost you nothing? Think up a story that relies entirely on those things – things that you can have. Then write that script, and if someone offers you big money to make it, well, you can always give in and take it. Either way… you make the film.