The Producing Journey

By Jon Ornoy, Producer and Director, Animal Mother Films.

As an independent producer, figuring out how to do a lot with a little is pretty much the name of the game, and as I now embark on producing my first narrative feature film that maxim is only proving more true. The other guiding principle that I have always followed with my work is that I’d rather take on a smaller project and achieve it at 100% of my capabilities instead of attempting something more ambitious, over-extending my resources, and ending up with a product that doesn’t quite hit the mark.

I had these ideas very much in mind when I first optioned James Pickering’s script for All Joking Aside. I recognized in the script an eminently scalable project that could work with almost any budget I’d be able to raise, without affecting its core strength which is the relationship between the main characters of Charlene and Bob.

Set in the world of New York’s stand-up comedy scene, the film tells the story of a young woman pursuing her dreams of becoming a comedian, and the unlikely friendship and mentorship she finds with the jaded, former comic, who heckles her off the stage at her first open mic night. No one has any superpowers, there aren’t any mobsters, and Charlene never gets naked, but nonetheless, I feel that the film will have a strong mainstream appeal. This is a very conscious content choice for the first of what I hope will be many future feature film projects.

Taking Advantage of Infrastructure

I’m fortunate to live in Vancouver, Canada, where film and TV production has exploded over the last few decades into an industry worth C$3.4 billion a year, and employs around 60,000 people (like myself). While the majority of that production is in the form of shows from the US, the trickle-down benefits are significant for indie filmmakers, who get to benefit from a diverse selection of rental houses competing for business, and a very deep talent pool of artists and technicians who have been trained by Hollywood. While I can’t compete with the wages that these larger productions offer, we can provide opportunities for crew to gain experience in more senior positions within their departments, which they can later parlay into advancement within their unions.

We are intentionally shooting the film in February when the industry is traditionally at its quietest and crew is more readily available to take advantage of an opportunity. So while we will be providing some value in return for people’s time, I still think it’s really important to show your appreciation for the many days they’ll be giving to the production, which to me means a) doing as much of the prep work as I can in all departments, and b) feeding people as well as we possibly can.

Create Your Own Funding Opportunities

Apart from casting, the biggest thing that’s occupying us right now is the planning for the crowdfunding campaign that we’re launching October 10th to close the last piece of our production financing.

With the range of excellent DIY alternatives to Kickstarter and Indiegogo now available, we have chosen to bypass those sites, and are building our own WordPress site with a Woo-commerce plugin that will handle all of the perks and transactions. Our feeling is that unless we’re fortunate enough to get featured on the homepage of one of those big platforms, and can benefit from the extra exposure that can offer, we will be driving all of the traffic to our page, so why give up a percentage of our hard-earned dollars or even risk getting nothing at all if we don’t hit our target?

This way we have customized the campaign to our needs, keeping our audience focused on our website, AllJokingAsideMovie.com, as the one central repository for everything you want to know about the movie. The money notwithstanding, the other big benefit of going through this process is the way it forces you to hone in on your target audience and messaging to them, which are investments that pay off significantly once it’s time to send the film to market.

Don’t Give Up

Making a movie is always an exciting and nerve-wracking affair, especially when you’ve got a bunch of your own money on the line, but just like the comedians we’re portraying onscreen, once you’ve been bitten by the bug it’s really hard to get it out of your system. Please stop by the site anytime to see how things are coming along for us, and best of luck to all of you out there making your own films.