Every story that gets filmed has one or more producers who bring the story to a screen. Ralph Winter has produced movies that have grossed $2.4 billion dollars worldwide. In this webinar, Ralph reviews the producer’s job description and gives his insights on the role of a successful producer in part 3 of our series, “Get Your Story Started.” A big thanks for the generosity of our series presenters…Brian Bird, David Nixon, Ralph Winter!!! A shout out to series co-producer Travis Mendel.
Here is the recorded webinar. it is best viewed in full screen mode.
These are the key ideas from Ralph’s presentation.
1. The producer is the champion, the driver. The producer picks up the last Oscar.
2. A producer understands there are a very limited number of commercial ideas.
3. A producer’s role and calling is confirmed by others. Figure this out before you spend years pursuing something you’re not suited for.
4. A producer has an effective planning and budgeting process. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but it needs to work.
5. A producer vets all key players by looking at past work. There is no substitute for doing your homework.
6. A producer gets face-to-face with the potential funders. Don’t expect much from third level connections if you never meet them.
7. A producer understands persuasion and salesmanship. He/she gets people to be enthusiastic about a project.
8. A producer finds a way to cut through the noise. He/she does the heavy lifting and finds a way to get things done.
9. A producer finds a way to get actors. Actor’s agents are only interested if you’ve got a deal already in place. You attach actors by adding value to their career.
10. A producer manages expectations.
Other Take-Aways:
- On making bestsellers into movies: “The pathway to get book readers to buy tickets is not as easy as you think.”
- On prayer: “Every day I have to be wrestling with God and I don’t always get the answer I want.”
- On designing sets: “What sets the best work apart is the visual leadership.”
Other things you’ll learn about if you listen to the webinar in its entirety:
- Ralph’s take on the History Channel’s “The Bible” series.
- His upcoming projects including “The Ashley Smith Story.”
- A scathing email he wrote.
- Scott Derrickson’s funding model on his latest movie “Sinister.”
- How Ralph got started making commercial videos for a department store.
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