Proposal Generator (To Future Proof The Film World)

Another Good Idea For Cinema

As I’ve mentioned, I am compiling a master list of good ideas to improve the art, business, industry, culture, and experience of cinema.

I have published some of them before as parts of a larger list. Like this one below from August 2023. I am publishing them again as one-offs and online only (don’t want to clog your inbox after all!) so I can more easily link to the specific idea. I think I will do it only on Sundays until I have caught up.

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Proposal Generator (To Future Proof The Film World)

I find many/most of the film support organizations have their hands full managing their legacy programs – too full in fact to generate new ideas, including the programs most necessary for the time we are living in. Sure, some do fine, but I think that’s more the exception than the rule. The one year I spent in the non-profit festival world was defined by this; I was hired to launch a new initiative that the org’s Board Of Directors approved but never funded, primarily because they could not give up any of the legacy programs which they couldn’t even fund fully to begin with.

With the HFF Proposal Generator imagine something a bit akin to a scholarship fund where cinema-loving well-meaning philanthropists fund producers-in-training to work under industry-expert guidance to develop such proposals. When such proposals are in good shape, perhaps further seed money could be sought, and then the partially funded well-designed program could be pitched to various support organizations who might be more likely to take them on.

The HFF-PG addresses three challenges simultaneously: 1) how can emerging producers develop a sustainable career and support themselves while doing so;  2) how can our film industry develop new innovative programs at the speed we need while still maintaining their legacy commitments; and 3) with all the challenges producers now face, how can they take the time and focus necessary to embrace a more holistic approach that examines the system they are part of and how they can facilitate change.

What problem(s) is HFF-PG going to solve?

1.     Although perhaps best equipped to launch new programs to improve the film ecosystems, our existing film support organizations are already overextended. They are generally committed to legacy programs -- that may have overstayed their welcome – that their funding is often tied to. They don’t have the ability to generate new programs in the rapid iteration model needed to address the changing film ecosystem. The HFF-PG will enable such bodies – or others – to more fully consider adoption of new programs and hit the ground running. The HFF-PG will provide well considered and designed proposals for new and necessary programs. The film support organization can then quickly determine if they would like to take these on and under what circumstances.

2.     Independent producing does not currently appear to be a sustainable profession, particularly for the emerging producer. It is too risky a venture to generally attract anyone other than the wealthy. The film business has never guaranteed that your movie will get made. Producers and Directors are asked to develop their projects however on “spec”, with no guarantees. Consequently, it is virtually impossible for independent film producers to earn a living to support themselves, let alone a family, in today’s market; simultaneously though, the industry has rapidly changed, requiring new skills and experience, that is often close to impossible to acquire while trying to get your movies made.

3.     Add into it the legacy challenge of sourcing diverse candidates with distinct perspectives, particularly in fields or professions – like the producer class – that have been historically independent and thus prone to hiring from individual producers’ own networks and cohorts.

4.     Although the structure of the industry leads producers to specialize, larger scale change requires a more generalist or holistic approach to producing. There is no clear path anymore for a producer-in-training to take a holistic approach and learn while doing. The HFF-PG aims to instill a holistic process in its participants, preparing them not just for the industry of today but for the one coming tomorrow.

5.     Change-building requires accomplishments. You have to be able to get things done, to have the confidence to get things done. If you are not given the opportunity to show you can make change, you never believe change is possible. To keep our ecosystem up to date, we need to achieve a regular cadence of change-making actions, yet such a process is currently lacking.

HFF-PG will put together a widely diverse board of advisors from a variety of sectors to review and comment on the proposals, helping to develop them towards excellence. The fellows will have direct 1:1 interactions with the advisors. Once a proposal is deemed ready, the fellows will select organizations, companies, and donors to help facilitate implementation, with the goal being to turn the program over in full to those supporters. Ideally, there will always be a part-time support job (aka side hustle) within each new launch  for fellows to earn & learn from during their time.