Major Project: Role Research (Producing)

Major Project: Role Research (Producing) Walt Disney Analysis

To prepare for his documentary Simon said that it would be best for me to look in to producers who have had a clear creative impact on the content they made. 

And I could think of none more creative than Walt Disney.Disney produced a large number of films over his career in film (almost all of them through his own production company.

Disney was at the very top of his game when making his films and so is a great person to learn from. As a producer, Disney would often conceptualise ideas himself, then hire writers and animators to bring his ideas to life. Despite the scale of his company, he would often work with a familiar team that he knew he could rely on. 

After an idea went in to production Disney would also organise the hiring of cast, either using poeple who had been in his films previously or taking a heavy interest in who was to be auditioned for his films. 

One of the key responsibilities Disney had as producer within his company was obtaining the rights to the material he wished to adapt and resolving any issues around that. One of the most notable instances of this was the time Disney wanted to acquire the rights to Mary Poppins. He had a very hard time persuading the writer to give up her story and had to make a large number of concessions in order to gain approval.

Many of these concessions required his direct creative input in the story line. For example he went over the scripts of Mary Poppins many times and suggested amendments and changes that would both appeal to a young audience and pleases the original writer. He communicated this to his director and held regular meetings during this period. 

At one stage he took some control away from the director in order to change the ending song of the film, to one that would greater reflect the aims of the film that he as a creative producer had come to realise. 

What I would take from this story and understanding of how Disney worked is the following....

As a creative producer i need to always have the interests of my audience and contributors at heart, as Disney did. Suggesting changes to the script and structure of a film to ensure it has the best impact possible.

Despite facing difficult and limiting circumstances, Disney always remained proffessional and worked to find solutions to the issues that arose, rather than lingering too much on what could have been. The ability to adapt ideas on my feet and be forward thinking will become a key skill for me in this unit.

Like Disney I should have regular meetings with my director and crew to ensure we stick to a schedule and budget that I layout and that I can ensure the interests of our audience and contributors are maintained.

Role Research (Producing) JK Rowling Analysis


Another person who'm sprang to mind when trying to find "creative producers" to influence my role on this project was J.K Rowling. 

As writer of the Harry Potter series (amount other things) Rowling was a very creative person and astute business woman. Due to this when selling her material to the film industry she was not going to relinquish full control to them. And ended up coming on board the production team as a producer for the series, with a focus on overseeing the creative decisions made in the production process.

As such I feel she would be a great person to learn from.

Early on Rowling insisted on being present during all casting sessions. To make sure she found an actor that matched her vision for each of the characters. 

This influences my work by giving me the confidence and guidance to know that I need to be helping Alex pick and arrange contributors for our documentary, to ensure we get the most interesting people we can.

Later on during the pre-production phase Rowling was very astute when it came to the adaptation of the story. She insisted on having advanced copies of each script draft that she could read over and adapt as necessary. Thus ensuring that the finer details of the story were not overlooked and remained close to her humble vision.

I have already taken this on board and started to read each new script that Alex has been writing for our documentary, giving feedback as I feel necessary. 

During the main production phase, Rowling took a bit more of a back seat, sinceat times it becomes important for the producer to take a step back and allow the director and D.O.P to do there job properly without interference. None the less she still kept a close eye on all the filming and from what I have read, was never afraid to step up and voice her opinion if she felt something wasn't working. 

Noting when scenes did not work Rowling would combat the issue by providing story boards she's had drawn up to help illustrate the point she was making. Then working more closely with the director to ensure that the shooting of the scene changed accordingly. Although having little to do with the crew, she was able to give regular and detailed briefings with the cast of her films to ensure their portrayal of her characters was as accurate as it could be.

This is really interesting to learn. As a producer in this unit I note the importance of giving my team space, but also being prepared  to step up when the need arises to steer the creative direction of a scene if it needs external influence that Alex is unable to provide.

I also note the importance of detailed briefings and utilising the concise ability to explain and justify one's ideas. In this documentary I hope to be able to both brief and provide feedback to our contributors (Alex in particular) so that we get the most effective answers to our questions. As well as being able to "take the reigns" and become the voice of reason that influences certain decisions on set.

By looking at both these producers, I feel I have a greater understanding of my role that will better prepare me for being able to think on my feet and have the necessary creative influence etc. when we begin filming fully.