Sunlight Pictures

The first time I heard this term was in Alex Ferrari’s book “Rise of the Filmtrepreneur.” It sounded like something I wanted to try because you work from a detailed outline instead of fleshing out draft after draft of a screenplay. We all want to be more prolific as filmmakers but writing can definitely slow you down, especially if you fall into perfectionism. Then I realized that this wasn’t really anything new, Godard had been working this way his entire career. “A bout de Souffle,” his first feature, was based on a treatment written by Francois Truffaut. As Ferrari mentions in his book, working from a scriptment requires actors who are great at improv and an outline that has each scene’s emotional beats included. I plan on trying this method out in the future, if for no other reason than to do something different and challenge myself. Ferrari used a scriptment on his first two features with great success.

• Do co-productions with equipment rental houses, post houses and locations;

• Crowdfund for production budget and equipment purchases;

• Crowdsource for equipment, services and locations;

• Barter for services;

• Get donated equipment, services and locations in exchange for screen credit.

What would you add to this list?

Before you make your next film, be sure you’re passionate about the story. You’ll need to be totally committed in order to overcome all of the hurdles. Is this story really something that has to be told? Is it something that you can’t live without telling? Hopefully, the answer is yes!

The audience doesn’t care how much you spent on your film, how long it took to make your film or what obstacles you had to overcome in making your film. The audience cares about QUALITY. Always strive for quality, you’ll thank yourself in the long run.

• streaming is your only distribution option;
• you can't afford a name actor;
• you aren't a name filmmaker;
• you don't need anyone's permission to make your film;
• you have creative freedom and creative control;
• it's a challenge that forces you to think outside of the box;
• you can be more prolific.