Deep within the cynical fortress of big-budget film-production, breathes a quester's dream... to powerfully tell stories in vibrant, glowing colour,... to dazzle the imagination of audience with the richness of reflected human drama.
The interminable trek from "wow, have I got a great idea" to the commissioning editor's shredder is typically fraught with number-crunching, rewrites and more number-crunching in a turbulent battle for dominion between our left-brained capacity for economically rational logic, and our antagonistic right-brained aptitude for conceptual, creative chaos to prevail.
So, what gives?
Perhaps it is in the earliest chapters of acquiring funds to produce preliminary works, that the financial investment altruistically reflects the nurturing of creative potential in an industrial incubator where film financiers take minimal risks, and the short film genre engenders a paddling-pool of emergent film-makers proving their mettle before entering the bloody colloseum of the 'feature'.
The rigorous process of conceptually refining 'that great idea' is probably never better served than in the defining of it's core story message for a purse full of pixie dust.
Acting upon recommendations made by the Australia Council for the Arts in 1970 (the Australia Council) to develop a film and television industry in Australia, the Federal Australian Government established the Australian Film Development Corporation, which later changed it's name and operations to become The Australian Film Commission (1975).
The AFC today is an Australian Government entity (answerable to the Commonwealth Film Program's Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, DCITA) and is, alongside the Film Finance Corporation, The National Film and Sound Archive, The Australian Film, Television and Radio School, nationally responsible for the industrial development and support of an ongoing and sustainable Australian film industry through investment, protection, preservation and the archiving of Australian audio-visual material.
Fundamentally, the Queensland State Government's film agency, The Pacific Film and Television Commission describes it's role as Queensland's principal developer of the local film industry, an organisation offering internationally viable production opportunities and industrial support for filmmakers in both the established and emerging categories.
Both the Australian Film Commission (AFC) and the Pacific Film and Television Commission (PFTC) offer clearly formularised grant allocations for emerging writers and film-makers.
The readily-available project funding applications from both organisations reveal a highly structured set of eligibility guidelines and requirements for supporting project documentation.
In comparing and analysing how these requirements translate in terms of an actual project acquittal, I also interviewed recently-emerged, independent Brisbane documentary producer Veronica Fury, and spoke with established Queensland documentary-maker Trish Fitzsimons for their comments.
I noted that the PFTC Policy and Strategic Direction paper outlines it's support to emerging practitioners in the following statement;
"The primary purpose of PFTC's schemes for emerging practitioners is to provide professional development opportunities to enhance skills and assist with establishment of a career in the film industry.
In the short film production area, the PFTC's policy is to balance the practitioner's need for creative independence with the responsibility to ensure that publicly funded work is as strong as possible.
The PFTC will manage funded projects through script development, production and post-production to ensure the best possible outcome. To this end the PFTC will provide comments and feedback and will explore creative options alongside the practitioners."
Veronica Fury made a strong statement in support of attending the PFTC's hosted talks on industrial opportunities and pathways for new film-makers, including attending public forums on funding opportunities and utilisation of training resources. (QPIX)
"...they wanted a five minute short, and I put in a few pitches and I ended up producing two of them, one of them I actually wrote and directed as well. They were a really important part of my career, because it got me my first funds, but it also got me my first broadcast credit, which has been fabulous, that got me started, they played on George Negus Tonight on the ABC, rated well, and they've gone on to have other sales, so they've done well, those little pieces.
But the key thing was learning how to work with a broadcaster, they know what they want. When they commission something, they've already got a ...(brief they want to fill)."
Veronica also described that outcomes for her in producing her early works have been successful, largely due to a committed adherence to the broadcaster's project brief, strictly following stipulated formats, and maintaining a close reign on the team. Pay-off for her has been an increase in her viability as a Producer, resulting in more authoritative autonomy with her current creative endeavours.
Trish Fitzsimons discussed the less-stringent entry points for emerging film-makers during the eighties in Australia. She compared some of the halcyon features of receiving significant production monies for projects managed by new and untried film-makers, and commented on the shift from the typical cinema-screened niche for documentary film to the current chartered slots for documentaries in Australian television scheduling. (for both free-to-air and pay TV).
"Basically when I entered the film industry, we, Mitzi and I, with no background, were able to get $120,000 cash budget from the Australian Film Commission based on a $50,000 pre-sale from the ABC. We were joint producers and directors, we had no background in producing whatever...
"...if you buy a film, and you buy the film-makers, you've got to trust that process and leave them to it." Now, a commissioning editor that acted that way now, would probably have their head lopped off. So at that level, there was a great deal more freedom, but on the other hand, pre-sales were like hen's teeth... "
Defined within it's policy objectives, the PFTC outlines a public statement of it's commitment to boost the culture of the screen industry for Queensland, increasing economic, creative, social and cultural opportunities for film-makers in Queensland. Funding categories first fall into three distinct categories. Entry level practitioners are offered support through the PFTC resourced organisation QPIX, offering training and access to equipment and networking opportunities.
Emerging practitioners are resourced by PFTC in ten separate sub-categories of funding opportunities to develop new works.
Experienced practitioner's are offered eight categories of funding support for projects, but due to the nature of my inquiry, I will focus only upon the emergent categories. Similarly, AFC provision aims are described in terms of fostering, developing, making and maintining the national film industry's identity. The AFC lists the following categories for Film Development Funding Programs;
Filmmaker and sessional lecturer, Jan Cattoni described frequent challenges in maintaining directorial vision for aspects of her commissioned works, facing up to tremendous pressure to surrender editorial control to stylistic and content demands made by production stakeholders and co-production panels.
This, at best, makes extremely good business sense. Perhaps the flaw in imposing such tightly controlled benchmarks in filmic convention dictates that a few hold great sway in terms of the dissemination of funds, supporting well-travelled story and style pathways as vehicle standards in media message implementation.
In an industry populated by visual artists, performers, writers, composers, dreamers and visionaries, I find it daunting that our craft is supported by the governing hand that determines the acceptable, consumable form of the professional filmmaker’s creative outpourings. I also wonder that so many professional industrial advisors, seasoned filmmakers and industry associates espouse the vitality of upholding this rational model of economically-driven film convention guidelines.
Hal McElroy describes the Australian film industry as an entity "able to combine substantive English drama, the romantic poetry of European cinema, the individuality of Scandinavian filmmakers with the energy and 'don't give a damn' of the American independents", making for an interesting mix. (Parer, Film Business 2000 p141).
That excites me.
Naive, foolish or arrogant as it may seem, I conclude that no matter how steep the travail between multitudinous platitudes and fail-safe formulas for surviving the perils of the production path, I remain committed to the glare of the headlights, a story-teller on a mission. © Teone Reinthal 2007
