Filmmaking / Directing : You're a FILMMAKER!!! (and, suddenly being a multi-hyphenite is cool again...) by Shane Stanley

I agree, Shane Stanley. There's NOTHING wrong with being a total filmmaker. When I see someone who's a writer-director, director-producer, and so on, I'm impressed that they're doing two, three, etc. things on a project. I became a writer-pitch deck designer because it was cheaper than paying someone to make a pitch deck for every project.

Indeed Maurice... Let's hear it for Mike Figgis... he may not have had the commercialized run he had during the Leaving Las Vegas and One Night Stand days, but homeboy is still writing, producing, directing, cinematographer, editing, and composing a lot of his work. Doing it his way. Gotta respect that, big time.

Definitely have to respect it, Shane Stanley. I just checked Mike Figgis' IMDb page. He's been in the industry for a long time. Since 1984 (he directed The House). Being in the industry for a long time is a success in itself.

Outstanding post, Shane Stanley! I was so excited about Anora's and Sean Baker's wins last night for all of the reasons you state. I know you wear these hats and your work is incredible. This is such a great webinar topic and for all of the filmmakers out there - this is the time to take this webinar is Shane!!

Thank you, Sam Sokolow I appreciate the kind words and support. It means a lot. You keep up the good work as well, you've been quite the advocate for us indie rats and those looking to find their voice and have helped so many along the way. I sincerely hope our paths cross one fine day. All the best.

Dan MaxXx Good question. It depends... Traditionally, every budget would have line-items for those specific jobs, right? Now if it's an IA/Union pic, of course that individual would be compensated for ea. job that they do via the dedicated guild/union and would cover at least the minimums which could be negotiated. Think of Steven Soderbergh or even Sean Baker - especially now. They don't get scale wages. BUT, if you're working on an Indie that's non-IA, I would presume you have the line items built in for the jobs as well, and you should be compensated for ea. in line with the budget. I'll share an exert from my book What You Don't Learn in Film School below describing how I dealt with that in my early days of getting private equity, when forced to wear way too many hats, as its a great often asked. I hope this clarifies for you...

From Chapter 4 ~ GREEN MEANS GO. YOU KNOW THAT, RIGHT?

What should I pay myself? This is a question I am often asked by independent filmmakers once they get their money and my reply is always the same; you really need to consider what is right versus what is fair and lean toward what is right. I can assure you the investors will be wondering what you’ll be making as a salary and if and when they ask, you better be straight with them.

Some investors take the approach of, “I am investing in you, so you better put every dime on the screen and not be lining your pockets,” or they can take the approach of, “I don’t care if you keep all of it and spend one dollar to make the movie, as long as I get my money back.” For me, it’s paramount to put everything on the screen as we’re working in low-budgetville and want our end product to look as good as it possibly can. There is no one size fits all when figuring out how much money should go to what. I am addressing your fee now, as it will most likely become an issue with your investor and ultimately your team when negotiating their salary or the costs allocated to their departments. This will only keep you up at night as you toss and turn wondering if you’re in the right or not.

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If you’re a complete filmmaker, meaning your hand is in the writing, producing, directing and possibly the editing of your picture, I think considering you landed the money and will be working on this project for several months, maybe you can be a bit more liberal in determining a fee for yourself. In the ‘real world’ it’s not uncommon for someone to take a 2-5% finder fee on money they raise to make a movie, on top of the hefty producer fees and such that come with bigger budgeted films. But since we’re making a non-union movie, you’ll save a lot in those areas. However, always keep in mind there will be many costs that come up unexpectedly (sounds fun, right?), so regardless of what you’re paying yourself, it’ll be on you to cover those costs when they surface.

For example, copying scripts for table reads, the costs of printing sides each day, gas for your PA’s and the unexpected bill from your starlet who needed a second $120 manicure or an unnecessary spray tan on her off day adds up - and at record speed - so I advise you to always underpay yourself up front. Get through the complete delivery of your film and see what’s left when all is said and done…then and only then assess if there’s a finishing bonus you can pay yourself if appropriate. Have an upfront conversation with your investors letting them know what rates are fair for the jobs you’ll be doing and what you’ll be budgeting for yourself. They should be understanding, considering you won’t be out earning a real living while doing this and you shouldn’t go broke in the process.

In the end, I truly believe it’s really how you present things. I’ve had investors or their legal reps ask me what my fees would be. On a $500k movie I have had no problem looking them in the eye and telling them what I was getting paid. Only once I was met with a cocked brow questioning my self-imposed value and I replied with confidence, “WGA minimums for just the script in this budget range hover around $48k. I wrote the script which I’ll be producing and directing, too. I’ll also be supervising the editorial or cutting the picture myself, as well as every other aspect leading up to the film’s delivery. This will take close to a year out of my life. I am not getting paid the going rates for all the responsibilities I will have nor will I be taking on any other projects of any magnitude or substance until we deliver this film on time and on budget.”

I never heard another word about my rate from that day forward.

First , thank you Stage 32 for putting this webinar on. Secondly, thank you Shane Stanley for leading it. If one ever wished to sit down and spend an hour and a half of being mentored by a hugely successful writer, director, and filmmaker, THiS was it! Not only did we learn key elements and fundamentals, but left with a deeper desire and confidence within ourselves. Mr. Stanley met us where we were and talked to us, no ego or talking at us. I look forward to more webinars from him in the future. If you haven’t purchased his book, What You Don’t Learn in Film School, run don’t walk for it holds keys he talked about plus more. Shane Stanley is the real deal. Continued success and we all will dream that bigger dream now.

Welcome, Elle! So great to have you here! Your energy and passion for filmmaking are amazing, and it sounds like you're building something really special in the Eastern Cape. Love that you’re polishing up your Stage 32 profile—can’t wait to see more of your work! If you ever need anything, I’m on the education team and happy to help email me at edu@stage32.com !

Linda Harrison wow, thank you so much for that kind and thoughtful comments. They truly are why I do what I do. Wishing you the very best in your career and endeavors. Best of luck!

This is such a fantastic and timely post, Shane. It’s incredibly validating to watch someone like Sean Baker break down those perceptions in such a powerful way. Your point about using pseudonyms on IMDb is really interesting. I didn't realize there had been such a push for that.