The challenge of the creative!
Njoki Muhoho
Management Consultant | Filmmaker | Producer |Screen Writer | African Storyteller| Hiker|Management Consultant.
You have this great story idea. You are in love with the idea. You ooze with passion as you pitch to a stone faced producer.
“Great story. But how much do you think it will cost me to produce this story?”
Writer: You smile. You had thought that one out. Actually you checked in the grapevine on how much budget the producer has. So with confidence of a standard 2 students you say “1 million kenya shillings’. You burst into that smile that says ‘ “caught you ms. Producer!!”.
In your naivity, you don’t realise as you pitched, the producer was in her excel and calculator mode and costed very 3 sentences of your story!
You:‘... then our main character goes to the airport to meet the love of his life’
Producer: mind in calculator mode: several letters and meetings to get license to shoot airport, crew delays at the security check-production time lost, parking fees, meals at airport-expensive, delays due to the hustle we get from police at airport - x5 and going. GSU, Youth Service, General police, airport own security and intelligence etc each taking their turn to come and ask you questions and demand your papers etc. 3 minute scene=3 days prep, 16 hrs shooting and probably KSH 150, 000 for the day if not more.
“That’s too costly just to show he loves her!”
Writer: “but it’s easy she just comes out with a suitcase and you take a shot of him running to her and hugging her!!!”
Producer: “NEXT!!!!!”
You have this great story idea. You are in love with the idea. You ooze with passion as you pitch to a stone faced producer.
“Great story. But how much do you think it will cost me to produce this story?”
Writer: You smile. You had thought that one out. Actually you checked in the grapevine on how much budget the producer has. So with confidence of a standard 2 students you say “1 million Kenya shillings’. You burst into that smile that says ‘ “caught you ms. Producer!!”.
In your naivety, you don’t realise as you pitched, the producer was in her excel and calculator mode and costed very 3 sentences of your story!
You:‘... then our main character goes to the airport to meet the love of his life’
Producer: mind in calculator mode: several letters and meetings to get license to shoot airport, crew delays at the security check-production time lost, parking fees, meals at airport-expensive, delays due to the hustle we get from police at airport - x5 and going. GSU, Youth Service, General police, airport own security and intelligence etc. each taking their turn to come and ask you questions and demand your papers etc. Three minute scene=Three days prep, 16 hours shooting and probably Ksh. 150, 000 for the day if not more.
“That’s too costly just to show he loves her!”
Writer: “but it’s easy she just comes out with a suitcase and you take a shot of him running to her and hugging her!!!”
Producer: “NEXT!!!!!”