Friday 16 October 2009

Feature Film Recipe

We know what to do. We already have:

3 producers (very excited)
2 directors (multi-skilled)
1 limited company (trusted)

We need:

1 genius screenplay

…and some seasoning.

Unfortunately, the key ingredient is missing. So here we are, searching for a story and a good writer or two.

The Journey Begins

A week ago, I sat down with two friends in a pub in Soho (London) and introduced them to each other. They are both young producers and the three of us naturally started talking about how to fund a feature film.

Andrew, a charming fellow South African, introduced us with great enthusiasm to The Dentist Method.

This was something he had heard about where you call up all the dentists you can find and persuade them to invest in your movie, mainly for the pleasure of doing something fun. Apparently dentists have both high levels of personal wealth and the highest suicide rate.

At first we laughed and ordered another pint, but soon we were inspired by this simple solution to all the funding drama and we began to ask each other – why not? What are we waiting for? 

So we resolved to form a team and get a feature off the ground. We also decided immediately that we are not aiming for the next BAFTA award winning project – our movie just has to be made, from idea to return on investment.

That is the challenge.

Saturday 10 October 2009

"Who" am I?

As if that question was easy to answer.

My name is Thembisa CochraneI am now a producer at a company called Devilishly Handsome Productions (DHP). I opened this diary when we had just decided to embark on a wonderful journey – our first feature film.

Some of the characters you may come across:


Andrew Faure
(producer on several features, some with me)
Zuza Fabiszak (media finance advisor and producer on our features)
Matthew Esterhuizen (director of House Rules and colleague at DHP)
Benjamin Collins (colleague at DHP and exec producer for all projects under that company)

“What” is this diary all about?

It's a professional hazard - I like stories.

And as a human being, I like sharing. So I opened a diary to share my experiences and hear stories from other filmmakers out there and maybe gain some insight from people who have nothing to do with film, but have figured out a thing or two anyway and are kind enough to let me know.

"Why" is the hardest question to answer.

I am certainly a dreamer, but I like to think some dreams (without the monsters) can be achieved. Producing or directing or writing a feature film has always been one of my dreams. Some people say “dream big” - I say “dream broad”.