by Voyage | Sep 24, 2014 | Entertainment Business, Producer Interviews
On falling into the business, writing authentically, chasing trends, and defining your voice. [video_player type=”embed” width=”560″ height=”315″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″][/video_player] As our interview series featuring Voyage team members continues, Intern Jordan Lyric talks with Producer and Developer Monnie Wills. In this video, Wills spills some of his tips on writing stories we all can relate to, and what types of stories he’s drawn to. We’ll discuss how to get to the “feeling between the words,” and whether or not a producer can tell if you’re writing from the heart. If you’ve ever had writing doubts or been told your story doesn’t resonate, then this video is for you! Archives December 2024 (2) November 2024 (2) October 2024 (3) September 2024 (2) April 2023 (1) January 2023 (1) December 2022 (1) October 2022 (1) June 2020 (1) April 2020 (1) February 2020 (1) January 2020 (1) October 2019 (1) August 2019 (1) June 2019 (1) January 2019 (1) April 2018 (1) March 2018 (1) February 2018 (1) January 2018 (1) December 2017 (1) November 2017 (1) October 2017 (2) July 2017 (4) April 2017 (1) February 2017 (1) January 2017 (1) December 2016 (1) November 2016 (1) October 2016 (1) September 2016 (2) June 2016 (1) May 2016 (1) April 2016 (1) February 2016 (3) January 2016 (1) December 2015 (2) November 2015 (1) October 2015 (2) September 2015 (2) August 2015 (2) July 2015 (1) June 2015 (1) April 2015 (1) March 2015 (1) February 2015 (2) January 2015 (3) December 2014 (2) October 2014 (1) September 2014 (3) August 2014 (3) June 2014 (2) May 2014 (5) April 2014 (3) February 2014 (1) January 2014 (1) December 2013 (1) April 2013 (1) December 2012 (1) July 2012 (1) April 2012 (2) March 2012 (2) December 2011 (1) November 2011 (3) October 2011 (4) September 2011 (5) August 2011 (3) May 2011 (2) April 2011 (1) March 2011 (2) November 2010 (2) August 2010 (1) June 2010 (1) March 2010 (1) October 2009 (1) September 2009 (2) CategoriesCategories Select Category Audience (25) Blog post (38) Book to... read more
by Voyage | Sep 5, 2014 | Entertainment Business
[video_player type="youtube" width="560" height="315" align="center" margin_top="0" margin_bottom="20"]aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vd2F0Y2g/dj1vODZUcGFTQmNXdw==[/video_player] Congratulations to Nick Rosen and Pete Mortimer for their awesome, soon-to-be-released documentary, VALLEY UPRISING: YOSEMITE’S ROCK CLIMBING REVOLUTION The film is a raucous thrill ride up (and in some cases rapidly down) Yosemite’s sheer granite walls. The film tracks the history of “tuning in and dropping out” in Yosemite’s climbing scene, from the original pioneers of the Golden Era, to the Stone Masters of the late 20th century, to the crazy Stone Monkeys of today. Voyage is Executive Producing with Peter Sarsgaard narrating. The filmmaking team, who are members of our prestigious Professionals Program, received financing from The North Face, Clif Bar and others. The film is in the final stages of post-production and has a festival rollout beginning on September 11th. GO SEE IT!!! Archives December 2024 (2) November 2024 (2) October 2024 (3) September 2024 (2) April 2023 (1) January 2023 (1) December 2022 (1) October 2022 (1) June 2020 (1) April 2020 (1) February 2020 (1) January 2020 (1) October 2019 (1) August 2019 (1) June 2019 (1) January 2019 (1) April 2018 (1) March 2018 (1) February 2018 (1) January 2018 (1) December 2017 (1) November 2017 (1) October 2017 (2) July 2017 (4) April 2017 (1) February 2017 (1) January 2017 (1) December 2016 (1) November 2016 (1) October 2016 (1) September 2016 (2) June 2016 (1) May 2016 (1) April 2016 (1) February 2016 (3) January 2016 (1) December 2015 (2) November 2015 (1) October 2015 (2) September 2015 (2) August 2015 (2) July 2015 (1) June 2015 (1) April 2015 (1) March 2015 (1) February 2015 (2) January 2015 (3) December 2014 (2) October 2014 (1) September 2014 (3) August 2014 (3) June 2014 (2) May 2014 (5) April 2014 (3) February 2014 (1) January 2014 (1) December 2013 (1) April 2013 (1) December 2012 (1) July 2012 (1) April 2012 (2) March 2012 (2) December 2011 (1) November 2011 (3) October 2011 (4) September 2011 (5) August 2011 (3)... read more
by Voyage | Aug 21, 2014 | Entertainment Business, Producer Interviews, Screenwriting Tips
Learn what about a script will make producers sit up and take notice—from the advice of a talented Hollywood executive, Charlsey Adkins! As part of our ongoing series, which asks our producers about their work in the entertainment industry, I talked with the delightful Charlsey Adkins. Charlsey is a current Hollywood executive and Voyage producer, and here you can learn some of her insights on what makes scripts unique, fun to read, and interesting to producers—and what writers can do to make their script can stand out from the rest. With a bachelor’s degree in film and nearly a decade of experience in the industry, Adkins has a serious pedigree in production. Now the Vice President of Development and Production at Harbinger Pictures, Adkins was instrumental in bringing the acclaimed feature film THE HELP to screen. During her career, she has worked with many writers and learned a lot about what makes a script great and what makes it fall flat. I got to ask her about the kind of scripts that speak to her, and how writers can avoid common pitfalls that turn producers off their work. So, without further ado, here are… 5 Tips For Writing Your Best Script with Charlsey Adkins 1. VALUE YOUR WORK One aspect of a script that turns Adkins off particularly is when it is clear a writer hasn’t proofread their work before sending it off to a potential producer or financier. “I read lots of scripts,” says Adkins, “and I can tell when you care when you’re writing, and when you don’t care.” That care is most apparent in... read more
by Voyage | Aug 13, 2014 | Entertainment Business, Producer Interviews, Screenwriting Tips, The Expert Network
An expert producer’s look at the past, present, and future of serial programming Last week, I had the pleasure of talking with Kelly Hayes, a current Hollywood producer and Voyage team member, about what it’s like to work in all corners of the industry, and how the classic forms of development for network, cable, and film compare to the emerging market of digital streaming. This is the first of an ongoing series that asks our producers about their work in the entertainment industry so that YOU can learn from their wealth of experience! Hayes’ many credits have ranged from formats in scripted and reality television, film, and digital streaming series. Today, he has a lot of plates spinning in every market you can think of, with ongoing projects in half-hour comedy, hour-long drama, reality, and feature film. To say he’s got a bit of experience is an understatement. Although Hayes started his career in film, an economic downturn coupled with the WGA strike of 2008 served to destabilize the film industry, and prompted Hayes to look into other options. Television was his next best choice to keep following his passion—and it took some relearning to make it work. Looking Ahead The biggest change to the process of development in film and television was the notion of planning much further ahead into the future of the project. “It’s ’where do I see this show at episode 100?’” says Hayes of the development process for the life of a series, “versus, ‘I have 90 minutes to tell my story and then it’s done.’” The core of making a great... read more
by Voyage | Aug 7, 2014 | Audience, Entertainment Business
Last week, Voyage announced the latest film we’ve produced, Valley Uprising: Yosemite’s Rock Climbing Revolution–an in-depth documentary about the history of thrill-seekers climbing Yosemite’s treacherous granite cliff faces. Soon after the announcement, we received a pretty interesting email, which brought up some questions about Voyage’s project selection process–Why would we spend money on such a specific-interest documentary? How could we ensure we broke even on marketing a project with such a relatively small target audience? After all, rock climbers and adrenaline-junkies are such a small and specific part of the overall moviegoing audience…isn’t the goal to reach as many of the “4 Quadrants” as possible? As with any other film we’ve helped develop, we’re very excited for and confident in Valley Uprising’s success. But this email created an interesting opportunity for us to debunk several myths about the industry, financing, and what makes a marketable project. Plus some details about how smaller films get financed—and many of them can be applied to non-documentary film projects as well. So if you’ve been burning with some of the same questions, now’s as good a time as any to clear up a few misconceptions you might have about the niche filmmaking process! Misconception #1: Producing a niche film will put you into debt A financially successful film can be measured in not just its total sales, but rather more accurately in its percentage of return on investment, or “ROI”. Of the top three genres with the highest returns on investment, two may surprise you. The first on the list is horror—less surprising, since many low-budget horror flicks like The Blair Witch... read more
by Voyage | Jun 11, 2014 | Audience, Book to Film
Keys to Turning Your Book Into A Film Or Original Series – Part 4 Make Your Film Project Stand Out — Get Ahead on Time and Money In Part 3 of Keys to Turning Your Book Into A Film Or Original Series we talked about creating short form materials to help facilitate getting producers to read your work and this week we’re going to talk about why creating short form materials help a producer not just save time, but also save money. When a producer is deciding which projects to focus on, which aren’t projects to consider, and which projects to option and acquire, they’re largely considering three major things: What is their cost to bring the project to market? How much of an investment are they going to need to make? What’s the probable speed to market, meaning is the project efficient or inefficient? How much time will it take? Does the project meet the producer’s creative and market needs? These questions can help your film project stand out. A Closer Look at Costs The other thing to really understand is that producers in Hollywood are signatories of the Writers Guild of America. The Writers Guild of America is the union that manages all screenwriters and authors. In the case of a producer in Hollywood who’s the signatory to the union, when they’re looking at a novel to adapt, one of the first things that they’re likely to need to do is hire a screenwriter to develop the material into a treatment or screenplay. The minimum union scale for a writer in the Writers Guild of America is roughly... read more
by Voyage | Jun 4, 2014 | Book to Film
Hook them with a logline First and foremost, in order to sell a story, you have to know its logline like the back of your hand. Loglines are an industry standard of communication, so being a master of writing a logline is definitely a requirement. So what is a logline, exactly? A logline is a one sentence compelling and cinematic description of your story, its main character, that characters main objective, and the main obstacle they face. Your logline is the absolute essence of your story. Loglines are, by necessity, simple. But they aren’t always easy. While a logline is a simplified encapsulation of the main points of your story, fitting the essence of your story into an easily-digestible sound bite can sometimes be tricky. You have to make several important decisions: What does the audience absolutely need to know? What else can they infer from the page? What can you make them feel? What makes your story stand out from the rest? In order to be as effective as possible, your logline needs to do these three key things: 1. Answer their questions: First, it must answer the who? what? where? when? and how? of your story. This is the bare bones of the story you’re trying to tell. Without this, it can be difficult for a producer to determine what your story is even about, even if the concept may be clear as crystal in your own head. A good rule of thumb is to include one or two telling adjectives about both your protagonist and antagonist. It might be tough to pin down your complex... read more
by Voyage | May 28, 2014 | Book to Film
Keys to Turning Your Book Into A Film Or Original Series – Part 3 Why Do I Need Short Form Materials? In Parts 1 and 2 of this series — The Keys to Turning Your Book Into A Film Or Original Series– we discussed how to solve the time (and money) problem for a producer, how to make a producer’s life easy and really attract them to your book, and how to view this entire process as the business that it is – the “Adaptation Business”. Today in Part 3, we are going to start discussing exactly how to do this. To start, one of the best ways of beginning this process is by creating short form materials. Let’s take a look at what short form materials look like, why they’re important, and how you can create them… What Are Short Form Materials? There are a variety of valuable short form materials, but the most effective for promoting your book to producers are: Logline
– Loglines are quick, one-sentence summaries of your book written in exciting and visual entertainment speak, can be really great sales tools, and serve a bit like your ‘elevator pitch’. Synopsis (or Book Summary)
– This is probably self-explanatory, but a synopsis is a short summary that provides a clear and concise outline of the story. Although longer than a logline, this should be relatively short. Treatments – In most cases, a treatment is a 7 to 10 page breakdown of the story outlining the beginning, middle, and end. This document is a great sales tool because it solves a big part of the producer’s time problem, and can even be adapted into a screenplay. Screenplay – This... read more
by Voyage | May 25, 2014 | Book to Film
The Keys to Turning Your Book Into A Film Or Original Series – Part 2 How Your Adaptation Can Make the Producer’s Life Easier The first part of this is determining which market you should be targeting for your book. This is different than knowing your audience, because you must also understand the in’s and out’s of the various genres, media outlets, and niches that Hollywood partitions itself into. You need to identify which market you’re dealing with. These market distinctions go much deeper than just television and film – genre, tone, style, etc. filter down to create much smaller sub-markets. By knowing all of this information, you will be able to target the right producers that will be passionate about your project and give it the fighting chance it needs. (Remember, most producers have a very targeted niche that they work in – if you have a book that should be turned into a horror movie, you don’t want to send it to a producer who works in TV comedy). The very worst thing you could do is to waste a producer’s time. This is a sure fire way of ensuring that nobody will ever take the time to consider your book. So get your ducks in a row so you’re not wasting valuable time. Make a Producer Love You and Your Book The next element of being in the “Adaptation Business” is solving the money problem for potential producers. Adapting your own book or hiring a screenwriter to have your book adapted into a treatment or, even better, a screenplay (FYI – having the book adapted is probably... read more
by Voyage | May 21, 2014 | Book to Film
The Keys to Turning your Book Into A Film – Part 1 Have you always dreamed of seeing your book (or concept for a book) on the big screen? Bestsellers are being made into movies at a growing rate these days, but what if you haven’t written a bestseller? Producers and filmmakers are always looking for intellectual property to adapt for the big screen (or for television), but getting your work considered by producers is a much different process when you don’t have a bestseller. Keep in mind that many bestsellers only become so AFTER they are made into movies. While top selling authors have big time producers knocking on their doors, most authors have to do the knocking themselves. The point is — you need to have a solid strategy, and you need to be in the Adaptation Business. Lets explore why bestsellers are so attractive to producers (and how you can add a similar appeal to your book). A bestseller usually comes with an audience. It has a lot of “Pre-Awareness” and a known story that audiences have already resonated with, which in a producer’s business-centric mind equates to an established market and predictable revenue. In many cases, it’s easy to envision how these stories would transform on the big screen. A producer is acutely aware that they are the one responsible for bringing a project to the finish line. They are the ones that must push the figurative stone up the hill for two or three years in order to get a movie developed, financed, and made. So, when a bestseller shows up on a producer’s... read more
