In last week's Euro scriptchat there was a lot of talk about creative control. It's a phrase that I hear a lot. It's also a phrase and a discussion that bothers me. It bothers me because I genuinely don't understand the mentality of "fighting for creative control."
I think people worry too much about creative control. Everyone pays lip-service to the idea that the production process is collaborative, but in terms of how people actually act, most of us seem to be paranoid about protecting our part of the process.The word "fighting" is the verb most commonly used when you hear people talking about creative control. The other verb used is "losing." Neither the verb "fighting" or "losing" are ones that describe a collaborative process. Fighting is an aggressive act and losing implies fear of loss. I think that is very telling. I see a lot of territorial protection of people's creative input and a lot of paranoia born from fear of loss. This is the reason that lawyers love the entertainment industry. The legal system is primarily about territorial disputes and fear of loss. Why collaborate on a project when you can just see who has the ugliest lawyer and the most money? It's my personal belief that the need of protect creative control is the reason that in the indie world we see so many writer/director/producer hyphenates. There is no creative control to lose, if you keep all of the toys to yourself and don't allow anyone else to play. I also believe this is the same motivation that is driving the DIY distribution and crowd-funding movement. If you crowd-fund you don't have to submit your script or casting or directorial decisions to the money people... and if you self-distribute you never have to bow to the needs or tastes of the distribution industry. Rather than being an alternative business model designed to challenge conventional industry practises, in reality, much of the way digital revolution currently does business, is designed solely to avoid any kind of loss or challenge to creative control. The closed nature of that process is something I believe people should have real concerns about. It can't be healthy for the project to be so insulated from criticism. Inside the mainstream industry, it's not a lot better. Sure people have to work together, but it's not uncommon for creative control to be the one issue that causes endless conflict in a production team. There is, however, another way to look at the creative control issue. It is very simple. It just involves replacing the verb "fighting" for creative control, with the verb "earning,"If a writer wants to get their vision onto the screen without outside interference, then make sure that what you write is so badass that no one dares to alter it. Teams give notes when, for whatever reason, they don't fully believe in the script. Therefore the easiest way to lose creative control is to do a half-assed job on the script. The easiest way to gain creative control is to write a perfect script. This is the way it works... if you want creative control you have to earn it. I just wish that more people understood this basic principle and could get behind it. I earn my place at the table by writing the script... if I've not nailed that script to the barn door, then the script editor and producer earn their place at the table by spotting the problems and giving notes. Everyone who then adds into the process of creating the end product, from the Line Producer to the Props Master all earn their place to input creatively by bringing something to the party. That's how it should work, really... and any time that isn't how it works, that's when projects go adrift.For the last six years I have really pushed the idea of the writer/producer, not because I was concerned about loss of creative control, but mainly because I never met a producer who brought enough to the table to earn any kind of creative input. In all of that time I would have loved to meet a producer who understood what I was I was trying to do and was willing to go out and do their part of the job. It hasn't happened. Which is why this week, most of my time has been spent in meetings, studying figures and researching the international TV distribution industry. The other thing I've been looking at this week, with my producer head, is the hiring of a script editor. Nobody on the creative team is asking me to do this. Nobody who has read the script has offered notes. Which as a writer is lovely, cosy place to be... but as a producer, I know that having critical eyes on the script is a necessary check and balance in the creative process. That's the other thing about creative control... you also need to know when to step back and let someone else drive the bus for a while.keep writing and via la revolution
Posted via email from Filmutopia's Sunday Morning Movie Blog
