Balancing Art and Commerce: Redefining the Producer-Centered Filmmaking Model

The debate of divergence at the process of film production has long been debated amongst film industry, and the two models in the process of film production are director centred and producer centred. In the most common commercial cinema, the producer-centred system rules the day. In the producer centric model the producer is in control of most creative decisions like plot detail, casting and final film style. While this is an efficient approach that guarantees timely project management as well as a consistent market, it weakens the actual vision of a director reducing or excluding their true ideas. In both of these scenarios, the director himself cannot rebel because the producer is also financing the crew.

The problem with this approach is that it cuts the director's creative freedom, most especially if the producer doesn't understand film as an art form. Recently, China has favored a film model that is producer centric, which has always resulted in very different things for film quality and creative expression. Another issue in this model is creating a misalignment between creative vision and commercial objectives. Market value is most important and that means changed scripts, changed casting decisions, even changed after post production. And often these changes are made in a single minded effort to adapt to market trends without the necessary nuanced understanding of the storyline. It often leaves us with formulaic products from promising films, ones with a strong, bold narrative or out of the box approach.

This is where my producer hat comes in. I do this (bridging gap between creative and logistical needs) with a background in filmmaking, screenwriting, and acting. I got my professional filmmaking studies, I directed, I crew managed, pre opening casting, I know filmmaking, I know the aesthetic, I know how to get the film done that helps an industry and keeps an artistic integrity in it.

I look to combine my film knowledge with a producer’s take on things, developing a more producer centric approach, while giving the director creative freedom. As a result I will look into partnerships to make sure that the films produced are commercial with no loss in resonance with the audience. I wish to reinvent the current day film model and to be a producer that amplifies the vision, rather than kills it. As someone with a particular perspective and skill set I’m ready and able to contribute to a future in which great stories are nourished, not ruined.