The past few weeks have been of great learning for me. On many occasions, I sit through hours of class, think for days on end, and then - in one blinding moment - realization dawns - or rather, clarity dawns. What I have realized through the Producing course at UCLA is that:
1) "Entertainment" is as personal a concept as love and hate. Everyone has a unique definition for it, based on who they are. Thus, when a show/movie is designed, I need to step out of my skin and put myself into that of the target audience. However personal the topic, I cannot cloud the vision of the project with my own biases. The show/movie is being made for the largest possible audience - the lowest common denominator. The show is not for me. It is for the audience.
2) The "business" of entertainment is simply that - a business. It is not meant to change lives or promote talent or prevent crime, or any of those glorious deeds I thought was possible. It is a business like no other - revenue v/s expense, profit v/s loss. I need to make shows for the lowest common denominator so my show makes the most money.
Some of the money I earn in this business can go into a "passion" project - one that is not designed to make money. And to enable these "passion" projects, I need to make many other projects that are not personal at all. Does this mean that I have to "endure the pain" of such projects? No way.
Sidney Lumet in his book "Making Movies" makes a great point. Making a movie (any movie) can fulfill one or many purposes: generate money towards bills and expenses, learn a technical or creative skill that is being used in the project, work with certain "Gods" of a particular profession (camera, sound, etc), etc, etc. In fact, he says do the first movie that comes your way if you are a newcomer - why? Because it will be your first. And you need to have a first, in order to have a second. And the skills you learn on each of your projects only makes you a better professional.
Clarity, really, is a wonderful thing.
