At the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, producers Alison Owen, Lauren Miller Rogen and Carla Hacken spoke with students and guests about the practical work of bringing films and television projects to life. The discussion, part of IndieWire’s “Behind Their Lens” series, covered giving useful notes, navigating a consolidating media industry and finding ways to get projects made.

The producers identified persistence as a common factor in their work. Owen described learning the profession outside a traditional university path, after being encouraged in the early 1980s to travel to the UK’s National Film School and help students with their graduation films. She arrived without experience of production terminology or procedures, but found that students were willing to give her an opportunity to contribute.

That first experience took Owen to a graduation project in a small Welsh village. She said the work taught her through direct experience while also introducing her to peers who later became established directors, editors and cinematographers. Owen encouraged students to build relationships with their contemporaries, arguing that those contacts can become future collaborators and employers.

Miller Rogen said Lena Dunham’s “Tiny Furniture” helped her see that she could produce her own first feature, “For a Good Time, Call…,” rather than wait for a larger producer to take it on. She decided to make the film independently and also star in it. With connections to independent backers through her brother’s work in finance, the project raised a $750,000 budget and was filmed in 16 days.

The film was subsequently selected for Sundance, where Focus Features acquired it for release. Miller Rogen described the result as a mixture of pride, fear and surprise, while noting that filmmakers now have many potential ways to bring their work to audiences.

Hacken likewise urged emerging creators to look beyond the traditional route into production. She pointed to the success of “Backrooms” and other YouTube horror productions as evidence that strong writing and storytelling can find alternative paths to an audience. Her message was that filmmakers can still create opportunities by developing good material and producing it themselves.

Sources: IndieWire.