The Importance of Cultivating Relationships

One of the first things Rhonda and I learned when we went to The Independent Film School in NYC last month was the importance of cultivating relationships. We spent an entire hour on the subject matter.  People have such a negative impression of Hollywood because of the glitz and glamour.  However, in the world of Independent Filmmaking, all you have for the purpose of "money" are the relationships in your lives. Parents, Siblings, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Friends, Co-workers, Pastor, Church Members, and even the kindness of Strangers. This list can go on and on.  They'll be the first, if not the only ones in the beginning who sees your movies or buy your DVD.  And for those with financial constraints their prayers and support are much needed reminders that we are not in this alone.  Then, there are the unforseen "hook-ups".  One of the best "hook-ups" we ever had came from someone who was initially a "stranger".

The Cannon brothers (Moving Forward Pictures) had set up a meeting with a Univ. of SC film professer they knew only from Facebook, and invited Rhonda and I to sit in.  After sharing with her only a few words about our project ideas, she invited us to her class for the remainder of the semester (a world class education free of charge) and got her husband, a local business owner, to give us a substantial discount on production equipment for the College Access Challenge and extended time of use. What would of costs us hundreds dollars was "given" to us for less than $35.  And I can't forget Rhonda's role in getting us free subs for the shooting date.  All she did was asked.  After seeing the script, the manager said yes, and he was very generous.  We had so much leftover that we found ourselves eating them the remainder of the wknd, lunch and dinner for three days. That same strategy will be used when we do our upcoming projects and fundraisers efforts as well.  In fact, this morning, I was sharing with an aunt some of the costs savings we will utilize for the Fish Dinner and DVD compilation.  I will share an excerpt here:

As for the fish dinners, we plan on ordering bread and beans from my mom job. This will be at a fraction of the costs of purchasing retail. My mom will likely bake the dessert, and charge us at costs or donate fully as a part of her contribution in exchange for a few fish dinners herself. The fish, I anticipate getting from the military commissary which tends to sell 20% less than Wal-Mart, plus no tax. Oil and seasoning will be likely donated by a friend who has a fish-fry set-up in exchange for a number of fish dinners to take home himself. Also, to help us better prepare, we will do advance orders. We'll also charge additional for more than one piece of fish. Additional monetary donations will also be asked, but not expected!!


As for the DVDs, we have previously purchased equipment to make copies. It takes about 4-6 hours to run the master copy, but once we have it completed, we can easily make up to 20-25 copies in a few short hours. The only costs would be purchasing of the recordable DVD discs (included in selling price) and shipment (extra).
 
So you see the importance of cultivating relationships. Its not all about give me, give me, give me. There's some form of exchange of time or committment, and the old bartering system works just as well.  In fact, for the College Access Challenge we didn't pay the Cannon brothers, but we made a donation to their mother's church.  We didn't "pay" Elissa the actress, but we provided her a gas card.  She was gratiously thankful, and agreed to star in the upcoming project, Paranoid without seeing the script or knowledge if it was a paid gig or not. The relationship cultivated was key.  It's one of the tricks of the trade and more that will be shared in upcoming posts.
 
Stay Tuned!!