IFP » Robert Profusek

Spring In All Its Various Colors

Robert Profusek — Thu, 09 May 2013 18:48:54 +0000

As the weather turns from a chilly gray to a warm yellow, spring in New York makes me think about a few things – picnics along the High Line, the start of weekend excursions with my dog AND the Tribeca Film Festival. I’ve always loved Tribeca for its documentary films, the identity that it provides downtown New York City, its year-round initiatives that support filmmakers of all styles and its new foray into digital. Tribeca has been in NYC for nearly the same amount of time that I have, and to a degree, I think that its evolution somewhat tracks my own as a creative professional (of course, mine on a much smaller scale).

I am lucky to have Executive Produced two films that premiered this year at Tribeca. Rob Meyer’s BIRDERS GUIDE TO EVERYTHING and Neil Labute’s SOME VELVET MORNING. Previously, I also participated in Tribeca All Access in 2010, and for the first time last year, as an audience member, I was influenced and motivated by many personal anecdotes and insider histories from participants on various panel discussions during the newly christened Interactive Day.

You might ask, great, but what does this all mean?

- The traditional differences between being a film or television or digital producer versus a creative content creator are dissolving. Instead, I see myself more as an entrepreneur and product manager within the creative arts (commercial and otherwise). While sticking to its film festival-centric core, TFI has worked to ensure its relevance within a quickly changing entertainment landscape through programs that include grants and labs, newly developed distribution vehicles as well as an embrace of technology and a dialogue around interactive. Holding on to an old model seems shortsighted and may eventually lead to obsolescence.

- You are your own brand. It’s not just the creatives but also the producers and other supporters who can and should be instrumental in helping guarantee a successful Kickstarter raise, an engaging and growing social media presence or a hybrid distribution program that seeks to engage its core audience … and beyond. To guarantee success in any capacity, I believe it is necessary to build off of current and past platforms, helping redirect audiences and open them up to new creative exploration as opposed to starting anew each and every time at bat.

- I feel one of the most important lessons from this convergence of media type is a democratic philosophy among all creatives and content providers to support each other while navigating the sometimes turbulent waters of creation. Whether formally championing a new project or screenplay or lending a hand with free equipment donations or other services, more now than ever projects can only be successful through a community of supportive and giving individuals who are committed to a greater ideal than their own resume. Nobody can do this on their own and as they say, it takes a village!

Today, I’m engaged in both the traditional film world and the evolving digital entertainment landscape. Based on some of my thoughts above, the similarities and differences between all types of content in terms of how it’s developed, produced, marketed and distributed seem to be more obvious. In my own experience, I’ve seen this reflected in the four recent film projects I’ve produced, the documentary WITHOUT SHEPHERDS (which premiered this year at Slamdance and is currently represented internationally by ro*co), the Tribeca Film Festival premiers of both BIRDERS GUIDE TO EVERYTHING and SOME VELVET MORNING and the IFP Narrative Lab graduate BASTARDS OF YOUNG (still currently in post-production). On the other end of the spectrum, the web-series THE 3 BITS (currently distributed independently),TWENTY FIVE (currently in production) and I AM ECO WARRIOR (currently in post-production) along with two mobile applications (in development) have illuminated the challenges (and again, the similarities) between film and other forms of digital entertainment.

On the similarities front, I’ve noticed the following:

- Good content is where it always begins; story and character development is always king. If you start with a broken screenplay or script, you’re bound for disaster from day one.
- Finding a passionate crew trumps in many cases the accolades of somebody’s resume. Passion, fearlessness and commitment can guarantee success.
- There never is enough money, period. I know, I know.
- You always have to be resourceful with everything from in-kind services, favors and other out-of-the-box thinking that ensures you will reach the finish line.
- Even at 6:00 AM, you never have as much fun professionally as you do when you’re on a set for the first day or even on the 18^th day.
- Don’t be afraid in the edit to let the footage speak to you, regardless of what the written word says. Having a trusting team around you will hopefully guide you in this direction, as well.

On the flip side, some of the differences include:

- Within the short-form digital world, it appears that one is able to pivot creatively or even distribution/marketing wise more easily than on a feature film. While this is not an absolute point, the window for success within the feature world is somewhat more limited, especially when using a festival-based premier strategy.
- Within the new media world, you might be able to get away with a smaller budget and crew, but the experience on set (or in studio) might be more frenetic.
- Even if you decide to distribute on a DIY basis, don’t ignore more traditional distribution avenues, especially as you reach a critical mass.
- There’s arguably more forgiveness within a feature film for a slower start or initial audience apathy than within short-form serial content when capturing the audience’s attention from the get-go is crucial.

So I ask again, what does this mean? I think it means certain truths remain consistent regardless of whatever medium you choose. It also means that the lines between content types and audience viewership are blurring. Television that streams exclusively on the web, films told in episodic formats, mobile applications that emulate game shows but demand live audience engagement all are part of today’s entertainment zeitgeist.

by Robert Profusek

Producer Robert Profusek on Building Buzz at Slamdance

Robert Profusek — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 15:00:16 +0000

I had an amazing opportunity to return to Park City this year with my film WITHOUT SHEPHERDS. I was more than excited as not only was I going public with the first documentary film I had produced, but I was playing Slamdance for the first time in my career.

Without Sheperds poster at Slamdance

While this had been my 5th year returning to Park City during the festivals as a film enthusiast, professional and former Sundance alumni, I had a few anxieties about how to approach the assembled film community. I’d always been very impressed by the filmmakers and films emanating from Slamdance but I couldn’t help but be concerned about battling everything that transpires during those 10 days in January. Also, our film is an issue-oriented foreign documentary dealing with a very relevant but at times visually disturbing story of Pakistan.

After receiving notice around Thanksgiving that we had been accepted into Slamdance the reality of how much work was required became very obvious. Web-site redesign and poster development, social media strategy and re-ignition of our various feeds, PR pitches and media placements, color and sound finishing and everything in-between. While I had been pushing for months to get some of these tasks finished before our world-wide premier, the realities of budgets and time and a thousand other variables makes us always feel like we could have done more.

Postcards of the film

While our film might be somewhat smaller in size compared to other documentaries playing Sundance or even Slamdance, we more than make up for that in terms of our message and the devotion of the team we’ve nurtured over the past 5 years. Our premier at Slamdance was no exception with over 40 members of cast and crew supporting our launch, including our co-director/cinematographer, Imran Babur, who had traveled all the way from Pakistan. Together, with the support of Clare Anne Darragh at Frank PR and the team at Picture Motion, Jonathan Gray and Nicole Compass at Gray Krauss, the collection of graphic designers helmed by Rachel Yoo, interns and production assistants helping on the ground day by day, we worked to make a splash at the top of Main Street for our World Premier.

Over the course of 10 days, we completely sold out both of our screenings and assembled a nice group for our P&I screening after handing out over 500 buttons, posting 100 posters and distributing over 1000 quarter cards throughout Park City. Although we were going up against the major agency parties Sunday Night, we still had over 250 people come out for our after party that generated over an uncountable number of social media posts through the on-site photo booth where guests could do shout-outs in support of our cause. In all, I’m extremely proud of what we were able to accomplish as the smaller David against the larger Goliath, which typifies Park City in January and as we work through negotiations on some foreign and domestic distribution deals I’m excited by the fact that this literally is just the beginning of a long road.

Without Sheperds

Some of the more memorable moments from the week ran the spectrum from happy to sad, exciting to concerning. Our grand scheme to do a series of street projections along Main Street Friday and Saturday night promoting our Facebook page along with campaign hash-tags ran aground after the power adapters in the vehicles running the projectors all blew fuses despite having enough power to support the equipment we had rented. Rest assured, we still got a few moments of video up until our PA was told by the cops that they were going to be shut down because of a lack of permit. I recall the warm feeling of our crew dinner Saturday night at 305 Main, as members of the team from all over the globe came together for the first time to not only meet in person but to congratulate each other for many years of committed energy and passion. I also will never forget the applause and engagement of the audiences during our Q&A’s where always the question of “did you feel safe” was guaranteed to come up!

Still from Without Sheperds

I recall an amazing interview with Shanna Yehlen at FilmBuff that evolved into a larger discussion on the role of art to help transform rigid beliefs on important social and political topics. As we gathered that same morning waiting for our live broadcast segment on CNN we were saddened to learn about the shooting in Houston and the need to throw live coverage to that horrific event. We were naturally disappointed that the interview piece we had worked so hard to secure was going to be preempted but we were able to reschedule for next week. I remember almost missing our red-carpet moment when a panel that I was sitting on in Deer Valley for The Collective ran late. I finally made it to the Treasure Mountain Hotel 10 minutes late only to realize that I had to sprint down Main Street as I was at the wrong address!

Leaving Park City, exhausted and somewhat overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work that had been accomplished over the past 2 months, I remembered why I had committed to this project a short 3 years ago. Armed with a sense that our director Cary McClelland would be an authoritative and eloquent voice for the challenging political stories that needed to be told I was now more than satisfied with our results. A huge thank you to Asad Rahman, Saad Siddiqui, Rob Collier, Phil Michaelsen, Usman Nabi and Arik Ruchim, among others, for making this happen financially; to Billy Smith for being such a steady and constant force for all; to Jonathan Gray and Nicole Compass from Gray Krauss for their continued legal advisory; Daryl Dunbar and Douglas Burack from Lutz & Carr for their accounting advisory; and, Clare Anne from Frank PR along with the entire Picture Motion team for its continued dedication and immense effort.

Cast and crew speak at Slamdance

My annual pilgrimage to Park City, regardless of how difficult the challenge may be, always reaffirms why I do what I do. In the darkest and most concerning of times, you need to go with your gut, keep your head down and work hard. Seeing long time friends and making new ones year over year gives fuel to all my creative endeavors and has served as the means for many successful collaborations. A heartfelt thanks to Slamdance 2013 for letting us tell our story and being so amazing along the way!