Jeff Pope, Bafta-winning writer and producer, and head of factual drama at ITV Studios
My advice is to first-time writers: story is king. Concentrate everything on finding the right story – something that excites you and in which you want to immerse yourself – because you can’t fake passion. Write about something that you know, or feel that you know. Don’t rush in. Think hard and carefully about finding a subject that will interest other people as much as it interests you. Do some research too; study what type of stories have appeal to broadcasters and producers. If you have the right story, you’re halfway there.
Don’t worry about money at this stage; much more important is ownership of the story. Either write your draft up front or make it a condition that if they want your story, then they have to give you a shot at a first draft.
Rosie Alison, producer (Testament of Youth) and executive producer (Paddington), Heyday Films
The routes into the film industry are numerous and no educational qualifications are required. It helps if you are a passionate dreamer, but also practical, tenacious and unrelenting in your search for stories.
I was first trained as a documentary-maker and a key lesson I learned was that often it was the most ordinary, random shots (for example, someone turning their head or holding on a face longer than expected) that clinched a scene in a spontaneous moment. I’ve found that observational documentaries can offer brilliant training grounds for both directors and producers: you work across every department of the film process, and grapple in the cutting room to uncover narrative, and thematic and emotional coherence from hours of footage. A number of today’s most acclaimed fiction directors, from Paul Greengrass to Pawel Pawlikowski and Derek Cianfrance, first honed their skills in documentaries.
Morgan Matthews, director (X+Y) and Bafta-winning documentary-maker
Have an idea you feel only you can make. Whether it’s a story you have access to from the “real” world, a book you’ve optioned or an original script you’ve written, have ownership of your idea – and then set about finding the people to back you.
When I started working on X+Y, inspired by a documentary I’d made about young mathematicians, I teamed up with the brilliant young writer James Graham and we were initially supported by Lizzie Francke and the late and much missed Chris Collins at the then UK Film Council (UKFC) through its First Feature fund. This gave us the belief that the film could happen and allowed us to develop a script.
After the Tories abolished the UKFC, much of the funding and several people (including Lizzie and Chris) transferred to the BFI, but there was no fund aimed specifically at first time film-makers. However, Lizzie has always been a great supporter of new talent and through her initiative, this month sees the launch of the Bfi NET.WORK website, a platform for emerging film makers to submit their work.
Elaine Constantine, Bafta-nominated writer-director
(Northern Soul)
As a writer-director, find a producer who is as excited about the project as you are; you can’t make a feature film without a producer who’s really keen – especially as a first-timer. My producer on Northern Soul was just as enthusiastic about the project as me. It was also her first feature, so she didn’t necessarily have as many contacts as a more experienced one, but she also wasn’t working on a slate of other projects that demanded her attention.
In fact, nearly every person on the set was on their first feature. Everyone just had to get stuck in and get their hands dirty. When you’re lacking in experience, there’s nothing better than when everyone is rooting for the same thing.
Jeff Pope, Rosie Alison, Morgan Matthews and Elaine Constantine will be at the Sargent-Disc Bafta Filmmakers’ Forum on 11 July, for which tickets are available here
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