I wrote about documentary filmmaker Chico
Colvard in one of my early blog posts on Mixed Girl Moving Pictures. I
briefly met him at a Film Distribution seminar in December 2013. I was
interested in learning more about this filmmaker because, like me, he is a
person of Mixed-Race that had a troubled and abusive upbringing. He seemed
passionate about getting his films distributed while also maintaining ownership
at every step of the process.
His first documentary film, Family Affair,
released in 2010, is a painfully personal examination of his family's history
of physical and sexual abuse of his sisters by their father. The film opens
with a story about 10 year old Chico Colvard accidentally shooting his sister
in the leg with one of many guns his father had laying around the house. The
shooting revealed the dark truth that their father had been raping all three of
his daughters through out their childhood. Their father went to prison for only
1 year and the family was separated. Years later, Chico attempts to understand
what happened and why his sisters have continued a relationship with their
father after everything that he had done to them. The film does not hold
anything back, and at times can be very hard to listen to as his sisters
recount what happened to them or talk about how much affection they have for
their father. Chico agreed to allow me to interview him on the topic of
negotiation for the purposes of this blog post, but we spent quite a bit of
time talking about his film and comparing our stories of abuse and being
Mixed-Race. I would like to share with you all what I learned about negotiating
film deals from him.
Before entering into a negotiation the first and most important
thing to know is that "it is about the story." While the film
business is a business, it is still a business of art, passion, talent, and
creation. We cannot lose sight of the importance of the story. Colvard would
like filmmakers to remember that when entering into negotiation for funding or
distribution, you have to show that you are passionate about your story so that
there is a purpose to helping you with funding or distribution. Approaching
each film project solely as a business venture doesn't justify the importance
of your project for investors or distributors.
Colvard comes from a law background, so he is well verse in the
art of negotiation and aware of all the tactics and strategies that come with
negotiation but as an artist he tends to not want to use those tactics for his
work. I asked if he felt a filmmaker should enter a deal with a
bottom line or a "walk away" point already in their heads. He thinks
that it is more important to be honest and upfront about your expectations
rather than plan for the worst. You've probably heard before that in
negotiation it is best to keep your information close tot he chest while trying
to cox your negotiation opponent to reveal their information. But Chico is not
comfortable with that. He believes there is no harm in saying "this is
what I want/would like to get." People tend to be afraid of offending the
other party or turning them away too soon by stating what they want to get out
of the deal, but that is starting from a place of thinking your project doesn't
deserve what you are requesting. First and foremost, Colvard recommends you do
your homework. Research like projects, industry standards, and make sure that
before you decide what you want to get out of the deal, that you make the
effort to find out what is a reasonable expectation. Your first documentary
about your family, may not garner $1 million dollars out the gate. But you
could possible expect industry standards to be $5,000 - $20,000 upfront with a
distribution deal that allows for a 40/60 split. So, instead of walking in and
saying "I want $150,000 upfront and 75% of
the distribution " and getting nowhere. You could say, "I
think it is reasonable to get $20,000 upfront with a 40/60 split on
distribution and a broadcast license of 1 year. If
you approach your negotiation reasonably, no matter how personal the
project is to you, there is no reason why you should wait to deliver the news
after negotiations have begun.
Being new to this world of film negotiation, I didn't really know
what to expect. I choose Chico Colvard to interview because I knew he came from
a legal background and could shed light both from the perspective of an artist
and a lawyer. It was great to see his ability to work within the two realms for
the great benefit. To approach a negotiation without guile or schemes
in your pocket, but just being yourself the artist who has done your homework
so that you can be a partner in the negotiation rather than a
bystander of the negation is the key lesson I will take away from our
talk. I am very grateful to Chico for taking the time to speak with me and I
hope this information will be helpful to you reader as you approach your next
negotiation.
