John Penotti discusses how to get started, once a film is finished

How can I get started in producing?

John Penotti says by getting into producing, you can go physically on the film set by being a production assistant or intern.

The creative side is understanding what makes a good story, encouraging writers.

Get a job at a production company, working at the development department of a studio, become a story editor.

The basic thing is to own the rights of a script, so you can produce it.

http://www.mindopia.com/video/john-penotti-how-can-i-get-started
What is a typical day/ week like?

In his entrepreneurial production company, he has to move in a lot of directions. A green shoot has an underarm umbrella. A real estate venture has a production centre like a recording studio, post production facilities, and a group of executive suites he rents out to third parties that are in the film industry.

Dealing with productions that are in pre-production, development, production, or post production has a lot of problem solving. He works with financial investors and to have an understanding of where they are in the progress of the film. It's a 12-14 hr day.

http://www.mindopia.com/video/john-penotti-what-typical-dayweek

Pros and cons (of the producer job)?

A pro is the feeling of completion of a script that went from being developed to produced, and being watched by a paying audience. That's fulfilling.

A con is time intensive job, you don't have a lot of free time. It's stressful with how money is spent, how quickly it's spent, how delicate egos are, how the creative and business side of this show business creates a lot of problems, which takes a lot of time to solve.

http://www.mindopia.com/video/john-penotti-pros-and-cons

Once a film is finished:

Ascribe a territorial basis around the world, pre-sell the distribution rights of that film, the individual territories will provide us a guarantee that they will pay us if we deliver the film to them. We will go to production, and when the film is complete, we will deliver the film to the individual territories, and they will pay us.

Or the producer makes estimates about the territories about what it will cost in each place. We will make the film and go back to see how well we did on the guesses we made.

http://www.mindopia.com/video/john-penotti-once-film-finished

Working in New York:

A lot of the story grows from the city. The talent like the cast and crew, and distributors are in the city. There is representation in LA. If you know both, then you will work well.

http://www.mindopia.com/video/john-penotti-working-new-york