Producer’s Panel (Santa Barbara International Film Festival, 2011)

Reviewed by Katharina Martin. Viewed at Santa Barbara Film Festival 2011.

Upon attending the Producer’s Panel, I gained great insight to the work that goes into a variety of different productions. The panel presented: Darla K Anderson (Toy Story 3), Ian Canning (Kings Speech), Alix Madigan (Winter’s Bone), Todd Liberman (The Fighter), Mike Deluca (The Social Network), Jamie Patricof (Blue Valentine), and was mediated by Patrick Goldstein (LA Times). The plethora of information each panel member gave was invaluable to student and adult film-makers alike.

The conversation led to the comparison between animation and live action features. As the executive producer for Toy Story 3, (as well as Monsters Inc, Cars & A Bugs Life) Anderson was inevitability the only expert present. She discussed the techniques used to develop each aspect of an animation film; from how the sets are built virtually to how physical models are used in designing the characters. She was asked about how the visual decisions were made on TS3, to which her response placed emphasis on the importance of the use of previous stories and new technologies. She said the ultimate goal was to figure out how to embed the story as well as imbue technology.

Despite the genre difference amongst these nominated producers, there are some things they all unanimously agree on. The first, and arguably most important, is the need for passion. For them, this applies to every single person working on their production. They say that the best movies are a result of people sticking to their gut, and being honest in their motivation for the project at hand. It was cleverly stated that, “If you don’t fully believe in your movie, why should anyone else?” What makes these producers successful is the longevity of their employees in addition to mutual support throughout the crew. According to this panel, a  good movie comes together with the right combination of place, time, and passion.