Are You a Visionary?

Are You a Visionary?

by joannefilm | Dec 7, 2023

I’ve been thinking a lot about visionaries recently.

Years ago, I was in a class and the lecturer asked: “What happens when you put 2 visionaries in a room together?”  I raised my hand and yelled out: “Nothing!”  He was shocked. To this day, I don’t know what he thought would happen if 2 visionaries were put into a room together, but I am clear the answer is: Nothing!

The Christopher Nolan movie, “Oppenheimer” showed recently what happened when a lot of visionaries are put into the room together. Much of the film shows the character arc of Oppenheimer himself as he leaves physics to move towards becoming someone who implements, who learns how to speak to politicians who hold the purse springs, and how to get his programs funded.

All filmmakers are visionaries.

Where visionaries get into trouble is that they don’t know how to translate their vision into reality.  Many years ago, I read in the book: Women Who Run With Wolves, by Esther Pinkola Estes, that many women spend much of their lives wandering – handless – in the underworld, unable to make anything work in the real world. I have learned that it is not only women, when it comes to filmmaking, many men are just as lost.

As soon as I hear about an idea, a vision, especially when it’s a film, my brain instantly begins figuring out where the income is coming from. Next week, one of my clients is coming down to Florida. When he met me, he knew nothing about film, or pitching, or anything at all. But when he goes to meet with his potential investor, he will have every piece of information he needs to be able to discuss distribution, other forms of revenue for documentary filmmakers, and do it with clarity and confidence.

Most filmmakers are deeply committed to and caught up with their vision.  Often they have never considered the matter of money whatsoever.

What I have realized is that this is common for all visionaries, even when they are not making movies.  It’s challenging for visionaries to think about money, create a budget, and plan for multiple years into the future.

What I am now seeing is that although I am a visionary too, I trained myself many years ago to translate visions into budgets, into a fundraising plan, and into making that vision a reality.

If you are a visionary, you may need help in translating that vision into an actual project, with a budget, and a timeline.  But the rewards are incredible. You will get to make your film. Start your nonprofit. Or create the business you desire.  Just remember that vision alone is not the answer; vision plus the financials are key.

joannefilm is Joanne Butcher, a film business coach with a roster of clients that have over 143 feature films in various stages of development and over 20 clients with feature films in distribution, as well as one client with a series on PBS. She has experience consulting on over 40 successful crowdfunding campaigns. She uses her decades of experience as a fundraiser in multiple sectors through her business, Filmmaker Success, where she runs The Film Box Office S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Formula™ and The Virtual Fundraising Team to help filmmakers and non-profits change their way of thinking, raise money, and achieve their goals.