Exploring the techniques, strategies, and key pieces of advice for aspiring horror directors, straight from the minds of some of the greatest filmmakers and creators in horror. Host Nick Taylor engages in one-on-one conversations with directors, producers, writers, actors and artists to uncover the keys to their creative and professional success in the horror business.
https://nicktaylor.com/
episode 23: Cinestate & FANGORIA VP of Production, Amanda Presmyk
Amanda Presmyk is the VP of Production across Cinestate and FANGORIA’s film division. Having started her career in TV with the drug-cartel drama, Queen of the South, Amanda joined Cinestate towards the beginning of its inception, shortly after the release of Brawl in Cell Block 99. In the past two and a half years, she’s worked on such films as Dragged Across Concrete, The Standoff at Sparrow Creek, Puppetmaster: The Littlest Reich, and FANGORIA’s exciting upcoming slate of features including: V.F.W, Satanic Panic, & Castle Freak.
Amanda and I caught up and talked about her career history, strategic advice for aspiring producers, and what it’s like working across FANGORIA & Cinestate. Before diving in, here are key pieces of advice for aspiring filmmakers from Amanda:
- Resourcefulness is the best resource. Amanda mentions that one of the most valuable qualities that producers look for in directors is resourcefulness. In the case FANGORIA's upcoming V.F.W, the team observed how much director Joe Begos was able to accomplish in production value and storytelling on his first two films (Almost Human & Mind’s Eye) which both had tiny budgets. This ability to maximize your budget is a huge part of being a director and a very desirable quality in the eyes of producers.
- Get experience on TV sets. The breakneck speed and brutal hours that come with filming TV shows can make or break most would-be producers. Getting through it is like getting through producer hell-week, which can transform you into a Navy Seal of production, able to handle even the most grueling of film sets.
- Embrace being a manager & a fast learner. Amanda states that one of the least talked about but most necessary skills of being a producer is a heightened ability to manage people. Demanding shoots, crazy hours, sleepless nights, dangerous special effects, and temperamental actors are some of the day to day challenges of making movies. Producers have to manage all of that while keeping films on time, on budget and of high quality. This requires a dynamic and multi-faceted combination of organizational and people management skills as well as the ability to rapidly learn new skills, since each movie brings its own new set of challenges.
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