CSB has been working for months on an exciting project with film journalist Andrew Urban of Urbancinefile. We’re interviewing film and television practitioners about their business experiences.
Our aim is to develop a deeper understanding about the history of business decision-making in film and television and to share with our audience the wisdom from the accumulated mistakes, experiments and achievements of the contributors.
Beth Frey - biography
Beth Frey is an independent producer. She completed a Bachelor of Business Degree at Curtin University of Technology and worked for more than fifteen years in the fashion industry, where for the last eight years she was National Buying Manager for Sussan Corporation, a chain of over 200 retail stores throughout Australia and New Zealand. She was responsible for creative direction, advertising, marketing, team management and annual budgets in excess of one hundred million dollars.
In 2001 she was the recipient of Film Victoria’s Greg Tepper Award and her early productions include her first feature The Long Lunch, the TV documentary Swimming in the Backyard, which was nominated for the NSW Premier’s Award for Best Script, and a short drama, A Telephone Call For Genevieve Snow, winner of the Silver Lion for best short film at the Venice Film Festival.
In 2003 she joined with producer Lizzette Atkins to form Circe Films (see The Knowledge - Producer offset special edition 2 for an interview with Lizzette Atkins).
Audio download
Chapter 1 - Circe Films - 10 minutes
- Circe Films – production company formed with Lizzette Atkins, to strengthen business prospects
- Found the name (pronounced Sir-cee) before meaning of word known: ‘enchantress/siren who lured sailors onto rocks’
- Moved out of our homes into warehouse office with extra space to rent out
- Used own resources for working capital, no loans or grants
- Projects started slower than expected
- Survived on our own money
- Work together but one producer leads each project
- The slate grew and allowed one to be in development, the other to be in production
- Tight infrastructure – only two of us full time, outsource or part timers
- Experience in fashion industry for 15 years helped to balance creative and commercial skills
Video downloads
Chapter 2 - Business - 9 minutes
- Copyright – we negotiate realistically
- Broad slate across platforms to be realistic
- Learnt about new media and arts
- Documentaries keep us going
- Would consider a third partner as part of growth – or special skills
- Work with various international sales agents
- Partnership has evolved, matured, more flexible
- Winning the Greg Tepper Award – no business impact
Video downloads
Chapter 3 - Being a producer - 9 minutes
- Women producers vs men producers – different entry path
- We are now taken seriously as producers
- Relationships are critical – developed by track record, eg SBS & ABC
- Persistence importance eg pitched project 4 times to SBS before ‘yes’
- Consider marketplace when developing projects
- We aim to get development money for all projects – but financing our own fees
Video downloads
Chapter 4 - Development - 13 minutes
- Current development slate - details
- Lot of development work – producer fees split between us
- Dealing with international markets and deals
- Learning the hard way
Video downloads
