Come What May Interview

Most recently, Escobar was VP of Product Development for Discovery, Executive Director for AOL, and is a former Producing Fellow from the American Film Institute. He holds seven U.S. patents in interactive technology and user-interface design. He and his wife homeschool three sons in Northern Virginia. Their oldest son now attends Patrick Henry College.

George Escobar: There is a progression in the movie, starting from home to school to the public square, which we designed to climax at the U.S. Supreme Court and the National Moot Court Championship. The inter-cutting between the two venues was the best way to present the confrontation of arguments for and against abortion. The facts are presented evenly and with equal passion on both sides. The audience has to believe the veracity of each character’s argumentation, otherwise, this scene doesn’t work. We also had to establish that both Caleb and his mom were skillful debaters.

That process of educating the audience, while entertaining them, and portraying familial confrontation began at the very first Hogan family scene when Caleb wrote the theme of the movie on the chalkboard. In Latin, no less: Fiat justitia et pereat mundus. Colloquially translated to mean: Do the right thing, come what may.

This process of "leading the audience" continued progressively and subtly all the way to the end of the movie.

We had to carefully measure out the mood (of the scenes) and emotion (of the characters) in the story. Our movie doesn’t have fight scenes, car-chases, violent sports action. We have a legal battle of minds and conscience culminating in the pursuit of truth. In the realm of filmmaking, especially for first time filmmakers, this is a much more difficult task to undertake. Most first-timers typically resort to action-oriented scenes involving guns, fist-fights, and shockingly horrific mayhem to liven up their story. We didn’t have that luxury.

By the way, "leading the audience" means never letting them catch up to the direction of the story. You have to stay one or more steps ahead of the audience. They are always working to figure out what happens next. If they catch up to your story, the movie’s over. They’ve checked out. I’m not saying to "misdirect" your audience. That’s equally galling to the audience and they will punish you if you misdirect them.

There’s a secret to how you do this successfully. It’s in the special features commentary of the Come What May DVD. (See, I’ve done it to you just now. I’ve led you down a path and now you have to get the DVD to find out the secret.)

CM: The musical score of Come What May is at times both beautiful and stirring. How did you come to partner with composer David Gilchrist? As a producer, how do you balance giving direction to your composer and still allowing him or her creative license?

GE: I met the wonderfully talented composer, David Gilchrist, at the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival in October 2006. I was a tourist there with my then 10-year old son. I watched a documentary scored by David, and I liked his style. I could tell right away that he had talent. So we struck up a conversation at the festival that continued via email and phone calls.

I hired him to score Come What May because I knew he could do a terrific job. I never had any doubt about that. David sometimes doubted himself, but I never did. I was also a pretty tough customer because I wouldn’t settle for just a "pretty" score. It had to be the right score.

The director must know what he wants musically as soon as possible, and convey that to the composer. If the director is not a musician himself, he must know how to use words, language, poetry, and gestures to get his point across to the composer. You can also employ temp tracks (previously completed music scores done by other composers) as a guide to the mood and tone you want the composer to emulate.

Here’s the music direction I gave David for Come What May: The score had to be orchestral, melodic (but not syrupy or sweet). It had to convey confidence, but not arrogance, of conviction. A sense of majesty had to envelope the main melody. It had to be a signature piece that was "fondly" memorable, in that you didn’t get tired of hearing it. In fact, you looked forward to hearing it expressed in different ways throughout the movie. We also needed to build effective sub-themes from the main theme. Easy stuff, right?

David kept at it for about 14 months. He ended up giving me a half-dozen excellent themes, but I had to reject them because the melody or the cadence was a bit off. It wasn’t until we got to locking the picture that David finally got it. What he gave us was perfect. There was no compromise in it. It was worth the wait. In fact, I had tears the first time I heard it synch’ed to the opening title sequence.

CM: Did you know of the Emmons sisters’ musical talents when you brought Victoria on as lead actress in Come What May?

GE: I knew the Emmons Sisters were musically gifted. I had listened to their CD online, and especially liked their original song, Lullaby. I knew I wanted that in the movie.

I was looking for opportunities to use Victoria’s musical talent on the mandolin. What surprised me was Austin Kearney. I didn’t know he could play the guitar. Once I found that out, I gave Austin and Victoria a piece of a theme that David Gilchrist had written. I couldn’t use it as the main theme, but I knew it would be perfect for a love/romance theme. I asked Austin and Victoria to improvise on David’s piano rendition. The next day, we filmed the scene in two takes – about 15 minutes – because we were running out of sunset light. They did a beautiful job and it’s always an audience favorite in the movie.

CM: What audience(s) is Come What May intended for?

GE: In a movie, the filmmaker must understand that he must talk to two levels of an audience (the individual person watching the movie). Level one is the tonal quality of your film; this will speak to the "heart" of the person. Level two is the message(s) in your film; this will speak to the "mind" of the person watching the movie.

Next, you go for demographics. This is the self-identified, self-selection category of your audience. In other words, where would the person watching your movie put himself in categorically? Our target audience was the evangelical Christian audience, which we narrowed down to homeschooling families, which we further narrowed to a "core" audience of moms and their teen daughters.

That seems backwards, and it is. Everyone else typically tells you to go for a wide audience or a general market breakout audience. You can afford that if you’re making a big-budget movie. For micro-budget movies, that’s very risky because you will be competing against the big-budget movie. Another problem with the big audience tactic is that you are immediately forced to dilute the tone and message of the movie.

If you can first fully satisfy your core audience, then they will be excited about it. On their own they will expand your movie to the target audience, via word-of-mouth. Once it gets to the target audience and the tone and message is still resonating, then you have a good shot at the wider audience.

CM: Miraculously, you were able to fully fund the making of Come What May within three months, and 100% of the investors approached agreed to help. What advice can you give to independent Christian filmmakers who are trying to successfully navigate through the financing stage of their film project? How did knowing your targeted audience affect the fundraising process?

GE: There are basically three types of investors: a) a cultural investor who wants to affect/shape culture, b) a social investor who wants to correct/fix/amend a social and moral injustice, and c) an economic investor who just wants a good return-on-investment and could care less if you make a pornographic movie or a G-rated family film.

Knowing your target audience for the story you are telling will determine which kind of investor will be attracted to finance your film.

But there is a bigger element at play here for Christian filmmakers. We must have a higher standard. We need a better foundation for being a filmmaker. We have to stop telling stories we want to tell. Say that again? How are we supposed to tell stories that we’re not supposed to tell? How’s that work?

It’s like this: filmmakers gravitate towards this powerful medium because they think they have something important to say. I’m not minimizing or ignoring that at all. In fact, that’s what drives most of the films that get made. But ultimately, this is an act of pride and rebellion.

Deep down, the filmmaker is really saying, "I’m an artist. I may even be an artistic genius (as some have told me). I have a new truth or incredible new insight I must share with people. I have been gifted with this talent, plus I even have the passion for this wonderful new insight. I must rally, marshal forces, and incite excitement in others to get my vision out to a waiting world!"

I believe that Christian filmmakers must tell stories that God wants told, to an audience He has prepared, for a time that He has designated.

By telling God’s stories, that removes your ego in having to find and tell the story. By targeting an audience that God has selected, that narrows (or widens) the scope of His story and determines the budget God will give you to tell His story to reach His audience. Finally, by letting God decide the timing of His movie, that removes anxiety as to the eventual success of His film.

Do you see the difference? It’s all about God, not you, the filmmaker. He may want to use you, but you must want to be an able and willing vessel so God can use you. (Able, meaning you are prepared to do the work. Willing, meaning you are teachable and humble before God in doing the work.)

CM: You have written extensively about your distribution philosophy on your blog, but may you please summarize your plan for Come What May’s distribution?

GE: Our plan for Come What May always included a combination of self-distribution and working with a 3rd-party distributor, if it made sense to do so. Filmmakers who are producing micro-budget movies should never make plans to rely solely on a 3rd-party distributor to get your return-on-investment (ROI). You need to take responsibility for your distribution. It’s a lot of work, but it’s the only way you will fully understand the market and your audience, and develop relationships with people and organizations. Nurturing those relationships is necessary to the success of your next movie.

Here’s the strategic distribution and implementation plan for Come What May:

Leverage pre-existing sales and communication networks of people and organizations already engaged in the activities or issues that your movie addresses. Your movie is helping them, so they will want to help you. This enables you to establish immediate credibility and create a powerful network of supporters, all on a very cost-efficient basis.

Raise awareness for your movie through multiple communications channels. For CWM, this included pro-life/pro-family groups, homeschoolers, worldview groups, the modesty movement, and speech and debate leagues and organizations.

Serve others through your film and your film company. It would be too costly for you to have to start doing what these groups and organizations are already doing. Leverage their relationships. But first, you must have credibility yourself as a servant to others. Better yet, you should have been serving these organizations beforehand. Otherwise you are just an opportunist.

CM: The mission of Advent Film Group is to train up the next generation of Christian filmmakers. How can aspiring, young filmmakers get involved with AFG?

GE: Acceptance to our program requires exceptional commitment. Here are the steps:

1. You must pass the interview process, which will include your parents and references.
2. You must pay for your own travel to the production or program location(s).
3. You must commit to learning ALL ASPECTS of filmmaking: business, legal, finance, sales, marketing, distribution – not just film production or performance.
4. You must be a storyteller for Christ...telling the stories He wants told, not your own.

Passion is not enough. You must pass the following criteria:

1. Your obedience to God
   Are you walking in the Lord in areas that He has already commissioned you to? If not, then it will be very difficult to ascertain what the Lord has in store for you in the dangerous and difficult realm of filmmaking. Until you are wholeheartedly engaged in the small things the Lord has already asked you to do, He is not going to bless your "passion" for filmmaking because it will only draw you away from Him.
2. Your worldview
   Have you only read books on movie-making? Or have you also studied history, art, literature, and English? Mastering these subjects is the secret toward becoming a great filmmaker. (Feature film production is easy in comparison to the entire filmmaking process. Production is something we can teach you in just a few weeks.) The most important thing is studying the Bible. It will help you develop a strong and true foundation for the stories entrusted to you by the Lord.
3. Your accountability
   Do you recognize and accept the responsibility that you will be held accountable for your work as a filmmaker, in equal measure to those who are teachers and preachers? You will be leading others toward Christ or away from Him. Either way, you will be held accountable.

CM: What was the biggest hurdle that you faced during the filmmaking process, and how did you overcome it?

GE: Getting to the rough cut of the movie – seeing all the good stuff, as well as reviewing all the not-so-good footage – is a tough hurdle to go over. You're excited about what's been accomplished, but you're also having to face a new round of logistical and creative challenges. As a professional filmmaker, you have to recognize that this moment will make or break your movie. You don't want to run out of steam financially, emotionally, physically, or spiritually. So you have to plan for the rough cut and the subsequent activities you must undertake to deliver the movie to the final cut, which could still be several months away.

CM: What was the most significant lesson that God taught you, from a personal standpoint, during the making of Come What May?

GE: God taught me to rely completely upon Him. Time-after-time, God proved to me and the entire production that He is faithful to those who call upon Him. I'm not talking about calling upon the Lord to meet our needs, but praying about how He can use us to serve Him and His people. When you are praying about that, He is faithful to answer you. Then you must be ready to act upon hearing from Him.

CM: In one of Come What May’s behind-the-scenes interviews, you stated that your goal is to create five feature films within the next three years. Do you plan to be directly involved in each of those films as producer and director, or might you delegate one or both of these roles?

GE: I will be involved as a producer and co-director in these films. We are actively grooming a couple of our AFG interns to direct one or more feature films in the very near future. Our very next film, One Good Man, will be directed by Manny Edwards, who was my terrific collaborator on Come What May.

CM: Now that Come What May’s initial DVD release is past, what is Advent Film Group’s immediate focus?

GE: The initial release of a movie is just the start. There are many more release events planned for Come What May, including a 100-screen theatrical release. I know, it sounds backwards, first we went online, then DVD, then theatrical. But that's how we see the marketplace working for this film. You don't have to use a traditional release schedule nowadays if it doesn't make sense for your movie. Come What May is really an evergreen title because of its pro-life message.

Concurrent with marketing and distributing Come What May, we are in investor fund-raising and story development mode for our next two films. We are doing a two-slate film offering and going into production back-to-back. We are extremely excited about this slate. We have investors knocking at the door, which is another of God's miracles given today's tough economic climate.

CM: How may Come What May be purchased?

GE: Come What May is available at all the major Christian bookstores and online retailers in the country for about $14.95. We want everyone to be able to afford it. It's also available from the Advent Film Group website. We have special offers on the AFG website and that's where you can get the best value for Come What May.

Christian-Movie.com Christian Movie Reviews:
Come What May

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