Simon Phillips (on the right) is a UK-based producer whose latest film “Jack Says” won best film and best actor awards at the Newport International Film Festival. Phillips tells us that he has been lucky to never have had to abandon a project, and we get curious to hear more about his way of producing. F.A. During your career as a producer, has there been a project that you really wanted to produce but were unable to do so due to certain obstacles and complications? If so, can you talk a little bit about this project and how you were planning to execute it? S.P. I believe that every project you undertake should be 70% within your comfort zone and 30% of something you've never tried before. This balance allows you to grow as both a filmmaker and producer and learn from mistakes without it costing you your entire film. In essence, we learn much more through error - and thus a filmmaking process full of errors should be a good thing, but of course it is not - as it means your film may never see the light of day. When evaluating a film production, you must be realistic and decide how likely it is that you will actually make this film and whether your goals can be realized creatively and within the limitations of time and budget. I have been lucky in my time to never have had to abandon a project - but this is only due to the excessive time that I spend debating on how the film can be made and delivered to a commercial audience. Preparation and understanding the challenge is of vital importance. F.A. What are some key elements that make a production successful? S.P. Producing a film is a lot about preparation and how we can adapt and thrive in difficult and unforeseen circumstances. Budget is usually the key, but time also helps. I find that you must always build in a comfortable width and add 10% additional financing to your budget in order to tackle all the little unforeseen things that can make or break your film. It is not just a business management decision, but it is also about creating an environment where your artists - both director and cast - find themselves at ease to create the narrative that you have envisaged. I know someone who tried to create a film, and even though she had a sufficient budget, the film did not impress the audience in terms of acting performance. The reason for this, I believe, was that she was too ambitious and rushed everything. The artists involved felt under pressure, and as a result, she got nothing of real quality in the can. F.A. What do you think of the new distribution platforms and how they shape the relationship between a producer and his audience? S.P. The future of independent film and indeed film as a whole is slowly being handed back to the consumer and falling out of the hands of the studios. As the home cinema grows and online on-demand entertainment reaches new heights, we will find that the insatiable appetite of the consumer finds a home in many new distribution platforms that appear online. The consumer is slowly being empowered and becoming ever more expectant for immediate results and entertainment almost faster then they can think of it. In the future, we will find a re-balancing of wealth as distribution favors the talent and hard work of all indie filmmakers who have struggled against big studios and their marketing budgets. The future is hopeful because of the new ways to earn revenues from the fruits of your labors. About the producer: Simon Phillips started making films in 2005. After completing several short films, he began to work on his first feature film. He completed “William Shakespeare's Measure For Measure,” which is available for download on Film Annex. Enjoy. He is now working on the post-production of “Jack Says,” a feature film, starring Mike Reid, Rula Lenska, Eric Cantona and Alexandra Kazan. To view Simon Phillips' Film Annex page and watch his films, visit www.filmannex.com/Simonmac Interview by Eren Gulfidan. Contact at www.filmannex.com/erengulfidan