Having a good movie art is very important if you want to sell your film. Visual design which represents your product should compel and excite the potential viewers to influence their buying decisions and to create a good perception of the film. To improve your results, your movie art must create an immediate impact and touch the audience on the right emotional level.

The starting point of your overall brand strategy is your movie poster design. But before designing any graphic elements you should decide on the message you want to communicate.

Here are three aspects of a great movie poster design that you should consider:

Part 1 – STYLE

Decide what kind of movie your poster is going to represent. You should try to convey the general mood of your film to its graphic design. For example, if you work on an action or horror movie poster, you should create an intense or dark atmosphere – if it’s a comedy, it would be better to choose a funny and light style. Your poster should be striking, memorable and focused on a single, clear message. When you are working on your graphic design, always make sure you think about your target audience!

Part 2 – TEXT

The next thing to focus on is the text. Apart from the movie title, your film poster must also contain a tag line (a striking sentence or branding slogan the conveys the movie’s message), the name of the director, names of main actors or characters, the release date and a billing block (credits at the bottom).

If you need to emphasize a presence of someone famous in your movie, or highlight some other particular aspect of the film, you may write it on your poster, along with making sure this information is really indispensable. Your movie poster must say just enough to make the sale and not a word more!

Part 3 – IMAGES

The most difficult step is choosing images. You should hire a great graphic designer. And your designer should help you with this. But even with the professional assistance, choosing the correct graphics can be difficult. So the best way to find out what to put on your poster is to look at other similar works or to watch some films in the same genre for inspiration.

If you don’t have any good pictures of your actors or movie scenes, you can try to substitute them for some more symbolic images. On the Internet you may find many interesting photographs that would express the mood of your film. Otherwise, you may choose to forgo photos for representative drawings, which would make your poster illustrated rather than photographic.

Although the need to print a poster may seem secondary in digital distribution era, you should always consider that most video on demand marketplaces will require your art in a relatively large format. That’s why anything you do should be created using a high resolution!

Lastly, you should use a consistent graphic design in all areas of your marketing, including website, DVD cover and all other visual collateral associated with your film. Good design is a complicated task, but can be rewarding when you see your sales increase!

Logo used by Apple to represent Podcasting (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you want to make your movie, you might find this valuable. I just recorded a filmmaking podcast where I share 3 tips that are NOW essential for all successful independent filmmakers.

Listen (and download)

At the end of the recording, I talk about our new new Filmmaking Book, which is NOW available through Amazon as well as your Amazon Kindle.

You NOW have two options to choose from:

OR

Happy Filmmaking!

Comments are always welcome and make me feel less lonely as a filmmaker.

Here is a breakdown of some of the key stories from NAB 2012 for indie filmmakers.

GoPro Hero firmware update to 24fps & 35Mbit (previously 15Mbit)

This is great news because now you can match your Canon DSLR footage seamlessly with your GoPro footage. They are also going to release a Cinestyle with the GoPro, so you will have more color correction latitude in post. Find more info on the GoPro HERE

Canon released their DSLR 4K camera

The EOS 1D C. Initially we thought this was going to be a great new camera for indie filmmakers. But then the price was released. The camera is going to run you around $15K, so that canceled hopes for indie filmmakers.

Keep in mind that this kind of footage is going to use up a lot of hard drive space. Even though the Cannon 4K is impressive – you need to remember that hard drives (while getting cheaper) are not that cheap. And you are going to need a few hard drives to handle the data.

Here is a quick breakdown of 4K storage:

• 4K RAW (4096 x 2160), 24fps, 10-bit: 253.125 Megabytes per second – 15.2 Gigabytes per minute – 911.3 Gigabytes per hour
• 4K RAW (4096 x 2160), 24fps, 12-bit: 303.75 Megabytes per second – 18.2 Gigabytes per minute – 1.093 Terabytes per hour
• 4K RAW (4096 x 2160), 24fps, 16-bit: 405 Megabytes per second- 24.3 Gigabytes per minute – 1.46 Terabytes per hour

You will want to store this footage twice, just in case drives fail. An average 3TB drive is around 200 bucks.

Introducing The BlackMagic Camera

Then out of nowhere, the company Blackmagic released their 2.5K camera for 3,000. This camera was the best kept secret at NAB and when released, the news became all the buzz. If you are eager to get your hands on this camera, the release date is sometime in July.

With the Blackmagic camera, the breakdown is:

2.5K RAW – (2432 x 1366)  12-bit, at 24fps: 144 Megabytes per second.  6.8 Gigabytes per minute – 410 Gigabytes per hour

So that’s not too bad, but just remember your post workflow when dealing with these new line up of cameras. More info on the Blackmagic Camera HERE

Hope you enjoyed this filmmaking article. Please tweet or tell your friends about Filmmaking Stuff!

As a filmmaker, one of the biggest problems YOU have is finding a way to get your movie made, seen and sold without waiting for some Hollywood yahoo to give you permission. And as you probably know, there are a lot of people who want to make movies. But very few people will actually take action.

The good news is this. You no longer need Hollywood. In fact, the future of filmmaking is not Hollywood. It is the thousands of independent filmmakers empowered by the digital revolution.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JNDeAetXgU

This filmmaking book shows YOU how to get the script, use crowdfunding to raise the money, make the journey from screenplay to screen, distribute your movie, and then build an audience eager to see your next movie!

“Grab Your Copy Of Filmmaking Stuff So You Can Take Action And Make Your Movie Now!”

Filmmaking Stuff shows you how to make, market and sell your movie!

What makes this filmmaking book different than the gazillion other filmmaking books in your collection?

For starters, if you are looking for more information on 3-point lighting or how to set up dolly track, this is not the book for you! While all that how-to technical stuff is essential for physical production – unless you have an understanding of how to actually get money, market and then sell your movie – good luck!

Finding out how to leverage new tools such as crowdfunding, social media, internet marketing for filmmakers and modern movie distribution are essential for the modern moviemaker. And in the event you want to make more than one movie in your career, this filmmaking book is for you!

Who should get this book?

If you want to make movies, now is the time to take action! This book is a must read for serious filmmakers!

What is included in this book?

Chapter 1 Modern Movie Business
Right now, with or without Hollywood, you have the opportunity to make movies and reach your audience globally! If you want to take advantage of this opportunity, NOW is the day when you stop dreaming and start DOING! Learn this stuff and you’ll never go back to your old movie making ideas!

Chapter 2 Create Your Story
You are now competing with filmmakers across the globe who are flooding the market with garbage. To be successful, you need to have a great, marketable screenplay. Something that you can quickly pitch to prospective investors and collaborators and have them say: “That’s an awesome idea for a movie!”

Chapter 3 Get Movie Money
Go from story to budget. You will also find out how to communicate with prospective investors in their language. You will also find tips on how to leverage crowdfunding and social networks to get money.

Chapter 4 Manufacture Your Movie
To start a small business, all you need is an idea, some start up cash, raw material, production and a customer base – and a way to sell whatever it is you created. Non-discriminatory distribution allows you to create movies from anywhere in the world and reach your audience.

Chapter 5 Marketing and Distribution
With DVD sales down, utilization of middle-men like sales agents and distribution companies is changing. The ripple effect means that you will need to create your own marketing, sales and distribution strategy.

A lot of people want to make movies. But most people never will. Hollywood is changing. So unless you are willing to find out how to source your audience and market directly, it will be very difficult to make a career making movies. This book provides you with the steps on how to get your movie made, seen and sold.

If you are a filmmaker who wants to make your own movies, and make a career making movies, then this filmmaking book is for you. Filmmaking Stuff will provide you with insights on how to raise money, how to build a team, how to build buzz around your movie and finally, how to sell your movie.

I’ve seen a lot of short films over the years. Frequently I’ve been impressed by the visuals, the level of the acting, sometimes the innovative use of a mix of media. Can you guess what most often is the weakest link?

It’s the script. Or sometimes the lack of one.

In one case, the filmmaker has decided that a short film can’t really tell a story, it can only create a mood. Then we suffer through long, long shots of the sun going down, the blinds casting interesting shadows on the wooden floor, and the smoke spiraling into the air as the protagonist smokes his French cigarette.

Don’t make us suffer. We want a story. Even when we watch a 30-second commercial, we want a story. If the moody shots serve the story, then use them (in moderation), but they’re not a substitute for a plot.

At the other end of the spectrum are short films that try to be feature films, 90 minutes of story struggling to fit into ten or twenty minutes. The result is that we, the audience, are confused or things go by so fast that we don’t have a chance to engage emotionally with the characters and what’s happening to them.

Feature films and novels often are about the transformation of the protagonist in some way, for instance from selfish to caring about other people, or from fearful to bold. Those are big changes and a challenge to make credible even with 90 to 120 minutes at your disposal. You can’t cover them adequately in ten.

It’s useful to think of a short film as being like a short story. It can capture a moment in time, a phase of a transformation. It can hint at what went before or what goes after, but not reveal those at length.

For instance, let’s say that in a feature film we were doing the story of a man who is totally absorbed in work and neglects his family but assumes they’re fine and happy.

He loses his job and can’t find another one.

Now that he’s spending so much time at home, he realizes two things–his kids don’t actually like him very much and things are really screwed up–his wife is sleeping with the neighbor, his daughter is cutting herself, and his son is selling drugs.

Maybe at first he lashes out at them, blaming everything on them, but then something happens that wakes him up to the fact that he’s responsible for a lot of this (I don’t know what wakes him up, but let’s assume we’ll come up with something brilliant).

He starts working hard on changing, winning his kids over, learning how to be humble…

Then he gets an amazing job offer–one he’s always wanted–but it would mean going back to his rat-race lifestyle.

If it’s an American film he takes the job but on his first day, as he puts a picture of his family on his desk, he realizes he’s made a mistake. He tells the powerful head of the company that he can’t take the job because he’s got more important things to do. He races to his daughter’s school and arrives just in time for her ballet performance.

If it’s a European film (and especially if it’s a European film about Americans) he takes the job, convincing himself that he can handle both.  When he comes home from his first day at his new job the house is empty. Maybe they burned it down before they left.

In a short film you could show one part, but imply a lot of the other things. Here are three ways you could treat the same story:

• You could start with his workaholic lifestyle, then show him getting fired and, at the end, show his horrible growing realization that his family doesn’t love him.
• You could start the story where he’s trying hard to change (his former self is implied), but then the amazing job offer comes. Maybe you give a hint as to what he’ll do but you don’t show it or the consequences.
• You could start at the end–the smoking ruin of the house. As he sifts through the ashes there are flashbacks to moments that, when you put them together, let you understand what happened.

A really good short film makes the audience do a bit of work to put everything together and leaves them with something to think about.

If you’re a writer, instead of trying to make a short film something that it’s not, embrace its qualities and make them work for you instead of against you.

Here’s an opportunity if you want to write a short film: on Sunday, April 15, I’m hosting an online Massive Action Day (I call them MADs). Why not use the MAD to write your short film? If you have questions along the way, I’ll be online to help. Want to check how a title goes over or test a few lines of dialogue? Put it in our chat window and our friendly group will give you instant feedback. It’s fun, supportive, and I give away prizes every hour.

I’ve given Jason 10 free passes to give to his Filmmaking Stuff fans.  If you don’t manage to wangle one of those, you can still join us for the very reasonable fee of $23.25—or a lot less if you buy a subscription of ten. All the information is here: http://massiveactionday.com/new-annual-mad-sign-up-page/

See you at the MAD!

The GoPro Hero can be utilized for time lapse footage.

When dealing with time lapses, it’s all about doing the correct math. Not only because you want your end product to be a certain length, but also when dealing with the storage space while creating a time lapse.

The GoPro Hero cameras are nice for time lapses for a variety of reasons:

• Built in intervalometer.
• Can be placed in certain locations that you wouldn’t want your DSLR to get damaged.
• Professional quality.

My timelapse was for a cross country roadtrip. So the basic rundown with the gear was:

• GoPro Hero
• GoPro Suction Cup Mount onto windshield
• Two 32GB & one 16GB SDHC Cards
• GoPro AC power adapter to be plugged into the GoPro.

The AC power adapter took away the worry of having to switch out the GoPro batteries every two hours (four hours if you have the extension); however, there was one problem that occurred. You can not have the LCD pack on the back of the GoPro on for long periods of time, even if you plug in the AC power.

Having the LCD pack plugged in actually caused the GoPro camera to get so hot, that it actually shuts down the camera completely.

Now the test was to see if the GoPro was actually recording or not throughout the trip. Sure you can leave the beeping sound on, but that can get very annoying – very fast. The best bet is to plug it in, know that it’s recording and then leave it alone. Check it when you’re at a gas station by leaning from the outside and check for the red flash that happens so many seconds. Since it’s a longer static shot at the gas station, it will easier to cut out that section of you peeping in through the windshield in post.

For GoPro Hero 2 users, there is not a worry, GoPro added the flashing on different spots of the camera now, so the guess work is no more. So then the question of – When do I need change the cards in the camera?

The GoPro Hero 1 takes 5MP and it averages 1.7 -2MB. So let’s say 2MB for easy math.

With a 32 GB card, that’s 1,024MB for each GB (let’s say 1,000MB for easy math), so that’s a total of 32,000MB. So if the GoPro camera takes 2MB stills, that’s 16,000 stills that can fit onto a 32GB card (32,000 divided by 2).

Then it’s time to figure out your intervals. For something that’s happening fast, like pedestrians crossing the street, cars passing by, fast moving clouds – you would want to shoot 1 or 2 second intervals. Meaning that every second or two seconds your camera is taking one still. For this roadtrip, since it’s going to be sped up so fast, I was thinking more like every 5 or even 10 seconds for each shot. I ended up going with every 10 seconds.

Once again math comes back into play. So for every 10 seconds my GoPro takes one still. That is a total of 6 stills in a minute (60 seconds in a minute divided by 10). For every hour that’s a total of 360 stills (6 stills in a minute times 60 minutes in an hour). That gives me a total of 360 stills in an hour.

If I can do 360 stills in an hour, I’ll take the total capacity that my card can hold (16,000) and the result is just about 44 1/2 hours.

To be on the safe side and since I had more SDHC cards with me, I switched it out before I even reached that mark. The main reason is to check the footage and to see that everything was turning out right. It’s better to split it up like that, than to waste an entire time lapse that definitely couldn’t be repeated without a major expense by relying on just one SDHC card.

So it’s good to know the math of the time lapse before you create one but it’s also important to make sure that the time lapse is actually working and to switch out the cards if you can.

Screenwriter Jurgen Wolff has kindly given me 10 free passes—each valued at $23—to his next online MAD–Massive Action Day, on Sunday, April 15, and one of them can be yours.

The idea is that you set a goal for the day and declare it on the MAD website and check in every hour to report your progress and watch a five minute live broadcast in which Jurgen gives tips and answers questions. Here’s the slightly crazy part: he does this for 15 consecutive hours so people in all time zones can take part. From all the reports I’ve heard it really powers up your productivity.

Below you can read Jurgen’s article on the missing link in a lot of short films and, at the end, a bit more about how you could use the MAD–or you can go here to read all about it: http://massiveactionday.com/new-annual-mad-sign-up-page/

I’ll award the passes to the first ten people to comment below!

I will then pass the winners’ names along to Jurgen and he’ll send you the sign-in details.

Film Fundraising: 5 Crowdfunding Mistakes to Avoid

As I type this, I am halfway through my Kickstarter campaign for my feature I Hate You.  We’re about one-third of the way toward our goal, and we now have $10,000 to raise in about 30 days.  It’s definitely possible, yet even though I can’t declare victory or defeat (who knows what’ll happen?), there’s already a list of things I’ve learned from our campaign:

1.  Do not put off today what you can do today.

Here’s a downer: 55% of Kickstarter campaigns fail.  Keep that in mind as you embark on yours.  Depending on your goal, and the amount of connections you have, expect to be working non-stop on your campaign.  Don’t get lazy, even if there’s a lull in pledges.  Every effort you make to promote your campaign, the better the odds of someone contributing to it.

For I Hate You, we’ve posted weekly videos and have reached out to all sorts of sites and organizations everyday.  And, as you can tell, we’ve also been writing a few blogs to spread the word.  As I tell my team, “It’s not over ’til it’s over,” so prepare to rest only until your campaign is done.  (And even then, you won’t be resting long.)

2.  Do not ignore the power of (free) social media tools you can use to promote.

Don’t wait until you start your campaign to begin creating an audience for yourself.  Start posting videos on YouTube, gain subscribers.  Start tweeting and gain followers.  And if by some chance you aren’t on Facebook yet, get on it and friend everybody who tolerates you.  If you have a blog, great!  If you don’t, either start one or start participating on others.  Get on message boards and post comments.  So what if you’re antisocial?  Here’s a way to gain potential pledgers without having to spend a dime or step out of your abode.

Remember, you cannot succeed at crowdfunding without a crowd!  Even if you find social media pointless, take advantage of it!  Personally, I wish I had been more active in social media before beginning my Kickstarter campaign.  Even though our YouTube videos have gained modest views, they’d be even better had we started posting videos months, even years in advance.

3.  Do not be afraid to bug everybody you know.  And I mean e-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y.

As your Kickstarter campaign progresses, you may be surprised by the amount of people from your past that pledge.  So far, I’ve had my elementary school teachers and even preschool friends pledge!  It got me thinking that maybe I should contact as many of them as I could, and to my luck, many have supported I Hate You.  So, be prepared to reconnect with faces you never thought you’d see again.  Of course, there’s always family, friends, co-workers, and the usual bunch you must reach out to.  Do not hesitate to ask them for their help.  The worst they can do is say “no.”

Oh, don’t forget to thank them after they pledge.  Gratitude and crowdfunding go hand-in-hand.

4.  Do not put all your chickens into one basket.

Have a Plan B, C, D, E, and F when you run your Kickstarter campaign.  Don’t put all your time and effort into just YouTube or just Twitter or just e-mails to contacts.  Take the time to strategize in case one outlet doesn’t prove as effective as others.

Initially, we thought we’d get most fundraising support from certain organizations, but as it turns out, Facebook and YouTube have given our campaign more traffic and money, so we’ve refocused our efforts towards those two sources.  With so many still suffering from the recession, it seems the odds are overwhelmingly against funding a creative endeavor, but surprisingly, even unemployed pledgers have voiced their support!  That said, always prepare for changes, and be ready to switch gears as you track your project.

5.  Do not give up.

This sounds like a no-brainer, but expect lulls every now and then, and don’t get discouraged by them.  If you are seeking a huge amount, you may not be able to afford too many lulls, so set goals to raise a certain amount a week.  Re-strategize when necessary, but remain persistent throughout.Being a narrative film, our I Hate You campaign has been unpredictable to say the least.  And even though there are a few naysayers who are skeptical, I keep reminding myself of the 89 people who believe in my team and in myself to make a damn good movie.  I have no intention of letting them down.

I am pleased to announce that the filmmaking book is almost complete. (Update – the book is complete and available here.)

One of the biggest challenges I had was coming up with a title. Thankfully one of our Filmmaking Stuff readers wrote me on the Filmmaking Stuff facebook wall: “How about: Filmmaking Stuff-The Book.”

While the idea seemed simple, the more I thought about it – the more I realized this was the correct course of action! First of all, most of you know me (or you do now) and secondly, if you didn’t know about Filmmaking Stuff, after reading the book you will. I look at this as a win-win for our growing community.

The next step was coming up with a synopsis. I had something written down, but my friend, screenwriter Jurgen Wolff took my crappy writing and cleaned it up a bit. As a result, the following sums up the book pretty well:

“The future of filmmaking is not Hollywood. It’s the thousands of independent filmmakers empowered by the digital revolution. This book shows them how to write the script, use crowdfunding to raise the money, make the journey from screenplay to screen, distribute the movie, and build an audience anxious to see their next one.”

Once I had the content, the title and the synopsis, the next task was creating a preliminary cover design. For this, I chose the famed graphic artist, Ian Hannin.

As a sneak peek, I have included the current iteration of our cover design. You can tell that the cover is based on the aesthetics of the filmmaking stuff site – which is intentional brand consistency.

Right now I am awaiting some quotes from some VIP filmmaker types. I have reached out the usual suspects. And I am eager to get this book into YOUR hands.

With that said, the book is almost ready for the presses. I will initially release it as a hard cover book that you can order through Amazon and other retailers.

Then later, you will be able to grab a copy on your kindle. If you want to be the first to know about the book, make sure you sign up for the Filmmaking Stuff mailing list.

Anyway, happy filmmaking!

(Super excited to get this Filmmaking Book into YOUR hands!)

Do you want to write your screenplay faster but without giving up quality? Here are the top tips based both on my own experience in writing more than 100 episodes of TV as well as TV movies, a feature film, and script doctoring, as well as the experience of top writers I’ve interviewed:

1. You don’t have to write the script in order. Sometimes you get stuck on the best way to open a script, or on a scene where you’re not quite sure exactly what a character would say. There’s no rule that says you can’t jump forward or backward and write the scenes that you do know how to write at the moment. You may find that writing other scenes helps you figure out the ones that were stopping you.

2. You don’t have to do all the research before you start. One successful novelist I interviewed puts an X in his draft when he encounters something to research and keeps on writing. When he’s finished the first draft he goes back to all the X’s (using the search function to locate them quickly), does the necessary research and incorporates it into his second draft. This won’t work all the time, of course, because sometimes you need the information before you can write the scene, but  when you can delay it, bunching the research is a great time-saver.

3. Set daily or weekly page goals, not time goals. If you say you’re going to spend an hour a day working on your script it’s easy to spend that hour reading the trades or checking out a few sites that relate to writing your project but not actually get any writing done. Once you’re in the writing phase, set a page goal for those sessions—e.g., to write 3 pages a day, 3 days a week, or whatever fits your schedule.

4. Don’t keep going back go revise what you’ve already done. Instead, if you know you want to change something, make a note in the margin and do it when you write the second draft. The note might be something like, “Have this take place in Joe’s apartment instead,” or “Make Millie more aggressive.”

5. Instead of writing character biographies, discover your characters using your imagination. I adapted this from a method Alvin Sargeant told me he uses. He writes scenes in which his characters experience a variety of things, just to see how they react and what it reveals about them. These are not necessarily situations that will be in the script. I do the same thing, but in my imagination (it’s faster). For instance, imagine your protagonist saw someone trying to break into a car. What would he or she do? Call the police? Ignore it? Try to stop the crook? Usually your intuition will give you an answer quickly.

6. When it’s time to evaluate your first draft, print it out and go into a different room to read it and make your notes. When you are at your usual writing location you are in a creative mode. To evaluate your work you have to switch to a critical mode and it’s easier to do that when you’re in a different place, with a different posture (perhaps sitting back in a comfy chair). In the critical state, identify the problems. Then go back to your usual creative state to figure out and implement the solutions.

7. When rewriting, tackle the big issues first. Don’t start doing little dialogue rewrites, for instance, when the bigger fixes may mean that scene may not even be in your script anymore, or may require drastic changes.

Want more? Be my guest—Free!

I’ll be sharing more ideas for writing faster and writing better on Saturday, March 3, on our online Massive Action Day. It runs for 16 hours so that people in just about every time zone can take part. For instance, whether you’re on the West Coast or the East Coast, you can join in from 9am to 4pm your time. If you’re in the UK, we start at 9am your time and keep going 16 hours!

You declare your goal at the start of the day (e.g., write an outline of a short film, clean up my office, compile a list of agents, etc.) and check in every hour to let us know how you’ve done. At the start of every hour I do a live video feed for about 5 minutes with tips and to answer questions. I also give away prizes and we have a lot of fun along the way.

Usually this costs $15, but I’m inviting Jason’s people to join me for free. Just send me your name and email address and I’ll send you the instructions. Email me at jurgenwolff@gmail.com. Please do that now, because Saturday is not far away and I think you’ll find it will be a most productive and enjoyable day.

Jurgen Wolff has written more than 100 episodes of television, the mini-series “Midnight Man,” starring Rob Lowe, the feature film “The Real Howard Spitz,” starring Kelsey Grammer, and as been a script doctor on projects starring Eddie Murphy, Michale Caine, Kim Catrall and others. His books include “Your Writing Coach” (Nicholas Brealey Publishing) and “Creativity Now!” (Pearson Publishing). For more tips from Jurgen Wolff, also see www.ScreenwritingSuccess.com