Filmmaking Stuff Filmmaking Stuff provides resources for independent filmmakers. The website includes articles on how to take a story idea from script to screen, including articles on scriptwriting, producing, finance, shooting, editing, directing, marketing, distribution and how to build an audience. Filmmaking Stuff also has articles detailing how to make money making movies – including interviews with Hollywood Producers, Directors, writers and other filmmaking professionals.

Before you make your movie, you have to seriously decide if you can stay excited about your story for the long haul.

While the timeline is different for all filmmakers, it may take you months or years to:

1. Raise the financing.
2. Package your movie with cast and crew.
3. Get your movie seen and selling.

If you aren’t willing to commit at least a half-decade to getting your movie made, seen and sold – then filmmaking may be the wrong business for you.

If you like these tips, check out my filmmaking tools.

Posted under FILMMAKING

As a filmmaker, you probably know the entire world of filmmaking is going through a massive paradigm shift. Much of these changes are a direct result of distribution.

Changes in the ways in which movies are seen and sold continue to raise questions within the independent film community. The most common filmmaking questions are: How will filmmakers raise enough money to pay cast and crew? And without traditional deals, how will filmmakers make that money back?

Peter Broderick is President of Paradigm Consulting which helps filmmakers and media companies develop strategies to maximize distribution, audience and revenues. Earlier this week, Peter stopped by Filmmaking Stuff to talk about the the new world of distribution and how filmmakers can navigate the ever changing landscape of independent filmmaking.

To download the podcast <<click here>>

You can also play the interview directly within this filmmaking article.

To check out Peter Broderick’s website and learn more about Distribution U, CLICK HERE.

If you like this filmmaking article, please tell your filmmaking friends by clicking one of the social media icons below.

Posted under DISTRIBUTION, INTERVIEWS

If you’ve made a feature film, congratulations! As an independent filmmaker, you’ve just accomplished a feat that many find impossible. You’ve put together a cast and crew, refined your script, found some financing and in the process, you’ve even figured out how to ignore all your significant other’s not-so-subtle hints that a career selling life insurance wouldn’t be that bad.

But behind all the excitement, you and I both know there is one nagging question on your mind. And it is the same question asked by every independent feature filmmaker. You’re wondering: “How am I going to sell this thing?”

That is a good question. And if you’re crossing your fingers for a huge paycheck and a three-picture Hollywood deal, what I’m about to tell you is going to be very different than what you had hoped for.

Thanks to technology, any person with a thousand dollars can grab an HD camera and create a backyard indie. And while this does not guarantee quality, it does create a market flooded with cheaply produced movies. Couple this with a decline in traditional sales channels and your odds of finding a profitable deal have become increasingly challenging.

For most filmmakers, this revelation comes as a shock. After all the work you put into making your movie project a reality, the prospect of putting a no-deal DVD onto a bookshelf and failing to get a return on investment is discouraging. And if it wasn’t for the internet, I’d probably tell you that a career selling life insurance wouldn’t be too bad.

But I have good news! Like you, our first feature was met with empty distribution promises and crappy deals. So by necessity, we started selling our title on Amazon as both a physical DVD and a video on demand download. At first, none of the producers liked that idea. I mean, even if a traditional deal sucks, at least there is still validation of seeing your title on the shelves at the local video store…

Then we made our first sale. We thought it was an anomaly. How could we possibly make money with our movie? We had no stars. We had no formal distribution. And most people on earth had never heard of our title (including you.) But then we made another sale… And then a third… And then a dozen…

That was 2006. Since that time, our movie has sold in ways we never imagined. As a result, every four months I get a nice check. And while it’s not enough money to buy my retirement, I can’t complain.

This success was enough to convince me that making money as an indie filmmaker is no longer about the BIG pay day. These days filmmakers need to create good work, find their target audience and focus on selling movies consistently over time. As a result, I now believe the modern moviemaking model is to eventually create multiple streams of movie income.

For many filmmakers, this sort of talk might be crazy.

Think about it. In years past, filmmakers only self distributed their movies when they had to. It wasn’t a choice! But these days, filmmakers can choose to self-distribute, because 9 times out of 10, making your title available on Amazon and iTunes and other popular VOD marketplaces can potentially pay more than a traditional deal. Because a deal that pays zero is not a deal. (Of course I’m expressing my opinion.)

The following “How To Sell Your Movie” checklist will provide you with a broad overview of how to market and sell your movie without the middle-man.

This checklist should be considered a good start – but many of you will want further information. For that, check out: www.HowToSellYourMovie.com

Wherever I thought it would help, I’ve mentioned partner companies and affiliates. This means, if you follow my suggestions and use one of these services, I’ll get a commission. The folks I mention are good people. And you can ignore my links at will. I won’t be upset. But if you like this checklist, tell your filmmaking friends to check it out!

That said, let’s get started!

How To Sell Your Movie – Check list

1. Create a website specific to your movie. Go to www.MovieSiteHost.com and grab hosting for your site and reserve your domain name there. When you purchase your hosting, a domain name is usually included in the purchase price.

2. Branding is the marketing equivalent of matching your belt with your shoes. Don’t make your marketing complicated. Make sure your colors, logos, posters and fonts are consistent.

3. Most filmmakers make a crazy website with all sorts of bells and whistles. Your website should be simple. You should have a trailer, an about page, a buy now button, links to your social networks and an audience list.

4. Out of everything I mention, getting people onto your audience list is most important. An audience list will allow you to collect a name and email address of your visitor. To build an opt-in list, which is FREE for the first 500 subscribers, check out: www.AudienceList.com

5. Take a moment to think about your target audience. Hopefully you have a marketable hook for your movie, and a plan for reaching your target demographic. If not, figure it out!

6. Get your movie selling as a Video on Demand rental and download. To do this, upload your movie to the many VOD marketplaces, such as iTunes, Amazon and NetFlix. For an easy way to accomplish this, try www.MovieSalesTool.com

7. You can sell DVDs too. Amazon’s Create Space makes this easy. And even though it’s more expensive, I advise you to stay out of the shipping business. Let CS manufacture your DVDs and fulfill your orders on demand. This way, you can focus on increasing your sales, as well as your next movie projects. Not shipping.

8. Your trailer is your sales tool. Upload your trailer to YouTube as well as other, popular video sites. Make sure your trailer mentions your website. Put your focus on optimizing YouTube. Why? Because YouTube is both a social network and the second largest search engine on earth (also owned by Google.) It’s worth it!

9. Write press releases related to the availability of your movie. Include back links to your site. Send the release out via one of the online press release submission sites. In addition to this, don’t be afraid to call magazine editors and journalists who write for your target audience. As they say, if you don’t ask – you don’t get!

10. Join online forums related to your target market. Create a profile, complete with a signature link to your website. Now, whenever you join a conversation, you’ll spread your links.

11. Just because you’re in a forum doesn’t mean people care about you or your movie. If you join conversations without adding value – or if you become one of those spam happy people who talk about your movie and fail to add value to the discussion, you will be seen as a spammer.

12. If the idea of contributing to forum conversations annoys you, then just pay for advertising on the site. The whole point is to increase awareness of your movie and get prospective audience members to your site.

13. Create a facebook page, a Twitter account and join the popular social networking sites. Again, you’ll want to build a fan base for your movie. And to manage it, try www.Ping.Fm This tool allows you to update all your social networking sites at once, which is cool!

14. The purpose of using social networks is to connect with your target market, spread word about your movie and once again, lead people off the networks and onto your Audience list.

15. The reason you can not rely solely on social networking for your audience list, is because many of those sites have gone out of vogue. I lost 10K “friends” on one of them. As a result, I estimate this tip is worth $100,000.00.

16. Additionally, have your webmaster put a button on your website so people can tweet, bookmark, and share your movie website with friends on their social networking sites. (Can you please click the tweet button at the top of this article?)

17. If you have the budget, purchase some offline advertising in publications related to your movie. To find related publications, go to a book store and look for magazines. Also, try Google.

18. All of these methods are intended to get people back to your website. The purpose of your site is to get people to watch your movie trailer and click the BUY NOW button. Anything that distracts these visitors must go!

19. You’ll soon realize that most people will not buy your movie on their first visit to your website. If they don’t click, then at least try to get them to opt into your audience list. Then you have a chance of getting them to buy later.

22. Out of all the people who click the BUY NOW button, many won’t buy. But some will!

23. Consider using that money to purchase more advertising and then repeat the cycle. The goal is to keep investing and reinvesting the money until you produce a self sustaining machine.

24. Sales will tend to level off after a few years. This is the normal. When this happens, find some other filmmakers with a movie geared towards the same target audience. Offer to promote their movie to your audience list. If these other filmmakers have an audience list too, ask them to promote your movie. Be willing to pay them a cut of your profits.

25. Time for your next project. But unlike before, you’ll have a strong mailing list at your disposal. And as a result, you can now ask yourself the following magical questions: “How many VOD downloads do I have to sell to recoup my investment? And how am I going to sell them?” Answer those questions, and you’ll also be talking the talk with your investors.

Once again, if you liked this check list, you’ll love my latest action guide:

>>> www.HowToSellYourMovie.com <<<

Happy Filmmaking! (And tell your friends!)

Posted under DISTRIBUTION

Since my last filmmaking podcast, I have been contacted by many of you. Some of you like my filmmaking ideas. Some of you think I’m crazy. But regardless of what you think, the world of independent filmmaking is changing. This is mostly because distribution is changing, which affects financing, which affects your ability to pay your cast and crew.

As a result of these changes, filmmakers who want to make a living making independent movies need to start thinking about their target audience from day one. While I would never suggest that you completely forgo your artistic integrity, I would suggest you answer the following questions:

1. Who is going to buy and watch your movie? (Hint, if you answer everybody, you answered nobody.)
2. How will you reach your intended niche, target audience?
3. How many VOD downloads will it take to recoup your initial investment?

Since those of you who make movies are mostly filmmakers, not marketers, it becomes increasingly challenging to market your movie and your work. But some aspects of marketing are easier than you think. How do you get started?

One easy thing you can do is set up your own email marketing system. Email marketing works like this, the bigger your list of targeted subscribers, the more sales you can potentially make.  I use email marketing for both my filmmaking and my filmmaking stuff, for an example of how this works, grab your free filmmaking book by clicking here.

When you arrive on the page, you’ll see that I ask for your name and email address. The reason I ask is because I want to build a long term relationship with you. And if I don’t ask, I won’t get.

In the context of movie promotion, Kenton Hoppas (who once participated in one of my workshops – and we are now working together) provides a great example of how this works for his movie Career Courier. [Example is found here]

As you can see, Kenton’s initial movie website is very streamlined. It involves both a YouTube trailer as well as an opt-in form. This is intentional. The goal of his initial site is to collect names and email addresses of prospective audience members (AKA potential customers) and he’s starting early.

Through both online and offline marketing efforts, his objective is to grow community around his movie – which could spread positive word of mouth… Which could eventually lead to DVD sales. After the movie, Kenton would have the ability to promote related products or other movies of a similar genre.

If you’re wondering when you should start promoting your own project and company, I’d say the sooner the better. But there is a science to this – know your audience. And make sure all of your communication is on point. For example, if you are making a movie about vegetarians, it would not be a good idea to send out coupons for hamburgers. (Unless you were being ironic.)

As a rule of thumb, never email blast from your own servers. Always use a 3rd party email marketing company that insists on something called a double opt-in. A double opt-in means that after people submit their name and email to your list, they will still need to check their email for a confirmation link. Then in each subsequent email you send them, you will always provide an easy way to opt out.

In my business, I prefer Audience List (which aside from being awesome pays me a commission to say this) www.AudienceList.com – Once you sign up and put an opt in form on your website, you can being growing your list. Then as your list grows, you will want to always find ways to reward your loyal fans. Usually this comes in the form of offering free stuff. Two simple examples would involve giving away poster art as well as your movie soundtrack.

Sometime down the road, long after your movie has played the festivals and sold out on iTunes, you may find there is value in promoting other movies of a similar genre – or better yet, selling your next movie. This is when having a list really pays off, literally. Or as they say, the money is in your list.

To join the filmmaking stuff community and get over $100 dollars in free filmmaking tools, visit www.FreeFilmmakingBook.com[podcast]http://filmmakingstuff.podbean.com/mf/web/3tg63c/FilmmakingforMultipleStreamsOfMovieIncome.mp3[/podcast][podcast]http://filmmakingstuff.podbean.com/mf/web/3tg63c/FilmmakingforMultipleStreamsOfMovieIncome.mp3[/podcast]

Posted under DISTRIBUTION, FILMMAKING

As a filmmaker, one of the toughest parts about making a movie is knowing where to start. The following film production checklist will give you an overview of the low budget, independent filmmaking process. If you want a copy for yourself, you can grab this PDF.

1. Read and study everything you can about the filmmaking process. Also study internet marketing. A good place to start is www.filmmakingstuff.com

2. Write or acquire a screenplay you want to produce.

3. Do an initial breakdown, schedule and budget of the project. How much does it cost?

4. Looking at the initial budget, is there anything you can get for a discount, or free, or barter?

5. Talk with a lawyer and figure out your best money strategy.

6. Following the law, go after the money. This will require strategy, persistence and enthusiasm.

7. This will be one of the tougher parts of the process, but it will make the movie possible.

8. Most people will want to know how the money is going to be spent, what they can expect in return and how will you eventually get their money back. Filmmaking is a risky business, full of unknowns and you should never sugar coat the potential risk involved in this business.

9. Have a plan for the movie when it is complete. Will you take the festival route? Will you market it to colleges and universities? Will you send it directly to sales agents and acquisition pros?

10. Were you able to get the money? If not, here are some (but not all) of your options.
A. Choose a new project.
B. Alter the screenplay to cut costs.

11. Get more favors and freebies.

12. Assuming you did get the money, pick a date for production.

13. Hire a lawyer to help you with contracts and releases. If you’re short on cash, do a web search for lawyers for the arts in your state.

14. Since many of these folks will be working for free, expect a lot of “no’s” before you find the right fit for your show.

15. You can make your jobs easier if you find someone with film production experience.

16. Finalize your script. Get it to a point where you aren’t going to keep changing things. Once you get to this point, consider it a locked script.

17. Number your scenes. Then break down your script, grabbing each element, location and character. Create a schedule.

18. From your schedule and breakdown, create a final budget. You probably know how much money you have to work with. If you find you don’t have enough you have two choices:
A. Get More Money!
B. Modify the script and schedule.

19. Get your crew. I suggest working with a seasoned Physical Producer / Line Producer / Production Manager to help you get organized. These folks will probably look at your schedule and tweak it.

20. Additionally, if you’re going to direct and product, having these folks around to help out will open the door to relationships with 1st ADs and crew. These folks will help you hire the right people. They may also know a thing or two about tax credits in your state. This could be invaluable!

21. I know. Money is tight. So instead of hiring a locations scout, you’re going to have to scout and procure locations yourself. This means you’ll knock on some doors and introduce yourself, your project and your goals.

22. It is at this point when I warn you – what can go wrong with a location probably will. So you will want to have a 2nd and 3rd location added to the mix. This way, should something happen, you’ll have a fall-back plan.

23. Assuming you’re directing this sucka yourself, you might find a director of photography who shares your sensibilities and has equal enthusiasm for the project.

24. Your DP will help you design a look and mood for your movie. Given your cost constraints, you’ll most likely shoot in HD.

25. MARKETING: Create a website specific to your movie. Make sure you have a way to get site visitors on your mailing list. Have a place for press, so that they can download your press kit and materials. Check out www.MovieSiteHost.com

26. Then as you get into production, you will be able to add a movie trailer. (Increase the size of your mailing list and establish a website you can later modify into a sales funnel.) To build your audience mailing list, check out www.AudienceList.com

27. If you’re lucky, you already know some talented actors interested in your project and working with you. You’ll have to work out a deal with these folks. LA and NYC offer various websites that help producers find actors. But if you’re in rural USA, you might have some difficulty with these options. I suggest partnering with local university drama departments and local theaters to fulfill your casting requirements.

28. Once you have all of your actors, you will want to find a location for a table read. Go through the script. If you wrote it, now is a time to take some notes for a final tweak. Just know – anything you change in the script also changes the budget and the schedule.

29. Seriously, don’t skimp on food. You will want someone in charge of Craft Services. They should be good at going out and getting deals on food and catering. If you can not find anyone to do this for you, you’ll have to do it yourself.

30. Make sure you have adequate food. If you’re doing a union shoot, there are guidelines and rules you must follow. If you’re doing a non- union indie, then some advice is: DON’T GET CHEAP! GET QUALITY!

31. Do you have all of your permits, releases, location agreements? Do you have production insurance? There are so many different types of insurance, it will make your head spin. Make sure you talk with some experienced professionals to make sure you have adequate insurance for your movie.

32. Meet with your Camera Department and find out how much tape stock you’ll need (assuming you’re shooting in HD or HDSLR). If you’re shooting film, which might be costly for your first feature – you’ll want to have an idea of these needs too.

33. Try to take as many naps as you can. This is a fun, but stressful time. So sleep. Exercise. Eat.

34. Once you have all the above stuff checked off the list, you’ll want to meet with your department heads and make sure everyone’s needs are being met. Assuming you’ve maintained limited locations, with a limited cast and crew, you will probably still be baffled by the amount of questions that come flying at you.

35. Seriously, you would think you’re making a gazillion dollar movie. But this is indication people care about their work. They care about the movie. And they want to make it a success.

36. This goes without saying, but don’t be a jerk. Seriously, you’re making a movie. It’s a real accomplishment and it’s one of those great things you can do in life. In fact, it’s quite awesome. So push forward. ENJOY!

37. Did I mention you need plenty of sleep?

38. Produce your movie. Do well. Don’t loose your temper and have fun!

39. During production, try to constantly get press to profile your movie. It would be great to create buzz, get people to your website and get them to opt into your newsletter mailing list. www.AudienceList.com

40. After the WRAP, have a wrap party. Don’t sleep with anybody or get drunk or make a fool of yourself! You’re a professional. Act like one.

41. After you recover from your hangover, you’ll probably start editing the movie. I suggest sharing the edit suite with another set of eyes.

42. Your first cut will be rough. Screen it with a group of people who have never seen the movie. Get feedback.

43. Take the feedback and refine your edit. After that, take a week off – don’t look at the movie or play around with it. Then, when you come back to the suite, refine and refine again.

44. Have another small screening with people who have never seen the movie. Take notes. Then take those notes back to your edit suite.

45. Add some sound FX to your movie. Clean up actor dialogue and rough areas. Remember, audio is often more important than visual.

46. Screen the movie again with a new, small set of people. Take notes. Go back and refine.

47. When you have a cut you’re happy with, then you can begin to plan your next strategy. For example, will you go to film festivals? Then you should have a target list in mind.

48. You may have several opportunities for traditional distribution. With some qualified professionals, analyze the deal. Find out if the deal will fit your business objectives, if not, move on to the next deal.

49. What if there are no deals? Hopefully you have a strong mailing list, a marketable hook and a plan for reaching your target demographic.

50. As such, refine your website into a sales funnel hub. Upload your movie to one of the many VOD sites and refine your movie poster and artwork. (To sell your movie via VOD, check out www.MovieSalesTool.com)

51. Also, upload your trailer to YouTube and all the other video sites on the internet. I prefer to stream from YouTube because I don’t have to pay the streaming bandwidth.

52. Write press releases related to the release of your movie. Have a blog component that details your movie and allows other people to comment.

53. Play around with your key words and Search Engine Optimization. (My next course?)

54. Create conversations on website forums related to your type of movie. DO NOT SPAM!!!

55. Create both a Facebook and MySpace page for your movie. The purpose of this page is to lead people back to your site.

56. Have a button on your website so people can tweet about your movie.

57. In addition to this, if you have the budget, purchase some offline advertising in publications related to your movie.

59. All of these methods are intended to get people back to your website. The purpose of your site is to get people to watch your movie trailer and click the BUY NOW button. Anything that distracts these visitors must go!

60. If they don’t click, then at least try to get them to opt into your mailing list.

61. Out of all the people who click the BUY NOW button, some will actually buy.

62. Consider using that money to purchase more advertising and repeat the process.

63. Sooner or later, you’ll figure out how to jump- start your next project. And you will realize that making movies and making money making movies is possible.

64. Tips from the trenches: On average it takes 7 meetings to make a relationship.

65. If you aren’t getting rejected every day, you are not working hard enough for your goals.

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If you like this filmmaking checklist, download a FREE copy by clicking here: Make Your Movie Checklist

Posted under FILMMAKING

Thanks to HDSLR technology, any filmmaker with passion and a story can make a feature film. And unlike years past, these backyard indie filmmakers are not prohibited by cash or creativity.

Yet despite this movement, many of my high profile “professional” friends in Los Angeles, have made a conscious effort to ignore the rise of backyard indies. Why?

Because inexpensive HDSLR filmmaking doesn’t count!

I mean, with these movies, common questions asked by Hollywood hot-shots are: Who signed the SAG agreements? Who contacted the Unions? Who notified the MPAA that another movie will need to be rated? Who paid enough people to call this a “real” feature film?

Nobody.

Guess what? Audience word-of-mouth doesn’t care if the movie was an official union indie or a backyard indie made for pocket change. And thanks to the demise of traditional distribution and the increased market domination of iTunes, Amazon and Netflix, the big difference between a $10,000 back yard indie and a $2,000,000 dollar indie isn’t the budget, it’s which filmmaker gets the most clicks on his or her “BUY NOW” button. And to break even on a 2M feature, the filmmaker is gonna need a lot of clicks!

As a rough example, to recoup 2M dollars, the filmmaker will need to to sell (roughly) 200,000 video on demand downloads at $10 a pop. These first sales will cover the 40% cost allocated to VOD providers (the real winners here), after which, the filmmaker will still need to sell an additional 200,000 downloads to repay the investors.

400,000 VOD downloads x $10 = $4,000,000 minus $2,000,000 in VOD fees = the initial $2,000,000

Meanwhile, the filmmaker with a backyard indie only has to sell 2000 VOD downloads to recover the initial 10K costs.

While nobody wants to make movies for pocket change, many filmmakers still believe we can somehow continually produce unprofitable (movie) products and expect the money and the subsequent jobs to keep rolling in. And unlike years past, filmmakers can no longer approach investors with the cliche pitch: “Filmmaking is a risky investment – if we are lucky, we might win Sundance and get a deal.” Now, with transparent distribution options availabe to all filmmakers, that line of give-me-money reasoning is reckless, no longer applicable, and in my opinion, unethical.

Aside from the initial challenge of sales and marketing, the ripple effect reveals an even greater conundrum: How will you raise enough money to pay your cast and crew AND still pay back your investors? I mean, what’s the new sweet spot? How can we once again make independent filmmaking profitable?

“SO NOW THAT I CAN’T AFFORD TO PAY MY CAST AND CREW, WHAT DO I DO?”

Here is the Jason Brubaker model on how to save the movie industry. Ready?

To survive in this ever changing world of indie filmmaking, we have to change our strategy. Instead of making that one big awesome indie, we now need to focus on building a genre specific movie library and spend all of our downtime building a ginormously targeted audience list.

Step 1: Find your top-ten closest filmmaking collaborators. Form a company.

Step 2: Write a business plan, but instead of putting all of your focus on making one movie, concentrate on making 3-5 feature films.

Step 3: Make sure that you include a sales and marketing plan. To do this, take your proposed budget for all movies and work backwards. And start asking yourself, “How many downloads do we need to sell to recoup our investment?”

Step 4: In this model, instead of paying freelance day rates, you’ll have to hire long term employees and provide each with a salary and back end points (sort of like stock options) on each title.

Step 5: When the title wins, you all win. Over the years, your titles will add up. And the real compensation will come back in the form of residual movie income.

While this is not a fully refined model, it’s a start. It’s better than ignoring the fact that backyard indies are being sold right next to Union Indies as well as mainstream Hollywood movies. This is a time of change. This is the indie movie distribution equivalent of the automobile replacing the horse drawn wagon.

You can choose to ignore this movement, and you can probably succeed for a few more years. But there will come a day when all entertainment will be on-demand and cheap to consume. The question is, will you ignore the backyard movement and continue to play your distribution lottery ticket in hopes of winning the dream deal, or will you  join the movement and help us filmmakers figure out a way to make indie movies profitable?

- – -

Jason Brubaker is a Hollywood based Independent Producer, PMD (Producer of Marketing and Distribution) and an expert in digital self-distribution. He is focused on helping you make, market and sell your movies more easily by growing your fan base, building buzz and creating community around your title. To learn more about Jason and grab over $100 dollars in FREE filmmaking Tools, CLICK HERE

Posted under FILM FINANCING

Somewhere in the world someone has just finished the first draft of his first screenplay – ever.

Full of enthusiasm, the unknown screenwriter breaks out a hammer and puts the final touches on the two brass brads that hold the 90-120 pages together. It is at this point when this writer asks himself the obvious question:

“How do I get my movie script produced?”

This is the point when things get confusing. Should the unknown screenwriter send his screenplay to contests, to agents, to the family friend attorney who is willing to pose as the “entertainment attorney” and hopefully shepard the script through the guarded gates of Hollywood?

Or should the first time screenwriter decide instead to send the work to producers? And what if somebody steals the idea? And why don’t producers accept unsolicited screenplays? UGH!

“Allow me to offer some perspective.”

One of the reasons I am excited you’re reading these words is because I can help you avoid my early mistakes. What I just described was me a decade ago. I was still in York, PA. I had just finished the first draft of my first screenplay.  And frankly, I thought I was brilliant. I thought my story was awesome. And I actually thought Hollywood would just knock down my door.

Of course it didn’t happen like that. After I wrote my script, email was the new thing. So I started sending email querys to various production companies. And surprisingly, a few companies did respond to me. But after I sent out my script, it wasn’t long until I either got a rejection letter or heard nothing. Back then, I still had a lot to learn.

“Would you like me to tell you the secrets of getting your work produced?”

Ok. I don’t have all the secrets. The truth is, if you have an amazing script that is totally polished, marketed towards your intended audience of producer types who have a history of producing your type of work – and you have a way of accessing them and getting your brilliant work read, then your success is (a little more) probable.

But for the rest of us, taking that route is an eroded path and (in my humble opinion) requires that you ask too many people for permission. I mean, doesn’t it make you feel a little whorish to ask so many people for validation? “Please read my screenplay, it’s great!”

“UGH. I hate asking for permission.”

And agents? Forget that route. At least right now. Yes, you can send out query letters and market the heck out of yourself. But if you’re an unknown screenwriter living outside of LA, the odds of getting your work read are slim to none.

Remember, agents make a living getting material sold. And chances are, those folks already have a dozen clients. They don’t have time to take notice of your material unless your work already has buzz.

So how do you break through? Here are 5 screenwriting tips… (But I don’t think you’ll like them.)

1. Quit asking permission. Production is getting less expensive every year. Produce your own material.
2. Seriously. I know it sounds crazy, especially if you never considered producing your own material.
3. Grab a $2000 dollar DSLR camera and start shooting projects on the weekend.
4. Surround yourself with your local film community. Get some help.
5. As your confidence builds, write a feature that can be done on the cheap.
6. I recommend horror comedy or something memorable and controversial.
7. When your script is complete, get a creative production manager to break down and budget your script.
8. Once you have the budget, start raising money.
9. When you get the money, decide to direct or hire a director, cast and crew.
10. Then make your movie.

While I know most screenwriters would rather just write a script and then ask someone like me to produce it – I got news for you, don’t do that. Stop asking permission. Instead, I want you to start thinking like an entrepreneurial screenwriter. I want you to start thinking like a producer. I want you to make your movie now!

Of course, a large majority of screenwriters will think these ideas are bonkers.

If that’s you then please ignore me and keep writing query letters. For everyone else – It is far better to have your work produced than to put it in a dark drawer, even if you have to produce your first screenplay yourself.

Posted under SCREENWRITING

If you’re a first time feature filmmaker, you do not need a gazillion dollars to join the feature club. But you will need to learn how to replace money with ginormous creatively. And once your screenplay is complete, then the next step in the filmmaking process is your initial breakdown and schedule.

Breaking down the script means you go through your screenplay, number each scene and highlight each element, including locations, characters, props, make up, wardrobe, picture vehicles and special FX…

All of these things cost money. And once the script is locked, any modification you make to the story or schedule, no matter how minor or major, will subsequently impact the budget.

My producer friend Forrest Murray always says the script, schedule and budget are the same document. You’ll need all three to make a movie… But in the process, if you change one document, you’re actually changing all three.

I’ll chat about this some more later. For today, let’s focus on your initial schedule so you can eventually get to your budget.

Schedule Your Movie And Save

1.After you highlight each element, you’ll want to figure out when you want to shoot your movie and how long you plan to shoot.

2.You can determine this by choosing how many pages you want to shoot per day. Then you can decide if you want to shoot 5 days on and 2 days off, or 6 days on and 1 day off. Or maybe you want to shoot your movie over a few weekends.

3.Everything in the script will impact your budget. There is software for this. Final Draft offers an add-on called Tagger. Tagger allows you to go through the script and pick out elements and highlight them in various colors. Once all elements are selected, you can eventually import this list into your budget and schedule software program.

4.After giving this your best effort, if you still feel stuck, seek expert advice.

5.Eventually, these elements will have a price in your initial budget. What is the price of each element? How much does your movie cost?

Many motion picture professionals make a living just breaking down, scheduling and budgeting movies. So it’s a pretty complicated and creative area. As a first time feature filmmaker, it save you many headaches if you partner with an seasoned 1st AD or Line Producer who could guide you through the process.

If this is not possible for you, I suggest reading every article on the subject as well as watching every YouTube video. This will teach you how to think like a cost conscious, responsible producer.

Regardless of your decision to complete your own breakdown or hire someone else for the job, the reason you’ll need an initial schedule is because this will give you a good starting point… You’ll utilize this information to figure out your budget. You’ll also be able to figure out if you need to cut an element or two, or not.

Cut Your Budget

Once you have your initial schedule, (and assuming this is your first feature), I suggest you create a budget for your movie in the neighborhood of $500K. Before you go crazy thinking this is a lot of money (or a little money), I want you to know you don’t actually have to spend $500K in hard cash to meet the needs of your budget.

In fact, once you determine you’ll make your movie at $500K, you are going to spend the next few weeks working backwards to see how much hard cash you can replace with sweat equity, discounts and favors from friends and family. Why $500K? Because if you actually have the elements budgeted, there is a good chance your movie will look better than if you budgeted for a mere $50K.

The reason for this is mostly psychological. By setting your budget at 500K, you’re going to start out with goal that forces you to get a higher production value than if you simply settled for pocket cash.

Later, with the application of tremendous creativity, it will be possible to reduce a $500K budget after discounts, free food, locations and salary adjustments quite significantly.

Do you have friends who own locations you can utilize for free? Do you have access to discounted equipment? Can you finish your movie faster than scheduled?

Do you have a friend with an edit suite?

Can you shoot some scenes outside during the day to reduce the need for extra lights? Can you find free food for your cast and crew? These are just some of the ways you can reduce that $500K budget.

One of my buddies was able to do this on the cheap. He had a location budgeted for $5K. However, after my buddy spoke with the owner of the location, the fee was reduced to zero. How? My buddy (a creative producer) agreed to shoot a promo for the owner’s business. Another filmmaker friend got free food for his entire shoot simply by asking.

The food supplier was thanked in the credits.

Deals like this happen. But it takes creativity to find opportunity. Here are some questions to ask:

How much money do I have?
How can I reduce expenses?
Can I get free food?
Who do I know who has the location I’m looking for?
How much money will I need?

The other reason you want to keep your first feature budget low is to allow greater opportunity for return. In the event you get a standard distribution deal (which is becoming more and more rare), your movie should look expensive.

If your budget is $500K and the movie looks like $500K, but you only spent $50K or $30K $15K in ultra-low-budget hard cash, and someone pays you back your budget, then you just made a crazy profit!

Nice work.

And in the event you do not get a standard distribution deal, then you’re not quite as deep in the financial hole as you otherwise would be.

Posted under FILMMAKING

Press Kit
Assuming you’re like most filmmakers with a movie, you have been building a bunch of relationships on your social networking sites. The next step in the process of filmmaking promotion is designing your press kit.

If you don’t hire a publicist, you’ll need to create your own press kit. It’s actually not that difficult. A press kit is basically a bunch of stuff shoved into a neat-o folder that tells people what the heck your movie is about.

OK. Maybe I’m over simplifying the process… But it’s not too difficult.

Here are some things you’ll want to include:

1. Cover sheet: The cover sheet is basically the top sheet that grabs everyone’s attention and promotes the hook of the movie. In some ways, it’s sort of like a mini-poster that includes the title, contact info, some good quotes from previous reviews, the same cast and crew credits from the poster and mention of any film festival awards you have won.
2. Synopsis: You should already have a pretty solid synopsis. If you do, just cut and paste it into the press kit. If not, you’ll need one. So write it.  Some people add action photos from the movie to this page. This is fine, as long as the photos look good.
3. Photos: Get some journalist friends to check out your production photos. Pick a few that seem incredibly interesting and do a good job of making people want to see the movie. Include them in the kit.
4. Cast and Crew: This is pretty simple. Just put together some bios of the main cast and crew and include them on the page next to a miniature headshot.
5. Anecdotes: This is the story of how the film got made. For this, you can write about memorable moments, such as when the camera broke 25 times after traffic delayed the first day of shooting for 13 hours and the lead actor caught fire.
6. Reviews: If you have any good reviews, include them here.
7. Credits: This is a page devoted to the full cast and crew credits.

Putting a press kit together is not overly complex. But if you would rather spend your time on higher level tasks, I suggest you go into your net work and post the following:

“Low-budget filmmaker seeks publicist to help make a press kit and get the word out about our movie. Will pay $500 upon completion of press kit or 1 percent of the gross profits. Your choice.”

Something like this should help you find someone.

Posted under DISTRIBUTION

Rick Schmidt has written, directed and produced over 20 features which have premiered at major national and international film festivals all over the world, including Sundance, Berlin and London.

His notorious filmmaking how-to books, Feature Filmmaking at Used-Car Prices and Extreme DV at Used-Car Prices have influenced countless up-and-coming filmmakers and many noted indies, including Kevin Smith and Vin Diesel.

Here is what some other folks have to say about Rick’s work:

“He (Schmidt) super-empowered me. The book (Feature Filmmaking at Used-Car Prices) changed my life.”  – Vin Diesel, Actor

“Without Rick’s book, Clerks would have been an idea that never made it past this page.”  –Kevin Smith, Writer/Director, Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma, etc.

“Rick Schmidt shows filmmakers (in Extreme DV) how to use these new tools to realize their visions”  – John Lasseter, Writer/Director, Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Cars, etc.

In the following interview, Rick Schmidt offers priceless filmmaking how-to advice for any filmmakers who want to make their feature now, without waiting around for Hollywood to give them permission.

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Extreme DV Interview ©2009 Jason Brubaker and Rick Schmidt

Jason Brubaker
Rick, thanks a lot for taking time to join us today. It’s a real honor to chat with you.

Rick Schmidt
Thanks Jason. It’s great you’re keeping the ‘film’ beacon burning in the middle of all this, and encouraging DV moviemaking as well!

Jason Brubaker
I can remember getting your book, “Feature Filmmaking at Used-Car Prices” as a Christmas gift some years ago. After reading it, I was so inspired to make a feature, that I spent the entire next summer mopping floors and cleaning toilets to save up for a used Arri BL 16mm camera and film. I bet I’m not the only filmmaker who has been inspired by your work. Did you ever think your book would become such a staple for the up-and-coming filmmaker?

Rick Schmidt
At the time I didn’t really know what the book would amount to, beyond bailing me out for huge debts at the lab! First of all, I was happily shocked when it sold to a good publisher(!). And then, once I got paid, I was relieved that I finally had some cash to pay debts, get my wife out of a lousy job, and maybe keep making movies.

Actually I didn’t really understand the book’s total effect until internet came into existence around the time of 2nd edition (1995) and I began to get lots of e-mails from readers. Got over a thousand notes over a couple year period, telling me how readers were jumping into no-budget feature filmmaking.

Jason Brubaker
I think I was one of them! Sounds like you’ve empowered a lot of filmmakers to make their feature.

Rick Schmidt
Been wondering… What has happened to all those unknown features? It seems like somebody should start a venue to play these many works. Here’s a title that came to my mind: FORGOTTEN FEATURES FILM FESTIVAL (FFFF) What do you think? Any takers?

Jason Brubaker
Kidding aside, for a lot of filmmakers, actually MAKING a feature, regardless of financial outcome is still an amazing accomplishment.

Rick Schmidt
Given that it’s tough enough to make a no-budget feature WITH MONEY – sorry to hear that you (and others) had to sacrifice so much to get a budget. In this cultural wasteland, you have to be incredibly willful to do this particular art form (how do people go from ONE feature to the next, and on to a career!!).

To be an artist in American culture means that you have to plow ahead without much of any economic support (aside from the few NEA grants or local ‘film society’ funds). And without normal people’s understanding or support for what we’re doing (ART) with our time and resources, it gets even tougher.

A now-deceased friend of mine and great writer/director from former Yugoslavia, Franci Slak, used to get his features funded by the state. And after making one, he was put back on a list of a few hundred filmmakers, so he would be funded again for a new work (with the equivalent of a couple hundred thousand dollar budget). The US doesn’t honor its artists like even the smallest country in Europe. So it takes real guts and craziness to go against the flow and make our works, somehow fund ourselves over and over again through the years.

In any case, all those many thank-you notes for my book gave ME the needed positive energy to keep working against the odds (THANKS AGAIN!)  So the inspiration worked both ways.

Jason Brubaker
Aside from the book, you’ve done quite a lot of work over the years. Can you tell us a little bit about how you got started making movies?

Rick Schmidt
Nowadays I make movies through my Feature Workshops, collaborating with others who want to learn my approach, which is mostly improv and experimental, with a focus on real people and their personal stories and ironies. Aren’t there enough Hollywood movies being made that tell a simple story with known actors?

We should be making movies that we can afford, with our personal resources and groups of friends, that are original and unique in every way. It’s the best approach, I think, for an indie producer, as we head into 2010. As crazy indie writer/director, it’s not worth playing their game their [Hollywood] way.

And if the features we make don’t get in film festivals…who cares? The programmers may not be smart enough to get it.  Once, when I had a big walkout from a screening, an artist friend Mary Ashley asked me, “Rick, what did you do right?”  She thought it was a badge of honor for me, as a modern artist, to shock an audience and send them running!

Jason Brubaker
You were totally in the mix during the indie revolution of the 90′s! How has indie filmmaking changed since then? I mean, a lot of us ran around with cameras, filming stuff, excited about Dogme 95…

Rick Schmidt
In the 1990′s we could still get in good film festivals (it’s a lot tougher now, don’t you think?).  I guess I have to believe that NOW IS THE REAL FILMMAKING REVOLUTION. I think that’s true because there really is NO PRESSURE to make something that could be called a ‘commercial’ movie.

Even hideously expensive Hollywood movies can barely get a screen for longer than a week.  So when we make our weird indie features, for the lowest budgets possible ($30 for three hour-long Mini-DV tapes, etc), the only constraint we have is being totally honest to our own intuition and urges. We even got a Dogme movie, Chetzemoka’s Curse (Dogme #10), that’s probably one of the first features made completely in the new millennium – shot & completed it during 10 days in January, 2000 through my Feature Workshops.  And it’s probably one of our best ones!

Anyway, we have no one to answer to but ourselves and our personal standards of excellence. I’m hoping to see some amazing works on websites and on YouTube.

Jason Brubaker
Before I made my first feature, I remember thinking I couldn’t make a feature because I didn’t have money for film processing. Or I didn’t have an audio recorder. With new High Definition technology, do you find filmmakers have less excuses and an easier time making features?

Rick Schmidt
Yes…and no. We have less excuses, but if we try real hard we can still make it appear impossible!

If you’re the kind of person who thinks they need all the best equipment and crew, real movie stars and a real budget, you’ve still got the problem. For some, the excuse will be that a RED HD Camera is $1500+ a day and too expensive to obtain. We are great at making up excuses, even when there aren’t any left. Art is risky! We are scared that we may reveal just how unskilled and stupid we secretly think we might really be.

But the alternative is worse. If we don’t ever take the risk and try, then life is just a pretty big boring mess where all we do is work to pay bills and there’s never enough money for anything anyhow. Some school near your house probably has a DV class where you can get your hands on a 3-chip DV camera. And there are other creative people around who just need to read the right Craigslist ad to get in touch with you to help with your feature.

In the Bay Area/Oakland/SF area where I now live, there are hundreds of good actors on sfcasting.com hoping to be cast for an unpaid part in a movie so they can add to their reel. These actors are growing their own careers. That’s what we filmmakers need to do!

For me it’s important not to let too many years go by without creating a new movie (I can feel the stupid blocked energy building up in my head…). If there’s absolutely no money, then you need to sell something (a used-car?) to jump-start things. Nowadays, a car of even the cheapest kind can generate a lot of DV hours of stock, along with some rental dollars for a good camera (DVX100b, or?). And as you ramp up for the shoot, read some of Boston University professor Ray Carney’s articles, interviews and mail to get inspired.

Jason Brubaker
In your book, you emphasize having a strong vision for the kinds of movies you want to make. What are your thoughts on keeping the momentum going when the going gets tough?

Rick Schmidt
If we’re talking ‘artistic vision’ then that means (to me) that each person needs to just jump in and try to make a feature or short movie without worrying about doing it ‘correctly.’ Shoot it YOUR WAY, edit it YOUR WAY, and you’ve achieved YOUR STYLE. In other words, don’t listen to what anyone else says or thinks.

The only momentum I know comes from KNOWING you are an artist (in film/DV, oil paint, clay, photograpy, or whatever). What media artists like us do is make movies. So, after awhile, we’re going to make another one. That’s just how it is!

When things get tough we have to adapt. That’s what my decision to shoot with a 1:1 ratio represents. And like I mention in my “Extreme DV” book, I met a guy who re-recorded over the same Sony 1-hr. mini-DV cassette 30 times (capturing his footage into Final Cut Pro after each shot roll) to make his feature. Total cost = $7 (plus a borrowed DV camera). Don’t let the doubters wear you down. If you wait for the ideal production situation you’ll never get started.

Forget about doing it ‘right.’

Jason Brubaker
I know from my projects, sometimes you want things to go a certain way, but they just don’t. The FX guy shows up late. The location falls apart. Some members of cast and crew leave the show for a higher paying gig… How do you recommend filmmakers stay flexible?

Rick Schmidt
My little mantra is – “EVERY PROBLEM IS THERE TO MAKE THE MOVIE BETTER!” So no matter what’s thrown at you, you absorb the punch and go on (think gung fu). Go get a better actor after the first one disappears.

My Emerald Cities had that kind of major problem. The actress, Carolyn Zaremba, moved to New York City to pursue her acting career before I could finish up my dragged on shoot (over more than a year of slowly attaining funds for more 16mm and prosessing). So I ended up appearing in the flick myself, in her place (you’ll have to see the movie to see how I did this. Emerald Cities is available at Netflix!

Jason Brubaker
A few years back, you told filmmakers to stick with a 1:1 ratio. That is, in production you should only shoot a scene once. Has this thinking changed with digital? I mean, if you ask me – it seems like digital can often make the days go longer.

Rick Schmidt
While that strict FILM shooting ratio seems no longer essential for saving money for a DV movie (was essential when shooting film; just 11 minutes of 16MM costing upwards of $500 when you cover stock, processing, workprint, sound transfer, etc), it still makes for a better (DV) movie if you proceed in a super-focused manner, taping limited takes that must be accurate enough to keep the story moving forward.

Jason Brubaker
Could you tell us a little bit about your Feature Workshop?

Rick Schmidt
At my Feature Workshops I work with participants to shoot and edit-to-completion in 10 days. So we make a feature in a week and a half.

Jason Brubaker
Wait… So you have a workshop where everyone collaborates to complete a feature in 10 days? That’s amazing!

Rick Schmidt
And just about each of the 17+ features we’ve produced this way have gotten in at least one international film festival. For six years in a row, a Portugese festival, Figueira da Foz International, flew me (or a participant) into Lisbon for an all-expenses-paid festival screening. Pretty cool reward to all the work.

(Click HERE for more info about Rick Schmidt’s Feature Workshop in the Bay Area this summer, August 1-10, 2010.)

At any rate, I’m proud of the features we’ve produced in this manner.

Jason Brubaker
What final advice do you have for filmmakers who have not yet made a feature, but want to?

Rick Schmidt
Bite the bullet and somehow get your hands on a good DV camera/Panasonic DVX100b would be nice!. Maybe an ad in craigslist.org will get you a great collaborator / co-producer/ cameraperson with the gear.  Then, get/advertise for a soundman/soundwoman (w/Sennheiser 416 mike, or some good mic & mixer).

Don’t let the lack of money distract you. ONLY if you believe…can this come together.

When I was in this state of activity (being an artist inspite of having NO money) my kindly landlord let me go 8 months without paying rent (see full story in Preface of my Feature Filmmaking at Used-Car Prices book).

The universe sometimes makes an adjustment for an artist like you! And if you’re not a writer, you can still build a story AS you shoot (see my Extreme DV at Used-Car Prices book for how this improv approach can work).

So my advice is – sell that used-car and BEGIN!

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Writer/director Rick Schmidt, author of Feature Filmmaking At Used Car Prices, has more than a decade of experience conducting moviemaking workshops. Each workshop produces a full-length feature in just 10 days. For more information about Rick Schmidt’s workshops, check out www.lightvideo.com/workshop.aspx

UPDATE: As special offer for Filmmaking Stuff readers… If you sign up for Rick’s August 2010 Feature Filmmaking Workshop you’ll get 50% OFF the enrollment fee!

1. Goto www.lightvideo.com/workshop.aspx
2. Sign up for Rick’s newsletter and write the word “STUFF” where it asks for your “Your favorite film?”
3. Questions? Email Rick with “STUFF” in the subject line at: lightvideo@gmail.com

NEW UPDATE: Just got word from Rick. He said spaces are filling up FAST and there are only a few seats left! If you want to participate and make a feature this summer, send Rick an email ASAP and reserve your spot.

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Posted under INTERVIEWS