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.

FILM FESTIVALS

Film festivals offer a great way to get your movie seen on the big screen in front of a living audience.  I mean, it’s enough to make you lose some sleep with excitement. I remember one of our earliest festivals. We were invited to some private party in a fancy hotel in Hollywood. There were a few celebrities and respected indie filmmakers milling about.

But what was really odd, was the fact that most everyone approached our director and myself and introduced themselves in an overly friendly way. What we didn’t realize that night was – we were about to win an award!!!

The next night, we arrived on the FOX Studio Lot – that’s where they had the award ceremony. I can remember how exciting it was when they called our name and we claimed the award with flash bulbs going off in our eyes. It was totally surreal and amazing. After that, we had about a two week open door to submit our spec screenplays to various agents and managers.

But getting into the festival, winning the award and creating professional relationships was a result of careful planning. First we had to make the movie. After that, we had to submit our movie to a festival appropriate for our material – and gain acceptance. After that, various judges had to watch the movie and make judgments.

What I’m saying is, the stars have to align just right to get into a festival and win an award. But assuming you want to potentially experience an awesome audience reaction to your movie and also, make friends with like minded filmmakers – here are some actions/tips:

ACTION

1. Submit to film festivals. I’ve had some success with withoutabox — Do your research. What festivals usually feature your type of movie? Is the festival good for awards, meeting distribution folks or simply somewhere you can get free beer? Watch out for festivals that try have a reputation of not treating filmmakers very well.
2. Make sure you network your way around the festivals. The judges are supposed to be impartial. But they are human and often attend the parties. Make sure you are nice to everyone… And make sure you “sell” your film to anyone who will listen.
3. If you are contacted by an acquisition executive, good for you. If not, consider getting a good sales rep for your movie. If one of these professionals approaches you, make sure you do your homework. Watch out for people who try to charge you up front. There are a few good companies that do this… But for the most part, if an agency or a sales rep offers to represent your movie, they usually take a profit on the back end.

Obviously navigating the festival circuit is pretty broad. So if you would like more information specific to the crazy world of film festivals, you should check out the following guide: Chris Gore’s Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide Fouth Edition: The Essential Companion for Filmmakers and Festival-Goers

Happy Filmmaking!

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Editing your movie is the final rewrite of your film. This is the time when you add all sorts of amazing layers to your work and smooth out the rough edges and finally – complete the picture.

EDIT YOUR  MOVIE

When you reach this point in the filmmaking process, prepare to sit for hours in a dark edit suite. Now, even if you’ve edited your previous shorts – with a feature, you might consider getting a second set of eyes in the edit suite. I prefer to work with an editor and then provide loose notes. I have some filmmaker buddies who prefer to cut the entire movie themselves.

Either way, the editing process will provide you a perfect opportunity to lose yourself in the rhythm of your movie. You’re going to cut some scenes out. Scenes you thought were minor will become pivotal to your story. You’re going to add music and sound FX and clean up any rough actor dialogue. You will design and you will refine.

ACTION

1. Get some music from local, talented up-and-coming bands. MAKE SURE YOU  GET A RELEASE!  Seriously.
2. Cut the entire movie into a rough cut.
3. Once you get a rough cut, have some friends watch it. After their feedback, cut  the fat. Keep the scenes that work. Repeat this process as necessary until you  have a fine tuned movie!

If you have a computer (I assume you do) but no editing software, the industry standard for editing is Avid and Final Cut (Mac).

Avid once provided a free download trial of their Avid DV software. However, this is no longer available. When I visited the website, the site redirected me to the download page for trial version of Pinnacle Studio Ultimate. I have not tried Pinnacle, so you’ll have to perform your own research.

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As they say, when trying to promote a movie that folks have otherwise not heard of, all ink is potentially good ink.

And in this regard, even if you’re producing your movie somewhere locally you need make sure you present your marketing message with consistency. I say this because, regardless of publication or geography, most anything written about your movie will end up on the internet.

So always be mindful of how you present your project

LOCAL PUBLICITY

If you plan on producing your movie outside of major film cities, like Los Angles and NYC, then getting the attention of local press might be pretty simple. And you might even be able to attract attention for a short movie. Why is this important? Because you will want to keep an ongoing collection of all good press written about your project.

ACTION

1. If you’re shooting in a small town, contact your local news. You’ll probably get written up in the paper. You might even get interviewed for the nightly news.
2. If you’re working in Los Angeles, this could prove to be a bit more challenging, but not impossible. In the big cities, try to contact journalists who write about your type of small movie.
3. When these folks agree to profile your movie, try to think of interesting topics you can discuss.
4. If they take pictures, get yourself around some lights and equipment. That will make you look like a serious filmmaker.
5. Finally, as they say in sales, if you don’t ask for the sale, you don’t get the sale. Do not be afraid to call journalists up and treat them to lunch to discuss your project. Never know where that will go…

In The Publicity Handbook, you’ll get the Inside Scoop from More than 100 Journalists and PR professionals on how to get great publicity. If you can learn to master publicity in the early stages of your filmmaking career, imagine what you can do when you projects become ginormous!

Happy Filmmaking!

Posted under 21 Part Filmmaking Mini-Course

Filmmaking Stuff is offering a free 21 part mini course. If you’ve never made a movie before, but want to, the course will outline the basics. You will receive 21 lessons packed full of all the “gee, I wish I then what I know now” sort of stuff designed to help you advance your filmmaking career.

To sign up, simply look to the right —>

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Publicity is great. Especially when it’s free. And especially when the publicity is international.

When we produced our first zombie movie, we had the great fortune of being profiled in a national entertainment magazine. In fact, once the magazine hit the stands, so many people flooded our website that our server went bonkers.

HOLLYWOOD PUBLICITY

Getting publicity for movies in Hollywood is made easier when you have a few movie stars attached to your project. But even if you aren’t producing a big studio picture, there are still a few simple ways to get your project noticed.

Yes. You’ll need to present your project as newsworthy and cool if you hope to attract press attention. And this is super important, but you’ll have to target journalist and publications focused on your type of movies. For example, if you were making a horror movie, unless you had some crazy tie-in, I hope you wouldn’t approach a dog lovers magazine to run a story…

Instead, I hope you would craft a pitch specific to the publication.

ACTION

1. Get your production listed in the Hollywood Reporter and Daily Variety. You can do this online.
2. You’ll probably get a call or two from potential distributors or acquisition executives. Don’t get overly excited. Their job is to find material to acquire. Take down a number for later. Then get back to making your movie.
3. Create a press release or hire a publicist. If money is an issue, check local colleges and universities to find PR students seeking experience. Then create a press kit.
4. Have you created a website for your move? Pick a domain name and a hosting company.
5. Make sure all press material clearly lists your contact information and your website, if you have one. Make your press kit a down-loadable PDF on your site.

When I first moved to Hollywood, I saw Michael Levine speak about Public Relations and Publicity. I’ve since utilized some of his strategies when promoting my movies. I’ve also read one of his books. It looks like he’s since updated. Check out Guerrilla P.R. 2.0: Wage an Effective Publicity Campaign without Going Broke.

Posted under 21 Part Filmmaking Mini-Course

I’m here today to remind you that whenever you’re producing a movie, a whole lot can change between development and prep. Assuming you can get the the cash and an entire team of people to help you, it’s now time for the real work!

So what does that mean?

SCHEDULE

When you have all the filmmaking stuff you need, you’re no longer operating from theory and planning… You’re now in action mode!

You need to modify your initial, ideal schedule for the real world realities of production. This means you’ll need to pick your shoot dates and call times.

It is at this point in the process when most filmmakers get the brilliant idea to just shoot the movie on the weekends, spanning a few months.

As a potential upside to the weekend strategy, you’ll have less “hey, I have another gig that pays more those days”conflicts with your actors and crew. And you might score some great deals on rental equipment. But as a potential downside, you run the risk of loosing momentum and potentially having your entire project fall apart.

So you have some thinking to do. But the good news is, assuming you’ve found an experienced 1st AD or Line Producer to work with, you’ll be able to combine ideas and figure out the best gameplan for your show.

ACTION

1. Remember, your schedule and your budget are related. Add another day and your costs compound. Subtract a day, and you save money. Any changes to the schedule change the budget.
2. Figure out when you can begin production. The time of the year will impact on your budget. Hot weather will require different provisions than cold weather. And how will rain impact your shooting schedule? Do you have a plan B? How about a plan C?
3. Once you set a shoot date, then it’s showtime! You need to check and recheck your equipment, calendar, actors weather and crew to make sure everything is proceeding as planned.

This is both an exciting time, and a time of high stress. I’ve been on more than one show where I witnessed people crying. These were not tears of joy. But seriously, the important thing to remember is, you aren’t doing brain surgery. So if you make a mistake in the process, learn from it, creativity recover – and then move on! Always remember that making movies is an awesome profession. And if you aren’t having fun, even on a bad day, what the heck are you doing?

My First Movie: Twenty Celebrated Directors Talk about Their First Film and My First Movie: Take Two: Ten Celebrated Directors Talk About Their First Film should probably be on your bookshelf. The folks profiled in these books offer a great, human, emotional perspective to the movie making process.

Happy Filmmaking!

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As I mentioned in previous lessons, the name of the game in your first feature is to cut the need for hard cash, while at the same time preserving or improving your production value… You want to make your  movie look more expensive than it is.

I also mentioned how some filmmakers employ bartering or trading to get the necessary resources.

Now, does cutting your budget and exchanging cash for favors involve A LOT of creativity and planning – YES! But we are talking about your first feature. And if you can learn to cut costs and be creative with virtually no money, imagine what you’ll accomplish when you actually do have money!

That being said – in the last lesson, I spoke about the traditional way business professionals find investors and raise funds by exchanging private equity for cash. Today, I’m going to talk about a lessor known, yet very popular way some filmmakers make their movie. It’s called the risk share method.

GET THE MONEY, PART 2

The other, more common, yet sometimes overlooked way to produce a feature is simply to ask your cast and crew if they would like to partner up and throw in some cash. Now, this is complicated and VERY RISKY and if done incorrectly, could get you into a lot of legal trouble (SO YES, TALK WITH A QUALIFIED LEGAL AND TAX PROFESSIONAL)…

But if you have 20 people working on your movie, and each throw in a few hundred dollars, you’re in the money.

ACTION

1. If you go this route, SPEAK WITH A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL to help you out, as this sort of structure is ripe for lawsuits if something goes wrong.
2. Get everything in writing!
3. Understand who controls the process and who doesn’t. You don’t want an equity owning production assistant telling you what you can and cannot do with your finished film. And if you take shortcuts, this could happen.

Now again, this risk share strategy has many pros and cons – way too many to write about here. But for some filmmakers, being able to successfully structure a project this way, while at the same time doing it legally could be the difference between getting a movie made, or not.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read Extreme DV at Used-Car Prices: How to Write, Direct, Shoot, Edit, and Produce a Digital Video Feature for LessThan $3,000, but I seem to remember that Rick Schmidt mentioned the risk share model in the book. I could be confused about that… But Rick Schmidt is quite a filmmaking inspiration and his book is totally worth a read.

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Once you build momentum during production, assuming you meticulously planned everything, you’ll soon find that most everyone working on the movie will fall into a collective, collaborative groove. And it’s an awesome feeling!

PRODUCTION, PART 2

Even when everything is going as planned, or sometimes better than planned, you still need to make sure you pay attention to the little things. For example, I met with one producer who told me how props was sure wardrobe would bring the watch… And wardrobe was sure props would bring the watch. When it came time for the shot, nobody had the watch. This minor boo-boo resulted in overtime and meal penalties for over 30 people.

See what I mean? Minor hiccups can have not-so-minor consequences. One too-many of these overlooked elements can hurt the moral on the set, slow down production hurt the final product.

ACTION

1. I’ll repeat this over and over for as long as I live – but when you’re making a feature, food is currency. Make sure you have great food on set. Don’t get skimpy. Don’t expect fast food or pizza or generic treats and cookies to fit the bill. Get good food!
2. The other thing I’ve learned the hard way is this… Sound! You’ll need very good sound. So many times sound is overlooked. And by the time the filmmaker figures out he or she has a problem, it’s usually in the editing room. And it’s usually too late!
3. The other thing you’ll need is legal releases. You’ll need releases for just about everything in your movie. The most common releases are actors and talent, crew and locations. There are probably many more that I’m forgetting. So make sure you speak with a qualified attorney who has experience in this arena. But basically, the motto to follow is CYA. (Google that!)

As a recap: Shot list, cutaways, sound, FOOD and legal releases!

I’m pretty sure I mentioned Robert Rodriguez and how he started his filmmaking career. But I think his story is one of the best stories from the trenches. His passion for doing what he wanted to do, when he wanted to do it resonates so strongly with me, that I can’t help but credit Robert with much of my early inspiration. Plus, this was before HD – so making a movie was almost twice as difficult! Check it out: Rebel without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker With $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player.

Happy Filmmaking!

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SELF DISTRIBUTION

By now, you probably have a website that promotes your movie. You can now rework your website into an e-commerce site by establishing an online distribution solution.

Assuming you started with a strong hook, you’ll now be able to leverage your story to help accelerate buzz and make some sales. Selling your movie online is actually easier than ever. And if you ask me,  it seems like a new video on demand innovation is the future of middle-man-less movie distribution.

One of the coolest aspects of VOD is, it is now possible to sell feature films digitally, without carrying inventory. With services like CreateSpace, you simply send them a DVD of your movie. They put it on their servers. And then your move is available for instant download.

And again, if your movie builds positive word of mouth buzz, your odds of finding an audience are pretty good.

But first things first. The following actions should help guide you through the self-distribution process:

ACTIONS

1. Eliminate anything on your website that distracts fans from the purchase of your movie.
2. Consider streamlining your website. Cut out everything but a trailer and a BUY NOW button.
3. Post your trailer on YouTube, with a link back to your website.
4. When people buy your movie, keep their contact information.
5. Why? You never know when you’ll make a sequel! Wouldn’t it be great to have a fan base?

Additionally, if you would like more information on marketing your movie, the following resource may help. Just click the link and discover the secrets of INTERNET MARKETING FOR FILMMAKERS!

Happy Filmmaking!

Posted under 21 Part Filmmaking Mini-Course

Production is a result of months and months of planning.

I’ll repeat this again. When making a movie, production is the result of months and months of planning. I emphasize the planning aspects of pre-production, because many filmmakers crash and burn during production because they didn’t have a solid plan.

PRODUCTION, PART 1

But you’re different. To make sure your production goals are executed in such a way that you get the most movie for your hard earned money, you will need to check and re-check with your department heads to make sure everything is AOK. Assuming you have a plan A, plan B and a plan C, you’re ready to shoot your movie!

Here are some tips that have helped my filmmaking run smoothly:

ACTION

1. Make sure whoever directs the movie starts each morning with a shot list. A shot list is a list of shots. And once you have it for each day, you’ll be able to check each shot off the list as you go.
2. If you’re directing, work with your DP to get an assortment of cutaways. You’ll need many cutaway options to save you from yourself, should you miss something in Post-Production. I’m not kidding about this.
3. Make sure you have a photographer on set.
4. Again, work with a great 1st Ad.
5. And hire a bunch of Production Assistants to help make your life easier!

The production process is a ton of fun. You’ll bond with other creative folks and by the end, assuming all goes well, you’ll feel like family. If you get a chance, check out American Movie. It profiles a guy who is so passionate about making his movie, that at times you don’t know if you should laugh or cry. For a more educational perspective, Hearts of Darkness – A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse profiles Francis Coppola as he struggles to make Apocalypse Now. Both DVDs are full of filmmaking passion and are a must see for any filmmaker working to make a movie.

Posted under 21 Part Filmmaking Mini-Course