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.

Since starting Filmmaking Stuff, the site has grown to attract thousands of filmmakers, per week, globally. And for me, the growing popularity of this filmmaking website is equal parts exciting and humbling.

As a result, I feel I have an increased obligation to make YOUR visit more meaningful. I was up late last night thinking about this. I want you to know me and trust me. But at the same time, relationships cannot be forced. Trust takes time… So what is my solution?

The only solution that makes sense.

On my free filmmaking book site, I have decided to add over $100 dollars of filmmaking tools! And you can download them all for FREE. This includes a 90 page action guide, 60 minutes of MP3 filmmaking audio, a filmmaking Tool List and a bunch of other stuff too.

1. To get your FREE filmmaking tools, check out: www.FreeFilmmakingBook.com
2. Once you go to the site, scroll down.
3. Fill in your name and email.

You might wonder why I am giving you over a $100 dollars of filmmaking stuff for FREE. I’m doing it because you’ll probably tell a friend or two. That helps me grow my community and spread my filmmaking philosophy around the world. (But you are under no obligation to tell your friends.)

So once again:

1. To get your FREE filmmaking tools, check out: www.FreeFilmmakingBook.com
2. Once you go to the site, scroll down.
3. Fill in your name and email!

Happy Filmmaking!

Posted under Filmmaking

As a filmmaker, one of your first jobs might be fetching coffee. Image via Wikipedia

When I was first starting my filmmaking career, I thought long and hard about the prospect of film school. At the time, I figured a degree from one of the top film schools would increase my odds of garnering success. Now, after having worked in the game for awhile, I can honestly tell you that very few people, if any, have asked me where I went to film school.

Here are 5 Filmmaking Tips So You Can Learn Filmmaking Without The Fluff:

1. Your Film School Degree Will Collect Dust: Nobody cares where you went to school. They just care if you can contribute value to their professional lives and their movie projects. (By the way, I’m not saying you shouldn’t go to college. I’m just saying that unless you plan on becoming a film professor – get a degree in business.)
2. Learn How To Sell: In the film business, people with sales skills can write their own ticket. Start learning how to sell.
3. Your Material Rules: Control good material and you’ll have something to sell. What is good material? Great screenplays. Seriously most screenplays suck. If you’re confused about this one, refer back to #2
4. Be Nice To Everyone: The PA fetching coffee today will control your job tomorrow. (Or one day, in addition to making movies, he might just own one of the most prolific filmmaking website in the world.)
5. Don’t Ask Permission: I say this over and over, but many of you are still knocking on doors, hoping that somebody will discover you. Don’t do that. Unless you have GREAT MATERIAL, that everybody wants, chances are nobody cares about your movie project more than you.

Anyway – If you like these tips and want more of them, I am giving away my latest book for free. I do this because it helps you avoid all my silly filmmaking mistakes. And it helps me promote myself. To claim your free Filmmaking Book, go here:

www.FreeFilmmakingBook.com

If you like this filmmaking stuff, make sure you tell your friends that Los Angeles based indie producer, Jason Brubaker gives away some great filmmaking stuff!

Posted under Filmmaking

Filmmaking has come a long way since this picture. But one thing hasn't changed - Filmmakers Need To Make Movies to prosper. Image via Wikipedia

If you’re filmmaker seeking practical filmmaking tips you can use TODAY, I’d like to share some thoughts with you.

The world of filmmaking is changing. Producing content is getting cheaper. And distribution outlets are becoming increasingly accessible. While these changes have not fully hit mainstream Hollywood, you can rest assured that it’s only a matter of time until the ripple effect has a leveling impact.

And when these changes hit, will you be ready?

Here are my 5 filmmaking tips on how to prepare for these changes.

1. Filmmaking Tip #1 – Build Your Fan Club. Like any business, in order to prosper, you need to create, build and keep customers. For filmmakers, this means building an audience of people who like your work. (If you like this website, you can sign up for my fan club by going here: http://www.FreeFilmmakingBook.com)
2. Filmmaking Tip #2 – Create content. If you’re serious about your filmmaking future, you need to have a YouTube page and you need to be making creative short movies at least every month. Why YouTube? Because I believe the site will become a hub for Video On Demand movies, they are owned by Google and YouTube allows you to create community around your work.
3. Filmmaking Tip #3 – Create new products. Every business needs to sell a service or a product to survive. As an independent filmmaker, your primary product is feature films. To make this business viable for yourself, you need to fill your file cabinet with story ideas. Then you need to figure out how to turn those stories into feature films, ready for sale.
4. Filmmaking Tip #4 – Surround Yourself With Talent. You can’t do everything yourself. Find a group of 10 other filmmakers who have complementary talents and an equal level of passion and enthusiasm. Then join forces and create some (movie) products!
5. Filmmaking Action Tip #5 – Learn how to sell. You will need sales skills on two fronts. Firstly, you should know how to sell, so you can raise movie money. And secondly, you should know how to sell so that you can accelerate sales of your movies. Once you learn the basics – stop fetching coffee and take a sales job outside of the industry, selling something tough. If you can master sales skills, you will start cold calling heavy hitters with no hesitation. This make pitching your ideas or (independent movie) products a cinch.

Anyway, I hope these filmmaking tips are helpful.

As always, if you have thoughts or ideas or questions, feel free to comment or email.

Posted under Filmmaking

A 1987 Video Disc -- Image via Wikipedia

Over the holiday season, I spent some time back east with family and friends.

Aside from shoveling snow and fighting the cold winter in Pennsylvania, getting outside of Hollywood for a few weeks provides a time of relaxation and reflection. And at the same time, spending time with friends and family almost always reveals coming trends in the movie industry.

Let me explain.

Based on some popular entertainment oriented Christmas gifts, it’s evident that changes in the movie industry are upon us. Thanks to VOD innovations like the the Roku HD Player and some new television sets that directly link to the internet, I predict that 2010 will be the beginning of the end for movie rental kiosks, movie rental stores and as a result, studios will experience further decline in physical DVD sales (including Blue Ray.)

While my prediction may be a little ahead of the curve, I think it’s important to prepare your movie business accordingly. These innovations (over time) will eliminate traditional, physical movie sales channels – Diminished revenue may result in less production and you might experience a decrease in movie production work.

Conversely, streaming, down-loadable movies on demand will also create a enormous opportunity for filmmakers wishing to reach the global masses without asking permission. For the right producer, this is an exciting time!

But in order to profit from these innovations, let’s analyze the ripple effect. Here are some things we might expect:

5 (possible) PREDICTABLE movie business DECLINES

1. Decline in traditional home video channels (video rental business, video delivery business and home video purchases will decline.)
2. Decline in traditional hardware like DVD Players and Blue Ray Players.
3. Decline for dub houses, DVD manufactures and DVD shipping boxes.
4. Less pre-sale predictability. Tell your investors that you’ll put the movie on iTunes and then try to project potential revenue. Have fun.
5. Less investor cash means there will be two motion picture tiers for your day rate: micro budget features and mid-to-high budget studio features (with theatrical outlets for distribution.) Budget ranges in-between are becoming increasingly too risky to finance.

7 (possible) PREDICTABLE movie business OPPORTUNITIES

1. Providers of VOD and digital down-loadable content will increase.
2. Innovations in hardware (TV Sets, Roku Devices and TiVo type products) will increase.
3. Instead of getting your day rate, more professionals will be forced to take back end points. (This is the movie making equivalent to getting start-up stock options.)
4. State movie production tax incentives will influence production of higher budget pictures.
5. Distribution channels will be many. Look for more and more indie production companies to create in-house marketing arms and PR firms to promote movies across the globe.
6. Additionally, movie internet marketing experts will become an asset to your production. (OK – a little self serving. But after successfully producing and marketing one of our movies on the internet, this is something I’m passionate about.)
7. This is totally optimistic: but we might also expect more outlets for TV content. HDTV accessible website will spring up where you’ll post your content, build a VOD following and leverage your following to increase targeted advertising revenue. (Check out Hulu.com for an example.)

Great. What does this mean for you?

Save your money! Speak with a financial adviser and learn how you can make a financial plan for your future. Seriously. Learn how to make your money work for you. Then -

If you want to produce movies: these industry changes mean you should cultivate relationships with “name” actors and join forces with all the folks you’ve been working with for years and years. Start to create your own micro-budget projects and get super creative on the financing end. Find folks with equipment. Work out deals and see if you can pay in both up-front money and back-end points.

Additionally, if you go this route, you should become friends with movie producer marketers, PR professionals and sales consultants who have successfully sold movies over the net. These folks will help you create a plan for ROI – And while nothing is guaranteed, if you can create 5-7 movies in your career that supply your bank account with cash each month, it’s a nice place to be.

If you make money working as a freelancer – you may have to change some of your focus (as is very common) to television commercial work, corporate video work and high-end music video work. These avenues seem to have more frequent production instances… And you don’t have to give up months for money.

Surviving the Movie Industry in times of change is similar to surviving other industries going through change. Necessitated by the need for cash (survival), many of you will be forced to see the world as an entrepreneur. Even if you aren’t ready, you may have to learn how to produce your own profitable movies.

Posted under Filmmaking