Here is the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdmKQfWYsyA

FILMMAKER’S STORY

The day we started filming Bigga Than Ben we had £77K in the bank. This may sound a lot (depending on your ambition) but it’s never enough and it shifts – fast. By the end of the shoot we raised a further £45K (loan and remortgage) and shot the film for £122K.

PLAN POST PRODUCTION

The post cost the same again. Sort out your post deals up front. Make sure every element you need for delivery is pre-agreed and signed off. On paper.

FILM EQUIPMENT HOUSES

The great thing about equipment houses is that they’ll lend out their stuff gratis when it isn’t being used. You of course offer them a stake in the film – it’s going to be a success after all – and they accept. They’re experienced enough to know their stake will amount to diddly. It’s the relationship that counts. They won’t lend anything without insurance and this is one cost that can’t be avoided.

Make sure generosity is rewarded. Equipment houses like theatrical posters for their halls and invites to screenings (whether they attend or not). This relationship is going to serve you extremely well in the future. Nurture it.

HAVE A PHOTOGRAPHER ON SET

I might be kidding myself, but the actual shoot turned out to be the easiest part of the whole process. This is because it’s the only time you have an entire team behind you. You need one throughout – you just won’t be able to afford it. Make sure you cover all the potential PR angles.

Have a photographer on set. You will forever thank yourself that you have hundreds and perhaps thousands of pictures to accompany your PR campaign. And get someone to film an EPK/making of. Make sure the actors know there is someone filming the EPK and limit their exposure to this – downtime is just that and they don’t want a camera in their face 24/7.

KEEP CURRENT WITH TAX INCENTIVES

Producing is thankless – especially if you feel grubby & cheap asking for money. After all, both you and the investor know how hard it is to make money back from film (it doesn’t need to be – we’ll get to middle men later) but there are enough tax incentives to make it attractive – in the UK risk outlay can be reduced by 70% depending on tax position through the EIS scheme. We didn’t run an EIS for Bigga, but it’s worth it.

Keep up-to-date with all available tax incentives – makes the job of raising money a lot easier. You’ll sound more professional if you understand and can explain the financials. Run your business plan by an accountant/lawyer. Chances are you won’t be sued. But you can if you offer the world in a legal document and fail to deliver.

BE PATIENT WITH YOUR SCREENINGS

A common mistake (guilty, your honor) is to rush your film out too fast. You’ve sweated over this thing. You want to pay back your investors and your creative ego would like some rave reviews and an active imdb feature credit. Remember, at this stage YOU CANNOT SEE THE WOOD FOR THE TREES. Luckily, if you’re not a studio pic, you’re not tied to a timetable. Screen the first cut to friends, take notes. Do not (as I did) end up re-editing after the sound mix. It improved the film, but it cost me £25K and that’s a loan + interest I’m still paying off – to Nat West/RBS – a bank being sued by companies and individuals on both sides of the Atlantic…but that’s another film.

Hold fire. Be sure. Even if everybody tells you it’s great. If you know in your bones it can be improved, do it. I know you’re tired, but this is crucial.

PLAY TO YOUR PR STRENGTHS

So, I’ve now spent £225K (approx) of other people’s (and my) hard earned money. And I have two trump cards in the two leads. Andrei Chadov who has huge value in Russia (as does the book Bolshe Bena by Sergei Sakin and Pavel Tetersky – on which the film was based – and which outsold Harry Potter in one Moscow bookstore, apparently) and Ben Barnes who won the role of Prince Caspian while we were recutting. Great. Slam dunk. However, the audience for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is never going to buy into Ben Barnes as a racist, drug dealing Russian. They’re not even old enough to see the film. Dull of them, but there you go.

When considering PR angles, play to your strengths. Andrei was the one to push in Russia. His brother Aleksey (Nightwatch, Daywatch) attended the Moscow premiere – they’re both big stars there, so it really helped. The film took $500,000 at the Russian box office and the investors got back half their money – from one territory. Knowing which are your strong territories for whatever reason will help you focus and target PR campaigns for those territories.

ENJOY THE PROCESS (OR WHY MAKE MOVIES?)

So things are looking rosy. The Russians (a joy to work with and uber-professional) paid up-front so the investors are happy. But just when things are going swimmingly, some guy pops up to say he owns the rights to the book as it was he who first printed the extracts. This is true. I’d met him early on in the proceedings and when he proved impossible to negotiate with, I gave up on the book (nearly broke my heart). It was only a couple of years later when one of the writers approached me to say the rights had reverted back to them (I saw the contract) that I decided to pursue it.

But the law is a strange thing. In Russia, if anyone makes such a claim, the film has to be pulled (whether they own the rights or not) which meant a deal had to be struck. Which was basically, cough up $50K or don’t leave Russia (I was in Moscow at the time and I embellish). Thankfully, those being the heady days when it was two dollars to the pound, I was able to rustle up $20K which was enough for a hasty exit (I’ve been arrested in Russia before – it’s not pretty). The rest could come out of the TV sale.

I have to admit to a slight tear on the train to the airport (no car this time, I’d fucked up after all). I put this down to tiredness – I’d been drinking all night with the Chadov brothers and their impossibly beautiful girlfriends – but it could as easily be the sheer effort it takes to sometimes get nowhere. As I looked from the train’s net curtains to the lady selling old books from a shopping cart (in the UK they sell old sandwiches) and the Moscow workers, hands dirtied from manual labor, it struck me what a privilege it is to make films. It cost me money, time and some friendships. But I only cried twice during the process – less than in any relationship. And at least I have something to show for it. Enjoy it.

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To find out more about Bigga Than Ben and how you can help, check out the crowdfunding campaign here: www.indiegogo.com/biggathanben

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Filmmaking Tips: PART TWO

Pretentious as it sounds, filmmaking isn’t something you choose. It chooses you. So this isn’t something you can give up on, no matter how many of your friends & family send links to teacher training sites, dating agencies and various cash incentive opportunities. For the content providers, it’s about love. For the sales agents and distributors, it’s mostly – and as it should be – about money. The trick is finding a relationship which benefits all parties and unless you’re a banker, there is such thing as a win-win deal.

If yours is a micro-budget film with no stars but a great PR angle – you have to consider whether the PR angle is strong enough to a) generate enough publicity and hype to sell directly online – all proceeds go to filmmakers and therefore investors or b) strong enough t be taken up by a sales agent/distributor/studio. They’ll do the work, conjure up the razzamatazz and keep the money.

It may have the possibilities of both. But there can be only one. The choice (if you’re lucky enough to be offered one) as to which direction to take is yours and (depending on your contract – and you’d better have one) that of your investor(s).

Don’t underestimate perception. If you take the a) route and you generate good traffic to your various sites, you may keep the investor happy, but the lack of razzamatazz could make financing your second film harder. That said if your contact list and conversion rate is better than the sales agent with the offer on the table, you probably don’t need that sales agent.

If you take the b) option, more people will hear of your film and you. You’ll get a fuzzy feeling from seeing a Lionsgate or Universal or whatever logo before your film (or on the DVD case), you’ll probably get an agent (or a better agent) and after seeing you in the LA Times your mom will finally get what you’ve been up to all these years.

Films with no domestic release are a harder sell overseas, so if you’re opting for a) make sure there is one – no matter how small – reviews are free publicity. If option b) check the contract – it may not include theatrical.

Again, these decisions depend on a multitude of variables, not least the type of film (sci-fi and horror have strong direct platforms) and your relationship with your investor(s) who may be more excited about having his/her name on a Sony picture than actually seeing a ROI (return on investment).

I have no advice on this. It is your own personal take. I can however pass on the advice I was given from a very successful producer (behind one of the biggest hits of all time) who, on hearing I was about to turn down a particular sales agent in favour of going it alone, said ‘Suz, bend over, take it up the *** and for God’s sake, don’t forget to thank them afterwards’.

THE SHOOT

Get good actors (by this I mean ones that can deliver) and give them as much time as is feasibly possible when on set.

Get a great, ambitious and fast DP.

Get top quality sound recordists – bad sound will affect your ability to sell the film and you’ll have to fall back on ADR which actors hate and is always horrible. Don’t ever go over the top on this (filmmakers can get addicted to studios – don’t get too comfortable on that sofa that’s bigger than your apartment, because it is you paying for that sun-dried tomato brioche).

Don’t forget the on-set photographer – seriously worth their weight in gold. If you only have silver, bring them in on the super-visual days and make sure the actors are covered – in character.

SALES AGENTS

1. Make sure there’s a get out clause

2. Cap costs (% of sales)

3. Get money from first dollar – corridor

4. Don’t skimp on their commission or they’ll have no incentive.

5. Don’t agree to expenses/year or they’ll spread their bet

6. Sales commission from net not gross (they’ll always say ‘no’ to this)

7. No option to refuse a sale unless OK’d by producer

8. Limit the rights term

9. Hold back a territory or two

10. Go via a collections agent

PERSONAL FILMMAKING TIPS FOR YOU

Don’t pick fights you don’t need.

Don’t hate people who don’t like your movie. They might like the next one and one day, you might need them.

Stay focused on The Work. The rest is as enjoyable or miserable as you wish to make it.

STAY ON GOOD TERMS WITH EVERYONE. You’ll be surprised who you need later down the line.

FOLLOW THROUGH. Essential if you’ve opted for option a). After working so hard on the film, raising the money, casting, crewing, kicking yourself that you were too busy to perfect the script – don’t be fooled into thinking the film has suddenly developed a momentum of its own. You are the momentum. It won’t go anywhere without your input. It won’t get itself into festivals, Walmart or onto IndieGoGo and Kickstarter. Never give up until the fight is done!

And if you’re still getting nowhere, change your mindset from ‘why won’t anyone help me?’ to ‘who is going to stop me?’

Never, ever, give up.

THE CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN

To find out more about Bigga Than Ben and how you can help, check out the crowdfunding campaign here: www.indiegogo.com/biggathanben

A little disclaimer: There are many filmmakers who may disagree with the above. So just know that these observations are based purely on my own experiences.

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Suzie Halewood’s first feature screenplay One More Kiss starred Gerard Butler (300, Machine Gun Preacher), her second The Filmmaker was optioned by Andrew MacDonald (Trainspotting) and further screenplays have been optioned including two co-written with LA Times correspondent Richard Marosi The Fortress (TV Pilot) and Death & Deliverance. She also directed a number of award-winning shorts, commercials and the Bafta nominated interactive web series Running Time produced by Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire). Bigga Than Ben starring Ben Barnes was her first feature as director. It made The Times Top 100 Films of 2008, showcasing at Edinburgh (Best of the fest) Moscow, Cinequest, Los Angeles DIYFF (Winner), and Austin (nominee). Her follow up film is science fiction thriller Division 19 with Dougray Scott, Neve Campbell and Jamie Draven.

Jason Brubaker Writes

As a filmmaker your success depends on your ability to produce film ideas that sell.

And unless you have a gazillion dollars allocated to your marketing budget, it will be impossible for you to target everybody on earth. However in the world of internet marketing, there is a saying that applies to your movie business: “Everybody is nobody and niches will make you riches.”

The first step to planning your movie and finding your niche begins with brainstorming a few movie ideas. Write down a list of at least a dozen movie concepts that seem interesting to you. From there, pick the most appealing idea. Keep in mind that getting your movie made, seen and selling is not a fast process. So in addition to creating marketable concept, you have to love your material. If you cannot have fun with your story, then why make the movie?

Once you focus on a concept, you will need to distill your movie into one concise sentence known as a log-line. For example, let’s say your movie is described as “Zombies attack people.” Obviously this is a very succinct log-line, but it lacks the necessary detail to make your movie memorable. So your next job is to incorporate some flavorful elements back into your log-line. Here is the same example with added detail: “Zombies attack a camp for the mentally challenged.”

While socially inappropriate, the extra detail adds sizzle to the description. This will help you in two arenas. With a unique description, your prospective audience will immediately understand how your movie differs from all the other movies. And from a marketing perspective, the words “zombies,” “zombies attack,” and “zombie movies” will help you to target your core audience. Later, these targeted keywords will help you jump-start your internet search engine optimization campaign.

- – -

If you like these filmmaking tips, you’ll love all the free stuff you get when you reserve your spot in the filmmaking stuff community.

If you have the same question, here are 5 filmmaking tips for making you movie:

1. Plan a story you can have fun with.
2. Make sure you know how to reach your target audience.
3. Use your weekends to make shorts (for practice.)
4. Break down your screenplay into a workable budget.
5. Collaborate with people who have more experience.

As a reminder, the biggest question you need to ask (and answer) is this:

Given the resources that I have right now, what is the feature that I can make this year?

As a filmmaker, you need to take action and make your movie NOW! The world awaits. If you want more information, make sure you reserve your spot in our filmmaking community.

So let me break it down.

In the old days, making, marketing and selling your movies required that you knew someone in Hollywood and had a gazillion dollars. It also meant that you waited around forever for some traditional distributor to validate your existence and hopefully pick up your movie (with something other than a crappy deal.)

But that was then. These days, you don’t need to know anybody in Hollywood. You don’t need a gazillion dollars. And (thankfully) you no longer need some traditional movie distributor to give you permission to make, market and sell your movie. And while these changes make this an awesome time to make movies, the new challenge is finding people willing to pay money to watch your movie.

So how do you a source an audience? I’ll give you one word: Crowdfunding.

What is crowdfunding? According to Wikipedia, “crowdfunding describes the collective cooperation, attention and trust by people who network and pool their money and other resources together, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations.” In short, this means filmmakers finally have a new way to raise money.

Filmmakers can set up profiles at various crowdfunding websites and then easily promote their movie project via their social networks and ask for money. In exchange for money, filmmakers offer tiered incentives to prospective sponsors. For example, in exchange for ten bucks, you might offer a promotional t-shirt and and a DVD. For five-hundred bucks, you might offer a flight to the premiere.

Crowdfunding in this context is not the same as seeking equity investors. Which makes this a very uncomplicated way to find sponsors and raise money. But outside of this obvious use, the little known secret of crowdfunding is this – Let’s say you’re a filmmaker with an idea for a movie. And let’s suggest that you aren’t sure how many people would be interested in your movie… So you set up a crowdfunding campaign.

If successful, your crowdfunding campaign will allow you to raise money – but as an important ancillary benefit, your campaign will also allow you test your movie concept with a built in, responsive focus group. Assuming you reach your funding goal, you will not only generate your initial buzz – but you will also source the early adopters for your movie… And these early adopters will grow into a group of fans who will help you spread word of mouth about your movie.

Depending on the scope and scale of your movie, once you have successfully completed a crowdfunding campaign, you may choose to leverage this success to seek out traditional investors. But instead of having an untested movie idea, you have a little POC. What’s POC? Proof of concept. (I credit writer Craig Spector for teaching me about the importance of POC.)

Crowdfunding helps you prove your concept. In the unfortunate event your campaign is not successful, this knowledge will help you go back to the basics and refine your concept before you take the next steps in you movie making process.

Here are 3 crowdfunding sites that are worth investigating:

1. www.IndieGoGo.com
2. www.KickStarter.com
3. www.Invested.in

Happy filmmaking.

—

If you like this idea , why not sign up for the official filmmaking stuff newsletter? It’s full of filmmaking tips and tricks. To gain access to the filmmaking stuff newsletter, click here >>

Jon Reiss’ Website
Jon Reiss wrote the famed book Think Outside The Box Office. Like most feature filmmakers, Jon realized that the world of independent film is evolving. I recommend both his book and his blog. Make sure you pay special attention the NEW role of PMD. Jon believes (as do I) that a producer of marketing and distribution is now essential for all modern productions.

Peter Marshall’s Action Cut Print
Peter has been in the industry for a long, long time. His site Action-Cut-Print is updated frequently and it’s full of useful filmmaking tips. Peter is very willing to help filmmakers improve their filmmaking business.

Jurgen Wolff’s Screenwriting Success Site
If you’re looking for advice on screenwriting, I can’t think of a more robust resource than Jurgen’s site. But more importantly, Jurgen is very kind and really wants you to write the best projects you can.

Sheri Candler’s Marketing Site
Sheri is a marketing guru. Her business is totally focused on helping modern moviemakers create an engaged and robust online community for their work that can be used to monetize effectively. So if you have a movie and you are looking for marketing tips, I recommend her site.

Ted Hope’s Truly Free Film Site
Ted Hope is a very well known indie producer. And I think his filmmaking blog provokes a ton of discussion between other filmmakers. Once you get into the conversation, making comments becomes addicting.

Hopefully these resources help you increase your modern moviemaking knowledge. And if you’re new to filmmaking stuff, make sure you instantly download your modern moviemaker tool kit.

Thanks for reading.

If you like the information, make sure you tell your friends.

Here are 5 filmmaking tips to help you push forward:

1. Remember Perspective – you’re not performing brain surgery. You’re attempting to make a movie. This is a fun business. This is a privilege.
2. Facing Rejection – Always ask WHY? Sometimes your pitch is perfect, but your audience is wrong. Make sure you’re talking to people who are actually interested in your type of project.
3. Break down BIG goals – Setting out to make your version of impossible, possible can be overwhelming. It is important to break all of your goals into smaller, more manageable tasks
4. Missing Personal Deadlines – It happens. Sometimes people cry. I suggest you simply change your deadline.
5. Your Peer Group – If you surround yourself with negative losers, you lose. Make it an ongoing habit to always surround yourself with winners.

I know 2011 is right around the corner. Do yourself a favor – make this your year. No more excuses. Grab a camera and start capturing stuff.

Happy Filmmaking!

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!

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!

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.