“The Movie Man“ a little Filmmaking Fable of what not to do…

I know a guy who came to Hollywood. He was a pretty good director.  And he wanted nothing more than to direct a feature.

To achieve his goal, he convinced a bunch of people to work with him.

Promises were made. Agreements were signed.

This guy did or said anything it took to achieve his goal – And as a result, he directed his first feature.

Turns out this guy was full of crap. His promises were broken. And his agreements were forgotten. Long story short, this “director” burnt every bridge he could. He lost his girlfriend. He lost his friends. Then he left town.

Now he is on the east coast of the US. His new game is to go into small towns, where he convinces people to pay for his movies. And his strategy seems to be working. In at least two towns, he has convinced locals to rally in support. Promises were made. Agreements were signed. But in both instances, after the movie wrapped – guess what?

This guy left town.

Now this idiot is moving on to a third town. And while I know karma is a bitch (and he will never find REAL success), I wanted to share this story as an example of what not to do.

A little success tip? Your word is your world. Break it, and your world will collapse – eventually. And secondly, it is probably a good idea to get a gazillion references before you bring someone new into your filmmaking world.

Posted under FILMMAKING

LinkedIn For Filmmakers Image via CrunchBase

Over the past year, I really started using LinkedIn more and more to promote both myself and my projects.

While LinkedIn has some of the same features as other social networking sites – like your ability to search for friends and contacts, the LinkedIn culture is geared towards business networking, which makes it vastly different than twitter or Facebook.

As a result, the social rules are different. While it would make sense to post something funny, silly or stupid on Facebook, posting a similar message on LinkedIn may not be appropriate. Conversely, it would be strange to utilize Facebook in an attempt to get a lunch meetings with prospective Hollywood Heavyweights whom you never met.

But in the world of LinkedIn, as long as you’re not a jerk, it is appropriate to seek out and connect with prospects.

To get started with LinkedIn, reach out to people who know you and know your work. Once you establish this foundation, write out a list of at least 10 to 15 film industry professionals who may be able to help you with your movie business. Then use LinkedIn search to find your prospects.

Depending on the strength of your network, you may find that one of your contacts already has a relationship with your prospect. Your next step would be to reach out to your friend and ask if he or she would make an introduction. Assuming the introduction is made on your behalf, your prospect will be more receptive to hearing from you directly.

Step-by-step, you can utilize LinkedIn to help you build your filmmaking team.

For more awesome filmmaking information, check out: Make Your Movie NOW! ™

Posted under FILMMAKING

Will Hollywood buy YOUR movie? Image via Wikipedia

Making money as a filmmaker is not easy. I can think of a gazillion other businesses that work much more smoothly than trying to produce projects, source an audience and make some money. Yet despite these odds, serious filmmakers push on.

Assuming you are serious – And assuming you want to make money making movies – here is my advice for today.

1. Do not make a movie unless you know your niche audience.
2. Do not make a movie unless you know how to reach your audience.
3. Do not make a movie unless you have enough money to market your movie.

I know many of you still hold onto the myth that “if I make my movie, Hollywood will buy it for a gazillion dollars.” If that happens for YOU, awesome! Maybe you can help me produce my next movie.

But for the vast majority of filmmakers, the golden ticket does not arrive. And when this happens, you can choose to give up, or work hard as heck to sell your movie yourself. That’s right.

Like any other business, as a business owner YOU will actually have to market and sell your movie, yourself. Welcome to business 101.

If you liked this article, you’ll love the filmmaking newsletter.

Posted under DISTRIBUTION

Cannon EOS 7D is good for Filmmakers Image via Wikipedia

If you want to get started making movies, my suggestion is to get started. So many people in Hollywood bounce around for years pretending to do work, when all they are really doing is pretending. Many of these people call themselves producers, yet they have no screen credits and have frankly failed to do anything…

Don’t do that. For around two-thousand dollars, you can buy a camera that produces cinematic results. And if you can’t afford that, then just use any camera you can. In the event you cannot yet afford your own equipment, then find someone who already has the gear and make friends.

You next step is to get an idea for a short, 1 to 3 minute movie. Something funny. Then plan the shoot. The story doesn’t have to be overly awesome or complex. Most of my first movies were centered around my drunk friends playing characters. These movies sucked, but they were good practice. Your initial movies will probably suck too. Don’t worry about it. Give yourself permission to suck.

Just remember, the more you practice, the better you get.

And if you’re really short on short film ideas, then the next best thing is to create a music video… Which is essentially a short movie too.

If you are looking for short film ideas, this resource may help you: 101 Short Film Ideas

Posted under FILMMAKING

Filmmaker Levi Abrino Hits The Big Time

Any time you take action towards the realization of your filmmaking goals, you will inevitably meet people who think your pursuits are silly. These cynics will ask, “what have you done?” And you’ll respond: “I made a short. It’s in the film festivals.” And invariably, these cynical idiots will shrug their shoulders, and shrug you off, saying “Never heard of it.”

Thank goodness there are filmmakers who don’t give a crap about these idiots.

Back in 2003, before before I moved to Los Angles, I stopped by my Pennsylvanian hometown for the Harrisburg Arts Film Festival, where I saw a short movie called Burying Dvorak by filmmaker Levi Abrino. I gotta tell you, the film was awesome. Levi is talented.

I was so moved by Levi’s story, that I made an effort to stay in touch with Levi through the years via some of the social networking sites. And I gotta tell you… Some awesome things have taken shape in Levi’s life. Last year Levi edited a short called God Of Love. You may have heard the movie. God Of Love won the 2011 Academy Award for the best short!

Not bad. But it gets better…

Later this month, Levi has been invited to screen his current movie Little Horses at the Director’s Guild here in Los Angeles.

Aside from promoting Levi, I felt compelled to share his story because it serves as a reminder to us all. It is important for all filmmakers push through the BS and make your movies… No matter what anybody thinks or says about you.

Because you never know. Sometimes even a short movie can win you an Oscar!

Posted under INTERVIEWS

Get Your Screenplay Read. Image via Wikipedia

A few years back I finished the first draft of my first screenplay ever. Like a lot of folks who dream of Hollywood success, I was eager to share my work with the world. Problem was, I had no idea what I was doing.

Through a friend of a friend, I was put in contact with an “entertainment attorney.” I put the words in quotes because while there are tons of people with a strong work ethic and great integrity, this particular guy was not one of them.

I remember getting off the phone. I was super excited because this guy had agreed to read my screenplay and offer me feedback. So like most writers, I sent off my screenplay – packaged with the appropriate cardstock cover and two brass brads… And a few weeks later I get a email:

“Jason. Thanks for sending me your screenplay. I read it. Because you want to produce your own movie, I think you will need a lawyer who understands how to put together a private placement memorandum. And also, while we did not talk about this prior, you owe me $250 dollars for the hour I spent reading your script. Please send me a check ASAP.”

These days I would tell him to go “F” himself. But back then, I had no idea what I was doing. So I sent him his money. And to make it even worse, $250 dollars represented an entire week’s salary.

The whole point of this is – if someone agrees to do you a “favor,” it’s best to get reciprocal expectations in writing.

Posted under SCREENWRITING

Debt sucks Filmmakers Dry Image via Wikipedia

As a filmmaker, having FU money makes it easy to take chances that may result in the successful realization of your movie dreams. But with high debt and no FU money, you may find yourself at a severe disadvantage.

My first credit card purchase was in college. I used plastic to pay rent for a semester. Then I purchased a Star Wars poster from one of those late night shopping channels. Then I bought a pizza and a case of beer. After that…

Ten years later, I carried a revolving $5,000 balance. Sometimes I got lucky and paid it down. Once, I even paid it off in full. But like a failed diet, after a couple months, I found myself right smack back where I was before—and sometimes I was even worse off!

Why was I doing this?

After talking with some of my friends who were free of credit card debt, I soon realized people get into debt for the following reasons:

• Most people spend more than they make.
• Most people identify themselves as people in debt.

After giving my debt addiction considerable thought, I realized my external debt was actually a reflection of my internal beliefs. In other words, somewhere in my mind, I identified myself as someone in debt.

This was reflected in my everyday conversations about money. I would say things like: “I have debt.” Or, “I’m in debt.” Or, “I have $5,000 in debt.” Talking like this only served to reinforce my debt-burdened identity. As a result, I continued to swipe plastic over and over.

Your peer group will influence your success in life. Once I moved to Hollywood, I dated a woman who made less money than me, yet always seemed to have money and lived debt free. Hanging out with her changed my beliefs about debt. I started to think debt was unacceptable. I realized I too could live debt free. Then I stopped using my credit cards and began a plan of recovery.

It may take you a week or ten years, but if you want to become powerful in Hollywood and make a living making movies, you need to eradicate your credit card debt. To achieve this, you must first change your words; which will change your thoughts; which will change your beliefs; which will eventually change your actions; which will subsequently change your bank balance!

My personal debt reduction tid-bits:

1. Hang out with people who are debt free.
2. Freeze your credit card in a block of ice and don’t use it.
3. Talk about yourself as if you already live debt free.

In addition to the above action steps, starting TODAY, even if it sounds like a lot of BS, repeat the following mantra every morning until you believe your words:

1. I have lots of money saved up.
2. Using credit cards kills my dreams.
3. I pay myself first.

Remember, the faster you break your credit card addiction, the faster you free yourself up to make movies.

So let me give you one tip – STOP USING YOUR CREDIT CARD! In this way, at least you won’t continually make your debt worse. And once you break the cycle of using your credit card, you can start shift your strategy towards debt repayment and also, the accumulation of FU money.

Posted under 21 Part Filmmaking Mini-Course

As a filmmaker, one of the challenges you face is how to finance a film. When I was starting out, things were much different. Back then, if you wanted to finance a movie, you had to cross your fingers and wait for someone to grant you permission…

The problem is, many people in Hollywood are still waiting for someone else to give them permission. Permission to make a movie. Permission to be successful. Permission to live the best life possible. UGH!

Here is a little secret. If you’re looking to raise money for your movie, set up a crowdfunding campaign. This allows you to test your concept from day one. And if successful, crowdfunding also allows you to find the people who may be most interested in your movie. In addition to providing you with funding, some of these folks will help you spread word of mouth.

Earlier this week, I got a call from Micro Giving asking if I thought filmmakers would be interested in their crowdfunding platform. After checking out the site, I signed up to be their affiliate (so yes, I get paid to promote). But with that said, the reason why I think it’s worth checking out for filmmakers is… Competition.

The site has a ton of sponsors, but it does not yet have too many other filmmakers competing for the sponsorship monies. In fact, at the time of writing, there are very few film projects on the site. (And I know you could do better.)

Anyway, if you want to check out the site for a possible crowdfunding campaign – YOU CAN SET UP A FILMMAKING CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN  HERE

Posted under FILM FINANCING

As a filmmaker, you need to be promoting both yourself and your movie via Facebook. Assuming you already have a personal profile, you know the site allows you to easily stay in touch with friends, have conversations with co-workers and find pictures of your ex-girlfriend. But from a promotional perspective, Facebook is a powerful tool for filmmakers.

If you are part of the Filmmaking Stuff community on Facebook, you probably noticed how nearly 3000 filmmakers have leveraged the community to reach out to share ideas with filmmakers, from all over the world. But in addition to using Facebook for direct personal interests, when you account for the ever changing world of movie distribution, Facebook provides you with a big opportunity to source and connect with your target audience.

If you have a personal Facebook profile, and a movie worth promoting, you need to set up a page for your movie. To do this, go to facebook.com and scroll to the bottom of the page. From there, click the link that says create a page.

You’ll then be redirected to a web page that asks you to pick your page type. If you’re promoting a movie, choose “entertainment” and then pick “movie.” Facebook will then ask you for the name of your movie.

From there, Facebook will ask you to log into your account. If you do not have an account, (and you should), you’ll have to create one. Once complete, your page will be set. All you gotta do is fill in pertinent information about your movie, including a description, photos, links to your movie website and possibly, your movie trailer.

Your next step in the process is to reach out to your facebook friends and invite them to “like” your movie. Depending on your genre and story line, not all of your friends will respond to your request. Don’t take it personally. Many of my movie projects have been ignored by friends, probably because they are over-inundated with various requests from Angry Birds, Farmvill and other distractions.

Assuming you can break through the noise, the advantage to utilizing Facebook to promote your movie is your ability to connect with your audience. Unlike BIG Hollywood power-players, your fans have access to you.  This allows you to add value to their experience, beyond simply watching your movie. By cultivating these relationships, your audience is more likely to promote your movie to their friends, which helps you build your fan-base and make more sales, without spending much money.

In the event you would like to promote your movie further, Facebook  provides you with some very targeted advertising opportunities to reach your target audience. For example, if you are promoting a zombie movie, you will actually have the ability to reach out to zombie enthusiasts and get them to “Like” your movie.  Because they have demonstrated interest in the genre, your ability to build a relationship with these fans, and possibly get a sale, may increase.

One of the coolest aspects of building a Facebook fan page to promote your movie is the ease at which you can build buzz and community around your title.  Fans will be able to post content on the wall, and as a result, you will be able to monitor word of mouth and find out what people are saying about your movie. And in the event you get a few spammers, you can moderate comments to ensure that the content doesn’t become stupid.

In addition, some filmmakers allow fans to post photos to the fan pages. This sort of activity reinforces community and encourages word of mouth. For example, if your movie is in the festival circuit, you might ask your fans to post pictures of the screening. Then once the photo is posted, frends of these fans may see the picture – which may cause them to “like” your movie too. But the hidden benefit of user generated content is – you don’t have to worry about generating additional content!

Posted under DISTRIBUTION

Filmmakers need to manage their money Image via Wikipedia

Learning how to manage money is one of the most important traits of an independent filmmaker. Because many filmmakers are focused on a big Hollywood payday, they have decided to live paycheck to paycheck, shackled by high debt.

If you’re that person right now, you’re not alone.

It wasn’t too long ago that I lived with no savings and thousands of dollars in debt. I had no idea how to turn myself around. Luckily, I met some very successful people who set me straight.

They told me about “FU money.”

In Hollywood, when you get a bunch of money in the bank, it’s called FU money. You know you have FU money when you can enter into negotiations and walk out of the deal without the fear of starvation.

The most valuable success strategy for acquiring FU money is: “Pay Yourself First.”

When I first heard this concept, I had no idea what the heck people were talking about. But after meeting with some power players, I realized the idea is simple. Whenever you get a paycheck, before you pay any bills or fill up your gas tank, set a little money aside and never touch it. That’s all you gotta do.

I know. I know. Most independent filmmakers want to save money but feel too strapped to take action. This is because each month is filled with bills and other unexpected expenses. For this reason, most people put off saving until the end of the month. The problem is, by that time, there is nothing left to save.

And please let me remind you, as a general disclaimer, since I’m a filmmaker and not a qualified legal, tax or financial professional, even if the following strategy provided me with a bunch of FU money, this stuff may not be right for you. So, please talk to a qualified professional first.

One day, I decided to follow a successful friend’s advice. And while it took me a long time, I eventually dug myself out of debt and lifted that financial weight off my back. Here is what I did:

1. I wrote down all monthly income, including paycheck, extra jobs, etc.
2. I wrote down all monthly expenses, including bills, groceries, gas, etc.
3. I subtracted the expenses from the income.
4. I had some money left, so I figured out how much to save.
5. I opened a high-interest online savings account.
6. I set up automatic withdraws each payday and pretended it was a bill.
7. No matter what, for one year I didn’t touch the money!
8. After one year, I paid off my credit card debt.
9. After another year, I spoke to a financial adviser and started investing.
10. After another year, I built up an emergency fund.

After saving, I not only had enough money to get out of debt, I had also developed the valuable life-long habit of always paying myself first. FU!

Learning how to manage your own money will give you confidence when you begin managing your movie projects. Thankfully, there are many financial software programs and online services to help you stay on top of your finances.

Since 2001 (when I was making about 10K a year – I wish I was kidding), I have been using one of the popular accounting software programs. Since that time, I have migrated into the free version of Quicken online. Other friends use Yodlee. And some of my other friends still use a spreadsheet. All of these programs will give you a daily snapshot of your net worth, your spending habits, your bank accounts and your credit card accounts. Most will also chart your investment activity. Some of the more advanced programs allow you to work out a budget and offer debt elimination tools.

The reason why becoming a good money manger is essential to filmmaking is because most prospective investors will sense how you feel about money.

If you liked this sort of unique filmmaking advice, you’ll love the independent producers guide to movie finance.

Posted under FILM FINANCING