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.

As a filmmaker, independent film financing is a major mystery. When I was starting out, I met with quite a few producers who refused to share their money secrets with me… I don’t know why they were so secretive. But it really annoyed me.

Then there were other “experts” who talked about asking my dentist for money. Ugh.

Even though many filmmakers think getting money is somehow limited to the arena of filmmaking, it’s not. The truth is, all budding business professionals need to shake the money tree from time to time. So luckily for filmmakers, the world of business provides us with rules and resources for getting money.

The traditional ways people raise money in the United States, aside from going to a bank, is by meeting with an attorney, putting together some complex paperwork in-line with SEC regulations (Securities and Exchange Commission), meeting with prospective investors, building relationships and then asking for money – and hopefully getting a signed check!

If you have an idea for a screenplay you want to produce, or you have the rights to a screenplay, I hope you’ve taken some time to figure out how much money you’ll need to make your movie. Will you need over a million dollars, or can you make your project for much less?

This factor alone will determine your strategy.

If you don’t have a clue, then I suggest you contact someone to help you take your screenplay and perform an initial breakdown and schedule. From this information, you’ll be able to know (roughly) how much money you’ll need to complete your project.

Just keep in mind – If you’ve worked really hard to get your hands on a great script and you performed your initial breakdown, schedule and budget, your next step is to find ways to cut costs.

Why? Because with good business, any money you spend should be considered an investment that potentially brings in a good return. Think about it – if your movie is projected to return a mere 1.5% of investment dollars, then why invest in a movie? Why not just get a great savings account?

You must figure out ways to save money without sacrificing production value and story, and you’ll be closer to profitability. I emphasize cost cutting early in the process, because if you’re creative, then it’s possible to make a fancy looking movie for far less than the initial budget. How much less? That depends.

Remember, in many situations, you can replace cash limitations with creativity.

If you are looking for ideas on raising movie money, you might want to sign up for the official Filmmaking Stuff newsletter. I share a lot of modern moviemaking tips.  Find out more by clicking here   >>

Posted under FILM FINANCING

The problem with traditional independent filmmaking is the ever growing gap between investment dollars and a filmmaker’s ability to recoup the initial investment. This is nothing new. Independent filmmaking has always been a risky business. And we freely share this with any prospective investors, usually stating: “filmmaking is risky and you will most likely never see a dime.”

While these types of disclaimers have always been transparent and accurate, filmmakers could often counter this objection by getting investors to focus on the misguided idea that the movie might get into Sundance. The movie might garner ginormous buzz. And if you’re really lucky, the movie might sell to the highest bidder! The benefit of investing in independent movies wasn’t the promise of a solid investment. Rather the driving force behind investment dollars was the chance of winning instant fame, fortune and a never ending supply of coolness.

Many filmmakers still hold this dream close to heart. But the realities of the independent movie business are sobering. Out of the gazillion movies made each year, only a few get into a major film festival. And out of those movies, very few garner a deal worth mentioning. Adding to this problem is the ever prevalent demise of DVD sales channels, resulting in filmmaking becoming less profitable and less cool than it once was. And as a result, the “invest in my movie because it’s an awesome business” pitch is no longer believable.

Technology is also changing independent moviemaking. For two-thousand dollars, every filmmaker can now grab a camera, shoot a feature and compete for virtual “shelf space” in iTunes, Amazon, Netflix, Hulu and most of the many VOD outlets. In the context of business 101, this means that our high quality, expensive goods (our movies) are now competing with cheaply produced goods of a somewhat comparable quality. And if we were in the widget business, this would mean massive layoffs are in the near future. Or to put it another way, our old way of making movies no longer fits the marketplace.

This of course raises the question: How do we make independent moviemaking profitable (and fun) again?

A lot of people have solutions. One that is gaining popularity is the idea that filmmakers should hire someone to cover the marketing and distribution of the movie from day one. In this sense, filmmakers can focus on making the movie while the marketer can focus on the marketing, social media and list building duties. In this regard, instead of trying to find a traditional distribution deal, complete with a cash advance, you get enough people to know you and know your movie from day one. And once your mailing list (or community of followers) reaches a certain mass, you will hopefully sell enough copies of your movie to recoup your investment.

When I think about how this idea of community applies to my own filmmaking, I always think about my mom. Would she join a community just to follow a filmmaker? Would she buy the tshirts and pay five dollars in a crowd funding, financing pool to earn an associate producer credit? Would she tweet about my movie project? Maybe. But the last time I checked, she just wants to come home from work, sit down on the sofa, relax and watch something without complication.

I know my mom does not fit the same target, tech savvy demographic as most modern moviemakers, but I use her as an example because my mom, as well as my friends who aren’t in the business, as well as strangers I see on airplanes (prospective customers) – most of these folks aren’t looking to go out of their way to watch a movie. They just want to watch a movie in the most convenient way possible. And if their iPad or iPhone is convenient at the moment, fine.

That said, I do agree that modern moviemakers need to build a targeted audience list and grow community around individual movie titles – Everyone fits into some kind of demographic. And everyone wants to be part of something. And many folks aren’t even conscious of this. But building community around your project is easier said than done. The reality is, it will take tremendous efforts to make the metrics work, begging the question: How much must a community grow to support a movie budget of at least one-million dollars?

One-million dollars is not a lot of money in terms of traditional indie filmmaking budgets. And if we assume all traditional distribution will eventually be replaced by some form of VOD, then as a filmmaker, business success really comes down to three economically focused questions:

1. Who is your movie’s target audience?
2. How will you reach your target audience?
3. And how many VOD downloads does will take to recoup the initial investment?

If you can’t answer these questions, then you know from day one that your odds of success are dramatically decreased. Without a defined market or an established sales channel, it is difficult to justify financing, which makes it very difficult to pay cast and crew, which makes it difficult to produce a movie.

Assuming you can answer these questions, the problem is still economy of scale. If you can’t reach the masses (or reach enough people willing to pay for what you’re selling), how will you ever recoup your initial movie investment? And if you can’t figure out how you’re going to recoup your budget, two things have to change:

1. Filmmakers will need to make smaller movies.
2. Filmmakers will need to pay cast and crew less money.

At first thought, neither of these options seems to make independent movie making profitable (or fun) – which is why people keep creating solutions without first scrutinizing the traditional filmmaking paradigm. As a result most current solutions fail to fully SOLVE the indie producing for profit problem – Which prompted me to share my own solutions.

What I’m about to share is the official Jason Brubaker solution for saving the independent movie industry. And it has a name. I call this philosophy…

“Modern Moviemaking.”

Admittedly, I should have added some shazam to my idea and called it Filmmaker 5.0, or Dogma 2010 – but coining phrases is not my strong suit. Rather I want to join the other filmmaker thinkers and focus on a workable solution. Additionally, I’m just like you. I’m a filmmaker, passionate about making movies. But at the same time, I want to help us figure out a way to make a living making movies.

So this movement is your movement. Should you choose to participate in this brave new modern movie making world, there is one solid, economically viable way to make movies profitable again. And it will require that you adopt a modern moviemaking paradigm. So are you ready to join the modern moviemaking movement?

Modern Moviemaking Manifesto

1. Modern Moviemakers will think of movie making in ways akin to how entrepreneurs think of start up companies. Instead of raising investment dollars for just one title, Modern Moviemakers will create a mini-studio, complete with research and development, planning, production, marketing, distribution and sales under one roof.
2. Modern Moviemakers will focus on producing a slate of at least five genre specific movies. These movies will be created inexpensively and will be delivered to the audience via ALL popular VOD marketplaces.
3. Instead of paying freelance day-rates, Modern Moviemakers will put crew on a salary, with benefits. Everybody in the company will own equity in the company. So in this regard, someone who owns 10% in company stock will get 10% of all movie profits. This will supplement crew salary with an ongoing, lifelong stream of income.
4. Modern Moviemakers will work to grow our community (and customer base) bigger. And over time, our fans will begin to know us, know our company and celebrate our work. Only in this way will we eventually reach mass great enough to increase ongoing revenue through multiple streams of movie income.
5. Modern Moviemakers focus on muti-title diversification, with the goal that multiple movie titles build enough buzz to create long term, sustainable revenue. In this regard, we can begin to focus on creating entire library instead of just depending on one title to support our career.

There is no fee to join the Modern Moviemaking Movement. If you think it makes sense, just tell two or 3-5 of your closest filmmaking  friends about the Modern Moviemaking Manifesto.

To get the Modern Movie Making Manifesto, CLICK HERE

If you would like to listen to the Modern Moviemaking podcast, CLICK HERE

I look forward to making movies for life. I hope you’ll join me in the movement.

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Jason Brubaker is a Hollywood based Independent Motion Picture Producer 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 read more of his articles, check him out at: www.FilmmakingStuff.com

Posted under DISTRIBUTION

In case you haven’t noticed, filmmaking is changing. With the emergence of awesomely great DSLR technology, making a movie is getting cheaper.

In years past, the cash threshold necessary to propel a project into production was cost prohibitive. This alone served as a major obstacle to most every aspiring independent filmmaker. Add the need for complex technology and the skilled professionals necessary for the equipment, it’s it’s easy to understand why most would-be feature filmmakers never took action.

For example, in years past, if you wanted to create an awesome picture (on a budget), you shot Super 16mm – And later, if the film was picked up, you could easily blow up Super 16mm picture to 35mm. And, I repeat – these steps were once considered an affordable option.

And let’s say you decided to follow this “economic” filmmaking route – if so, you had to raise enough money to not only cover the film and equipment, but you paid for your DP, your camera operator, someone to pull focus, someone to load the film, someone to lay dolly track and someone else to push your dolly – and once the film was in the can, you paid to get the film processed, create dailies, get it color corrected, transferred to video, edited and blown up to 35mm.

Then you crossed your fingers. . .

“UGH! Can you imagine trying to make movies like that? It makes very little sense. Especially now.”

Everything has changed. It’s been almost a decade since I’ve heard anybody in the filmmaking community seriously consider shooting their first feature on film. And why would they? These days, if you want to make a great looking movie, you grab your $2,000 DSLR camera and you start shooting.

That’s it. No film stock. No silly processing costs. No silly blow up costs. You simply take your camera out of the bag, point and shoot.

Then you edit on your computer and upload to several of the video on demand websites and that’s it. You’ve created a product (your movie) and you have taken your product to market (via digital self distribution).

AMAZING! (Or is it?)

Seriously. For producers, the evolution of DSLR is totally awesome. For all below the line crew working to make a living – this isn’t so good.

Using my previous example, let’s compare shooting Super 16mm to shooting on a DSLR. Take out an eraser and eliminate 80% of everything I just mentioned.  No more need for heavy dolly track and a dolly. No more need for the person pushing the heavy-duty dolly. Eliminate your focus puller and your film loader. Eliminate a few production assistants. And totally eliminate film processing. Not necessary.

This shift in filmmaking technology is going to create more and more projects. And unlike years past when making a movie required a gazillion dollars, the modern filmmaker can now produce viable projects “out of pocket.”

And yes, while many of the screenplays will continue to suck, rest assured that the picture will look good.

“OK. What’s the downside to modern film production?”

Producers no longer need a million dollars to make a good looking picture. Simply put, this is bad for the freelancer community.

Let’s say you’re a filmmaker looking to hire a sound guy. Normally you would have to pay him $500 dollars or more per day (which is a low figure for some, I know). Well if you’re a filmmaker shooting your first feature on a budget, are you really going to pay that day rate?

Probably not.

You’ll probably find a sound guy and get him to bring his own equipment, and you’ll offer to pay him peanuts. And if he doesn’t take the job, you’ll find someone else to replace him.

And this is the problem with modern filmmaking. There is an overwhelming supply of product in the marketplace, a glut of manufacturing – and revisiting economics 101 – your production (AKA, your indie film) can now be produced cheaply. (Sure, your product might be junk? But I’m not debating that here.)

Think of it this way, in years past, producing goods in an assembly line required hundreds of man hours. But as technology evolved, many of these jobs were replaced by robots. Well, the same can be said for many freelance production professionals. More movies, minus less budget money and something’s gotta give.

“So why don’t indie film producers just raise more money?”

Distribution.

Couple an ever growing glut of movie products coming into the marketplace with a measurable erosion in traditional distribution deals, and you can understand that the indie movie industry is saturated with an over supply of movies and less outlets.

So given these unfavorable odds of a big payday, why would any filmmaker risk a few million on a budget with increasingly less opportunities for a traditional deal?

In this regard, the only option is for producers to keep their budgets low. That way, in the event these filmmakers do not garner a traditional distribution deal, they can at least recoup some of the budget through digital self distribution.

So how can freelancers make a living making movies?

First of all, I’ve been talking about low budget indie feature films. Freelancers can still find work in the corporate, industrial, BIG budget and commercial world. And if you’re going to make a living working solely on low budget, independent pictures, I suggest you consider tweaking your strategy.

1. Get a job to pay the bills and then start producing your own movies. Seriously. I’m sure you’ve probably worked with a few morons and thought “I should be making my own movies.” So DO IT! (I’ll now plug one of Jason Brubaker’s products.)

Go to http://www.GetMovieMoney.com and get your hands on “The Indie Producer’s Guide To Financing Your Movie.” I wrote it. It’s a step by step guide to help you start thinking like a producer.

2. If you don’t want to produce your own movies, then do this. In addition to your day rate – or whatever deal those producers try to throw at you. . . Ask for back end points and at least an associate producer credit.

For clarification, what I’m suggesting is different than deferred pay. I’m suggesting you get your hands on a piece of the action. You’ll want to get a lawyer to draw up the paperwork – but imagine owning one percent and a producer credit on 100 movies. Some of those movies will hit. And when they do, you could potentially get a nice stream of cash.

Think about this – what if you got $50 dollars a month from 25 movies (25×50=$1250per month) – for life? In this regard, you would have an extra 12K per year in addition to your other work. Not great, but better than nothing, right?

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I don’t know if this sounds impossible or not to you. But with all these changes, including DSLR technology as well as digital self distribution, we can only expect things to change even more.  The future of filmmaking is a broad topic and I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Posted under FILMMAKING

Many first time feature filmmakers get very overwhelmed when they start thinking about a business plan for their independent feature. While there are many software programs that can help you structure the format of a formal filmmaking business plan, I’ll provide a few things to throw in:

1. Who is behind this project?
2. What’s the market like?
3. Describe your motion picture company.
4. Who is involved in the management? AKA, heavy hitters.
5. How will you market and sell your movie?
6. How much money will you need? Where will you spend it?
7. How do you expect to return the money?

Posted under FILM FINANCING

Often filmmakers get choked up when it comes to finding investors for their movie. Yes, we all know film is a speculative investment, and a bad one at that. Yes, we’ve all heard that a dentist is probably the most likely source of potential investment dollars. And finally, we all know that you need to sell potential investors on the glamor of filmmaking before they will buy into your project.

On top of these factors, if you haven’t noticed, the financial markets are in turmoil. But the good news is, during this financial downturn, you can still spend this time networking. This country is full of wealthy and successful people (other than dentists) who are very kind and generous when it comes to giving advice to young entrepreneurs.

Your job over the next couple months is to get at least one initial meeting with the wealthy guy in town… Every small town in America seems to have at least one wealthy individual. Go meet him or her.

How? Call them up on the telephone and ask for a meeting. Let the person know you are a entrepreneur seeking advice. (Because, lets face it, a filmmaker working to make a movie is an entrepreneur.) Then when you get the meeting, go prepared with about 10 really good questions about how to become successful (not focused on filmmaking, but just success). Take a note pad. And then make a friend. Dress nice. Give a firm handshake.

After you ask the question, LISTEN! Don’t ask for money. Your primary order of business in this initial conversation is to make a friend.

If you focus on a friend first, then someday your friend may be willing to help you reach your filmmaking goals.

Hope this gets you thinking.

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If you are wondering how to get money for your movie – Almost every resource will tell you that you need a business plan. Very few resources will tell you how to actually go out, find prospective investors, qualify them, contact them, get a meeting and build a relationship.

Since getting money for movies was such a frustrating experience for me, I spent the last few months creating: The Independent Producer’s Guide To Financing Your Movie. In it, YOU will gain valuable insider experience so you can avoid my past mistakes, find investors and make your movie. CLICK HERE to learn more.

Posted under FILM FINANCING