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.

If you’ve been following Filmmaking Stuff for some time, you probably know that this site really pushes non-permission based filmmaking. This concept means that if you’re a filmmaker with ambition and a dream, you should not hesitate… You should not wait for Hollywood to give you permission – but rather, you should pick up a camera and Make Your Movie Now!

For some of you, this is easier said than done. Part of why this seems challenging and impossible is because many of us start our career with the belief that filmmakers need a gazillion dollars, tons of experience and an address in Hollywood to make a living as a “real” filmmaker. While this was once true, the new model of movie making allows you to create and sell movies from anywhere in the world.

For many, this filmmaking evolution is exciting. But the classic elements of filmmaking remain. You still need a great story, the passion and persistence to bring your movie to life, and the guts to share your work with the world. To give you a rough plan of how to get your indie movie business up and running, I’ve provided a few steps. (Where I thought it would help, I also included links to some sponsored filmmaking tools and services.) Ready:

1. Create relationships with at least 5-10 collaborators who complement your skill set. At the very least, you’ll want to find a writer who understands budgets, a physical producer experienced in low budget movie making, a tech guru who understands cameras and modern production gadgets, a sales and marketing professional who can promote the heck out of your movies, an editor with Final Cut Pro, an internet guru who can help you promote and sell your movies online. And you’ll also need a lawyer who can provide you with the necessary legal advice, contracts and advice on setting up a business.
2. Come together as a team and design a movie that can be explained in one high-concept log-line. It has been my experience that original, genre specific movies with a bit of controversy, geared towards a clearly defined target audience will later help you when it comes time to market and sell your movie. And above all, your movie idea should be totally fun and captivating. (Otherwise, why make the movie?)
3. Design a YouTube channel for your “production company.”
4. Once you have a title for your movie, reserve domain name and get a website. I use this company www.MovieSiteHost.com
5. Break down your sceenplay. Out of this, complete your schedule and your budget. Then analyze your budget. Ask yourself: If we do not garner a traditional distribution deal, how many $4.99 VOD downloads will we need to sell to get a return? At this point you can decide to decrease your budget, or not. But once you decide on your budget and the amount of sales you’ll need to make to get a return, you can then begin planning your marketing strategy. If you have money, hire a great Production Manger. If you don’t have money, you’ll have to do your own breakdown. CLICK HERE for a great script breakdown resource.
6. Once you have a concrete filmmaking strategy, you can go after your money. Investors like to see three things in your business plan, who is running the company, how you’ll spend the money and how you’ll make a profit. Unlike years past, iTunes, Amazon and Netflix provides you a somewhat easily accessible distribution pipeline. This will assist you in getting the necessary movie money. If you don’t know how to find prospective investors, see: www.GetMovieMoney.com
7. After you lock down your money, you can go into pre-production full force. Hire a great 1st AD.
8. Make your movie! Edit your movie. Refine your edit. Then…
9. Two things have to happen. You have to spread the word of your movie. This can be done by entering film festivals. Additionally, you have to start building a big audience list, so you can tell them about screenings and ask them to BUY your movie. Get your movie onto iTunes, Netflix and Amazon. Try www.MovieSalesTool.com
10. Once you get your movie out there and selling, focus on fueling your marketing with ads, PR and partnerships with other filmmakers.

And after you do this once, the way to become successful is to create more and more movies. Remember, your goal is to create at least 20 movies in your life time, so that you can get at least 20 checks in the mail each month!

- – -

If you like this filmmaking stuff, you’re welcome to join the revolution by grabbing over $100 dollars in FREE filmmaking stuff here: www.FreeFilmmakingBook.com

Posted under Film Financing

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

Super 16mm was once used in most every independent filmmakers. Image via Wikipedia

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?

- – -

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

A few years back, while flying aboard a loud propeller driven airplane somewhere over the snow capped mountains of Colorado, I heard the guy in front of me talking to his girlfriend about an idea for a movie. Since I had just finished production on my second feature, I felt compelled to chime in. And when I heard his movie pitch, I just had to help. . .

Fast forward to today and filmmaker Rory Delaney is getting a ton of buzz on the film festival circuit for his feature documentary, Toxic Soup. The movie exposes corporate carelessness and profiles everyday people afflicted by the Toxic Soup dumped in their back yards. (And yes, I am one of the producers of this movie. After you see it, you’ll understand why this story can’t be ignored.)

Jason Brubaker
Where did you get the idea for “Toxic Soup”?

Rory Delaney
I got the idea for “Toxic Soup” when I met West Virginian Kyle Stratton Crace in Los Angeles. Being in LA we got to talking about movies of course. I told Kyle that I was from Kentucky and had edited a documentary “Method in the Mountains,” which was shot in West Virginia. In turn, Kyle talked about growing up in Charleston, WV, in what is known as the Chemical Valley.

Jason Brubaker
Chemical Valley? Sounds like a horror movie. Why do they call it that?

Rory Delaney
At one time West Virginia had the heaviest concentration of chemical plants in the world. After Kyle spoke about the health effects that his family and friends had experienced as a result of their residence in the area, I thought it had the makings of a great documentary. Additional research affirmed my suspicions, and then an early test shoot erased all remaining doubts.

Jason Brubaker
As a filmmaker, often the idea you start with grows into something much bigger and often, unexpected. Would you say that your original focus shifted?

Rory Delaney
Originally I thought the documentary was going to be about one specific case involving the water contamination of Parkersburg, West Virginia with the DuPont manufactured chemical C8 (also known as PFOA). I just couldn’t believe that the EPA had found C8 (PFOA) in the blood of 96% of Americans, and that Dupont had covered up the fact for decades, while the state government had turned a blind eye. However, during production we heard a lot of similar stories.

Jason Brubaker
Like what?

Rory Delaney
We heard about a series of explosions and leaks of MIC in Institute, West Virginia, at a Bayer chemical plant. MIC is the chemical that killed over 20,000 Indians in 1984 after a catastrophic leak at a the US run Union Carbide plant. Institute, West Virginia is the only place left in the world where MIC is still manufactured and stored in massive quantities far eclipsing that which caused the Bhopal tragedy, which Time Magazine dubbed the world’s worst industrial accident.

Jason Brubaker
These are deadly chemicals in people’s back yards.

Rory Delaney
Yes. We also learned about the pollution of a community’s well water in Mingo County, West Virginia by Massey Energy with coal slurry containing heavy metals like arsenic and lead. We even visited the radioactive oil fields abandoned by Ashland Oil in Red Bush, Kentucky where community members have been developing brain tumors at alarming rates and a cat was born with 2 heads, 6 legs, and 2 tails. But while the companies and toxins differ, there is a pattern connecting them. “Toxic Soup” was made to examine and question that pattern.

Jason Brubaker
A lot of documentary filmmakers are impacted and forever changed by their subjects. Would you say the work impacted you?

Rory Delaney
Toxic Soup work has definitely impacted me. For one, I’m an official Kentucky Colonel now. For real.

Jason Brubaker
Really? How do you prove that?

Rory Delaney
I got a certificate from Governor Steve Beshear and everything. How awesome is that? But kidding aside, on a practical level “Toxic Soup” has influenced my consumption patterns. I do my best to avoid products associated with different companies, ranging from gasoline. Marathon bought Ashland Oil. And pain killers made by Bayer as well as frying pans.

Jason Brubaker
Frying pans?

Rory Delaney
Frying pans with Teflon. C8 leaches into your food from the nonstick action.

Jason Brubaker
It sounds like Toxic Soup is everywhere.

Rory Delaney
I look at the ingredients in my personal care products. I don’t wear deodorants with phthalates in them also referred to as “Scent” or “Perfume.” That stuff is gnarly for you. Finally, I pay a lot closer attention to politics and corporate campaign donations. I was deeply troubled by the latest Supreme Court decision on that front.

Jason Brubaker
Along the way, you traveled across the country to  meet some very high ranking officials and interesting people. How were you able to plan your days?

Rory Delaney
I scheduled interviews, aerial flyovers and community meetings as far in advance as possible. On off days we shot b-roll and performed additional research and community outreach. We emailed and called countless lawyers, politicians, journalists, filmmakers, nonprofits, professors, activists, and celebrities in search of interviews, stories, and tips. A lot of these phone calls and emails paid big dividends.

Jason Brubaker
Many of the people you profiled have been living in “Toxic Soup” their entire lives. Why do those people choose to stay in polluted land. Why don’t they just move?

Rory Delaney
Polluted or not, where you are born is where you are born. It’s home. You don’t choose it. And most people have an acute sense of that bond. Often they have extended family and friends in the area. They have roots there. So leaving becomes difficult for emotional reasons. Also there are financial reasons. Some of these folks own property, but that property has been depreciated 80 to 90 percent of its value because of toxic contamination in some cases. As a result, many can’t move because they lack the resources to do so. It’s a vicious circle.

Jason Brubaker
What did you shoot on?

Rory Delaney
We shot the majority of footage on the Canon XHA1 at 24p 1080 HD. For three camera shoots we also utilized the Canon HV20, which also shoots in 1080 HD.

Jason Brubaker
How did you find your crew?

Rory Delaney
When I was getting my MFA in dramatic writing from NYU I met director Christina Voros when I wrote the short film “Rosy” with her. “Rosy” played at the 2008 Florida Film Festival and Nantucket Film Festival. In any event, I contacted Christina because she is also a very talented DP, and she recommended her friend Sergei Krasikau who is a sound recorder and still photographer. Later, I met Lisa Bragg and Curtis Baskerville while shooting in West Virginia. Lisa and Curtis are local filmmakers who proved to be invaluable as they could film stuff when the rest of us were out of town. It just kind of came together like everything else.

Jason Brubaker
I know some of your locations did not permit a video crew or a camera. How were you able to capture footage there?

Rory Delaney
For a couple hundred bucks we also picked up a cheap spy camera at the Spy Museum in Washington DC, which we used to film the DuPont annual shareholders meeting in Wilmington, Delaware, where our camera crew had been banned.

Jason Brubaker
How did you get big names like Bill Clinton and Morgan Spurlock in your documentary?

Rory Delaney
Despite being a first-time director, we had a lot of success getting celebrity cameos in our documentary. As we all know, we live in the age of celebrity, and the truth is that you are more likely to get into bigger festivals and achieve wider distribution if you have “names” attached to your project. Although we had difficulty pursuing celebrities through official channels (Many had a protective wall of handlers and assistants), we opted to cut out the middlemen and personally pitch our documentary.

Jason Brubaker
And how were you able to get within talking distance?

Rory Delaney
To do this, we researched their public appearance schedules before turning up with our camera crew in tow. This is how we got an interview with Bill Clinton and Morgan Spurlock. The same strategy worked for cameos by Jim Carrey, Jenny McCarthy and RFK Jr.

Jason Brubaker
Is Morgan Spurlock supportive of Toxic Soup?

Rory Delaney
We believe that Morgan is supportive of “Toxic Soup”. We approached him months ago with a fine cut of the documentary and welcomed his input and advice. However, he is super busy with his FX show “30 Days” and also judging at film festivals like Sundance, so we haven’t had a chance to really connect with him. As we build up more grassroots support for the documentary, I am cofident that Morgan will resurface and assist the movement.

Jason Brubaker
What advice do you have for filmmakers pursuing controversial topics?

Rory Delaney
Talk with a lawyer and possibly form a legal entity. Also get a business card. Other than that make sure the topic is something that you’re passionate about because people are going to flake on you when you start rocking the boat. In other words, if you’re doing it just to be controversial, you aren’t going to have the stamina to finish the project and get it out there for people to see.

Jason Brubaker
You’re taking about genuine passion.

Rory Delaney
Yes. Despite all the obstacles we faced in production and post, I was driven to get “Toxic Soup” made after meeting all the inspirational people fighting for environmental justice in their communities. I also felt like they were depending on me to get their stories and voices heard, so I just put my head down and did it.

Jason Brubaker
Any film festival advice?

Rory Delaney
Initially when submitting “Toxic Soup” to film festivals, I applied more or less blindly through withoutabox with mixed results. After consulting with Toxic Soup DP Christina Voros -- She’s an amazing director who was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 20 new faces in independent film -  Anyway, after chatting with her I revised my strategy.

Jason Brubaker
If you don’t mind sharing, could you describe your secret film festival strategy?

Rory Delaney
Christina explained that with her previous films she had had a lot of success writing in advance to festival programmers and requesting fee waivers. I utilized Christina’s idea and approached festivals with a brief pitch of “Toxic Soup” and a plea for fee waiver, explaining that any funds we could save would help us to attend the screening and promote the documentary.

Jason Brubaker
That’s an awesome idea. What was the response from festivals?

Rory Delaney
The majority of the festivals responded positively and granted “Toxic Soup” either full fee waivers or at half-price. Now some folks wrote back and said no, but hey, festivals are like the lottery. You can’t win if you don’t play. But the real brilliance behind Christina’s strategy isn’t the money that you save; it’s that your DVD is no longer anonymous DVD #10-HFX3004, which arrived in the mail one day and is sitting under a stack of a other anonymous DVDs.

Jason Brubaker
Right. It’s like you initiated the first steps to a personal relationship with the festival programmer.

Rory Delaney
Yes. Now you have corresponded with the programmer. They now have knowledge of your project and who you are, and they are waiting to watch your film, giving you an immediate edge over a good 80 percent of the other submissions.

Jason Brubaker
Are you still playing the festivsals?

Rory Delaney
We are still playing the festival circuit. We just sent off to fifteen or twenty festivals who granted us waivers. We even got a call from a festival in Buenos Aires, Argentina, interested in including “Toxic Soup” in their program. So keep checking back to (The Official Toxic Soup Movie Website) for updates on that front. We are also screening at universities. We just played at West Virginia State University in Institute, WV, and at the University of Maryland School of Law.

Jason Brubaker
How is the response thus far?

Rory Delaney
The response has been encouraging. The university screenings as well as our world premiere at the Atlanta Film Festival were well attended, and the Questions and Answers afterward were lively. People really want to do know what they can do to protect themselves and their communities from pollution. Basically, folks are outraged by the inability of our government to protect Americans and regulate corporations hell-bent on profits over people.

Jason Brubaker
What have you learned about the world of distribution?

Rory Delaney
I have learned that nothing happens overnight. There is no fairy godmother, glass slipper, or pumpkin coach. You’ve got to push your movie / documentary into the world yourself, and the more you do to publicize and build a grassroots following, the greater your chances will be of attracting a distributor. Also I’ve learned that when you are presented with deals, don’t jump on the first thing that comes along. The last thing you want to do is sign a three year contract with a lackluster sales agent, and then a year in, find your hands tied after a more recognizable name decides to take on your project.

Jason Brubaker
Where can folks find out more about Toxic Soup?

Rory Delaney
On the official Toxic Soup Movie  Website, you can follow our blog, connect with nonprofits and research what’s in your backyard. You can also join us on facebook, twitter, and YouTube as well as watch clips from the movie.

- Here is the trailer for Toxic Soup -

Posted under Interviews with Hollywood