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

Jason Brubaker

If you’re familiar with Jason Brubaker’s articles in Movie Maker Magazine, The Independent and Filmmaking Stuff, or if you have seen him speak, then you know he offers an optimistic and energetic perspective on modern independent filmmaking.

If you are a meeting planner or film festival coordinator, Jason Brubaker is available for speaking, workshops and panel discussions related to the following topics:

How to Market And Sell Your Movie: With an independent movie market saturated with movies, it’s not enough to simply make a movie and expect to get paid. Luckily Jason Brubaker is a producer with a background in internet marketing and digital self distribution. In an easy to follow, step-by-step presentation, Brubaker shows audiences how to market and distribute their movies on the internet for maximum profit, without a traditional distribution deal.

“Exceptionally sharp, focused and insightful, Jason Brubaker knows how to squeeze profits out of a film release.  When I have to deal with marketing – whether it’s getting a film released or setting up a panel discussion – Jason is on my team.  He knows how to do the job and he knows how to explain the process.”

-Norman Berns; Emmy-Award Winning Producer

Keynote speaking: Do you have event, such as a film festival, film club screening, or dinner where your audience would benefit from a no BS update about modern independent filmmaking, and how to prosper – Hollywood based independent producer Jason Brubaker is available for keynote presentation. (Both domestically and internationally.)

Film Festival Panel Discussions: If your regional festival would benefit from insights related to modern filmmaking, Jason Brubaker is happy to participate. His primary topic is Digital Self Distribution and how filmmakers can make a living making movies in this ever changing (and challenging) industry.

Weekend Filmmaking Workshops: Jason Brubaker conducts weekend workshops where he teaches industry networking, producing and how to market and sell your movie through new methods in Digital Self Distribution.

1 Day Workshops: In one day, Jason Brubaker covers topics, including how to meet prospective investors, or how to market and sell your movie through new methods of Digital Self Distribution.

If you would like more information on Jason’s topics or availability, please use the following form to contact us:

Posted under

Filmmakers can sell their movies on Amazon. Image via Wikipedia

Recently a question posed by filmmaker Ben Rock over at Neptune Salad gave me a good reason to think about (and share) my filmmaking business philosophy in detail.

Here is the question: “Is there a way to make enough money on any kind of self-distribution that a filmmaker can repay investors and eek out a middle-class existence?”

I felt like this question required a detailed response. So for Ben and other folks with similar questions, I broke it into 2 parts. Here we go…

1. Can any form of Self Distribution make you enough money to repay investors?

This depends on two factors. How much investor money did you spend? And how much of your investor money do you have left to reach your targeted audience?

Getting money to fund independent movies has always been a challenge regardless of what technological innovations have taken shape. But the big difference now is more emotional than factual. These days, whenever filmmakers go out to shake the money tree, their confidence is considerably lower. I mean, in the past, you could at least present speculative opportunities to to prospective investors with a measure of excitement: “Look what happened with The Blair Witch Project! Paranormal Activity! My Big Fat Greek!..”

But what do you say now?

“We are going to sell DVDs on Amazon!”

Yippy.

And even funnier is this. Let’s say you get the money, make your movie and get a (more traditional) 3rd party distribution deal – your deal probably won’t involve theatrical distribution. Add the demise of video sales outlets and video stores, and it is a good bet that your movie will end up on iTunes, Netflix, and Amazon.

Given these outlets, I now wonder why any filmmaker would even approach a 3rd party distributor. I mean, if filmmakers can simply set up shop and reach those outlets on their own, why pay a middle man? Do filmmakers really need 3rd party validation?

So my suggestion is this: If you’re trying to make a living as a filmmaker, you need to care less about traditional validation and more about your bank account. If the numbers don’t work, you nave NO DEAL!

“Ah… Filmmakers should be MORE excited to approach prospective movie investors!”

Unlike years past, you can finally eliminate much of the speculation from your business plan – and you can finally present a deal built on a measurable framework that YOU control. In other words, as a filmmaker you can now pick and choose your sales outlets and come up with an entire step-by-step system for reaching your target audience and then getting your movie seen and sold. Investors like that. It’s less risky!

From this perspective, you can create a reasonable plan and work backwards.

What? You can’t figure out how to repay 1,000,000 dollars in 5 years? Then you have two choices. Change your plan or change your budget (which may involve changing your screenplay and schedule).

And onto the second part of the question…

2. Can a filmmaker eek out a middle-class existence (with digital self distribution)?

Yeah. But like I was saying, you can not think about distribution in the traditional sense. In the past, filmmakers made a movie, got lucky and ended up with a BIG paycheck with incremental increases on the back end. These days filmmakers need to think about their movies in ways akin to how traditional investors think about dividends from bonds – once you make the investment, it’s a long term game!

In other words, you create your movie product this year, get it selling and then you repeat the process. Conceivably in 10 years, you’ll have a library of 10 movies. And with luck each movie will passively pay you thousands of dollars per month.

Moving forward,  if you want to make movies and make money making movies, your strategy has to include oodles and oodles of cash for marketing. I heard one colleague talk in terms of  applying 3/5ths of the budget for the marketing, 1/5th for “name” talent and 1/5th for your below the line costs. I’m sure there is room for variation – but we can all agree that your marketing (more than movie making) is going to provide you the difference between pocket change and profit.

What are your thoughts?

- – -

This is a huge topic. So I will break it into a series. My next article will pick up where I left off. And we can get into a systematic approach to how to make a living through your filmmaking.

In the meantime, get my filmmaking book FOR FREE. Just follow this link: www.FreeFilmmakingBook.com

Posted under Filmmaking

If you ever wondered how to get money to make your movie, you’re not alone. As filmmakers, many of us would rather focus on our filmmaking – And if we had it our way, we would save the go-get-movie-money for a producer.

Back when I started my filmmaking career, I crossed my fingers a lot, hoping that some producer would magically appear in my life, discover my  brilliant material and give me a million dollars to make my movie. Of course the reality is: you get nothing in life until stop allowing other people to give you permission.

In my situation, I did not know producers. I did not have money. And I didn’t know any rich people.  But I knew I wanted to make movies. And I knew I needed money.

Then later, as I expanded my network to include other filmmakers, my nagging question was always in the back of my mind. “How do I get the money to make my movie?”

While asking around, most people told me I needed to find a willing doctor or dentist and ask them for money. UGH! That was so frustrating. The reason? Because it’s old thinking. In the past, movies were a good tax shelter for wealthy self employed professions. Not so much anymore. (Of course I learned that the hard way!)

It wasn’t until I moved to New York City and worked with a producer when I finally learned how people REALLY finance their movies. I learned there is a well defined, systematic approach to getting money. And it doesn’t involve self employed dentists and doctors.

If you’re looking for movie money, here are some tips:

1. Ask around and see if you have rich people in your network. Then meet them.
2. People make money in different ways. As employees, self employed, big business owners and investors. Make sure you know how your prospective investor makes money. Then form your pitch accordingly.
3. Despite popular thought, most prospective investors were not born rich. Many are self made. They value hard work. And they will be looking to see what you can do for them.

As you go out and build relationships with prospective movie investors, just remember – Your independent movie is YOUR business. Respect it accordingly.

- – -
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. To learn more CLICK HERE

Posted under Film Financing