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.

When I was working to make my first feature, I read a bunch of filmmaking books. I wanted to find out how to finish my screenplay and how to raise money for my movie. The problem was, much of the information was bogus.

A lot of those “experts” had never even made a movie! One guy even said I should ask my dentist or doctor for money.  Frustrating.

Fortunately, I found few a great filmmaking books. Here are my top 3! I didn’t put these filmmaking books in order, but in full disclosure I did use affiliate links that will redirect you to Amazon. If you don’t like Amazon, get these books somewhere else, but do read them!

1. How I Made A Hundred Movies In Hollywood And Never Lost A Dime – In this book, Roger Corman explains how he was able to build an amazing motion picture business. Now before you decide that Roger doesn’t make the type of movies you want to make – think again. New technology allows filmmakers to make movies rapidly. So it’s very possible you’ll make your first feature film sooner than you think. But the real money in movies will be your ability to sustain the product pipeline. (In other words, you need to make many movies, not just one.) Roger provides a great model for this type of thinking.
2. Extreme DV at Used-Car Prices: How to Write, Direct, Shoot, Edit, and Produce a Digital Video Feature for Less Than $3,000 – In this book, Rick Schmidt wrote one of the classics. Despite changes in technology, one thing remains – If you are going to make a feature film, you need to take action! Rick also has workshops where you can collaborate with other filmmakers and come out with a feature film.
3. Rebel without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker With $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player – I got this one for a gift. After reading how Robert Rodriquez sold his body to science, made a feature and became famous. If he could make feature films, so can you!

Aside from those books, I’d like to recommend one more. Filmmaking Stuff: How To Make Your Movie In 21 Steps – Ok, this is the book I wrote. But unlike the other stuff I mentioned, you can get this filmmaking book for free.

Posted under Filmmaking

Jason Brubaker writes

If you’re a member of the Filmmaking Stuff newsletter as well as our facebook group, you probably know that we try very hard to answer every moviemaking question you send. Now, granted sometimes we get busy.

So, I wanted to provide you with a list of useful, no-fluff filmmaking tools. (Disclosure: Where possible, I included affiliate links. If you don’t want to buy anything I’m selling that’s totally cool.)

With that said, if I were once again putting together my first feature, this is a loose road map of the filmmaking tools I would utilize to make it happen.

How to Make Your Movie Now!

Before you get started, set up a profile with my friends at Movie Set – I consider this site to be the glue that binds. Well beyond your typical social networking site, this service will help you create community around your movie the whole way from script to screen to your movie marketplace.

Your Script – The First Draft:

This seems obvious. But without a screenplay, it is very difficult to make a movie. Yes, I know some of you are interested in making an “experimental” movie. If that’s you, then ignore the following screenwriting tools. But if you would like to write a screenplay, here are some filmmaking tools that I recommend:

1. Final Draft – This is industry standard screenwriting software. You can also get Movie Magic Screenwriter. But I never used it. And if money is tight, you can get FREE screenwriting software here: Celtix
2. The Independent Producer’s Guide To Writing Movie Scripts That Sell, by Jason Brubaker – Yes, this is THE screenwriting Action Pack that I created. In it, you get a decade of experience, a workbook and MP3 Audio, so you can listen to it anywhere. Call it screenwriting from a producer’s perspective.

BreakDown Your Script

Ok. After you finish your screenplay, you will want to break it down. What is a script breakdown? Basically, you take everything in your script (wardrobe, stunts, locations, characters, props Et AL. . . ) And you put these elements into a schedule. Since this is your “initial breakdown,” you will use this information to determine the ball park budget of your movie. Here are the filmmaking tools I recommend:

1. Peter Marshall’s Script Breakdown and Film Scheduling Course. Peter has been in this game a long, long time. He will show you the fundamentals of script breakdown. These lessons will help you see your movie from a totally different, producer perspective.
2. There is industry software to help you break down, schedule and budget your movie. One is called Movie Magic Scheduling and Movie Magic Budgeting. If money is tight, you can also grab a copy of Gorilla. These software tools are great because you can put them on your laptop and use them in remote places, even if you don’t have an internet connection!

Get Movie Money

Once your screenplay is broken down, scheduled and budgeted – the next step in the process is getting the money. To do this, you will need to create a movie business plan. After you have your business plan, you’ll want to contact a lawyer to draw up some paperwork and help you establish a corporate entity. And after that, you’ll go out and get your movie money. Here are some great filmmaking tools:

1. Your Film Business Plan. For this, I recommend a website called Film Proposals. They have created a great business plan kit, which will provide you with a step-by-step approach to all the business stuff you would rather not bother with. Get Your Movie Business Plan Here.
2. When it comes to entertainment attorneys, one of most accomplished is Gordon Firemark. He runs a website and has very informative podcasts, full of valuable legal tips – And if you need some work beyond that, including legal releases for your movie, Gordon can help. You can check out his site by clicking here. Get on his mailing list. . .
3. Getting a business plan and putting your legal ducks in a row is only part of the process, the next aspect is getting money for your movie. I recommend “How To Make Rich Friends and Finance Your Movie” by Jason Brubaker. OK. Once again, this another one of my Action Packs. As usual, this is no-fluff. Different from all the other BS out there, you will discover how to seek out and make friends with rich people, even if you don’t know rich people. (Yet) – Access The Independent’s Guide To Financing Your Movie by clicking here.
4. I can’t forget my friends at Indie GoGo. This site will allow you to set up a profile, promote your movie project, set a financial goal and find folks to sponsor various aspects of your movie. And if you actually raise 100% of your goal, the company will throw in a bonus percentage. To GoGo, Click Here.

Going Into Production

Once you raise the money, get your cast, crew and equipment, locations and craft service, the next step is going into production. In this stage, you’ll find out if all of your planning holds up. This is going to be both adventurous and grueling. But an awesome time you’re sure NEVER to forget.  Here are several filmmaking resources that I recommend:

1. Rick Schmidt’s Extreme DV. He has a great workshop in the Bay Area where you actually complete a feature film. He is also the writer of one of the most empowering filmmaking books I’ve ever read. To check out the book, click here. To learn more about Rick Schmidt’s filmmaking workshop, follow this link.
2. Rebel Without A Crew. This is another personal favorite. Perhaps it’s a little dated, but if you can ignore the ancient filmmaking technology mentioned in the book, you will finish your read with a new found appreciation for how difficult the filmmaking process used to be. No more excuses! Get the book here and Make Your Movie Now!
3. If you’re looking for a longer workshop, I recommend the New York Film Academy as well as the Maine Media Workshops.

Post Production

After you produce your movie, you’ll want to edit it. This is the phase they call post production. And it really is the final rewrite of your movie. In the past, your post production expenses were crazy expensive. But like most things in filmmaking, technology makes your post experience awesomely affordable. Here are some tools:

1. A decade ago, all the talk and buzz in the world revolved around Avid. Now you’re like Avid who? Seriously. If you have a Mac, get yourself a copy of Final Cut Pro. It’s all but industry standard. It’s powerful and affordable. Enough said.
2. If you don’t have a Mac, find a friend who does. Re-read the previous step. And if you don’t know how to edit, find a friend who does.

Market and Sell Your Movie

I’m not going to tell you how to find a sales agent or how to make a 3 picture deal. Partially because that stuff is rare. And partly because those deals are old school anyway. I mean, who wants to hire a 3rd party when you can build a following and cash your own checks. I love this arena. I call it Digital Self Distribution. Here is how you market and sell your movie:

1. Create a trailer that actually aims to sell the movie without giving the entire story away. They call this a teaser trailer. Make sure it includes a back link to your website. Once you have the trailer, put the sucka on YouTube and all the other video streaming sites you can think of.
2. Get a domain name and website hosting. To do this, set up an account with a filmmaker friendly company. I prefer BlueHost. And yes, they pay me to say that. When you set up the site, I prefer to use the name movie in the URL.
3. Once you have your website hosting, hire a web designer to create a website for you. (Actually, you should have built a website prior to production. But I know your mind was probably focused on actually making the movie. So it’s OK.) If you burnt all your money actually making the movie, then check out this website called http://www.fiverr.com – On this site, you’ll probably find a dozen people who will create an awesome website for a whopping $5 dollars. Seriously. I’ve used it and actually got some great work!
4. Once you have your trailer and your website, you need to make sure you set up a Facebook page as well as other ways to grab visitor information. This is because most visitors will not buy your movie in their first visit. Having a YouTube page, a Facebook page and a newsletter will allow you to build a relationship with your visitors. If they don’t buy today, maybe they will buy tomorrow.
5. Get your movie selling online. There are so many outlets for this. But one of the best that I’ve found is the very independent filmmaker friendly site called Distribber. You can learn more about distribber by clicking here. Please tell em’ I sent you.
6. 5.5. And I almost forgot. Jason Brubaker (that’s me) has another product. It’s called The Independent Producer’s Guide to Digital Self Distribution. You can find out more information by clicking here.

Well that pretty much sums up the movie making process. Hopefully these filmmaking resources will be beneficial to your filmmaking process.

Posted under Filmmaking

Somewhere between 11th and 12th grade, when most of my (then) classmates were taking weekend trips with their families to check out prospective colleges, I was goofing off.

I know, I know. Maybe I shouldn’t admit that.

But at age 17, a college education wasn’t high on my list of priorities. And besides, I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to make movies.

I can’t remember exactly what drew me to movie making. But I was always intrigued by the camera and how you could look through the lens at something and bring it to life in a new and unique way. I know there are a lot of fancy technical terms to describe the cinematographic stuff I played around with, like forced perspective, snap zoom and the excitingly overused P.O.V. shots! But I didn’t think about any of that stuff. Back then, I had a VHS camcorder with a built in microphone and I had one movie making mission: I just wanted to have fun.

One summer, my buddies and I build a skateboard half-pipe in my parent’s back yard. We would spend hours and hours under the hot summer sun, almost always capturing our sessions on videotape. And then as the sun was setting, we would go inside and use 2 VCRs to edit the footage. (Push play on one and record on the other, etc.) Being able to play around with the footage and also add some much appreciated heavy medal music to the final cut was not just a great way to end an exhilarating day of skateboarding – but the work and effort we put into making the skate videos look good was enough to make me realize a career making movies would be the only type of career that mattered.

As such, when asked about my college plans, I had only two criteria:

1. The school would have to have women.
2. And the school would have to offer a film program.

Back then, I thought a traditional film school with hot women was heaven. Not to mention, I was also convinced that a traditional film school degree would help my chances at becoming a successful Hollywood filmmaker. I remember doing my research and trying to determine which school of cinema offered my best chance at success for a career making movies.

Whether fortunately or unfortunately, after calculating the cost of a four year film school coupled with the realities of my family’s let’s-further-your-education budget, both my parents and I were persuaded to vote unanimously for one of the many Pennsylvania state schools. So, instead of NYU or UCLA, I ended up at Bloomsburg University of PA…

And while the school did not have a formal film program, it was a great experience. I mean, at least there were woman (Huge education and nursing school!!!). And as a result, I forgot about my film passion – for a bit…

It wasn’t until my senior year of college, when I once again caught the film bug.

I had learned of a movie making class where everyone in the course bucked up and paid to produce a 16mm short movie. The class wasn’t offered every year… And it was only offered in the summer. Suffice it to say, I did everything I could to get into that class. And while it was clear from the fist day that some folks were taking it for (what they thought would be) an “easy credit,” I took the class, well, because I HAD to!

With shall we say, a very strong level of passion – I convinced the class to let me write and direct the movie. I got a lot of push back. But after some heated negotiation, the instructor permitted me to have half of the directing credit. The other half was shared with my buddy Ryan (I’d like to add that Ryan also caught the movie making bug and he is now working as a well respected grip on some of the biggest movies in Hollywood). But anyway, we went out to various locations and made our movie. We even animated a title sequence (the old-fashioned way, I might add). Then we got the film processed, edited on a flat bed and physically cut the film. And when we finally projected our movie on the screen, we thought we had something spectacular!

After graduating, I moved back with my parents in Pennsylvania and took a job selling household appliances. Since promoting dishwashers and garbage disposals was not inline with my movie making aspirations, I got a little depressed. I kept wondering how I would make a career making movies. The only piece of work I had was that 16mm film. And it was literally film. So, in order to show it to someone, I needed to get it transferred to video. As such, I contacted various Pennsylvania production houses in the hopes one of em’ had the equipment to transfer the film. And after several calls, I eventually found someone.

As luck (and life) would have it, the people I met at that production company put me in touch with the local film community (Harrisburg, PA). And through those guys, I found work fetching coffee, which eventually led to other jobs (boom operator, dolly pusher, production coordinator), which introduced me to new people who eventually opened a door to New York City, where I basically took every production job I could find… Student shoots, corporate video, TV commercials and the occasional hockey game upstate. All of this happened while I lived in the corner of some dude’s kitchen and slept on an inflatable air mattress. It was also during this time that I put the finishing touches on my first screenplay.

Eventually this work and networking led to a position as an assistant to an indie producer. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Now, after having produced numerous short movies and three features, I’m beginning to think my on-the-job training was a pretty good film education.

I share this story for any parents or aspiring filmmakers weighing the options between traditional film school or other alternatives. If you just want to learn the nut-and-bolts of filmmaking, then the basics can be learned in a much shorter time-frame than four years! After you learn the basics, it’s having a sense of clear goals, combined with a great work ethic and a subsequent hard working reputation that will ultimately open the doors to your dreams. And when these doors open, you’ll quickly realize your Hollywood success has more to do with your experience and attitude than your degree.

I repeat – experience and attitude are major prerequisites for success in any endeavor, especially making movies.

So to wrap this up, my thinking is: Film school is good for aspiring filmmakers who want to meet and spend four years with friends who share similar interests, determination and drive. These people will form the foundation of your professional network. And if you attend one of the BIG schools, it’s going to look great on your resume…

Problem is, unless you plan to teach, most people will never ask to see your degree. The other problem is, depending on your film school, you may never get permission to direct or produce your own projects. This could be a bit disheartening when you’re paying FIFTY-THOUSAND-DOLLARS (or more) for an education that allows you carry cables and fetch coffee. (Come to think of it, if you’re going to fetch coffee and carry cables, you may as well get paid for it!)

I’m not saying you should forgo college – I certainly didn’t. And being completely frank, my four year degree has accelerated my success in some very non-direct ways. But I am saying this: Before you set yourself up for a traditional film school degree (and the debt that goes with it), you might consider testing the water by attending one of the many short term, hands-on filmmaker workshops offered by reputable filmmaking organizations.

Most of these workshops are taught by working filmmakers and industry professionals, and are conducted at various times and locations throughout the year. For the most part, these workshops will provide you with a basic education, a peer group and importantly, enough nuts-and-bolts filmmaking experience so you can make an informed decision on whether or not a traditional 4-year film school is right for you.

As always, take time to do the research.

Here are 5 popular nuts-and-bolts filmmaking workshops, worth considering:

1. The New York Film Academy
2. The Maine Media Workshops
3. Rick Schmidt’s Workshop
4. My friend Peter Marshall’s Workshops
5. One on One Film Training

Posted under Filmmaking

Extreme DV at Used-Car Prices

Rick Schmidt has written, directed and produced over 20 features which have premiered at major national and international film festivals all over the world, including Sundance, Berlin and London.

His notorious filmmaking how-to books, Feature Filmmaking at Used-Car Prices and Extreme DV at Used-Car Prices have influenced countless up-and-coming filmmakers and many noted indies, including Kevin Smith and Vin Diesel.

Here is what some other folks have to say about Rick’s work:

“He (Schmidt) super-empowered me. The book (Feature Filmmaking at Used-Car Prices) changed my life.”  – Vin Diesel, Actor

“Without Rick’s book, Clerks would have been an idea that never made it past this page.”  –Kevin Smith, Writer/Director, Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma, etc.

“Rick Schmidt shows filmmakers (in Extreme DV) how to use these new tools to realize their visions”  – John Lasseter, Writer/Director, Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Cars, etc.

In the following interview, Rick Schmidt offers priceless filmmaking how-to advice for any filmmakers who want to make their feature now, without waiting around for Hollywood to give them permission.

- – -
Extreme DV Interview ©2009 Jason Brubaker and Rick Schmidt

Jason Brubaker
Rick, thanks a lot for taking time to join us today. It’s a real honor to chat with you.

Rick Schmidt
Thanks Jason. It’s great you’re keeping the ‘film’ beacon burning in the middle of all this, and encouraging DV moviemaking as well!

Jason Brubaker
I can remember getting your book, “Feature Filmmaking at Used-Car Prices” as a Christmas gift some years ago. After reading it, I was so inspired to make a feature, that I spent the entire next summer mopping floors and cleaning toilets to save up for a used Arri BL 16mm camera and film. I bet I’m not the only filmmaker who has been inspired by your work. Did you ever think your book would become such a staple for the up-and-coming filmmaker?

Rick Schmidt
At the time I didn’t really know what the book would amount to, beyond bailing me out for huge debts at the lab! First of all, I was happily shocked when it sold to a good publisher(!). And then, once I got paid, I was relieved that I finally had some cash to pay debts, get my wife out of a lousy job, and maybe keep making movies.

Actually I didn’t really understand the book’s total effect until internet came into existence around the time of 2nd edition (1995) and I began to get lots of e-mails from readers. Got over a thousand notes over a couple year period, telling me how readers were jumping into no-budget feature filmmaking.

Jason Brubaker
I think I was one of them! Sounds like you’ve empowered a lot of filmmakers to make their feature.

Rick Schmidt
Been wondering… What has happened to all those unknown features? It seems like somebody should start a venue to play these many works. Here’s a title that came to my mind: FORGOTTEN FEATURES FILM FESTIVAL (FFFF) What do you think? Any takers?

Jason Brubaker
Kidding aside, for a lot of filmmakers, actually MAKING a feature, regardless of financial outcome is still an amazing accomplishment.

Rick Schmidt
Given that it’s tough enough to make a no-budget feature WITH MONEY – sorry to hear that you (and others) had to sacrifice so much to get a budget. In this cultural wasteland, you have to be incredibly willful to do this particular art form (how do people go from ONE feature to the next, and on to a career!!).

To be an artist in American culture means that you have to plow ahead without much of any economic support (aside from the few NEA grants or local ‘film society’ funds). And without normal people’s understanding or support for what we’re doing (ART) with our time and resources, it gets even tougher.

A now-deceased friend of mine and great writer/director from former Yugoslavia, Franci Slak, used to get his features funded by the state. And after making one, he was put back on a list of a few hundred filmmakers, so he would be funded again for a new work (with the equivalent of a couple hundred thousand dollar budget). The US doesn’t honor its artists like even the smallest country in Europe. So it takes real guts and craziness to go against the flow and make our works, somehow fund ourselves over and over again through the years.

In any case, all those many thank-you notes for my book gave ME the needed positive energy to keep working against the odds (THANKS AGAIN!)  So the inspiration worked both ways.

Jason Brubaker
Aside from the book, you’ve done quite a lot of work over the years. Can you tell us a little bit about how you got started making movies?

Rick Schmidt
Nowadays I make movies through my Feature Workshops, collaborating with others who want to learn my approach, which is mostly improv and experimental, with a focus on real people and their personal stories and ironies. Aren’t there enough Hollywood movies being made that tell a simple story with known actors?

We should be making movies that we can afford, with our personal resources and groups of friends, that are original and unique in every way. It’s the best approach, I think, for an indie producer, as we head into 2010. As crazy indie writer/director, it’s not worth playing their game their [Hollywood] way.

And if the features we make don’t get in film festivals…who cares? The programmers may not be smart enough to get it.  Once, when I had a big walkout from a screening, an artist friend Mary Ashley asked me, “Rick, what did you do right?”  She thought it was a badge of honor for me, as a modern artist, to shock an audience and send them running!

Jason Brubaker
You were totally in the mix during the indie revolution of the 90′s! How has indie filmmaking changed since then? I mean, a lot of us ran around with cameras, filming stuff, excited about Dogme 95…

Rick Schmidt
In the 1990′s we could still get in good film festivals (it’s a lot tougher now, don’t you think?).  I guess I have to believe that NOW IS THE REAL FILMMAKING REVOLUTION. I think that’s true because there really is NO PRESSURE to make something that could be called a ‘commercial’ movie.

Even hideously expensive Hollywood movies can barely get a screen for longer than a week.  So when we make our weird indie features, for the lowest budgets possible ($30 for three hour-long Mini-DV tapes, etc), the only constraint we have is being totally honest to our own intuition and urges. We even got a Dogme movie, Chetzemoka’s Curse (Dogme #10), that’s probably one of the first features made completely in the new millennium – shot & completed it during 10 days in January, 2000 through my Feature Workshops.  And it’s probably one of our best ones!

Anyway, we have no one to answer to but ourselves and our personal standards of excellence. I’m hoping to see some amazing works on websites and on YouTube.

Jason Brubaker
Before I made my first feature, I remember thinking I couldn’t make a feature because I didn’t have money for film processing. Or I didn’t have an audio recorder. With new High Definition technology, do you find filmmakers have less excuses and an easier time making features?

Rick Schmidt
Yes…and no. We have less excuses, but if we try real hard we can still make it appear impossible!

If you’re the kind of person who thinks they need all the best equipment and crew, real movie stars and a real budget, you’ve still got the problem. For some, the excuse will be that a RED HD Camera is $1500+ a day and too expensive to obtain. We are great at making up excuses, even when there aren’t any left. Art is risky! We are scared that we may reveal just how unskilled and stupid we secretly think we might really be.

But the alternative is worse. If we don’t ever take the risk and try, then life is just a pretty big boring mess where all we do is work to pay bills and there’s never enough money for anything anyhow. Some school near your house probably has a DV class where you can get your hands on a 3-chip DV camera. And there are other creative people around who just need to read the right Craigslist ad to get in touch with you to help with your feature.

In the Bay Area/Oakland/SF area where I now live, there are hundreds of good actors on sfcasting.com hoping to be cast for an unpaid part in a movie so they can add to their reel. These actors are growing their own careers. That’s what we filmmakers need to do!

For me it’s important not to let too many years go by without creating a new movie (I can feel the stupid blocked energy building up in my head…). If there’s absolutely no money, then you need to sell something (a used-car?) to jump-start things. Nowadays, a car of even the cheapest kind can generate a lot of DV hours of stock, along with some rental dollars for a good camera (DVX100b, or?). And as you ramp up for the shoot, read some of Boston University professor Ray Carney’s articles, interviews and mail to get inspired.

Jason Brubaker
In your book, you emphasize having a strong vision for the kinds of movies you want to make. What are your thoughts on keeping the momentum going when the going gets tough?

Rick Schmidt
If we’re talking ‘artistic vision’ then that means (to me) that each person needs to just jump in and try to make a feature or short movie without worrying about doing it ‘correctly.’ Shoot it YOUR WAY, edit it YOUR WAY, and you’ve achieved YOUR STYLE. In other words, don’t listen to what anyone else says or thinks.

The only momentum I know comes from KNOWING you are an artist (in film/DV, oil paint, clay, photograpy, or whatever). What media artists like us do is make movies. So, after awhile, we’re going to make another one. That’s just how it is!

When things get tough we have to adapt. That’s what my decision to shoot with a 1:1 ratio represents. And like I mention in my “Extreme DV” book, I met a guy who re-recorded over the same Sony 1-hr. mini-DV cassette 30 times (capturing his footage into Final Cut Pro after each shot roll) to make his feature. Total cost = $7 (plus a borrowed DV camera). Don’t let the doubters wear you down. If you wait for the ideal production situation you’ll never get started.

Forget about doing it ‘right.’

Jason Brubaker
I know from my projects, sometimes you want things to go a certain way, but they just don’t. The FX guy shows up late. The location falls apart. Some members of cast and crew leave the show for a higher paying gig… How do you recommend filmmakers stay flexible?

Rick Schmidt
My little mantra is – “EVERY PROBLEM IS THERE TO MAKE THE MOVIE BETTER!” So no matter what’s thrown at you, you absorb the punch and go on (think gung fu). Go get a better actor after the first one disappears.

My Emerald Cities had that kind of major problem. The actress, Carolyn Zaremba, moved to New York City to pursue her acting career before I could finish up my dragged on shoot (over more than a year of slowly attaining funds for more 16mm and prosessing). So I ended up appearing in the flick myself, in her place (you’ll have to see the movie to see how I did this. Emerald Cities is available at Netflix!

Jason Brubaker
A few years back, you told filmmakers to stick with a 1:1 ratio. That is, in production you should only shoot a scene once. Has this thinking changed with digital? I mean, if you ask me – it seems like digital can often make the days go longer.

Rick Schmidt
While that strict FILM shooting ratio seems no longer essential for saving money for a DV movie (was essential when shooting film; just 11 minutes of 16MM costing upwards of $500 when you cover stock, processing, workprint, sound transfer, etc), it still makes for a better (DV) movie if you proceed in a super-focused manner, taping limited takes that must be accurate enough to keep the story moving forward.

Jason Brubaker
Could you tell us a little bit about your Feature Workshop?

Rick Schmidt
At my Feature Workshops I work with participants to shoot and edit-to-completion in 10 days. So we make a feature in a week and a half.

Jason Brubaker
Wait… So you have a workshop where everyone collaborates to complete a feature in 10 days? That’s amazing!

Rick Schmidt
And just about each of the 17+ features we’ve produced this way have gotten in at least one international film festival. For six years in a row, a Portugese festival, Figueira da Foz International, flew me (or a participant) into Lisbon for an all-expenses-paid festival screening. Pretty cool reward to all the work.

(Click HERE for more info about Rick Schmidt’s Feature Workshop in the Bay Area this summer, August 1-10, 2010.)

At any rate, I’m proud of the features we’ve produced in this manner.

Jason Brubaker
What final advice do you have for filmmakers who have not yet made a feature, but want to?

Rick Schmidt
Bite the bullet and somehow get your hands on a good DV camera/Panasonic DVX100b would be nice!. Maybe an ad in craigslist.org will get you a great collaborator / co-producer/ cameraperson with the gear.  Then, get/advertise for a soundman/soundwoman (w/Sennheiser 416 mike, or some good mic & mixer).

Don’t let the lack of money distract you. ONLY if you believe…can this come together.

When I was in this state of activity (being an artist inspite of having NO money) my kindly landlord let me go 8 months without paying rent (see full story in Preface of my Feature Filmmaking at Used-Car Prices book).

The universe sometimes makes an adjustment for an artist like you! And if you’re not a writer, you can still build a story AS you shoot (see my Extreme DV at Used-Car Prices book for how this improv approach can work).

So my advice is – sell that used-car and BEGIN!

—
Writer/director Rick Schmidt, author of Feature Filmmaking At Used Car Prices, has more than a decade of experience conducting moviemaking workshops. Each workshop produces a full-length feature in just 10 days. For more information about Rick Schmidt’s workshops, check out www.lightvideo.com/workshop.aspx

UPDATE: As special offer for Filmmaking Stuff readers… If you sign up for Rick’s August 2010 Feature Filmmaking Workshop you’ll get 50% OFF the enrollment fee!

1. Goto www.lightvideo.com/workshop.aspx
2. Sign up for Rick’s newsletter and write the word “STUFF” where it asks for your “Your favorite film?”
3. Questions? Email Rick with “STUFF” in the subject line at: lightvideo@gmail.com

NEW UPDATE: Just got word from Rick. He said spaces are filling up FAST and there are only a few seats left! If you want to participate and make a feature this summer, send Rick an email ASAP and reserve your spot.

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Posted under Interviews with Hollywood