STAR WARS UNIVERSE TURNING THE PAGE WITH FAN FILMS

STAR WARS UNIVERSE TURNING THE PAGE WITH FAN FILMS

With the recent arrival and rejection by a huge part of the fan base the new Star Wars film Solo represents a pivot point in the biggest franchise in motion picture history. 

The movie Solo is a lesson for the mega motion picture studios that could have been taught to them if they had bother to ask those of us in the low to micro budget world. The lesson is that the audience dictates to you rather than you dictating to the audience. when it is your own money at risk rather that Mickey Mouse’s pocket change it is a universe where reality rules the day. If it is going to be your house, your future and that of your families on the line you go out of the way to find out what it is that will please the intended audience. 

This is sometimes difficult to discover when making a micro budget digital film. In the world of Star Wars it is easy to uncover because the fan base is gigantic and cannot shut up about their likes and dislikes. Leading into Solo the core audience told the studio and its heads that they did not want a Solo film. Their were a dozen properties in their extended universe that they would have lined up for weeks ahead of time to back and this was not on the list. A Vader film or a Revan film or a Thrawn film or a Bane Film or a reboot of episode eight would have served them better. The head of the studio laughed in their faces and called them fat lonely losers who will eat what is put in front of them like Oliver Twist and like it. They of course instead did what fans of a rebel alliance would do when confronted with imperial rule, they rebelled by not showing up. Today I am not here to bury Solo. That is up to others. Today I would like to suggest that the Star Wars universe will be fine because of the fans and the amazing film makers that they are becoming. A hand full of the fan films are already better than the last two offerings from Disney. These films do not have the budgets and the access to the best actors on earth, but what they lack in scale they make up for in passion. These film makers love the material and understand it in ways that the bosses at Disney will never come close to. 

Today we are going to look at a few such films in this mini Star Wars Fan film festival. I hope that you enjoy them. The first and perhaps most popular is the amazing Darth Maul, Apprentice.   

The making of footage.
    

 The next film is Star Wars: Dresca. This is a newer fan film that I like and some people close to me absolutely love.  

 The next movie is one of my personal favorites. I wished that the film maker had maybe made a few changes so that it could have been a stand alone film in a scifi universe of their own making. It is part of what could be a compelling feature if ships and uniforms were changed. There is a lot of solid low budget film making going on here. The film is titled, Days Past - A Star Wars Fan Film. 

 




 The last film I want to share is the longest, almost an hour, and should be more well known. It has flaws, but so does Solo. It is not a great film, but there is alot to like about this movie. The film is titled Regrets of the Past. 

  Thanks for checking out my little film festival and do not worry the future of star Wars is in good hands it is in the hands of the fans.

Blade Runner Thoughts on Filmmaking

Blade Runner Thoughts on Filmmaking

I was a kid when I saw Bladerunner for the first time and it was on television. I thought at the time that it was the most visually interesting film that I had even seen. It was not in the scifi class of The Empire Strikes Back, but I liked it. I just did not love it or understand why it was considered groundbreaking or an all time classic. 

Many years later I saw it on the big screen and at this point having become a Ridley Scott fan I saw what all of the fuss was about. I had gone into it the first time around think that I was going to see straight scifi and had no clue what CyberPunk was all about. My scifi reading had been limited to Ray Bradbury, Harry Harrison and Robert Heilein with a little Arthur C. Clarke throw into the mix. I needed years of Anime and other influences. 

Now decades later we get a sequel and of course it was doomed to disappoint. This did not have to be the case, but we all knew that it would when we discovered the ridley Scott was not going to be the director. I personally wish that he had tackled this project and handed the last Aliens film off to another filmmaker. Lets look at the original trailer. 

   

 Now the new film.


   
 Now what made the first film so damn good. This is a pretty good film making tutorial.

 
What Blade Runner Teaches Us About Filmmaking from CinemaTyler on Vimeo.


Thanks for dropping by my blog. I am doing a free giveaway of any of my books that you wish to read in exchange for a review posted to iTunes, Amazon or Google Play. If you want a copy you can leave me a message in the comments and I will respond.

FILM MAKING RANTS AND A COOL FREEBIE

 

I would first like to thank Rob for making the video that I am presenting to you today. He touched on so many of the problems with movies today. I wish that I could say that he is only correct about studio films, but low budget films and micro budget digital films suffer from the same problems.

Readers of the blog know that I have problems with CGI and the god awful screenwriting that dominate the playing field, but there is so much more and the video below touches on things that I have overlooked.

We need our heroes back. I do not mean another Marvel film. I mean big time film makers. Why is it that most of the truly great thrillers come from places like Korea. Memories of Murder came out almost fifteen years ago. Where are the domestic answers to that kind of film making. We have the basic equipment. We can raise the money. I know that we can craft the screenplays, but they do not get done.

Maybe too many of us are chasing money instead of quality.

Look it, I thought when I started this blog almost five years ago I would be networking with amazing film makers and by this point in history the digital revolution would have changed the industry forever.

Instead too many film makers are either walking away just when they are getting good or dreaming about cashing in at Netflix or Amazon. Allow me to offer up the three F's that you need to consider.

Fuck Netflix, Fuck Amazon and just go out and make some really good Fucking movies.

Okay I am back with my Freebie offer. Today I am giving away ten free copies of my Audiobook on Writing A Low Budget Screenplay. The first ten people who email me at cannonbooks777@gmail.com with a request for a copy will be sent an Audible.com code. Even if you do not have an account there you can use it anyway. This is for those of you who are having problems with crafting a low to micro budget screenplay or just want to improve your screenwriting.

IPHONE FILMMAKING POST

 IPHONE FILMMAKING

Sometimes I forget that just because I run a blog dedicated to iPhone film making that Not everyone visits that blogs. That this is my top film making blog so it is here that I should sometimes share updates on the state of smartphone film making in all its glory.
A few years ago I was asked the question, Do you think that someday people will be making top of the line digital feature films using their iPhones?  My answer was that as the technology improves there is no reason why not. I think that we passed that thresshold two years ago and now it is up to you, the micro budget film maker, to embraces these amazing film making studios that you have in your pocket.

The iPhone can capture footage equal to that of some of the mid range DSLR cameras. It can record native sound better than all of them and with an added app and a Mic it can record amazing sound. Also you can edit your footage in phone and or sent the files almost instantly to your laptop.

Here is a look at some great iPhone film making gear.

 The next question that needs to be asked is, What kind of film fits this tool the best. I am about to say a bad compound word. Do not panic and run screaming off into the dark of night. FoundFootage. Yes Found Footage. If you are ever going to shoot a Found Footage film then using an iPhone makes perfect sense. The problem with many Found Footage films is logic. Where did the camera come from and why won’t the person involved put it down. Who would drop their iPhone during a crisis? Think about it and if you need some real advice on how to make a Found Footage film you could always check out my well researched book on Found Footage film making, link here for the book at the iTunes store and the picture is a link for the paperback. I know that this was a shameless plug, but a Blogger gotta eat and raise money for the new iPhone coming soon.

Thanks for visiting and remember to share this post.

MyAnnabelleCreation contest Post

I normally shy away from contest because of the entrance fees and the lack of any real exposure. For instance screenplay contest are notorious money grabs. I understand the need to pay the readers, but certain contest that I will not name charges more than a hundred dollars to enter.

This is a short film contest that charges nothing. I wish that I had been informed about it earlier, but here it is. I will allow the director of Lights Out and the new Annabelle film (I saw a screening and it is pretty good, much better than Lights Out) tell you about it.

 



You can click here to find the contest rules. It ends the 27 of this month.

Now we get to turn this into a great little post of short film making. The film maker of this great little horror movie has posted some amazing advice on how to make a winning short film. Let's have a look.

 

 
 

 

 

A CROWDFUNDING POST

I know that it has been awhile since we did this, but I have been busy with the release of my screenwriting book on audio.
Let’s get down to business a huge part of digital feature film making is fundraising.
There usually comes a time during production or in post that the money runs low and  you need to reach out for some more. thankfully Kickstarter and indiegogo are there to help. 

Yes, I know that there are other sites, but for today we are going to focus on campaigns that are live on these sites.

First up is a film titled INNER GHOST.

     

Remember that if you do not have money to donate that is fine. You can help by spreading the word. Share the campaign on Facebook or Twitter. Okay we are going back to back horror movies on Kickstarter. This one is titled The Black Gloves.



    

Over at Indiegogo we have a few campaigns that I believe are worth taking a look at. Remember the difference between the two sites is that at Indiegogo you get all the funds raised whether or not you hit your goal.

 This film is being prodced  by a seventeen year old. The coolest thing about micro budget film making is that it knows no age. You can be sixteen or sixty when you get started.  The title of
this film is A GUY, A GUITAR AND A GIRL.


 The next campaign is for the scifi film AGAIN.  This one has just started so you have almost two months to think about it and talk about it.





Anything that reminds me of Andromeda or Babylon 5 is a good thing and this next crowdfunding campaign does just that. Project Abaddon: Rise of the Destroyer




Back to Kickstarter for the last film on this list today. VOYEUR



I love to highlight crowdfunding campaigns, but to do so I need a little help.
If you have a indiegogo or kickstarter campaign for your project up and running please do not hesitate to contact this blog about it, just leave a comment and a link and I will do my best to help.
Thanks and good luck guys.

GROWING AS A FILM MAKER, JAMES WAN

GROWING AS A FILM MAKER, James Wan
 A few weeks about I found myself at a screening for the film Conjuring 2. I did not want to be there because I did not love the first one and the sequel rule (sequels usual suck) was ringing in my head, but I went because it was free tickets. Well it turned out that I loved the sequel. It was a much better film that the first and I chalk this up to the fact that the filmmaker had improved since the first film.

 I give the filmmaker most of the credit because I thought that the first script was better than that of the sequel, but not nearly as well shot. Filmmakers like athletes should get better with practice. They should learn and grow. This thought made me consider doing this post. Let’s begin with Saw. He directed the short film version as a pitch for the feature. Something that many micro budget filmmakers have done. 

 





 Next came Insidious, a very effective horror film. I did not like the last act, but still a good film. 


I think that horror is like composing music. Hitchcock described suspense that way. He would imagine himself as a conductor and the audience his orchestra. There is a rhythm that a good horror movie must have. When it is there you do not notice it and when it is missing you find a thousand things wrong with it. For me the Conjuring has a great many good scenes, but lacks rhythm. While the sequel has nearly perfect rhythm.


  


  

 Thank you for visiting my blog. Please share this post and if the Conjuring 2 interested you as much as it did me take a few moments to check out my new ebook on the story behind the script, the Enfield Poltergeist. You can find it at itunes and Kobo and B&N, click image below. Good luck with your filmmaking.

Behind the Scenes Hateful Eight and Campaigns

Been super busy with projects big and small.  I love this blog, but finding time for the next few weeks is going to be hard.
Right now I would like to share at little bts from the Hateful Eight. I have mixed feeling about the movie, It brought back memories to see a movie shot in actual 70mm. it is stunning on the big screen. Many of you have seen the Hateful 8 by now, some of you love it, some hate it and some like me have mixed emotions about it. It looks like a Spaghetti western, it is bloody like one, but is too talky to be one. Also it was of course not shot in Italy by an Italian film maker.

Watching this film makes you want to grab that western script from the back of the dresser drawer (I have three such scripts) get some 70mm (really 65) camera equipment and shoot a modern masterpiece. Then you find out that you are gonna need 20 to 30 grand for the equipment and another 30 to 50 to process and edit the footage. Without a massive kickstarter or indiegogo campaign that ain't happening.

Let's look at some bts footage from the Hateful 8.

Now a scene from the movie.




The last thing I want to mention about the movie is the cast. I think this is the best job of casting that Tarantino has ever done. It is almost a perfectly balanced cast. I had forgotten how good Jennifer Jason Leigh was and this film is probably her best performance.








Thank you for checking in and please take a moment to bookmark this site and to check out these two kickstarter campaigns I have been following. If you have an upcoming campaign. Let me know and I will be happy to post a link in a future post. If the campaign looks really interesting maybe we will do an interview to go along with it.

Digital Feature Filmmaking, Blocking A Scene

Digital Feature Filmmaking, Blocking A Scene

 Far too many micro budget film makers just dive in and never give a thought to things such as lighting or blocking a scene. Today we are going to look at scene blocking and why it is as much an art as it is a learned skill. 

The learned skill is easy. You can learn blocking from a book or a few videos on the subject. If you wish to make a low budget film that looks professional you are going to have to master this basic skill or hire someone who has. To put it simply, blocking is the art of pre-determining the visual relationship that the camera will have with the actors in the scene being filmed. Look at it as moving around pieces on a game board. You can look at the art of film making as the art of placing a board game. If you do not know the rules then you are bound to lose sooner or later. You cannot play a game and trust to dumb luck. If this is true then why would you trust to luck where your film is concerned. The following video will lead you through the basics. 

    

This next video is a scene from the master film maker Orson Welles. He is considered perhaps the greatest artist to every make a motion picture and his masterpiece is of course Citizen Kane.


 

  I hope that this gives you an idea of how it is done. The cool part is that thanks to digital video you can practice for hours until you get comfortable with the process of blocking before you every have to record one second of your actual movie. Thank you for visiting my site. Please take a moment to add me to your google plus and to check out my books on film making. 


  

Digital Filmmaking The Camera as Storyteller

Digital Filmmaking, The Camera as Storyteller

Some times we forget that the camera is more than just a tool that we use as film makers. The camera can under certain circumstance become an actor in the scene. Through carefully planned out movements the camera can tell a story all its own. By simply angling the camera above or below the actor on screen we can tell the audience how to fell about the actor on screen. 

From below the actor looms over the view. Making the actor seem more powerful and or important. From above we can make the actor look smaller or weaker as compared to others in the same scene. Consider this as you watch films particularly those made by the masters of cinema. 


 

From the guys at video maker let’s look at camera movements from some great films. 

 

 Here is scene from one of my favorite thrillers. Study the camera movements and how they help to build suspense. Never has the steadicam been used better and this was before the arrival of the dslr.

  

Thank you for hanging in with my blog while I was away. Long story short is that I had a house fire and after a few months I am almost back to normal. Just lost a lot of equipment, files and time, but these things happen. I hope to touch on trends in the indie film world while I was away. The rise of a few filmmakers who are not celebrated because of the genre of their films rather than the quality. When a film maker starts at the bottom and over a few years builds an audience to the point where their forth theatrical release holds number one at the box office for two weeks and there are not a chorus of film makers cheering it makes me wonder if some of us are to into being like cooler kids in high school. I understand why Hollywood hates War Room, but why do other indie film makers. I always thought that the goal of becoming an indie film maker was to make movies my way. Movies that I wanted to see and were not being make. To make movies for an audience that wanted the same thing. 

You know I think that it is time to do a post on Audience. 

 Whether your audience goes to church or to sundance or to mma matches or to the opera or to soup kitchens or anywhere else on earth the only thing that matters is film maker and his or her audience. Finding the audience is hard. Getting them to notice you is harder and getting them to follow you is hardest of all. If one out of every hundred micro budget film makers manage to do this then it can be considered a minor miracle. Hollywood has the entire world of film goers to connect with while we have to go out and find our audience and grow them day by day. 

Thank you for visiting my blog and remember to add me to your google plus. 

The Crowdfunding and Sourcing Post

The Crowdfunding and Sourcing Post

 When sitting down to write one of these post I actual taken into account how long the videos that will be included in the post will be. I try at all times to make it a digestible amount of total time. Lately I have thought that if a suggest is very important then maybe I should pack as much information into the post as possible so today I am going to do that. 

 Digital feature filmmaking could not have become what it has without the audience or the crowd. The crowd has made thousands of good and bad movies possible. We have visions of making epic films in both size and scope and the only way to make these films (without winning the powerball lottery) is to convince the crowd to get involved. Part of the reason that I started this blog was to get to know other film makers and to build a network. Thanks to google plus I have achieved some of this. 

The first two videos that I would like to share with you are about both crowdfunding and crowd sourcing.

  


 


 

 Before we continue I have to say that money is important, but it should never be the goal and it should never stop you from shooting a film. Perhaps you cannot make that micro budget version of the Avengers, but you can shoot a film. The best way to learn film making is to make a film. Make one and then another and another. Hold on to the things that you did well and learn not to make the same mistakes a second time. If you got a dslr or a iphone or a camcorder then you have what you need to record footage. Go out and do this and after you do this find a free editing program and use it to learn how to cut scenes together. If you put together a few good scene you can save them and later they may help you with your crowdfunding campaign. 

 The next video runs about two hours. You will meet many people at different stages of the game. From film makers to those who support them in their efforts to crowdfund.


  

Thank you for visiting my blog and now if you have a free moment add me to your google plus and feel free to shave this post with a friend. Finally I would like to thank Film Courage for doing these interviews. I know how difficult it is to get film makers to sit down and table about their films and themselves. You guys do an outstanding job.

 

Gotham City Sirens, The Interview

               

kickstarter

    Years ago when the words fan film were mentioned you knew that you were in for an second rate film populated by fans of star wars wearing Halloween costumes and fighting with toy lightsabers. We have come a long way since those days. Now fan films are filmed as well as the original material and sometimes much better written. Many great digital film makers have gotten their start shooting short fan films. The truth about film making is that most film makers on one level or another when they are starting out are writing and shooting versions of the material that they grew up watching. Spielberg was making his versions of the movies that he watched as a kid. Tarantino is doing his versions of those gangster and exploitation films from the 1970's that he loves so much. Every film maker begins somewhere and with this post I begin a series of post on the Fan Film.

This is my interview with Terell Culbert, the film maker behind  The Catwoman and the upcoming Gotham City Sirens. Before I begin I would like to thank him for agreeing to do this interview and to remind you guys there is time left to check out his campaign and help out.  You can do so by clicking here.

Q) Because there has been so many versions of each and every hero and villain that populate the Dark Knight universe it has given both writers and film makers more freedom to create their own versions of these classic characters. What lead you to do select this subject material?

A) The diversity. I love the fact that this motley crew tells their own story almost immediately. Selina is a villain with the possibility of one day becoming a hero. Ivy is a boss in my book! She’s got that perfect blend of insanity and leadership abilities. Harley is a mash-up between the Joker and Billy the kid.

Q) The fan short film The Catwoman is a slightly different take on the character than we have seen before. When writing an origin story did you feel any pressure to cling to what had been done before or did you feel free to tell the story in your own unique way?

A) I didn’t really feel pressured. Catwoman has always been this flirtatious vixen with a vague amount of depth. So I wanted to give people a unique origin story that explains why Selina is a villain with the potential for good.

Q) What was the shooting schedule like on The Catwoman? Also I must ask what type of camera did you use while filming it? Where you pleased with the results and will you be using it again on the new project?

A) Our shooting schedule for the Catwoman was pretty rough. The actors were involved in other projects already. So while we used four days to shoot the actual film. We wrapped in about three weeks. The camera I used was a Canon EOS Rebel T3i it’s a Digital SLR camera. I will absolutely be using it for this project and many others. It’s so easy to transport and use.


Q) How important is it to find the right actresses for Gotham City Sirens?

A) It was very important! While casting I found a lot of Actresses who had one or the other, the look, but not the personality or the personality, but not the look. When you do a fan film it has to come off authentic, in a way. My budget is ridiculously small so I can’t depend on great stunts or CGI. My performers have to make you believe that there is a corrupt city named Gotham that inhabits these awesome characters.

Q) I have told anyone who wants to work on a micro budget digital film that they should first watch that old Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special. The one where Charlie Brown and Snoopy make popcorn, buttered toast and jellybeans for Thanksgiving dinner and then they should take away the popcorn, jellybeans and butter from the toast so that they will begin understanding how little they should expect to be compensated while working on a film shoot. On any given day how many people are working behind the scenes on your film shoot?


A) (Laughs) Great example. Normally it’s just me, sometimes I am lucky to get a second or third person to help me.

Q) With the help of your crowdfunding campaign you are going to be producing Gotham City Sirens. What is the length that you are aiming for with this project?

A) 40 minutes.


Q) You are going to be taking on some pretty (in more ways that one) iconic characters from the Dark Knight universe in the forms of Harley Quinn, Catwoman and Poison Ivy. Is this a case of going big or go home, or did the story you have in mind when you began demand that all of them be included?

A) This film really did demand that I include other female characters who could stand with or against Selina. I feel like It’s a great installment to Catwoman’s universe.

    
Q) Some fan film makers only want to make fan films. I understand that you would like to branch out from this area of film making. In an idea world what kind of films are you making in the future?

A) Drama/ horror. I really like both those genres.


Q) Any final thoughts on making fans films in general.

A) There are a lot of awesome fan films out there with amazing special effects and cool movie props. However, this should never be the catalyst for making a film in my opinion. Each fan film that I have done is due to a long experience of reading watching and caring for these fictional characters.

    Thank you again for taking the time to do this interview. We all look forward to seeing the finished film.  http://www.bamimagery.com/

Facebook Link.

Okay guys that is it for today. As always please take a moment to hit the like button on stumbleupon and to share this post on facebook.  Social media has to become a habit. This is the most important tool to the indie film maker. It is important for a kickstarter or indiegogo campaign to become a success and it is important for blogs like this to grow. By helping to grow an audience for others we grow an audience for ourselves and our future projects.

Horror Film Writing, All About the Chase

Horror Film Writing, All About the Chase


For the longest time those who would write a horror movie have confused horror with thriller. This is not surprising since most film companies advertise thrillers as horror films. Before you sit down to write a horror film or a thriller you must keep one rule in mind.

In a horror film something is chasing the lead character.


In a thriller the lead character is chasing something.


In Halloween Michael Myers doing all of the chasing.


In Silence of The Lambs Agent Starling is doing all of the chasing.

 I understand that despite the fact that Agent Starling ends up in a classic horror film situation near the end of the film it is still a thriller and not a horror film. In almost every thriller the one who is chasing ends up being chased in act three by the villain.


In a horror film the chase does not end until the credits are about to roll if the main character survives.
The next thing you must keep in mind is that the audience has seen it all and surprising them is most likely not gonna happen so I would avoid rehashing the cool kill scene from Elm Street 4. Instead you should focuse of crafting characters who the audience can care about. All great horror films have the same thing in common. All of them, back to the earily days, from Frankenstein to the Wolfman, The Thing to Night of the Living Dead, Alien to the Descent, The Exorcist to The Sixth Sense, have strong characters in common. Even the ones that are going to die are relatable to the audience. Watch any horror movie and I promise you that the first sign of a bad one is that they are populated with characters that the writer and director do not like or even hate.

Consider these things when writing your horror film. If you would like more advice on how to write your low budget film I would suggest (shameless plug coming) getting a copy of my book On Writing a low Budget film. You can click the image on the side of the page. It is available at Amazon, B&N, iTunes and Smashwords.

Writing a quality screenplay or finding someone who can is ob one of producing a great low budget film. Your script is your blueprint and everything you do as a digital film maker will flow from it. The best cameras and finest sound equipment on earth will not save a bad script.



Consider this and try to study a few classic horror films to understand the way a good script should be structured. I would recommend reading the screenplays for the films The Exorcist (best horror script ever), The Sixth Sense, Alien and Tom Holland’s script for the original Fright Night.  Stephen King was right when he said if you want to be a good writer then you have to read a lot if you wish to write well.

That will be it for today. Take a moment to share this post and to add me to your google plus. On google plus you will get updates from my other film making sites.

  

Digital Filmmaking, Black Magic Time?

Digital Filmmaking, Black Magic Time?

During the last two years a great many cameras have been introduced. Part of being any kind of technician is choosing the right tool for the right job. No two of us see the world in exactly the same way so no two of use will look upon a film shoot the same way. This takes us to the choice of cameras. The type of camera that you pick for your digital feature film shoot will largely reflect how you wish the world you are going to be creating to be seen. For others of us it comes down to what will test and challenge our skills as an artist. Anyone can shoot quality footage with a Red, but only a few of us could pull it off with a Sanyo pocket camcorder or a naked smartphone.

Today’s post is not about what camera is best for your needs. It is instead going to be about one of the newer cameras to become part of the debate. At the end of this post I am going to include a overview video about the camera that was done by the legendary Phillip Bloom. The video will be the longest that I have posted here, but it flies by for those of us who cannot get enough of this type of information.

First up I would like to show you a side by side video that compares the Black Magic camera with one of the best Canon Dslr cameras.

  

 Next I would like to look at two short films that were shoot using this camera. I believe the best test of any camera is to see how it actually performs in action. After all this is about digital film making and not recording shots of trees and flowers.
  

 This next video is the reason why I hang out at Vimeo so much.

   
Love Squirts from Adam R Brown • YellowLinePics on Vimeo.

 

 During the next year there is going to be new devices added to the argument and I must say that the most important thing to keep in mind is that being a film maker is about the things you do before you start filming. Pre production is where your movie will make it or fail. You must have a quality script or nothing else you do will matter. If you do not have the most experience cast then it will be up to you to rehearse them and to nurse them when necessary through scene after scene. Film making is fun, but it is also hard work. To quote a indie film maker that I have become a fan of, Oklahoma Ward, if you are not willing to work eighteen  hours a day you are not going to make it, you are just not going to make it.
 

 That will be it for today. This has been a great year for me as a blogger and as a writer in general, but it has kept me from doing much actual work on a project of my own. I have been doing a lot of script editing for friends. Also I am hitting the five month mark on the pre production of my first feature where I will wear the big three hats of writer, director and producer. Until this process I never understood why it would sometimes take a year and a half to shoot a film. I would love to be able to shoot a film in ten days, maybe the next one.

Take a moment to share this post with a friend and keep believing in your project. Work towards it each day. You are a film maker. Sometimes film making is not about going out and getting the hot new camera. Sometimes film making is about spending days learning about insurance and location permits. Sometimes being a film maker finds you in a room surrounded by beautiful people all looking to you for their next or first job in front of the camera. Enjoy the ride guys. When it is good it is good like one of those happy ending Twillight Zone episodes where you are Charles Bronson and you get to start the human race all over again with a twenty five year old Elizabeth Montgomery at your side.

 

Digital Filmmaking, Social Media Marketing

The second biggest part of being a indie film maker is learning to market yourself and your work. This comes second only to the actual making of your film.

Yes, I understand that there are still studios and distributors out there, but the competition for both gets stiffer each years. Your best bet is to become good at this part of the job or find someone who is willing to help you.
    

 The good news in this regard is that you can learn to do this over time. Even if you are an introvert and a maverick like me there is hope.

It amazes me to this day that there are still so many digital film makers who do not take advantage of the free options that exist for them to market themselves and their work. Allow me to go over a few that are obvious.

Facebook and Myspace (yeah, myspace is making a comeback) are two great places to build a page around your production and to develop a following.

Google plus is a great way to keep in touch with other film makers and followers. You can set up weekly or monthly Google hangout meeting for those that you wish to interact with.

Twitter is a place where you can keep those interested in your project constantly updated on what is happening day by day.

Pinterest is a great place to share stills from your project and is perhaps the most overlooked place to market your work.

If you want to build a website dedicated to your project you do not have to purchase a domain and host, although if the film is going to be a part of your life for years you might want to consider doing this. A wordpress site can be impressive both to visitors and those you wish to do business with. If you do not know how to build your own website from scratch you are in luck, that is one of the skills that I market. If you want to learn how to construct a wordpress site from start to finish you can click here and visit a page will a few video instructional.

If on the other hand you want to construct a site for free you can go to blogspot and build a blooger website like this one. It is totally free to use and easy to set up.

There are so many other social sites out there like typepad and Tumblr that you can use to reach people.

Once you have set up a series of social media accounts then the next thing to do is to connect them under one umbrella. The reason that you will want to do this is so that if you post at one site it is syndicated to all of them. This saves you a lot of time and effort.

The two sites that can help you with this is Rebelmouse. You can see a quick tutorial video about it below. The video is narrated by the great indie film maker David P. Baker.
  

 Since David is promoting his film Screen, I thought that I would post his six minute preview.
   
"SCREEN" HORROR FILM ( 1st SIX MINS) from David Baker on Vimeo.


 The second site is Onlywire. I like onlywire and have used it not only to connect my social media, but to get backlinks for this blog. Backlinks are important if you are interested in improving the page ranking of your main website. It has gotten this blog to page one in multiple google keyword searches. Quick tutorials on onlywire.





    

 Remember that Onlywire gives you a real free trial for one month. I would suggest, if you are on a budget, to use their free trial during a big promotional or fund raising month.

  

 The lesson I want to leave you with today is to use ever tool possible to promote yourself and your work. You do not get a do over in life. This is it and you got one shot at getting it right so give it your all. Spread the word about your project if you have to stand on a street corner handing out flyers. If you do not have a budget for promotion then social media is your best tool. You can expand your reach by tens of thousands of people if you master this part of the game. Hollywood does not have all the answers. The truth is that many micro budget film makers are already ahead of them in this part of the advertising and promotes game. Through social media we will become an industry that will someday compete head to head with the major studios. If you want to be a success at this business and what I mean by success is making enough money to finance the next project and keeping the lights on and the pets feed then you are going to have learn more about this area of the business. It will not be harder than learning about blocking and lighting. It will be far easier than learning how to edit.

Good luck with your project and please take a moment to help me with my social media. Stumble us on stumbleupon, add me to your googleplus and share this post with a friend by using my share button. That is social media in action.

Thinking About Distribution, Part1

 
Unless you plan on giving your digital feature film away then you need to think about distribution before you start to shoot it.

First thing that you need to consider in Length. Aim for at least 80 minutes of screen time for a feature. I know that many say that you have to go 90 plus minutes, but that is not a hard and fast rule. Evil Dead 3, Armies of Darkness comes in around 78 minutes. Anything over eighty minutes is good. I saw a very good German horror film at 61 minutes, but that is a one in a million shot. If you are under forty minutes think about Anthology. Do a Grindhouse or a VHS type of film. If you cannot produce more than one film see if you can then partner up with another film maker who has a film of similar length and genre that would combine to form something longer than 80 minutes. If you go over two and a half hours I would suggest breaking it into two parts or editing down. Micro budget epics are rare.

   

 Next think about Genre.

Some Genres are easier to market than others. Horror, Thrillers, Action are easy to market. Comedy and straight drama without a named Star is hard to market. I have seen some great comedies that find absolutely no audience whatsoever. If you are going to do a drama or comedy then you are going to have to start the marketing well before the feature is finished. You are going to have to market the stars and perhaps even yourself months in advance of any release. You will need clips and behind the scene’s footage. You are going to have to go out and find the reviewers and sites that are respected in your chosen Genre and get them to review your work. (Note this works for all other genres as well.)

You should also hold back part of your budget for advertising and distribution cost. Gone are the days of needed to pay for hard film copies of your work, but Dvds cost money to produce. Media packages cost money. Festivals cost money. Press release services and those that can aid you with social media cost money.
    

 Social media and social marketing are going to be a very important part of your distribution plan. The more that you learn to do for yourself the greater share of the return on investment that you will see. The next post will be about different distribution companies for hire and the idea to use Crowdfunding as a distribution avenue.

  

 Thank you for visiting. Please take a moment to add me to your googleplus and to stumble this site on stumbleupon.

   

Public Domain films

Public Domain Films

I am about to post an interview that I had done with a filmmaker who has decided to make a sequel to a public domain film.

To fill you in on what public domain means, these are films that are no longer under copyright protection. The most famous of these films is Night Of The Living Dead. Many of us know that Romero made the mistake of not filing for a copyright on his little masterpiece thus opening the flood gates for anyone and everyone since then to make what are known as walking dead films and even tv shows. No one had to pay for the right to do this because of the lack of copyright protection.
    
 Note, please guys take the time to protect your intellectual property. Register your scripts and copyright your finished films.

There are hundreds of films, many famous and known to you that are free and clear to be remade or sequeled thanks to the fact that they have fallen into public domain. The movie that I am doing my next series of interviews about is sequel to a 1943 Bela Lugosi film titled The Devil Bat. When I first heard about the sequel to that film I thought really, seriously. Then I watched the movie again, haven’t seen it since I was like ten, and I discovered that it was a pretty sound piece of film making. Bela was great as the lead actor. It had a basic plot that it never looked away from. At about seventy minutes in length it held interest from beginning to end.

  

 This showed me that the public domain can be a gold mine for material. After researching just some of the films that are free to remake or do a sequel to I have a list of four or five movies that I am going to talk over with my production partners. That said I have not begun to look at the foreign films that are public domain yet. I understand that there is a lot of Italian horror and thrillers that are public domain in this country. I know that we did not talk much about actual digital film making today, but this is a cool subject to look into. I have always hated the idea of remaking great films, but the idea of remaking or doing sequels to lost films or forgotten films is something that excites the film maker in me.

That will be it for today. The next post will be an interview with the film maker behind the making of The Revenge Of The Devil Bat and its crowdfunding campaign.

Thank you for visiting and please take a moment to add us to your google plus or to stumble us on stumpleupon.

 

The Stray, Interview Part 1

 


Film maker Tom Ford (not that Tom Ford) has responded to my interview request. Keep in mind that this project is nearing the end of a crowdfunding campaign so if you can please take a moment to visit their indiegogo page and donate what you can. Remember at Indiegogo your film get what ever is donated toward the goal. While at Kickstarter it is usually an all or you get nothing proposition.


First, Tom Ford on the writing of the film.
I'll start with the obvious (you've heard it 100 times) "it's all
about the story"... because it's true.

Start there. If you're past that point already and have a so - so story,
go back to step 1. Story. 50,000 features made each year, most of those
don't have a great story. If you start with a great story that people will
want to watch, you move to the head of that pack and your chances for
success get a lot better. And THAT'S the way to begin.

You also have a very good chance of gathering a better team, better actors
and crew, that will actually show-up when you need them, because they believe
in the project too. Did I just refer to a great story again, I think I did.
I wrote The Stray. I like horror films but always felt they needed
to be more. I believe The Stray is. It is more appropriately a psychological
Horror and it has a real love story woven within the complicated layers.
Great characters that we follow through generations in the reincarnate
drams, with great suspense and action. Only thing missing is Zombies
and I want to make it clear, I have nothing against the dead walking
around and making movies it is simply that I wanted something different
and they are already in every other movie!

On Making the Movie.

We are making The Stray for less than most features spend on Craft Services, and it is challenging but that is where Crowd-Funding and Indie become so powerful together. Indie Film Making has always been a crowd funded model because it is customary for everyone to put so much of themselves and their own resources into the project. It's because they really believe in what they are doing, love the work (endless hours) and they keep their eyes focused on the potential of the finished product. They certainly are not in it for the money.


On paying the Cast and Crew:

Those who will work for free…

Pay them something. Be open and honest about what you have and then pay them at least a token, even if it hurts, especially if it hurts. Pay out with the right attitude and I believe it will all come back to you. Karma, pay it forward, whatever. Believe and others will believe. And make it very clear that you know it's not even close to what they deserve, but at least pay for their gas.

This will go along way.

It's about respect. Respect yourself, the project and the team and it will be appreciated in ways that you can actually see. They want this too, it's a stepping stone for everyone involved. Keep that in mind, remind your cast and crew of this and treat your project like you believe it. Do a good
job. Every scene either increases in value from the previous scene or is
compromised by it. Every scene counts. Scenes that don't count don't
belong in (you've got it) a great story.

On Preparation:

Prepare.

Lack of money requires more preparation on your part for everything you
do. Ducks in a row cost a lot less than mayhem. Don't count on good luck
but rather, prepare for Murphy's law. Preparation. Think through and
prepare for as much as possible and then, be flexible enough to go where
the situations you encounter take you. It's digital media. If everything
goes wrong shoot that too. You may get something extraordinary.
Don't lose sight of the story and maybe you have to write-off a "bad day" but at
least you don't have to pay for film and processing. Se what you got, use
what you can, be true to the story, yourself and the team and move on.

You are what you do.

The day is made by what you do. Nothing is realized by what you say or
could have done. Bad days are the perfect blue-print for what not to do the
next day. That's suddenly a very valuable tool.

Good effort inspires good people.

You are the inspiration for the team. They will, in turn, rise to the occasion and become your inspiration. So, keep your eyes and mind open to them. None of us can be great all the time. But the beauty of making a great film is that it takes more than you. It takes a team. If you've got a good team and you stay alert and open to their flashes of genius, welcome that into the production. If you shut everyone else out of "your vision" then all your moments of "less than genius" have nothing to cover them. Combine all the great, creative, cooperative efforts of the team and everyone suddenly looks better and the production will benefit substantially.

Valuable Tools:

I did interviews with cast and crew members once they became familiar with the story. Then I edited these and they became a valuable tool for attracting Investors (fund-raising) and they also strengthen the confidence of your cast and crew. But most of all, they really helped me. I learned from "their" take on everything. I learned a lot. You can watch my cast and crew interviews on the Indiegogo page for The Stray (near the bottom) here:
http://igg.me/at/TheStrayTheMovie/x/1065093

Trailers and teasers, today, are a cart before the horse scenario. We make
them first, before we film the actual movie because we need them to help
attract financing. THEY are a valuable tool, treat them like it as you create
them. They are also a story, make it a good one. I don't like to give
away the feature's story in a trailer but I want to convey the feel of the
story. I write my trailers to say the same or similar thing in a different
way. Write out your trailer stories and make certain they are what you
want. Trailers that "just happen" look like it.

I kill two birds with one stone sometimes. When I think I have the right
actor for any role, I like to shoot a screen test. The proof, after all,
is in the doing. So I choose a scene that I will want for a trailer. I
prepare and ask and expect my actors to prepare and learn their parts
(Their preparation speaks volumes about how they will work for you in the production.)
Then I shoot it as best I can, understanding the limitations. I find out who can actually
do the part and, if I've done a good job, I have a scene for my trailer.

No money for sets, make-up or crew? Think it through. Extract the best
parts of what you want to shoot. Move in, because a closer shot requires
less set design. Cull the best parts and concentrate on those. Trailers
are commonly clips of very short duration in rapid succession and you can
use that to your advantage.

Edit, edit, edit. Cut the trailer well. It is going to speak for you on and make that "First Impression" you don't get a second chance on. And they need to address every level to people who know nothing about you. The story your Trailer tells about your ability to bring a production together is an unforgiving one. Never underestimate the trailer. Make it great on its own because that is the way it will be seen and considered.

Okay that I it for part one of this two part interview. Part Two will be posted tomorrow. Please take a moment to share this post with a friend and to stumble us on Stumbleupon.

Crowdfunding And The Stray

Crowdfunding and The Stray

Normally I would put this content up on my crowdfunding page, but the campaign only has six days left as I am writing this and since the cast and crew did a great thirty minute interview about the project I felt it was too good to pass up. First take a look at the trailer for The Stray.   I hope to do a Q&A with the filmmaker because this is a blog dedicated to digital film making. Most of the readers here want to know the how and why and with what part of the film making process. I could guess the cameras being used, but why guess when I will get the answers sooner or later. We do get a behind the scenes look at the camera rig (around minute 15). Okay here is the cast and crew interviews. You can visit their Indiegogo campaign page at this link. http://igg.me/at/TheStrayTheMovie That will be it for today. Please take a moment to check out their crowd funding page at indiegogo, it is pretty impressive. Just remember that if you can not afford to contribute to a campaign then use social media to spread the world about it. We are low or micro budget film makers and we need to help each other out.

Fan Films, Joker Rising Interview

  Fan Film, Joker Rising Interview

I promised that I would try to get an interview with the maker of a fan film and
Alek Gearhart the writer/ director of the fan film Joker Rising has agreed to answer a few
questions about his film. Before the interview begins I would again like to remind you guys
that Alek is running two crowd funding campaigns for this movie. One at Indiegogo and the other at Kickstarter. So please take a moment to visit kickstarter at
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/834459535/joker-origins-film-dc-batman-universe and or the indiegogo campaign at http://igg.me/p/399595

In the world of crowd funding every dollar counts and as little as a dollar can make you part of a special project. If indie film makers do not support each other then we will always be at the mercy of the big studios. If you can not donate money, then share a campaign through what
ever social media that you use. Stumble it, post it on your google plus, use twitter. Telling a few
friends about a crowd funding campaign can help more sometimes than making a donation yourself. You never know. Okay, lets get to the interview.


Thank you for your time Alek. This will be basic question and answer style.

Most of the fan films from the Batman universe seem to be based upon
Batman or Darkwing with an occasional Cat Woman short thrown in, but you
decided to go back to the beginning with the Joker. Was this a choice because he has
been over looked or because he is the character that you are most interested in?

-The idea for this Joker film came from looking at the sadness that seemed to be in the Joker's eyes, especially in Heath Ledger's version. Like there was something horrible that happened to him to make him go the way he did. In this we are elaborating on that. Another idea that inspired this was the idea that he might not have been funny in the first place but was driven to it somehow. Also you hit the nail on the head. The Joker has been overlooked as a lead character and even in The Killing Joke we don't really get to know much about him. Every villain should have his day.


You also decided to included the very popular character of Harley Quin in the film.
How big a part does this character play in the film?


-She is very much the glue of the story. The both of them are societies outcasts so really they only have each other. She is a prostitute in this working for a pimp named "Riddles". She is easily the most important supporting character in the film. Another important character not seen in the teaser is Black Mask who also provides a very important piece to the puzzle of the Joker's origins.

There are the comic books, the graphic novels, the movies and the animated series to
look to draw from. When writing the script did you use them as a guideline or is this
going to be something new?

-No, I drew mostly from other films and books like Drive, The Departed, Blood Meridian and Shame. This is from a criminal's point of view so we want it to really feel like you are in the underbelly of Gotham.


Since the reader of this blog are interested in the film making process let’s talk about the
making of the movie.


The first question that comes up from other film makers is what kind of camera did you
use on the trailer and will you be using it to shoot the feature?


-We used a Sony Nex 100 UK for the trailer and will use it for the film as well. Great for anything at night and looks a bit more like film.

The sound is great, what did you use to record it?


-The sound is recorded with the mic that came with the camera. No boom was used for that teaser. The only alteration was that a high pass filter was added in final cut.


I have read comments about your cast and how great they are. One of the hardest parts of indie film making is finding actors who can handle the basics yet alone lift your production to another level. How did you find your cast?

-The cast was really a pleasant surprise. My partner on this project, Manuel Eduardo Ramirez and I had a one day casting call and almost immediatly great talent started to come in. Katie Young, who plays Harley, blew us away as soon as she walked in. At the end of the day tho we didn't think we we're going to find a guy who could pull off Joker and him before he turns into the Joker but right at the end Dylan Hobbs walked in and stole the show. A few other actors have come aboard later who we knew or heard about through friends. Ski Carr will play Black Mask, Dominic Marsell will play Riddles and Manuel Ramirez, who is also the guy who got gunned down in the street in the teaser will play Killer Croc or just Croc in this. God was looking out for us.

 
Last film making question before we get to crowd funding. Who inspires you? For me
it is Takashi Miike who does every kind of movie under the sun and does them well.
Who is it that you hope to be compared to or mentioned in the same breath with someday?


I am inspired by filmmakers like Terrance Malick, Chuan Lu (for City of Life and Death a film that everyone should watch), Steven Spielberg, Nicolas Winding Refn, and Alfonso Cuaron. Mainly Terrance Malick. Also inspired greatly by the 2004-2009 show Battlestar Galactica for taking something that is usually campy and grounding it in reality.


You are crowdfunding on Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Do you have links to these campaigns?


-We are doing both at the moment.
Indie go go is
http://igg.me/p/399595
Kickstarter
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/834459535/joker-origins-film-dc-batman-universe

Are you determined to make this film whether you reach your goals or not?

-
The film will be made, it will just be a bit harder without help. But once it is done regardless of how we got there it will be something to behold.


When is production going to start and how many days do you plan to shoot?

- We start in June and plan on going for 2 weeks.

Any final words?

-We hope that this movie will usher in a new era of fan films and even comic book films that will surpass just action or sci-fi and enter into the realm of character pieces and hard dramas like the Place Beyond the Pines and Crash.