Making Indie Films

We are finally done with our BEAT SHEET for Eight Rivers, which was put together by myself, the director and another one of the producers. During the process of creating this beat sheet, we certainly found the spine of the story and a number of interesting facets that have improved where we are going with it and what we are trying to say. If you are writing a project with a group of people - as you indeed might be - having everybody in agreement on the beats of the story is key. If you were building a house, the beat sheet would serve as your blueprint, more or less. All your dialogue and character development should actually arise from the beats. It’s NOT the other way around. In fact your character development, dialogue and action should ALL be perfectly integrated into your story beats. The master of this was the late, great Paddy Chayefsky pictured above.

So - on to a functinal system for delivering a working draft of your screenplay. Again, the key is to have you and your co-conspirators on the same page. I have found, over the years, the easiest way to do this is to deliver 10 pages at a time over a period of 10 days - meaning that you can have a 100 page working draft in ten working days. Basically, you get up early - write 10 pages by ‘close of business’ and submit them to your producer/director. The group reviews your pages, you collectively make changes and repeat the process until you have your first, working draft. Sounds simple? In principle it is. And if you have a beat sheet to work from the process gets much easier. But first off, you must be in agreement on the four major beats…

i) Where does the story start?
ii) End of act one turning point.
iii) End of act two turning point.
iv) How do we end this story?

Those are your four tent poles, so to speak. Ignore them at your peril. Having them solid and smart will improve your working draft no end. Having them vague and unsteady - you’re in for a world of pain…

So there you have it. 10 pages a day for 10 days. It can be done. Alternatively, a more sedate approach is to deliver the script one act at a time - basically 30 page segments. This way, instead of the review process happening every evening - it only happens three times during your first draft schedule. However, I would still suggest trying to write each of your three acts over 3 days - or 3.5 days, even. Momentum has always been very important for me. It will add to your level of focus and remove any sense of distraction.

Remember - NOW is the time to tell your story.

Some useful books that might help…

Alex Epstein really unravels the Beat Sheet process
The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters
500 Ways to Beat the Hollywood Script Reader

I managed to get my hands on the new Canon XH-A1 at Samy’s last week. FYI - this action-packed beast was initially recommended to me by (Candyman director) Bernard Rose… Coming in basic black, the XH-A1 has the same three 1.67 megapixel CCDs as the unweildy XL-H1 but a much trimmer profile. A Canon L-series 20x optical zoom lens comes as standard, as does a 24p /1080i mode. That’s (more or less) full-on HDV for under $3,500. As I was told (by Bernard) you can actually shoot an entire feature on this thing - passing largely unnoticed in areas that might ordinarily need permits. Not that I’m advocating the ‘no permit route’ - but discretion is always helpful, even if just in terms of the actors you are working with…

Anyway - back to the camera itself. The auto-focus is suprisingly responsive and the 24p setting works like a dream. Vivid colors. A fluid, filmic look. And it hardly weighs anymore than a DVX100B. Add to that the dual XLR inputs and this baby is built for speed. The company I am involved in - I-Force - is looking at accquiring two XH-A1’s to take to Jamaica and I will be eager to see how the camera performs in the jungle heat.

Just as an FYI, though… The HDV codec that this thing shoots-in isn’t compatible with any other HDV deck, so you need to use the camera as a deck for FCP capture purposes. Still, regardless of that - it’s a lot of camera for the price.

BUY the XH-A1 at Amazon
READ the XH-A1 tech specs from Canon
XH-A1 FAQ from our friends at DV-INFO

Getting into festivals can in some cases be a fast-track to distribution and dvd deals. Buyers are often trawling festivals to find the ‘hot’ new thing. But the festival circuit can be complex and expensive. You might want to sign-up for a service like Without A Box to simplify and manage your festival submissions. W-A-B has just upgraded their service too, offering distribution tools and even a way to set-up your own film festival.

Here are some interesting festivals that you might submit to with deadlines coming-up in August ‘07:

BIG APPLE FILM FESTIVAL (November 14, 2007 / November 17, 2007)
A celebration of independent filmmakers and screenwriters from across the country and around the world. Includes film screenings, special guests, networking parties, and awards ceremony. Takes place annually at the Tribeca Cinemas in New York City.

Submission deadline - August 15th - VISIT the Official Site

BOULDER INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (February 15, 2007 / February 18, 2007)
The Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF) is one of Colorado’s most celebrated film events and has developed international recognition as a showcase for the best new films by today’s most important new filmmakers and stars.

Submission deadline - August 15th - VISIT the Official Site

EXTREME FILMMAKER’S 48-HOUR FILM FESTIVAL (September 20, 2007 / September 20, 2007)
The 48-Hour Film Festival was started to motivate directors and remove the excuses that prevent people from becoming filmmakers. Actually finishing a film is a better credit than all of the plans and unfinished screenplays in Hollywood.

Submission deadline - August 31st - VISIT the Official Site

LA FEMME INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (October 11, 2007 / October 14, 2007)
Premier International Film Festival focusing on films created by women Producers, Writers & Directors. Winners have achieved distribution internationally & domestically, Hallmark, Lifetime, HBO, Showtime.

Submission deadline - August 27th - VISIT the Official Site

SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL (January 17, 2008 / January 25, 2008)
Since’95. This year On the Road Screenings & we began a festival in Cologne, Germany supporting new European filmmaking talent. New $99 Specials, short dv films made for $99 by Slamdance alumni.Also screenplay comp., year-round online fest.

Submission deadline - August 27th - VISIT the Official Site

I learnt the most about screenwriting when I was first doing production rewrites over at Franchise Pictures. Rarely do any screenwriting books really tell you the nuts and bolts about writing - at least how it actually pertains to making a movie. Sure all the books talk about scenes, characters, jeopardy and conflict - but when it comes down to it, one of the most important things about a script is its feasibility. Yes. I mean: how feasible is it to shoot this script..?

That’s why I came up with “File Under Screenwriting” which will basically be a series of screenwriting tips that I will post every Thursday. What I’m aiming for is all the stuff that they don’t (usually) tell you in the books or the classroom. Simple, practical information that will enhance the feasibility of your script actually getting made. Of course if you’re working at the top Studio level - being practical isn’t always an issue. I mean, let’s face it - Studios have no problem building unfeasible worlds and shooting ‘bad’ dialogue in hard to reach places - regardless of cost. The same goes for Indie Producers with unlimited resources. Good sense and practicallity doesn’t neccessarily drive them, either.

However, for the rest of the world, which includes you and me - writing a shootable script is key - which brings me to the meat of this post…. Driving dialogue. Or should I say; dailogue while driving, or in certain kinds of exteriors.

One of my favorite films of recent memory is COLLATERAL starring Tom Cruise (pictured above) and Jamie Foxx. For the most part it’s two men driving around in a cab and talking. Michael Mann pulls this off with spectacular style and the use of digital technology. It looks and sounds great. For you though, on your indie movie, I say: “DON’T DO IT.”

Writing scenes that take place in moving vehicles is always a mistake. It is hard to film a conversation in a car - not just the physical difficulty - but there are ALWAYS audio issues and it will rarely look as good as you think it should. As a rule of thumb - try not to set more than one dialogue scene in a moving vehicle. I can hear you saying - well the people in my movie are always talking in the car (and what about LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE?). There are many creative ways around this. Also in terms of production the feasibility of your screenplay will improve considerably if you limit the hard to film dialogue.

Let’s look at some obvious fixes…
i) Have the characters talk before they get into the vehicle.
ii) Have them talk in the vehicle, before they drive away.
iii) Find a way to switch the scene to an interior without random vehicular sound.
iv) Start thinking about what makes a scene simpler to shoot as well as being good drama.

The same is true of certain kinds of exteriors. Avoid setting dialogue scenes on busy streets. Permits are costly and even if you’re ’stealing’ the location the ‘bad’ sound will kill your scene. Never sets scenes in aiports. Almost impossible to film there, these days. You see my point - being practical in writing your script makes the script easier to shoot and scripts that are easier to shoot are easier to get funded. No. No. No. I’m not suggesting you stop being creative. I’m suggesting the opposite. Be as creative as you can be. Be smart and write scenes that can actually be shot without a mass of headaches. Practical is good if you do it creatively.

Despite the fact I have railed against certain screenplay ‘how-tos,’ here are a few of my favorite screenwriting books…
I have TWO copies of this Hal Ackerman book
I READ this book in the bathroom
If you like ENTOURAGE you’ll love this book

I am not king of the tech guys. It’s just not my thing. But I know my way around a camcorder and an FCP rig. Some time ago a producer/director friend - David Basulto - had talked to me about shooting his last feature on the ‘JVC 110.’ So as you might imagine, when I had the chance to try one out I jumped. The feauture set of the GY-HD110U is impressive. It shoots full HD at 1280×720 and ‘true’ 24 frame progressive. It is HDV and DV compatible. You can switch lenses for anything with a standard bayonet mount and the flip-out screen has both color and b/w options. Just holding this camera you feel like a pro. It has more of the profile of a shrunk-down betacam than the prosumer ‘look’ of the old PD-150 or DVX100. At the same time the HD110U is compact and nowhere near as unwieldy as the XL-1s (which to be honest - I never liked).

On to picture quality. Crisp, bright images. The HD110U compares well to both the new Canon XHA (which I love) and has considerably more depth than the DVX100B (which I still think is great for under $3k retail). I would guess the clarity is more to do with the 16x pro Fujinon lens than the CCDs - although I’m sure that they’re part of the equation.

Alledgedly the HD110U’s 24p setting delivers a film ‘look’ that is streets ahead of your regular 1080i setting - but I just didn’t spend enough time with this ‘beast’ to confirm or deny that. It would be my guess that - yes - the film look is convincing as far as this kind of HDV camcorder can deliver it.

Other things that I liked:

TWO XLR audio inputs - which always comes in handy - especially if you’re in the business of documentaries.

A crazy ’skin tone detection’ feature/setting that softens faces - so that don’t look harsh and tv-like.

All the custom settings that you program into the camera can be stored on a interchangeable SD Card. Gotta love that.

You can even get a third party adapter to add prime lenses to the front of this thing.

Things that I wasn’t sure about or didn’t like:

I felt the unit could be a little less boxy. You feel like a news-cameraman with it slung on your shoulder.

At first glance - a little daunting to figure your way around the myriad of settings.

Too big and ‘pro’ looking to pass unnoticed. If you shoot on the fly, or are stealing locations - this thing will make you stand-out too much.

Extra battery system is expensive. Always the case - though.

Despite any of my dislikes - the basic GY-HD110U rig can be bought on Amazon for under $5k. It’s a lot of camera for under $5k and certainly powerful enough to shoot your first feature on. If you can try on out - it’s a must. In the main - two thumbs up!

BUY the GY-HD110U on Amazon
CHECK OUT the HD110U’s feature set on the official JVC PRO site

Directing, writing, producing or editing an Indie Film can be a very lonely job, and there will be a time when you feel lost, perhaps even short on inspiration. Let’s face it, you’re probably not making any money - the cash you raised is running out and everybody keeps asking; ‘why is this taking so long?’ Well - fear not - there is hope at hand and as the saying goes, sometimes ‘a trouble shared is a trouble halved.’ I got into a similar discussion last night with a producer friend. He described how his immediate circle of friends and colleagues were sick of hearing about his movie and his post-production problems. However - he had found solace in a local filmmakers group that he had discovered on a thing called meetup.com. Yes - you may have heard of it. Their logo mimics the familiar red and white sticker that says ‘Hello my name is…’ As it turned out, my pal Dave had been a regular at the meet-up New York filmmakers group and only had good things to say about it…

After checking-out the meet-up site I found that there were several movie-centric groups in the Los Angeles area - including production groups and writers groups. I was still on the fence about it, though. Truth is I didn’t feel totally secure in meeting ’strangers’ to discuss the inner workings of my new projects. Still - the thought of community and some kind of support system remained appealing to me. Months earlier, I had discussed joining a local Final-Cut-Pro group with my director friend, Bernard. The LA FCP User Group seemed unique in the sense that its focus was technical and its mandate was to spread knowledge. So that’s what I did this morning - I sent an email to join the LAFCPUG… They meet once a month with guest speakers - and as luck would have it, this month’s meeting is tomorrow night in Barnsdall Art Park. Almost walking distance for me. I’m hoping to find a sense of community and some new people to talk with. Maybe it’ll just take my mind off the problems with my current project. Maybe that’s more than enough. I will report back…

FYI - Cold Mountain - pictured above was the first studio feature to be edited on Final Cut Pro.

Some places to meet other filmmakers…

VISIT Meet-Up and find a group in your area.
VISIT Film Independent for networking opportunities.
JOIN Los Angeles Final Cut Pro User Group.

I spent this weekend on research, looking into advice on how to best make ‘offers’ to actors. What that really means is how to attach an actor to your project by making them a financial offer in writing. It’s one of those classic Catch-22 situations. Nobody will finance your project without actors attached and you catch attach actors without making offers - which takes money. It’s a hard lesson to learn and a tough thing to get around. If you happen to know Tom Cruise and you can get him to read your script - then you’re in great shape - but for the rest of us, it means using our personal connections to deal with the talent directly. Simply put, the best way around all this, is to work with actors you know personally. Okay, so they might not be the most famous people in the world - but if they know you, they might read your script. Getting your material read is key to putting a project together and attaching actors.

Talking of reading, my research took me to a number of books that were helpful. In reverse order you might want to find copies of…

“From Reel to Deal: Everything You Need to Create a Successful Independent Film” by Dov S-S Simens.
This is basically Dov Simens ‘three-day film school’ as a book. It takes you through everything from putting a script together to finding finance, your director and actually shooting. It is a good book, but doesn’t totally take into acount the politics of indie film or the Agents/Managers you will probably have to interact with.

“Independent Feature Film Production : A Complete Guide from Concept Through Distribution” by Gregory Goodell.
A more sophisticated take on production than the Simens book. The sections on finance and distribution are extremely smart and direct you around various hidden pitfalls. Numerous industry professionals have told me that this book was invaluable to them.

Rebel Without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker With $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player’ by Robert Rodriguez.
From screenwriter/director Robert Rodriguez this volume is both entertaining and literally crammed full of insider secrets. You will find strategies and methods that are intelligent and in some cases marvellously devious. Regardless of whether you will deploy what Rodriguez suggests - certainly a great book and worth a look.

For the record, I got the books in my local library, but you can buy them on amazon.

BUY “From Reel to Deal…” by Dov S-S Simens
BUY “Independent Feature Film Production…” by Gregory Goodell
BUY “Rebel Without A Crew…” by Robert Rodriguez

Welcome to the new and (hopefully) improved Making Indie Films. My name is Trevor Miller and aside from having written for mainstream Hollywood moving companies, I am in the process of working to produce a number of indie projects. What I hope to do with this site is not only chronicle my own journey, but also help other filmmakers along the way. Each week I will be posting how-tos, equipment reviews, hints on production, writing and finance. In short - all the stuff that might help you to get your indie project off the ground - or at the very least, see how others are doing it.

Today I am about to have a conference call with a producer called Karl Hunter and a British director called Brian Bovell. We are in the process of putting together an indie feature to be shot in Jamaica. The purpose of today’s call is to solidify a beat-sheet. Simply put - a beat-sheet is the outline of your movie as a series of bullet points. As the name suggests it runs through all the beats of your movie. If you are colloborating with a producer and director - as I am in this case - the beat-sheet has a number of purposes. Firstly that everyone is in agreement about the beats of your story. Secondly, if there are problems with the story, they can be identified in terms of what beats work and what beats don’t. Finally, the beat-sheet allows all concerned to sign-off on the story and be in agreement exactly what movie you are making.

Tomorrow I will report back on the meeting and start writing-up a series of production how-tos that might prove helpful for all the writer-directors and producers out there. In the meantine, there are a series of helpful links below.

BEAT SHEET for Notting Hill
Complex BEAT SHEET from John August… (Note that there are multiple writers)

This site is currently in need of a writer. If you have any interest in writing on the topic this site covers, feel free to submit an application at 451 Press. Thank you.

451 Press, Flim-making, Writers Needed