Success at Sundance is almost necessary for today’s indie filmmaker. How does it happen? It takes dilligence, and patience. If you make a high quality film, then you have as much of a chance as anyone else to succeed. Remember when you get there, talk to EVERYONE.
So everyone (yes, including you) has trouble getting the word out about their films. There are dreams of multi-million dollar contracts, and working with A-List stars, but the fact of the matter is those don’t come easily. It takes a lot of work and posturing to get those contracts lined up. Here’s where YouTube (www.youtube.com) comes in.
YouTube fills in that little area of filmmakers that haven’t been accepted into film festivals, and don’t already have distribution deals. YouTube allows you to freely promote your videos to the millions of people that visit YouTube daily. Here’s my ultimatum if you have a short film in the can take it right now and upload it to YouTube. Put the link in your email signature and spam the internet with it. I guarantee you you will be happy with the results.
Little Miss Sunshine is a perfect example of a Fan Favorite. It is charming, funny, and easily accessible. The question becomes, how do you make your film like this? Generally the fan favorite deals with light subject matter in many different subjects so that everyone in the audience can feel like they have lived part of the film. Also, the fan favorite tens to have many main characters for the same reason, so each person in the audience can identify with a character.
The dialogue in these films tends to be witty, kind of like the group of characters against the world…
It helps to make the film family friendly because if any indie film has a chance of making in big it is the fan favorite, and you don’t want to do anything to hamper that potential success.
This is sort of the grand re-opening of makingindiefilms.com. We are a part of the 451 Press blogging network. If you look at some of the past posts, you will see that they were full of unsavory images that had nothing to do with film making. I do not have the ability to delete the images, but rest assured, there will be none of that going on if I have anything to say about it.
MIF is a blog about all aspects of making movies from screenwriting to casting, to choosing a camera, to shooting the actual film. Also, we will be profiling upcoming indie films, and talking about some ways they made the best of their small budgets and time constraints. If I’m lucky, we will be able to get an interview with some people in the indie film business, so stick around. We have a great ride ahead of us.
Keifer
As a filmmaker or writer it is important to make good work, but it is equally, if not more important, to get that work read or seen. If nobody reads or sees your work then the quality will go unnoticed and your skills will pass without recognition. No - I’m not saying prepare your Academy Award speech or get ready to collect a trophy at Sundance - I’m just saying do the diligence to get your work seen or read.
There are many ways to send out work or get it seen. Obviously for completed works there are the obvious festival routes and screenplay contests. However, there are also more offbeat ways to get your work noticed. Perhaps you have friends in the business or other filmmakers that you kick-around-with… Well, there is never any harm in getting them to read your script or you can perhaps even organize an impromptu screening for other filmmakers in your home or at a small local venue. The key is to generate interest and put your work out in the world. Building a website with your trailer and clips or posting on YouTube is another way to generate interest and have people looking at your stuff.
When it all comes down to it, perhaps you just have to start sending out emails to engage with people. You can send pitch letters or introductions or even the tried and trusted screenwriter query letter. The unfortunate fact is, your success will be more about your level of diligence than your level of skill. Remember - the indie film business is built on hard work and tenacity. Now repeat after me - I WILL GET MY WORK SEEN - I WILL GET MY SCREENPLAY READ! Say it 100 times. Say it until you believe it and then start sending out those emails!
Below is the trailer for 30 DAYS OF NIGHT… Not sure if it’s a Halloween winner or Halloween whiner…
One of the hardest parts of being an independent filmmaker or writer is keeping body and soul together while you do it. What I mean by this is simple stuff, like writing or shooting and paying the rent at the same time. Oftentimes it will be tough - almost impossible. You have worked hard, but are seeing limited cash returns on what you have made or written. This is nature of doing things creative. If you prefer the regular paycheck - then go work in a bank. Still, life isn’t always about money - sometimes it’s just about making work that you believe in. If you can somehow just keep-on keeping on, then I promise that you will ultimately get the recognition and pay-off that you seek. Meanwhile, try to find ways to use your skills to make ancillary cash. There is often unusual paid work out there for filmmakers and writers if you just do the diligence and seek it out.
Aside from cash money, I really enjoyed the trailer for BE KIND, REWIND - the latest from kooky frenchman, Michel Gondry…
I’m not sure if technically LARS AND THE REAL GIRL is an indie movie. Sure, it stars top notch indie thespian Ryan Gosling. Still, with a veteran commercials director like Craig Gillespie at the helm and a script from a SIX FEET UNDER series writer, you might imagine that any indie allusions end there. However, the reason that I have singled out Lars and The Real Girl is because of its independent spirit and more importantly the fact that if somebody WILL bankroll this kind of project then there is hope for all of us.
L-A-T-R-G concerns a lonely man, who for reasons of mental dysfunction, buys something that approximates a Real Doll off the internet and parades it around town to friends and relatives as his girlfriend. Yes! This film is about a man who buys a live size sex-doll (for what of a better word) and treats it as a real person. It looks funny from the trailer - however, this is still a movie whose central prop is a live size sex doll. It’s not something off HBO late night, but a real movie schedule to be in theaters at the weekend. It’s being released by MGM no less.
While Wes Anderson is quirky (yes quirky - don’t you hate that word?) and held-up by many as the doyen of indie cross-over. I say that this movie about a Real Doll is much more independent and subversive. I think it shows us that we can be different and contemporary and at the same time deal with more marginal issues or cultural artifacts. I found L-A-T-R-G to be quite an inspiration in some respects. It actually made me more confident in sending out the latest draft of my script.
Today’s exercise is simple. Find yourself a movie (about to be released) that inspires you - a movie that gives you a sense of possibility and makes your own project seem plausible. Savor the sense that you can and will be inspired to succeed.
Meanwhile here’s the L-A-T-R-G trailer for your edification…
Much the same as painting or creating any work of art, your script or your movie will never be finished to your sense of perfection. There will be things wrong with it, scenes you still want to tinker with, shots that you hate, dialogue glitches that you just can’t edit out. Still, despite those errors (that seem gigantic to you), there will come a point where you have to abandon the creative process. YES! Abandon the project and MOVE ON. I don’t mean leave it half-finished - NO! I just mean finish it to the best of your ability and get it out there…
If it’s a script, clean it up and start showing it to actors or money. If it’s a movie, stick the head and end credits on that sucker and start sending it to festivals. All of your work is completely useless unless you put it out there in the world. So, what I’m suggesting, whether you’re near to finishing or just stuck - finish the thing up and start getting feedback - at the very least. Remember this truly isn’t rocket science or the cure for cancer. You will not be totally judged on this piece of work, anyway - but it will be viewed more as a building block in a body of work. YES! A body of work. You can have that, but first you need to finish what you’re working on right now and get it out there.
That is my mission for the next 48 hours. To finish up and to get stuff out in the world. You need to do the same… Meanwhile, here’s a nice little interview with Wes Anderson and Adrian Brody about THE DARJEELING LIMITED…
Today is my Birthday, hence no post yesterday and only this today. My Wichita thing STILL isn’t finished - still, I’m taking the day off for R-AND-R. Hopefully this weekend it will be done, as it looks like I’ve just been hired to write a silly action romp… The trailer below might give you a few clues…
Tied up, so be content with this trailer from Barton Fink and the above picture of the troubled Lindsay Lohan …
Still in rewrite deadline hell, so a personal reminiscence about documentary filmmaking will have to suffice today…
Recently I flipped on the TV and came across a fantastic ’80s New Wave documentary entitled MADE IN SHEFFIELD. As the title suggests this 52 minute retrospective dealt with the rise of early electronica in Sheffield, England in the late 1970s and charted the rise of THE HUMAN LEAGUE, HEAVEN 17, CABARET VOLTAIRE, ABC and the lesser known but equally interesting ARTERY. This was the pop music of my youth - stylishly re-presented through a series of candid interviews by director Eve Wood. Despite catching the odd typo in some of the captions - there was something very honest and touching about this film. Apart from Phil Oakey, Martin Ware and a more current Jarvis Cocker, most of the interviewees never quite retained any great fame or mass appeal after their bubble burst. I think a great many of them are back in Sheffield. Still, the music lives on. Some of it as the greatest British pop albums of the 80s. Who can forget “Penthouse and Pavement” from Heaven 17, or The Human League’s “Dare,” or ABC’s “The Lexicon of Love.”
After remembering my youth so fondly, imagine my surprise when later (on USA Network) I heard “Don’t You Want baby..?” used as the jingle for the current CHIPS AHOY commercial. Like I said - the music lives on - unfortunately inscrupulous Ad Execs have turned the Human League into four animated cookies driving a funny car. Ah, well… At least that means a few well deserved sheckels for Phil Oakey and co.
To give you an idea of the look and flava, here is the MADE IN SHEFFIELD trailer…
I also couldn’t resist posting the DON’T YOU WANT ME BABY video clip…
I am tied-up in rewrite hell today, so this post has top be very brief. It’s one of those woods for the trees moments, so I’m just trying to cowboy up. In the meantime, I have to recommend Facebook again. It is a tremendous tool for the Indie Filmmaker. I have just managed to reconnect with so many old friends and colleagues there. On that note I need to send out a big shout to British director Q. His UK crime/gangster movie Deadmeat has been selected to play at the All Black Film Festival in Los Angeles, later this month.
Below is the deadmeat trailer…. Normal posts should resume tomorrow…
Myself and Margie were driving past Little Temple - a club on the edge of Silverlake, last night and the name Eddie Little came up. Eddie was a good friend of mine, at one point and I remember him taking me to that very club. Well, it was called something else, then - but still.
Before his untimely demise - Eddie had gone from zero to hero in writing terms . He had completed several very popular novels - one of which was adapted as the indie crime caper flick, ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE and was about to work on a TV show with Wesley Strick (of Cape Fear fame.)
I suppose Eddie taught me most about writing in the sense that his enthusiasm was infectious. He put himself into his words and his stories, even when he was blending fact and fiction - still, playing that it was the absolute truth. If you were around him and writing, he gave you the sense that anything was possible. To him, success was only ever a few paragraphs or a few lines of dialogue away. I still believe that and when I think of it, it reminds me of Eddie and yet another waitress asking him: ‘are you Mickey Rourke?” They looked similar. Well, not quite.
If you are searching for inspiration for your project, or just the energy to keep writing or shooting or raising the cash to do either - remember that there are people cheering you on. We all have an Eddie Little, who for me, even from beyond the grave is making me smile and giving me energy this morning.
The trailer I found for ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE is rather cheesy, but I hink that its’ populist, straight-to-video tone might even have given Eddie a chuckle…
Even though everybody keeps on saying that the current popularity of horror movies is on the wane - it might still be a genre to consider for your next indie project, as either writer or director. Last week, while engaging with several industry folks, they all seemed to be asking me “did I have a low-budget horror script for them?” On reflection, lots of people I know remain heavily involved in the genre and are making new monster or slasher pics.
John Gulager of Project Greenlight fame has just started prep on FEAST TWO and THREE in Shreveport, Louisiana. A friend who formerly worked at Franchise is rumored to be putting together a series of horror flicks under the banner Marylin Manson Presents and let’s not forget Rob Zombie’s rather successful remake of Halloween which made bank at the box office, earlier this month. Even in IFC’s rather tawdry THE BUSINESS - the gang win an Independent Spirit Award for their picture called HOUSE OF FEAR.
Remember, like comedy, as long as your horror project creates a visceral response - there are no real rules to it. You don’t actually need much cash or even production value, just something off-beat that is loaded with chills and thrills. I am waiting for somebody to create a Mumblecore horror movie. Yes - a very ‘New Yorky’ and naturalistic look at either murder, madness or mayhem. The new HDV cameras like the Canon XH-A1 or the Sony HVR-V1U are also perfect for low light and close quarter shooting - not a bad option for the fledgeling thrill-meister.
Meanwhile - while you chew on what horror indie to write or direct, you might check out San Francisco’s SHOCK IT TO ME CLASSIC HORROR FESTIVAL which runs at the Castro Theater October 5th thru 7th. Live guests include the legendary JOE DANTE.
Even though it’s off topic, I wanted to treat you to a clip from Matt Mahurin’s terrific New York documentary about a diner/restaurant called I LIKE KILLING FLIES… I managed to catch this doc on The Sundance Channel last night. It’s a must see…
Writing a script or casting or getting your picture off the ground is hard. It will take time and dedication. It is a process. For every overnight success story you might read about people writing a movie in a weekend, or shooting it in twelve days, or getting finance in an afternoon - there are thousands of others who spend months and years and decades doing THIS to finally get that break or their moment in the spotlight. The latter are the unsung ranks of filmmakers, writers and actors who toil in anonymity - dotting the ‘i’s’ and crossing the ‘t’s’ and hoping that this will ALL work out for them in the end.
You and I are those people - the unsung ranks. And on some days, like today, you will wonder what the point is… Well, never fear, because hope is at hand. Much the same as any relationship, the relationship that you have with your work needs to be cultivated. It is part of your life. A BIG part, YES. But nevertheless it is only part. So for your relationship with your work to make sense, you need to balance it out with other activities. Commitment to THE BIG PICTURE called life is key…
Imagine the dating metaphor for a minute… Remember that girl (or boy) that you really liked and you started dating? It was great, first off, wasn’t it? You were excited by those dinners and going to a movie on friday night. But imagine if you did that date every night and it was the same date. After a while you might even find yourself ignoring family and friends and sunshine and rain just to do that friday-night-date 24-7. Yes - I know it’s addictive. Still, the outcome would be obvious - wouldn’t it? Family and friends would stop talking to you and get angry. You’d lose any connection you had with the real world. And as for the date… it would be boring and awful and meaningless - then only a matter of time before you and your dating partner were through… Well - the date is your work and career - and this is what happens to people when they focus too much on their work or putting their movie together. It has happened to me and it can happen to you. Still, as long as you recognize it, YOU CAN and YOU WILL fix it. Remember - you are a human being first and a director or writer or actor - second. To be successful creatively you must be a successful human being first…
I’m not a huge fan of self-help theories - but I think it is sometimes important to listen to advice, especially when it’s good advice. Indirectly, Margie gave me this advice and I’m passing it on to you, in the form of an easy to understand self-help exercise…
Yes - it’s an exercise - but actually quite simple. Focus on your life today - not your work. Take an hour or two off and spend it with somebody important to you. Discuss other things apart from your script or your movie. Take a walk. Go to a museum or park or skating rink. Reconnect with yourself and the world. Do it now - today - before it’s too late. I promise it will improve your quality of life and in turn improve whatever you are working on. You need to regain your energy and enthusiasm. You need to de-focus on what your working towards in order for it to become clear again…
Now go out and do it. Yes - right now - this minute, or you might end up like Jeff Garlin in I WANT SOMEONE TO EAT CHEESE WITH… I like Sarah Silverman - but I’m not even sure if this is funny… As for the pic of Milla Jovovitch up top - well she is number ONE at the box office…
'Making Indie Films' aims to be one of many rich and helpful resources out there on the web for the aspiring film-maker's in the world. On this site not only will you find tips to help make the job of film-making easier, but you will also find previews and reviews of upcoming independent films varying from those with shoestring budget to those with $1million+ budgets. Also on makingindiefilms.com you can look forward to finding reviews for audio, video, and other equipment designed for the art of video and film production.
'Making Indie Films' encourages and supports all aspects and types of film-making. Whether you're a little guy at the bottom of the pole, or a seasoned veteran looking for some light reading, we've got you covered. If you would like to contribute any ideas, or just tip us off to a great indie film in the works or about to be released, drop us a line via the forms below.
Making Indie Films Author(s)
