Making Indie Films

Tied up, so be content with this trailer from Barton Fink and the above picture of the troubled Lindsay Lohan …

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…

CLICK HERE TO PLAY TRAILER!

Despite the fact Britney faces random drug and alcohol testing, the real lesson today is about screenwriting - and it’s a very personal lesson.

I suppose that the biggest mistake I have been making over the last few months (in doing rewrites) is to think that dialogue is more important than structure. In truth it is ALWAYS, absolutely ALWAYS the other way around. It’s an easy trap to fall into, though - to concentrate on scenes and think by re-working them that the script as a whole will improve. Well, yes - in parts it might - but as a whole the effect will be negligible. The most important thing to remember is that screenwriting is a formula. It follows a three act structure and needs the relevant emotional peaks and troughs to hold an audiences attention. If you haven’t read THE SCREENWRITER’S MASTER CHART - study it carefully and remind yourself that no matter how unique your story, as a screenplay it will have to follow certain immutable rules. Whenever you can - focus on structure. Only when the structure is perfect will changing dialogue add the boost that you need.

Now repeat the mantra - screenwriting is a craft - it is a formula - and it is my job to write that formula flawlessly.

Below is a video of SOUL COUGHING’s ’screenwriter blues.’ It always makes me smile and realize that this business SHOULD BE FUN!

Yesterday I featured the recent Sundance hit RIGHT AT YOUR DOOR - so it seemed inappropriate to miss THE SIGNAL which was also a Park City fave and will be in theaters shortly.

With similarities to Steven King’s CELL and reminiscent of early Tobe Hooper - THE SIGNAL draws on modern digital techniques and mostly unknown actors to create a powerful sense of disconnection and terror.

“It’s New Year’s Eve in the city of Terminus and chaos is this year’s resolution. All forms of communication have been jammed by an enigmatic transmission that preys on fear and desire driving everyone in the city to murder and madness. In a place once marked by conformity but now sent into complete anarchy, the rebellious Ben must save the woman he loves from the bedlam in the streets as well as her crazed sadistic husband. But the only way he can tell who to trust or who has given in to violence is by uncovering the true nature of The Signal…”

Click here for THE SIGNAL trailer…

Meanwhile - Jodie Foster (pictured above) is still Number 1 at the box office with THE BRAVE ONE

I had recently seen the trailer for RIGHT AT YOUR DOOR on apple trailers, then several days later my brother, Bernard, sent me a DVD of the movie, which had been previously released last year in the U.K.

R-A-Y-D stars RORY COCHRANE and MARY McCORMACK (pictured above from the Broadway revival of Cabaret). It marks the directorial debut of Chris Gorak - an Art Director and Production Designer who had worked on big studio pictures like Minority Report and Fight Club. I have included R-A-Y-D because it is a perfect illustration of a small, contained digital indie with a genuine sense of suspense and terrific use of limited location…

Although it’s totally off-topic - below is Britney Spears from her recent VMA comeback performance. This is perhaps a terrific illustration of how not to engage an audience…

Finally, the first of the RED ONE cameras shipped last week. Red marks a landmark step for digital movies because they offer a 4k camera that comes somewhere near affordable.

According to the specs on the RED site: “Typical high-end HD camcorders have 2.1M pixel sensors and record with 3:1:1 color sub-sampled video at up to 30fps. We (with the RED ONE) deliver 12M pixels at up to 60fps and record wide dynamic range and color space 12 bit native RAW. That’s more than 5 times the amount of information available every second and a vastly superior recording quality.”

What does that mean in layman’s terms? Well, we’re talking the type of resolution that you might see in a George Lucas Star Wars prequel or with a VIPER FILMSTREAM CAMERA. Okay, well maybe that’s an exageration - but the Red One seems good enough for Steven Soderbergh to have shot The Argentine on it - and you can’t get more of a Hollywood recommendation than that.

Weighing-in at a spritely 9lbs (without a lens on it) - the Red One is lightweight, appears to have a great deal of flexibility and levels of customization. They already have lens mount adapters that allow you to attach Nikon 35mm lenses and a similar adapter for Canon lenses is in the works. Sure at $17,500 for a body alone, the Red system isn’t cheap - but in terms of comparative 4k rigs it’s an absolute snip. Again, it’s only a matter of time before Red One rigs hit the rental market - in fact Silverado Systems of Folsom, California is already taking reservations…

Unfortunately, in terms of content, the sample footage on the Red site looks quite cheeesy. However, the image quality on display remains staggering.

VIEW SAMPLE RED ONE FOOTAGE

Today’s post is very, very short, because my deadline looms close today. But after reading about Owen Wilson and his recent difficulties, I thought I would just send a big shout out to him and hope that his situation improves. Tough times indeed. But don’t worry buddy - you will be back on track again soon. Much love and respect to Owen, his friends and family. Meantime - check out the movie that first made him famous - the original, 14 minute version of Bottle Rocket …

I am from Manchester, England, and a week ago today, one of the great cultural figures of my home town and country passed away. For those of you who know anything about alternative/indie music - the name Tony Wilson will have great resonance. As founder of Factory Records he discovered and signed bands like Joy Divison (who later became New Order), The Durutti Column and The Happy Mondays.

I first met ANTHONY H WILSON in Castlefield, Manchester - when I was about 11 years old. There had been a segment on Granada Reports for kids to help out on an archaelogical ‘dig’ in the center of town. It was one of those ‘youth awareness’ schemes centered around local history and if you showed-up, you got a free T-shirt. I remember that it was Tony Wilson who handed me my free t-shirt.

Then as a Grammar School boy, I would hear about ‘Wilson’ putting on gigs at The Russell Club (which he called ‘The Factory’) in Moss Side. I remember the posters, vividly - which were pasted all over the area. The one that sticks in my mind the most was when Throbbing Gristle played on May 19th, 1979. I tore one of those posters off a wall and kept it.

In later years, I would see Wilson all the time in the Hacienda. His signature ‘drop shouldered’ Armani suits made him appear especially unique. He would alledgedly buy them from a store called Jack Creme. I didn’t know anyone else at the time who could afford to wear Armani - however, I did know Jack Creme’s daughter - Caroline.

The second (and last) time I would meet Wilson was on a pilot for a late night Arts Show that Granada was producing - I can’t quite recall the name - but it was along the lines of THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT. My college friend Andy Humphries was either Producer or Head Researcher on the show and he booked me as a guest. Another friend, Jason Jules, blagged me an outfit to wear from Paul Smith. So I was sent a train ticket and they reserved me a room at a decent hotel. Backstage I hung out with the guys from 808 State. Somebody from the band had his dad there. I drank beer with this guy and we wandered around Granada a bit. It seemed vast and cavernous.

Later, that afternoon, around tea-time Wilson interviewed me about my book, TRIP CITY. He was very slick and the consummate pundit. On my way out, I told him about getting a Granada Reports t-shirt off him, when I was 11. He smiled at me, but didn’t really comment. I never actually saw him again until his cameo appearance in 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE - which doesn’t really count as it was on DVD. And then, last friday, I got a myspace bulletin from Dave Haslam which simply said: “Tony Wilson R-I-P.”

I still can’t quite believe that Anthony H Wilson is gone. I’m sure that he will be sadly missed by many people. Still, his legacy will live on. And for me, I will always remember that little smile from him as he handed me my free t-shirt, all those years ago.

READ the Obituary from The Independent
WATCH the 24 Hour Party People DVD
WATCH one of the last interviews with Tony Wilson

For those of you who loved A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE and DIRTY PRETTY THINGS - you’re in for a rare treat with EASTERN PROMISES - the latest from David Cronenberg where he re-teams with Viggo Mortensen. This film is written by British scribe Steven Knight - the writer of Dirty Pretty Things. If the trailer is anything to go by - this is dark and gripping stuff. Okay - so it’s not technically isn’t an indie picture, but you can learn a lot from the sparseness of Knight’s writing and the immense style that Cronenberg brings to his more commercial fare.

EASTERN PROMISES will screen as the opening film at The San Sebastian Film Festivalon September 20th.

A synopsis from movies.com…

Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen) belongs to one of London’s most feared organized crime families who meets a midwife (Naomi Watts) who unwittingly holds damaging information that could lead to unraveling the family’s criminal network. Nikolai must make sure this doesn’t happen without ruining the young woman’s life.

View The TRAILER
MORE from IMDB

I have often discussed the possibility of making an art movie with Sean McLusky. But cost has always been an issue - even in the early days of digital video. However, as London is becoming an increasingly desirable location cost isn’t such an issue anymore. It is early days, but we have started to put together the UNTITLED BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR PROJECT. This would basically feature Sean’s band, Trafalgar, in a narrative somewhat reminiscent of A HARD DAY’S NIGHT or the lesser known MAGIC CHRISTIAN. In short, the band (Trafalgar) would travel across a post-apocalyptic version of London - pursued by various villains, policemen and sexy girls. (Ringo Starr is pictured above with Racquel Welch in THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN).

Thus far we have discussed the possibility of cameo roles with the likes of Les McKeown (Bay City Rollers), Jarvis (Pulp) and Shaun Ryder (Happy Mondays). Of course, the members of Trafalgar would occupy the most screen time. Early next month, after Sean’s Shoreditch Free Festival (featuring Har Mar Superstar and Fab Moretti from the Strokes), the Art Movie concept will be pitched to the principals at I-Force Films… Exciting stuff…

LISTEN to Trafalgar on Myspace
BUY The Magic Christian on Amazon
IF YOU ARE IN London see Trafalgar at Sean’s FREE Festival
BUY A Hard Day’s Night

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)