Save the Biz!

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Music Licensing for Film

Music is a whole other character in a film. It can leave an indelible mark on your audience. For filmmakers, it can help you express the tone of a scene and evoke the emotional response you are seeking. 

Many of us would love to feature the music of the bands we enjoy in our personal lives. Oftentimes, however, this music is too expensive to feature in an independent film. Thus, filmmakers either search for lesser known music that may come cheaper or approach bands willing to write music that the production can own outright. In exchange the band is getting some exposure to their work. 

Songs are copyrighted by law. Therefore, filmmakers must license the use of any songs from the copyright owners in order to feature them in their films. There are two licenses that you will need when featuring music in your film: Master Use and Synch. 

The Master Use license is garnered from the label that recorded the song. They are the owners of the actual recording. If you are going to re-record the song then you won't need the Master Use license. The Synchronization license (which allows filmmakers to "synch" the song to images) comes from the publisher, who owns the publishing rights to the song. Songwriters may be their own publisher or they may work with a music publisher who helps promote their music and collects and disperses the royalties for a typical 50/50 cut of the royalties. 

Publishing rights to songs can be bought and sold. One of the most publicized cases has been the handling of the publishing rights to a portion of the Beatles' songs. In the 1960s, publisher Dick James formed a company with the Beatles that held the majority of the publishing rights to the Beatles' work. When James sold his shares of the company, the Beatles found themselves with new partners who held the majority stake in the company. Eventually these new partners put their catalog up for sale and Michael Jackson outbid everyone, including Paul McCartney who had tried to buy back the publishing rights. Later Sony would pay Jackson millions for rights to the catalog. Needless to say, the Beatles haven't been happy about how their publishing rights have been handled through the years. 

When securing the rights to songs for use in films, most productions hire a music supervisor to handle the process. They have the knowledge and relationships to garner good licensing deals for the usage of the songs. In addition, there are many different licensing deals to consider, i.e. theatrical usage, TV, Internet, festival, etc. And fees can vary depending on how much of the song is used and where in the film. Music is a whole other character in a film and a whole other negotiating process!

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Finding Your Name Cast

I am in the middle of casting a part for a young woman (late teens, early 20s), which means countless hours of me pouring over pictures, articles, reels, movies, and TV shows. There are many resources I use online to help me do my research. I thought I would share, especially since I am in the middle of the process right now. 

The ideas below are solely for researching already established actresses. There are many more tools available when doing casting calls and searching for lesser known actresses. This list also assumes you are casting the leads yourself and not using a casting director. Many indie producers cast the leads in their films themselves. I enjoy casting so I usually cast the leads myself and then hire a casting director to help handle the execution of the deals and to cast the smaller roles. 

IMDb Pro's Starmeter

The first step in my research on actors is the IMDb Pro Starmeter. I scroll through it looking for actors in the right age range. I look at everyone I can find in the Starmeter with a ranking of at least 4,000 or above. I keep within that range because it literally takes hours to scroll through this list and most of the more popular actors are in the range of 4,000 and above. I feel confident that I will come across more names in my other areas of research that fall over the 4,000 mark. I then use the IMDb entry to go over the actor's resume and images, get age and height and contact info, and personal details that may help me and the director decide if this actor is the right choice for the part we have available. 

Google

The ole Internet search on actors is a must. I will search by specific actor name or do a general search on up-and-coming actors or award-winning actors or Latino actors, etc. The search terms can be endless. For example, my current search is for an up-and-coming actress so I found articles like this one from AskMen.com or this one from Gunaxin. I love themovie-fanatic.com for articles on highly acclaimed rising actors, but their site is down right now (very sad). Over time, you will find actresses who are consistently found on every up-and-comer list but you will also find gems you hadn't thought of or perhaps never came across. 

Entertainment or Celebrity or Trade Magazines

Magazines such as Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Entertainment Weekly, People or Us Weekly are other great resources for articles on actors. And it gives you an excuse to get your fill of gossip too! Just admit that celebrity gossip is a guilty pleasure.

Other Independent Films

I also check out indie films that premiered at festivals or made a splash from the last five years or so to see who starred in them. This is a great way to find talent who are already predisposed to appearing in smaller, independent films. Once I get a list of films, I go to IMDb and search on who starred in them. 

TV Shows

Don't forget TV actors. Often they have a film resume as well and they can bring a certain amount of domestic box office value with them if they are a series regular and get a lot of press from their TV work.  

Fan Sites

Many actors, even up and comers, have fan sites with a gallery of images and even trailers or clips from interviews and films. 

YouTube

Most actors have a few videos featuring their work on YouTube. I love to key in actors' names in YouTube and watch reels, scenes, and interviews so I can get a sense of a personality of an actor above and beyond their character work. 

Go to the Video Store or Troll NetFlix

Sometimes I will go to the video store or troll NetFlix and scan new titles and genres that are similar to the film I am casting. DVD jackets usually have pictures of the cast and may present an actor who may be right.

And last but not least...

Agents and Managers

I also put the word out to agents and managers about my search. I have to be honest here. Agents and managers are very nice but it is hard to get them overly excited about a small, indie film. Definitely put the word out to them but don't get discouraged if they don't offer up any suggestions for you. Most of the work I do with them is after I have already figured out who I want to go to and then I try to make the project as appealing as possible so the agents and managers will be willing to promote the project to their client. 

An effective way to find new ideas is to note the agents and managers who you find are consistently representing cast right for the part. Look at the client list of these agents and managers on IMDb and you may come across a new name there as well! 

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New color of blog!

Hi all,

I had to change the color of my blog. I think a white background will make it more readable. I was starting to feel like the background was a bit pukey. It's the same old blog (which is still pretty new!). Thanks for tuning in!

Jane

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Digital Download and DIY Web Sites

There are a few Web sites that help filmmakers offer their independent films for sale as a download or DVD.  Let's go over some and how they work and any pros and cons. Feel free to bring up any others that I've missed or any other pros and cons. All of the below offer non-exclusive services so you can still sell your goods on your own Web site or others at the same time.

CreateSpace

This service is brought to you by Amazon. You send them your DVD and they will fulfill orders as they come in.

Pro: You don't need to create or house an inventory of DVDs. This saves you a lot of upfront cash since you won't have to make the DVDs and ship them anywhere. And you have your film listed on Amazon, which is a huge search engine for product.

Con: The dubs may not be the highest quality. Amazon takes a pretty stiff cut of your sales ($4.95/unit plus 45% of the sale if sold on Amazon.com or 15% if sold on CreateSpace E-Store). 

FilmBaby

You send them 10 DVDs at a time and replace them in batches of 10 as they sell out. They also offer the ability for the consumer to download your film for a price that you set. 

Pro: Their cut of the sale is only $4 per DVD sold. This includes the shipping costs to the buyer. And they are willing to cut weekly checks. You can ensure high quality DVDs since you are making them. 

Con: They don't offer much marketing help and you need to provide them with DVDs, which is typically a lot of upfront cash. The less you sell your DVD for, the more their fee takes a bite of your profits. 

IndieFlix

Your film needs to have been an official selection at a festival (though they claim to make exceptions).  You mail them a DVD or tape and they will load it in their system for downloads or DVD orders. They can use their own artwork for the DVD cases or you can provide the artwork. They split the royalties 70/30 in your favor. 

Pro: They do not charge any fees. They only take a 30% cut of each sale. If you are interested, they will approach 3rd party outlets like Amazon, Netflix, Joost, or Hulu and try to make your film available on those sites as well.

Con: Quarterly payments only. The royalty split is hefty if you are selling a pricey DVD edition. It is a 12-month commitment at a minimum. And they will charge you $100 to pull the title from their site and any other 3rd party sites on which they made your film available.

NeoFlix

This service is similar to FilmBaby in that you need to provide the inventory of DVDs. It looks like they will accept and manage your entire inventory up to 1000 DVDs, including merchandise such as T-shirts or posters.

Pro: You don't need a separate storage unit for your inventory. NeoFlix will accept it all. They have some marketing programs to help you promote your film, including a product listing on Amazon. They will handle selling any merchandise, such as T-shirts or posters, as well.

Con: Pricey service. They have a set up fee of $238, a $35/mo. maintenance and customer service fee, and a per-transaction fee of 12% of each order.

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Surviving the Ride of Filmmaking

The dream is to be paid to do what we love -- produce, direct, write, critique, etc. But this dream can take time and buckets and buckets of patience. And as we are seeing with the new lay offs being made by entities like Variety, dreams can often be derailed. 

One day, you feel like everything is going your way: You have a paying gig, interest from an investor for a project, cast who say they want to be part of your film. You are on top of the world. Then the next day, you're fired, your investor ran out of money and your cast found another project they like better.

Filmmaking is a never-ending roller coaster ride. It's bumpy, scary, and thrilling. The ups and downs and twists and turns will never go away. You have to learn to enjoy the ride in order to survive. Here is a picture of a roller coaster. This is your life as a filmmaker.

To start enjoying the ride, you need to accept that a career in filmmaking will never be considered stable or secure. Once you embrace this concept, you can then devise a plan for figuring out how to survive within that concept. 

It may mean working a full-time job and working on your projects at night and on the weekends. Or it may mean developing a skill, like writing, that you can do in between your work as a filmmaker. 

It is possible to survive in this wild ride of filmmaking. You just need to take the leap, strap yourself in, and have fun along the way.

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Contests & Competitions Can Bring Valuable Exposure

I am a fan of contests and competitions. I know a lot of people hate them but I think deep down if they won one, it would make them happy. It's often our ego and the desire to not be rejected that stops us from embracing the value of contests and competitions. But not everyone who enters a contest or competition can win it. And there is a lot to be gained by them even if you don't win.

Contests and competitions help to provide a means for gaining valuable exposure in independent film. The winners of major festivals like Sundance often walk away with distribution for their films. The winners of the Nicholl Fellowship get money to keep writing and every executive in town calling them about their work. Even the Nicholl's semi-finalists garner enough exposure to get their work in front of agents, managers, and executives who can get the script considered. I have a friend whose script won an award at Slamdance and a year later he had a job writing on a major TV show. 

It takes a lot of courage to work really hard on something and allow it to be examined and critiqued by people we don't know. It's this courage and how we handle rejection that is the key to our success. Look at rejection as a necessary means for fulfilling your goals and dreams. From each rejection, push yourself to learn a little bit more about how to be a better storyteller. Channel any angst toward improving yourself. 

One of the readers of this blog emailed me about an excellent achievement he had. He filmed a commercial for the POM juice company. He took that leap to enter this contest and lo and behold he got in the top ten finalists. 

Here is the link to the top ten finalists. His video is OPERATION POM.

Or check it out here at the original link.

He wrote: "I filmed the whole thing with an HVX200 in 720p 24fps.  Took about an hour an a half to do make-up and costumes then another 3 to 4 hours to film.  We started to run out of daylight haha so on the last scene we had to use a flashlight to illuminate the actors face."

I say Congratulations! And keep 'em coming. 

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2009 Slamdance Winners

Grand Jury Awards
Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature
Winner: “A Quiet Little Marriage,” directed by Mo Perkins

Special Jury Mention for Best Performance: Larry Fessenden in “I Sell the Dead”

Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature
Winner: “Strongman,” directed by Zachary Levy

Special Jury Mention: “Second Sight,” directed by Alison McAlpine

Grand Jury Award for Best Animated Short
Winner: “Undone,” directed by Hayley Morris

Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Short
Winner: “Rare Chicken Rescue,” directed by Randall Wood

Grand Jury Award for Best Experimental Short
Winner: “Funny Guy,” directed by Frank R. Rinaldi

Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Short
Winner: “Princess Margaret Blvd,” directed by Kazik Radwanski
Special Jury Mention: “Tony Zoreil,” directed by Valentin Potier


Grand Jury Award for Best Music Video
Winner: Don McCloskey “Mister Novocaine,” directed by Peter Rhoads

Audience Awards

Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature
Winner: “Punching the Clown,” directed by Gregory Viens

Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature
Winner: “Heart of Stone” (formerly It’s Hard to be an Indian), directed by Beth Toni Kruvant

Audience Award for Best Anarchy Film
Winner: “The Tides,” directed by Eva Flodstrom

Spirit of Slamdance Award
Winners (tie): “Zombie Girl,” directed by Aaron Marshall, Erik Mauck, Justin Johnson; and “Vapid Lovelies,” directed by Frank Feldman
Awarded by the Class of 2009 filmmakers to the film teams that best exhibit passion and talent, commitment to the independent community, and enthusiastically embrace all Slamdance has to offer.

Special Awards

Kodak Vision Award for Best Cinematography
Winner: “I Sell the Dead” cinematographer Richard Lopez

Dos Equis “Most Interesting Film” Award
Winner: “You Might as Well Live,” directed by Simon Ennis

IndieRoad Award
Winner: “Punching the Clown,” directed by Gregory Viens
The online audience award voted on by IndieRoad.net viewers.

Writer Awards

Award for Best Screenplay
Winner: “Numbered,” (Comedy/Thriller) by Neil McGowan

Award for Best Short Screenplay
Winner: “Crybaby,” (Thriller) by Mark Seidel

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2009 Sundance Winners

And the drum roll please...

Alfred P. Sloan Award
Adam

Special Jury Prize
Tibet in Song

World Cinema Documentary
Big River Man

World Cinema: Documentary -- Editing
Burma VJ

World Cinema: Documentary -- Best Director
Havana Marking -- Afghan Star

World Cinema Documentary: Grand Jury Prize
Rough Aunties

World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Prize For Acting
Catalina Saavedra -- The Maid (La Nana)

World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Prize For Originality
Louise-Michel

World Cinema Dramatic Competition: Best Cinematography
John de Borman -- An Education

World Cinema: Screenwriting Award
Guy Hibbert -- Five Minutes of Heaven

World Cinema Dramatic Competition Best Director
Oliver Hirschbiegel -- Five Minutes of Heaven

World Cinema Dramatic Competition Grand Jury Prize
The Maid (La Nana)

World Cinema Audience Award for Documentary
Afghan Star

World Cinema Audience Award for Drama
An Education

U.S. Documentary Audience Award
The Cove

U.S. Dramatic Audience Award
Push: Based on the novel by Sapphire (read Eric D. Snider's review)

U.S. Documentary Special Jury Prize
Good Hair

U.S. Special Jury Prize Independent Cinema
Humpday

U.S. Special Jury Prize in Dramatic Competition for Acting
Mo'Nique -- Push

U.S. Documentary Award -- Best Cinematography
Bob Richman -- The September Issue

U.S. Dramatic Award -- Best Cinematography
Adriano Goldman -- Sin Nombre

U.S. Documentary Award -- Best Editing
Karen Schmeer -- Sergio

Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award
Paper Heart

U.S. Documentary Award -- Best Director
Natalia Almada -- El General

U.S. Dramatic Award -- Best Director
Caru Fukunaga -- Sin Nombre

U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize
We Live in Public

U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize
Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire

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Sound Quality and Your Film

There's nothing worse than watching a film with poor sound. Well, maybe there are worse things, but most people agree that poor picture quality is much more forgivable than poor sound. And good production sound mixers who will work for low wages are very hard to find. To rub salt in your wounds, post sound work is extremely expensive too.

There's no way around it. You have to spend money on your sound.  Hire the best sound mixer that you can afford, and maybe squeeze out a little more money to get an even better one. I have found that it's really hard to get a decent sound mixer for less than $250/day. I will pay for sound because bad sound will make your film unwatchable and then what's the point?

As for post production sound, it is a significant challenge to find quality post production sound for small indie films. It usually takes some intense negotiating, begging and pleading. Even then, you are talking about spending at least $15 to $25 grand on the very low end. A solid post production mix is really closer to $40 grand on the low end. I know that is a lot of money. It hurts to write that check. But sound is incredibly important to the success of your film. 

If your production sound is good quality that will really help to keep the post sound work less expensive. And many times, filmmakers can't afford a post sound mix so they have to rely on their production sound. So be sure to at least hire a strong production sound mixer so you can screen at festivals without having to do a post sound mix. 

Also, try as hard as you can to secure quiet locations. Make sure there are no train tracks nearby, a loud freeway, or an airport. There's nothing like ruining take after take of the sound due to filming in the flight path of an airport. Filming near water is killer on your sound as well. What sounds like a beautiful rush of water can have your actors yelling to be heard and suddenly a tranquil scene turns into a shouting match. And if you film in the South, resign yourself to the possibility of hearing cicadas throughout! Oh, how I love cicadas. 

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New Take Me Home Podcast

Hi all,

We have a new Take Me Home podcast. Sam Jaeger interviews our editor Damien LeVeck. It's funny. Check it out. I promise you will enjoy it.

Thanks!

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Studio Report Cards from LA Times' Patrick Goldstein

Below are links to Studio Report Cards from LA Times' Patrick Goldstein. It's always good to know how the big boys and girls run things. We can learn from their successes and mistakes. 

Warner Bros.

Sony

Paramount Pictures

Disney

20th Century Fox

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And the Academy Award Nominees Are...

It's exciting to see a number of independent films nominated! Congrats to all!

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
(Paramount and Warner Bros.) A Kennedy/Marshall Production; Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
"Frost/Nixon"
(Universal) A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment
and Working Title Production; Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
"Milk"
(Focus Features) A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production; Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
"The Reader"
(The Weinstein Company) A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production; Nominees to be determined
"Slumdog Millionaire"
(Fox Searchlight) A Celador Films Production; Christian Colson, Producer

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Richard Jenkins in "The Visitor" (Overture Films)
Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon" (Universal)
Sean Penn in "Milk" (Focus Features)
Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler" (Fox Searchlight)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Josh Brolin in "Milk" (Focus Features)
Robert Downey Jr. in "Tropic Thunder" (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.)
Michael Shannon in "Revolutionary Road" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Anne Hathaway in "Rachel Getting Married" (Sony Pictures Classics)
Angelina Jolie in "Changeling" (Universal)
Melissa Leo in "Frozen River" (Sony Pictures Classics)
Meryl Streep in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Kate Winslet in "The Reader" (The Weinstein Company)

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Penélope Cruz in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (The Weinstein Company)
Viola Davis in "Doubt" (Miramax)
Taraji P. Henson in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
Marisa Tomei in "The Wrestler" (Fox Searchlight)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
(Paramount and Warner Bros.) Screenplay by Eric Roth; Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
"Doubt" (Miramax) Written by John Patrick Shanley
"Frost/Nixon" (Universal) Screenplay by Peter Morgan
"The Reader" (The Weinstein Company) Screenplay by David Hare
"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
"Frozen River" (Sony Pictures Classics); Written by Courtney Hunt
"Happy-Go-Lucky" (Miramax); Written by Mike Leigh
"In Bruges" (Focus Features); Written by Martin McDonagh
"Milk" (Focus Features); Written by Dustin Lance Black
"WALL-E" (Walt Disney); Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon; Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
"Bolt" (Walt Disney) Chris Williams and Byron Howard
"Kung Fu Panda" (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount) John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
"WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Andrew Stanton

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
"Changeling" (Universal) Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando
"The Duchess" (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films) Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
"Revolutionary Road" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage) Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
"Changeling" (Universal) Tom Stern
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Claudio Miranda
"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Wally Pfister
"The Reader" (The Weinstein Company) Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Anthony Dod Mantle

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
"Australia" (20th Century Fox) Catherine Martin
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Jacqueline West
"The Duchess" (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films) Michael O'Connor
"Milk" (Focus Features)Danny Glicker
"Revolutionary Road" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage) Albert Wolsky

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) David Fincher
"Frost/Nixon" (Universal) Ron Howard
"Milk" (Focus Features) Gus Van Sant
"The Reader" (The Weinstein Company) Stephen Daldry
"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Danny Boyle

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
"The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)" (Cinema Guild) A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
"Encounters at the End of the World" (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment) A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
"The Garden" A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
"Man on Wire" (Magnolia Pictures) A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
"Trouble the Water" (Zeitgeist Films) An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
"The Conscience of Nhem En" A Farallon Films Production Steven Okazaki
"The Final Inch" A Vermilion Films Production, Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
"Smile Pinki" A Principe Production, Megan Mylan
"The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306" A Rock Paper Scissors Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Lee Smith
"Frost/Nixon" (Universal) Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
"Milk" (Focus Features) Elliot Graham
"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Chris Dickens

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
"The Baader Meinhof Complex" A Constantin Film Production; Germany
"The Class" (Sony Pictures Classics) A Haut et Court Production; France
"Departures" (Regent Releasing) A Departures Film Partners Production; Japan
"Revanche" (Janus Films) A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production; Austria
"Waltz with Bashir" (Sony Pictures Classics) A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production; Israel

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
(Paramount and Warner Bros.) Greg Cannom
"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O'Sullivan
"Hellboy II: The Golden Army" (Universal) Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SCORE)
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Alexandre Desplat
"Defiance" (Paramount Vantage) James Newton Howard
"Milk" (Focus Features) Danny Elfman
"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) A.R. Rahman
"WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Thomas Newman

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SONG)
"Down to Earth" from "WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman; Lyric by Peter Gabriel
"Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Music by A.R. Rahman; Lyrics by Gulzar
"O Saya" from "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
"La Maison en Petits Cubes" A Robot Communications Production; Kunio Kato
"Lavatory - Lovestory" A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company Production; Konstantin Bronzit
"Oktapodi"(Talantis Films) A Gobelins, L'école de l'image Production; Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
"Presto" (Walt Disney) A Pixar Animation Studios Production; Doug Sweetland
"This Way Up" A Nexus Production; Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
"Auf der Strecke (On the Line)" (Hamburg Shortfilmagency); An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production; Reto Caffi
"Manon on the Asphalt" (La Luna Productions) A La Luna Production; Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
"New Boy" (Network Ireland Television) A Zanzibar Films Production; Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
"The Pig"An M & M Production; Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh
"Spielzeugland (Toyland)" A Mephisto Film Production; Jochen Alexander Freydank

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Richard King
"Iron Man" (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment) Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Tom Sayers
"WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
"Wanted" (Universal) Wylie Stateman

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
"WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
"Wanted" (Universal) Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
"Iron Man" (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment) John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

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Producers: Mysterious Creatures

I have a feeling that most people have no clue what a producer does. Then I read Mary Jane Skalski's speech that she delivered to a group of producers at Sundance and she reiterated my feeling. 

I'm not sure why what we do is so mysterious. It's pretty obvious to me that someone had to organize and make sure a film is managed appropriately. There had to be that key person or two who championed the project to the world of talent, financiers, agents, managers, distributors, festivals, etc. And kept the show going through the ups and downs of development, pre-production, production, post production and distribution.

A film is a small business. Limited Liability Companies are formed and the producer is usually the Managing Member. We can be likened to the CEOs, CFOs, and Presidents of companies. All decisions (right or wrong) are made or approved by us. If the project needs something, we are in charge of finding it. Any problems? We fix them. We are the Captains of the ships, working to keep everything afloat.

There's a reason why producers win Best Picture. They are accountable for the success of their pictures -- good or bad. Sure, the writer and director do share the responsibility for the picture's success but in the end, the producer is the one helming the project. He or she could have developed the story a little more with the writer or worked with the director on his or her weaknesses. 

So the next time you see a good film, congratulate the writer and director and throw a few snaps in the direction of the producer. He or she worked hard to entertain you.

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Yes We Can!: Obama's Inauguration Signifies Hope for All

Today is a new beginning for the United States of America. President Barack Obama has been sworn into office and will be taking on the hefty task of righting the course of America's future. It has been a long journey for both Obama and America to reach this day. And the journey before them will be no shorter. 

We have a lot of work to do to help strengthen the economy, improve foreign relations, bring our soldiers home, and address the health care and energy crises and more. Keep track of our country's progress at President Barack Obama's White House Web site.

Just as Obama and Americans address these challenges, independent filmmakers will be shouldering their own transformation. Change needs to be the mantra, not just in American politics, but filmmaking as well. 

Martin Luther King's dream became real today. We have our first African American president. Let's not be left behind indie filmmakers. Let our dreams of a thriving industry with real channels of distribution and support be created. Let's do our part in realizing our dreams and a strong future for independent filmmaking!

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Happy MLK Day!

It's a national holiday for Martin Luther King Jr. today. Here's his famous "I Have a Dream" speech:

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Shooting People: Independent Filmmakers Network

I came across a really cool international network of independent filmmakers. It's called Shooting People and you can learn more about them at ShootingPeople.org. Their mission statement is "the international networking organisation dedicated to the support and promotion of independent filmmaking." 

Here are the stats on the organzation: 

A decade old, Shooting People has 36207 members – 
13279 in the US and 22928 in the UK.

What does my Shooting People membership get me?

• Get advice and find work in the industry through daily email bulletins
• Over 200 shorts and music videos are cast & crewed up every week
• Keep up to date with funding and festival deadlines
• Upload your films and show them to the world

We can't forget that the independent community extends beyond our own country's border. We need to support each other the world over. This will help us all in the long run to survive and thrive. Audiences are worldwide and are interested in seeing work created in other countries. 

I just joined Shooting People myself. I look forward to interacting with them and their members. The more we get ourselves out there, the greater our success will be. 

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Ted Hope Art House Convergence Closing Remarks

Ted Hope Art House Convergence Closing Remarks from joe zina on Vimeo.

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Captain Sully and Uplifting Stories

What a great feeling! Hats off to Captain Sully. I still can't believe a commercial aircraft landed in the Hudson River! Wow! To be able to watch a horrible event on the news and know that everyone involved is safe and sound is such a change of pace. It reminds me of the feeling I had when Obama won the presidential race. We need more movies about heroes.

I would much rather read and watch stories about heroes like Captain Sully than hear about another horrible terrorist and serial killer. The same goes for movies. Maybe I'm just getting older and have had my brain filled with too many dark depressing films, but I'm finding that I'm drawn to more uplifting films these days. I'm sure that the state of the economy and the war and global warming etc. has helped me want to seek entertaining films over ones that make me feel depressed. 

Last Chance Harvey is out this weekend. This film has an independent spirit about it. The leads are older (harder to fund a film with older leads) and it took the passion and help of Emma Thompson to get it cast and made. Passion is a huge part of indie filmmaking. So as I am riding high on the heroism of Captain Sully, I just may go to the theater and get a little more joy watching a frumpy Emma Thompson (she chose to be a size 16 in this film) and an aging Dustin Hoffman fall in love. I miss the Dustin Hoffman of Tootsie and Kramer v. Kramer. I could use a little of him this weekend. Over and out!

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Working with SAG

I think it's great that actors have unions that help protect them from us ruthless producers. If we had it our way, actors would work for the love of the craft, right? Well maybe if it's an ultra-low budget film and no one else is getting paid either. But seriously, I heartily support actors being paid decent wages for their work, just as everyone else should be in their careers.

No matter the size of your production, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) wants to work with you if you are employing their members. They have agreements for films of all sizes, and each agreement reflects what they believe are fair terms and wages for their members in relation to the size of the budget. They even have a SAGIndie division that makes it easier for independent filmmakers to work with SAG actors.

In pre-production, you will want to become SAG signatory if you plan on hiring SAG actors. This means filling out applications that detail the status and size of your production and how many roles are to be cast, etc. You will be appointed a SAG representative with whom you will submit your applications and provide paperwork through the production. 

SAG does require a deposit of a percentage of your budget in order to cover the pay for the actors. This money is not used to pay the actors. Instead, it sits in a bank account and accrues nominal interest as you are filming. This can be tough on independent filmmakers as their deposit requirements tend to be very high. I like to earmark those funds for post production, which in a strange way, actually helps me to make sure I don't use all my money up on production. Out of sight, out of mind.

In post production, you will have to submit a bunch of wrap paperwork detailing how many days each actor worked and the pay they earned. Once this paperwork has been reviewed and signed off by SAG, your deposit is returned, with interest. If there is any outstanding pay to the actors then your deposit is at risk. So pay your actors!

During this past year, SAG and the AMPTA (Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers) have been waging a war over contract negotiations. Threats of a strike have been looming over the industry for months. Personally, I find it hard to swallow that they would consider striking during a recession. I understand their concerns but there has to be another way than putting thousands of people out of work (because when they strike, no one works, including crew and vendors, etc.) and harming the economies of cities like Los Angeles -- which is running out of money as it is! Please SAG, don't strike!

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