Happy New Year! A Look at a Busy Filmmaking 2010

Happy New Year! I can't believe it is already almost 2011 -- just a few hours left. Time has flown this year. Looking back I have to say it was a really good year. We had a great time making the documentary on George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic as well as shooting our indie drama that we had been wanting to make for a decade, called The Diary of Preston Plummer.

We also released our film Not Since You on DVD, VOD and PPV this year and even watched it on Air Canada! We completed our other indie romantic comedy Take Me Home -- we are seeking sales agents for it right now.

We premiered our short Gay Baby at FilmOut San Diego (and won the audience award - yay!) and then showed at Frameline to a sold out crowd -- super fun. You can even watch it online today at www.tlagay.com. It's part of a shorts contest and we'd love your vote!

In addition, we are in talks to create a documentary with a wonderful organization that supports the LGBT community. I'll have more information on that project soon!

And we are gearing up to make another micro-budget film in February. This time it's a really creepy horror film titled Grime. Should be very bloody and oozy -- a special effects artist's dream. We're making it with some great people with whom we love to make movies so it should be a great time.

Those were the highlights for us. It was a fun, challenging and creative year. We worked with some amazing talented people and I am really proud of our achievements this year. We keep making movies so we are happy. Here's to another great year in 2011. I have high hopes that things will be looking up for all of us. Cheers!

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The Problems with the DIY Trend for Filmmakers

The DIY, or Do It Yourself, trend allows filmmakers to feel like they have control over their film's destiny. I love the idea that I have the power over my film to ensure it has a future in the market. If I can't find a sales agent or distributor to take on my film, I can sell it or distribute it myself. Or if I want to save on agent or distributor fees, I can take on those roles and position myself to recoup more funds from each sale. These are great options to have.

However, in my opinion and personal experience, there are some definite downsides to this trend that every filmmaker should take into account. For me, I have found a hybrid approach of Doing It Together (DIT) works best.

1) DIY really isn't DIY. This is one of the major fallacies of the DIY trend. You really aren't doing it yourself. As a producer, it's incredibly stressful to think of taking on every duty involved with getting a film in front of an audience. The truth is, you can't and you shouldn't completely do it yourself or you may as well start digging your own and your film's early grave.

You should still be working with a team of people who expect to get a return on their efforts to make, market and sell your film. The idea of DIY is that you are not relying solely on professional sales agents, publicists, marketers and distributors - who can take high fees or all of your rights - to get your film in front of an audience. Or maybe the pros don't want to rep your film and you need a means of getting your film to your audience. Either way, the result should not be a DIY approach -- it should be DIT or Do It Together.

The downside to thinking that DIY is Do It Yourself is that some filmmakers are not building proper teams to get their films to an audience. Some are believing they really can do it themselves and without the efforts of a team, you will be overwhelmed and the performance of your film will suffer. And you will become less prolific as a filmmaker because you will only have time to focus on one film for years at a time.

Build your team. Delegate duties. Share the revenues that are certain to be greater from a team's efforts.

2) Lack of relationships. As we know, Hollywood is all about who you know. The same goes for buyers and retailers. Sales agents and distributors spend years, 24/7, cultivating relationships in order to sell their products. A filmmaker who has never dealt with the buyers and retailers will inevitably have a harder time getting his or her film considered and bought by as many buyers or retailers.

You may get lucky and find some buyers who will take a chance on your title. But can you honestly say you can sell theatrical, DVD, PPV, VOD, Pay TV, Free TV and foreign as well as someone who has spent years developing relationships in these areas? I can't, which is why I like working with sales agents and distributors, when I can and it makes sense for the film.

3) Only so much time in the day. Lack of relationships leads me to: there's only so much time in the day. As a creative producer, I want to make movies. I don't want to spend all of my time marketing and selling them. And if I do-it-myself on all of my films, I know I won't have time to make more movies. I will be spending the majority of my time getting to know buyers and retailers and building an audience when I should also be getting to know new writers and directors and investors.

It's fine to be well-rounded and know a ton of people, but it's also okay to spread out the duties. Don't be scared to bring on those who can be real assets to your film and share the profits with them. Your film will most likely perform better as a result.

4) Marketing is an art of its own. I will admit that I am not the best marketer in the world. I give it a good shot but when I look at the marketing area of my films, I know that it benefits greatly from the efforts of my distributors. They have many more avenues in place for getting the films noticed than I do myself. Those marketing efforts by the distributors yield sales, which can hopefully help to offset the distributors' cut and expenses.

On the films I handle myself, marketing is still a struggle but I try to improve in that arena every day. But again, the lack of time becomes a major pitfall so finding that team member, even on the titles you know will not be repped by pros, who can help with marketing is smart.

5) DIY takes money. Do It Yourself does not mean it's free. Putting on screenings, doing a small theatrical, placing ads, and all of the time you spend promoting takes money. Even if you aren't cutting checks for these duties, it's costing you money in the time that you could be earning funds elsewhere. So don't look at DIY as the cheap alternative. It may cost less in cash but there is a definite cost in time as well.

You may be thinking, look at all the money I'm saving going DIY, when in reality the professional sales agent and distributor could potentially make you more money due to their relationships and the fact that you aren't spending every waking moment pushing your film yourself. Something to keep in mind as you evaluate whether to go DIY with a title.

So what's the solution to the above problems? Go hybrid and DIT.

Evaluate each of your films on a case by case basis. One may be perfectly suitable to go the traditional route as you have the big name actors and the marketing bucks to go pro. And you know from the sales projections that going pro should still yield results for your investors. One word of caution: going pro does not give you a license to give up. You need to work with the pros and help them get the word out. Work as a team with them. They welcome it if you are not a pest about it.

And negotiate the ability to sell the DVD on your own site too. That way, you can yield sales over which you have complete power as the distributor and other retailers are selling too! Hybrid all the way!

On the other hand, you may have the little film with no-name actors for which the professional sales arena doesn't make sense. Either you can't find a sales agent to take it on because they don't feel they can sell it or you know your title will appeal to a niche audience that is readily accessible to you. In that case, a DIT approach can work with you building a team who can help you with a grassroots effort to promote the film. And perhaps you can sell it yourself to some buyers too!

There are so many tools to get your film in front of an audience. Try them and see what works for you and your film. But again, work as a team, not on your own. If you must work on your own, take it day by day and know you are doing your best.

DIY is a powerful tool that should be carefully considered for each film. It offers a sense of control to filmmakers but it should not be considered a complete replacement of the traditional routes of distribution. Every film is unique and can definitely benefit from a team approach, whether the team is a group of pros who have been doing it for years or a group of smart individuals ready to take on and spread out the immense duties that go with making, marketing and selling your film.

To conclude, I do think reputable sales agents and distributors are getting a bad rap. I work with some really great people who deserve their cut of the sales and pay us on time. It's true though that some titles or even some sales agents do not perform as expected and it can be hard to see all of your hard earned cash go primarily to the sales agents. No one ever wants to see that happen. It's a sad reality that has lead the indie world to this DIY approach. The key is to not forsake the traditional routes entirely. Instead, build a team that you respect and you feel confident are doing their jobs to represent your title well -- pro or not.

I must give a shout out to David Garber, our producer rep on Not Since You. Without his efforts, I know we would not have sold in as many territories. Thank you David! You are an integral part of our team.

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The Power of the Social Network for Filmmakers

Social networking works! Just the other day, I asked my friends, colleagues, and readers to put our film Not Since You in their Netflix queue. Our social network heard our call and they acted by putting the film in their queue. And guess what? Netflix placed a DVD order within days. Now that's power!

So indie filmmakers, let's learn to use this power to help bring independent film back from the brink. I personally want to thank everyone for putting our film in their queue. Taking those few precious moments to log into your account and request the film does make a difference!

I know it can feel like a burden to have one more thing to do in your busy day. I often personally feel like I am so overwhelmed that even logging into Netflix is too much to ask. But if we are going to save independent film, we do need to log in and support one another and help out when we can. And I am so grateful to those who helped. I promise to do the same for you. We're in this together!

So thank you and on to more marketing efforts!

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Not Since You and Netflix!

So our film Not Since You releases on DVD this week! We are hearing from our DVD distributor that we are really close to the threshold at which Netflix starts buying copies of the DVD. If everyone could help us by putting the DVD of Not Since You in their Netflix queue, we would be so grateful!!!

Thanks everyone! Here's to making movies!!! Cheers!

I am happy to return the favor anytime. Just let me know when I need to put a film in my Netflix queue and I'm there!

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Our ILM Documentary Premiering November 12 - 14!

Here's a trailer to the ILM documentary that I co-produced. We're super excited that it is premiering on Starz Encore this weekend! I hope you can all check it out!

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Independent Film Struggles: Access to Strong Scripts

When I worked in the studio system, my desk was overflowing in scripts -- filled with the good, the bad, and the mediocre. More bad than good but there was still a ton to read. As soon as I went independent though, the floodgate of scripts trickled to a slow drip.

In fact, most of the independent films that I make are from writers/directors I have found through relationships I have made myself. One of the films I produced was introduced to me by an agent.

There must be so many wonderful scripts just sitting on shelves that are not making their way to us independent producers. Let's change that!

Writers, don't be afraid to approach independent filmmakers directly. Or ask your rep to call us. We can make your films!

I understand the philosophy behind wanting a writer's work to have the greatest chance of success with the largest budget, i.e. take the script to the studio first. Okay, I get that. But, what I'm not understanding is shelving those scripts after the studios pass on them.

Why not get those scripts to good, reputable independent producers who can make the script into a film? Every director in Hollywood began their careers with smaller projects. A well-made film in any arena should only increase the writer/director's success. Besides, by bypassing the indie world, writers are actually decreasing their chances of being produced.

There are a ton of really smart and amazing independent producers who could make incredible films if they had greater access to strong scripts. Let's break down this barrier! Give us access to stronger scripts and we will have a stronger chance at saving independent film.

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Not Since You on VOD, PPV & DVD This Month!

I woke up this morning and thought, It's November 1st! Not Since You should be available On Demand. So I dashed to my television as if it were Christmas morning and there it was. Not Since You and the word NEW next to it.

This is the proud moment of a film parent. You raise your movies and release them out into the world. And when they sit amongst the studio releases as if it were one of them, you smile.

Now I'm wondering if I can rent the movie in hotels? Hmmm. Where's the nearest Holiday Inn? I'm on my way! So silly but those thoughts do run through your mind -- the idea that you could enjoy your own film in a hotel. How fun is that?

And to top it all off, Not Since You comes out on DVD on November 23rd. Yippee! It definitely puts a skip in my step and makes the slog of paperwork and deliverables for my upcoming titles feel like a refreshing dip -- well, maybe that's going a bit too far...

Cheers!

Not Since You Ensemble:

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YouTube: A Platform for Art?

The verdict is in. Yes, YouTube can definitely be considered a platform for art, at least in my opinion. As independent filmmakers, we know that incredibly talented artists are creating work, often in obscurity, around the world, every day. And now the Guggenheim is validating this incredible work, which can be posted in seconds on YouTube, as museum-worthy.

This year HP, Intel, and YouTube joined forces with the premiere art museum Guggenheim, with locations in New York, Berlin, Bilboa, and Venice, to showcase the best that YouTube has to offer. They held a contest to which 23,358 videos from 91 countries were submitted and from which 25 were chosen as the top. And it's pretty impressive. Check out the videos at

YouTube.com/Play.

According to Nancy Spector, Deputy Director and Chief Curator at the Guggenheim, the mission of the YouTube Play. A Biennial of Creative Video was to showcase "the most unique and innovative video work to be created and distributed online during the past two years." I was intrigued and excited to see a museum honoring the work of unknown artists who use a distribution platform available for free to the world (who has internet access of course).

And the artists were from around the world -- 14 countries to be exact. The U.S. had the most at 9. The jury included (but not limited to) visual artists, filmmakers, and musicians.

It's yet another example of barriers being leveled for artists to express themselves and reach their audience direct. Now there is still the matter of monetizing and earning a living as an artist but step by step. This is a start and let's keep going and building the foundation for allowing art to be a viable means of earning a living.

So thanks HP, Intel, YouTube and Guggenheim for taking your time and resources to honor art that is being posted online direct by the artist. It provides hope to those of us in the trenches who need to be creators in order to live.

The videos will be on view to the public at the NY Guggenheim from October 22 to 24.

Here is a pic from the opening reception, during which the top 25 videos were projected on the interior rotunda as well as the exterior facade of the New York Guggenheim. It was pretty cool to watch. They even had musicians playing live to the video projection. Overall, it was a very inspiring event. Congrats to the winners! Let's keep making great work. And do it together!

YouTube Play. A Biennial of Creative VideoGuggenheim Exterior Projection, October 21 & 22, 2010

Light projection

Guggenheim Museum, New York

© 2010 Obscura Digital, Inc.

Video: Travis Threlkel, Photo: Kristopher McKay

© The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York, 2010

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A Relatable Video to Share from YouTube/Play

I am previewing some of the shortlisted films on the youtube/play Web site and I came across a very relevant depiction of our world today. I have a feeling I will be plugged in all night...

Here is a commentary on being Plugged In.

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Back in New York -- Where My Film Career Began!

I have a love affair with New York City. I dreamt of New York since I was a little girl growing up in the far away land of suburban Detroit, Michigan -- which is a super awesome place itself. I wouldn't want to grow up anywhere else.

But as I cut the grass and went boating on the Great Lakes, I dreamt of the exciting lives New Yorkers were having in the City. I wanted the lifestyle of walking everywhere and shopping and eating on every corner and actually taking a subway that operated underground -- no disrespect to the above-ground people mover in Detroit.

And when my husband Steve and I moved to Brooklyn from Detroit, I was so happy. I was working in publishing as a writer and editor. I had left a great job in Detroit and even better friends and the warm, cozy womb of my family to move to a city where I had no job, no friends, and no family. And I had to put Steve through graduate school.

Good times! Boy, were they. Steve and I really grew up in New York. We learned how to make it on our own and figure out who we were and who we wanted to be. We fell deeper in love with each other and New York. The people of New York City are actually very warm and loving. We made some of our closest friends of our lives. And it was in New York that I found the courage to make the leap and follow my dream from producing books to producing movies.

So I am back now in the City for a couple of days rekindling my love affair. Thanks New York for all the great times! You will always be in my heart and on my mind! Hmm, maybe I need to make another movie here...next year!

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YouTube Play & Guggenheim This Week

I'm heading to New York this week to attend the opening of a new exhibit at the Guggenheim of short films created by artists all over the world. 24/7 Creative invited me and HP & Intel are providing the travel and accommodations.

I'm excited to attend the reception and meet the talented filmmakers whose films have been selected to play at the Guggenheim as a celebration of the growing world of online video.

To check out some of the films, go to www.youtube.com/play. There is some really innovative work to watch.

24/7 Creative has started a great Facebook community for filmmakers, artists, designers, musicians and anyone who supports a more creative world. Enjoy!

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How to Beat the Indie Financing System

There is an excellent article in Hollywood Reporter on Indie Financing. Everyone should read it. It's titled "How to Beat the Indie Financing System." Click here to read the story.

Which brings me to my next topic. Entertainment periodicals. If you want to produce films, you need to read either The Hollywood Reporter or Variety -- ideally both. If you can't afford them then go to your friend's office who has them and read them there.

When I couldn't afford them, I would take the old issues from friends and read them a week later.

It is so very important to stay up on industry news. You need to know key players in every field of filmmaking and even TV and Books and you should keep up on what movies are getting made and what talent is being cast, etc. Information is so valuable to your career.

Another good source of entertainment news is The Wrap. And their articles are free to read.

So come on everyone, get reading! Start with the article above.

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We Made a Movie!

We made a movie! Now what?

Actually let me back track a little. I'm sure most of you, including myself, were wondering: where are the posts about making the movie (titled The Diary of Preston Plummer)? I mysteriously fell off the face of my blog from pre-production until now.

Yes, I agree I should have been posting every day! But, after I evaluated the insanity of making a movie with no production staff, I decided the world nor my blog would end without me posting about it here. I am a filmmaker first so my priority as a producer took precedence over my blog, in this instance. Hopefully, I will have a staff on my next project and I can be blogging from set.

I wasn't completely remiss in my reporting duties. I did make time to post (almost daily) on the Facebook page for the film. So if anyone is curious how things progressed during the shoot, you can click here and take a look on Diary's Facebook page. Become a fan too! We need you and it's a great film -- I promise. You can see a ton of really cool photos we took while there as well. Amelia Island is gorgeous!

That's the thing about being in production on a movie. It takes over your life. For the weeks you are physically making the film, your attention is 100% focused on making the best film possible for the least amount of money possible.

As producer, I am constantly coordinating and searching for the best deals that will make the show run as smoothly and as cost effectively as it possibly can. It is NONSTOP. I could be coordinating 24/7 and still think of more things to do. Ask my crew, I think they saw me sleep an average of 4 hours a night (something I don't recommend but, again, when you have no staff, you forego a few zzzzs).

We made it through the other side and we are really happy with the film. And we had a blast working together. I am so proud of our filmmaking family. From here, we tackle post and promotion and sales -- areas that are just as hard and time-consuming as production but we're ready -- bring it on!

Diary's fantastic cast and crew. I love you guys!:

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Two Days to Start of Production!

We are two days out from production and most of our crew is here and our two leads Trevor Morgan and Rumer Willis have arrived and are doing fittings and rehearsals. The house is full of activity. It's been a whirlwind of pre-pro and we are both stressed and excited to begin filming on Wednesday.

It's a jam-packed 18-day shoot but we are confident we will get our days and not have to compromise. The cast and crew are super talented, our locations are beautiful, and the support is being felt all around. The conditions couldn't be better for being creative and making a great film.

The biggest wild card for us is the weather. Florida is prone to scattered thunderstorms throughout August. The rain can come in swift and hard. And bring lightening with it. So we will keep our fingers crossed that the weather treats us right.

Time to make a movie!

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Two Weeks Out and So Much to Do!

We are two weeks out from filming and every day, I go down my to-do list and do my best to address as much as physically possible in one day.

Typical issues to address:

1) Travel -- need to book travel for cast and crew

2) Find and lock locations

3) Finalize casting and crew and their agreements. Negotiating deals can take many rounds and when it's an Ultra-Low Budget, I am usually handling the Business Affairs. More work for me -- yay!

4) Product Placement. It's so important to our bottom line to find product placement. For a spot in the film, we get free product to use. Free drinks for cast and crew is a huge savings. And it takes time to lock in these deals.

5) Go Over Schedule. The schedule is a fluid thing. It ebbs and flows and you must keep up on all changes.

7) Changes to Script. It's inevitable that once you are on location that there will be changes to the script. When the script changes, the schedule changes, then you must change...

8) Lodging and food. People need a roof over their heads and food to eat. And it can't be crap. You need to think about it all. It's sort of like planning a wedding. You want people to be comfortable and fed well. Not easy.

9) Budget and financing. Budget and financing. Need I say more?

10) Relaxation, exercise and time to yourself. As soon as you are on location, all of these three things could easily go away. You need to make time for each or you will burn yourself out. And then be no help to anyone. Try to squeeze in normal activities that make you happy throughout the week. See a movie or enjoy a sunset (we took a sunset cruise last night -- both a location scout and relaxation) or sip a glass of wine as you wind down from the day -- whatever it is, do it. You will feel better in the long run.

What's the lesson here? Juggle, juggle, juggle. And be positive. No one's perfect. Do the best you can. Be respectful to yourself and others and it will all work out.

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Images from Amelia Island

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Making a Film on Amelia Island Finally! Thanks to all!

I have a calm moment on this Saturday morning as I sip my coffee here on Amelia Island so I thought I would do a quick post and profess our gratitude for being here.

After a decade, we are finally on Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island prepping for our film The Diary of Preston Plummer. We pinch ourselves every day when we wake up -- knowing the intense journey that brought us here and the long, but exciting, road ahead of us.

At this time, I feel pretty good and confident that we are on track with securing our resources, cast, crew, locations, and equipment. The support from vendors all across the country has been incredible and the support from the people who will be working on the film, acting in it, and the community in which we have been filming has truly been unbelievable.

And I mean it when I say unbelievable. Sean (the director) and I have been awe-struck by the generosity of others. First, the actors whom we have cast are being paid virtually nothing and yet they are excited and treating the picture as if it were much larger. So thank you Trevor Morgan, Rumer Willis, Robert Loggia, Erin Dilly and Christopher Cousins. We can't wait to work with you.

Second, I need to bless our crew for being willing to come to an island and make practically nothing and live in a beach house and work under the hot Florida sun. We love you and we will owe each and every one of you forever.

Third, the Amelia Island community, especially Fernandina Beach. For a decade, we have known the McCarthy family of Fernandina Beach, and they have had open arms all these years and introduced us selflessly to their community, family and friends. We wouldn't be here without them and we love them. They have allowed us to realize our creative vision of capturing this beautiful island on film.

And this kind of hospitality has been put forth by the other island residents. We are staying in two beautiful homes on and near the beach, thanks to the Coletti family and we have Nadine heading up our casting in Florida and we have locations offered by some really lovely people and the police and fire departments are excited to be extras!! We thank them all. Hugs all around.

Fourth, the vendors. Another unbelievable amount of support is coming from our vendors. Panavision is giving us a 35mm camera package with their primo lenses. Why? Because they love the script and Phil Radin and Suzanne Lezotte are angels. Kodak is supply the film stock and Canon is helping us with lenses and other equipment as we are filming on both 35mm and the Canon 1D Mark IV. On top of this, we have product placement deals allowing us to not have to spend money on drinks, etc.

And last but certainly not least, our family. Both the director and I left our significant others behind at home for the two months we are on the island. It's incredibly hard to be apart and worse to know that we are spending money here, not making it -- yet! The belief they both have in Sean and me keeps us going and we are working so hard to make the best film possible.

As you can see, making a film is not a singular effort. It's due to an awesome amount of support from all corners of your life. Sure, filmmaking is a business but it's also a community effort of giving and the people you meet along the way touch your life and show you a positive side of the world that reinvigorates your soul and belief in others. Really, all I want to say is Thanks. I'm truly grateful and if I missed anyone, well, thank you.

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What Should I Really Be Doing?

What should I really be doing? is a question I ask myself all the time. I get caught in so many details of work and life that I often have to stop for a second and evaluate if what I am doing is "what I really should be doing." Well, all I can do is keep moving forward.

And lately, my schedule has been super duper insane. I am producing a documentary on Industrial Light & Magic and prepping for our feature The Diary of Preston Plummer. I am very happy to report that we have our financing for Diary and we leave for Amelia Island in 2 weeks!

And we just recorded audio commentary for our feature Not Since You today. We signed a DVD deal (woo hoo!) and we wanted to add some extra features to the DVD. So three of our actors -- Desmond Harrington, Jonny Abrahams, and Kathleen Robertson -- graciously gave us their Saturday afternoon so we could record commentary of the film.

A lot is happening and when it does, you can get caught in the swirl of it all and as my facebook status states currently, a month can go by and you don't even notice.

I'm busy but I'm also happy. And I wish I could blog more! But there is so much going on, which leads to me to the question "What Should I Really Be Doing?" All I can say is that I love what I'm doing and that's enough. That tells me it's what I should be doing.

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Surviving as a Film Producer

You've decided you want to be a film producer. So how do you make a living at it? That is the eternal question with which every film producer struggles.

The best way to survive as a film producer is to be flexible, confident, focused and prolific.

Be Flexible

You need to be flexible with how you look for and find money on which to live. Sure you can live off producer fees -- when you get them. Unless you are a machine or you are in a privileged position of not having to do much hands-on work, it is difficult to make more than about three films a year. And unless you are making high-budget films, most indie producer fees are low or even nonexistent. It's very difficult to live off producer fees alone.

So you may have to look for other sources of income, which can come in many different forms. Perhaps you are a writer and you can find gigs writing about filmmaking. Or you are a teacher or you have a day job in an entirely different field. Or you work for other producers in between your own producing gigs.

I used to wonder if I could call myself a producer if I wasn't working and earning a living full time from my producing. I eventually realized that it really doesn't matter where your income is derived. You are a producer if you are producing movies. Only you know how much you need to live on and if your producing fees are not enough then you just need to be flexible and figure out how to earn more elsewhere. You are not a failure if you cannot survive on producing fees alone. Instead, you are human and definitely not alone.

Be Confident

Confidence is very important to the survival of a producer. You need to be confident that you will get your movies financed and made. You need to be confident that when you don't have an income that one will eventually be found. You need to be confident that you have what it takes to be a leader. Because in the end, you are the film's leader. It needs you just as much as you need it.

Be Focused

It's very easy to spread yourself too thin over too many projects and genres. Try to focus on the projects with the best possible chances of success and give them your greatest attention. It also helps if you become known for a certain kind of film as financiers will feel more confident that you can deliver a film in a genre with which you have a track record of success.

Why do you think Judd Apatow gets comedy after comedy after comedy greenlit? He's proven himself in that genre. It's okay to want to make movies in many different genres but realize that you are increasing your chances of success if you are focused.

Be Prolific

You've heard the saying: A filmmaker is only as good as his or her next film. Well there is some truth to that. If you want to survive as a producer then you need to be making movies. And if you have a few in the works then you are spreading the risk out over a few projects. That way, the successes can help balance out those that don't perform as well as you had hoped.

In the end, if you want to make movies, you will. If you want to survive doing it over the long haul then you need to work at it and figure out how to make it happen in a way that works for you. No one's journey is the same and each one is a valid way of getting there.

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The Amazing Thing about Having a Blog

There are many amazing things about having a blog but what I find really remarkable is that my readers are from around the world. You name the country, and I am pretty sure that at some point, someone has read my blog in that country. It's humbling and pretty cool.

So thanks for reading and let me know if any of you ever have any questions for me or want to guest blog. I would love for this blog to be more interactive and international!

Indie filmmakers unite!

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The Making of an Ultra-Low Budget Film

Currently, I am producing a documentary for Starz. It's going very well and we have the resources to pay for everything we need to make the film. Sure there are still crazy busy periods and moments of begging but nothing compares to the making of an ultra-low budget film.

Ultra-Low Budget films challenge you to the core. You must consider every aspect of creating a film and figure out how to make it happen with little to no money. Bartering becomes your modus operandi and you hear yourself saying "in-kind" and "deferred" and "we are a tiny film" and "we don't have a budget for that" over and over.

On Ultra-Low Budget films you need to back into your budget. This means you start with the amount of money you have or think you can feasibly get and then you back into the budget based on that figure.

For example, if you think you can get $50k to make your film, you put $50k as your Total Budget amount and you go backwards from there and examine every category in your development, pre-production, production, and post production phases and see how you can spread that $50k over each phase. Sounds easy, right? Think again.

It often takes $50k just to pay for crew -- at a very deep discount. And that's a very typical producer fee on an indie film as well. Getting the picture? There are many pieces of the pie needing a slice of that teeny-tiny figure so when you decide to make an Ultra-Low Budget film, you need to wrap your ahead around the idea that you have no money with which to make the film. You should enter every negotiation with the idea that you are starting with zero as your budget for that line item.

But we all know you can't make a film with no money. That's why Ultra-Low Budget films require a great deal of creativity and courage and personal attention. You can't just throw money at a problem. Instead you need to think of unique ways to tackle a problem and seek out solutions from your colleagues and those you have never met before.

We are in post on an Ultra-Low Budget film and we are in pre-production on another one. Why do I keep making these no-budget films? That's easy. I feel they are stories that deserve being told. And I believe in the creative team behind them. I believe the story has an audience and will be a success.

And they provide me with great war stories and incredible experiences:

1) Traveling across the United States in a caravan of an RV, NY Taxi cab and SUV
2) Hiking up the mountains of Montana with a 35mm camera on our backs
3) Shooting in the ocean at sunrise. Did I say, "in" the ocean? Yes, I did.
4) Shooting in a working hospital using real nurses as our actors
5) Being accepted to and attending a top-notch film festival with the cast and crew. Fun times!
6) Shooting a graduation scene at a real graduation and having attendees believe our actor dressed as a professor is a real professor -- just makes you laugh.
7) Getting that perfect location by knocking on the door and finding a kind business or homeowner who welcomes you with open arms. A satisfying moment.
8) An opportunity to work with people who have always dreamt of being part of filmmaking. You can't beat that positive energy.
9) Working with private equity investors who take pride in your work and support you for years. It's humbling and makes you want to be the best you can be.
10) Building content of which you own the copyright. Content is King!
11) Helping to launch new creative talent to the world. That's pretty powerful stuff. Being part of a successful team is incredibly joyful. They become part of your family.

And lastly: Freedom. Freedom to express. Freedom to create. Freedom to choose. Freedom to make a great film.

One thing I do know is that Ultra-Low Budget films breed happiness and an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. I have never met a disgruntled crew on a ULB. The creative team is inspired and grateful and passionate. And the investors are excited and interested and helpful. Everyone is making the film because they believe in it. And who doesn't want to be part of such happiness and passion and belief?

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Getting Creative with Your Indie Film Business Plan

To build on my recent posting on negotiating, I am revising a business plan this morning for one of my Ultra-Low Budget projects and I thought it would be a good case study to share on how to get creative with an indie film business plan.

For this project, we are seeking $150k to make the film -- a very standard ULB project budget.

We feel very confident about the film's future, especially with that budget. We are building a great, bankable cast for that budget as well.

I believe we could put that $150k together in bits and pieces from friends and family and colleagues and past investors. But funding in bits and pieces can take a lot of time and energy. We'd rather focus on finding an investor interested in investing the entire amount.

Easier said than done. And this where the creativity comes in.

In talking with my director, who has another life in what will one day be a high paying second career for him, he has offered to pay the investor back in full plus interest after five years (a timeframe that will allow himself to get settled in his new career) in installments of $1000/mo. -- if the film does not make its money back by then.

Sound familiar? To investors, it should. For an investor, it's sort of like a reverse or private mortgage. You put in your money now and five years later, if the film has not earned its money back through sales, you get $1000 per month until that loan is paid back plus interest. And you are privy to back end splits should the film succeed and be profitable. And you will get an executive producer credit.

I know this sounds scary for the director, but he looks at it as no different than a student loan and honestly, he is investing in himself -- something we all do every day. And we both believe in the bankability of the project so hopefully he won't even have to pay anything back. He's not a first-time filmmaker. He has a track record with a premiere at a major film festival.

Why doesn't this director just pay for the film now, you ask? Well, he doesn't have the full $150k in the bank at the moment and we are making the film this year.

So I am revising the business plan and presenting to investors. I am very intrigued to see how this idea is embraced. It's a very low-risk investment opportunity in a film and an Executive Producer credit to boot.

I'll keep everyone posted as to how this case study plays out. As a producer and negotiator, getting creative is fun and inspiring and very interesting...

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Negotiating Is a Producer's Life

Negotiating is probably the number one task that I do as a producer. Day in, day out, I am negotiating talent and crew deals, investor and operating agreements, union contracts, and vendor costs.

Each production poses a new set of terms for every aspect of a person or company's involvement. No two projects are exactly the same.

So consider that I have about 10 projects going at one time. This means I am negotiating x 10 every day.

The good thing is that it gets easier after a while. You create relationships with crew and vendors and investors, who are already familiar with the kind of deals you like to make. So there is a short cut the next time you negotiate.

However, there are those projects that have you feeling like you are starting from scratch. You need a new investor. You are filming in a new location. You are working with new cast and crew. And the process starts all over again.

But this time you're smarter, savvier, and, most important, you have experience. With that past experience, you know the tools upon which you need to lean to get that new investor and find the perfect location, cast, and crew. You also have connections to colleagues who can provide ideas and short cuts to make life easier on your new production.

You know what works thus your negotiations can be focused.

From experience, you will also have greater confidence. And confidence is a key ingredient to great negotiating. You are confident that the deals you are negotiating are strong and allowing you to make the most cost effective and creative production.

Negotiating can be intimidating at first. And in our world of indie filmmaking, it can often feel like begging. But remember, a film is a business. And negotiating is an art form. Believe in your product and your work and over time you will become a master negotiator and hopefully be fulfilling your dream of becoming an award-winning filmmaker.

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Applying for an Entertainment Job

Since I hire a lot of crew, I see thousands of cover letters and resumes from applicants. I thought I would share a few tips on what catches my eye and compels me to reach out to an applicant.

1) A well-thought out cover letter. Some applicants don't even send a cover letter. Or they write one sentence. I don't have time to open a resume and guess why the person is applying for the job. I want the applicant to tell me in their own words why they want and feel they are right for the position.

Also, I prefer the cover letter to be in the email and not an attachment. Again, I don't have time to open attachments. If the cover letter is well written, I make the time to open resume attachments but feel free to put the resume in the email too. Anything to make my job easier is appreciated.

2) One page resume that is clearly organized and not overly crowded with text. Less is more. If you have a lot of credits, figure out how to condense them so the employer is not overwhelmed with too much to read. 20 page resumes scare me. Focus on the highlights in your career, not the kitchen sink.

3) The cover letter is professional and not too conversational. I don't know you yet. You are not my friend. So don't try to be funny or cute or interesting. Just the facts Jack. You can be funny and charming in the interview.

4) Your credentials correlate very well to the position for which I am hiring. Be focused about the jobs to which you are applying. Don't expect a call from me if you are a cook and looking for a job that requires you know Final Cut Pro. I will only call people who specifically point out how their skills mesh with the position. If it seems like a good fit then I will reach out.

5) Be one of the first to apply. This is a tough one because you may see an ad a few days after it has posted. Don't give up. You should still apply but know that you are now probably competing with about 1000 resumes (no joke) and that I may be too tired at that point to even open your email. But you never know. Your professionally written cover letter and great credentials may just grab my attention.

6) Be local. I won't consider any out of state applicants. Sorry. I need to find crew fast and being out of state doesn't fulfill my needs, unless I am filming in your state of course!

7) Have experience. Unless it is an internship, I need you to have experience in the job for which I am hiring. Entertainment jobs are often freelance and require experience. If you don't have experience then get out there and intern.

8) Working reel. If you are a DP or editor then you must have a reel. And it should be online and not take too long to load.

Okay, I'm going to stop there. I need to head in to the office and get to work!

My parting message to applicants: Be professional and tell the employer why you are a good fit for them. Make it easy on them to hire you.

And, most importantly, be focused in your search and try to lean on colleagues and friends and family for referrals to jobs. Your chances of getting the job you really want is through those who know and support you. Networking is the best job searching tool around. Good luck!

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Producer Resources for Finding Crew

I hire a lot of crew. Currently I am producing a documentary and we are filming at least one to three times a week. I am often trying to fill crew needs when our main crew have conflicts in their schedules.

And I make one to two narrative features per year as well.

So my crew needs never end.

Where do I find all of this crew? I prefer to find them through referrals from my colleagues. But referrals only go so far. I often have more needs for crew than referrals can cover.

And I have tried pretty much every resource out there for crew. I will rate them here.

1) Crew Lists. The best resource besides referrals are past crew lists from other projects -- and not just your own. Little known resource: State film commissions collect crew lists from film projects in their regions. Ask for copies of those crew lists. Call the producer and get the scoop on the crew you are seeking.

2) Craigslist. Yes, Craigslist is my number one Internet resource for finding crew. No fee to post when you put the job under gigs and you get immediate responses from probably the largest pool of people.

3) Mandy.com. Mandy is a close second but I think Craigslist is a little better as more people know about Craigslist than Mandy.

4) EntertainmentCareers.net. Great resource for longer term job postings -- like finding assistants or interns. As the title suggests, this site is primarily for career jobs so I don't really use it for crew but I do use it for finding interns!

5) Media-Match.com. Pay is involved for those seeking gigs. That means less of a pool tracking the gigs. Great site but I try to avoid those that require a fee for anyone.

I know there are other sites as well but I just don't use them. By the time I make it through the above sites, I usually have hundreds of resumes to sift through...

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Our Preston Plummer: Trevor Morgan

Who is Preston Plummer?

Preston Plummer loves physics, entropy to be exact. His life work is to study how things in this world tend to fall apart, not come together.

Struggling with a dark past, Preston has had a hard time relating to anyone as an adult -- until he meets Kate. Getting to know Kate inspires Preston to see the world in a different light.

Preston is a tough, highly intelligent young man. We found our Preston Plummer in Trevor Morgan. This summer, Trevor Morgan will become Preston Plummer in our film The Diary of Preston Plummer. Thanks for taking this journey with us Trevor!

Trevor has appeared in the films The Sixth Sense, Genius, The Patriot, Jurassic Park III, The Glass House, Mean Creek, Empire Falls, Local Color, Off the Black, and Brotherhood.

For updates on our journey to make The Diary of Preston Plummer, become a fan of the film on Facebook here: The Diary of Preston Plummer Facebook Page.

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So Much to Talk About...

That's what people love to do in Hollywood. Talk. I have this project and I have that project and I have this other project. Oh wait and I have that project and this one. I have had many meetings in which we both yammer on about the multiple projects we both have going.

Now that is the life of a producer. It is non-stop project after project and it's what keeps us going.

I love to work. I love what I do. If I could talk about 50 projects at once, I would. But I realize that I need to be focused and hone in on the projects that I feel are ready to go.

As a producer, I have so many irons in the fire and potential opportunities that it can be overwhelming. But there's always that sixth sense that comes into play and tells you which ones you need to be focused on at any given time. Without that, I could see a producer spinning way too many wheels and not achieving much.

Right now, I have a film in theaters, a DVD/Book set for sale, a DVD online for sale, a DVD for sale in stores and elsewhere, a film in post seeking a festival premiere, a film (a doc this time) in production and a film in pre-production. I also have three features and two docs in development poised to kick my ass at any given moment.

That is the day in the life of an indie producer. Did I say I love it? I do.

And none of this includes the time it takes to consider new projects and network and publicize the work we are doing.

Film is a lifestyle. It's a lifestyle I love. Just last night I went to the LA premiere of a friend's film starring A-List actors. It was super fun and I am super excited for their success. Am I jealous? Heck no. (Okay well maybe a little. Fine, a lot!) But I do expect the next film to be made with me. Now those are the kinds of expectations you will find here -- whether or not they actually happen -- ha!

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Not Since You Breaks Easter Weekend Record at Cine!

Just heard that our film Not Since You has had the best Easter weekend attendance Cine movie theater has ever had and that our one show was as much as all the other shows combined.

That is super cool news and so validating for us as filmmakers. In this recessionary environment, you get so used to hearing "no" and fielding rejection that it comes as a wonderful jolt to get some really good news.

We already have offers from other theaters across the United States so we see what happens! I'll keep everyone posted and hopefully the film will make it to your hometown. Thanks everyone for helping me to remain positive and hopeful as an indie filmmaker.

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Not Since You Theatrical -- This Week!

It's official! Our film Not Since You will be playing in the Cine theater in Athens, Georgia for a minimum of 2 weeks starting this Friday, April 2nd.

If you are in the Athens area, please check it out! Premiere and Gala tickets are available on the Cine Web site here. Daily showing tickets should be available soon.

Thank you for any and all support! Indie films can only survive if we support one another and go to the theater and see them. So thank you for helping to make Not Since You a success!

Here is the trailer:

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Making a High Quality Film with a Still Camera? Yes!

I am in pre-production on an Ultra-Low Budget film (Diary of Preston Plummer) and we are looking to make the film with a still camera. That's right! A still camera. Specifically, the Canon 5D Mark II.

I have been hearing about this phenomenon for a few months now and then my director mentioned that he wanted to shoot on it. I thought, hmmm, that sounds both intriguing and scary at the same time.

Intriguing for the potential cost-savings and ease of use. Scary for what could go wrong, which could result in delays and bad footage, etc.

Here is the press release from Canon: Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLR Camera

Check out this blog entry from Neptune Salad regarding this camera: great news for filmmakers, bad news for film.

I'd love thoughts from anyone who has used this camera to make a film. I'll report on how it goes for us!

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Building a Better Reputation for the Ultra-Low Budget

The Ultra-Low Budget film suffers from a bad reputation. As independent filmmakers, we need to change this reputation.

I make Ultra-Low Budget films because they make creative and business sense to my company, especially in this recessionary period. I can choose to make a film instead of praying someone else will make it for me. There's a lot of power in that thinking and doing and we need to exercise that power wisely for everyone involved.

Lower budgets allow me to make dramas, a genre that is a hard sell. They allow me to hire incredible new talent that the larger budgets can't afford to invest in. And they allow me to build a library of product that my company can own forever. We have all heard the saying: Content is king!

So I am building content. But I'm not building just any old product. I am vetting my projects and making sure the script and talent are strong and that the project fits the Ultra-Low Budget business model. I can't make a $20 million film on an Ultra-Low Budget. And if my talent sucks then the film will suck.

Ultra-Low Budgets allow me to make good films in a timely manner. If I sat around and waited for all my larger budget projects to be funded, I would be waiting a long time and I would have no product to show for it and I wouldn't be learning how to be a better producer.

I agree that Ultra-Low Budgets are not for everyone. Many investors do not see the upside of backing small films with no-name talent. How does one make money from a film without box office magnets? It's called making great films and expending energy in marketing and selling them. We can do this. We just need to do it with some smart thinking and doing.

I challenge that the skeptics of the Ultra-Low Budget films are not investing in the right filmmakers. You could have the best script in the world but if the producer and director are clueless then there's typically no hope.

We filmmakers need to have more discretion with which projects we back. We need to ensure the scripts, the direction and the acting are strong -- even when there is no money. And it is possible. I know there are incredibly talented people out there who can make magic with $200k. We just need to pair them with the right producers.

Ultra-Low Budget films can be good and they can perform. We need to be diligent about making sure we create the best quality product that can then be sold to buyers and entertain an audience. It can be done. We just need to do it and do it right.

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The Importance of Giving in Order to Receive

I wanted to talk about the importance of giving to your fellow filmmakers. There will be many times that your colleagues will come to you and say, hey, can you help me out? Can you do this schedule for free or offer up ideas for cast for free or manage a little short, again, for free?

At first you may think, I don't have time for this. And you may be right. You may not have time for it. But you should really try to make the time.

You may also be thinking, I don't want to give my efforts away for free. They are worth something. Of course they are worth something and you will need to decide when you feasibly can do things for free for your colleagues. But definitely try to help whenever you possibly can.

We have all received a hand or a bit of kindness in our careers. Give it back. It helps them and you.

Why? Because, more often than not, you will get back what you have given and then some. You may get a future job referral from that person you helped. Or that person may be able to hire you the next time around. Or that person may work for free for you in turn. There are so many ways you can gain from giving a helping hand. It's just good karma. What goes around, comes around. And that's the truth!

Case in point, a friend of mine was in dire need of help in post on her film. I didn't even have to think about it. I said when and where do I need to be to help? I didn't care if I had to work for free because this friend had helped me out so many times that it was my turn. And because of that friendship, I have landed many paid gigs and I have a friend for life that I can bounce things off of with no concern that I am bothering her.

I have a number of people like my friend above I know I can call on and they will help me for no money. And in turn, they know I will be there for them when they need me. Plus we are all on the look out for spreading the wealth when the money is available. I have earned countless gigs from friends I have helped in the past and I have referred many jobs to those have worked hard for me -- and those who have gone above and beyond are in first position for my help. And that's why I go above and beyond so I can be in someone else's first position. See the pattern?

I bring this up because it's a reality in filmmaking that we are often required to do a million things without resources. And it's inevitable that you will be called upon by your colleagues to help out. And I'm saying, do it. Help them when you can. And don't be afraid to call on your colleagues for help. If they want to be in your first position, they will be there for you.

Of course, you should protect yourself from those who are moochers and takers (who never give back to you). And many times you may not be able to help. And that's okay. Just carry that spirit of giving and soon you will find you are receiving from the unlikeliest of places. And you will just feel good. Isn't that important as well?

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Guest Blog: 3 Part Series from Jeff Steele, Expert on Film Finance, Part 3

How to Choose (a sister wife) or a Foreign Sales Agent

by Jeff Steele (www.filmclosings.com/NOTE: Film Closings Inc. will review only projects over $3m, and Magnet will only consider projects over $10m, but please no unsolicited materials.)

If the relationship between a producer and a financier is like a marriage, than the sales agent fills the role of your sister wife #2.

PRODUCER: Hey Jeff, I’ve got a $12m thriller with attachments, but I have a problem.

JEFF: A problem, eh? How can I help?

PRODUCER: I need the best sales agent; who do you recommend?

JEFF: Easy, you will want to work with ***** *****.

One of the more difficult questions I receive on a weekly basis is who I recommend as a sales agent. There are a lot of good agents out there – in fact, I would say that there are more good agents out there then there have been for quite some time. A lot of key sales people from established sales institutions have struck out on their own in the past couple years: Nick Meyer, Stu Ford, Glen Basner, to name a few. In the past, the general rule-of-thumb was that AFM was just an endless cycle of “same names, different companies.” But now, those names (along with Nick Chartier) have setup their own shops and are doing things different, and I think…better.

So who do I recommend? If you need somebody to make presales that a bank will lend against (i.e. “bankable”), then I would recommend one of the above names, as well as some of the established players. However, bankability is more than just who is selling. It’s actually a combination of factors:

1) Who is selling?

• Do they have a history of hitting their Take numbers?
• Can they collect?
• Do they have enough quality product to keep buyers from stiffing them, or renegotiating?

2) Who is buying?

• How deep are their pockets?
• Do they pay on time?
• Do they pay in full, or do they renegotiate?
• Is the buyer paying a 20% deposit? If not, then there’s no incentive for them to pay the MG (or not renegotiate).
• Who is lending?

NOTE: Different sales companies have relationships with different lenders. Some are universally bankable, some may just be bankable by the one or two lenders with whom they’ve had a long relationship with.

All of these factors can positively or adversely affect the credit discounting applied to presales (e.g. will the bank lend at 100% of the value of the contract, or 80%, 50%, or zilch.) As you can see, there are more to sales estimates than just the Take amount. You need to look deeper.

Sometimes a film may need a more hands-on/nurturing touch in order to find its audience, wherein somebody like Robbie Little or Cedric Jeanson would be a good choice. Their backgrounds and their relationships are top notch, but they prefer a more hands-on pipeline of product.

If you have a completed film, then there are agents who are very capable. These agents have chosen not to actively pursue the bankability business and are very capable of getting your film out to the market.

Obviously, there is a lot more to know on this topic and each film may have different needs, so there is no best.

However to be nice, I will leave you with 3 last important notes:

1. If a foreign sales agent ask you to pay anything upfront, move on. 2. It’s a good idea to include a portion of the foreign sales agents marketing fee in the film’s budget. 3. if you squeeze them too hard on their commission, they won’t be incentivized to sell your film – so if it’s not a commercial film, then give them a higher commission – you’ll be better off for it…

Or in other words… your sister wife needs to feel special too.

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Guest Blog: 3 Part Series from Jeff Steele, Expert on Film Finance, Part 2

70% Gospel for Foreign Sales Estimates

by Jeff Steele (www.filmclosings.com/NOTE: Film Closings Inc. will review only projects over $3m, and Magnet will only consider projects over $10m, but please no unsolicited materials.)

PRODUCER: Hey Jeff, I’ve got an awesome $10m sci-fi project.

JEFF STEELE: How much is foreign?

PRODUCER: $6m, but it’s really more of a domestic play anyway.

JEFF STEELE: Yeah well, they all seem to be domestic plays when they're made for the wrong price.

PRODUCER: What!? Really!? Explain.

In the beginning, there were foreign sale estimates, and they were good…

These estimates are such a fundamental truth of goodness that it’s worth bolding: 70% of your budget should be covered by the gross-take-value (gtv) of your foreign sales estimates. And if you don’t, your film budget will be adjusted downward. And, you can’t fool me, I know what your thinking, “Jeff, don’t worry, I’ll just shop around for a sales agent that will give me my magical numbers.” Problem is your magicians won’t be able to deliver. So, to be smart about it! I prefer to recommend 75%-80% (gtv), due to the steep discounting lenders apply to presale contracts today. But 70% should be all film projects’ gospel. Why? Because, to mitigate your domestic risk to an acceptable one, you’ll need :

1. Elevated foreign values

and

2. Tax credit benefits and pre-sales

Don’t delude yourself, the domestic market is saturated with product right now (I’m sure you’ve heard of the $20m direct-to-videos) — the less reliance on the United States the better.

The 70% gospel has spoken; the gospel is good.

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Guest Blog: 3 Part Series from Jeff Steele, Expert on Film Finance, Part 1

Top Independent Filmmakers, Take Finance Plans Seriously

by Jeff Steele (www.filmclosings.com/NOTE: Film Closings Inc. will review only projects over $3m, and Magnet will only consider projects over $10m, but please no unsolicited materials.)

As the CFO for one of the few equity funds actively financing Independent Films, it doesn’t take much for me or any other funder to tell the professionals from the amateurs. One look at a producer’s finance plan (as well as their choice of attorney) tells me right away what kind of closing I’m in for. Being that a film finance closing can last anywhere from 4-12 weeks, this can be a relatively clean, straight forward, experience, or 3 months of hell. Simply put, a finance plan is the best indicator of a producer’s financial I.Q. We need to know that you know how much money you really need and where you’re going to get it from.

You can no more produce a movie with a mediocre budget, than you can finance a movie without a finance plan. It’s the art and science of simultaneously predicting and preemptively satisfying the needs of lenders, investors, attorneys, and bond companies.

Producers tend to think in gross numbers and percentages:

Mr. Grossman says, “Hey Jeff, I’m making a movie for $10 million and I need $2m equity; the rest will be 20% tax credits from New Mexico, we’ll pre-sell 30%, and gap the rest.” These back-of-the-napkin numbers are fine between friends, but you will inevitably end up going back to your financier, hat in hand, to ask for more. You don’t want to be in this situation, especially if the lender or investor has already gone to their board for the initial amount. This is where most deals begin to die.

Because of this, funders have become much more sophisticated: they are either better at punching holes in packages, or they hire someone who is. To inspire confidence with your investors, you don’t have to be smart enough to build your own finance model; you just have to be smart enough to surround yourself with people who can.

The following is what you’ll need to calculate: (a) What your films budget is and (b) What type of capital you’ll be using

1. Budget information
2. Foreign pre-sales and estimates
3. Tax credits
4. Sources of equity
5. Gap calculation
6. Financing costs
7. Credit discounting (presales and unsold territories)
8. Bridge details
9. Worldwide costs of sales (sales agents, etc.)

As you can see, a well thought-out finance plan is not just a requisite for the closing, but is also an essential roadmap that will guide you through the fund raising process. While it can allow you to play with certain variables, the market conditions will typically reveal how the film should be financed, as opposed to how you would like it to be financed. If done properly, your roadmap will lead you to the net-to-production. Remember, Net Net Net! Because, if it’s not net, it’s gross.

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Focus Group Screening for Take Me Home

We are in the home stretch on editing our film Take Me Home and felt it was the perfect time for a focus group screening of it. My producing partner Mike Hobert called around and found a great little screening room in Santa Monica that would work with our budget. Check them out here: Santa Monica Screening Room.

Our editor Damien LeVeck saved the film to Blu-Ray and we projected it. It looked great! We had a full house of about 40 people (most not knowing anything about the film). It's important to invite people who don't know much, if anything, about your film and even better if they don't know you. 

Having a focus group screening allows you to stand back and watch how an audience reacts to your film. You can see if people seem engaged or bored or happy or scared or uncomfortable by any moments in your film. It also lets you see and hear if the jokes or scary moments are working for an audience. It's very easy to get too close to a project and not realize that what you are finding charming and funny or scary actually falls flat in front of a new audience. 

Because we didn't have a lot of time after the film, we passed out the questionnaire first and asked that everyone respond to the questions immediately following the screening. It's important to offer a written questionnaire so you can get feedback from every participant. Include multiple choice answers, like Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor. This allows for a range of response, instead of a simple Yes or No -- which doesn't tell you as much. You can also do a verbal Q&A but definitely get a written questionnaire filled out by everyone.

It's a good idea to have the questionnaires be anonymous so people can feel comfortable about being completely honest. However, you should ask for gender and age range of the audience member. That way, you can get some stats on how certain demographics are responding to your film. This will help you figure out if you are hitting your target audience. 

You may be surprised and find that you have an audience in a different gender or age bracket than you had expected. Use your findings to create targeted marketing campaigns. For example, if you find your film appealing to a young audience then focus on that age bracket and the best way to advertise to them. A young audience may be great for internet marketing whereas a much older audience may need to be reached in a very different realm.

For us, we had worried about the likability of one of the lead characters. But what the focus group proved was that we shouldn't be worried. She was chosen by half of the audience as their favorite and only one person listed her as least favorite. Seeing that has focused our efforts to the real problems in the film -- which seems to be the pacing in the first act. 

So back to the editing room! And feeling very confident about the film! And that is a great feeling.

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"Gay Baby" Premieres Opening Night at the FilmOut San Diego

My brother and writer/director Kevin Kelly wrote a really charming script called Gay Baby. We fell in love with it's message of tolerance while exploring the idea: What if you knew your unborn son were gay?

The short film is a fun, comedic exploration of a new father's revelation that his unborn son is gay. With the help of a gay store clerk, he realizes that his son will be no different than if he were born straight. 

The film has been chosen to premiere on Opening Night of the FilmOut San Diego film festival. We are super excited for the premiere and we plan to launch a big publicity campaign for the film and its message. 

Kevin is working on a full feature version too! I'm really proud of my brother and want to say that if you are in the San Diego area, please join us for the premiere: April 16, 2010 at 7:30pm at the Birch North Park Theatre, 2891 University Ave., San Diego. (filmoutsandiego.com)

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Theaters in Los Angeles for an Indie Theatrical Release

We are exploring the idea of 4-walling our film Not Since You so we can get some much-needed exposure for it. The rates on 4-walling have been very interesting. I'll post what we find out once we have all the rates compiled. 

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Started a Book Group: Marginalia!

I was feeling very illiterate because I wasn't making time to read. I was always so caught up in my filmmaking and found it incredibly difficult to read a book from cover to cover and definitely hard to track new writers of fiction and even nonfiction.

So I decided to fix my problem. I started a book group with good friends who actually do take time to read. We call it Marginalia! -- thanks to our crossword guru who always comes up with great words to express himself. 

We are using an excellent Web site: www.goodreads.com to keep track of the books we are reading and we can discuss the books there too. I feel so much smarter now. 

We just finished reading Nicole Krauss' History of Love and while I didn't love it, I feel great having read a strong work of fiction and the opportunity to discuss it's pros and cons.

While it takes time away from my filmmaking work, I know it will help my storytelling skills and make me a more well-rounded creative professional. And who knows? Maybe I'll find a book I'll want to make into a movie! Every experience feeds who you are and who you hope to become.

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Tennessee on DVD!

Super excited about our film Tennessee being release on DVD. I fell in love with the script back in 2002 and began working with the writer Russell Schaumburg on finding a way to make this film a reality. 

As is usually the case with an independent film, we spent years and executed many strategies to build a creative package of talent and find the financing. Finally in 2005, Lee Daniels came on board the project and brought the resources necessary for the film to be made. 

It took another two years after Lee joined the project for the film to go into production. In 2007, the film was shot in both New Mexico and Tennessee. The cast of Mariah Carey, Adam Rothenberg and Ethan Peck brought the characters to life and the film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2008. What a journey it has been! 

I hope you check out the film and enjoy it as much I have enjoyed being part of its creation. It is available at your local video stores, Netflix, Blockbuster, iTunes and Amazon. 

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Guest Blog: Leslie Morgan and 1 Woman, 15 Dogs & 1150 Miles

Independent filmmaker Leslie Morgan showcases the independent spirit. We are cheering for you Leslie! Keep us posted on your progress! Click here for the 1150 Project Web site. 

Here's Leslie's Journey. 

About the 1150 Web Series, Created by Leslie Morgan

Known as the last great race on the earth, the Iditarod is an 1150-mile sled dog race across the most dangerous and extreme terrain of Alaska. Fifty-eight year old Kathy Frederick is one of the oldest female rookie competitors to ever compete in this treacherous race and I, Leslie Morgan will be documenting her journey.

Kathy left a very cozy and successful life as a lawyer in Pennsylvania to move to Alaska to live out a lifelong dream of competing in the 2010 Iditarod. The race is the longest dog sledding race in the world and more than 1/3 of the competitors don’t finish the race. The web series will document Kathy’s journey the three months leading up to the race in March of 2010. You, the viewer will get to experience her journey with daily blog updates and web posts. Using live streaming, users can watch Kathy in real time and ask her
questions about her training. Will Kathy be able to fulfill her life long dream and actually cross the finish line? You’ll just have to watch what happens to find out.

Leslie's Personal Journey

I have had a few people curious about me, my background, who I am, why I am doing this so I decided to write this very personal entry to perhaps give you insight into who I am and why I chose to leave the comforts of Los Angeles, CA for the remote and rugged landscape of Willow, Alaska. This probably will be one of the longer written entries on this blog.

Last April my dear friend and business partner got very sick; we still don’t know what is wrong. No diagnosis has been made. I won’t go into too much detail as to try and respect his privacy.  However, I will say what was bad has gotten much worse and I have to be honest when I say I am not certain how much longer he will be here in this life. I am hopeful, but it has been an immensely challenging time and for the most part we had to go our separate ways. We worked together for about six years trying to build a business together and along the way he became my best friend.  Working side by side with someone 10 hours a day 7 days a week for six years can do that. Now we had our fights and our struggles, but we always joked that we were like an old married couple without the good parts of being married.  It is rare to find someone who balances you, but he was the ying to my yang, the peanut butter to my jelly and sometimes the oil to my water!

When he left in April to go to Atlanta to try to get better medical care, it was probably one of the hardest times in my entire life. It breaks my heart to even think about it and even now I can’t help but shed a lot of tears that he is no longer apart of my daily life. It is hard for me to truly explain unless you knew us, but the best analogy I can give is being without him has felt like I lost both my legs in an accident that was not my fault.

My business partner and I had a production company, films and television shows in development and right before my business partner got sick we almost got our first feature off the ground… that is until the financier pulled out. It was back to square one, but I was left to go it alone as he had to leave to try and get better. Throughout our time together we had a lot of almost there’s and it should have happened and we were so close we could taste it moments.  We had money for awhile to develop projects, we developed projects, we had money to make a movie. Then one day we didn’t have development money and we didn’t have money to make a movie. This was our cycle, the ups were way up and the downs were way down and suddenly we weren’t left with much and my business partner, worst of all, was not even left with his health. Every day for him is a struggle. Some days if he can make it out of bed he is lucky. I miss him terribly, but I knew I had to do something because his illness made me realize we only have so much time in this life and we better use it wisely!

For many months I was pretty lost and didn’t know what to do. Some days I delved into work, working 14-16 hours a day on the projects we had together to try and make something happen on my own.  Other days I could barely get out of bed and when I actually made it out of bed, I felt like I accomplished something. At the time I had a business doing consulting work, that supported me, but I also began  freelancing for websites producing content.  During the summer I got to work on a really fun web show called NARROW WORLD of SPORTS for Berman Braun and produced a segment for LANightlife.com as well. At the end of the summer an acquaintance of mine posted a link to a web site about a dog musher named Kathleen Frederick. I looked at her website and was drawn instantly to her story. While on the site I found this page…

Shameless Huskies Volunteer

As soon as I read about Kathy, her journey to compete in the 2010 Iditarod, saw those beautiful dogs, I knew what I had to do! I instantly e-mailed Kathy explaining how I saw her website and was interested in volunteering for her for three months, but there was one condition. I wanted to document her life as she trained for the Iditarod. I knew it was a long shot; I knew that she could say no, but in my heart I knew I wanted to tell her story. Here was a woman who was almost 59 years old, competing in one of the toughest competitions where even veteran competitors have to pull out. She had a dream and she was going for it. One woman’s website was an inspiration to follow my own dream in doing this project.  It was the perfect time as I had no other immediate prospects; I was growing tired of struggling to do my own work in Los Angeles. I wanted something that I could control, a project that was mine that I could solely  be responsible for. I knew that I had to do something because everything that I was trying to do in Los Angeles just didn’t seem to work out.

At the end of October/ beginning of November Kathy and I were able to solidify my trip out to Alaska.  When I first read about her I thought I should try and shoot a feature film. I scrambled to try and get a business plan together, find $, the things I would always do before. Then it hit me. Why not just scale it back; create a project for the web. It would be video posts (episodes essentially 3-4 minutes in length), pictures, written blogs and live streaming once a week. I would create an entire interactive project that could eventually turn into a feature or maybe put it on DVD or Blu-Ray. By scaling the project down, asking for donations and doing it all myself it seemed much more tangible.

In December, I put together a short proposal that I sent out to about 200 friends, family and colleagues. To my surprise I got enough money together to buy my ticket to Alaska, buy a small SONY HD handicam with some accessories and some winter gear. Kathy offered to let me borrow any outerwear I would need as we are about the same size so that saved me about $1000+ in expenses.

During this time I decided to take a web class over at Dogma Studios called WebTV Prep with Brian Rodda and Damian Pelliccione. The class focused on the ins and outs of how to create your own television show for the web. I knew a lot coming in, but the class allowed me to pitch the project to class and get feedback from other people in how to really make the project better. Everyone was incredibly receptive, which solidified I knew I had something.

In December I worked with my friend Josh of Untangled Solutions to get my website up and running. Around this time one of my clients left me so I was down to one major client, enough income to get me by through till June. The site launched January 4. The first week of January I packed a bunch of stuff, bought the camera, re-learned Final Cut Pro (I hadn’t edited myself since 2002 even though I had worked along side editors). Working along side and doing it yourself is quite different.  Then on January 13th I flew here and have been here and will be here till the end of March.

Two days ago that other major client decided to part ways as he was struggling financially… so when I get back to Los Angeles I will either need a full time job or a few new clients for the first time in five years.  Being alone in a remote place was not an ideal time to find out your life back home was falling apart. It is frightening, but instead of freaking out I simply have tried to focus on making this the best project it can be. Plus listening to Kathy’s struggles to make ends meet to follow her dreams puts everything back into perspective!  Also I will say this if you want to donate to the project it will help immensely. Simply click on the donate button up above near the middle right of your screen. Hey what can I say a gal needs to eat even in a remote part of Alaska=)

Yesterday I spoke to my business partner. He felt well enough to talk to me on the phone. He told me how proud he was of me; I was following my instincts and that something good would come of this. I told him that I hoped someday we could work on something together again, and ultimately the reason I came here was because of him.

I guess if even one person finds inspiration in this, by following their dream, doing what is in their heart in spite of the odds I succeeded. Plus hopefully you will become a fan of Kathy like I have.

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