Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Making An Independent Film Is NO JOKE!...
By Fanny Veliz
As I’m writing this article, I’m stressed! I’m stressed because I’m waiting for a post house in Nashville Tennessee to confirm they received a hard drive with my film in it because they’re supposed to convert into DCP format. I’m stressed because UPS seems to have lost said hard drive. I’m stressed because when I talked to the guy at the UPS store in Tennessee, he says they have the package and no one has called to pick it up. I’m stressed because everyone is so calm about this when the film festival where the film is screening is in less than a week and now I’m freaking out there will be no film to screen!
Doesn’t anyone get how important this is?! Don’t they get I’m screening at the most prominent Latino Film Festival in the Country? Don’t they understand that my film will be shown at the iconic Chinese Theater? Don’t they comprehend I have spent the past 3 years of my life working almost EVERY SINGLE DAY to make my movie? That I have spent every penny I have and don’t have to make this film and that a lot is riding in this screening!!!
Just then, when I’m about to have a panic attack and start crying, the phone rings and I’m told the hard drive has been found and they will convert the film and ship it to the festival by the end of the day. I breathe a big sigh of relief.
This is my life. Almost every week I deal with some crisis. I set out to make my first feature film titled HOMEBOUND almost 3 years ago. I assumed it was going to be a difficult road, but I had no clue how difficult it was truly going to be. I had produced several award wining short films, and I thought a feature would just be like producing a few short films at once, that is not the case.
People that started with me on the project have little by little left, so for the past two years I have been driving this ship pretty much by myself. As many independent filmmakers know, the money never seems to be enough. I have lost several personal and professional relationships over it. But no matter what, I had decided I would make this film, so as a matter of my word, I WAS GOING TO FINISH IT.
One thing that has kept me going through all of this is my commitment to make films that portray American Latinos with dignity and as an important part of the American fabric. This film has become something larger than myself. When things get difficult I remind myself, this isn’t about you Fanny, it’s about your two boys growing up and seeing positive portrayals of Latinos in the media as a norm.
Another thing that has kept me going is the response I have received from audiences and social media. I get notes of encouragement almost every week. Just when I think I can’t do it anymore, someone will write to thank me for what I’m doing and then I remember, this is bigger than me.
Last week my film had a full theatrical run at a movie theater in Texas, and almost every day it was running someone contacted me to tell me how much my film had touched them. One lady said she hadn’t been to the movies in 17 years and she was glad she came to see my film and wished all movies were like mine, another lady went to see it 14 times! But the one that got me the most was this comment:
After a note like that…It all becomes worth it.
So this is my advice, if you decide to make a film, make sure it’s something you’re very passionate about. It must be something that the possibility of quitting is not even a possibility. Something you are willing to dedicate your life to and no matter what comes your way, you know in your heart, it must exist in the world. Then, no matter what happens you will be satisfied knowing every step of the way is part of journey to success.
Your Film In Profit, Fast...
Distribber is an on demand distribution company connected to the venerable crowdsourcing company Indiegogo. Distribber offers 100% revenue – meaning a one-time fee, rather than a revenue share, which ultimately can come out to much less (depending on the volume of sales).
Important details:
What does it cost me?iTunes:If you are delivering just one standard definition (SD) film to iTunes, there is a one-time charge of $1295, which covers all the encoding, chapter breaking, tagging, and general caretaking that we’ll do to usher your film to full iTunes compliance and placement in the iTunes store.
After that, there is a flat annual service fee of $79 per film. The first year’s service fee is included in your $1295.For high definition (HD) delivery, the charge is $1595.Hulu:If you are also using Distribber to access iTunes, placement on Hulu costs an additional $399. Hulu by itself costs $750.Amazon VOD:For a limited time, if you sign up to use Distribber.com for iTunes distribution, you may add Amazon Video On Demand ABSOLUTELY FREE. Otherwise, the one-time charge is $95.Netflix Watch Instantly:If you are also using Distribber to access iTunes, placement on Netflix Watch Instantly costs an additional $250 for SD and $395 for HD. Netflix Watch Instantly by itself costs $595 for SD and $795 for HD. The fee includes negotiating a streaming license for your film and handling delivery.Filmmaker Direct (Cable/Satellite/Telco VOD):Submission is $249, which for a limited time is waived, so submission is now FREE. If your film is accepted, the charge is $5000 for guaranteed placement in a minimum of 80% of nationwide VOD households. Note that this service is not right for you if you do not have a good sense of the existing demand for your film. This deal works best for rightsholders who have already had some success with a title on VOD, are producing similar style/quality content for a similar audience, and want to retain more of their upside. If you think this could be right for you, please contact CEO Adam Chapnick directly to discuss: adam [at] distribber.com .If you have multiple films, contact us for discount info.…Does my film get accepted automatically?Amazon VOD: Yes
iTunes: No
Hulu: No
Netflix Watch Instantly: No
Cable/Satellite/Telco VOD: NoOur track record is extremely good for getting film and TV content onto iTunes. We have great relationships with all the platforms, but some are more picky than others.
Start by submitting your film’s information in the form on the Distribber homepage (you get your money back if you are declined, minus a $39 processing fee), and we’ll let you know within two weeks (often within a couple of days). Then, once your film is accepted, you can begin the deliverables process.…What are the acceptance guidelines?GENERALWhile there are some rare exceptions, your film must:
- Be no racier than an MPAA R rating (if you don’t have an actual rating, you know what an R means)
- Be longer than 60 minutes
- Be available on a high-resolution master (like DigiBeta) or as a Pro Res 422 HQ file (SD can be transferred via FTP).
- Have a trailer in the same aspect ratio as your master
- Have poster art available as a .jpeg or .tiff file without a credit block, URL, or pricing info on it
- Have some bragging rights (e.g. festival selection, awards, stars, name producers/directors, good reviews, timely subject matter)
Your film must NOT
- Be pornographic
- Be waiting to clear any licenses (music or any other)
- Be a home movie
- Be an instructional video
NETFLIX WATCH INSTANTLYTo receive an offer from Netflix for their Watch Instantly service, your film must already be available in Netflix’s database. That is, if you search for your title on www.netflix.com, it is either already available on DVD, or if not, it appears as available to “Save” for the future.
http://www.filmmakingreview.com/distribber/
Promoting An Independent Film: Top 5 Tips And Tricks...
By Jessica Avila
Getting people to see your independent film is difficult but necessary to success in gaining acclaim and awareness of your carefully packaged product. I recently worked on a film that succeeded in drawing viewers and media attention. Promotions is the key to success for independent films, here are some great tips and tricks to give your film the edge in promotions success.
5. Use Everyone.
The first tip in promoting you independent film is to use every arm of publicity possible. Everyone that acted, staged, directed, or operated on your production is an arm for publicity and should be appreciated as such. I was a production assistant on a recent film and I was asked to contact fifteen people and ask them to see or purchase the film. This brought a network of 300 individual movie goers to the screen before one cent had been spent on advertising.
4. Use free resources on line
Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace are all a musts to post bits of your film and reviews. If you have no reviews there are hundreds of people willing to help you for exchanges of advertising or simply posting their name on your resources. Display frequent notes about your production events.
3. Be positive
Always speak positively about your film in your fliers and ads. Negative energy breeds insecurity.
2. Spend wisely
Avoid billboards and posters in favor of a multimedia approach. Visual aids are always better when coupled with audio, and featured pieces of your film.
1. Network
In our film we had a broadcast radio friend that was willing to have us on a major Los Angeles radio station to help support the cause pro bono. These types of resources will help you get a leg up on the competition.
5 Things I Learned About Film From Song Lyrics...
By
Being a filmmaker means picking up inspiration and ideas from all around you – writers eavesdrop on buses, cinematographers might spot some climbing gear that could double function, directors might find great locations just wandering around town. Well, I’ve listened to a lot of music and, every so often a line or song will ping something up in my head and I’ll think about it in terms of film. Sometimes it will be inspiration for a scene, sometimes it will sharpen up an idea that was chuntering around.
Being a filmmaker means picking up inspiration and ideas from all around you – writers eavesdrop on buses, cinematographers might spot some climbing gear that could double function, directors might find great locations just wandering around town. Well, I’ve listened to a lot of music and, every so often a line or song will ping something up in my head and I’ll think about it in terms of film. Sometimes it will be inspiration for a scene, sometimes it will sharpen up an idea that was chuntering around.
Here are 5 lessons I’ve learned, or had crystallized, from song lyrics. Feel free to suggest your own.
1. “Give me a reason to love you”
‘Give Me a Reason to Love You’ by Portishead
Many writers seem to assume that because someone is the protagonist they are automatically likable and we should give them our sympathy. Not so – you have to give us a reason to love the hero – we haven’t spent as much time with them as you and we need a clear indicator of their personality nice and early on in the script. A certain Mr. Snyder thought the hero should save a cat; whatever you choose is fine, but give us a clear, externalized reason to love the hero.
2. “Every picture has its shadows
And it has some source of light
Blindness, blindness and sight”
‘Shadows and Light’ by Joni Mitchell
Cinematographers will often scout natural light locations using black and white equipment. Why? Because it gives them a better idea of the contrast of light and shadow on the location. That, not the glorious colour, is what will define your image. Where you set your light source, where the shadows fall – these all create emotive responses within the audience. Make sure you control them, use them to tell the story.
3. “I feel like I’m spinning out of control
Try to focus but everything’s twisted”
Part of getting that cinematic feel comes from having a very shallow depth of field set up on your camera. Using a shallow depth of field not only gives a great look to your film but it is also a great tool in the director’s box. Because so little of the picture is in focus the audience has no choice but to look at the plane that is in focus – this allows the director to control where the audiences eyes fall and to helps him tell the story of that scene.
4. “Put on your red dress
And then you go downtown now
I said buy yourself a shotgun now
We’re gonna break it down baby now”
‘Shotgun’ by Jr Walker and the Allstars
Getting good sound on location makes your life a whole much easier when it comes to post-production. ADR can be a drag, but, even if it was always going to be necessary, good location sound makes for a much better reference point than windy, trafficy garbled nonsense. Rather than use whatever microphone comes on your camera you should get a shotgun mic. These are highly directional which means that when you point them at your actor you pick up what they’re saying, and not the sound of someone dropping their tea or whatever else is going on behind camera. Sound is one of the most forgotten parts of the filmmaking process, but is also one of the most effective ways to tell a story (the radio did alright, didn’t it?). A shotgun mic will help capture great sounding dialogue and it’s also a great way to record effects needed for your foley track. Get good sound. Make good film. Done.
5. “If I look you in the eye
I swear I’ll die
‘Cos you kill everything you love”
‘You Kill Everything You Love’ by Skin
This one goes for both editing and scriptwriting – you have to learn to kill the things you love. That cute little scene, that wonderful line of dialogue – if it doesn’t serve the story it has to go. Look at the bigger picture and make sure your favourite funny moments aren’t running counter to the project as a whole. If they are, well, it hurts, but you’ve got to kill what you love.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
7 Pro Tips To Surviving The 48 Hour Film Project...
The 48 Hour Film Project is a popular filmmaking event that asks teams of filmmakers to write, produce, shoot and edit a short film in the span of 48 hours. As someone that has participated in three events (the last time after I vowed never to do another one again) and shoots on tight schedules for a living, I’ve put together seven pro tips to help you survive this grueling filmmaking stunt.
The advice I will dispense is based on my experiences which haven’t all been stellar. Listen to me and hopefully you can avoid some of the pitfalls of this weekend of insanity. If you don’t, who knows, maybe you’ll get lucky… or you might end up putting your fist through a wall.
But trust me at least on the first one.
Tip 1: Know your workflow
Workflow is a fancy smancy term post production guys like to use for describing how they turn raw footage into a finished product. If you’ve never made a film STOP READING RIGHT NOW! Go make a short film this minute.
We’ll wait…
Okay, now that you’ve actually made a short film from start to finish, you should know how to take footage from a camera, put it into a computer, edit it and burn a DVD or make a digital render for submission. It’s good that you learned this stuff before trying to skim the help files during the 48 hour project while watching the deadline tick closer and closer.
Similarly be careful of testing out new process/techniques with this project. Your friend just got a new DSLR and your used to shooting tape? TEST IT OUT FIRST before diving into a timed contest.
Tip 2: Separate out Preproduction, Production and Postproduction duties
As a team captain you really don’t have much choice but to be involved in every step of the production of your film. However you will see much better results if you delegate various stages of film to different people. Why? – Because each person will be required to put in less but more highly concentrated time into their part of the project.
Here’s a hypothetical. Let’s say you are the director/team captain. You have one writer (or a couple of writers). Once you pick your genre on Friday, you discuss the story with the writers and let them go off and bang away at a keyboard until they are satisfied with the script. They may take all Friday night to write and revise. Saturday morning rolls around, the writers go to bed and sleep while your Production team (who are fresh and ready to go) shoot the script. After a long shoot day, the production team hands off the footage to the Postproduction team (who are also fresh and ready to go). It’s late Saturday night, but the editor (who hasn’t been on set or writing) is able to work late into the night because he/she is hasn’t been toiling on set.
In this way the team members are contributing less time but you can overlap their efforts to get the most out of your 48 hours.
You’re job as a director/team captain is to coordinate the teams so they work and communicate with each other efficiently. And this means having CLEAN AND EFFECTIVE NOTES especially between Production and Post-production.
Tip 3: Get some Sleep
Seriously.
On Friday night, you get your genre and you’re pumped and ready to go. “How can I possibly sleep right now” you ask yourself… well you’ll find out real soon on Saturday night when your body gives out and you collapse into a deep slumber. I’ve seen it happen to teammates on two separate occasions.
Nothing good comes from a lack of sleep. You just become less creative, slower, and more irritable – all very bad things to happen on a 48 hour project.
Do whatever it takes to sleep on Friday night. You’ll need the energy if you want to make it through production. If you must, you can pull an all nighter once production is over but try to put in a few hours of shut eye. Everything about the project will be better for it.
To maximize the amount of rest, go back and see Tip 2.
Tip 4: Write with a Quick Production in Mind
This is a tip that can be a bit hard to understand for the inexperienced writer. There are a lot of shortcuts to telling a story that may require less production in other ways.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Use as few locations as possible: nothing slows down a production more than a company move – this is where you movie you cast and crew to a new location. Avoid these at all costs and tell a story that happens in one or two locations.
Avoid special effects shots whenever possible: One or two scenes with a special effect can add some excitement to your film, otherwise avoid them unless absolutely needed.
Voice Overs save time: Yeah, it’s considered a story telling crutch, but what do you think you’re making here? Voice overs can help you establish story and exposition without a lot of on-set effort.
Avoid excessively long scenes and long monologues: Your actors will thank you.
A lot of times, less is more: I’ll leave it at that.
Try to tell “smaller stories”: Its okay if you pull the superhero genre and you have to have a bad guy bent on blowing up the world – but bring it down to a personal level. Maybe he wants to blow up the world because he didn’t get any presents on his birthday. Keep the stories smaller and they’ll translate better on screen.
Don’t sweat the line and prop: it’s generally pretty easy to slip it into whatever you’re making. If you can make your film all about the line/prop – go ahead, otherwise just make sure it’s in there so you can prove that you made it during the 48 hours.
Tip 5: Don’t be afraid of a little Comedy
Even if you pull Drama, a little bit of comedy will help the medicine go down.
Of course that’s my directorial style coming through…
But let me set up the screening scenario for you: There are usually about 10 films being shown. Depending on where you live, between 50% -90% of those films are going to blow chunks. I mean really bad. A couple of them may be utterly unwatchable.
And since everybody in the audience is a “filmmaker” – they’ll all be judging you on every level while being fantastically insecure about their own film.
So in short, there’s a lot of pent up tension in the room. And when there’s that kind of tension, the natural reaction often is to laugh often at the slightest provocation. The really bad films will get quite a few unwanted laughs.
If you can harness that nervous energy with some light hearted humorous moments in your film, you’ll disarm the audience and “trick” them into following your story instead of trying to determine exactly what brand of camera you shot with.
Besides, everyone is there to have a bit of fun. Watching dreary film one after the other gets on your nerves and a little light hearted fun can be welcomed.
Tip 6: Manage your Set
How you handle your set depends on a variety of factors including what type of script you’re shooting and what kind of equipment you have – experience will guide how you run a set. Here a few things to think about:
The first shot will take the longest: Actors need to get into makeup and costume, the camera needs to be set up, the lighting needs to be put together, people need to get used to working with each other. Whatever you decide to make your first shot, keep this in mind and don’t set up unrealistic expectations.
Let people know what’s happening now and what’s happening next.
Keep you cast and crew together as much as possible. Even though an actor is not needed in this particular scene, having her nearby means we won’t have to waste time finding out where she went when we’re ready to shoot her scene.
Shoot Multicamera if you can: The last project I did, we shot two Canon 5ds. This saved a great deal of time and provided the editor with a lot more creative choices in the cut. Whether you shoot opposing angles or same angle with different compositions (medium and close up for example) – you will save a great deal of time shooting with more than one camera.
Keep a finger on the mood of crew: Do they need a break? Are they getting grumpy? With such a tight time crunch, on set tempers can become an issue. Strive to keep everybody in a good relaxed mood and never ever lose your cool.
NEVER SKIP A MEAL BREAK – seriously don’t ever. These people aren’t getting paid, at least let them eat.
NEVER SERVE PIZZA AT A MEAL. Don’t get me wrong, I love me a slice of pepperoni. But pizza is both high in fat and carbs – which means your cast and crew will be groggy and slow after the meal. Save pizza for the wrap party. Instead, serve light protein and carbs – sandwiches, salads, pastas, kabobs… This will keep people peppier after the meal.
Have a lot of sugary sodas and alternative drinks on set: I never inhaled a Coke like I do when running around on set. I know it’s bad for me, but it can be the only thing keeping me on my feet. Not everybody is like that (or needs to fly a camera stabilizer for 10 minutes at a time) so have other options available.
Production is a social event: The work is being done between “action” and “cut”. Outside of that, people are there to have fun and mingle. The best time for group bonding is when everyone sits down and breaks bread. Coming out of this party mode and back into work mode can be a challenge once you get back into it, it will be a tighter and stronger team. You don’t want to schedule an extremely hard scene right after a meal, but you can use your meal time to build intra-team relationships that may be required to pull off a big tough scene.
Tip 7: Have Fun
This sounds like one of those B.S. tips that an author tags on to fill out the list – but I assure you this one is the most important one.
First of all, no one gets discovered or famous from their 48 hour film project (don’t believe me?).
Name one… I’ll wait as you Google it). So immediately get those dreams of fame and fortune out of your head. Remove the thoughts of winning awards too… you don’t need those anyway and they don’t mean jack.
And get rid of the idea of making something “great” – I’ve seen a lot of 48 hour films and they all have to be qualified as being “created in 48 hours” so that you ignore their shortcomings. Don’t get me wrong, there are some good films being made, but they don’t hold a candle to the short films where the writer spent months crafting a script and the director studied it closely and crafted it perfectly.
You are doing the 48 hour project because… wait… why are you doing this again?
To make a film… in 48 hours… to just say you did it and have fun doing it. That’s got to be your only reason.
The root of all 48 hour disasters is taking this thing far too seriously. If you want to make a great short film, go and make it but spend more than 48 hours on it.
The 48 hour film project is just an excuse to make a film and be done with it in one weekend. If you or someone on your team starts getting frustrated over something – defuse it immediately. Laugh it off. Nothing in the film is so important to get upset over.
In other words, don’t be a dick.
So seriously, just have fun. Make a movie, and then post it in our forum for all to see!
http://filmmakeriq.com/2011/08/7-pro-tips-to-surviving-the-48-hour-film-project/
Filmmakers: Why 1% is the Most Important Number...
By Scott McMahon
Filmmakers, what comes to mind when you think of 1%?
The “Occupy Wall Street” movement perhaps?
1% Milk?
Hmm … maybe …
1% RULE OF THE INTERNET
(From Wikipedia, because it’s fact)
In Internet culture, the 1% rule is a rule of thumb pertaining to participation in an internet community, stating that only 1% of the users of a website actively create new content, while the other 99% of the participants only lurk.
I belong to Sheri Candler’s ever-growing G+ Community, Independent Film Marketing, which currently at the time of writing this has 1,666 members.
This is a tremendous community, as Sheri constantly provides value after value to the community.
However, I notice over the months that there are only about 16 other active participants in the community.
These are members who post articles, further conversations with comments, and generally have a regular presence in the community.
16 ÷ 1,666 = .01%
1% of the community members are actively participating, so we can assume the remaining members are indeed lurkers?
Or, perhaps they sit back in awe of how much content Sheri submits on a regular basis and maybe don’t feel the need to contribute, or don’t feel like they can match the contribution?
SUNDANCE 2014
Speaking of Sheri Candler, she was recently interviewed by Craft Truck’s Business of Film Podcast for episode #21.
In the interview, Sheri points out that there were 12,218 films submitted to Sundance 2014, and only 121 films were selected.
121 ÷ 12,218 = .009%
That’s almost 1%!
So, it should be expected that you, as a filmmaker, have a 1% chance of getting into Sundance, or any other major film festival.
I recommend you checking out the entire podcast, as Sheri unloads some extremely valuable information.
Here’s the link to that podcast episode: Business of Film Podcast, Episode #21
THE ORGINAL 1%
In 1947, in response to reports of boozed-up bikers, the American Motorcyclists Association (AMA) assured worried citizens that 99% of its members were law-abiding citizens, thereby marginalizing the remaining “1%” as outlaws.
These original One-Percenters relished the branding of “outlaw” and could be identified by the infamous diamond tattoo or patch with the 1%er in the center.
You’ve heard the saying?
“It only takes a few bad apples to ruin it for the rest of us.”
Well, in this case it only took 1%.
THE NUMBER ONE IN NUMEROLOGY
The 1 is a doer, a powerful force that produces results and does not allow anything or anyone to limit its potential. The 1 is aggressive, a necessary energy for creating and producing. The 1 is always in the forefront: a spearpoint directing and leading others.
This could be true, in that if only 1% actively participate in any community, then they would be considered the “doers”.
I’m sure the wealthy 1% would love to rally around this concept from Numerologists.
However …
99% PRACTICE, 1% THEORY
Yoga is 99% practice, 1% theory was a favorite saying of Ashtanga Guru Pattabhi Jois. Jois was saying that it’s not that useful to sit around having philosophical discussions about how to become enlightened and the meaning of life. Instead, students should spend the majority of their time on doing the yoga asanas proscribed by the Ashtanga method.
This is almost in direct opposition to what Numerologist believe that the power of “1” represents.
For anyone who has tried Yoga can attest, there is no room for theory when you’re trying to pull your head through your crotch.
1% CONVERSION RATES
The conversion rate is the proportion of visits to a website who take action to go beyond a casual content view or website visit, as a result of subtle or direct requests from marketers, advertisers, and content creators.
As it pertains to sales, a conversion rate means you take the number of units you sell and divide that by the number of views from your ad, or the number of visitors that came to your website.
100 people saw your ad, or visited your site and only 1 person purchased the product, then …
1 ÷ 100 = .01% Conversion Rate
Believe it or not, getting a 1% conversion rate is quite common in any direct or email marketing campaign.
1% … Holy cow, that sounds miserable.
CROWDFUNDING CASE STUDY
I recently witnessed a crowd funding campaign where the producers were pre-selling their movie for about $10. They had a list of about 100,000 subscribers.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if you had all those 100,000 subscribers forked over $10? Or at least have 50,000 subscribers give you $10 a piece?
Interestingly enough, these producers only secured $2,500 in pre-sales.
$2,500 ÷ $10 = 250 subscribers
250 ÷ 100,000 = .0025% Conversion Rate
I believe the producers were aware of this conversion rate, as they did make their crowdfunding goal.
They didn’t allow themselves to get caught up in their large subscriber base and planned accordingly.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
If you send one-hundred people to your movie website and two people buy your movie, your conversion rate is two percent. This is profound. This is life changing for indie filmmakers!
Question: Why should filmmakers be enthusiastic about the internet marketing, nerd concept of conversion rates?
Answer: If you know your conversion rates, you can model and potentially project more accurate movie sales projections from day one.
I’m currently selling my uber-micro-budget film, THE CUBE, on Vimeo On Demand.
In sales terms, my unique selling proposition (USP) is that this feature film was made for $500 with no crew.
I was brilliant enough not to apply anything that the experts like Jason Brubaker and Sheri Candler have been evangelizing … which is to build your audience first!
I didn’t do that 
When you’re making a feature film made for so little … and doing so with no crew … well, you don’t think about building an audience for something that might blow. Haha.
So, I must sleep in the bed I made.
I’m building an audience from scratch, at the same time trying to see how many sales I can make with direct (self) distribution.
And guess what?
The 1% is real.
The first month my movie had a fairly good conversion rate of nearly 18%. But that has since dropped down to a more realistic 1% conversion rate.
At the time of writing this my trailer has been viewed 1,478 times. It’s only been available for sale for about a month and half now, so although 1,478 is not YouTube viral numbers, it’s not terrible for a $500 feature film.
Anyway, out of the 1,478 views, I made 32 sales.
32 ÷ 1,478 = .02% conversion rate
Wait! I did better than the 1% rate. Haha.
VOD SALES PROJECTIONS (This is the stuff you’ve been waiting for.)
The future of independent film distribution is no doubt Video On Demand (VOD), or Electronic Sell.
Through, or Streaming VOD, or whatever you want to refer to it as …
Bottom Line: How do you project your Return On Investment (ROI) with VOD?
I’m only taking the mantle from what Jason Brubaker has been evangelizing since 2010.
2010! That’s 4 years ago!
If you have a large subscriber base, or better yet, a large email list … you can plan on at least 1% of those subscribers to actually pay to watch your film.
Offering your film up as a $5 rental, you’re going to need a HUGE list in order to ensure that your 1% is worth anything.
Let’s see …
You hope to make $1 million profit with VOD sales?
You should account for the following as well:
- 30%-50% to pay to the platform (i.e. iTunes, Cable VOD, Hulu)
- Any percentage that would go to a sales agent, or digital distribution company
Let’s say we need to double our number in order to hit the $1 million mark …
You’ll need to make at least $2 million to make your goal.
Applying the 1% conversion rate rule:
$2,000,000 ÷ $5 = 400,000 customers
400,000 is 1% of 40 million. You would need to connect with 40 million customers!
40,000,000 … forty-millionnnnnn!
So, it should be your responsibility to tell investors that in order to make $1 million, you would have to show proof that you have connections with 40 million fans.
I’m not sure what kind of garage indie filmmakers can attain this kind of reach?
40 million is nearly twice as many subscribers that the top YouTube channel has garnered to date.
Speaking of YouTube …
There are about 600 channels with over a 1 million subscribers. (According to statsheep.com)
There are roughly 600 million channels on YouTube.
600 ÷ 600,000,000 = .000001%
Dang! I wonder if the lottery odds are better?
PERHAPS THE 1% IS A COSMIC CONSTANT
If 1% is a conservative expectation on any ROI with VOD, then indie producers will need to manage their expectations.
Film budgets will have to plummet even further …
I made a feature film for $500 … so we’re talking about budgets in that range.
And to clarify … this is the concept that a filmmaker can make a film and throw it up onto any one of the various VOD platforms and start selling it to audiences.
I’m not referring to all the various outlets that you can profit from your film license … but rather just a simple deduction.
If you are selling a film online for $5 per view, then how many sales do you need to make, say, a $1 million?
So, is 1% a cosmic constant?
Perhaps?
I wonder if the fight against the 1% who control 42% of the nation’s wealth is a losing battle?
Look at the wealth distribution from the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) …
About 95 percent of SAG members makes less than $100,000, and all but 1% make less than $250,000.
There seems to be a cosmic law of wealth that abides by the power of the 1%.
But I digress … Let’s move on!
FILMS RELEASED EVERY YEAR?
Chris Hyams, the founder of indie film distributor and film festival submission company, B-Side Entertainment, estimated that based on individual entries from the thousands of festivals that used B-Side’s Festival Genius software to manage their websites that as many as 50,000 films were produced in 2009 – a number that terrifies Hollywood big-wigs.
So, an estimated 50,000 films were made in 2009.
We have to assume that the number has increased significantly now it’s 2014.
In 2013, roughly about 684 films were released theatrically.
If we do a conservative estimate and add another 10,000 to the 50,000 number.
684 ÷ 60,000 = .01%
Round it up and you get 1%.
And of those 684 films, only 35 films cracked the $100 million mark.
35 ÷ 684 = .05%
Your chances are slightly higher of cracking the $100 million mark, if you have theatrical release, and are backed by a major studio, and have a plethora of marketing dollars behind you. Haha.
1,000 TRUE FANS
A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author – in other words, anyone producing works of art – needs to acquire only 1,000
True Fans to make a living.
If we independents are to sustain and thrive in this new world of filmmaking, then we may have no choice but to earn our 1,000 True Fans.
1,000 True Fans who are willing to pay us $100 every year until we die …
That’s pretty good money for the starving artist.
But in order to earn those 1,000 True Fans, we must garner at least 100,000 on our list.
1,000 ÷ 100,000 = .01%
In the end, you will have to offer such tremendous value to your 1,000 True Fans on an annual basis to warrant them to spend $100 on you … that I’m not sure peddling a $5 movie rental is going to be enough?
Remember, the producers with a 100,000 subscriber base?
They garnered the correct base number, but it’s obvious there is much more work to be done in order to earn the loyalty of the 1,000 True Fans who are willing to spend more than $5 on our work.
EMOTIONALLY IRRATIONAL
Remember, we are emotionally irrational human beings …
But all you need is that sliver of hope …
That you will be the one …
To overcome all odds to become part of the 1%.
Michael W. Dean - A Creative Role Model For The Rest Of Us...
You may not agree with Michael's political/social views (there are a few things that I bitterly disagree with him about), but you can't belittle his creative genius and tenacity. In short, this cat has guts, vision, and isn't afraid to express himself (and shouldn't those be the traits of any artist?):
Lebowski Fest: Jeff Bridges, Fans Celebrate Coen Bros. Film...
LOS ANGELES (AP) — There were bowling pins, bathrobes, white Russians, and even The Dude himself.
Fans of the Raymond Chandler-flavored film filled the Wiltern Theater in midtown Los Angeles to capacity for the annual celebration of the cult classic, which has been staged around the country since 2002. The two-day festival continues Saturday with a costumed bowling party.
"It's the people here that are so awesome," said Steve Lewis, a veteran of seven Lebowski Fests. "It's a community."
The 37-year-old made his own Army dog tags to meticulously recreate one of John Goodman's costumes from the film. Lewis traveled to festivals in New York and Louisville with his friend J.D. Lloyd, who searched eBay to find the exact sweater Bridges wears in the film. ("That's a real Pendleton," Lewis said. "That was expensive.") Lloyd has been to 11 Lebowski Fests and estimates he's seen the film more than 100 times.
Matt Goforth, a bartender working the event in costume, said he'd been looking forward to the shift for six months.
"First of all, I knew it was going to be a good crowd. Second of all, it's a fantastic movie. Thirdly, Jeff Bridges' band is amazing," Goforth said. "It's fun. I've had my picture taken maybe 35 times. It's just a great atmosphere."
The Wiltern Theater was decorated with inflatable bowling pins and the drink menu featured white Russians — renamed Wiltern Caucasians, perhaps in political protest — "made with Ralphs half-and -half." The film opens with the Dude writing a check for 69 cents to buy half-and-half from a Ralphs supermarket to make his favorite cocktail.
Minor stars from the film signed autographs in the lobby before appearing onstage. Among them was Luis Colina, a film editor who said he was working on the Coen brothers' 1994 film The Hudsucker Proxy when they decided to write him into Lebowski.Colina plays the angry Corvette owner who threatens to "kill" the Dude's car. Bridges and his band performed a 30-minute set that included songs from "Crazy Heart," the 2009 film for which he won the best actor Oscar. Kyle Gass, the other half of Jack Black's band, Tenacious D, opened the evening by singing tunes from "The Big Lebowski."
But fans were most rapt by the movie they'd all seen before. The night culminated with a screening, during which they shouted out some lines and applauded for others.
For Kim Hudson, who came across the movie by accident during a hung-over morning with her husband, Lebowski Fest is a chance to dress up and have fun with fellow fans. The 57-year-old wore a giant homemade hat that looked like a spread of bowling pins. A graphic artist helped her print the image onto foam board, which she hot-glued to a boy's bicycle helmet.
When asked how many times she's seen the film, she responded, "Drunk or sober?"
Connor Linnerooth traveled from North Dakota to celebrate his 20th birthday at Lebowski Fest. He wore a red bodysuit and carried oversized scissors like the Nihilist character that terrorizes the Dude in his dreams. Linnerooth even spoke in the character's accent during an interview.
"Lebowski, he is a very cool guy," he said. "I love the movie and I'm a big fan of it, and I really wanted to be around other people who are also big fans of the movie."
So what is it about this film that draws such a devoted following?
Mike Sullivan, a four-time festival-goer who says he's memorized the movie, has an idea.
"What you got here," he said, "is a bunch of pot-smoking hippies having a good time."
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lebowski-fest-jeff-bridges-fans-699136
Six Essential Websites for the No-Budget Film Editor...
Let’s face it. Being an independent filmmaker often means having to find unusual solutions to problems that most Hollywood filmmakers would just throw money at. You can’t turn around and hire a foley artist to replace those garbled or missing footsteps, or hire a 2nd unit cameraman to film a specific shot you missed, etc. In many cases, you are the one editing your film and so you’ve gotta figure out a way to make it right, and do it free or cheaply (and hopefully fast!)
In my continuing quest to seek out the best resources for post-production goodies that are 100% gratis, I’ve come across a few really helpful websites, for sound effects, footage and photos and even After Effects templates. Some websites/content creators have varying levels of fair use though, so please make sure to read how to properly credit the artist and artwork before you use any of these resources (stealing is bad!):
I’m so thankful to have discovered Freesound.org, a user-generated collection of audio samples all created under the Creative Commons license. I’ve used downloads from Freesound in just about every one of my films, sourcing all sorts of bizarre sound effects, from zombie snarls to body slams and footsteps, etc. You name it, they’ve probably got it. The quality of each sample varies depending on the creator, but more or less they are all top-notch quality and will add a great deal of production value to your project if used right.
I also appreciate the community that Freesound has fostered — creators enjoy seeing how their work has been used, and Freesound has even created a section of the site where users can connect and ask content creators to record something specific if you can’t find it in their database. One other really helpful thing is that with your (free) login you’re able to track every single file you’ve downloaded, and later export it into a handy list for easy importing into your credits.
All around a really fantastic website!
Videocopilot.net is mainly a commercial website for After Effects elements and packages, but what is most helpful for us no-budget filmmakers (and generous of them to offer) is their database of absolutely free downloadable After Effects template files:
http://www.videocopilot.net/blog/category/project_files/
The projects range from simple text-credit rolls to more involved photo slide shows and effects, and there are files for every version of AE, each super easy to use and customize. Their tutorials are also extremely helpful in situations where no template exists, but I visit most often for the free AE templates. (Honorable mention for additional free After Effects templates which I’ve used a few times.)
Another one of my go-to websites for random fair use footage and photos I can’t easily source elsewhere is Archive.org, aka “The Internet Archive,” which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded to build an Internet library, providing access to historical and cultural collections that exist digitally and have been made public and fair use.
The Archive includes so many varied collections of items and media (mostly vintage or pretty strange), from texts and audio files to movies and archived webpages, you could spend an entire day just perusing through. The best place for us filmmakers to start though is the Movies page. The Spotlight Film is always quite interesting – as of writing this article, they’re spotlighting a 1940s Russian science film titled Experiments in the Revival of Organisms. Creepy!
Also: the Prelinger Archives are great to dig through as well, and filled with all sorts of vintage commercials, instructional films and even some home movies.
Most people know Flickr for its photo-sharing capabilities but a partnership with the Creative Commons organization has also allowed photographers to make their photos public and available for commercial use by way of the Creative Commons license. It may seem time-consuming to have to search photos and then check each photo’s specific license, but Flickr has actually enhanced their Advanced Search tool to search only for photos “within Creative Commons-licensed content” that can be used commercially, or can be modified, adapted or built upon (or both), making it much easier to source photos you can legally use (as long as credited properly).
And don’t forget, the Getty Museum is now offering 4600 of their famous artworks to be downloaded in hi-resolution jpgs, for use in any way you see fit so long as you credit the original artist.
With all this free content, you could almost construct an entire film without ever leaving your editing suite (not that we suggest that). Happy editing!
http://filmmakermagazine.com/75699-essential-websites-for-the-no-budget-film-editor/#.U118RpUnKh0
How A New Generation Of Eco-Filmmakers Are Challenging Broadcasting Convention...
By Laura Sevier
It was the kind of recognition that gives all budding, low-budget, environmental filmmakers hope.
At Wildscreen's showy award ceremony for what some have dubbed the ‘Green Oscars' of the natural world, the most prestigious prize of all was won by Patrick Rouxel, a one-man-band from France who still considers himself an amateur.
The ceremony was the climax of Wildscreen Festival, the world's largest international wildlife and environmental film festival held in the Bristol in October 2010.
In a room packed with high achieving filmmakers and heavyweight broadcast execs, I watched Rouxel collect his ‘best in festival' WWF Golden Panda Award to rousing applause.
His winning film ‘Green', the story of a half-paralysed, rescued female orangutan in Indonesia, makes for moving viewing. The film cuts between the ape's final days lying on a mattress with an IV in her arm and shots of the beauty and destruction of the rainforest - in this case, the devastating impact of logging and land clearance for palm oil plantations.
Watching the 48-minute-long film, free to view at www.greenthefilm.com, it's hard to believe this beautifully shot and cleverly edited piece is the vision and product of one man.
‘I filmed it all myself and edited it on my Mac,' he explained at an earlier seminar. ‘I am completely independent, I'm not a professional and don't look for funds. It doesn't cost a lot of money to make a film if you do it on your own. All it takes is time. I'm not married and I don't have kids so I have a lot of time.' Fortunately for Rouxel, who used to work in special effects, he has friends in post-production who helped him out a little, mostly for free. But the real struggle is ‘getting it seen.'
He distributed the film freely on the internet and sent it to film festivals worldwide and has since won a string of awards and gained a distributor - although he says that ‘no conventional broadcasters want to screen it.'
Getting on the big screen
Rouxel's filmmaking method is inspiring but rare. Most filmmakers rely on significant investment to get their films made and securing this can take years.
The End of the Line director Rupert Murray tells me he is currently making a film about climate sceptics that he's finding difficult to fund. ‘TV funding is minimal so lots of people are finding funding through other means - NGOs, companies, organisations or private individuals. This is fine if the story chimes with the funder's ideology. But the trouble with a film about climate sceptics is that if we try and seek out funding everyone will have an idea about the line we take. It would compromise the impartiality.'
With The End of the Line he was more lucky - the film was funded initially by the Channel 4 British Documentary Film Foundation. It was a case of ‘hitting the right issue at the right time.' However, he says that if you want to make interesting films the reality is that you generally have to subsidise them whether they are fully funded or not. ‘Even if it's fully funded it doesn't necessarily mean you are. You have to create a system that works for you or find another way of making money that pays.' For a long time Murray had to do corporate films to pay for it - ‘one for a meal, one for the reel.'
Dan Stone, the filmmaker behind At the Edge of the World which chronicles the controversial Sea Shepherd Antarctic Campaign against a Japanese whaling fleet says that most of the film's costs were paid out of his own pocket. But the payoff is that ‘an environmental film has the opportunity to open people's eyes, to inspire an emotional investment in crucial issues. You hope that viewers will be motivated to do what they feel is right.'
Bright horizons
It's not all bleak for environmental or social action filmmakers. Murray points out that there hasn't been a reduction in the number of films being made. ‘Films get funded and people make them all the time.'
Specialist production companies do exist, like Participant Media in Los Angeles which finances, produces and distributes social action films and documentaries (‘quality entertainment about meaningful issues'). On its slate are Food Inc, An Inconvenient Truth and The Cove.
Murray's advice to filmmakers is ‘follow your passion and never give up.' He believes that if you think up ingenious ways to get cash, it helps you make ingenious films. And with independent funded films, you get to make the films you want...
Crowd Funding
Some radical filmmakers are bypassing the usual funding routes altogether and are finding creative ways to fund their films.
‘Filmmakers all feel the traditional funding sources are closing or drying up,' says Emily James, director of Just Do It, an independent production about climate activists in the UK. ‘You have to look at new moulds. Especially if the subject of your film doesn't fit into the editorial agendas of broadcasters or is unlikely to be a box office sell out.'
What's intriguing about Just Do It (now in post-production) is the crowd funding model the filmmakers are using to produce it. ‘The model aligns with the nature and object of the film which is about the power of groups, swarms and crowds,' says James.
The Age of Stupid used a similar crowd-funding model which allowed people to either invest in the film (a minimum of £5000) or donate.
With Just Do It, you can donate as little as £10 or up to £1000 and receive free tickets, signed DVDs and other rewards accordingly.
Just Do It are currently seeking funding for it's £20k in 20 days campaign, which ends Friday 29th October. Lush (the soap company) have agreed to match donations to Just Do It pound for pound, to reach a total of £20K over 20 days. Click here to get involved.
‘Just Do It isn't commercial and probably won't be profitable, but nonetheless needs to be made. We want this film to be seen by 1 Million people in 2011,' says James defiantly. The film will be released under a Creative Commons non-commercial license.
That way, the documentary is free of any commercial and editorial constraints and can be distributed anywhere, anyhow. The plan is to make it free via free internet downloads, ‘free-ish' DVDs, film festivals and guerrilla screenings.
Although people in the industry are starting to see crowd funding as ‘quite forward thinking', James warns that it's ‘very time consuming and won't necessarily work if a lot of projects do it as the novelty helps. You have to be really passionate about the subject of the film. It's not necessarily a model for how everything should be made.'
Getting seen
If making the film is one challenge, distributing and getting people to see it is another. ‘It's becoming more and more difficult to sell films to cinemas and broadcasters,' says Terry Stevens, on-line coordinator of Dogwoof, the ethically minded UK film distributor behind major environmental hits such as The Age of Stupid, Food Inc and The End of the Line.
Dogwoof, a social enterprise, works in innovative ways with filmmakers to get the films seen. ‘Every film we take on we back with a campaign that is integral to the film to try and tap into an audience as early as possible,' Steven says. To help the growth of this issue-led audience Dogwoof is launching its Good With Film site this November, an online interactive ‘hub' where you can find out more about the films, the issues and how to take action as well as book tickets or buy downloads and DVDs.
Dogwoof MD Andy Whittaker admits that focusing on social issue films is a risk but says, ‘we believe in these films and want them to reach as higher audience as possible.' To mitigate the risk, it selects sponsors (NGOs and brands) who fit with the film's message.
But the biggest challenge of all facing filmmakers (as if there weren't enough), according to Whittaker is ‘to make a good film that people will want to watch.'
http://www.theecologist.org/how_to_make_a_difference/culture_change/653933/how_a_new_generation_of_ecofilmmakers_are_ch
allenging_broadcasting_convention.html
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