7 Ways To Create A Film Career Brand Strategy...

By Elliot Grove

The great thing about working in the creative industries is you get to create a brand around yourself and what you do. Just like Sherlock Holmes wouldn’t have gotten too far without a strategy, so too your film career will hit a brick wall until you construct a plan of attack. You might be able to hoodwink a spy or two, or finesse a lucrative job, but you could awake one morning wondering how you had gotten from A – Z when really all you wanted to do was to go from A – B.

The strategy for your own personal brand works almost the same as the strategy for a COMPANY BRAND.

Brand strategy is how you communicate what it is you have to offer, be it goods or services. Creating a good, clear brand message creates what marketing people call ‘Brand Equity’ meaning how people perceive you and how much they can expect to pay for your services (ie: sound person, editor, designer) or for your movies.

Good brand strategies what separates great people or great companies from the mediocre. Any salesman worth their salary will tell you that creating a great brand strategy is much more an art than a science. In order to help you create your own brand properly that will guarantee you stay around for ages, or even 20 years like Raindance, let me outline 7 key ingredients to a successful brand strategy. My goal here is to give you some tips as smooth as Bond’s.

1. Your Brand Is Your Business Model

Here’s the urban myth: a brand is about logos, websites and ad copy. Not true. It’s all about how other people think of you and how they feel about you. The film industry is fiercely competitive. How you make people think about you first is the secret to getting ahead. and of course, when they think about you, how can you make sure that they are thinking positive things about you.

Part of this strategy is to analyze what it is that you do the best, or that you enjoy doing the most. Then make sure that this specialty is something you excel at, making everyone wanting your services.

For example:
Gibson sells guitars that are well designed and associated with a whole range of rock stars. Are they the best guitars on the market? Probably not. But people associate Gibson guitars with quality. This means they extend the brand beyond the actual product itself and people are willing to pay a premium. So too, Monty Python is the Rolls Royce of comedy and have created a global brand centred around their quirky comedy. A Monty Python joke, even if not particularly funny, becomes funnier because it’s got the brand behind it.

I learned this lesson last year when we decided to instigate a UK premiere policy for feature films. We noticed two things: Our submissions went up a huge amount. And when we accepted a film, the filmmakers considered a Raindance Film Festival screening had a great more kudos than previously. By valuing our own festival we made ourselves more valuable.

Also, don’t be too specific with your brand message. Volvo has ‘Safety’, Disney has “Magic” and Raindance “Discovery”. We know that Sherlock is always going to solve the crime, but he does it with flair, wit and style that is intriguing and captivating. Decide what it is you want to be known as. Then make sure it is carried through on all your messages.

You can use this same strategy yourself by making sure that your services are deemed to be rock-solid reliable and dependable. As a filmmaker, make sure that your movies are identifiable with a certain style or genre. For example, Both Morgan Spurlock and Michael Moore have created their own brands around their documentaries.

2. Be Consistent

You will find which keywords and values you want associated with your brand (about yourself). The next step is consistency. You need to make sure that everything that you put out about yourself is the same.

Start with what you say to colleagues and friends about yourself and what it is that you do. Be careful how you use your social media: that picture you upload to Facebook, or that newspaper article you tweeted show outsiders a lot about you, what you are thinking and how you react to the world around you. In other words, how your brand is perceived.

Have you merely sent out a link to an article you thought was amusing, but which has no direct link to you and your career branded goal? In this case, you might confuse your audience and dilute your brand. This can weaken the distinction between you and your competitors.

I am not trying and make you paranoid here and insisting that everything you do about yourself need to be sell sell sell. But if you weave synergistic stories and ideas into what you are going then onlookers will get a really good idea of what your values are, as well as how you deliver your services to the industry.

A consistent approach will help people distinguish you from your competitors.

3. Connect Emotionally

People can think of you in a rational way. People used to say of me: “He’s a good scenic artist. He’s fast.” And based on that ‘brand value’ I got work. The more powerful approach is to get people engaged emotionally with you. How do you make them feel? Are you reliable? Punctual? Honest etc. Are you a team player or not.

These types of emotions tie you into the person you are working for far more deeply, and make everyone feel like they are part of a family.

4. Cultivate Loyalty

If you already have a fan club, REWARD them. Make them feel important enough and they will become your brand ambassadors telling everyone how great you are.

Sometimes you can just say thank you. Successful brands go a step further. My friend film producer Richard Holmes always carried antique french postcards around with him. Bump into him at a gathering or on the street, exchange a few words and a day or two later one of these postcards would drop through the letterbox with a thank you written on the back.

You can never have enough fans or enough loyalty. Pay back as often and as much as you can.

5. Measure success

The best laid plans can end in a train smash. You and your success could become a victim of undeserved misfortune. You have to learn to reject rejection – it is a part of the creative industry’s life style. Use the powerful analytical tools available for free to measure the success and failures of your SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS. Learn to see what works so you can repeat it. See what fails so you can avoid repeating the same mistake in the future.

6. Be Flexible

One of the hallmarks of our new digital world is how fast it moves. Looking back at my life in 1992 when I started Raindance, branding and life seemed so much easier. I had an idea. I designed and printed a whole bunch of FLYERS. I delivered them door to door, and 3-4 days later I knew whether or not my idea was a success. Cheques and inquiries either flowed in through the letterbox, or they didn’t.

Today the reaction time between idea and result can come down to 20 minutes. If your Tweet or Facebook message yields results, you will know within minutes, not days.

Use this speed to your advantage. Withdraw unsuccessful messages and try a new one until you find the message that works. Are there new ways that you can engage your audience. Are there new tricks you can conjure up to get your potential clients and audience members connect with you?

7. Look over your shoulder

I’ve had to keep re-inventing Raindance over the years, while trying to keep the basic brand ie: the basic message the same. It’s been a tricky process and one that I haven’t always managed the best.

And like the movies, when you think it’s safe, suddenly you turn the corner only to discover brand new obstacles and potential misfortune lined up against you. In my case, it seems that every time I get a new strategy figured out, my competitors clone what I am doing, often doing it better than I was.

I used to find this disheartening and would indulge in some self pity about Raindance’s lack of funding and so forth.

I have come up with this strategy: One’s life work will always be full of competitors. I think one should look around every so often to see what the competition is up to. Rather than feeling threatened by the competition, why not see it as a sign of flattery and inspiration. Flattery because it proves that your ideas are sound. Inspiring because it can motivate and make you even better. Remember, what you do is unique and special. Keep highlighting your uniqueness and what it is that you can deliver that is different from the rest of the crowd.

Fade Out

The basic rule of branding is for you to create outstanding content. It’s as simple as that.

Why not develop a huge arsenal of superb content: your views on current affairs (newsjacking), great stories and blogs. Terrific photos, interesting interviews and so on.

http://www.raindance.org/7-ways-to-create-a-film-career-brand-strategy/

Basics Tips And Concepts To Keep In Mind As You Make Your Horror Film...

By V Renee

Horror is frequently celebrated as the movie genre that young, unexperienced filmmakers can cut their teeth on, because what’s a horror movie if not a sex and alcohol-fueled party with a bloodbath at the end, right? Well, horror is much more complicated than that, and scaring an audience that is only becoming more and more desensitized to gore and violence means we as filmmakers have to do our homework.Filmmaker Magazine shares some incredibly important aspects of horror, as well as a mental checklist of what filmmakers should be sure to include as they film their scary movies.

Fear and Society

First of all, if you’re making a scary movie, it is of the utmost importance to understand what scares people — and I’m not just talking about ghosts, clowns, or demons. I’m talking about something much more broad — fear on a collective, societal level. Studies on horror say that tragic world events spur on what people are afraid of. Take, for instance, the surge of atomic monsters from the 50s — a result of the collective fear of the atomic age. Or take Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Author Joe Bob Briggs offers an explanation as to why the film was so terrifying to so many people in his book Profoundly Disturbing: The Shocking Movies that Changed History: 

Chain Saw [sic] was the first baby-boomer shocker, in which pampered suburban children, distrustful of anyone older than thirty, are terrorized by the deformed adult world that dwells on the grungy side of the tracks – Chainsaw reflects the way the youth of the flower-power 60′s reacted once they hit the real world.

So, knowing what’s going on in the world, having an understanding of what the global, national, even personal concerns are will definitely help you decide the subject matter of your film. If you don’t have your finger on the pulse of humanity, you risk not scaring them.

Cinematic Techniques

Atmosphere: Creating an atmosphere in your horror film is absolutely essential. What you may lack in acting talent, bad audio, or a flawed story, you can potentially make up for with a really solid mood. Filmmaker Magazine says:

A good horror film has an underlying atmosphere, a moody visual undertone that creates a sense of dread, wonder and mystique and leaves us with snapshots of unforgettable imagery. This is well exemplified by foreign-language films like The Devil’s Backbone, The Orphanage, and Tale of Two Sisters (the original Korean version). These films rely more on isolation — both literally (through creative use of location) and figuratively (in the mind of the characters) — coupled with evocative cinematography and production design.

Suspense: Alfred Hitchcock is considered the Master of Suspense, and for good reason. Through the use of POV, camera angles, even the “MacGuffin“, Hitchcock lured his audience into the worlds of his characters, often forcing them to look through the eyes of the victim, or worse yet, the killer.

There are so many ways to add suspense to your film: the sound of a ticking clock/heartbeat/footsteps, ominous lighting, music, Dutch camera angles — building the audience’s expectations and either delivering in a powerful way, or go for the fake out (“Oh, it was just a cat,”) lull — and then BOOM! Jump scare: Axe to the face!

Jump Scare: This is one of those techniques that I personally would actually like to see less of in horror films. It’s not that it’s a bad tool to get your audiences hearts racing — it is. But, to me, there is a huge difference between being surprised or startled and actually, legitimately scared or horrified.

But, they’re an excellent technique (in moderation) that can help put your audience on the edge of their seat. The backbone of a good jump scare is punctuation — a loud and sudden bang, a flash of light, an element that becomes the focus of the shot through a cut or zoom. Here are a couple of examples of jump scares:

Study, study, study

There are so many dimensions of horror filmmaking, and becoming a student of horror will only better your chances of making a great horror film. Some of my favorite books on horror are Projected Fears: Horror Films and American Culture by Kendall R. Phillips and The Philosophy of Horror: Or, Paradoxes of the Heart by Noel Carroll. If you’re not big on reading, definitely study your favorite horror films. Specifically I’d take a closer look at Hitchcock’s films if nothing else than to get a sense of how to construct suspense.

http://nofilmschool.com/2013/10/tips-concepts-as-you-make-your-horror-flm/

12 Tips For Better Film Editing...

By Oliver Peters

I’m currently cutting a digital feature and this has made me think about editing styles. Here are an even dozen tips that I feel will make any budding film editor better at this craft. I’m sure not everyone will agree with all of these points, since they come out of my own approach and style. Nevertheless, I hope they offer some takeaway value for you.

1. Cut tight – The best editing approach is to cut tight scenes without becoming too “cutty”. This means taking out unnecessary pauses between actors’ delivery of dialogue lines. Sometimes it mean tightening the gaps within dialogue sentences through the use of carefully placed cutaways. It may also mean losing redundant lines of dialogue, after the director has reviewed your cut.

In general, my approach is to start with a cut that is precise from the beginning as opposed to cutting the first pass sloppy and then whittling down from there. Most basic films don’t support audience attentions for lengths over 90 minutes. If your first cut comes in at about 100 minutes, then you can typically get to 90 through further tightening of the cut. On the other hand, if it clocks in at two hours or longer, then major surgery is going to be needed.

2. Temp music – Many editors like working with temporary music as a placeholder. I advise against this for two reasons. First – people tend to fall in love with the temp score and then it’s hard to get real music that feels as good. Second – temp music becomes a crutch. You tend to be more forgiving of a weak scene when there’s interesting music than when the scene is naked. I prefer to cut a strong scene and make it work through editorial solutions. If a scene can stand on its own, then the addition of sound effects and a score will make it that much better. The exception is a visual montage set to music. Here, I tend to do better when I’m cutting to music rather than the other way around.

3. No Dragnet edits – The original Dragnet television series used a certain approach to cutting dialogue scenes. Audio and video edits tended to be made as straight cuts between the actors without any overlaps as they delivered their lines. It followed this formula: cut to actor A – deliver the line; cut to actor B – deliver the line; cut back to actor A and so on. Walter Murch refers to this as the Dragnet-style of editing. Our brains seem to react better to edits where the change in picture and sound is not always together. These are called split edits, L-cuts or J-cuts.

I suppose this more closely mimics real life, where we first hear someone start to talk and then turn our head to see them. Or one person is talking and we look over to our friend to see their reaction before they respond. Editing in a style where images often precede or follow the dialogue edit feel more natural to our minds and make the scene flow more smoothly.

4. Matching action – Matching actors’ hand positions, use of props, eyeline and stage position from one cut to another fall into the technical category of how to make a proper edit. Walter Murch offers a rule of six criteria that form reasons to make a cut at a given instance. The greatest weight is given to whether that cut drives the emotion of the scene or moves the story along. Technical matching is the least important concern. I’m not saying you should throw it out the window, because a mismatch that is too extreme can be very jarring to the audience. On the other hand, as an editor friend often tells me, “Matching is for sissies.” The audience will often ignore many minor continuity differences from one shot to the next if they stay totally engrossed in the story. Your job as the editor is to cut in such as way that they do.

5. Moving camera shots – Moving the camera around is a staple of action sequences. This might be a camera on a dolly, crane, Steadicam or just handheld. In an action scene, this is designed to create a level of tension. When I cut these shots together, I prefer to cut on movement, so that the camera is in constant motion from one shot to the next. Many directors and DP will disagree, preferring instead to start and stop each camera move before making the cut. Both approaches work under the right situations, but my tendency is to cut tighter and not let the audience’s eye rest on the set or a shot or a scene for too long, unless there is a reason to do so.

6. Don’t cut back to the exact same angle – If you have a choice of several camera angles, don’t automatically cut back to the same camera angle or take that you just used in the previous shot. This is, of course, unavoidable in a dialogue scene with only two angles and one take of each; but, if the director shot different takes with different framing, try to use a little of all of them. Don’t get stuck in a cutting rut, like master/single/reverse, master/single/reverse, etc. Mix it up.

7. B-roll shots in threes – When the scene calls for cutaway inserts, it feels right to use three on a row. Not a single shot, not two, but three. These should be at least 1.5-2 seconds long (or longer). An example might be when a character enters the room and looks around. The POV inserts work nicely in triplets and give the audience a good idea of the landscape that the character encounters. It mimics our real-world experience of moving our head around and seeing different aspects of the same surroundings.

8. Cut for the eyes – Actors that do well on TV and in films (as compared with the stage) are all very expressive with their face, but most importantly, their eyes. When I’m cutting an intense dialogue scene, I’m looking at how the actors’ eyes play in the scene. Do they convey the proper emotion? What is the reaction of the other actors in the scene? What the actors are or aren’t doing facially determines my cutting. It drives my decision to stick with the principal actor delivering the dialogue or whether I briefly cut away to see reactions from the others.

9. Pull the air out of actors’ performances – Going back to Item 1 – I like to cut tight. Recognize that many actors will overact. They will milk a scene for more than is appropriate. They will accentuate pauses, add more stumbles and stammers (where scripted) and give lengthy glances. Sometimes this works, but your job as the editor is to dial these back as you cut. Take these pauses out by cutting away and then back. Cut out redundant actions and line deliveries. Make it real, so it doesn’t feel like ACTING.

10. Shaping story – It is said that there are three films: the one that’s scripted, the one that’s been filmed and the one that’s edited. When you cut a feature, pay close attention to the story chronology and don’t be afraid to veer from what was written or filmed if it makes sense to do so. Many editors use note cards on a storyboard wall to create a quick visual representation of the storyline. This helps you make sure that you reveal things to the audience in the most logical order and that nothing is inadvertently edited out of place.

11. Digital aids – Modern NLEs and finishing techniques like digital intermediates offer a lot of tools that aid the filmmaker. For example, digital images are very tolerant of blow-ups. You can add camera zooms or blow-up a shot (creating a wide and a close-up from a single shot) with these tools. This is especially true if you shot on 35mm film or with the RED One camera, because the large image area of the film negative or camera sensor allows more overshoot space than HD cameras. Don’t be afraid to zoom in as long as the image quality holds up.

Many editors talk about using split screens for invisible edits. This is often done when the timing of the performance of two actors (such as in an over-the-shoulder shot or a two-shot) doesn’t quite match on the preferred take. Sometimes the original performance was right, but the pace of the scene has been picked up during the edit and now the timing of the two actors feels slow or late. If the camera is locked off and the overlap of their physical positions in the shot isn’t too complex, it’s a simple matter to create a new OTS shot. This would be a visual effects composite of these two actors with a slight offset in the timing of their performances.

12. Make your choices, but be prepared for others – Your job as the editor is to shape the story and the pacing of the film. First and foremost this means you are there to help the director realize his or her creative vision. But you were also hired for your own best instincts. Most editors finish a first cut without the director sitting over their shoulder. During that time is your initial chance at putting your own stamp on the film. When the first cut is completed, the director and editor work together to refine that cut into the director’s cut.

The choices you make in cutting tightly or altering an actor’s performance all factor into the look and feel of the film. For instance, you can heighten the tension between characters in a scene by cutting their dialogue in a way that one actor overlaps – or steps on – the other actor’s lines. This conveys a level of impatience that might not have been there in the way it was actually filmed. When you make such a choice, it alters the emotion of the scene and should be done only if that serves the story. Of course, you’ll only want to make this sort of edit if you have a logical reason for it, the director agrees with it and you have an alternate solution if the director disagrees.

I like to review the takes and make my own decisions about the best performances. On set, the director might have marked the third and fourth takes (out of four) as “circle takes”. I might actually like the front end of number one as the best way to start the scene, but then end on take four for the back half. I will frequently cut scenes that use a little of each take as I cut back and forth between actors’ dialogue lines. This will create the best composite performance of all the actors in a scene. When you do this, though, you should be prepared to defend what you liked about the choices you’ve made – and be prepared to change the scene back to something else.

Most directors aren’t going to review each and every take in the edit suite. They will react to your cut based on whether or not it works for them and whether or not they like the performances on screen. They will suggest changes and review one or two other takes to see if they really liked a different performance by the actor. The closer a scene is to one that feels polished and conveys the most believable job of acting, the more accepting a director will be of your cut.


http://digitalfilms.wordpress.com/2008/12/16/12-tips-for-better-film-editing/

Story & Heart Is Revolutionizing The Way We Think About Stock Footage...

By Robert Hardy

There are many ways for filmmakers to use their skills to generate income. You can move to a major filmmaking hub like New York, Los Angles, or Atlanta and cut your teeth in the world of features and television. You can shoot commercials and web videos for local businesses. You can shoot and edit weddings. You can even use your own short films and features and generate income through various online distribution outlets. And last but not least, you can sell stock footage. The only problem with the latter option is that most stock footage houses these days aren’t built with filmmakers in mind. Today marks the launch of Story & Heart, a new story-driven stock footage licensing hub and filmmaking community that tackles many of the issues with modern footage licensing head on. The result is a stock footage service that is unlike any other to come before it.

I recently talked with Justin DeMers, one of the co-founders of Story & Heart, about what sets the service apart from the myriad stock footage hubs that are operating today, why storytelling is more important than ever, and how Story & Heart is taking the concept of a global filmmaking community to the next level. But before we get to the interview, let’s take a look at the Story & Heart launch video.

No Film School (NFS): Justin, who are you, and what’s your background in filmmaking and storytelling? Fill us in on the journey that led you to starting Story & Heart.

JD: I’m Justin DeMers, a partner at Stillmotion and one of the co-founders at Story & Heart.

If memory serves me right, I’ve been an artist all my life. In high school I became fascinated by photography and the dark room, which led me to the University of Toronto to pursue a degree in photography and art history. And it was while I was in University that I met Patrick and Amina Moreau, who operatedStillmotion out of an old farmhouse in a vineyard. That was 8 years ago.

Long story short, they needed help for weddings, and like any University student, I needed money for tuition. So in between my own gigs, I would help them out. We built a really great relationship of trust and collaboration, knowing if we ever needed help we could count on each other.

It was only natural then, after graduating, that Patrick, Amina and I all huddled around an idea of a larger collaboration. Of creating a company that would bring each of our strengths and weaknesses into the fold to tell meaningful stories. A combination of my constant need for a “why” in all I do, with their background in psychology. Two years after meeting them the first time, we officially joined forces to create the modern day Stillmotion — a production company with a desire to tell meaningful stories.

Over the 6+ years I’ve been a partner at Stillmotion, I’ve gone on to become a DP, cinematographer, and educator. I’ve also been extremely fortunate to travel the world for various projects and workshops, and as a result, have met filmmakers from all different walks of life. It was in those conversations that the idea for Story & Heart flourished.

NFS: What is Story & Heart?

JD: Before we get to what Story & Heart is, let me share something it is not; just another generic footage licensing platform. What we are building has incredible value to filmmakers who want to be engaged in their industry, even those who haven’t had a keen interest in licensing their footage for one reason or another in the past.

“We all want to tell amazing stories. We want to move people. We want people to cry. To laugh. To think. To do. But we also share another common goal: we don’t want to do it alone.”

Story & Heart is an ecosystem — one part filmmaking community and one part stock footage licensing platform — built to help storytellers tell amazing stories. And like any good ecosystem, there are many different facets that build together to create Story & Heart. On one hand, very broadly, Story & Heart is a global community of like-minded filmmakers who’ve recognized the power that can come from working together to build filmmaking and storytelling into a greater version of itself. Whether it’s by making the stories we’re passionate about available for licensing, coming together to share knowledge and education, or just reaching out beyond our islands to refresh and reinvigorate our passion.

And this community, in turn, is supported by a licensing platform. By sharing these stories, our filmmakers are giving hours, days, or years, all their hopes and fears, and risks and successes, to share with the world. The authentic stories of the real world we all live in. Licensing helps to support these very real filmmakers, and support free access to this community we’re building.

NFS: Stock footage houses today are a dime a dozen, with new ones springing up all the time. How does Story & Heart differentiate itself from the pack? What does Story & Heart provide for the filmmaking and storytelling communities that can’t be found through other stock footage services?

JD: Right off the bat, we definitely didn’t spring up overnight. We’ve been in the filmmaking industry for almost a decade at Stillmotion. And on our journey we’ve had the opportunity to meet thousands of filmmakers who felt the same way we did of the existing stock footage platforms: distrustful and unenthused. Their purposes never aligned with ours, and it always seemed to come down to their bottom line, and only that.

So a thought became a vision. And right from the beginning those in our community stood together with us, and helped draw our vision into a clear roadmap. No one needs another stock footage platform. But like-minded and passionate filmmaker and storytellers definitely needed something. Beyond a licensing platform, we’re an ecosystem that supports our fellow storytellers. Because of this focus on helping storytellers, we are able to re-imagine the licensing perspective: everything from what stock footage is, to how it’s presented and found, to how it’s used.

Instead of looking at stock footage as one offs, or remnants from an old story, we look at it as an opportunity for filmmakers to tell a story they care about, one that they would put the same effort, if not more, into telling as they would a client gig.

Instead of looking at a licensing platform as just an opportunity for find footage, we look at it as an opportunity for one storyteller to help another storyteller—to collaborate with and lend your perspective to another’s story, while helping the filmmaker follow their passion for telling stories.

Instead of looking at search as being entirely focused on keywords, we look at it as an opportunity for storytellers to find purpose — to use our understanding of everything from camera stabilizers to how focal length combined with distance to your subject affects the feeling of your shot and provide story based filters.

Instead of looking at stock footage as being a last-ditch effort, or a sacrifice, we look at it as an opportunity for storytellers to find inspiration and to tell an amazing story — to feel proud that they have served their story the best way possible, and supported their own creative community in the process.

All of these combined makes for an experience that is drastically different from existing licensing platforms. When you land on Story & Heart’s licensing side of things, the first thing you’ll notice is we’re story-driven. While you can find individual clips, we serve them up inside chapters, which are part of larger stories. Amazing stories generally aren’t made up of disparate individual shots, they’re made up of sequences — blocks of story — each with beginnings, middles, and ends. We’ve taken the basic story structure and applied it to how we present footage on Story & Heart.

The next thing you’ll notice is how visually different our footage is compared to other platforms. Curation is a big part of what we do at S&H, with each clip going through at least 3 sets of eyes, including an individual pass to clean up any black frames, unnecessary shake, etc.

Bigger than that though, the footage you’re seeing on Story & Heart is crafted with heart — these are authentic stories our filmmakers care about. These aren’t one offs, with the best stuff only being used in the final project — these are the full stories.

And lastly, you’ll notice a very clean UX and simple licensing process. Stock footage licensing platforms don’t have to be so complicated or frustrating. We have streamlined everything about the process of finding footage, downloading HD sample files, to selecting which license is perfect for your project, with one goal in mind: to get you back doing what you love, which is telling stories.

NFS: How does Story & Heart compare to other stock footage sites in terms of how the business operates? What kind of commissions does the service take? Can filmmakers set prices for their own footage? Do you require that all footage be exclusive to Story & Heart, or can filmmakers sell to other stock footage services? Is there any other fine print that filmmakers should know about before applying to be a Story & Heart filmmaker?

JD: As filmmakers ourselves (this is a common theme at S&H), it was incredibly important for us to ensure we’re doing right by our community, first and foremost. Filmmakers aren’t contributors, and we will never call them as such. They are real people who are offering to share their vision of the world to raise the tide of stories together. And those who might license these stories are an integral part of the community as well.

It’s just a matter of respect then, when it comes down to it. Operate S&H with great respect to everyone who comes together to be a part of this.

Every license sold pays the filmmaker a 50% royalty, which as it stands currently, is much higher than many of the existing platforms. It just made sense though, we’re all in this together in equal measure. Additionally, for filmmakers who are active in the S&H Community — those who go above and beyond to help others out, answer questions when they can, are active in sharing stories on the platform — receive a higher royalty split. It’s just one of the ways we recognize those who truly help build the community.

And our platform is exclusive, which means filmmakers (not just the stories they share) who are part of S&H are not part of any other licensing platform. And we get it, exclusivity can sometimes be a heavy word. Really though, it just means that each filmmaker who licenses their footage on S&H is supporting the ecosystem, while helping storytellers tell amazing stories. It makes for a safe environment where everyone shares a common bond and desire to help each other out.

“Every license sold pays the filmmaker a 50% royalty, which as it stands currently, is much higher than many of the existing platforms. It just made sense though, we’re all in this together in equal measure.”

Another big note is the actual backend systems for the filmmakers. Without getting into the nitty-gritty details, we really took into consideration the common denominator all filmmakers share: they’re busy. When it comes to licensing, there are quite a few aspects that are important and necessary, but knowing how little “free” time filmmakers have, it was vital for us to build a framework that was fast and effortless. From uploading stories, to tagging, to organization, to communication with our team — our platform is custom-built from the ground up with the focus on getting filmmakers back to doing what they love: telling stories.

NFS: There seem to be a lot of people and companies marketing themselves as “storytellers” these days, regardless of whether or not they actually tell stories. We all saw the “You Are Not a Storyteller” Video that made its way around the internet last week. First of all, is there some kind of storytelling fad going on? Or could it be that people are collectively starting to realize the cultural and societal importance of story and narrative? Or maybe some combination thereof? Do you think there’s a reason that the notion of being a “storyteller” is such a popular one these days? Is the popularity of storytelling — even if that storytelling is shallow or disingenuous — necessarily a good or bad thing?

JD: We fly the flag of being the world’s first story-driven licensing platform proudly. Not because story is a buzzword, but because we believe in the power of story — from winning multiple Emmy Awards, to producing our own feature length documentary #standwithme, to telling moving wedding films — we have seen first hand the ability for a well-told story to move mountains, inspire change, and generally make the world a better place.

Ultimately, I feel everyone is a storyteller, and every conversation and interaction is a chance to tell a story. Once you understand this, and more importantly, the rules for what makes a great story (even at the basic 3 act structure level), you realize just how much power that has over people innately — we all want to tell and be a part of great stories. I think this realization is why we’re seeing a shift in everyone from content marketers to roller coaster designers calling themselves storytellers.

For a content marketer, you’re seeing a shift in blog post format to follow more of a story structure. Hook the viewer (which starts right at the headline in most cases), provide a middle that creates enough forward movement to get to readers the end, and then offer a resolution that delivers on the promise of the hook.

For a roller coaster designer, you see this all the time with the biggest and baddest drop being the first thing on the ride. You could argue it’s there for physics and for speed (and I’m the first to admit I’m not a science guy), but I also think if you look at most great roller coasters, they all follow a basic story structure: 1 big drop at the start, a middle that carries you through to the climax, and then another big drop near the end. After you’ve gotten off the ride, you remember the big drops at the beginning and end, but not so much of the middle—the same for most great films.

Where the frustration in the word “storyteller” or “story” may reside is when it’s used for bad or ill-intent, or even no intent at all. The timely example right now are link bait headlines. I don’t think people would be so frustrated with those types of headlines if they didn’t fall short in the rest of the article/video — if they actually followed the structure of what makes a great story they would deliver on their promise and people would be more open to them. I would guess it’s partly why Upworthy has been so successful — the combination of a strong hook paired with content that delivers on the promise — it begs to be shared with others.

At Story & Heart, we choose to use our love of story for good, which carries through everything we do. Telling amazing stories that inspire in some way, at least a little, the positive in us all. One way we’re doing this right now, for example, is Storytelling Parade, a filmmaking contest we’re running with an objective to bring as many inspiring stories to light as we can by sharing with filmmakers the ins and outs of telling such a story. Stories of people making the world a better place. The education is entirely free and there is up to $100k in filmmaking prizes available — all with a goal to show the world how our fellow filmmakers, when we come together, can create incredible movements through the inspiring stories we can share.

Back to your original question though. I think the word “storyteller” itself may come and go from websites and business cards, but at the core, and since the beginning of time, humans are storytellers. It’s how we make sense of our existence, and equally as important, how we pass on legacy to those who follow us. So in that regard, I don’t think it’s going away anytime soon.

NFS: Talk about the community aspects of Story & Heart. What are you ultimately trying to build, and what is the roadmap for getting to that place?

JD: The Story & Heart Community is a home for filmmakers to collaborate with, learn from, and be encouraged by other filmmakers from around the globe. Being a filmmaker is tough, and it’s often isolating. Apart from a couple of conferences a year, and if you’re fortunate to have projects that have budgets for teams, you’re often alone or around the same few creatives day after day. It’s a difficult career to sustain and be happy long term. Our goal is to make that easier by bringing like-minded filmmakers together to collaborate on ideas and projects, share in each others experiences and knowledge, and to have a support system that genuinely cares about you. Both online and offline, and all of the various ways we can come together.

Tangibly, some examples are the collaborative initiatives like what we did this past March for CBS and March Madness where we brought together teams from all over the US to tell the stories of March Madness and The Final Four, both of which aired on CBS. It meant filmmakers who had never been a part of creating content for broadcast TV had the opportunity to join other filmmakers who had. We had filmmakers collaborating with each other, learning new gear, understanding the dynamics of a broadcast production, all the while working alongside Emmy-Award winning producers, directors, and DPs. And to top it off, each filmmaker can now say their work was featured on broadcast TV.

It’s also educational initiatives like Tell Amazing Stories, our 4 week course that just wrapped. Brought to you by Stillmotion, Gnarly Bay, Joe Simon, Ryan Booth, and Matt Brue, one studio a week shared what goes into creating amazing stories from start to finish, both in the form of an eBook and a live 2 hour webinar. After each week, we’d all go out and tell a story together, including the educators, and put together a collaborative film.

“I think the word 'storyteller' itself may come and go from websites and business cards, but at the core, and since the beginning of time, humans are storytellers. It’s how we make sense of our existence, and equally as important, how we pass on legacy to those who follow us.”

And lastly, it’s our platform initiatives where you can engage meaningfully with other filmmakers the world over in a safe and protected environment. This is just the start for what we have planned in our pursuit to make being a filmmaker easier and more fun. For filmmakers who want to get a sense of what this all means, check out Storytelling Parade, our filmmaking contest with heart. During these 7 weeks you’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with other filmmakers, take part in free education from Stillmotion, and do good with your craft.

NFS: Does Story & Heart provide benefits for filmmakers beyond just being able to sell stock footage?

It is our goal that by becoming a Story & Heart filmmaker you not only open yourself up to a passive income stream by licensing your footage, but far bigger than that, you become a stronger filmmaker while having a ton of fun in the process.

You will leap years in your career in a short amount of time by engaging with other filmmakers who were in your shoes at one point. You will be able to shift away from being just work-for-hire. You will meet other passionate filmmakers from your city and around the globe. You’ll take part in collaborative projects. You’ll tell only the stories you care about. You’ll find a renewed sense of purpose day after day. And again, you will have a blast in the process.

NFS: You share a common thread with Stillmotion in terms of the core principles and guiding values of the businesses, and it seems like Stillmotion has been instrumental in helping Story & Heart get off the ground. Where does Stillmotion come into all of this? What role did they play in the creation and evolution of Story & Heart, and what role will they play going forward?

JD: Story & Heart is born out of a common goal that we at Stillmotion, and all of the thousands of filmmakers from around the world that we’ve met over the last decade, share: we all want to tell amazing stories. We want to move people. We want people to cry. To laugh. To Think. To do. But we also share another common goal: we don’t want to do it alone.

It took us about a year to go from idea to fully realized plan, and then another year to go from plan to where we are now. And while Stillmotion played a huge part, we were constantly working together with other filmmakers in the industry. Everyone is so uniquely different — from their strengths and weaknesses to the stories that drive them. Having our community come together right at the beginning built us to where we are now. And now that our community keeps growing larger, we’re excited about the impact we’ll have moving forward.

NFS: What are the various ways that people can get involved and become part of the Story & Heart community? What is the process for becoming a Story & Heart filmmaker? Can anybody do it, or are there restrictions on who can sell footage?

JD: Because of the multi-faceted nature of Story & Heart, becoming a filmmaker and community member isn’t a matter of a few clicks of the button. In fact, becoming a Story & Heart filmmaker happens well before any application process. We’d encourage filmmakers to become an active part of their own community and tell the stories they are passionate about in the first place. For those that are driven by this idea of being a part of and sharing something beyond their own islands, the processing of becoming a Story & Heart filmmaker then is second nature. For those just learning to takes steps off their own islands, it might take a little extra.

So, in order to create that safe environment for filmmakers of all levels, it is very important to us that those that come together have a very balanced give and take relationship with the community. The official Story & Heart process then begins with an in-depth application. Beyond just a portfolio of work, we’re most interested in the story behind the filmmaker, making sure we’re the right fit to help each other and Story & Heart thrive.

For filmmakers who are accepted, we work really closely with them on an ongoing basis both in terms of community involvement and licensing. There are no restrictions for filmmakers, other than being actively involved in both helping others in the community and sharing stories for licensing to sustain the platform.

NFS: Is there anything else that you would like to share with the NFS community?

JD: We are completely excited to take what we’ve built and finally start sharing this with the world. We’ve put a ton of heart into this, and would love to ask for your help. If the licensing side of things is something that might help ignite your own stories, please check it out and help support our filmmakers. Share it with a friend. Or many friends. And likewise, if you’re a filmmaker and our vision resonates in harmony with yours, reach out. Reach out to chat. Reach out to apply. Reach out to become a part of this great community. We’re taking our first steps into the world and are totally excited to meet you!

And lastly, join us in the Storytelling Parade. Shine a light on an inspiring story. Let’s show the world the magic that happens when we all work together.

http://nofilmschool.com/2014/08/story-and-heart-revolutionizing-stock-footage-interview/#more-87181