guerrilla filmmaking 101.pdf

7/27/2019 Guerrilla Filmmaking 101.pdf

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Guerrilla Filmmaking 101

First in a series of articles to guide independent filmmakers

without studio backing to a successful completion of their film.

1. Motivation2. Budgets & Breakdowns

3. Producer Stuff4. Editing & Actors5. Festivals & Distributors6. Clean Up7. Dealing With Agents8. Production Checklist9. Digital

MOTIVATION

Why are you doing this? That simple question that I felt I had

to answer time and time again after committing all my resources,

time, energy and money to a project I didn't feel was

'commercial', and had absolutely no name talent attached was one

that kept popping up repeatedly. The answer was very simple; Ihadto do it. I had a great script, great actors, I happened to

have maybe enough money and I thought maybe, if I'm lucky, this

has the potential to be a great film. The idea that it would

make money never affected my decision to proceed with the film,

and once committed finishing was not a question of "if", just"when". I thought it would be a great film. That question still

looms in front of every one of my projects; 'Why am I doing

this?', and, more frequently these days, 'If this was my money

that I'm spending, would I still do this film?' If the answer is

no, the answer is no.

If you are considering taking your first plunge into no-budget,

self-financed filmmaking and believe you have a great scriptthat you have to shoot, do yourself an enormous favor and

honestly answer that question before you start. If you are sick

of waiting for someone else's money to arrive on your doorstepbefore you shoot your first film and are financing it from

whatever means available to you, it's a question that could mean

everything to the bankruptcy judge at your hearing. Filmmaking

this way can literally ruin your life if you walk into it

believing that you're a great filmmaker and you can make all

your money back on 'the other end.'


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DILETTANTE'S

On the other hand, there are dilettante's bumping into each

other all over LA bitching and moaning about a measly "million

for my first feature" that will never make a film, and are

motivated by money no matter how well they play the part of theauteur. They should be doing music video's, or move back home,

or become bitter studio executives that churn out the kind of

stuff that, well, studio executives churn out. What should

concern you is the amount of filmmakers walking around town with

sixty seven 5 year old cans of film in their closet for the film

they can't complete because "insert reason/excuse here".

If you believe your script is commercial, has the potential tobe a big commercial hit, do not spend your own money to do it

unless you can afford to lose it. You might be right about it

being a hit, but the odds are against you. I suggest asking

yourself the same question and if the answer is money, your

motivation is a common one, and best of luck. I suggest an

action film, or porn, or violence. That 'product' always sells.

(see article on the 1998 AFM ) For the rest of us working infilm, your medium of choice is a veryexpensive one, and I

believe one of the most powerful mediums available to artist's.

But you know that. Or at least you should know that.

If you've never made a film before, never been on a set before,

never worked with actors or a crew before, never run an inch of

film through a film camera before and have never thought of the

visual elements of each one of your shots before, or ever made aschedule, budget or broken down a script before, or even if you

have, Guerrilla Filmmaking 101 should be able to help you get

started in a direction that will allow you to complete your

film.

Ok, now, you've made the decision, your answer satisfies you

that if no one ever sees the film you still know it will be a

great film, and you believe your script is ready to shoot,you're probably wrong.

FEEDBACK

If you are the only person that believes your script is great,

you've got a problem. Your next step is to get somebody else on

your side, preferably someone that can help you with production,

but getting actors involved is a very good thing. Pass yourscript out to a few people you trust that will give you honest

feedback. Not what you want to hear, but a biased/unbiased


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opinion. That's usually honest feedback. If you're not making a

narrative film, write down your idea for the film in a way that

someone else can understand, and get a feel for what you intend

the film to be. Listen to what people say, and that's a very

hard thing to do. If they don't 'get it,' that's your problem,

not theirs. Communication for the filmmaker is everything.Whether it's to the crew, actors or your uncle with the money, a

director without communication skills is in a lot of trouble.

And at the script level, the start of your film, it's the key to

your film being what you want. Have a read-through of your

script, get the key characters in whatever scenes you think you

would like to hear or you think might have a problem, find some

actors or friends or relatives that are interested, get them

together in one room and have them read the scenes for you out

loud. It's always better to find willing participants that can

invest your characters with whatever direction you can givethem.

The easy stuff.

Does the scene work? Do any of the lines you've written sound

plausible coming out of the mouth's of real people? Are the

parts so idiosyncratic/difficult/impossible that you need

Brando/Branagh/Olivier for the part? Those are the easy

questions, the one's a first time writer needs to know about

what he's done from the perspective of voices outside his own

subconscious. The hard questions still come back to haunt you,

and still ring back to the first question. What do these

characters mean to you? Is there any truth in what they say ordo? How do you know? What is this film about and do I haveanything to contribute to the lexicon? Why am I doing this?

What Is This Film About?

Possibly the most important question for a filmmaker is the one

that sounds the most mundane: What is this film about? I have a

friend that will probably get the money for his first film and

when I asked him what the film was about, he started telling me

the story. That's not what your film is about, that's the story.

What is it you have to say? What is the film about from thefilmmakers perspective, not the writers? The story may be about

a used car salesman who murders some customers, but the film is

about father figures, last chances, extended families and

redemption. This is not a slight distinction, if you're just

filming the action of the script, then you really have nothing

to contribute and should question your reason for doing it.

Tough love bubba, the audience for impotent filmmakers doing


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what hollywood does every day is thankfully growing smaller veryquickly.

Okay. That's lesson one. Cheap, difficult, but absolutely

necessary. Finish the script, answer the question, get feedbackfrom people you trust, do a read-through, answer the question.

If you're satisfied with your answers, the next step should be

easy.


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you will get many earnest actors that will want to work on your

film. You might also want to try the internet, contacting

agents and breakdown services by email across the country, butmake it clear about the money, and if you are paying or not.

What many filmmakers do is divide the deluge of photo's andresume's into 3 stacks; Right type and experience: Wrong typebut interesting: Hopeless.

Read the resume's and see what kind of experience, stage or

film, the actors your're considering have had. A stage actor

with no camera experience might be tough for a low budget

production, but don't count them out, very often it is a naturalprogression.

Give your actors 'sides' to read a day or more ahead of the

reading, give them time to prepare and give you the best they've

got. 'Sides' is a theater term from Shakespearean era named

because the writers, in order that their plays could not be

stolen, very often only gave their actors their dialogue, so

they only had one side of a scene. 'Sides.' Naturally you don't

want to do that, but pick an appropriate scene so you can seewhat they've got in terms of the character.

Give them any direction they ask for, but don't offer any, this

gives you a chance to see if they come to a part with what youwant.

Callbacks - call back the actors you would like to read again,give them as much direction as they want, and, I suggest

recording the reading on videotape. You might be surprised how

differently an actor comes across on screen. Ask your actor if

he would like to improvise something about the part and see what

they come up with. Don't try to stick to 'type', just look for

a good actor. I've had actors blow my socks off that were just

not right for the part, and I couldn't wait to get them in myfilm.

So, now it's cast, can you really do this? Your first step in

answering that question is "exactly how much money do I have?"Not how much you think will come in, and if Bob comes through

with..., or that darn genius grant should come through by... How

much money and credit do you have to spend, now?

Don't ever rely on anyone else to help you with financing, don't

believe anyone will ever come through with money to help you,

what you have is your budget and that's it. People, investors,


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friends, all the hangers on have nothing invested in your film

like you do, and life for them changes as rapidly as yours does.

When an investors check clears the bank and you've actually

spent the money, then it's part of your budget, not before. The

best intentions will not pay the lab that's holding your

negative because you can't pay the processing fee because cousinBob's tractor conked out and he had to buy a new one "sorry I

didn't call." Even though most reputable labs will work with you

if you've established a relationship, you have to assume; THELAB DOES NOT CARE.

SCRIPT BREAKDOWN

Now, you've amassed your fortune, whatever else comes, comes,

but you know what you have, on paper. Your next step is to

figure out how much this will cost, and the first way to do that

is to break down your script. A script breakdown is exactly what

it sounds like, each scene is broken down into all the elements

that will go into it. Even though you will probably be stealing

all your locations, and using whatever happens to be on the wall

as set decoration, you must break down your script in all the

elements to find out what you will have to pay for, or will haveto find for free, and when it has to be where at what time.

A common way to do this for filmmakers without high end

scheduling programs is to get a number of colored pencils, make

a key on the first page that tells you exactly what each color

is for, and go through the entire script, scene by scene, and

highlight each one of the elements in the appropriate color.Locations, vehicles,SFX , stunts ,wardrobe ,props ,setdressing , cast members for each scene, camera equipment -

everything that you will need to complete the scene must be partof your breakdown. For example:

EXT. DESERT- DAY

Standing in thebleak desert sun , Bob looks up and seesvultures circling overhead.Hearing a sound, he turns assuddenly a team of actors from babewatchdrive by in a62Volkswagen with flat tires.A MAN approaches from behind, pulls

an enormous gun from hiswaistbandand just as Bob is about tospeak,pulls the triggerand.....

With the exception of 'vultures circling' you will need to bring

everything to that location, including actors from babewatch,

man, crew, Volkswagen, flat tires, and find a desert location

that suits your shooting arrangements. You'll be lucky to get

vultures circling, but you won't have to worry about it on the


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day of the shoot, it's something that could be a separate shot

without sound and no actors. You have to know this and plan for

it, but mostly, at this stage, how much will it cost? It's also

wise after you've made a complete breakdown to allow a page for

each scene, with all it's elements, bind it and keep it with

you, or at least somewhere on the set.

Okay, now, you've got this enormous list of stuff to acquire for

your film. Go through it carefully and decide what is absolutely

necessary, what you can get for free, and what you can get rid

of that's extraneous to the script, story or character. Once you

have it pared down as far as you think you possibly can, up pops

another question.

FINAL DESTINATION

Where do you intend the final destination of your film? It makes

an enormous difference in the amount you will need to finish

your film. Most distributors will not look at unfinished films

these days, and the likelihood of getting finishing funds from

an organization or a distributor is not good, nor should you

plan on it. If you intend your film to be seen on the screen,

not on tape, you should now start making your budget, from the

screen out, all the way to buying your first roll of film. You

know you want your film to be on the screen, an A/B answer print

costs X per foot at the lab, your script is 120 pages long and

you expect it to be about 2 hours in length finished, that's

12,000 feet of film (35mm - 4,000 16mm) at X per foot for the

answer print, plus X per foot for the optical track, plus X perfoot for wastage and lab work, plus X per foot for the sound

mix, plus X for cutting the negative, plus X per foot for the

work print/transfer to video, plus cost of editing, plus X per

foot to process the film, plus X per foot to buy the film at a

shooting ratio of X, plus cost of audio tape stock, plus camera,

sound, equipment rental, plus location-wardrobe etc. either

rental/buy, plus whatever transportation costs, plus food for

actors and crew - now do you see why a break down is soimportant?

PLAN FOR WHAT YOU CAN PLAN FOR

You may be able to eliminate a lot of things as your productionmoves forward, but you have to plan for the things you can plan

for, like processing, gas, prints-the essentials of getting your

film finished to where you would like it to be seen. I recommendplanning for at least a 1st answer print (a 1st answer print is

the first exposure and color-corrected print back from the cut


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negative, a "timer" does this in the lab, scene by scene on

rewinds), when you get it to the point where you might want

people to see it, film festivals and markets are not interested

in your good intentions, they need to see reels of film in their

projectors, not your Avid output. Showing your film in the best

light is important, plan for it, which means budget for it. It'snot impossible to get post production financing, but it is

improbable considering the amount of films being produced these

days.

So, how's the budget now? Look a lot more bloated than you

thought? You've just begun. Now you know the listed prices for

everything, and have based your budget around them and

discovered you don't have the money. Before you do anything else

I suggest you evaluate your script and your budget in the harsh

light of day. If you've written a script that demands so much

production, and locations, and travel and "insert reason here"

it couldn't possibly be done for the amount of money you have,DON'T DO IT. Get real, if you're a guerrilla filmmaker with next

to nothing you have to know that your script can't include

travel to Colorado for that shot, or even across town, unless of

course you can or have it for free. The money you have is your

budget for everything. Maybe you need to write a script with all

this in mind that you can shoot, then start from scratch again.I can't stress that enough, if your budget is so far away fromwhat you have, DON'T START THIS FILM.

BECOME A PRODUCER

Ok, now, your budget is too big but it's in sight, not so far

off you can't see the end, but still too far away to start. Now

what? Now you pick up the phone and become a producer: ask for

deals. It's that simple, and that complicated. Being a good

producer is not an easy job, you must ask business and labor forthings they don't want to give you, but you must have to finish

your film. How do I choose a lab? How do I get a crew? How much

crew do I need? What about Cameras? Non-linear or flatbed?

..........etc.


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PRODUCER STUFF

Recently I sent a much less experienced producer than I a very

well written and received script of mine. This 1 film producer

said to me, "as Mozart said in Amadeus, 'too many notes'." Heh

heh. While I did not point out to her that was made up by awriter for the character of a dull witted dilettante German

prince speaking to Mozart, who responded, "There are just as

many notes as are needed.", I did say thank you for the kindwords and wished her luck, to which she responded by saying I

couldn't take criticism, and laid a few clich's on me.

A famous screenwriter told me a long time ago, "a good producer

will say "not for me, but thanks." A bad producer will tell you

what's wrong, how to rewrite it and when to send it back to

them." There is a lot of ego tied up in filmmaking, trust your

instincts and forget destructive comments from small people, butremain open to constructive criticism. Sometimes that's not easyto do.

Dont' Lie.

If you have to be your own producer you'll be entering a

schizophrenic arena in which most of your time will be spent as

producer, and the rest as director or whatever job you're doing

at the moment. People speak to 'Producers' differently than they

do 'Directors.' I imagine it's because they believe the producer

has control of the money, and more power. You can use this to

your advantage, I don't tell people I'm also directing unless I

will be directly involved with them on the set, or unless they

ask. I don't lie to people I want to work with either as

producer, or filmmaker.

As the producer of your film you have to decide that you want to

remain doing business with all the people you talk to who have

anything to do with your film, and, maybe just as important,your next film. Just because you don't care if you everhave a

big budget, the incentive for labs, crews, negative cutters, and

all the people concerned with your film is the prospect of you

being "the next big thing," or just having a big budget for yournext film that you will bring back to the lab/negative

cutter/editing house/transfer house - and all the productionpersonnel associated with your film.

Don't lie.


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Everybodyhas heard your bull before, and if they haven't and

you "fool" them, they will feel like you've cheated them or

insulted them and they won't have anything to do with you, orworse, they will try to do your film, or your next film some

harm. It happens. Some people will feel like that anyway even on

the biggest films. I suggest keeping your conscience clear. Assoon as I hear some lame bull from weenie #16 I either hang up

the phone or say no thanks. When I'm working on someone else's

film in a crew capacity it's for money, like being a waiter.

Would you ask an actor to wait on tables for free? Tell people

what you're doing, what you've got to do it with (money), let

them know the story and try to get them involved in the process.

That's not always easy, but not impossible.

CASTING THE CREW

If you get people to help that know what they are doing, get

them for next to, or nothing, count your blessings. Competent

production people move up quickly and have no reason to work onyour film if there is no money.

What would you do for no money 10-15 hours a day? Why shouldthey?

Well, maybe because they need a credit as (?) on the next rung

up whatever ladder they are climbing. A 1st assistant camera

person as your director of photo, a boom person as your mixer,

or, maybe the intangible; they think you have a great script and

their work will be seen by a lot of people. Any of thosecombinations are incentives for production people to work on

your film for nothing, or for very little. I hand everyone the

script on all my films and tell them exactly what I have, and

let them make the decision based on that. I've made some

terrible mistakes which I'll get into later. Keep in mind, noone, absolutely no one will have the same energy for your filmthat you will , no matter what they say, promise or invest.

HOW MUCH CREW?

Deciding on how much crew you need is a matter of goingcarefully over your breakdown to see what kind of production

equipment you'll need, and who knows how to use it. If you're

guerrilla filmmaking you'll need a camera and sound, and if you

don't know how to use the camera, add a director of photo.

Production value is what you can steal in the way of images and

locations, which certainly dictate how fast you'll have to

shoot, and how big of a crew you can have. I would count on


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scratch it or any number of completion-threatening disasters.

Talk to the salesmen at all the labs before you decide the list

price at Bottom Bucket Labs is the only thing you can afford.

Talk to the lab, try to make deals with them, be creative, but

don't lie. Remember, they have your negative.

Some of the things to consider when picking the lab are:

1. Do they replenish or dump chemistry and at what temperature?

2. Do they have a screening room and if they do, is there a

charge?

3. What have they done before and have you seen it?

4. Will they pick up for free?

5. How fast do they process and print (if you need it).

6. Do they do film transfers to tape and if they do both the

processing and transfer can you get a better deal?

A lot of low end labs will process your film for next to

nothing, but they use dump chemistry system of replenishing,

which simply means that after X amount of footage the chemistry

is exhausted and they dump it and put in new. If you happen to

be at the head of that schedule, you're probably fine, if not,

you're in terrible shape. Guess where they'll put your no-profit

film? Also find out the optimum temperature for processing

(usually 68 degrees) and find out what temperature the lab

processes film, hot chemistry means shorter process time andthey can process more film in a day. It also means a lot,A LOT

more grain on your film, DON'T DO IT. One thing I tried was

offering to pay cash, up front, before the processing began toget a better price. I don't suggest this at a shady lab, they

may not rip you off, but they can. I tried this strategy at a

transfer house (Video Plant) and it cost me dearly.

The lab can be a good friend or a horrible enemy, and you want

everybody on your side that has anything to do with your film.

The sales department, scheduler, the projectionist, assembly,

and in my opinion the most important, the guy who decides how to

get your film to look like you want it, the color timer . In my

last film the timer got a credit without asking because he did a

great job and was extremely helpful to me at the lab. So was thetimer on my first feature but I was too poor to get his name on

the credits. Make personal relationships with these guys, their

talent is important to your film, and if they like you, likeanybody else, they are more likely to help you when you need it.

GET IT ON PAPER STUPID


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Once you've gotten a deal and lab to process and print ortransfer the footage to tape, get the figures on paper, signed.

That way you can hold them to their deal if things change or

they want to renegotiate, and legally you have recourse if

something comes up. This is another reason to pick a reputable

lab. Most reputable labs will never renege on a deal they makewhether in writing or not. I had a transfer house that made a

deal with me, I paid them in advance, then after months of

delays ran through the money and told me I could not have my

negative back unless I paid them more money. (Video Plant). It

happens. They did a crappy transfer much of which had to be

redone, it cost me much more money than we agreed to, and it

took them forever to do it. Even if I would of had it on paper

what could I have done? Sue them? They've got your negative.Choose your labs wisely.

PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT

It's money again. Two trains of thought;

1. Hire people with their own equipment.

2. Rent your own equipment from a production house.

If you hire people with their own equipment you can pay them the

rental you might have to give a production house: they make a

little, you don't have to pay production insurance for the

equipment. The flip side of that is the obvious; If you fire

them because they suck at their job, you lose the equipment and

your production stops. You do what you have to do in guerrillafilmmaking.

It's safer to rent, cheaper to hire someone with equipment.

If the DP quits and takes his camera home to play, can you get

your actors back together when you finally get a camera? Will

they come back? If he quits and it's your camera you can shoot

the scenes until somebody else comes back on. Think survival,

and money. Same goes for the sound man. Listen to all his takes

at night for at least the first 4 nights. If you have the luxury

of dailies (see lab above), how does everything sound and look?Get rid of them pronto if your unhappy, it won't get better , or

rather it usually won't.

If you're thinking of shooting on weekends to save money it's agrand idea fraught with pitfalls. They are;


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1. Actors finding paying jobs and leaving the day before

shooting.

2. Crew finding paying jobs and leaving the day before shooting.

3. You finding a paying job...etc.

4. Running out of money before the 13 weekends of shooting are

complete.5. Everyone else running out of patience before you complete

including the equipment house that has already rented your

camera as a 3rd camera for Babewatch exteriors.

This kind of stuff happens all the time. Equipment houses are in

it for the money, your film is not high on their list of

priorities and you can't count on people who have to deal with

the realities of money and living for your film, only yourself.No one will ever have as much energy and commitment for yourfilm as you. If you can get everyone to commit to a schedule

that consists of a week or two for principal work, shooting pick

ups on weekends makes a lot more sense to everyone. The filmsalmost done, why not?

35 or 16?

The decision to shoot 35mm or 16mm is a tough one to make. Don't

believe what anyone says about saving money by shooting Super

16mm over 35mm. If you present a film in 16mm to a distributor

that might have some interest and he throws in the 40k or socost of enlarging your film to 35mm, he may tell you to do it.

At that point you've a grainy 35mm print of a 16mm film that now

cost as much as it would have to shoot 35mm. It's stupid unlessit's your only viable option. My first film was a junkie road

film shot in 16mm using my cameras, I had two at the time. I had

no choice, but more importantly to me, the grainy, gritty

subliminal feel of the texture of the film added to the story,rather than detracted from it.

Lawrence of Arabia in Super 8?

I wouldn't suggest that aesthetic decision. I'm not a format

bigot, but, you and your film will be taken more seriously by

the labs, the sound house, and all the people you deal withincluding the distributors and buyers if you shoot in 35mm.

That's just the facts, jack. Better deals on 35mm equipment can

be found and you've got a much better looking film, and if you

shoot short ends you will spend not much more than you would on

16mm. Remember, if you plan on blowing up a 16mm film, you have

to light the thing extensively to keep the blacks black, and

saturate the colors by the time it's blown up to 35mm and


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want in trade for what you want. I had much better luck out of

town than in the big pueblo, people gave me the use of their

business free of charge and I gave them credits in my film and

undying gratitude. Let them know how much you appreciate what

they are doing to help you, it can mean a lot to the next

filmmaker that needs that location. And don't screw them, leavethe place clean, the way you found it, shake everybodies handand be earnest in thanking them Mr. Producer. If they wanted to

they could kick you out, or sue your production later on.

Be A Good Scout

Scout your locations months in advance and talk to all the

people you have to reach to make it a done deal. Lock down thetime and the day and if you can, get a contract and you musthave a release or don't use the place. It could hurt you later,

and have a fall back plan, an alternate location. Getting

locations to sign a paper for a free days shooting is desirable,

but you may not be able to get it. Play it by ear and don't be

disappointed if you can't get it, use your fall back location if

you have one, or start the next scene, or do pick ups, don'twaste the time worrying about it. "Would you mind signing anagreement about the day we come in to use your bar? We just wantyou to feel comfortable about this, and we should each get arelease."Try that.

Tighten up your schedule to fit your filmmaker desires,

financial realities, and logic of locations. If you've got a

restaurant, club, bar location for one day that's perfect for 3scenes which occur at the beginning, middle and end of your

script, throw your plans for sequential shooting out the window.

Use the location, make the scenes work in the way you need them

to work and shoot the scenes sequentially that will allow

themselves to be shot that way. Think survival.

OK. Mull that over for awhile.


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ACTORS & EDITING

ACTORS

NO ONEcan tell you how to work with your actors, you will have

to discover what works best for you and your style offilmmaking.

Every director I've ever talked to has a different way of

working with his actors and his crew. I've known directors who

love actors and don't know how to direct them or have any idea

where to put the camera or why. I've known directors who simply

hate actors and tolerate them simply to get what they need for

the performance they want. This is what happens in Hollywood

with too much money, formula scripts, and the power commerce

brings to "product" no one really cares about. You've all heard

stories about prima donna's that demand great script changes andsimply refuse to do scenes they don't like, or walk off sets for

almost anything. I saw one actor stop production because he

wanted a bigger trailer, wouldn't shoot unless they got him whathe thought he deserved.

Good actors usually just need good characters to work from,

psychological motivation for their actions, the right kind of

encouragement from the director, and made to feel this is a safeplace to work. And that's only the start.

Directors must prepare for a scene, just like an actor, or thecrew.

Don't be a director who does not know what he wants, that'swhere most problems start. DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Know thepoint of

each scene, the motivation for each action, the main emotionalmoment of each scene and where it leads to the next scene.

Process is EVERYTHING.

Never direct an actor through what you want in results, "Be more

mad - happy etc.", take the initiative, tell your actors what

they want in the scene or conflict, "Make Sheila stop insulting

you." Give your actors motivation and some meat to work with in

the scene.

Who, What, Why, Where, Wants, Needs, Feelings.

When your actor asks, or even if they don't, you must be able totell them about the character;


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Who the character is?

What do they want?

Why do they want it?

Where are they coming from, and Where are they now?

Wants what from Whom?

Needs what from Whom?

How do I Feel about Whom?

Every direction should be geared toward giving the actor

information about the scene so they can attain and experience

the emotional moment of the character. Almost every directionshould be a verb.

Never give an actor a line reading. Don't take lines away from

an actor, those are the actors lines, not yours, never speak

their lines because they belong to the actor. Period. It is

also very insulting and shows your weakness as a director, or

more importantly, your weakness at casting the right actor in

the role. If you've cast your film exactly the way you want it,

have faith in your actors, allow them what freedom you can, they

should be able to know what kind of performance you want by your

guidance and the character. Let them discover the character on

their own, it's more fun for you both, more interesting for the

character, and good actors enjoy that discovery as much as you

do. If you expect some anal adherence to each inflection you

intended in the script without allowing the personality of theactor you cast in yourfilm to bleed into the character, you're

doomed to disappointment and spending more money in footage than

you have. NEVER give an actor a line reading, those are theactors lines, not yours. Get the picture?

SO SHOULD YOU

I have great faith in, and loyalty to my actors, and give themas much freedom as I possibly can . But that's what I look for,

the kind of filmmaking that interests me is the kind in which

the person I cast in the part can bring both the truth I know

about the character on the page, and his own truth about that

character to the screen. That means I try to cast the rightactor, and right p er s o n for the roles. No matter what you think

about acting and actors, the truth is, good actors (and not so


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actor has you by the short and curlies and can demand or do whathe likes because you have all this footage with him in the part.

It happens.

That's the nightmare and isprobablyunlikely, but more subtleissues of control like coloration, intent in the performance

etc., and dissention on the set can creep in and weaken your

film. Remember, again, this is a collaborative process, you andyour actors are creating together, collaborating, to bring your

script to the screen. Involve them in the process, barking

commands is never a way to get what you want. I wouldn't be

above doing almost anything to get a performance from an actor

that might be having a problem, but breaking through all thosebarriers is part of the process, for me.

In one road film I knew I a lot of crew members and actors were

walking off sets around town, it's was like some weird virus or

the hip thing to do at the time and I could not let that happen

to me, so, I took everyone on the road in two vans and we ripped

off locations along the way. Basically I hijacked everyone to

the middle of nowhere so "sleeping in that morning rather thanworking on this film" was not an option. It worked for me

because I planned it that way, and it was a road film. You may

have to find another strategy that will work for you but try to

plan for as much as possible, and include whatever happens aspart of the film.

EDITING

You've probably all heard about, if not actually used a

nonlinear editing system and heard how fast, how small, and how

good they can be. Although much of that is true, there are a lot

of hidden costs that no one involved in just one part of the

process will tell you about, and it may not be a viable option

for the guerrilla filmmaker. Keep in mind, you're trying to

complete your film and survive where many, many others have not.

Just because it's the latest thing, does not mean it can workfor you.

The old style of editing usually meant a screening of all the

footage printed to film and screened in theater with or without

sound, then taking that footage to a flatbed to edit both

picture and sound 1-2 tracks at a time. The nonlinear style

means you get your footage back on videotape, screen it on a

monitor then put it into the computer to edit, or some

combination of the above.


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5. Cost of having your negative cut and another6. Telecine (could be a very cheap one) so you can do your

post music.7. Cost of hiring an audio house to re-sync your footage to

the second negative cut transfer.8. Cost of the audio mix.9. Cost of final telecine to tape.

Except for the negative cut, and final telecine above, these are

all extra costs, and you still do not have an optical track, an

answer print of your film, or have ever seen it screened, only

on a video monitor. HOWEVER, if you can afford to get one of the

new, very good, 1000$ dollar non-linear systems for your

computer and upgrade it enough to cut on, you can take as longas you like, and be very sure of your final cut.

The Sleaze Factor

Some added things to consider about telecine for nonlinear are:

When talking to the transfer house find out what their transferratio will be. That means that for every running hour of footage

what will their maximum time be to transfer it to tape, and get

it in writing. A telecine operator has to line up time-code

numbers from your audio tape to the sync slate on film for each

one of your takes, that takes time. 4:1 is fine, but, whatever

ratio you get, count on it being the maximum for your budget,

then add 10% for the sleaze factor. You might want to consider

not transferring sound at the telecine, and doing it in thecomputer, but you will have to be sure that the nonlinear system

you are using will accept time code from your tapes, that you

have the time and expertise to do this properly, and have added

the extra expense of time spent on the computer to input it plus

rental of the audio source machine against the time of the

telecine operator to do the same thing.

If you don't use time code on your set you may have to finally

transfer it to a timecoded tape anyway, but, you've saved the

cost of a time code audio machine, used less film because time

code should have a 10 second pre-roll, and if you're using amono 4.2 Nagra, you've got superior audio. If you plan on using

the audio from the telecine and using the computer output mix,you will have to use betacam tapes, not 3/4 .

3/4 is supremely inferior to betacam for sound,


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I have also heard very positive stories about people succeeding

in doing a rough mix in the Avid and out putting it to an

optical track, a rough mix for sure but far better than you

think and that's a huge savings in the end. I've only heard thisonce, but, it happens. What you can do, and yourluck or skill

with these systems may be much different than mine.

You will have to decide on your own what you can afford and whatyou can't. Think survival. Think completion. If you've decided

that you can show around the digitized output of your film to

companies and that's as far as you can hope to go without

finishing funds, good luck. Again, finding finishing funds is

very difficult, and if you finish the film you can enter it in

festivals and hope it does well, and if it does you at least

have something to talk to distributors about. If it does wellthe distributors will be talking to you.

Flatbed= Cheaper, much slower, see film projected on screen,

more secure about negative cut and sound sync.

Nonlinear = More expensive (unless you've got your own system),

very fast, never see projected film, insecure about negative cutand sound sync and pacing.

- The intangibles -

How many variations on a scene can you see before it's

counterproductive - too many choices? If you've never cut a film

and seen your work on screen what will you think when it's ontape and how will it affect your editing style? Looking through

400 trim boxes stacked ceiling to floor searching for 2 frames

of the scene you want to change in your apartment in which youhaven't seen your dog recently?

WARNING! WARNING WILL ROBINSON!

1. Get your deal from the editing house and transfer house on

paper, signed, before you commit any of your negative, or

deliver any of it to them, and get a receipt for every roll of

film.2. Talk to your negative cutter before you decide to edit

nonlinear, his quote may have been for work print, his quote for

nonlinear may be thousands higher.

3. Question your audio post house extensively about costs, and

get quote in writing before you commit, or deliver anything tothem. Get a guarantee of sync, if they won't give it to you,

smile, and leave as soon as possible. Get references.


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The audio post house I went to knew from my lips exactly what I

had to do, exactly how much I had to do it and agreed to the

deal. I had an Avid output to DA88 (8 track audio tape) that I

needed to mix. They spent all the money on some twerp to re-sync

the audio (probably did not need to be done), and he did a

terrible job if he actually did anything and then would notguarantee sync! On top of when it did fall out of sync a number

of times and the idiot tried to tell me 4 frames out of sync isacceptable, hell simple gunshots were off. GET IT IN WRITING !

All this stuff is variable. Your particular situation may be

perfect for nonlinear, or perfect for work-print type editing.

Just be sure to figure as many variables as possible before you

start, remember, your goal is completion, survival.


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FESTIVALS & DISTRIBUTORS

Congratulations. You've got something you can show to people

that you're proud of and you want it to be seen by as many

people as possible. The strategies you employ to get your film

seen are varied. Here are some ideas and related experiences.

FESTIVALS

PRODUCERS REPRESENTATIVES often can have very beneficial results

for your film. A producers rep. is a person supposedly with

connections or some weight or pull with film festivals, buyers,

and distributors. They can be beneficial at both the pre-

production of your film in finding money, actors or procuring

much needed favors. The drawbacks are financial, if you can

afford one that helps you get your film started it is well worth

the money. Their pricing structure changes and some arenegotiable and will work a deal with you, especially if they

like the project. At the other end of your film, when it's done,

the same goes true. Film festivals and programmers are deluged

with tapes, if a producers rep can get your tape to the right

person it may mean the difference between it being in the

festival and out. Most producers reps take about 25% of a sale

they make to distributors or buyers, but you can work your own

individual deal with them depending on what you think your film

can do.

FILM FESTIVALS are one of the best ways to get your film seenand reviewed, and to start some kind of buzz about your film.

Getting into festivals, and the right festivals for your film is

not a trick, but will take some clear eyed analysis of your

film, your contacts, and the festivals that are out there. It's

very hard to see your film from outside your own perspective

without getting too bitter about the realities of the present

day film scene. But, you've made your film because you were

motivated by something other than money, you think it's a great

film, and now you'll do your best to get it seen, to hell with

what other people think. Right?

OBVIOUSLY you don't want to send your junkie road film to a

documentary, children's, or mountain film festival. Sundance and

it's satellite festivals (Slam-Slum-Bum & Whatever's next-

dance), Toronto, Berlin, Cannes and Rotterdam are the big

festivals for films and critics these days and getting into the

"biggies" is like everything else, connections help a greatdeal.


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It is much easier to program a film with Winona Ryder than yourcousin Ed(who also happens to be a great actor) in a film

festival. The audiences will come, pay for the tickets, and ithasprestige for the festival. Cousin Ed may have done the

seminal performance of the decade, but you'll have to get past

the first wave of screening, usually done by young, overworkedinterns that may or may not of heard of Orson Bean, much less

Orson Welles. Hard fact is that your film about aging may be a

great film, but if the person who sees it first is 17, your film

has an extra barrier that you must avoid if possible. Try

calling the festival director, maybe you can make some personal

connection and get him to see it, this is also where a producers

rep. would be very handy, ifthey know somebody and i f you can

afford them. Again, get references from anybody you hire (casting your crew).

DO YOUR RESEARCH!

Opening at Sundance is great, if you get in, but if you've

finished your film in February, do you wait a year before

releasing it? THE WORLD PREMIERE IS VERY IMPORTANT TO A

FESTIVAL. Berlin will not take your film if it shows in

Rotterdam: Cannes will ONLY show premieres and all the other big

festivals will want to be the first to show your film. Do you

wait for a year and take a chance on Sundance, or enter Cannes,

or Berlin, or Rotterdam? Do you think your film can compete with

the glitz and money at Cannes? Do you know somebody in any of

the festivals that you can be sure you will get in for your

World Premiere?

What if you decide to wait a year and do not get in Sundance?

That means your film is now old in festival terms, people will

hear of it and word gets around, and what do you do for a year?

You can't really promote your film because it will seem old by

the time it premieres at a festival. It's unfortunate, but being

the "next big thing" is status quo, festivals and festival

directors love to discover films, and audiences like to feel

they are seeing something for the first time, as they very often

do at festivals, so promoting your film for 12 months prior to a

festival could be counter productive, and will sour adistributor for the same reason.

WHERE WILL A BIG FESTIVAL PUT YOUR FILM?

If you get in the big festival are you going to be relegated to

a bad theater at 9 AM. with little publicity, against the

smaller festival in which your film will the opening night film?


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If your film doesn't hit it big with the big festival you might

be much better off with the smaller festival which is thrilled

to have you and will treat you and your film like the prize of

the festival. However, having shown at the big festival

sometimes is enough to get many other festivals in line to show

your film next. This is something you have to decide in yourstrategy, and it changes with each film, and for each festival,

and EVERY YEAR. If your film is a quirky, chatty gen-X upbeat

film in which everyone lives happily ever after can you expect a

festival with a history of programming films with 50 year old

difficult characters and without stars that win awards and get 3

picture deals to program your film? And if they do, where will

they put it and why should you wait?

ONCE YOUR FILM HAS HAD ITS WORLD PREMIERE hopefully you will be

approached by a number of programmers who want your film in

their festival. The smaller festivals are often the best ones,

at least the ones you may have the most fun attending, but, you

should try to organize them close to each other, if possible. A

European and a North American Premiere are independent of each

other, and usually will not hinder either Premiere. If your film

is not reviewed well in Cannes, maybe the critics here will like

it, but, it's more likely if it's at a big festival like Cannes

ALL THE CRITICS will be there and will have already reviewed

your film. Very often a critic will print only a capsule review

of a festival film waiting for a longer appraisal for the

theatrical release. Partially because films can be recut and

changed before a theatrical release, and partially because many

critics feel they can't devote a large amount of space to a filmthat may not be seen by anyone outside the festival. This is not

ALWAYS the case, some critics only review once and will reprintthat review when/if the film is released theatrically. REMEMBER,

you made the film, you're responsible for what's on that screen,

you put it out there, you take whatever comes, it's a crap shoot

no matter how you figure it so just make films that you're happy

with and leave it at that.

RECENTLY I got phenomenal reviews from a city in which my film

opened, embarrassing reviews, but the one national critic who

was in the theater when my film was there for press screeningssaid he did not review films without distribution for fear of

ruining their chance. Well, kinda', however, he has taken a few

films under his wing and has really helped that film get around.

I don't know what any of that means, maybe he was tired that

day, or bored, or just saw a bad film, whatever, it's up to you

to get them in the theater and take whatever comes. Find out

their phone number, call them, talk to them, most will be open


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to that kind of entreaty depending on their schedule but callEARLY, give them every chance to make it and make it easy for

them to come.

IF YOUR FILM IS NOT LOVED BY THE CRITICS you will have to try

and get it in as many festivals as possible to generate somepositive word of mouth outside the critics circle. It's always

better to approach a distributor with positive notices and press

about your film and just because one critic didn't like yourfilm, doesn't mean another one will not, and vice versa.

FORGET THE REVIEWS, DON'T TAKE THEM PERSONALLY.

I've been pretty lucky so far, but the truth is you will know

when someone has a valid review, if they have crap to say about

your work and you know it's crap, forget it. Crap in this

context means fawning butt kissing, and horrible derision's. If

you believe the good reviews you have to believe the bad, that

clich' said, remember that a lot of great films have been

trashed by the critics, as long as you know you've made a good

film that's all you can hope for.

Another sad fact is that festival directors may be in touch with

other festivals and share their opinion, good or bad, with that

director. Great if they like your film. Not so hot if they

don't.

It's not a democracy and it's not fair.

But it is human nature to share opinions with peers, so that's

just how it goes. I have it on good information that onefestival director said, and I quote,

" I wi l l nev er put one of Sc hl at t man' s f i l ms i n t h i s f es t i v al . "

Well, don't waste your money by entering this festival. Simple.

But what does that mean for other festivals? Probably a lot, but

this sort of personal attack is not indicative of all festival

directors thank God, pettiness on the part of this person does

not mean that most festivals will not take a fair look at yourfilm and base it's merits not on some wankers opinion, but onyour film.

Fact is that most festivals try to get the best they can for

their festival, however, "BEST"is subjective.MANY BAD INDEPENDENT FILMS GET MADE and how many bad films can 1

person see before they start to hate everything?


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SOME FESTIVALS ARE ONLY IN BUSINESS to make money.

Be very wary of festivals that want exorbitant fees to enter,

even if you get in your entry will mean nothing to everyone else

that knows what a scam that festival is running, and could

possibly hurt your film. These are unscrupulous festivals thatwould like you to believe that $150 to watch a tape of your film

is a fair fee. You'll have to decide that for yourself, I

suggest dropping that festival from your list unless they inviteyou, FOR FREE.

- FESTIVAL ETIQUETTE -

Your in, your at the festival, etiquette means forgetting about

trashing the festival that has invited your film to screen. I

was recently at a festival in which a renown dilettante did

nothing but moan and complain and cry in the bathroom because

they weren't treating her like the royalty she thought she was,

and in a festival in which everyone else was having a great

time. Consequently this person became the festival joke and will

never be invited back. Keep your mouth shut if you're not happyand praise the festival if you are, simple courtesy, act like achild and expect to get treated like one . Drink till you drop?

Did it. Loved it. Don't do it no more. Can't tell you how many

people I pissed off or impressed poorly, but I used the festival

as an excuse to blow off some steam after finishing my film,

seemed like the perfect place. WRONG. Couldn't have been a worse

place, that's where all your peers are, and people that might be

able to help you in the future. Have fun, play safe, andremember, 1st impressions last a long, long time.

FINAL FESTIVAL NOTE.

You'll have to decide what festival, and subsequent festivals

will be the best for your film, AND, if you have not heard untilvery, very late in the decision process or the deadline,WAKEUP,

they may take your film, but you're not high on the prestige

list. If they really want your film, like it, and will give it agood screening slot and press, you will know RIGHT AWAY plan b,

or call the next festival and tell them that they can have theworld premiere of your new film if they act NOW. You have to

take responsibility for the success of your film, it's wonderful

if Sundance fawns over your film but if they don't, and want it

only as a backup its poor position may hurt your film as much as

help. DO YOUR OWN PRESS at the festival. Whatever press the

festival does is great, but you can take out ads, offer yourself


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for interviews for any magazine/paper/shopping list that willtake you in that town, put up posters -

DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET PEOPLE IN .

So there.

DISTRIBUTORS

Preface

Keep in mind the state of filmmaking in the new millennium: If

you don't have a marquee actor that will sell tickets

Nationally, and Internationally, the chances of you getting

theatrical distribution are virtually zero. It's not impossible,

but very, very, very unlikely.

DISTRIBUTORS ARE IN BUSINESS TO MAKE MONEY . No news flash, but

keep it in mind. It's BUSINESS, as Mamet said in The SpanishPrisoner, "In business you must assume the other guy is ALWAYS

out to screw you...". Tell me about it.

A rule of thumb for any deal with a distributor is that you make

no deal without advance sales money. Period. You can fluctuate

in how much you want depending on your film, but get as much as

you can, theoretically all your production money, up front.

A DISTRIBUTOR THAT HAS 50 FILMS to sell will be trying to sellyour film first if he has had to put out money for that film,

simply to try and make his money back. If he is successful,

theoretically, so will you be. Theoretically. What he will tackon to your film as "EXPENSES" may in fact be one of the most

dishonest practices in all of filmmaking so you will want to put

a cap on his expenses in your contract. I guarantee an

unscrupulous distributor will hit that cap, but you know what's

coming, it's not a surprise. He will also have little motivation

to sell your film against one he owes money on. He might be able

to sell your film without an advance, but it will not be the

first one he tries to sell.

HAVE A LAWYER LOOK AT YOUR CONTRACT , if you can't afford a

lawyer, don't sign a deal. Are you interested in a distributor

that just wants your film to expand his library of films so he

can look good at the next market? Me either. Why choke up your

film with a guy that won't sell it? It's better for you to just

hold on to your film because you at least have the option to get


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it to somebody that will try and sell it in the future.

THE LENGTH of your contract is important, if your deal is not

favorable, or you question the distributors ability, put a

performance term in your contract. In other words put a

stipulation in your contract that if he does not perform certainfunctions by a certain date the contract is null and void. I had

one wanker that after 6 months didn't perform any of the

contractual agreements, then wouldn't sign a release. Twerpism

is rampant.

GET REAL. They're not all crooks, but don't expect your film

with no stars, bad reviews and 3 hours in length to sell to a

market that wants violence, stars and sex. It may be a great

film, but if they can't sell it, they can't sell it. Look at the

good films that don't do well, why will yours be any different?

By the same token don't believe that your film won't sell

because somebody says so. I know of a case where a guy got

$10,000 for his film and the next day the distributor sold it

for 1.5 million and the filmmaker never saw a dime. I also know

of films with 1.5 million in advertising that did not make10,000 at the box office. So GET REAL BUB .

SELF DISTRIBUTION is just as much, OR MORE of a gamble as having

a distributor work for you. If you have the time, the energy,

and the desire to call theaters across the country, ship tapes,

ship prints, call local papers, pay for advertising, check

advertising in all the towns, colleges, bake shops and film

organizations that will show your film then go for it. You maygain contacts, friends and experiences invaluable to you lateron, BUT REMEMBER, very few films make money that way, you couldbe investing money and time in a MONETARILYfruit lessendeavor.

That might not mean anything to you and that's great, but don't

expect to make a lot of money on the road with one film, and be

able to pay back all your investors. Also consider what you're

doing next and how much time do you spend NOT WORKING on the

next script. Get your priorities straight before you go on the

road.

DISTRIBUTORS have contacts you don't have, it's a tough club tobreak into and I've heard the derision some distributors spew

about filmmakers in private. I don't know that it hurts the

filmmaker her/his distributor doesn't like them or his/her film,

but talking trash can't help. AFTER A THEATRICAL RUN, if you're

lucky enough to have booked one, you will have to start

contacting the buyers in all the markets by mail, or phone, or

go to one of the various worldwide markets at the festivals.


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They are very expensive but could be very lucrative if that's

what you want to do. You will have to spend money on

advertising, again, an office ($10,000 at the American Film

Market), phones, posters, tapes and all the other stuff. There

are other, no-budget ways to try and sell at these markets (AFM

article) that have been very lucrative for some, but Ipersonally have not been very successful doing that.

MY EXPERIENCEhas been bipolar. One film with great reviews was

stolen from me through my own fault in placing any trust in this

"distributor", but when he did not perform on his contract I did

not give him my negative. He then refused to perform, and after

ruining sales potential of the film started reneging on the

contract I informed him he no longer represented the film.

That's the last I ever heard from him, he has not delivered the

tape elements and will not contact me. Fine. When I can afford a

lawyer I'll get the materials back, but in the meantime you just

have to forget it, move on, just another bad reputation you want

nothing to do with. On another film, again with great reviews,

no one offered any advance money so I took it to the IFFM on my

own and got an immediate sale. I'm now selling that film

worldwide and have had some luck doing it, and have made

certainly more than I would have from a very small distributor.

I've made no attempt to try and get it into theaters because I

simply don't have the money. Simple as that.

DON'T SELL DISTRIBUTORS SHORT. It's like used car salesmen,

there are so many seedy lots out there you have to be careful

where you step. The little guys can be just as good as the bigguys, but brother, watch out. Distributors can do everything for

your film if they are behind it. Ask yourself a few questions:

How well did it do at the festivals? Compared to what's out

there, how well will it do in the theaters, in video sales? Does

it have any stars? What's the marketability of the film? IN

GENERAL JUST GET REAL ABOUT YOUR FILM .

All that stuff is very important when getting a deal. Obviously

if it's done great at the festivals, DISTRIBUTORS WILL BE COMING

TO YOU. If you're not the "NEXT BIG THING", but you still have a

great film, how you handle what you do with distributors couldmean the life of your film.

SKIPPING THE FESTIVAL circuit is another possibility, but has

some major drawbacks. Let's say that you think your film has

some marketability but you don't want to bother with the expense

and time of film festivals, what do you do? You start setting up

screenings, or sending out tapes to the major distributors that


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handle the kind of film you've made. They may love your film,

and if they have the first crack at it over anyone you may have

made a friend, a great deal and see your film in theaters with amillion in advertising.A NO IS A NO FOREVER, USUALLY. If they

don't like it, and say no, no matter what it does after you then

take it through the festivals they will more than likely stillsay no. Who wants to admit they were wrong, especially in the

business arena? Nobody. A guy in acquisitions that said no to

your film for whatever reason in January, will probably never

say yes in October.

A SIMPLE POLICY for approaching reputable distributors is to

offer them the film and wait for their response. You might want

to call in a couple of weeks, but don't bug them. The

acquisitions person may love your film, but the company he's

working for may not be able to pick it up for some reason, or

may not be able to do anything right now for some reason. Don't

alienate them, let them tell you what they think, often they may

not say no unless you're a pest. They may just say not at this

time, or we'd like to think about it or some combination. Don't

push them into saying no if they don't want to, that's good for

both of you. Now take your film to the festivals and if it does

do well then they can say yes and everybody's happy.

Most of the people working with distributors are there because

they love film in one way or another, and most reputable

distributors want to put out good films that they like and move

them in some way. HOWEVER, when all the movie going public

ignores great films and casts dollar after megadollar down afreezing watery hole for poorly written tripe, the man putting

up the money for the film nobody goes to has to deal with

reality. It's not a simple equation. X amount of dollars in

advertising equals how much in sales? Do you take a chance on

something you like versus something you hate that will make the

payroll this month? You also have to remember how many bad,

really bad films distributors have to look at. Thousands of

films, I couldn't possible imagine looking at that many bad

films and it having no affect on me, but that's what they have

to do, these are people just like you, could you watch 40 tapes

this week knowing that 39 of them will be God awful tripe andknow you've got 40 more to watch next week, and the week after,

and the week after? Not me.

Your problemis going to be in dealing with the unscrupulous

distributor that makes money in a variety of ways off your film

and has no intention of doing anything reputable with any film.

That's what you have to watch out for and there are a ton of


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them out there. I get an anonymous list every month, usually of

the same guys but it shrinks and expands according to which guy

has gone under this month and come up under another name next

month. This happens all the time. One ploy that seems to work

for one guy is getting the filmmaker to pay for advertising,

prints and screening selling a relationship with theaters. Thisis called aVANITY PRESS in the printing world, where the authorpays for his own printing. It's called "4 walling" in the film

world, where you rent the theater, pay for advertising and do

all the leg work. What the hell do you want to share %50 of the

door with a distributor who's doing nothing? Again, you should

do everything possible to help your release including

interviews, Q & A, personal appearances and posters and cards

and whatever else you can think of, but if you're going to four

wall your film, do you really need to share it with a

distributor? The answer might be yes for your particular deal,and film, but it needs a big ?

I recommend dealing with the top distributors with names yourecognize, and that represent films you like.

I realize this sounds simplistic, but it is simple. You like

what they've done, you're already off on the right foot. Don't

discount the small distributor, he may have just as much regard

for your film as you, but not the financial ability to deliver

on his desires and then your film is dead, with his name one it.

At least if you hold on to it the rights are still yours and if

you or one of your actors has huge success and you all become

heart throbs. the demand for your film will suddenly increase.If you turn into a sleaze and figure you can make money off your

actors success by shooting scenes around your original short to

make it a feature you deserve the lawyers he hires to sue youand your film into submission. PLAY FAIR.If you've both lived

up to the contract you've signed betrayal by either of you

should not be a problem because you not only want to work

together again, but would like to see the film you just made

have a life. But in the end, what's the difference? We know thatyou've both played fair, so none of this will apply,WILL IT?

IT HAPPENS. Use your best judgment, and be as intuitive as

possible, if you don't have a good personal relationship, yourprofessional relationship will probably suffer. DON'T MAKE

INSTANT DECISIONS, take a few weeks to sign a deal, think about

it if you question it. ASK QUESTIONS, GET IT IN WRITING.It's your film, and you are responsible for it's life.


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CLEAN-UP

ACTORS WALKING

This is probably the worst thing that could happen to your film

and I hope for your sake it never happens. But, family crisis,accidents, so many things can happen to people while in

production that the idea that this could happen is not farfetched, but improbable. However,what if your lead actor walks

in the middle of production, what in Kurosawa's name will you

do? You've got all this film on her/him, she/he absolutely

refuses to continue for whatever reason that you absolutely

cannot solve, what can you do?

Make it a positive.

This couldbe a nightmare if you let it be one. What if you gothrough the scenes and story line you've already shot and decidewhat you have and can use and either do one of two things -

1. Quit and chalk it up to experience.

OR

2. Continue with what you have and make a different, maybe

better film.

O.K., you've got half a film with this now missing character,what other character in this film might have just as interestinga story that you haven't revealed yet?

What if you shoot a double for the first lead on the floor that

'just died' from your new leads bullet/heartattack/overdose/boredom/left town?

Try something!

Maybe take a day off and re-write something that works with the

characters you have already introduced in a plot or story twist

that can still accomplish what you've set out to do. I know this

sounds way out in left field, kind of Plan 9 Ed Woods stuff, butyou have to do something to help your film, hopefully you have

supporting characters that you can now build into a different

story that will be just as strong. They'll be calling you

'GENIUS' in the papers. Seriously, this is a real chance with

your money and your film, but for my money, it's better than

trying to beg an actor that won't come back, or quitting

production on a film that will probably never be finished.


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You've already taken an enormous chance up to this point, why

not push on and finish it, it may end up being a better film.

Take chances, experiment, it's what makes filmmaking fun andthat make great stories, besides, what have you got to lose?

CREW

Be sure to pay all your actors and crew on time, and be sure to

pay them consistently across the various departments. For

instance, the Gaffer should get the same as the Key Grip. Best

Boy Electric and Best Boy Grip should be the same. All Grips and

Electric get paid the same. Before your production begins,

everyone will know what everyone else is getting paid,

guaranteed. Don't start with bad feelings because of rates,

that's something you should solve in pre-production. This is, ofcourse, if you have enough money to pay anybody.

ADR

What a heartache. You lose the energy of the scene, and, even

if uncle Bob doesn't notice, EVERYONE will feel a slight

psychological shift between cutting in dialogue recorded in a

studio, and what you did on set even if they can't articulate

the perceived change. On top of that, some actors have a very

hard time looping. I t's difficult and they just can't find the

moment or character again, so avoid it if at all possible.

However, if you have to, and can't afford ADR sessions in a

booth with full playback, one thing you CAN do is what I did;

(1) Make a cassette recording of the scenes for each actor that

you have to replace from your edited work print for timing, pace

and performance, then:(2) Find a room that sounds like the room you originally

recorded the sound in, record the new performance with the actor

then just

(3) lay it in over the dialogue in question with an ambienttrack and it can work OK.

I got all my actors into the various rooms one Sunday when I was

alone in the editing suite and did all the looping in a couplehours in various rooms, closets, outside - wherever. I had to do

this in my last film because the car we were using for the

picture vehicle ended up not being the one we were promised (the

guy just never showed) so I had to replace the references to

that car. You're better off getting wild lines on location when

you're shooting, especially if you think you might like to

change something, or are unhappy with a performance.


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However, the sound man I had was so incompetent it's lucky forme that I didn't, it all would have been distorted anyway.

"Film & Video Budgets" - Michael Wiese

Seems to be one of the best resource books for putting togethera realistic budget for a number of different film and video

projects. He has some sound advice about paying crew and scale

rates available for those of you that might be able to pay

scale. Singleton also has a book for budgets and breakdowns,it's OK, but harder to read, not as well organized or printed.

RECOMMENDED

Foto Kem - Burbank CA.(Lab)

Power Post - West Los Angeles (Audio)

Todd AO - Hollywood (Union - Xpensive)

Chris Weber Post - Burbank (Negative Cutting)

Blacbal - Burbank (Graphics)

STAY AWAY -NOT RECOMMENDED

Video Plant - Los Angeles

Video Plant Audio - The Valley

Amazing Movies - Hollywood

Filmworks Hollywood


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DEALING WITH AGENTSor

DEVELOPMENT HELL

So, you've got to the point where you realize you are going tohave to get a marquee actor in your film to;

a) Get the budget you need to make this film.

b) Attract a large enough audience so the film gets seen.

Unless of course you can call up the actor and hand him the

script because he's your poker buddy, HOWdo you find out wherehe is, and how do you get him a script? Well, finding out where

is the easy part; call the Screen Actors Guild and ask them for

contact information for the actor in question. Now the

proverbial ka ka hits the fan.

I hate the agent system.

An actor finally proves himself in some arena in which people

can see his work and then he's isolated from the good scripts

because his agent doesn't see a percentage for himself or the

'commercial potential' of a script. Take it or leave it, that's

how things work with agents. They are not necessarily bad

people, doing their job entails all the superficial tripe of

Hollywood, it's not about the actors but about the money in

which the agents can get for their actors, and of course, their

10% (some of them get 15%). Yep, it blows.

Recently I've been shopping a project around, take heed, learn

from my mistakes.

First of all, representing yourself as both producer and

director is just bad news, unless of course you have a

commercially successful film under your belt. Even if your films

have had phenomenal critical success in their limited theatricalrelease ( 5 million is the bench mark), unless your name is

thought of with Miramax or October, you are NOBODY. You must

find a producer that you trust. Don't minimize this attribute,he may have millions at his disposal but could rip you off for

your work, sell you down the pike for money or just be so greedy

that his involvement could ruin your film even if he gets it

financed. If you get 10 mil to make a film and it turns out to

be a piece of crap, who loses? Not the producer, ("Who produced

it?) not the actors ("What could they do with material like

that") - the director. Yep, that's you babe. I don't know how to


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tell you how to find this person. Obviously it's somebody you

have some connection with, and that reads your work nearly as

well as you do. He has to be one of your fans, with ideas of

his/her own. It's a collaboration, a marriage, your Carlo Ponti

or whom ever you envision as being a good producer but it's

hardly ever the person waving money in your face with a doubledigit IQ. Not that it couldn't be, but it hardly ever is.

If you have somebody else telling the world how great you are,

you already have credibility with whomever they are talking to

by proxy. YOU are not telling them how great YOU are, someone

else is extolling your virtues. THAT MEANS A LOT. That means

that already somebody else believes in you, SOPHOMORIC BUT NOT

SUBTLE OR DISMISSIVE.

One of my producers is a guy who has just lived through some

horrible melodrama in which he lost his business, his money, his

house, his girlfriend of 7 years and he owes the IRS some

million or so dollars. The guy was a walking country western

song for so long he was beginning to make me puke. However, when

I met him, he still thought he was up, he got it, he liked the

work and we made some connection. I saw through his bad, and I

do mean times, and he has worked very hard trying to get my film

to screen. He's a younger man than I, he has a tendency towards

arrogance, twerpism, and doesn't know what to do at times, but,

I showed a guy that likes my work, and was smart, how to deal in

straight business terms with the people that might be interested

in my work, and the guy has taken the ball and run with it. He

has the potential to be a great producer, and I will always begrateful for our relationship. This is what I told him to do.

First of all, I knew I had a good script. Do You? Are You Sure?

Is it Perfect? Well? OK then, who are absolutely the best

actors, bar none, that you would like to see in the parts? No,

Mel Gibson cannot play a 22 year old junkie on the streets of

Moscow. But who could? No, Tommy Lee Jones can't do it. GET

REAL. Casting is the most important part of your film. Even if

you were to get it to Mel Gibson, would he even consider doing a

22 year olds part? Don't be stupid, who could do this part?

OK, you've narrowed the casting down to 8 people, or couples

that could do the part, what next? Call SAG and find out who

represents them. Now what? Well that's where a little creative

publicity comes in. I don't know what you've done, but I've had

some pretty good reviews, we wrote a letter of introduction and

included some clippings from reviews, 1 sheets, and production

company interest with the letter and just sent it to the people


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involved (agents, managers etc.). Accentuate the positive, build

up whatever you've done and make it look as good as possible

without sounding like you are, like someone the actor might like

to work with.

SPELL THEIR NAME RIGHT. Simple courtesy, I screw it up all thetime, unintentionally, with a name like mine I've learned to

forgive people their poor spelling, but agents are not regular

people, awful lot of self inflated ego you have to deal with.

Spell their name right, you need them on your side.

Don't send them a synopsis. A 2 line condensation of the film

might be better in your intro letter. They won't read your

script if they don't like the synopsis. They probably won't read

your script anyway, depends on the agent. Some are stereotypes,

some have triple digit IQ's and have some concern for their

clients, most will not read the script because they are busy and

will have it 'covered', or can't read, or you are nobody.

BIDNESS

1. Write an introduction letter to the agent representing the

actor you want.

2. Send them a script only when they request it, otherwise it

will get sent back or thrown away.

3. Follow up calls - 2 a week - It will take weeks to get a

response, usually, don't get too antsy and become a pest. 1st

they will have somebody else read it (coverage), then they may

read and if they like it will call you back.4. Offers - The agent may then ask for an offer to do the part,

if you can, make an offer. If not - improvise, but don't lie.

5. Dead in the water - you could be if they want escrow money,

pay or play money and you don't have it.

This is straight business. Agents make money when the actors do.

This is a business transaction, not art. Make the agent (and

their assistants) as comfortable with you and the work as

possible. Your producer has to make you out to be someone the

actor should work with in their career. How do they do that? I

dunno. Make you out to be the creative genius we've all heardabout? Fun to work with? That's why THEY ARE PRODUCERS AND

YOU'RE NOT.

My take is always a good script. "If it's not on the page, it's

not on the stage." Ain't clich's great? Truth is most actors,MOSTactors, want to do something that will stretch them and

their abilities - JUST LIKE YOU. Your problem is writing the


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script they want to do. Write it. OK, how do you get it past the

agent? That's the catch 22 of the film business. Agents are the

bane of the independent film community, usually for actors that

are working a lot they will not forward a script without money,

or play or pay money, or a whole host of other obstacles

intended to dissuade you from 'bothering' their client. The factis that their client may love to do your script, but if he

doesn't see it or get a chance to read it, you are dead in the

water.

O.K., I got a prestigious production company with over 2 billion

in investment capital that is currently making a film with Jack

Nicholson to write a letter of intent to produce my film

contingent, CONTINGENT on the cast for X million. The agents did

not know this production company, they weren't Paramount, or

October, so they would not even forward a script to the client

without an escrow account. That means that they want to see cash

they know is there rather than the promise of a good film. Well,

OK, understandable from their point of view considering how many

bad scripts are floating around, but incredibly lazy of them

considering this company was financing films for Paramount. They

only know how to play by their rules, it has nothing to do with

the actor, usually. I know some actors tell their agents they

ONLY want big budget films, so it may not be the agent at all.

You've been NON-CONTACTED by the agent, now what? Cruise the

places that your actor may haunt - bars, theaters etc.?

Possible, but imagine you're an actor who gets accosted by

somebody on the street with a script in his/her hand? It has tofeel like getting stalked, and that is not conducive to a

trusting relationship on the set. PRODUCERS JOB. Get your

producer to do it, he/she wants to produce? Produce!

You might want to try getting a known casting director on board

that has cast the actor you want in another film (IMDB). Find

out who some of the casting directors are in town, many of them

want to produce, see if you can get them to read your script and

if they like it, offer them a producer credit. If your script

comes from a casting director an agent will automatically take a

much more serious interest, mainly because he represents anumber of actors who may ALL need this casting director in the

future. If your casting director is any good, then the script

will get read and the agents will treat your project with a lot

more regard. They'll still play the game, but you now have some

clout.

Other than that, it's personal relationships, who you know that


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can help you. I know, that sounds terrible, but it's the truth,

and it doesn't alway

guerrilla filmmaking 101.pdf

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