Film Directing: Six BIG Lessons For Indie Filmmakers
TABLE OF CONTENTS After producing over a dozen films, I decided to add movie directing to my list of experiences. This decision resulted …
producer
Three Proven Ways to Become a Film Producer
Are you interested in becoming a movie producer? You’re not alone. Making movies is different from other businesses and involves a mix of …
The Indie Filmmakers Guide to Amazon Film Distribution
In a more-perfect world of Independent Film Distribution, iTunes would open the flood gates and allow all feature filmmakers to upload their work. However, at the time of writing, getting your finished feature film into iTunes is still a pain in the butt. With few exceptions, the company seems to favor traditional distributors over the indie producer. So if you one day dream of having your movie viewed on someone’s iPhone, you’ll still have to find a middle-man ask permission…
How To Produce Hit Television Shows Like Charlie Day
Always Sunny in Philadelphia producer Charlie Day stopped by Filmmaking Stuff to chat about the show and share a little filmmaker inspiration.
Script Breakdown and Film Scheduling
Making a good movie starts with a good screenplay. And assuming you’ve written, or you control the rights to a fantastic script that you would like to produce, the next step creating a script breakdown and film scheduling.
How To Get Sh$$ Done Without Hollywood Agents
In this filmmaking article, actor, writer and producer Gregor Collins talks about getting his movie made without Hollywood Agents.
Screenwriting Tips – Hope for shy screenwriters
Shy and awkward is how screenwriter Seth Lochead describes himself. When he was starting out he felt he had to choose between building his career by socializing or by writing a great script.
Indie PMD With Jon Reiss and Sheri Candler
Jon Reiss and Sheri Candler stopped by Filmmaking Stuff a few months back to discuss the new role of the PMD. For those of you who aren’t aware of the term – PMD stands for producer of marketing and distribution. It’s a phrase Jon Reiss coined in his filmmaking book called Think Outside the Box Office.
Independent Film Distributor Report Card
We’ve all heard many horror stories from filmmakers who were thrilled to find a distributor for their film only to find the film was mishandled, shelved or the company went under with no recourse for the filmmaker to claim their rights back. There are also distributors so coveted for their professionalism and skill at finding the right audiences for their titles that everyone wants to work with them.
Comment on Ted Hope’s Filmmaking Site
A recent article entitled, “Should We Accept That Indie Film Is Now A Hobby Culture?” caught my attention. I thought it was worth sharing.
You’ll see my comments under the article. Please feel free to add your own.
Screenwriting How To Protect Your Material
Since starting Filmmaking Stuff, many screenwriters have written me, asking if I could provide advice on how they can protect their screenplay from theft. I usually tell screenwriters that most producers will not go through the process of raising a gazillion dollars without compensating the screenwriter fairly.
Filmmaker David Allen Talks Modern Moviemaking and VOD Distribution
Earlier this week, I caught wind of an indie production company based in Australia called Rapidfire Productions. This is a production company that operates as a self sustaining modern moviemaking business. They develop movies, get money, make their movies and through their own distribution arm, the company reaches the masses.
Screenwriters have to make their own luck!
For filmmakers and screenwriters alike, one of the great things about Jurgen is his ability to make things happen. As you will read in this week’s Filmmaking Stuff guest article – When Jurgen was starting out, he quickly learned to stop asking permission and as a result, he carved his screenwriting career.
Filmmaking through Toxic Soup
A few years back, while flying aboard a loud propeller driven airplane somewhere over the snow capped mountains of Colorado, I heard the …
Producing
As you probably know, there are several different types of movie producers in the industry. With all the different titles, sometimes trying to figure out who does what and why, can be a little confusing. Today, I’m going to provide an overview of the different types of movie producers and what they do.
screenwriting software
If you’re a writer, or a writer director or a writer-director-producer, or simply a producer working with a writer, sooner or later it …
Interview with Chris Ward
Chris Ward is an independent filmmaker currently residing in Stamford, Connecticut, which is about 35 miles outside New York City. Chris spent many years producing documentaries for Network television. He also teaches filmmaking at Quinnipiac University and the Maine Media Workshops. Fog Warning, his second feature, was just picked up by Wonderphil Productions and he has agreed to share his experience with Jason Brubaker of Filmmaking Stuff…
Interview with filmmaker Casey Walker
Every wonder how to raise money for movies, but had trouble finding people willing to participate? For feature filmmaker Casey Walker, solving this problem only took a little creativity.
My Filmmaking Story – Part 3 of 4
The next day, I was on Amtrak, headed into the heart of Manhattan. When I got off the train, things moved quickly. I had never worked in New York prior to this. The producer met me Penn Station, took me to the location, and gave me a list of things needed. I started the day fetching coffee and lemon lime seltzer water, and bagel