BONUS EPISODE: Confessions of a Hollywood Writer & Actor with John Leguizamo

What is Your Film Really Worth?So you are thinking of making an indie film or you've just finished making one...now what? When filmmakers go on the long journey of making a feature film they rarely ask the question that could make or break the success of the movie,"What is my film worth in the marketplace?"Before you begin the process of making your film ask the following questions?What is your film worth?Who is your market?Is it in a genre that can sell itself without stars?Do your actors have any market value overseas or domestically?Does the budget justify all of the above?What’s the tipping point as far as the budget is concerned for a drama or comedy with no stars?What is your distribution plan?Have you spoken to a distributor yet to see what they are looking for?In this episode, I discuss the questions that most filmmakers don't want to ask themselves but knowing the answer is imperative.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

20 Joulu 201630min

What is Cinematic Virtual Reality with Jason DiamondIs Virtual Reality the next big step in visual storytelling? Steven Spielberg said:“I think we’re moving into a dangerous medium with virtual reality. The only reason I say it is dangerous is because it gives the viewer a lot of latitude not to take direction from the storytellers but make their own choices of where to look. I just hope it doesn’t forget the story when it starts enveloping us in a world that we can see all around us and make our own choices to look at"I wanted to understand more about Virtual Reality and what impact it could have (or is having) on the world of cinema. This week I have Virtual Reality expert Jason Diamond from SuperSphere VR on the show.  The Diamond Brothers, Josh and Jason Diamond, own SUPERSPHERE VR a virtual reality production company based in Los Angeles. They build VR rigs for a number of clients from Fortune 500 companies to major studios and independent films. They follow the projects through from planning to shooting to post and in the past 18 months they have delivered more than 30 full VR projects. Some of their most recent, notable projects have been for New York Fashion Week and the Minnesota Twins (See Below). Enjoy my interview with Jason Diamond.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

15 Joulu 20161h 15min

What "Hamilton the Musical" Can Teach Indie FilmmakersIf you have been living underneath a rock you probably haven't heard of the Broadway smash hit Hamilton. For the rest of you, this remarkable musical by Lin-Manual Miranda has changed not only Broadway but storytelling as well.I know that is a bold statement but let me ask you, how many other new Broadway musicals have you heard about in the past 5-10 years? How many have crept into pop culture? How many have changed the game like Hamilton? Not many.So what can indie filmmakers learn from a musical on Broadway? Here are a few lessons I learned from Lin-Manual Miranda's masterpiece. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

12 Joulu 201620min

The Art of the $6000 Feature Film with Joshua CaldwellI had the pleasure of meeting Joshua Caldwell, a brother in "indie filmmaking" arms. He directed a $6000 feature film called LAYOVER, which World Premiered at the 2014 Seattle International Film Festival where it was nominated for the New American Cinema Award.The story of how he made the film was education, rebellious and funny. Many things he said mirrored my experience making This is Meg. Josh really has a great philosophy about making films and content. Check out the trailer below to see what a $6000 feature film in today's world looks like.If you are going to make a feature film in the near future you need to listen to this podcast. It will change how you think about making indie films. Below, I also included a talk the Josh Caldwell did at the Seattle International Film Festival that is AWESOME! After you listen to the podcast watch the video below.Right click here to download the MP3Download on iTunes DirectJoshua Caldwell - The $6000 LAYOVER: Rethinking Indie FilmDirector Joshua Caldwell discusses making his debut feature film, LAYOVER, for only $6000 and how filmmakers need to rethink their role in the ever shifting paradigm of independent filmmaking.Here's a bit more about Joshua Caldwell:Joshua Caldwell is an accomplished director, writer, producer, and MTV Movie Award winner. He has worked with a number of high-profile producers, including CSI: creator Anthony E. Zuiker, for whom he produced CYBERGEDDON, the online global motion picture event for Yahoo!, and directed all of the film’s ancillary content for its immersive website.His award-winning short film DIG, starring Mark Margolis of BREAKING BAD, was featured in numerous film festivals, and his latest short RESIGNATION screened at Comic-Con.Slamdance Workshop Discussed on the ShowJoin Blackmagic Design, Slamdance Grand Jury Award winner Andrew McPhillips, and filmmaker and host of Indie Film Hustle Alex Ferrari on Saturday, January 21 from 2:30pm to 4:30pm at the Filmmaker Lounge in the Treasure Mountain Inn for an in-depth workshop on the tools and techniques essential to the independent filmmaker.Andrew McPhillips will discuss lessons learned from shooting his upcoming film “The Doll,” including how to seamlessly switch from production to post. Andrew used an URSA Mini 4.6K to shoot the film, DaVinci Resolve for editing and grading, and Fusion for the VFX. Along with serving as CG Supervisor at SPINVFX, Andrew’s work includes his animated short film “Blood Will Tell” which previously premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and took home top awards at Slamdance.Alex Ferrari will discuss how filmmakers can make the most of DaVinci Resolve as a professional editing solution. Alex recently shot, edited and graded his new film “This Is Meg” using Blackmagic Design. He will dive into the ins-and-outs of what filmmakers need to know when editing with Resolve and how it can best fit into their workflows.A brief Q&A will follow the presentations along with raffles for prizes, including a Micro Cinema Camera, DaVinci Resolve Studio and Fusion Studio!Join Blackmagic Design afterward from 5:00pm to 7:00pm for a happy hour in the Filmmaker Lounge during which attendees can ask questions, demo gear and learn more about Blackmagic Design products for independent filmmakers.LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEOfficial WebsiteJoshua Caldwell - Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

9 Joulu 20161h 40min

What the HECK is a Scriptment?So what is a Scriptment? I found it to be a liberating form of prepping a story to be filmed? When I was in pre-production on my first feature film This is Meg, I wanted to get into production as fast as I could without waiting to develop a full screenplay.I've written a few screenplays in the past and as any screenwriter will tell you, it ain't easy. So I found inspiration from filmmakers like Mark Duplass, Joe Swanberg, Lynn Shelton, and the Godfather of independent film John Cassavetes. According to Justin Ladar (writer of Mark Duplass' The One I Love), he defines a scriptment as follows:“Basically a full script minus a lot of the dialogue…If you take away exterior or interior sluglines, it reads like a short story.”He explains what it was like working with Mark on The One I Love:“What would happen is that I would script [the dialogue in] a scene the night before or while the crew was prepping. [The cast] would get the pages and they would see just from a pacing standpoint [what needs to happen and when].” When I was working with Jill-Michele Meleán on This is Meg we came up with a style that would work for the budget and time we had. It was the most freeing experience of my creative life.No pressure, no hitting your marks, and no drama (except in the story of course). As the director, I was there to capture the lighting. The remarkable actors that were cast in Meg brought themselves to the project.Jill and I would discuss the scenes with each actor prior to the shoot day. We would have plot points in each scene that need to be hit for the story to move forward, how the actors got to those points was up to them. They would improv the dialog and flow in the moment. It was amazing to watch.That energy spills off the screen when you watch This is Meg. The term "scriptment" was coined by the legendary filmmaker James Cameron, during his involvement in bringing Spider-Man to the big screen. Cameron wrote a lengthy 57-page scriptment for the first proposed Spider-Man film (read the Spider-Man scriptment here).According to Wikipedia,"Cameron's scriptment for Titanic (1997) was 131 pages. The term became more widely known when Cameron's 1994 scriptment for the 2009 film Avatar was leaked on the internet during pre-production, although other directors, such as John Hughes and Zak Penn, had written scriptments before. The scriptment for Avatar (2009) and its notoriety caused the spread of the term."Though James Cameron used a scBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

6 Joulu 201629min

E&O Insurance, Music Rights, and Copyright Oh My!So after last week's huge success of the "Ask Alex" segment, I decided to bring it back this week. The IFH Tribe filled my inbox with tons of amazing questions, which I'll try to cover in future episodes.If  you have a question that you would like for me to answer on a future episode of the podcast just email them to ifhsubmissions@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer them. This week we have a bunch of question from tribe member Jake from Australia.Here are the questions I answered in this week's podcast:What happens if I'm shooting guerrilla style and accidentally catch a sign in the background or someone is wearing a brand logo in a shot? What is E&O Insurance (Errors and Ommissions) exactly? How does E&O Insurance work? Where are the best deals for E&O Insurance? What do you do if you want to use Licensed Music? What things might arise if using a track (or tracks)? What can copyrighting your film cost you? Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

2 Joulu 201622min

This week we have Zak Knutson on the show. Zak is a producer/writer/director/editor based out of Los Angeles. In 2005 he co-founded Chop Shop Entertainment, a filmed entertainment company that supplies added value materials to all of the major studios, and a large number of independents. Chop Shop Entertainment has supplied more movie based content for the internet than any other company in the industry.The last Chop Shop project was Milius, a documentary on Hollywood rebel John Milius. The film opened at the SXSW Film Festival in 2013. The film also played at the Telluride Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival. In 2014 Knutson directed Marvel 75: From Pulp to Pop for Marvel and ABC Television.Zak Knutson directed "Shock the World" a documentary about Jesse Ventura's path from professional wrestler to governor of Minnesota. Shock the World premiered April 2015 at the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival.His latest film Supercon starring Maggie Grace, Clancy Brown, Ryan Kwanten, Mike Epps and John Malkovich. Here's the logline:A rag-tag group of former TV stars and comic book artists, who make their living working at conventions, decide to steal the loot from a crooked promoter and an overbearing former TV icon.Enjoy my entertaining and funny interview with Zak Knutson.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

29 Marras 20161h 55min

So this episode is going to be fun. I'm starting a new segment I call "Ask Alex." Yes, I know it's very creative = ) I asked the IFH Tribe to submit questions to ifhsubmissions@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer them. This week we have a bunch of question from tribe member Kenny from Sweden. Here are the question I answer in the podcast.Which is the best type of camera to buy for your first feature that is cheap? (DSLR or anyone else. Also including lenses or where you can use one lens?)Which is the most important person to hire, a DP or a sound guy for a film? I´ve heard both. Some say good footage and others good sound.If you don´t have English as your first language should you make your films in your own language  since it is your mother tongue or in English(If you know how to speak of course) to reach a bigger market since more people understands and speak English? Which format is best to use for the finished film? (I know you had a podcast about this but I want to hear your personal opinion)Which part of post cost most money on of following things, sound, colorist or foley. I think it is in that order. Is that correct?  How much of the budget should you save for post-production in your opinion?Should you do this and if so the best ways to send an edited film over the internet for sound editing and colorization and maybe name a few companies that do this for small independent films. Would you be interested in doing that? What do you say about moving to LA to be a filmmaker if you come from another country? (You had a podcast about that but I am thinking based on an international perspective from a foreigner)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

24 Marras 201623min