IFH 769: Lessons Learned: Being a First-Time Writer/Director with Sarah Elizabeth Mintz

We all need a kick in the butt sometimes on our filmmaking or screenwriting journey. This show will do just that. Never stop chasing that filmmaking dream. Keep on hustling.Proud Member of the IFH Podcast Network (ifhpodcastnetwork.com)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

7 Kesä 20212min

After working in the IFH labs for the first part of 2021 I can finally announce what it is. May I introduce Indie Film Hustle's FILMMAKER PROCESS?Filmmaker Process offers comprehensive professional services for hire to help filmmakers and screenwriters, working at any budget level, get their film project to the finish line. I wanted to put the much-needed services filmmakers need but rarely have access to all under one roof.Filmmakers and screenwriters usually could only get access to these services if they "knew someone." Here are the services and products Filmmaker Process gives you access to:- Pitch Decks- Budget and Scheduling- Domestic and International Sales Estimates- Legal Contracts and Form Templates- Indie Film Investor Package- Consulting and Coaching- Script Coverage- Post Production Services- Trailer Editing- Poster, VOD, and DVD/Blu-Ray Artwork- Film Deliverables (Both Physical and Legal)- Production PayrollIn this episode, I go over what each service is and how you can use it to get your film project to the finish line.For more info go to: www.filmmakerprocess.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

4 Kesä 20218min

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3 Kesä 20211h 3min

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1 Kesä 20211h

If you’ve already listened to my last episode on NFT, then this one will feel like a bonus. But for those of you who haven’t, we explored a new territory this week in indie film and blockchain. My guests today are the filmmakers, Trevor Hawkins, and Nathan Kincaid, pioneers of the first-ever film sold as a non-fungible token, Lotawana. Which will be released soon. A monotonous life has pushed the unfulfilled Forrest (Todd Blubaugh) to a voyage of self-discovery by living amongst nature aboard his sailboat, Lorelei, on an alluring Missouri lake. Soon he catches wind of the rebellious and free-spirited Everly (Nicola Collie) and their idealistic dreams align. This thrilling and thought-provoking romantic journey follows the wanderlust couple as they are confronted by the challenges of their unconventional chosen path.The Kansas City natives have worked extensively in commercials and short film production; often in partnership. Their decision to put Lotawana up as an NFT as an experiment was encouraged after a crash course on NTF from Trevor’s brother-in-law. They were trying to figure out distribution and financing of their next film amid COVID. Nathan and Trevor saw the path as viable stream to generate revenue and attention for their indie film. In thirty days they have seen a massive return of five times their production budget. There’s no denying that NTFs might just become a brave new world that will change the playing field for all creatives. Especially for digital artists. It’s unclear what the future of NTFs will be, yet is an adventurous avenue for filmmakers to explore, interpret and utilize in ways that add value to their art and its ownership.The guys and I didn’t talk only NFT in this conversation. You will hear a bit about the soul-crushing challenges of shooting commercials, the filmmaker’s ultimate best investment - lenses, and much more. Enjoy my informative conversation with Trevor Hawkins and Nathan Kincaid.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

27 Touko 20211h 20min

So today we are going to go down the rabbit hole of NFTs. What the heck is an NFT. It is a Non Fungible Token. Basically, an NFT is a completely original digital file or a digital collectable which is registered on a blockchain ledger just like any cryptocurrency. But unlike cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin or Ethereum, an NFT is totally unique and because it lives on the blockchain it verifies who is the rightful owner of this one-of-a-kind digital collectable file.In February 2021, digital artist Peebles sold a digital artwork for $69.3 million at auction. You heard correctly almost $70 million for a digital file. The founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, sold his very first tweet as an NFT for $2.9 million.It took me a minute to understand what these things were and then it clicked. NFTs are digital baseball cards, comic books, Garbage Pail Kids or Pokemon cards. They are just a digital version and in many ways better because you know exactly how many copies exist.The NBA is sell "moments" as NFTs through NBA Top Shots. Basically, they are selling highlight clips as NFT and they are killing it. Fans of the NBA are gobbling these NFTs as fast as they are released. I really think there is now one doing NFTs better than the NBA right now.Musicians are having amazing success selling NFTs directly to their fans. This is turning the established music industry on its head. NFTs are essentially killing off the middle man. No more label, just a direct relationship with the artist's fans.The other amazing thin about NFTs is that the artist continues to make money on every sale of the NFT forever. Let me explain. When an artist creates a NFT by minting it. Minting is the process of create the digital file (NFT) and placing it on the blockchain. The artist then sets the residual percentage every time the NFT sells.So if I mint a short film and sell it for $500. I get $500. Now, if the new owner sells it 2 years from now for $10,000 I get 10% of that sale. Every time that NFT is resold I get my cut. All transactions transparent. All on the blockchain.So how can filmmakers make money? There are so many options because NFTs are in their infancy. Everyone is trying  to figure out how to use them  in indie film. Some ideas are:Selling the distribution rights to the entire film, like Kevin Smith is doing with is latest film KilljoySelling the distribution rights to your film in shares like the indie film LotawanaCreate  an NFT to a short film to finance itSell NFT collectables from the filmFund raise your film's budget with NFTsThese are just some ideas. I decide to throw my hat in the ring and created an experiment. I minted a few NFTs for my first short film BROKEN and some "legacy NFTs" of the first ever filmmaking tutorials ever uploaded to YouTube. Here is the description of one of the NFTs.This NFT is called Muzzle Flash Breakdown and is one of the first filmmaking tutorials to ever be uploaded to YouTube. It was uploaded on August 28, 2006 by filmmaker, author and Indie Film Hustle Podcast host Alex Ferrari from his 2005 award-winning short film BROKEN. It was taken from the best-selling DVD of the film. That DVD was one of the first indie short films to ever create a massive collection of tutorials and making of videos that explained how to make a low-budget independent film with off-the-shelf software and digital consumer cameras.  This is part of a limited series of filmmaking tutorials that were uploaded to YouTube from the short film BROKEN. All the videos were uploaded and released on the same day in 2006. The external link attached to this NFT will show the original upload to YouTube.Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFPoBZY5BrAWhen you purchase this NFT you will also gain access to the short film BROKEN, the entire collection of tutorials and commentary tracks via private link and passcode. You will also receive the original QuickTime file that was uploaded to YouTube.To access my NFTs go to: www.ifhnft.comI released three of 6 of the total filmmaking tutorials I uploaded on YouTune back in Aug 2006. If these sell out I'll upload the rest and maybe some of my other popular short films I directed over the years. I wanted to give you an example of what an independent film NFT looked like and this is totally an experiment to see what happens.Maybe I'll never sell an NFT, maybe I sell  them three years from now or maybe they will sell out in 15 min. Who knows. What I am excited about is the potential of what this could mean for the indie filmmaking community.In this episode I break down everything you need to know about NFTs, how to make money with them and more. Enjoy!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

25 Touko 202134min

Our guests this week are stars from the early 2000s teen drama television hit show, One Tree Hill, James Lafferty, and Stephen Colletti. The buzz the show had was undeniable, and if you were a fan of the show, then you would be glad to know that your favorite characters, Nathan Scott and Chase Adams have a new project together and they talk all about it in this week’s episode. But first, a summary of our guests’ track records in the industry. Both James and Steven landed their first acting gigs in their late teens and have since expanded their skills to writing, producing, and directing. James, started out as a series regular on One Tree Hill in 2003, having appraised one of the lead roles of the show for which he was nominated four times by the Teen Choice Awards. Actor and television personality. Stephen joined as a regular after recurring his role as Chase Adams since the show’s premiere.Half-brothers Lucas and Nathan Scott trade between kinship and rivalry both on the basketball court and in the hearts of their friends in the small, but not so quiet town of Tree Hill, North Carolina. Here’s a first look at the characters in its pilot episode:Steven has consistently worked in film and television hosting MTV specials Beach House, Spring break and the VMAs backstage live among others. He’s made appearances on TV shows MTV reality television series Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, VH1 2013 romance drama, Hit The Floor, and Taylor Swift’s White Horse music video. Between 2009 to 2012, James began testing out the directing pond. He directed four episodes of the nine season run of One Tree Hill and five episodes of The Royals, which he played another lead role on. In 2016, he briefly graced our screens in six episodes of Underground, the series, as Kyle Risdin.With the country on the brink of Civil War, the struggle for freedom is more dangerous than ever. Underground follows the story of American heroes and their moving journey to freedom.The guys creatively reunited in to create an original comedy television series, Everyone Is Doing Great that’s streaming on Hulu. They co-directed, produced and wrote the show.  What was remarkable was that the sold an independently produced show to a major streamer, which never happens. We dive in on how they were able to do that. The seven episodes show follows Seth and Jeremy, two guys who enjoyed relative success from 'Eternal', a hit television vampire drama. Five years after their show has ended, they lean on each other as they struggle to reclaim their previous level of success and relevance, awkwardly navigating the perils of life and love amidst a humorously painful coming of age.  I had lots of laughs with these two and can’t wait for you to listen.Enjoy my conversation with James Lafferty & Stephen Colletti.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

20 Touko 20211h 17min

I am a huge fan of today’s guest. Since seeing one of her first documentaries, I was transfixed by her power of storytelling. Our guest is an Emmy and Peabody award-winning documentary filmmaker, Lynn Novick---a formidable and respected PBS documentary filmmaker with thirty-plus years of experience in the business.Her archival mini and docu-series documentaries bring historically true events to the big screen alongside her filmmaking partner, Ken Burns. You’ve most likely seen some of her landmark documentary films. The likes of Vietnam (2017), TV Mini-Series documentary The Civil War (1990), College Behind Bars (2019), eighteen hours mini-series, Baseball (2010), and many more.Just this year, the pair premiered their latest co-produced and co-directed three parts documentary on PBD---recapitulating the life, loves, and labors of Ernest Hemingway. The series explores the painstaking process through which Hemingway created some of the most important works of fiction in American letters. Novick is an experienced-learned documentary filmmaker. In the mid-1980s, she applied to film school but did not pursue that lane when she couldn’t find a documentary filmmaking-specific program. Instead, she sought out apprenticeships. Starting at the PBS station in New York City WNET, for six months. And then worked for Bill Moyers as an assistant producer on a series of projects, including her debut production in 1994 with Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth, followed by A World of Ideas with Bill Moyers, etc. The Civil War is a comprehensive survey of the American Civil War.Novick’s decades-long collaboration with Ken Burns emerged in 1989 and has led to the co-production of a number of renowned docu-series.  First, there was the highly acclaimed ‘The Civil War’ which traced the course of the U.S. Civil War from the abolitionist movement through all the major battles to the death of President Lincoln and the beginnings of Reconstruction.Her vast experience as a researcher comes in handy on these kinds of projects, she explains during our convo. She won an Emmy Award in 1994 for producing the Baseball documentary and won a Peabody Award in 1998 for her co-directing and co-producing of Frank Lloyd Wright's documentary. Baseball covers the history of the sport with major topics including Afro-American players, player/team owner relations, and the resilience of the game.Other must mention include multi-Emmy nominations documentary ‘Prohibition’, The Vietnam War, Jazz, and Novick’s first solo directing, College Behind Bars (2019). College Behind Bars explores urgent questions like What is the essence of prisons? Who in America has access to educational opportunities? Six years in the making, the series immerses viewers in the inspiring and transformational journey of a small group of incarcerated men and women serving time for serious crimes, as they try to earn college degrees in one of the most rigorous prison education programs in America – the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI)Novick is one of those filmmakers who have combed through an obscene amount of knowledge and understanding of documentary films. I have a feeling you will enjoy this chat as much as I did.Enjoy my conversation with Lynn Novick.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

18 Touko 20211h 17min