Chapter 26

 

Practical Low-Budget Filmmaking

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

The notion of smaller, less-expensive films is relative — and not all independent films come from specialty divisions. As the technology in digital video cameras and home editing software has advanced and continues to become more affordable, the number of filmmakers (of all ages, professionally trained and self-taught) who are making their own films has skyrocketed in recent years, thus expanding the field of independent filmmaking greatly. So “indie” no longer describes just films like Juno or Little Miss Sunshine. An indie could also denote a five-minute film made for the Internet or a 20-minute short, a documentary, or a direct-to-DVD film. It’s staggering to realize just how vast this field has become.

Because this book was originally written with the moderately budgeted film in mind, it’s full of information that would apply and be helpful to any independent production. This chapter, however, includes additional information with the smaller budgets in mind.

The lowest-budgeted film I’ve ever worked on is $1 million. Not having come from the low-budget world, it was a one-time experience I vowed never to repeat. I had to beg, borrow, finagle and call in all manner of favors, do the work of at least three people, perfect the art of on-the-job training and stretch a dollar farther than I ever thought possible. Though I’m not one of them, there are a lot of people in this business who can not only produce million-dollar pictures in their sleep, but can churn out films for significantly less and make it look easy.

The thing is, though (and this is very important, so pay attention): although there are certain common denominators employed by these filmmakers, there is no one way to make a low, ultra-or ultra-ultra-low-budget film. Everyone does it a little differently, and unfettered by the same union, guild and studio guidelines that the traditional, higher-budgeted features are tied to, these filmmakers have the flexibility and freedom to create their own methods to reach the same ends. And with the explosion of new technology and multiple choices in formats, independent filmmakers have more choices than ever. Therefore, if someone were to tell you how to make your own film on a minuscule budget, just know that that’s his or her way of doing it. You may be getting great advice, but there’s even more information out there for you. Not to discount what you may have learned in film school, but know that school is just the beginning, because once you’re out on your own, you’ll discover techniques, shortcuts and strategies you never even thought of in school. And you’ll learn what works best for you by continuing to ask, research, help others with their films, build relationships and start working on your own.

So with the help of a few incredibly generous friends who specialize in this arena, know how to make films on a shoestring and all have some great advice to share, the following will specifically explore the low-and ultralow-budget film, including movies made for the direct-to-DVD market, short films and documentaries. Also included is information you’ll find useful if you plan to enter film festivals.

 

 

GENERAL SUGGESTIONS FOR LOW-AND ULTRA-LOW-BUDGET FILMS

 

Though low-budget to some is $5–$10 million, to others, it could also be anywhere from $2,000–$300,000. But no matter how large or small the budget, certain basics remain the same. Does the producer own the rights to the story and script? Has the script been copyrighted and is it registered with the Writers Guild? Is it in the proper format and ready to shoot? Have you protected yourself by obtaining all necessary insurance coverage, permits, agreements and clearances? Has the money to shoot this project been fully secured? Do you have a budget and schedule that everyone involved has agreed upon?

Apart from the basics that have to be considered regardless of the size of the budget, it stands to reason that the higher the budget, the larger and more experienced the crew will be, the more high-profile the cast will be; the more locations, stunts, effects, specialty equipment, etc. you can afford; the better the production value will be. That being said, the lower the budget, the more imperative it is for you to:

• be extremely organized and well-disciplined,

• understand the entire process,

• thoroughly prep your picture (meaning you better all those ducks in a row!),

• be skilled at negotiating your deals,

• be incredibly resourceful and be aware of all the resources available to you,

• be more creative than you thought possible (think outside of that proverbial box!) in order to pull off a viable, marketable project — whether it’s five minutes long or two hours — and produce an incredibly wellmade product.

Here are some basic guidelines that will help you in this quest:

• Popular wisdom is to make a genre film — one that fits neatly into the category of drama, romantic comedy, action or thriller. Because there’s so much competition out there, demonstrate that you have a money-maker by choosing a project that’s commercial, high-concept, topical, creative, original and/or edgy. Think high-marketability! Think well-crafted! Know what’s currently selling. Understand that while everyone wants to make the next Blair Witch Project (which cost $35,000 and brought in $140 million domestically), the chances of that happening are becoming ever more rare, because there is such a glut of product on the market. So find a story that’s exceptionally good. If it’s one that’s been done before, make sure that it has a unique twist. Also, the better the script, the better the talent you’ll attract, and the more likely they’ll be willing to work for a whole lot less than they normally do.

• When looking for that one terrific script, start with your own contacts to get the word out, but be specific about what you’re looking for. You can also post online searches for scripts on websites such as InkTip.com and InfoList.com.

• When funds are limited, keep in mind that you don’t need a project that requires several locations, a big cast or the fanciest equipment. You can keep it simple and your budget down as long as you have a terrific story (again — the more commercial, high-concept, edgy or topical, the better), good actors, a film that’s well lit and shot, quality sound and a picture that’s full of production value — a picture that looks amazing and looks as if you spent a fortune.

• Back up for a moment, so I can repeat the importance of having quality sound, because everyone I’ve spoken to in this field has warned that poor sound will kill a project faster than anything — even if it looks good and the acting is top-notch. So make sure you have someone who knows what he or she is doing to handle your sound — both on the set and during the mixing process.

• Be realistic about what you have to spend and what everything is going to cost. Ask yourself what you can do without and what’s absolutely necessary to further the story. Decide if what you want is what you truly need, and also leave yourself some wiggle room for those unanticipated situations and expenses. If you need to reduce your budget, adjust your script, cast, crew, locations, equipment, etc. accordingly.

• Do your research, and do as much of the prep work yourself before you have to put anyone on payroll or pay for outside services.

• There’s a wide variety of standard contracts and production-related forms out there — available in books (like this one, thank you very much), online and most likely, in the possession of friends, co-workers and acquaintances (if you ask around). So find what you need and use the best parts of everything you can get your hands on to create documents that suit your needs and the scope of your project. Then once you’ve prepared these documents, submit them to your entertainment attorney for review. Not having to ask an attorney create a collection of forms and agreements tailored to your needs (from scratch) is going to save you a bundle.

• When you’re doing an ultra-low-budget show, chances are you won’t be able to afford to attach the talent and crew you’d like to have, unless:

• It’s a project an actor, director, cinematographer, etc. really believes in and wants to get behind, sometimes in exchange for backend points (a percentage of profits) or a co-producer credit.

• You can find top talent looking to move up, like a director who has only done commercials and wants to move into features, a camera operator who wants to move into the DP slot or a casting assistant who’s ready to take the next step.

• Before you get too far, decide if whether makes sense for you to become signatory to any of the union or guild agreements, if your budget qualifies you to do so and what the applicable rates and guidelines are to each.

• You may have to take advantage of the many people out there willing to work for free for the experience, credit, footage (for their show reel), a chance to move up or just make some industry connections. But beware: not all free labor is equal. Know who you have to pick from, and hire the most talented individuals you can find from the free labor pool. If they have footage, look at their previous work. Ask for references. You’re looking not only for talent, but also for team players, because on tight budgets and short schedules, there’s no room for high-maintenance prima donnas.

• Look for crew members who have their own equipment (primarily DPs, sound mixers, gaffers and key grips), because they know how to use it, and they’ll take good care of it. They may also carry their own insurance on the equipment, which would save you major bucks.

• Speaking of insurance and such, don’t skimp on the legal stuff just because your budget is low. Obtain the appropriate insurance coverage (including E&O, whether you can afford to buy it up front or not until your finished film is sold to a distributor), proper cast contracts, location and lease agreements and that everything that needs to be cleared (including the music) is cleared, or it’ll come back to bite you in the butt (and pocketbook) — big time!

• Don’t forget to include marketing, music and E&O insurance in your budget.

• Take the time to develop relationships with the vendors who supply the equipment you need, as many of them are willing to give discounts to students, firsttime and low-budget filmmakers.

• Create a great website (or talk a creative friend into making one for you) to showcase your body of work or one that showcases a specific project, and post trailers. (See more suggestions on creating a website for your film later in this chapter.)

• No matter how low your project’s budget may be, find a friend who’s a graphic artist wh’s also looking to advance his or her career, and ask that friend to create a great poster for you. Then post it on your website. And if you don’t already have one, you’ll need a brilliant log line (one powerful sentence that describes your picture). The goal is for that amazing log line and poster to draw people in and capture their attention the moment they see it.

• You can attract a better distributor if you start building the buzz about your film (on the Internet) before you start entering film festivals or release your film. Take advantage of websites such as YouTube (to post a short trailer), MySpace, Facebook and/or Twitter, and — depending on your project — genre sites, such as Fangoria (for horror films). Also consider strategically placed web banners with the help of advertising sites such as Gorilla Nation.

• Have business cards and/or postcards made up highlighting your project and containing your web address. Create a mailing list of everyone you can think of who might be interested in your project, and direct them to your website.

• Make more than one film, short, commercial or documentary so you can respond to a distributor or agent who asks “What else do you have to show me?” If possible, create a body of work that’s versatile.

• Whether you’re creating a business plan to attract funding, a pitch packet to present to vendors, a press kit, a website dedicated to your project or a film festival application packet, make sure that you have one kick-ass, professional-looking, amazing presentation — one that contains all the pertinent information without being overly complicated or long.

• Make a great film, and they will come.

 

FILMING ON A SHOESTRING

For some, low-budget filmmaking often begins at film school, where students have the luxury of making their films at the school’s expense. They have access to equipment, cast and crew — everything they need. Students graduate with a finished product to market, which is sometimes enough to jumpstart their careers. I’ve met individuals who wait until they’ve worked in the business for a while before they make their own film. They give themselves time to learn, to build relationships and access valuable resources in order to produce a more professional-looking product. But I’m also seeing more and more high-school-age filmmakers — young people who are too anxious to wait and dive into the moviemaking game as soon as they can get their hands on a camera and editing system and talk their parents and friends into helping them out.

Again, there’s no one way to make an extremely lowbudget film. I’ve seen them done professionally and by the book every step of the way and others that are shot guerilla-style, employing every shortcut under the sun. I’ve seen them made in one day and over long, drawnout periods of time (years, sometimes). Some filmmakers can afford to shoot/do only so much at a time, and when relying on free help, are subject to being squeezed-in at odd or infrequent times by those donating their time or equipment. I’ve seen others who are all too happy to take advantage of generous friends and relatives who provide financing, locations, food, wardrobe, props, animals, vehicles and whatever else they can donate to the cause. It’s common to recruit free labor from film schools and to solicit interns who can use the experience and screen credit. And it’s not uncommon for rookie filmmakers to max out their credit cards or take out a line of credit to defray production costs.

Some people shoot on weekends when they’re not working at their nine-to-five jobs or for access to locations and/or equipment not available to them during the regular work week. Some filmmakers choose to shoot their projects in smaller communities where they don’t have to worry as much about permits and restrictions and where a majority of the residents are thrilled to have them there (unlike shooting in a big city where permits can be pricey, restrictions are plentiful and neighboring residents and store owners often see a film shoot as an unwanted intrusion).

I’ve seen ultra-low-budget films made for as little as $300 and as much as $200,000, and it’s often the case that the projects with the most miniscule budgets are usually the ones produced to showcase talent, sell a bigger project or add a growing body of work. Creating your own footage is an effective calling card and can be a tremendous asset to launching and building a career that would otherwise take years to establish.

Whether you make DVDs to hand out to everyone you know, showcase your project on the Internet or at film festi-vals or host private screenings, they’re an ideal way to sell your talent and to set your career in motion. Additionally, a short film or documentary can be an impressive fund-rais- ing tool for a full-length feature, just as a short demo can be an effective method of selling a new TV show.

Never having worked on an ultra-low-budget film, I asked my friend Celina Reising, a low-budget line pro- ducer, how she does it. And this is what I learned from her:

• Professionalism is just as important on a $15,000 film as it is on a $10 million project.

• Professionalism is just as important on a $15,000 film as it is on a $10 million project.

• Celina credits her proficiency at making good deals to having a well-prepared pitch and to preparing a Pitch Packet, a professional-looking presentation that contains a cast list, a list of key crew members (highlighting their recognizable credits), a script synopsis, storyboards and/or concept photos and any other selling points that might be helpful. She uses her pitch packet as a tool when negotiating with key crew members, vendors and location owners.

• She’s developed solid relationships with vendors who are willing to give discounts to low-budget film-makers, often in exchange for her recommending them to others and passing out business cards and flyers for them

• Be willing to rent older equipment for discounted rates. Sometimes, for free

• When shooting on film, Celina deals with Kodak reps who work with and offer discounted rates to low-budget and student filmmakers. For information on what Kodak offers students, go to motion.kodak.com/US/en/motion/Education/index.htm. To obtain infor- mation on discounted film rates for low-budget films, check out the list of Kodak’s sales offices at http:­//­mot­ion­.kod­ak.­com­/us­/mo­tio­n/s­upport/w­orldwide_o­ffi­ce­s/index­.ht­m ­#us

• Spend as much as you can afford on catering and craft service, because a well-fed crew is generally a happy crew (a credo I’ve always subscribed to!)

• Take advantage of low-budget sound stages, some of which come already permitted and provide grip and lighting equipment and the services of a key grip or best boy in their rental package.

• A few of the best places to advertise for crew is on Craigslist.org, Crewster.com and Mandy.com

• Film schools are a great source of free labor/crews. But because students have to work around their class schedules, not all can work full days or for the entire shoot. So you may need two or three people to share the same job and work on different days.

• Slow times in the industry (TV hiatuses, strikes and/or the holidays) are likely to bring out highly qualified people willing to take a small, low-budget film and work for significantly less than their normal rate — just to keep working. It’s an ideal time to call in favors from friends who happen to be available. You’ll also often find discounted rates on stage rentals and equipment when the business is slow.

• Celina’s crews run anywhere from five to twenty people, depending on the budget of the project. The fewer the number, the more hats everybody has to wear. This is what one of her crews looks like:

1. Producer/Director

2. Line Producer/UPM/Location Manager/Production Coordinator/Ac countant

3. 1^st Assistant Director

4. 2^nd Assistant Director/PA

5. DP/Camera Operator

6. 1^st Assistant Camera

7. 2^nd Assistant Camera/Grip/Loader

8. Script Supervisor

9. Gaffer

10. Grip/Electrician

11. Sound Mixer

12. Boom Operator

13. Production Designer/Set Dresser

14. Art Director/Props

15. Makeup/Hair

16. Costumer

17. Fire Safety Officer (if permit requires)

• Check out the professional hair and make-up schools in your area, because you can often score graduate students willing to work for the experience.

• If there’s a fashion institute in your city (like FTDM inLos Angeles), call to see if one of their students might be available to intern as a costume designer on your show.

• On most of these smaller projects, the norm is to pay for everything in cash and to leave cash or check deposits with all your vendors. Some vendors will put a hold on your credit card for the full value of what you’re renting until the equipment, props or wardrobe is returned and the rental and any L&D (loss and damage) is paid.

• If there is L&D, some vendors will give you the opportunity to have the item repaired or replaced yourself (if you can get it for less than they would have charged for the repair or replacement).

• Celina generally schedules five-day shoots and negotiates one-week rentals (for a week, vendors usually charge a two- or three-day rate). If your week starts on Monday and ends on Friday, your return date is Monday, which would allow you to keep the equipment throughout the weekend. If just shooting on the weekend, however, you would have the equipment,picked up on Friday after hopefully being able to negotiates one-week rentals (for a week, vendors usually charge a two- or three-day rate). If your week starts on Monday and ends on Friday, your return date is Monday, which would allow you to keep the equipment throughout the weekend. If just shooting on the weekend, however, you would have the equipment picked up on Friday after hopefully being able to negotiate a one-day rate covering Saturday and Sunday with a Monday return.

• The more you can save money in other areas, the more there will be for permits, effects, extras, music and special equipment.

• If you’re working out of the Los Angeles area, check out Panavision’s New Filmmaker Program. The following was taken from Panavision’s web site and was taken from Panavision’s web site and lowbudget filmmakers who qualify:

• Although ultra-low-budget films can’t afford to become signatory to all the unions, many do take advantage of the Screen Actors Guild’s ultra-low-bud-get film contract. SAG also has a short film agreement film contract. SAG also has a short film agreement and a student film agreement — each with their own pay scales and guidelines. SAG is great about answering pay scales and guidelines. SAG is great about answer the requirements and paperwork associated with all of their agreements. (Read more about SAG’s various low/ultra-budget, short film and student film agreements in contract in Chapter 11.)

• Filmmakers with tiny budgets are hard pressed to afford pricey insurance policies, but they can’t hire employees or rent equipment, props, set dressing, wardrobe, stages, vehicles and/or locations without it. So some work through production services companies, and for a small fee, piggyback onto that company’s coverage. Although I’m not crazy about this practice, it’s much better to have the insurance than to try to get away without it and just hope that nothing goes wrong and no one gets hurt. To take it a step further, I would recommend that no one work on a show that doesn’t have insurance — especially workers’ compensation.

• Film commissions can be extremely helpful to new filmmakers. They can also supply you with a list of government-owned property where you can shoot for free (the only expense would be paying for a site rep to be there while the company is shooting).

• You can post your casting breakdown on any one of several free casting websites such as breakdownser-vices.com, lacasting.com and nowcasting.com.

• Unless you can find a casting assistant who wants to move up and is willing to cast your film for nothing or almost nothing, ultra-low-budget producers and directors will often find themselves casting their own films. If you don’t have your own office, borrow one from a friend or rent one for a day or two, because it’s rather creepy (and unprofessional) to ask actors to come to your home or apartment for readings.

• If accessible, you’ll need a camera and small lighting package to record casting sessions and readings.

• When you don’t have an office, places like Starbucks or Panera Bread are ideal for crew interviews and meetings.

• When needing extras, start with friends, relatives and crew members. If you need a large crowd, consider offering a raffle for cash or prizes — something to entice extras to come, to stay and to come back (if needed for more than one day). Celina will occasionally post for extras on Craigslist.org, lacasting.com, nowcasting.com or actorsaccess.com. She uses nonunion extras, and depending on the show and the budget, when required to pay, generally pays about $50 a day. As for stand-ins, the actors do their own standing in or like-sized and complexioned crew members will take up their positions during the lighting process.

• As a rule, Celina doesn’t hire drivers. The crew drives their own vans and trucks,or they’ll drive rental vehicles.

• Many low-budget producer spromote their films on You-Tube. Others hit the film festival circuit instead of or in addition to You Tube.Celina suggests building your film festival expenses into your budget and not waiting unti the last minute to check out submission procedures an deadlines.(Moreaboutfilmfestivalsshortly.)

 

 

SHORT FILMS

 

Short films are hot right now, not only as an ideal way to showcase talent, but their short-term content is perfect for newer platforms like the Internet and mobile devices. Short films are starting to attract money and talent as well as brand-integrated advertising dollars, and they’re now able to compete in dozens of different film festivals — garnering attention like never before.

My friend Stuart Altman, who’s more of a guerilla-type filmmaker, is the king of short films — small projects that have proved to be the foundation of his rapidly advancing career. He started writing and directing while in film school where the camera package for his 35mm thesis film took up the entire bed of a pickup truck. His next project was shot on Super 16, and that required only three cases of camera equipment as well as a smaller crew. As much of an improvement as that was, though, he spent $10,000 on a 13-minute short shot on Super 16 that he later figured would have cost about only $4,000 had it been shot on HDV. That 60 percent savings would have primarily come from eliminating film, processing and telecine expenses.

Stuart is great at finding people willing to work for free — individuals just starting out but with some experience, several of whom have their own equipment. Being multitalented and functioning as producer, writer, director and editor, he saves bundles. His shorts have cost as little as $200. His five-minute, award-winning short The Gift cost $2,000.

The Gift consisted of a cast of five and a crew of five. They shot for eight hours. The DP/operator was paid $200 for the day, the sound mixer $250, a gaffer and key grip both made $75 and a hair/makeup person earned $100. A good portion of the remaining budget went into fuel and transportation.

Some of Stuart’s advice includes:

• Keep your shoots down to two or three days at the most.

• In deference to those working for free, don’t shoot for more than 10 hours a day.

• Don’t skimp on the sound. Bad sound will ruin your film.

• Because there’s so much competition, no matter how short your film is, make sure it looks amazing.

• For every short film you exhibit, have a full-length screenplay (or at least the outline of one) based on the same story.

• If you edit your own film, have another editor review your work. Get an objective opinion.

• Apply to make PSAs (public service announcements) in order to get your work out there.

• For a 15-minute short he did, Stuart advertised for a composer on Ma­ndy.­com, and he ended up spending $500 for 11 minutes worth of music and all obligatory rights. He also likes dealing with small music labels that are willing to work with low-budget producers. And for films made solely for film festivals, he’s been able to obtain five-year film festival rights for $150.

• When renting equipment from outside vendors, even though he’s no longer a student, he’ll sometimes still get a student discount if he asks for it, especially if it’s a vendor who knows him. And by paying a little extra, the vendor will often insure their own equipment.

• In addition to his camera, sound and lighting package, Stuart won’t leave home without an inverter to plug intohiscar — ahandy convenience he’scometorelyon.

• He, too, always makes sure there’s money to feed his crew well.

• Check out the various websites that allow you to upload your short films onto the Internet and enter competitions. Some of them include: Babe­lgum­.com, crackle.com, indieshortfilms.net, cinedulce.com and actioncut.com/sfc/competition.htm.

• Check out filmaka.com, which hosts competitions for short and documentary films (as well as an array of other types of competitions).

 

 

MARRYING CREATIVITY WITH BUSINESS

 

Another friend and contributor to this chapter is Cindy Baer, a filmmaker who radiates passion, creativity and strategy. I admire her zeal and seemingly effortless ability to motivate others — great traits to have when pitching and selling your ideas and projects. Cindy has experience running the gamut from making a critically acclaimed $80,000 feature (which features well-known music and was distributed by one of the largest distributors in North America) to a five-minute (award-winning) short that played at over 25 film festivals and cost all of $300. What makes her stand out is the way she merges the creativity of filmmaking with a keen marketing and business sense that enables her to create a buzz and successfully market and sell her films. The following is some terrific advice she’s shared:

• Cindy strongly recommends that all would-be, new and existing filmmakers become part of a filmmaking community. She suggests joining organizations such as Film Independent (f­ilm­indepe­ndent­.org), Independent Filmmaker’s Alliance (ifilmalliance.com) and Film Artists Network ( filmartistsnetwork.com) to name a few. There are Final Cut Pro user groups and several Yahoo filmmaking-related groups. You can volunteer at film festivals and/or on other people’s films. If there is no film community where you live, start your own networking/support group. It’s all about being around other filmmakers, building relationships and making friends with people who will be there to support you when you’re making your film.

• Choose a name for your film that’s not common — something that won’t compete with similar names on search engines.

• Don’t wait until your film is done to create a website for it. Create the website as early into pre-production as possible, start a blog and start building a buzz about the project. Start listing the cast and crew as soon as they’re set and recognize those who are contributing their time or services to the film with a “Special Thank Yous” section.

• Cindy is a big believer in the use of product placement. Instead of going through a product placement company or hiring a product placement coordinator, she goes straight to the companies she wants to target. She has not only managed to negotiate for free makeup, props, set dressing and wardrobe, but she’s been able to get free stuff for the cast and crew as well. She’s also been able to tap into fast food chains and food vendors who will set up on the set and pass out (free) food. These companies and vendors receive special mention on the website and also in the end crawl of the movie, and she tries to feature their products in the behindthe-scenes footage on the DVD.

• She hasn’t tried it yet, but Cindy thinks that a way to earn some extra money for the film would be to have the cast autograph certain items used during principal photography, and then (again, with permission from the cast) sell those items on eBay.

• Cindy will assemble her own press kit as early in the process as possible and keep adding to it as there’s more material to include. Her press kit will consist of a synopsis of the film, info on the cast, interviews with the cast, full cast and crew lists, a selection of production still photos, the best reviews and quotes and anything else that might be applicable, such as a list of the festivals where the film has played and mention of any awards the film might have won.

• She makes sure to have still photos taken on the set during principal photography and someone shooting behind-the-scenes footage and doing interviews, all of which are used to create added features for the DVD — an added value for the distributor.

• Before the picture is locked, Cindy screens her films for a group of friends and acquaintances. She gives her audience evaluation sheets and asks them to critique the film anonymously. And she urges them to be as brutally honest as possible, her philosophy being that she can’t improve the film if she doesn’t receive totally frank and objective feedback.

• So far, Cindy hasn’t used a sales agent, but instead, has marketed her films directly to distributors. And to get the buzz started, she targets a group of potential distributors and starts periodically e-mailing them. She e-mails to announce when her films are being presented at certain film festivals (without giving them specific dates, locations and times of the screenings), when one has won an award or has received a good review or quote. She stays in touch just enough to entice, but no so much as to annoy.

• When one of her films gets a good quote or review, she tacks it onto the footer of her e-mails, so each time she contacts anyone about that films they can read how well it’s being received.

• When it comes time to secure her distributors, Cindy asks her personal contacts to recommend and set up introductions for her to specific distributors she feels would be best for the project. If they’re associated with companies that had been included in her “enticement” campaign, all the better, because they’ll already be familiar with the project. She sends each one of them a copy of the film along with a press kit that includes the reviews. But she also does something very smart to counterbalance high expectations and to bring the frenzy down to a realistic level: she clarifies anything that could potentially be disappointing or difficult to understand (explaining decisions that were made pertaining to specific scenes or shots or with regard to the acting or editing).

 

 

FILM FESTIVALS

 

Both Stuart and Cindy have had experience on the film festival circuit, and the following are recommendations from both of them:

• Cindy urges you not to submit your film to festivals until you have a game plan — a strategy for how you’re going to market your film, meet the right people and attract the right reviewers.

• She explained that film festivals are attended by: (1) reviewers (critics and press), (2) an audience and (3) buyers/distributors. An “A” festival will have three of the three, and those would include major international festivals such as Sundance, Toronto, Cannes and Telluride. A “B” festival will offer two of the three. And “C” festivals, which are smaller and more regional, will have one of the three. She said an A festival won’t usually accept your film if it’s already premiered at another A, but if you’ve premiered at an A, then there’s a good chance that several B festivals will accept your film. And if you’ve premiered at an A or B, then many of the C festivals would likely accept your submission. Also, as it stands to reason, more festivals will want your film once it starts winning awards.

• The cost of entering a film festival will generally range from free to about $100. And the sooner you apply, the lower the fee.

• Both Cindy and Stuart highly recommend Chris Gore’s Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide (Lone Eagle Publishing) for anyone serious about entering the festival circuit. It’ll help you identify which festivals you should submit your film to and walk you through the submission process. It’ll identify the top-tier festivals, panels you should attend and how to get in good with the programmers, who are often attached to other festivals.

• If you’d like your film to be considered for an Academy Award, apply to festivals that are Academy-accredited. This way, if your film wins, it’s automatically qualified for Academy consideration.

• You can find an extensive list of festivals (including those that are Academy-accredited) by going to www.withoutabox.com. While you’re there, check out their submission services. Withoutabox® is associated with over 3,000 festivals worldwide, and for just the cost of entering the festivals, they’ll enter the appropriate festivals for you. All you have to do is upload your film, trailers, posters, press kit and photos. They also offer filmmakers the chance to self-distribute on DVD, video-on-demand or streaming video. This service isn’t for everyone, but it is worth checking out.

• If your film is accepted at a top-tier festival, and you’re in the market for a producer’s rep, you’ll be in a better position to land one. Your rep will then create an awareness of the film, plan a premiere and generate interest among the buyers. You could also try lining up a producer’s rep prior to submitting to festivals, and if a rep wants your film he or she may very well be able to help you secure a good slot at one of the festivals.

• Without going overboard, consider adding promotional items and a picture of your poster in your application package. It would also help if you could add any endorsements from well-known industry professionals (producers, directors, etc.).

• Arrive at a festival armed with posters to put up and promotional materials to distribute.

• Attend as many festival screenings as you can in order to meet other filmmakers. Festivals are a great place to network.

• Cindy doesn’t rely on the festival to fill the theatre that’s showing her film. She creates her own audience by relying on her contacts (cast, crew, fans, friends, etc.) to make new contacts for her wherever the festival is taking place. She contacts the local press to arrange for newspaper stories. She sets up radio interviews, offers giveaways to those attending and gets her cast to commit to a Q&A after the screening, which always helps promote attendance.

• Stuart will make it a point to meet with journalists while at festivals and ask them for a quote. Cindy will go a step further by researching the press who will be attending a specific festival, target the ones who have traditionally liked films similar to hers — and then personally invite them to a screening and pay for their tickets. She’ll let them know ahead of time that she’s a fan of their reviews and would love to have them review her film. She, of course, contacts them via e-mail — the e-mail with the footer that contains a stream of terrific quotes from other reviewers.

• Once you start entering film festivals, continue to use your festival awards and reviews to create further buzz about your film. Distributors are known to go online to check out festival reviews before deciding what to buy. Getting good reviews won’t tax your budget and is a highly effective way to market your film.

• Connect your MySpace page to the film festival’s MySpace page, and start networking with other filmmakers who will be attending the festival. Cindy said it saves a lot of time, because you’ve already formed new contacts before you even arrive. It becomes easier to connect once at the festival, and part of the fun is going to each other’s movies.

• A few additional websites that provide festival news and complete listings of all film festivals are at: www.­ins­idefi­lm.com, www­.f­ilm­fes­tiv­alw­orl­d.com and www.­in­diefil­mmaker­.org.

 

 

DIRECT-TO-DVD

 

Among her long list of impressive credits, my friend Suzanne Lyons produced three ultra-low-budget horror films for $200,000 each, all made for direct-to-DVD release. She helped me with this section by sharing many of her experiences and imparting some incredibly helpful advice. But for even more information on how she did it — the entire step-by-step process, I’d like to recommend the “Producing Your Low-Budget Film” workshop she does from time and also her terrific e-book on the same topic (both of which you can get more information on by going to www­.suz­anne­lyons­.net).

Suzanne and her producing partner Kate Robbins (who directed one of the films) decided on what kind of projects to make based on the research they did to determine what was selling at the time. Not only did they discover that horror was currently selling, but that historically, horror films did well even without a recognizable cast. They weren’t going to need big names to sell their projects.

• After finding their first script, they formed their new entity (which included a name search, filing for state and federal ID numbers and forming an LLC (limited liability corporation) — all of which they did themselves online. The LLC in fact cost them $70 online — something that would have cost $1,600 had their attorney done it for them.

• In conjunction with the LLC and in anticipation of raising the financing for the film, they also went about creating other legal documents they needed, such as a subscription agreement, an operating agreement and a private placement memorandum. Suzanne and Kate opted for doing it themselves and had their attorney check it over, spending about $250 and saving tens of thousands in the process.

• They did their own option agreements for the screenplays.

• They also prepared their own business plans. If they had had someone else prepare them, it would have cost between $3,000 and $5,000 each. Business plans for films tend to vary a bit, but theirs consisted of seven sections: (1) what the project is about (including synopsis), (2) what’s in it for the investors, (3) their objective, (4) comparisons to like films, (5) marketplace quotes, (6) production team bios, and (7) revenue scenarios based on the genre of the film.

• They had a line producer do a schedule and budget for them.

• Realizing that they were going to need the organization and structure to be able to raise the financing, make and market their films within a limited period of time and budget, they constructed a realistic timeline for each film, and then one at a time, committed themselves to each. The timelines, which ran from approximately a year to a year and-a-half (depending on the film), took them through the entire process and ended with the marketing of their product at a film market or festival.

• When it came time to raising the financing, they started by agreeing upon the total amount needed (basic budget, delivery requirements and operating costs). They next figured out how many investors they were going to seek. The restrictions vary from state to state, but in California, you can collect from only 35 nonaccredited investors — but as many accredited investors as you want. (Wikipedia describes an “accredited investor” as a term defined by various securities laws that delineate investors permitted to invest in certain types of higher-risk investments. The term generally includes wealthy individuals and organizations. In the United States, for an individual to be considered an accredited investor, he or she must have a net worth of at least one million U. S. dollars or have made at least $200,000 each year for the last two years, $300,000 with a spouse if married, and have the expectation to make the same amount this year.) Taking the total amount needed and dividing that by the number of investors you’re seeking will give you an amount per share. A share in Suzanne and Kate’s film would have cost you $7,500.

• They started by calling and sending out e-mails to their contacts and friends to invite them to a sales presentation. They didn’t solicit potential investors via e-mail, for several reasons, including the fact that it’s illegal to do so.

• Suzanne and Kate each bought one share. They then booked a hotel conference room to hold a sales presentation for those whose interest they had piqued with their calls and e-mails. Those interested in purchasing more than three shares or those who brought in investors who bought at least three shares were promised a screen credit on a shared card (executive producer or associate producer, depending on the film and the shares invested).

• They did two sales presentations for the first film, but didn’t need to have any for the second. They sent out over 100 presentations/business plans for the first film and only 35 for the second, because half of the investors from the first film were only too happy to invest the next time around. That’s why it took five and a half months to raise the financing for the first film and less than a month for the second.

• Suzanne and Kate made it clear that they were looking for investors who wanted to play in the film industry. They would be given the opportunity to be extras, visit the set, attend cast and crew parties and be part of the process every step of the way. And their share of the profits would last up to five years from the date of delivery.

• Suzanne created an environment of excitement. She came to the sales presentations armed with packages that included a great deal of information, including copies of their business plan, the subscription agreement, operating agreement and private placement memorandum. They even included a description of what the movie poster would look like. And attached to the business plan was a copy of an article on Section 181 of the Internal Revenue Code, along with a letter explaining this tax incentive in more detail. (Section 181 is mentioned in the previous chapter and in Chapter 5.)

• As soon as checks started coming in, the funds were placed in a business maximizer account, so they could earn interest until the funds were spent.

• They could only afford to pay for three weeks of prep, but they prepped as much as they could on their own during the preceding two months. During this time, key department heads were invited to join them for meetings — knowing that it was on their own time, because there was no money to pay them for their involvement at that stage. This was also the time that they assembled a group of actor-friends to do a table reading that key department heads were also invited to attend. They were asked to comment on potential production-related problem areas, what needed to be cut, possible location sites and possible casting choices

• They signed a SAG ultra-low-budget agreement, which allowed them to use a certain percentage of non-SAG actors.

• They did their own casting and started the process by posting a breakdown of the roles on the Breakdown Services (breakdownservices.com) and LA Casting (lacasting.com) websites, then waited for the headshots and resumes to come in. They met with actors individually and also in groups to observe the chemistry between those being considered. They scheduled callbacks, and once decisions were made, prepared the cast deal memos and SAG contracts. Not having the luxury of scheduling a week or two of rehearsals, the cast was assembled for a full table reading a couple of days before the start of principal photography.

• Because of their fabulous network and the excitement they created around their films, they were able to line up a good crew. And their full production meeting was held a week prior to principal.

• Having learned the hard way by not doing it early enough the first time around, Suzanne recommends that you find out what your delivery requirements are going to be ahead of time. Know the specific elements and the formats expected and the costs for all of it. She started by researching sales agents listed in the Cannes, AFM and Berlin Film Festival editions of the Hollywood Reporter. She called several — to get advice, make contact, let them know what she was doing and to ask for a copy of their delivery requirements.

• Suzanne warns that another part of the process new filmmakers easily forget is to send their scripts out for a clearance report. You want to make sure that all clearances (names, logos, artwork, book jackets, magazine covers, photographs, film and television clips, copyrighted toys, etc.) are done prior to principal photography. (See Chapter 15 for more information on clearances.)

• Suzanne and Kate’s films had 14-day shooting schedules, and they too plied their cast, crew (and investors) with treats whenever they could to keep them happy and to let them know they were appreciated.

• Once principal photography was completed, the editor had a week or two to complete his assembly, and then the director had two weeks to complete the director’s cut. They then allowed time for final pickup shots, some audience testing (with a temp music track) and for the producer/Suzanne’s final cut — all of which took about 10 days. Picture was then locked and turned over to the composer, sound designer and to the lab for color correction.

• The next couple of months, everything was completed, including the music, screen credits and delivery requirements.

• Before the pictures were complete, Suzanne and Kate started sending DVDs of the rough cut to potential sales agents. Once one was secured and a deal was made, they turned over the finished product a month prior to whatever film market or festival they were pre-miering at.

• As the producer of three ultra-low budget films, Suzanne and Kate also functioned as casting directors, accountants, post production supervisors, directors of marketing, company psychologists and babysitters and both the good and the bad cops. But they had loads of fun wearing all those hats. Either that, or the sleep-deprived delirium they were experiencing could have easily been mistaken for fun. But whatever it is that gets you to the point of wanting to make your own film, you have to really, really, want to do this and be passionate about the process, or you won’t even think this experience is fun. As for some final words of advice from Suzanne — she said that the two most important things you can do when making your movie is to make sure that it looks amazing and to keep your investors happy.

 

 

DOCUMENTARIES

 

At the start of each summer’s session of my USC class, I ask the students which facet of the business they’re interested in. In the early years, there might have been one or two mildly interested in documentary filmmaking, but that sure changed with the release of Fahrenheit 9/ll and Super Size Me in 2004 and An Inconvenient Truth in 2006. And if you haven’t already heard, being a documentary filmmaker has become the “in” thing in recent years.

My friend Robert Bahar is a documentary filmmaker. He’s the director and co-founder of Doculink (doculink. org), a grassroots organization for documentary filmmakers and has served on the Board of Directors of the International Documentary Association. Robert, along with filmmaker Almudena Carracedo, recently won an Emmy for their documentary Made in L.A. When Robert recently guest lectured at one of my classes, he told the students that when it comes to documentaries, you can’t just pick a topic. You have to care about an issue and have a story to go with it — a beginning, a middle and an end. And you need good characters to follow as they go through a journey.

For those who have stories to tell and don’t have the training, Robert suggests looking into Film Independent’s documentary workshop, UCLA’s class on Documentary Producing or the seminars being offered by the International Documentary Association. If you do an Internet search, you’ll find other classes and workshops offered throughout the country. Of course there’s also Doculink, a community of documentary filmmakers who have created a forum in which to ask questions and provide a rich source of information.

Robert confirms that there’s no one way of doing it, and that many people make their own documentaries — sometimes taking years to complete the project.

The equipment needed to make your own documentary is pretty simple. Many filmmakers have their own DV and HD cameras, which I won’t get into detail on, as they’ll probably be obsolete by the time this book comes out. But no matter which camera you use, Robert suggests buying the most professional camera you can afford. Either that, or find a friend with a good-quality camera, and either borrow the camera or recruit your friend to shoot the film for you. No matter which camera you use, though, use the same camera throughout the process, so the picture retains the same look.

Other equipment you’d need would include a basic lighting kit, although some choose to shoot with natural light and forego the kit. Your sound system should consist of a boom microphone and one or two wireless lavaliere (lapel) mics (the ones that clip onto your shirt). When shooting, the boom mic is tied to the camera and the lavaliere mics are on the subject(s). (If you can afford it, it’s helpful to have a sound person on your crew who can handle the boom, so it can move separately from the camera.) The other thing that many independent documentarians have is their own Final Cut Pro editing system.

To pitch (sell) your project, you’ll need to assemble a proposal package, consisting of:

• A trailer or sample reel — something that runs any-where from five to twenty minutes. The best sample reels contain scenes from the actual film itself (or what you have of one so far) opposed to pitch reels. And the more credible the material, the easier it will be to sell.

• treatment or script

• A proposed budget

• A production plan

And because of the staggering competition, you’ll want to make sure that your proposal package is as good and as professional-looking as possible before you send it out for submission. Popular wisdom dictates that when looking for corporate sponsorship, you’ll want a proposal that’s formal and glossy. If you’re looking for more academic resources, you’ll want a proposal that’s thoroughly researched. To play it safe, I’d cover all bases by going with well-researched, formal and glossy. Above all, be sure to research the requirements of each funder and follow their instructions carefully.

Just as it with any other independent project, raising the financing for your film is usually a challenge, and the submission process for funding and grants can be long and arduous. But unlike other indies, it’s unusual for documentaries to receive full funding at the development stage, other than possibly seed money for research and development. While waiting for all the pieces to fall into place, a good number of filmmakers slowly continue to work on their projects in a grassroots sort of way — sometimes for years — and sometimes finishing them on their own (finding some way to keep their projects alive) before their funding comes through.

There’s no one route to take to fund documentaries, and it often comes from more than one source. Connecting with a production company that will invest and/or bring on private investors is certainly one way to go. And Robert has a few other suggestions:

• ITVS — Independent Television Service, which funds, presents and promotes documentaries on public televi sion and on the PBS weekly series Independent Lens. They act as a bridge between producers and public television, providing funding, creative development, feedback during production and a comprehensive public television launch. To apply, an independent producer must be at least 18 years old and have had some previous film or television production experience. You can check out their submission guidelines and deadlines by going to itvs.org.

• At the core of the Sundance Documentary Film Program is its Documentary Fund (docsource.sundance.org), which twice a year makes up to $1.5 million in grants to support U.S. and international documentary films focused on contemporary issues. Furthermore, the Sundance Program offers a continuum of support through the life of a project, from research to production and post production, through distribution and audience engagement. Go to www.sundance.org/documentary for the fund guidelines and a formal application.

• Check out IFP (ifp.org). Independent Feature Project is the nation’s oldest organization of independent filmmakers, founded in New York City in September of 1979. Since its inception, 20,000 filmmakers have participated in its programs, and it has facilitated the development, financing or distribution of more than 7,000 independent films — a large percentage of which have been documentaries. IFP sponsors a yearly event called Independent Film Week — a six-day event that’s attended by filmmakers, distributors, broadcasters and major funders. Its centerpiece is Project Forum, which showcases 150 new works in development, half of which are documentaries. The forum is divided into three sections: Emerging Narrative, for writers and writer/directors seeking producers; No Borders International Co-Production Market, for experienced producers seeking financing partners; and Spotlight on Documentaries, for projects in production and post-production that are currently seeking financing partners and festival invitations. The event also allows for thousands of one-on-one pitch meetings between filmmakers and executives from production companies, distributors, exhibitors, broadcasters, and film festivals. For guidelines and submission forms, go to independentfilmweek.com.

• You can also pursue grants that pertain to a specific subject matter if your film happens to be about one of those subjects. Go to the Foundation Center (foun-dationcenter.org), where you’ll find a database of foundation grants. Some of the foundations will want you to send a query letter and others will require you to submit a full proposal. There are also some that will only consider sponsoring films made by charitable nonprofits — 501(c)(3)s. And in that case, if you’re not a nonprofit, you’re going to want to check out IDA (International Documentary Association)’s Fiscal Sponsorship program, which will accept grants and donations for approved projects under their nonprofit umbrella. You can find out more about this program at documentary.org/content/fiscal-sponsorship.

• If you’re a woman making a film about women, check out Women Make Movies (wmm.com). This is a multicultural, multiracial, nonprofit media artsorga-nization that facilitates the production, promotion, distribution and exhibition of projects specifically by and about women. They not only offer low-cost media workshops, information services and a distribution service, but also a Production Assistance Program to approved filmmakers.

• Though most documentary filmmakers opt for fiscal sponsorship, you can go the charitable route yourself by becoming a nonprofit corporation, 501(c)(3), and collecting grants and donations on your own. There’s a lot of information on the Internet about how to do this.

• If you have a project that’s very commercial, you might also try one of the more traditional investor models -the type used to finance many independent films.

• Submitting proposals (script, budget and sample reel) to cable networks (the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, HBO, etc.) is slightly different for each network. Discovery Communications, for example, which produces the Discovery Network, the Learning Channel, Animal Planet and the Science Channel (to name a few) has an e-submission process online through what they call their Producer’s Portal (producers.discovery.com/esub/esub.nsf). As for HBO, you pretty much have to be commissioned or hired to produce a documentary for them (although occasionally, filmmakers have had success pitching to HBO at a film market and/or by submitting a very strong rough cut).

• Another scenario would be to make the film completely on your own — asking friends to work with and help you. Then submit your film to festivals such as Sundance, Hot Docs (the Canadian International Documentary Film Festival in Toronto — www.hot-docs.ca), SilverDocs (the AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival — silverdocs.com) and IDFA (the International Documentary Festival in Amsterdam -www.idfa.nl). For a full list of documentary film festivals, check out DocumentaryFilms.net (www. documentaryfilms.net/festivals.htm).

• Robert recommends many of the same marketing strategies as the others interviewed for this chapter -having a designated website for your film, posting a trailer, building an e-mail list that targets the precise audience you want to reach.

• If you’re continuing to work on your film while pursuing financing, you’ll either need to be proficient enough on (and have access to) a home-based editing system or be compelling enough to recruit a friend, colleague or intern willing to do some editing for you (for free or on deferment), because you’ll need a trailer, and if possible, a 20-minute assembly of material to present to potential investors.

• Robert also says that once you’ve secured your financing, the single most important investment you can make in your film is to hire the best editor you can afford. Sorting through and scrutinizing hours of footage, your story will usually come together and the film will be crafted in the editing room. So the right editor can absolutely make your film. And if a massive amount of footage has been shot that could be edited in a way to tell more than one story, then it’s the producer’s job to decide which story to tell.

• For those who are serious about documentary filmmaking, Robert highly recommends these books: Directing the Documentary by Michael Rabiger (Focal Press) and The Documentary Filmmakers Handbook: A Guerilla Guide by Genevieve Jolliffe and Andrew Zinnes (Continuum).

• What does a documentary cost? Well, depending on your topic, if you’re doing it yourself, it could cost as little as $5,000. A one-hour TV documentary will generally range from $200,000 to $500,000 (somewhat lower for some cable networks). And proposals generally run from $300 to $800, depending on the content.

Getting back to this whole stiff competition thing: I know I sound like a broken record, but for every 400-600 applications made to ITVS, only six to eight projects are funded. And of the 1,200 documentaries submitted to Sundance each year, only 16 (domestic) slots are filled. So although I don’t mean to dissuade you from applying, I want you to know what to expect and to be prepared! That’s why I suggest that before embarking on a documentary, you find out what’s already out there and what’s selling. An acquaintance who recently took a documentary workshop was warned to stay away from films bashing George W. Bush and anything that had to do with global warming. Not that they’re not worthy topics, but no matter what the spin, they’ve been done to death, and there are just too many already on the market. Remember that — like any other type of film — you may not make a fortune (few do in this field), but you’ll have a much better chance of doing well if you start with a compelling story, and you make a movie that people want to see.

 

 

MORE ON MARKETING

 

Some more useful tips:

• If you can afford it, hire a good publicist. Even if you think it’s an expense you can’t absorb, meet with a publicist anyway, because although you might not be able to afford all of the services one provides, you might be able to afford some. And if nothing else, you’ll leave the meeting having made a new contact and probably some good advice.

• Know who your core audience is, and target them — starting with the Internet.

• Engage your audience from the moment your project is born with a website, blogs, etc.

• Use the film’s website to develop a relationship with your fanbase and keep them committed and buzzing about your project with photos, stories from behind the scenes, an amazing trailer, etc.

• Have an awesome poster created and develop some memorable promotional materials.

• Start a grassroots word-of-mouth campaign by hosting screenings for friends and colleagues, industry-related organizations, at colleges, churches and through nonprofits.

• If the topic of the film relates in any way, enlist social action campaigns, and look for organizations for which the film can become a vehicle.

• Have your cast, director, other producers and key crew members agree to participate in Q&A sessions immediately after screenings.

• Invite your fans to participate and think about creating a contest (possibly granting the winner two invitations to the film’s premiere).

• Promote the film at any conventions that might apply (such as Comic-Con).

• Contact the press, including local radio and TV stations.

• Consider marketing via mobile devices.

• Post a trailer on YouTube, get some feedback, fine-tune the trailer and use it as a selling tool. Make it short and to the point in order to grab your audience’s attention.

 

 

MUSIC FOR YOUR FILM

 

Obtaining the rights to specific songs you might want to use in your film could be costly, but securing good music for you film doesn’t have to be expensive.

You can’t just attach the music you want (see Chapter 16), but you can find up-and-coming composers, groups and singers who would love the opportunity to provide music for you film. One way to find musical talent for your project would be to do a search on YouTube, MySpace and/ or Facebook. What they would get in return is the exposure, the contacts and the screen credit. An additional incentive for the composer is that he will retain publishing rights. So if and when the film makes it to broadcast, the composer (providing that he is signed with a performance society — ASCAP, SESAC, BMI) will earn performance money.

When using a group, you’re going to need a Music Master Use License and Music Synchronization License (both of which can be found at the end of the chapter), which will give you (the filmmaker) the right to use the group’s original music in one specific film. Make sure, however, that your agreements grant you the rights to use the song, or songs, (composition and master recording) in any and all media now known or hereafter devised. You’ll need to secure these rights before dealing with any sales reps and/or distributors. You’ll also have to provide the group and/or the songwriters with the appropriate credit — all those in the group who contributed to the song will sign the release.

You can also create your own music with one of several music creation programs that are either free or very affordable and easy to use. GarageBand is one. It’s a music creation program provided for free with every new Mac. It provides you with numerous standard pattern — drum, bass, percussion, guitar, keyboards, etc., and you simply open the program and drag and drop them into place. You choose a desired sound pattern and drag it onto the music timeline. Then there’s Acid. This program is marketed by Sony and can be used on the PC format. It has many sound altering and music importing and exporting features that aren’t found in GarageBand. It does follow the same protocol: you simply drag and drop sound bites into their appropriate location on your music timeline. If you’re using a film editing program, you can easily switch between programs and create your soundtrack as you go.

The great thing about creating music with either of these programs is that all of the sound bits and patterns are royalty-free.

Finally, there are a couple of websites I recommend you take a look at: www.talentmatch.com features indie bands seeking exposure, and www.uniquetracks.com offers royalty-free music.

 

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

 

Here are some more for you:

• Film Independent (formerly IFP/West): www.filmindependent.org. Film Independent is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping independent filmmakers get their films made. Five thousand members strong and based in Los Angeles, they have camera equipment and casting rooms to rent, a resource library with computers, sample budgets and business plans and every conceivable film periodical. They offer their members over 100 free screenings and 150 educational events every year. They offer filmmaker labs, mentorship programs, talent development programs, networking events and much more. They also produce two major annual events: The Independent Spirit Awards in February and the Los Angeles Film Festival in June.

• Worth repeating is Independent Film Project (IFP): www.ifp.org. As mentioned earlier, the IFP, located The Complete Film Production Handbook in New York, is the nation’s oldest organization of independent filmmakers. Since its inception, 20,000 filmmakers have participated in its programs, and it has facilitated the development, financing and/or distribution of more than 7,000 independent films.

• About.com: worldfilm.about.com. Covering independent films worldwide.

• Done Deal: www.donedealpro.com. Tracks script, book, treatment and pitch sales.

• Filmmaking.net: www.filmmaking.net. References and networking opportunities for independent filmmakers around the world.

• IndependentPictures.com: independentpictures.com. Share and review indie films and exchange ideas and criticism.

• Indie Films: indie.imdb.com/index.indie on the Internet Movie Database.

• IndieClub: www.indieclub.com.Networking site,message boards and local groups for independent filmmakers.

• IndieProducer.net: www.indieproducer.net. A networking site for independent filmmakers

• IndieWIRE: www.indiewire.com. News, information and networking.

• Movie Marketing Update: www.indiescene.net. A daily source for film industry marketing news.

• MOVIEmaven: www.moviemavenlist.com. Reviews of foreign and independent films.

• ProductionHUB: www.productionhub.com. A resource and directory for film, television, video, live events and digital media production

• SAG Indie: www.sagindie.org. Independent film production information, resources and events — includes SAG indie contracts (information and downloads)

• Planning the Low Budget Film, by Robert Latham Brown (Chalk Hill Books)

• The Independent Film & Videomaker’s Guide, by Michael Wiese (Michael Wiese Productions)

Without Suzanne Lyons, Robert Bahar, Cindy Baer, Stuart Altman and Celina Reising, this chapter wouldn’t exist. I can’t thank them enough for their generous help and contributions.

 

 

FORMS IN THIS CHAPTER

 

• Deferral Agreement — for those of you who retain employees and/or vendors who are willing to defer their salaries until the picture earns a profit. This is a form that each such person should sign.

• Music Master Use License (create one agreement for each piece of music)

• Music Synchronization License (create one agreement for each piece of music)

DEFERRAL AGREEMENT

 

 

Picture Title:________________________

Reference is hereby made to the fully-executed agreement (the “Agreement”) dated as of [TODAY’S DATE] entered into between [NAME OF PRODUCTION ENTITY] (“Producer”) and [NAME OF EMPLOYEE OR VENDOR] (“Employee [or Vendor]”) on the [TYPE OF PRODUCTION, SUCH FEATURE OR TV] project tentatively entitled [NAME OF PICTURE] (the “Picture”).

 

For $1.00 and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged, [Employee] [Vendor] agrees to defer $ __________of the $____________ Fixed Compensation set forth in the Agreement (the “Deferment”).

 

[Employee] [Vendor] shall recoup the Deferment from any unspent contingency from the budget of the Picture following complete and final delivery of the Picture and all elements thereof by Producer to the distributor of the Picture, provided that (i) the completion guarantor has been rele” ased from any and all liability under any completion guaranty issued in connection with the Picture, and (ii) the completion guarantor has recouped any and all sums it has expended in connection with the Picture.

 

Thereafter, [Employee] [Vendor] shall recoup any remaining portion of the Deferment, plus ______% interest thereon, from the “Worldwide Adjusted Gross Receipts” of the Picture. For purposes of this agreement, Worldwide Adjusted Gross Receipts shall be defined as all sums, including advances, guarantees and security deposits, actually received by Producer, or any affiliate, subsidiary, parent or related entity or party of Producer, in connection with the distribution or other exploitation of the Picture or any element thereof, less: (i) all collection fees actually paid to the collection agent for the Picture; and (ii) all bank debt and interest thereon incurred in connection with the production of the Picture.

 

Producer shall be required to maintain full and complete records in connection with the Picture, and to provide quarterly statements to [Employee] [Vendor] for the first 3 years following the release of the Picture, and at least annual statements thereafter. [Employee] [Vendor] shall be granted industry-standard accounting and audit rights in connection with the account and such records.

 

If Producer breaches this Agreement, [Employee] [Vendor]’s sole remedy will be an action at law for money damages. In no event will [Employee] [Vendor] be entitled to seek injunctive or other equitable relief nor will [Employee] [Vendor] have the right to enjoin the production, exhibition or other exploitation of the Picture. Furthermore, [Employee] [Vendor] will; not have the right to terminate the rights granted under this Agreement or rescind this Agreement by reason of such breach. This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding between Producer and [Employee] [Vendor] with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement and cannot be modified except by a written amendment signed by the parties.

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Deferral Agreement as of [DATE OF SIGNING].

MUSIC MASTER USE LICENSE

 

 

This master use license agreement (the “Agreement” ) is entered into as of [TODAY’S DATE] by and between [NAME OF PRODUCTION ENTITY] (” Producer” ) and _________________ (“Licensor.” )

 

For good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:

 

1. This Agreement is entered into with respect to the master sound recordings of the musical composition “__________________” written by ____________________________(the “Master” ), recorded by ___________________________, with respect to that certain motion picture currently entitled “_” (the “Picture” ).

2. Licensor hereby grants to Producer and its successors, licensees and assigns, the non-exclusive right, in perpetuity, to record, dub and synchronize the Master into and with the Picture and all advertisements, trailers, featurettes and any other promotion thereof, in any manner, medium, form or language, in each country of the Territory (as defined below). In connection therewith, at Producer’s request, Licensor agrees to make the Master available to Producer for Producer’s use in accordance with this Agreement.

3. Licensor also hereby grants to Producer and its successors, licensees and assigns, the non-exclusive and irrevocable right and license, in perpetuity, to publicly perform for profit or non-profit, and to authorize others to so perform, the Master as part of the exhibition or other exploitation of the Picture, and in any and all advertising or other publicity for the Picture, in the Territory, in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, including, without limitation, theatrical exhibition, television exhibition (including, without limitation, free, pay, cable, satellite television), by means of videodiscs or any other form of data storage device, and via online, internet and streaming transmission by any means whatsoever.

4. Licensor also grants to Producer the perpetual, non-exclusive right to use and to license others to use Licensor’s name(s) in connection with Producer’s exploitation of the Picture.

5. The territory covered by this Agreement (the “Territory” ) is the entire universe.

6. As full and complete consideration for the rights granted to Producer hereunder, Producer shall pay to Licensor the sum of $ , payable upon Licensor’s execution hereof.

7. Licensor represents and warrants that it has the full right, power and authority to enter into this Agreement and to grant the rights agreed to be granted hereunder. Licensor hereby agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Producer, its successors, licensees and assigns from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, costs or expenses (including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from any breach by Licensor of any representation, warranty, covenant or agreement made by Licensor hereunder.

8. This Agreement does not authorize or permit any use of the Master not expressly set forth herein. Licensor reserves exclusively to itself and its successors, licensees and assigns, all rights and uses in and to the Master, whether now or hereafter known or in existence, except the limited use expressly licensed hereunder. By way of illustration and not of limitation, the following rights are specifically reserved to Licensor for its own use, and may not be exercised by Producer:

(a)All rights of reproduction or use of the Master on compact discs and any other types of sound reproduction, whether now or hereafter known or in existence. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Producer shall not have the right to include or authorize the use of the Master or any portion thereof in any compact disc of the soundtrack of the Picture.

(b)The right to use the Master in other motion pictures or other television programs.

9. Producer shall accord Licensor screen credit, substantially as set forth below, with respect to the Master, on the negative and all positive prints of the Picture, as follows:

“______________________”

Performed by __________________

Composed by __________________

The foregoing credits shall be in such size and placement as is customarily accorded musical groups receiving screen credit.

 

Producer will use good faith efforts to require compliance with the foregoing credit requirements in all agreements for the distribution, exhibition, or other exploitation of the Picture, to assure that proper credit has been accorded to Licensor; provided, however, that any casual or inadvertent failure of any third party to comply with the foregoing credit provisions shall not constitute a breach of this Agreement by Producer.

 

10. In the event of any breach of this Agreement by Producer, Licensor’s sole remedy shall be the recovery of money damages, and Licensor shall not have the right to terminate or rescind this Agreement or to enjoin or restrain the use of or the exhibition, distribution, advertising or exploitation of the Picture.

11. Nothing contained herein shall in any way obligate Producer to use the Master, or to produce, release, distribute, exhibit or otherwise exploit the Picture. Producer shall be deemed to have fully satisfied its obligations hereunder by paying to Licensor the compensation payable pursuant to the terms hereof.

12. This Agreement is binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the parties’ respective successors and assigns. Producer may assign this Agreement, in whole or in part, at any time to any party as Producer may determine in its sole discretion.

13. This Agreement contains the entire understanding of the parties relating to the subject matter hereof and supersedes any prior understanding or agreements of the parties. This Agreement may not be modified or amended except in writing signed by the parties to be charged.

 

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as the day and year first written above.

MUSIC SYNCHRONIZATION LICENSE

This synchronization license agreement (the “Agreement” ) is entered into as of [TODAY’S DATE] by and between [NAME OF PRODUCTION ENTITY] (“ Producer” ) and ___________________________(“ Licensor” ).

For good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:

 

1. This Agreement is entered into with respect to the musical composition entitled “__________________” (the “Composition” ), with respect to that certain motion picture currently entitled [TITLE OF PICTURE] (the “Picture” ).

2. Licensor hereby grants to Producer and its successors, licensees and assigns, the non-exclusive right to record the Composition in any manner, medium, form or language, in each country of the Territory (as defined below) in synchronization with the Picture, and to make copies of such recordings in connection with the exploitation of the Picture.

3. Licensor also hereby grants to Producer and its successors, licensees and assigns, the non-exclusive and irrevocable right and license, in perpetuity, to publicly perform for profit or non-profit, and to authorize others to so perform, the Composition as part of the exhibition or other exploitation of the Picture, and in any and all advertising or other publicity for the Picture, in the Territory, in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, including, without limitation, theatrical exhibition, television exhibition (including, without limitation, free, pay, cable, satellite television), by means of videodiscs or any other form of data storage device, and via online, internet and streaming transmission by any means whatsoever.

4. Licensor also grants to Producer the perpetual, non-exclusive right to use and to license others to use Licensor’s name in connection with Producer’s exploitation of the Picture.

5. The territory covered by this Agreement (the “Territory” ) is the entire universe.

6. As full and complete consideration for the rights granted to Producer hereunder, Producer shall pay to Licensor the sum of $____________________ payable upon Licensor’s execution hereof.

7. Licensor represents and warrants that Licensor has the full right, power and authority to enter into this Agreement and to grant the rights agreed to be granted hereunder. Licensor hereby agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Producer, its successors, licensees and assigns from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, costs or expenses (including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from any breach by Licensor of any representation, warranty, covenant or agreement made by Licensor hereunder.

8. This Agreement does not authorize or permit any use of the Composition not expressly set forth herein and does not include the right to alter the fundamental character of the music of the Composition, to use the title of the Composition or any simulation thereof as the title or subtitle of the Picture or any other work, to use the story of the Composition, or to make any other use of the Composition not expressly authorized hereunder. Licensor reserves exclusively to itself and its successors, licensees and assigns, all rights and uses in and to the Composition, whether now or hereafter known or in existence, except the limited use expressly licensed hereunder. By way of illustration and not of limitation, the following rights are specifically reserved to Licensor for Licensor’s own use, and may not be exercised by Producer:

(a)All rights of reproduction or use of the Composition on compact discs and any other types of sound reproduction, whether now or hereafter known or in existence. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Producer shall not have the right to include or authorize the use of the Composition or any portion thereof in any compact disc of the soundtrack of the Picture.

(b)The right to use the Composition in other motion pictures or other television programs.

9. Producer shall accord Licensor screen credit, substantially as set forth below, with respect to the Composition, on the negative and all positive prints of the Picture, as follows:

“__________________________”

Performed by______________

Composed by_______________

The foregoing credits shall be in such size and placement as is customarily accorded musical groups receiving screen credit.

Producer will use good faith efforts to require compliance with the foregoing credit requirements in all agreements for the distribution, exhibition, or other exploitation of the Picture, to assure that proper credit has been accorded to Licensor; provided, however, that any casual or inadvertent failure of any third party to comply with the foregoing credit provisions shall not constitute a breach of this Agreement by Producer.

10. In the event of any breach of this Agreement by Producer, Licensor’s sole remedy shall be the recovery of money damages, and Licensor shall not have the right to terminate or rescind this Agreement or to enjoin or restrain the use of or the exhibition, distribution, advertising or exploitation of the Picture.

11. Nothing contained herein shall in any way obligate Producer to use the Composition, or to produce, release, distribute, exhibit or otherwise exploit the Picture. Producer shall be deemed to have fully satisfied its obligations hereunder by paying to Licensor the compensation payable pursuant to the terms hereof.

12. This Agreement is binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the parties’ respective successors and assigns. Producer may assign this Agreement, in whole or in part, at any time to any party as Producer may determine in its sole discretion.

13. This Agreement contains the entire understanding of the parties relating to the subject matter hereof and supersedes any prior understanding or agreements of the parties. This Agreement may not be modified or amended except in writing signed by the parties to be charged.

 

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as the day and year first written above.