How Local Media Attention Can Help Independent Filmmakers

Remember the front page article by Michael D Reid in our local newspaper, the Times Colonist, a little while back? That one article opened up a tonne of doors for us. Thought I'd let you in on all the amazing things that came as a result of that article.

1. Garage Bands Rally Around the Movie, Locked in a Garage Band.
First off, Devin Perfect, of the local band, Handsome Distraction, contacted us and offered to help by hosting a fundraiser gig with local garage bands. We went for a quick drink, chatted more about the movie and his band and our similar philosophies around indie music & movies. Very cool guy!

In the end, we agreed that he could go all out in getting local bands to rock out here in Victoria at Lucky Bar, and in exchange Jen & I would do our very best to promote Handsome Distraction. That was a no-brainer for us. The band's name is awesome, and you gotta love garage bands rallying around a movie about a garage band getting locked in their garage for a day.

Jen's already re-written the script so Handsome Distraction is mentioned a few times (in context - the garage band who gets locked in the garage has an upcoming gig where they open for Handsome Distraction...see? Makes perfect sense right?!) And we're stoked about the gig here in town. Local band, Everybody Left & guests will perform on March 9th at Lucky Bar. RSVP here:http://on.fb.me/hx5QNH

2. We hired a Production Coordinator who rocks!
Emily Silver came a'knocking! Emily went to film school (Jen & I didn't) and has been working for the past few years on her other passions - rowing & coaching. After reading the article, Emily's boss encouraged her to contact us & offer to volunteer so that she could pursue her first true love - filmmaking. We met up for coffee and hit it off immediately. Her film school experience really helps us with the nitty-gritty details that we would miss otherwise. For now, Emily's volunteering as the Production Coordinator but I really hope we can actually afford to pay her soon. That would rock.

3. Money, money, money!
We got a tonne more pledges on our kickstarter campaign & emails of encouragement. So sweet! One person even mailed us a card with a cheque because she wasn't technically inclined enough to figure out the kickstarter pledges. Awesome. Cheques are great people! So's cash. ;-)

4. More articles to come!
I met Michael D Reid in person at the Victoria Film Festival a couple of weeks ago, and mentioned that I was invited to Sir Elton John's Oscars viewing party by an angel investor. What a great story eh? Michael just contacted me and asked if he could do a follow-up story on Tuesday following the Oscars and of course I said "You BETCHA!" He'll be phoning me the morning after and getting in a quick interview as I head to the airport in LA to come back home to Victoria, BC. Wonder what will happen as a result of that article? WOOHOO!

I guess the point here is that every little bit of media attention helps. The more you put yourself out there, the more you'll get in return. We are so blessed!

I tear up with gratitude when I think about all the incredible people who believe in us, want our movie to succeed & will do whatever they can to help. From a small pledge on kickstarter, to a newspaper article, to a fundraising gig, to an invite to Elton's party where the movers & shakers play, to a large pledge on kickstarter, to a Twilight star being cast (watch this space Twi-hards!)...it's all so overwhelming & FRIKKIN' FANTASTIC! Woohoo! Thanks everyone. You seriously ROCK!

A Funny Podcast Interview with Nick from The Clapper Bored

I just completed my very first podcast interview. I love listening to podcasts and have always thought that I should start my own, but must admit that I find the task of learning just how to do it daunting. And let's face it - I'm swamped with making a movie as it is!

So I was pretty excited to be on a podcast at all. I absolutely loved chatting with Nick in London from www.theclapperbored.com He's a great guy with a funny concept - we chatted about Locked in a Garage Band and movie making in general and then jumped into the "Famous scene of the week" which I got to choose. And then we discussed the "movie of the week" - also my choice. I won't give it away here, but will tell you that I got my Molly Ringwald on. *swoon*

I'll post the link to the podcast here when it's up. Happy days!

Reflections on Holding Auditions for Locked in a Garage Band

We held auditions in Vancouver this past weekend, for our first feature film, Locked in a Garage Band.  I thought I should write down a few reflections about the process before I forget.

Here goes:

• Casting Directors rock.  Seriously, I don't know what we would have done without Kristina Agosti, our incredibly positive, happy & hilarious casting director.  Kristina knows my sister, Jen, the writer-director in our team, from Jen's Praxis screenwriting win last year.  She was one of the actors hired on as a reader for Jen's Christmas script.   When she saw our casting call, she gave us a buzz to discuss the film & we hired her on the spot.  Kristina's well connected in the Vancouver acting community, as an experienced actor herself.  Plus, she's funny & ridiculously easy to work with.  Score!

• Being organized is key.  When Yukari (our line producer) and I sat down to work out the audition schedule last week, we really focused on having room to catch up on any missed time, just in case we needed it.  This made it so we were never more than 10 minutes behind schedule, which the actors really appreciated.

• Being frugal doesn't mean being dodgey.  We managed to get our audition budget down from $850 to $440 by simply looking at all our options.  At first we looked to acting schools like Shoreline & VADA in Vancouver but their prices (while reduced) were still too high for us.  So, we then looked to community centres but they were mostly booked by the time we contacted them. Finally we looked to hotels.  In the middle of a meltdown about budgeting, I remembered that I have lots of airmiles from all my travels and credit card purchases, so I was able to use my points to book us a hotel room for free.  We then chatted up the Westin Conference booking person and convinced her to cut us a deal for the actor's waiting room. Ba-da-boom!  Instant savings.  But that's just the money stuff. The interesting point here is that we heard so many of our actors saying that it was such a relief to be in a nice hotel for a change.  A few of the women said they were used to going to dodgey back-alley type auditions.

• Being positive makes for a positive experience for all.  Quite a few actors sent us emails or gave us thanks at the audition for being so enthusiastic and positive with them.  They said that they're used to going to auditions where the producers don't even speak to them and it's all business all the time.  Our film is a comedy, so we laughed quite a bit during their auditions and I imagine that's what they were referring to.  I also made sure to say "Have fun!" when I brought them to their first auditions, and thanked them for returning to the call-backs. Some of the women even said that it was refreshing to go into an audition run by women for a change.  Weird - I'm always shocked to see how few women are in our positions, but I guess that must be true.

• Videos are essential. We used Jen's Nikon D90 to record the auditions and review them all again, some even 5 times!  Watching them audition in person is cool, but we had heard that it was really important to see them on camera as well and I'm relieved we followed that advice.  It really helped us to remember their performance a few hours later, and to see what they'd look like on the TV screen.

• Snacks rock.  'Nuff said.

• Skype auditions are always an option.  We had more than 250 submissions just from British Columbia actors alone.  I didn't count how many out-of-province submissions, because I had to just delete them all - but I think it was probably at least 500.  All the way from Ireland and England to all across the USA, we had actors that we thought would be perfect in the roles, until we saw their locations.  In the end, we gave 2 auditions via skype, but only to 2 actors - a guy from Austin who I met at AFF and a girl from London who I met in Alaska this summer.  Both are experienced actors, and fit the roles perfectly.  My sister resisted the skype auditions and felt like we were wasting their time, until she met them online.  They both nailed their auditions & were hired within a few hours.  Even though we had seen 7 actors per character in Vancouver, 2 of those characters ended up being cast by skype.

• Follow your gutt. It's always right.  I relate auditions to dating - if I go on a date with a guy and feel iffy afterwards about whether I want to see him again, then I know it's a no.  I do the same thing in my day-job where I interview teachers to work abroad.  I have to trust my gutt.  It's always right. So when we were unsure of an actor for a specific character, we ended up just not casting the role.  On the other hand, Jen is creating a character for one actor that wasn't right for the part he came in for, but showed such enthusiasm and talent that she just had to hire him.  That was a gutt-decision.

Any questions? Comments? Suggestions? Ramblings?

Ramblings on Casting, Auditions & Working with a Family

It's Casting Week here at Elgin Road!  Which means, we're holding auditions in Victoria & Vancouver - a feat in and of itself.

According to the ACTRA low budget union agreements, we're supposed to shoot in a location where the actors can return home every night - which means, we either can't hire actors from Vancouver & shoot in Victoria, or we can't hire Victoria actors and shoot in Vancouver.

Or option C: we don't sign with the union.  We had planned to just rent a house with a garage (since our film is set in 1 location - "Locked in a Garage Band" - get it?), and accommodate all our traveling actors in the location for the 2 week shoot, but now we have to rethink that plan.  If we go union. 

Oh and one more strike against going with the  union is that we can't hire any non-Canadian actors.  So, if an actor from Seattle comes up to Vancouver & nails the audition, we can't hire them.  If we go union.

Or, we could just say, "&&^$ it! We're doing our own thing!"

Which is much more our style anyway.  We won't be shooting ridiculously long days.  Jen has 3 kids, ages 8, 4 and 1 so there's no 12-15 hour days happening on our shoot - she hardly gets any sleep as it is!  Plus, we're not A-holes.  We treat people really well, feed them great food and are doing this movie for fun so, hopefully everyone will enjoy working on the set and not complaining that we're dickheads for not going union.

The only down side is that great, experienced, union actors want to audition and they can't if we don't sign.

Ugh. Big decision folks.

So, what else is happening?

Oh yeah - all these resumes & headshots are pouring in.  It's absolutely amazing to see how many incredibly talented people want to work with us.  There are a tonne of musically inclined actors applying because of the garage band theme, and I have to admit - I'm kind of intimidated by their resumes.  But maybe they won't be nearly as cool in person?  Some are sending in You Tube video clips, which are really great.  Most of the time.  Some are random - of course. It wouldn't be an open casting call without some randoms right?


We've been shooting funny videos on Jen's Nikon D90 all night to test it out & see if we can use it to shoot auditions this weekend.  It only runs for 20 minutes at a time, but so far it's holding up really well.  The auditions are planned for 8 minutes each, with a 2 minute break between each actor for Jen & our amazing Casting Director to take notes, discuss quickly and reset the camera.

Jen's kids are super-hyper about being on camera, which we mistakenly did right before bed-time, so I type while Jen & her hubby try to get the kids wound down & ready for bed.  They love their routines and tonight was definitely not a normal night in the living room.

Seriously, how are we going to shoot a movie without dirsupting their family routines too much?  The kids are in bed by 7pm.  

The joys of casting, auditions & working with a busy family.

Films & Filmmakers I loved at Austin Film Festival 2010

The Austin Film Festival was amazing, as we all knew it would be.  Here are a few of the flicks I managed to catch and my two cents on why I loved them.  I'm no film reviewer, but figured you might want to hear my brief thoughts on each movie I managed to catch.

I'm sure you've heard the hype.  It's all true. It's awesome.  Go see it.  You'll see what I mean.  Natalie Portman shocked me at how frikkin' amazing she was in the role.    It was well worth the long lineup down the street to see Black Swan.

Made in Dagenham - so funny!  I saw this directly following Black Swan, and it was such a lighthearted treat to watch.

Sons of Perdition is a documentary about three boys that leave their polygamous compounds and head out into the world.  Fascinating stuff, very well done.

Okay I'm not a big Monopoly player, but I met the filmmaker and he's a cool guy so I had to go and see his movie.  This doc was a surprisingly sweet movie, and reminded me of the documentary about the kids who go to the National Spelling Bee Championships.  What was that one called again?  Anyway, it was very sweet.  Go and see this doc if you can find it!

This movie was AWESOME.  Seriously, funny movie in a Shaun of the Dead way .  We saw it at the Alamo Ritz, which deserves a post all to itself. 

Mark Potts is a really great guy, so I went to see his film but it was sold out.  Which was pretty sweet for a student film!  He gave me a DVD afterwards so my sister & I watched it when we returned from Austin.  I saw Mark speak on a couple of the panels at AFF and he has some good DIY stuff to say for indie-filmmakers.  I like his "just do it!" approach to filmmaking.  My favourite Mark Potts quote from the panels was his response to the "how did you get your budget?" question - which was simply "Student loans."  Spot on.  The movie is cute, well worth a watch.  Reminded me of Trailer Park Boys.

My sister & I saw A Savior Red on opening night because we really liked the filmmakers.  I especially enjoyed chatting with them daily at the Driskill Pub.  It's definitely an intense flick with a soundtrack that matches the tone really well.  I can see these guys doing really well.

I missed all of Ed Burns' talks, which frankly, was very lame of me!  But my reasoning was that I kept meeting all these cool filmmakers at the Driskill and if they asked me to see their movies, I just had to go & support them & their projects.  Next year, I'll make sure that I set myself some clear objectives so that I don't miss anything I really want to see. 

I met some amazing people at AFF and can't wait to return next year, hopefully with our movie being shown.  That would be very cool.  Watch this space for more news on how our feature film is coming along.  My head is swimming in legal-speak of pre-production, but we're about to shoot our teaser.  I'm stoked to say the least!


What about you?  Any films I should see that you recommend?  I'm particularly interested in independent films, but of course I will take all recommendations.  Thanks!

Learning the Ropes of Indie Movie Making - Web Links to Help

I admit it. I'm having the time of my life.  Putting myself through self-directed film school is absolutely the best thing I've ever done.  It's awesome.

But...

I'm overwhelmed by how much I have to learn.  Already, I've:

• attended Dov Simmen's 2 Day Film School
• read Dov's book "From Reel to Deel"
• pulled out all the best weblinks from the book & bookmarked them to look at later
• read the Guerilla Film Makers Pocket book
• pulled out all the best weblinks from the book & bookmarked them to look at later
• read the Independent Film Producer's Survival Guide
• pulled out all the best weblinks from the book & bookmarked them to look at later
• read Digital Filmmaking 101
• pulled out all the best weblinks from the book & bookmarked them to look at later
• do you see where I am going with this....
• I have so many bookmarks to "look at later" that I don't know when I'll have the time to actually look at them.

So, to help you indie filmmakers out there, here are the bookmarks I've made so far:

Learn Screenwriting, Creative Writing, Movie Making & Filmmaking

Samuel French, Inc. The House of Plays & Musical Plays for Over 175 Years

Breakdown Services, Ltd. -- The Communication Network to the Entertainment Industry

Online - Playback

Hollywood Entertainment Breaking News - Nikki Finke on Deadline.com/hollywood

Welcome to Detonation Films!

DVXuser.com - The Filmmaking Community

DVXuser.com. The DVX100, HVX200 and RED source.

Modeling Auditions Acting casting calls ExploreTalent.com

Find Auditions at Explore Talent for modeling and acting - casting calls Acting Auditions Baby Modeling Auditions Extras Casting Calls Acting jobs Modeling jobs child modeling Agents become a model

FILMMAKERS ALLIANCE - your community = your film

FILMMAKERS ALLIANCE is a filmmaking support community dedicated to the advancement of true independent cinema.

freesound :: home page

Freesound: collaborative database of creative-commons licensed sound for musicians and sound lovers. Have you freed your sound today?

International ArtHouse films. Spotlight on World Cinema. Classics and Foreign films on DVDs.

International ArtHouse. Spotlight on World Cinema. Classics and Foreign on DVDs.

JoBlo Movie Network: Movie news, reviews, trailers, release dates and more!

The one-stop movie site for all of your film needs: new movie previews, wallpapers, video reviews, news, free screensavers, trailers, scripts, screenplays, movie trivia quizzes, message board, weekend box-office, release dates, wallpaper, poster shop, pc games, upcoming movies, celebrities, release dates, dvd reviews, interviews, horror reviews and movie shopping

Making Of – How to make movies, with actor, actress, director interviews, trailers, clips, photos, and more

MakingOf homepage that provides a behind the scenes look at new unfiltered film content. This includes viewing photos, footage, movie trailers, and exclusive interviews with actors, directors, writers, and producers.

Microfilmmaker Magazine - Issue #57 - August 1, 2010

Microfilmmaker magazine provides free tips, tricks, reviews, discussions, and critiques for low-budget and no-budget filmmakers to help them make the best films possible.

Movie Marketing Madness | Movie marketing news, reviews and opinion by Chris Thilk.

myProducer.tv Independent Films

home,

Open Film | The Online Platform for Filmmakers & Film Festivals. Short films, Independent films contests

Openfilm is the Premier Online Platform for Filmmakers, Film Lovers, Film Festivals and Film Contests. Where Creativity Meets Opportunity.

ProductionHUB Homepage

Production guide and directory with crew, equipment, digital media, pre-production, post production, production support and talent services. Search, get listed, or request a production quote.

Take Zer0 - everything you need to know before take one

Everything you need to know before take one.

Royalty Free Music and Sound Effects from Twistedtracks.com

Royalty free music and sound effects that fire up your soundtrack without burning a hole in your budget...with individual tracks and genre-based collections for download or delivery in MP3 and uncompressed AIF and WAV formats, with intuitive search capabilities to find the right one fast.

YouTube Pushes Free Full-Length Movie Section - Here's What to Watch - Cinematical

After becoming a mecca for everything from fan sobbing to music videos and pirated films, YouTube finally decided to get into the legit film rental

IFP

Movies | Reviews | Movie Times | Hollywood News | Hollywood.com

Hollywood.com is the only 100% pure entertainment online source for movies, movie reviews, movie times and hollywood news.

Funny Videos, Comedy, Humor, Animations, Flash Games, Tournament & Blogs | Atom

Atom.com is the web's daily source for funny videos, original web shows, animations, short films, games, blogs, contests and more web comedy. Watch and share our videos, then upload your own - you could earn money and TV glory on Comedy Central.

Exhibits Collection -- Cinema

Lights....camera....action! What goes into the making of your favorite movies? Explore key players in filmmaking, from the director to the film editor. Brush up on

Filmmaker.com

FilmSecrets - Dynamic Film Resource

FILM SECRETS - Dynamic Film Making Site: Learn to shoot, edit, light, budget and make films.

Movie News, Film Reviews, Interviews, Film Festivals | Welcome to MovieMaker Magazine

MovieMaker is the nation's leading magazine on the art and business of making movies and the most widely read magazine on independent film in the world. Feature article topics include moviemaking techniques and how-to trends, technology, criticism, behind-the-scenes accounts of the business of moviemaking and in-depth interviews with the world's leading actors, directors, cinematographers, producers, screenwriters and editors.

Welcome to Next Wave Films

American Film Institute

The Independent | Obsessed with independent film since 1978.

Film School - 2-Day Film School

Film School by Dov Simens, offering 2-Day Film School, DVD and Web Film School

Sundance Institute

Founded by Robert Redford, Sundance Institute is a nonprofit organization that actively advances the work of independent storytellers in film and theatre.

CD / DVD Duplication, CD / DVD Replication, CD / DVD Duplicators, CD / DVD Printers, Blank CDs and DVDs

Disc Makers is the nation's Low Price leader of CD Duplication, DVD Duplication, CD Manufacturing, DVD Manufacturing, CD Replication, DVD Replication, CD Duplicators, DVD Duplicators, Blu-ray, USB, and Merch.

DVFilm - Digital to Film Transfers, Raylight Software for Desktop HD editing

Entertainment News | Movie News | Hollywood News

THR provides quality movie, entertainment, and Hollywood news to expand the reach of its brand through an increasing array of digital platforms.

Digital Video, Pro Camera Equipment, HD, 3D, Blu-Ray and Professional Production News - DV.com

Entertainment news, film reviews, awards, film festivals, box office, entertainment industry conferences - Variety

Breaking entertainment movie news, movie reviews, entertainment industry events, news and reviews from Cannes, Oscars, and Hollywood awards. Featuring box office charts, archives and more.

Millimeter | featuring camera reviews, video editing, HDV, storage, networking

Millimeter stresses workflow and integration, whether traditional or IT-based. Topics include cameras and camera accessories, video editing, digital content creation, storage and networking, music libraries, audio, and more.

RES - The latest news and information on digital filmmaking

RES is online community where you can share the latest news and information on digital filmmaking. To share your news just submit a story, link or video!

Tutorials, Reviews, Tips For Film, HD, HDV, Video | Studio Monthly

Video Production, Final Cut Pro, Storage, Pro Camera, Sprintcam, Sequencing - Videography.com

 

I seriously need to organize these bookmarks into categories like, "the technical," "the gossip,""the legal," and "WhereTF do I put this?"

I like those categories actually  - better get on it.  Oh man, Thanksgiving weekend - thank you for giving me 3 full days to focus on movie making!

Off to the Austin Film Festival in 10 short days. Jen's working on her pitch for the Pitch Competition which I'm convinced she will win.  Watch this space for more.

Any weblinks I should have here but don't?  Please share your thoughts below.