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Al Carretta
Rabin
Lessons from “TheGraduate”
Storytelling Over Technology
By Michael Goi, ASC
I recently ran the movie “The Graduate” in my home theater for several people I’m mentoring. It‘s been a seminal inspiration for me ever since I saw it in 1967 when I was 8 years old, and I think it points out some important lessons about filmmaking and why we do what we do.
I’m the vice chair of the ASC’s Motion Imaging Technology Council and the chair of the Artificial Intelligence Committee. While I would never claim to know in any great detail how a technology functions, I do know what the value of that technology is for me, the end user, in terms of offering potential options. But many young filmmakers who approach me today say that an in-depth knowledge of the newest technologies will make them more successful filmmakers because they can bring innovative shots to a project. That’s putting the cart before the horse. If wanting to use a new technology is the primary reason for your interest in doing a shot, scene or
movie, the story and the characters are being made second class citizens. Knowledge of technology will make you a better-informed technician, but not necessarily a better artist.
One thing that has become abundantly clear in the AI Committee is that artificial intelligence will not turn a mediocre filmmaker into a brilliant one.
AI benefits the creative artist who knows what they want and can be extremely specific about the qualities that are required. You can chance upon a mix of prompts that creates something unexpectedly beautiful, but are you actually being creative or are you a casual observer to the interpolation of images and influences? Is there no way to accomplish what is needed for the story through simple means in the camera?
Which brings me back to “The Graduate”. Every shot in that film is designed to make the audience
Michael Goi, ASC directing on set.
feel the way Dustin Hoffman does – from the title shots of him standing still on a moving walkway at the airport with blank white walls ahead of him, to his parent’s world which is dressed entirely in black and white, to his first glimpse of Katharine Ross’ room which has subtle colors that we haven’t seen in the film until that point, to the long lens running shots which make it look like Hoffman isn’t making progress in stopping Ross’ wedding. Literally every single shot has a character purpose.
All those shots required the use of cutting-edge technologies of its day. It was never a question of what “toys” were available to play with. It was about exploring the mind of the character in depth and determining what kind of shot it required, THEN figuring out if a tool existed to accomplish that shot or if one needed to be invented (like the rotating descending camera rig in the dorm building for when Hoffman dashes down the stairs). Purpose before application.
Knowledge of technological tools can benefit your being able to accomplish something in an efficient and innovative manner. But the idea comes first, and that comes from your intimate knowledge of the character. The character in the script will tell you how she or he wants to be shot.
Action and ‘Shakeycam’
Moveyouraudience,Yes!Moveyourcamera?Maybe.
By Kevin Inouye
As an action specialist, one of my most vigorous ongoing filmmaking debates of the past two decades (since 2002’s BourneIdentity, notably) has been around the use of twitchy, hand-held ‘shaky-cam’, which exploded violently onto the action movie scene and for a while was nearubiquitous. Many action movie afficionados and martial artists railed against the extra motion, the way it made it hard to follow choreography, the way it hindered the audience’s ability to appreciate finer points of physical and emotional performances. At its worst, it manifests gratuitous and disorienting visual energy for its own sake, ruining good performances and only vaguely covering for bad performances, or for action that just wasn’t shot well.
But defenders will note that static cameras are rarely seen in any but the calmest movie scenes anymore, and that increased home viewing on smaller screens or mobile devices encourages increased use of closer shots – and with that, a need to move quickly to follow important elements of action. Or they remind us that the intended effect on audience members is to make them feel like they’re immersed in the action, not reclining on a couch somewhere; it’s supposed to be jarring and disorienting, because so is combat. (Or so they presume; most filmmakers aren’t exactly experts on combat, although that doesn’t stop them from weighing in on what they think is ‘realistic’). And filmmakers need the freedom to develop a cinematic visual language and style of their own – we can’t expect them to just be passive documenters of whatever the stunt performers are able to do live.
And to be fair, all of this is true.
So how do we reconcile these contradictory screeds?
My background in performance is much deeper than my background in filmmaking, so allow me to draw on my acting teacher voice for a moment: Amajorpartofanyactor’sjobisto justifytheirwordsandactions. They might be told to say a line, or cross to the chair and sit, but they need to make that action seem like it’s the most natural thing for their character to do, part of an unbroken chain of cause and effect that drives through their story. There’s really no word, no gesture, no blocking you can do on screen or on stage that’s inherently unbelievable or bad acting, just things you haven’t adequately justified, things you haven’t earned the right for your character to do in this moment. Filmmakers need to justify their actions as well, whether that’s something like a cutaway, a speed change, or a camera move. The further from ‘normal’ that choice is, the more it needs justification. An eye-level master two-shot of a conversation, 24 or 30fps, with no color grading and a fairly stable camera, like from a Steadicam or shoulder rig, needs very little justification. It’s ‘normal’, and normal is rarely questioned. But if we shot that same dialogue from a high jib arm, looking down at a Dutch angle, shot at 120fps, and in black & white, audiences will wonder why. What’s more, they’ll presume justification. Isthisasecuritycameraview?Aflashback? A dream? Justified camera motion, like a bit of camera shudder while doing a POV on a bumpy road, is fine, but that same camera shake is just distracting if the scene is of a relaxing
beach at sunset. It’s out of place. Motivated camera motion can do something similar using emotion, where maybe we do a quick whip-pan because a character is startled by something on the other end of the room, as both the character and the audience want to see what it is.
Unlike with verbal dialogue, physical dialogue has to be seen to be followed. You can cut away from a line of dialogue and still follow the conversation, but if we don’t see a punch or a kick or that someone just pulled a knife, we’re going to have a much harder time following what’s going on. So fight scenes often require either wide shots, fast moves, or rapid cuts. Wider shots make fights look slower. The more you pull out wide, the less distance each move covers on the screen in the same amount of time; so moves are, literally, slower for the viewer. Closer shots can fill the screen with each move, maximizing visual energy, but that does require careful planning and camera rehearsals to make sure you can still catch each important element in frame, whether through cutting or moving the camera. Cutting makes it easier to make sure you get each piece you want, and to adjust the timing, and avoids the “jello effect” of rolling shutter artifacts, but movement makes it easier to track where each piece is in space, gives
more visual energy, and makes sure you don’t do things like break the rule of 180°.
Some basic camera motion similarly feels natural, but if it bounces around more than is necessary to get the shot, it can get annoying fast. Even smartphones and action cameras like GoPro have image stabilization built in, and gimbals have brought Steadicam-type smooth motion to the indie masses, so at this point anything rapid and rough should be an aesthetic choice, not an accident.
Let’s look at a few justified camera motions specific to action scenes.
Impact. Just like the old Star Trek bridge impacts, sometimes shaking or shuddering in the camera makes it feel like the whole world got rocked, even when it didn’t. It’s rare you’d want to be that obvious about it, but slight bumps when characters hit the ground hard, or when explosions go off, or cars crash, can help viewers feel personally impacted. That sympathetic camera motion may not be justified by pure physics every time. (Afterall,we’reviewingthe actionfromoutside–itwasn’ttheDPwhogot hit…hopefully…). But emotionally it still feels right. Even just a slight flinch on a solid punch
can feel right, but you have to be super careful not to overdo these. They should never draw attention to themselves, just amplify the action.
Perspective. Here’s another popular one: a characterfalls,oristhrown,andthecamera rotates with them. Sometimes the camera even rotates more than they do. Look up Jason Statham and The Rock’s fight from Fast & Furious 7. When Statham gets slammed into the coffee table, he rotates 90 degrees (from upright to on his back) but the camera does a full 180 in the same motion, ending with a completely inverted shot of the impact. More commonly this would just be a quick partial rotation to amplify a head slam or fall. These can add visual style to a fight, but you have to use them very sparingly, or they become not just meaningless, but annoying, and potentially a cause of motion sickness.
Whip pans. These are super useful for hidden cuts, of course, and are a staple when doing something like a knife-throwing gag. If the only time you use them is for hidden cuts, though, that starts calling attention to those cuts, and sometimes these are better than a quick cut to a reversal or insert shot. Whip pans can maintain some sense of the geography of the space in a way that hard cuts don’t. If our fighter looks
right, and we whip over to see someone hit an alarm button, whip back, our fighter looks left and we whip over to see the security door closing, we know that the person who hit the alarm and the closing door are in opposite directions, even moreso than if we’d just used the hero’s eye line to establish the layout… and it didn’t require a wide master (which might feel like breathing space in the action, a break when we don’t want one). Modern action can also include lots of important but small details, like a gun that’s at slide lock because they’re out of ammunition, or a knife being flicked open, or a bullet impact that might be in an armored vest or might be in flesh (important exposition there). If you want to keep the flow of the action, sometimes you can get that with a quick pan or tilt or push in, then back, instead of shooting all your inserts as separate takes. It does leave you a bit less freedom to adjust the rhythm in editing, and can’t be used as a cutaway to cover for missing or bad footage, but if all goes well, it can literally keep the action moving.
Close follows. The hard truth is that if you push in on your character, and your character is moving quickly and erratically (this is a fight, after all) then your frame has to move just as quickly and erratically to keep them in the shot… and that’s just one character, in scenes
that almost always involve multiple characters. This also means most gimbals and Steadicams are too slow or ‘mushy’ to keep up with the sharp motions of action, and the fig rigs or other grips we use come with some inherent risk of jerky harshness to their motion.
It’s worth noting that jerky handheld camera motion is often conflated and/or associated with short, rapid cuts as well. It doesn’t have to be. Look at things like David Leitch’s Atomic Blonde. While it’s not shaky by shakey-cam standards, the stairway fight was handheld. While a gimbal might have made some of the shot smoother, it would have been hard to keep up with the whip-pan turns to follow the action, and it would have made that motion feel a bit mushy, rather than raw. But it’s a long take (a faux-one-shot 7-minute scene). The hidden cuts are justified by the action, as the viewer wants to see one person falling down the stairs, but then quickly wants to see what’s happening with the other fighters, and the multiple opponents and complex set make that chaos inevitable… As contrasted with the long take in Creed, shot by an expert Steadicam operator, but taking advantage of the predictability and order of two competitors in a boxing ring.
Sadly, all too often the combination of handheld cameras, fight scenes, and insufficient planning, time, or talent means that productions end up with a lot of takes with a few bits that worked well, and some bits that didn’t at all, and the final product is a pastiche of trimmings that everyone hopes will cover up the mistakes. If your student film doesn’t have professional stunt and camera crews, some of this is inevitable, and wide, long shots will make that just as painfully obvious as quick cuts (while also creating more challenges and limitations on the performers and fight coordinator). There’s a reason handheld shots and quicker cuts have become the norm in fights, and while it’s often pragmatic as much as aesthetic, there’s nothing wrong with that. Just plan, practice, and motivate those cuts as much as you can!
Elevated Action
By Todd Grossman
Where do you position the camera to capture the true feel of flying through the mountains on a motorcycle?
That was the goal. And to keep things interesting, we were going to do it with over sixty different riders in a race against the ultimate clock… the setting sun. From the hectic streets of downtown Los Angeles, to the rugged terrain of the Angeles National Forest, the challenge of capturing dynamic motorcycle photography becomes an art form where craft meets creative… practical meets passion.
As a lifelong rider, my goal is to always create that unique perspective of immersion, putting you in the action; sun on your face, wind at your back, mountain cliffs by your side.
And yet, this particular project required dozens of riders spread across locations spanning two hundred miles. The solution? Split our team into two units: city and mountain. With each team leapfrogging locations for the optimal lighting in the best landscapes at the right moment.
Partnering with creative, Simon Hammerson, he and I each led a team of camera operators and photographers across southern California. The goal was to convey story through action. I wanted every frame to speak to that feeling of freedom, adventure, and that interplay of human, machine, and nature.
The Gear
Our journey began with rising sun over the city of Angels. Perched high over Dodger Stadium, we captured the bikes in a variety of statics before unleashing them on the open road.
At the heart of our endeavor was the RED V-RAPTOR, a camera that’s as formidable as it sounds. With its ability to capture 8K resolution, it can of immerse viewers in the gritty detail of cityscapes with unparalleled latitude for highlights and shadows.
That high resolution and dynamic range can be an asset in post production, as you punch in for close ups with no loss in detail. It’s the perfect tool for creating greater coverage on an already tight timeline.
As the sun climbed, we broke away, crossing the famed sixth street bridge with it’s breathtaking arches rising high above the LA River. Los Angeles provides a unique mix of dynamic textures and curves. It’s a magical place with so much style to capture and explore.
Once on the move, we expanded our arsenal of cameras with a variety of other tools. Mounted Go Pro’s raked the side of the pipes, feeling the tires carve the landscape in wide low angles.
A custom mounted Sony A7C II was rigged on a chase bike. It’s operator had a live camera feed on handle bars with thumb-mounted joystick to control pan and tilt. This allowed for street legal shots and unique perspectives that a larger rig might not have been able to get. From grid permits in the city, to LAPD supported road lock-downs, we captured the dense sprawl before breaking free to the mountain vistas.
Choosing a Lens
Choosing the right lens is akin to selecting the right path on a ride—each decision impacts the journey’s feel and outcome. Long lenses offer a compressed depth of field, turning a dense mountain path into a focused narrative on speed and motion. These shots were built around the snaking curves and winding switchbacks of the forest roads, allowing us to isolate bike and rider from the chaos of their surroundings.
To juxtapose the sharp focus of the long lens, we launched a Mavic 3 Pro Cine drone, creating epic vistas with scope.
Intercutting these starkly different scenes creates breath, while allowing your soundtrack to build tension as it inevitably ramps towards the next powerful close up.
All of these lenses are powerful tools, but you still haven’t experienced the ride until you’re right there, with the bike, tearing down the mountain at speed — sun flares in your eyes — scanning the rapidly approaching horizon for dangers. This is where a low, wide, moving lens comes in to play.
This go-to dynamic angle creates a visceral perspective that traditional camera angles just can’t achieve. A fast moving lens brings you right into the heart of the action, offering a thrilling view of the bike as it navigates the mountain terrain.
Filmmaking was created to tell stories through motion. From Eadweard Muybridge’s galloping horse, photographed in 1878, to James Cameron’s Na’vi, flying on Banshee through the mountains of Pandora, it’s a shared experience of life through movement.
And motorcycles are no different. Each rider finds something meaningful from their time on a bike. Every new corner evolves the story as they wind through the fabric of an urban sprawl, or breath the cool mountain air of wilderness at speed.
In the end, motorcycle filmmaking isn’t just about capturing images, it’s an art form of capturing moments that speak to our soul, and using technology not just as a tool, but a canvas to paint those stories of exhilaration, challenge, and triumph.
Fearless Filmmaking Passion. Risk. Vision.
ExclusiveInterviewwithShaneStanley
Conducted by Jody Michelle Solis
Student Filmmakers Magazine: You have two films premiering—SixDaysinEvergreen and TheLegendofVanDorn. What drew you to these projects, and how did your directorial approach evolve between them?
Shane Stanley: SixDaysinEvergreen is a passion piece I’ve wanted to make for quite some time. It’s based on a combination of relationships I had with some musicians years ago which was craftily merged into this story with the help of a wonderful writer and dear friend, Yvette Sams. Tommy Fields, a very respected songwriter and probably my oldest friend, had written many of the songs to the soundtrack
as far back as 2006, which coincidentally became the soundtrack to a huge chapter of my life and eventually inspired me to tell the story that you see. There was a time over the pandemic where I had a couple of pitch sessions with some major television outlets who asked me to share some ideas in hopes of working together and I had pitched the story along with several others, and each time it was Six DaysinEvergreen that they wanted to develop or pursue. I realized they saw its potential and being the selfish and gritty indie rat that I am, decided to hold back and make sure it got told my way and not let it get diluted or turned into something it wasn’t. My original and truer version was a lot darker, and
honestly more depressing. It was Yvette Sams and with the encouragement of Academy Award winner, Paul Williams (A Star is Born) who kept me in line and focused on the good parts of those relationships and helped to weave the story that we told. I cannot be more grateful to them both for their influence. My approach on that film was to make sure I stayed true to the heart of the matter but I also found the positive messages that were buried underneath all the filth within the reality. It was like being on an archeological dig and polishing the gems once they were revealed.
TheLegend of Van Dorn was something that was offered to me last summer by a wonderful producer by the name of Brad Wilson, who I was connected with through my long-time sales agent, Scott J. Jones. He called one day and asked if I would ever consider directing a Civil War era romance film. I thought he was joking.
I met with Brad the next day and after the meeting just had to find a way to work with the guy. He’s a seasoned producer who I really gelled with and when he told me about the passion of the storytellers and their 12-year dream to see the picture come to life, I just couldn’t say no. I have never seen a Civil War film - not Gone with the Wind, Glory or even Gods and Generals, and committed not to until the film was finished. For some reason Civil War films can have a very limited audience and I wanted to make sure we captured and honored the real and forbidden love story between Major General, Earl Van Dorn and Jessie
Peters using the war as only a backdrop. I think we accomplished what we set out to do and I am very proud of the film.
Student Filmmakers Magazine: Filmmakers often struggle with getting their films noticed on a larger scale. What strategies did you use to position these films for industry recognition, and what advice would you give to filmmakers trying to gain visibility?
Shane Stanley: I feel young filmmakers aren’t afraid to take risks, which is good but unfortunately, when they do that early in their career, they don’t have the cast power, the budget or the distribution to get their work seen. Then too often these filmmakers are gobbled up by Hollywood proper and that risk taking mindset falls by the wayside or is snuffed out by the powers that be. I try to keep true to the risk taker mindset, and the incredible support team that surrounds me gives me that freedom. I think regardless of the story you want to tell and how you want to tell it, it’s crucial to make sure it has the core elements that audiences can connect with. It’s what screenwriter CJ Walley helped me craft with our films Double Threat and Night Train, which had no marketing behind them but captured viewers all over the world by grabbing their hearts and just wouldn’t let go. You can’t ever forget the human element when making a film, just find a fresh way to spin it so people stay engaged while also being entertained.
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Student Filmmakers Magazine: Balancing artistic vision with the realities of production and distribution can be challenging. How did you navigate creative freedom while ensuring SixDays inEvergreen and TheLegendofVanDorn were both commercially and artistically viable?
Shane Stanley: Again, I think it goes back to finding the key elements of storytelling that audiences can relate to but more than anything trust between you, your producing team and the cast. As filmmakers, it is our job to not only entertain, but take audiences where they’ve never been, are afraid to go, or never knew existed. I think if you can find a fresh way to take them there and allow them to view it from a fresh perspective, and when the stars align and everyone is in sync, it can be a beautiful thing. That trust comes from the confidence, not arrogance you have to have as a filmmaker, but also your own willingness to take risks, fall forward, and be willing to let the chips fall where they may. Sometimes it works out, other times it doesn’t. We all make mistakes, and when you look back you will know what you could have or should have done differently - and that okay. Just don’t make those same mistakes twice.
Student Filmmakers Magazine: Independent filmmakers often face tough decisions when it comes to financing, marketing, and audience engagement. What were some of the most pivotal decisions you made in bringing these films to life, and what lessons can filmmakers take from your approach?
Shane Stanley: I approach filmmaking a lot like the rock bands I most looked up to growing up. Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, and Aerosmith didn’t over think anything. They had a “plug in and play” mentality and made sure to stay that way when they recorded their albums. They know the songs, or in our case, the story we want to tell and much like they did, we just pick up our instruments and roll the camera if that makes sense. I don’t go into a film with the marketing in mind or get obsessed with too much if anything at all. It’s known that over 80% of the big budget studio films fail, and if you knew how many of the decisions were made largely from
a marketing angle, you can see why. Never forget, passion is contagious and that’s so important to remember when you’re looking for financing. Make the film you want to see and remember to bring people on board who capture your vision and that goes ten-fold when it comes to the marketing of your motion picture. Sure, you need those hooks to gain the interest or audience engagement initially and hopefully after they watch it, they’ll tell their friends. I never overthink anything and sure, many people will agree and come up with all the insults that I just set myself up for by saying that. But it’s been a formula that has worked very well for us and I believe if it’s not broken, then don’t fix it.
Student Filmmakers Magazine: As a multi-Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, you’ve had a diverse career spanning television and film. How has your experience in television shaped your filmmaking process, and what key insights have you carried over into these projects?
Shane Stanley: In film, at least in the old days, once you had an audience, they weren’t going anywhere. They stood in line, bought a ticket and their popcorn and endured the picture from beginning to end. Love it or hate it, they were well-invested. With television, they’ve always had the remote and could bounce from show-to-show in a blink of an eye. One thing I learned in television, and largely from my father, Lee Stanley, and television writer, Joshua Baerwald, you have to grab them instantly. Now more than ever people watch so many films at home, and they have that power in their hands to move on to the next option immediately, so you have to hook them instantly and within the first 10-12 minutes, let them know what they are getting into and hopefully by then they are engaged and willing to endure the entire journey with the characters without being distracted or checking out. It’s a fine balance as you want to make sure the audience is never ahead of your characters or the story as a whole so you have to unpeel that onion one layer at a time and be sure to include a lot of twists and turns along the way to keep them interested - much like with a book that someone would consider a ‘page turner’.
Film Distribution
Plan Before You Shoot
By Al Carretta
The Importance of Considering Distribution for First-Time Filmmakers
In 2023, the performance of your film on streaming platforms opens the doors to your future success. Perform well on a smaller site, raise the IMDb profile and a bigger platform will look to engage with your product. A brilliant but unsupported film will take you nowhere so choose cast carefully, always look for performers savvy with social media and hammer home to all involved that the quality of your film is no longer a barrier to how popular it will actually be long term. In decades past film snobbery was rife but with so much content now available for consumption taste profiles have become far more complex.
Film is an incredibly competitive marketplace. Back in 2010, I chose a mafia crime drama as my debut feature film because it was a genre I understood and could talk about with knowledge and passion. I also had the locations available to pull off something close to my intention, and finally, I had a proven, genre ticking, script that had come straight from a stage production in the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe. I knew it would work and I knew it could be pigeon-holed, meaning I was prepared before filming had even begun to market it.
The current era of filmmaking presents a scenario that no previous generation of content producer has had the privilege to experience; the possibility of seeing your film distributed and monetised from its first instance of completion.
In my experience of feature filmmaking, since 2010, I have engaged with every independent distribution platform that has come to my attention. I have never assumed that anyone would pay attention to my work without it being platformed and pushed by myself. Go back 12 years and self-distribution was still in it’s infancy. In UK film gatherings, I met filmmakers with £90k and years invested in projects that they didn’t know where to go with. At this point I’d delivered three features on less than £4k and couldn’t understand the naïveté. In 201012, a few Los Angeles based DVD imprints came to me with terrible terms, but I’d said from 2010, I wouldn’t use physical media as it was cost ineffective. iTunes was the Holy Grail of 2011 and appearance here could be achieved via Tunecore and Bitmax for around $1100. UK based Distrify and Vimeoon-Demand then appeared as the first real way to directly monetise your output without a major technical QC (quality control); provided you could navigate social media enough to generate viewer interest beyond the trailer click. Amazon then gave us the exceptionally complicated ‘Createspace’ and the Apple App-Store once played host to ‘FilmApps’, whole films delivered within a 2GB file limit
and squished to perfection by compression magic. Finally, countless streaming sites popped up that would curate the content selected and give you horrendously poor terms - big mistake in the land of indie films.
That was the old landscape and this all changed in 2016 when Amazon overhauled Amazon Prime Video and allowed filmmakers to properly monetise short and feature length content. In January 2019, a major Amazon content cull obliterated films at random and by Autumn 2021 the ability to be featured as product that is ‘streaming with Prime’ as an unsolicited submission was removed. To put this in perspective, my 2021 feature ‘The Judge Of Harbor County’ did about a million minutes in 10 weeks on Amazon before the offer (technically known as SVOD - ‘streaming’ video on demand) got withdrawn. That’s about 13,500 views of a 73min film. Not mega, but traction building for the future. My 2022 feature ‘Eight Hundred Dollar Value’, opened in October to buy or rent on Amazon. (Technically known as TVOD‘transactional’ video on demand.) I don’t think we’ve done $50 yet.
In the early 2010s, very few streaming platforms existed, and technology hadn’t caught up with itself. Now, you have sites like filmhub.com. For me, this site alone has revolutionised how I think about getting my output seen as they take the metadata and the deliverables and do everything else for you. Ideally, you need to provide killer artwork, quality stills, a thorough Electronic Press Kit and evidence of IMDb traction if you want to see the best results for selection on platforms. As a service to content producers, I haven’t found anything comparable and that makes them in a league of their own.
What this means for you as a filmmaker is you have to think about how you are going to sell your film far more than how you are actually going to make your film. Don’t make the arrogant mistake of thinking you don’t need to watch films to be a filmmaker. Film is a derivative and self-referential art form. This means you have to be on pulse with what everyone else is producing.
If you’re making your first film, you simply need to watch as many other films as possible to learn film grammar, which I consider to include the basics of image based marketing and trailer delivery. Consume the best films from every decade available to understand what sold previously and why. Get to grips with the audience that came before you, the shifts in social values and what happens when people become desensitised, over-exposed or entitled.
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All successful films adhere to a basic formula that begins with the charisma presented by the performers present. People sell films. Personality goes a long way. Good concepts pique interest but audiences return to characters they relate to and admire. Stallone and Schwarzenegger are exalted for a reason; they made relatable, formulaic content that epitomised a filmmaking era. With this as a focal point, you should think about who might want to watch the film that you’re about to make. Would you actually watch it yourself? You need to be your film’s Stan (the obsessive fan) and Cheerleader so if you’re not delivering something you can’t passionately enthuse about it’s going to be hard to push your film further down the line.
Key Do’s and Don’ts in Distribution Strategy
Distribution requires product research. You should be living on IMDb to define your place in the competition. What is a current trend now won’t be trending when your film gets released and the wrong title kills your film. My 19th indie feature is called ‘Killahurtz’. It’s about a girl who poisons people with Fentanyl laced headphones. It should have gone out as ‘Mother, does volume kill?’ but the former took precedence after much debate as the latter is a weird, pretentious title. The consideration is, the weird title asks a question that the film poses and this actually makes it more relatable. Killahurtz plays on the audio theme (kilohertz) and fails to define the film, therefore it’s confusing. In a nutshell, good titles sell films.
Similarly, if you’re shooting a film with a non-linear narrative, people will get confused and switch it off if they can’t make sense of it. This means the script needs to have something extra. If it’s a debut feature, you simply won’t be skilled or experienced enough to deliver the ‘extra’ on limited resources so aim to make the most watchable film possible. Don’t be pretentious or flash unless you are doing it to experiment or prove a concept. Easy to follow makes things saleable and you want to learn to deliver saleable product. If it sells, you can make more.
Brutally, something like ’Memento’ (Dir: Christopher Nolan) has no place in the reality of a debut filmmaker’s mindset. It might be brilliant but it’s too complicated to execute and you’ll never follow it up with anything.
Everyone resonates with charisma so casting your film is worth spending time over. Who you cast will impact how your film sells directly. If you’re delivering straight up horror, you need a ‘final girl’. If you’ve got a great drama, you need a lead who emotes the story. Don’t expect to get named stars on no-budget but if you can cast people who bring the energy of personality to your script then the audience will tolerate your product far beyond any budgetary limitations. People don’t want to see an also-ran; they want to see the main event, but this is only achievable when all elements of the engine are working. This also means you need to know who will cooperate with you when it comes to selling your film so plan ahead.
Most indie films lack exposition due to lack of budget. This means you have to create show stopping moments that you can create on nothing. Exciting set-pieces draw people (and sales agents) to your film. In the 1990s, aerial footage could set your film apart instantly but in 2023, drone footage is nothing new. Fires and explosions excite audiences but are hard to execute on a restricted budget. This means, you have to look what can add value at least cost. Fight and movement choreography can add enormous value to a film because it has the power to engage and shock people on a simple scale. Look at criticism of ‘The Matrix’ vs ‘The Matrix Resurrections’. The former was genre defining. The latter faced criticism because the stunts didn’t quite match the perfection of the original.
Ultimately, as an indie filmmaker you are looking to deliver commercially competitive elements that hold up in context. Match genre tropes and your film can happily sit on the shelf next to the classics that inspired it.
Essential Distribution Considerations for First-Time Filmmakers
In the UK, the industry rewards very few first-time filmmakers with real budgets. If you haven’t jumped through hoops, you’re not any kind of safe bet. This skews the talent pool because you end up watching debut product that has been steered by multiple external factors as huge financial risk is involved. For the real indie filmmakers who aren’t guided by industry you need to deliver an efficient product that will simply get you noticed. Ensure you create something that you can deliver a sequel to and you’ll be on the right track. If you can then create a basic marketing strategy to get your film seen you’ll have done all the simple things to get the ball rolling. Until you have saleable product you won’t learn the foibles and odd details that surround distribution. Things like closed captions, age ratings and the importance of publicity stills might not be immediately understood but once you get used to delivering product that hits the market, certain administrative procedures become second nature.
How Distribution Influences Script, Story, and Production Decisions
Getting noticed isn’t about delivering something insane or brilliant. It’s about putting something on the shelf that performs and can stay there. Ideally, it will hold up to commercial comparison and competition, but it doesn’t have to; it’s an indie feature and can be what it wants. This may be simplifying things, but long term distribution plans ask you to think beyond film one. This also means film one could do with being genre locked with a story that acknowledges the respective genre formula. Keep the style linear and deliver the audio and visuals to a commercial standard and it’s likely you will have delivered something that can compete.
The Impact of Distribution on Filmmaking Decisions
Successful distribution gives you confidence but it also affects the decisions relating to what you do next. A good film with evidence of popularity usually paves the way for a sequel but sequels that don’t capitalise on the style of their predecessors can crash badly and go unnoticed. My 20th indie feature ‘Eight Hundred Dollar Value’ is a prime example. A sequel to my 1973 set mafia crime drama ‘The Devil Made Me Do It’, the modern-day follow-up couldn’t recreate the charm that belonged to Devil as a 1970s period piece. The mafia stereotypes couldn’t be exaggerated in the way they were in the previous film and the plot line had to be modernised tobe realistic. These factors - and many more - meant the film doesn’t sit next to it’s predecessor stylistically. This changes people’s engagement with the product. Ultimately, people want a different version of the same thing.
Bad films with potential often gain interest to be remade properly. Ultimately, the success of a film puts eyes on your work. In turn this opens up countless other possibilities, so you need to be prepared.
Multiple Paths to Film Distribution
There are multiple ways to distribute your film but your number one priority is establishing an online presence for your work. There are too many films being delivered with serious budgets to expect to sell to a major player immediately but deliver something that competes commercially, that people have an appetite for and the game changes very quickly. Ultimately, in 2023 you want to be in the hands of an aggregator (like Filmhub) who will help to see it placed on as many streaming sites as possible.
Don’t forget if you have a fanbase, the cheapest way to raise immediate money from a film you’ve just made is to present a (private) cinema screening. If you haven’t got friends (or cast) who will support the film, save the money. No point running an empty show.
Example Distribution Strategies:
Plan A, B, and C
To put the basic potential distribution options together at a glance, think about the following plans.
Plan A: Make a film, produce limited marketing campaign and deliverables, enter multiple film festivals, hope someone offers to distribute the film.
Plan B: Make a film, produce social media and print based marketing campaign and deliverables, run a theatrical screening, achieve tangible distribution on physical media by incurring large additional expense.
Plan C: Make a film, create an engaging IMDb page, produce social media marketing campaign and deliverables, run a theatrical screening to promote release of product whilst continually exploring all options related to self-distribution and streaming of the film.
Plan A might have worked in 1997. Plan B ran out of steam in about 2011 which means Plan C is the main option to consider. You have to remove all unnecessary costs; this is indie film. We don’t have money to burn so being inventive is key.
A good title and a good IMDb page that is well viewed will create key interest in your film and from here this is where things will develop.
Overall, the mindset you need to adopt when considering distribution is one of perseverance and knowledge acquisition. It’s a broad landscape and there is a lot to understand. Generally, if you can take your film from an idea in the bar to a QC pass and a royalty statement that you know means the film has made its costs back, you’ve surpassed all expectations you could have placed on your film.
Break Into Storyboarding
Exclusive Q&A with Anthony Sturmas
ConductedbyJodyMichelleSolis
Student Filmmakers Magazine: On transition from graffiti to storyboarding, your career began in graffiti art and then transitioned into storyboarding for films and commercials. How has your background in graffiti influenced your approach to creating storyboards, and what skills from your early days do you still find applicable in your current work?
Anthony Sturmas: As a graffiti artist in my early days, it helped me to think outside of the box. It made me radical in my creative thinking and to reshape, reconstruct the normal way of doing things. I guess it is why I have worked with some of the best directors and ad agencies in Beverly Hills and abroad.
For the simple fact I don’t do things in the traditional way, yes, I use the method but I add more of a dynamic touch to it. Which makes me different from all the other storyboard artists.
Student Filmmakers Magazine: On storyboarding techniques, in your extensive experience as a storyboard artist, what are some key techniques or principles you believe are essential for creating effective and compelling storyboards, especially for those just starting in the industry?
Anthony Sturmas: It is absolutely crucial to watch today’s current films, because as you watch the screen you’re actually seeing the storyboards come to life.
When I watch a movie nowadays, I’ve been programmed to see storyboards not the actual film itself. I also believe it’s vital to your career to draw as much as possible for the simple fact you need to train this muscle everyday.
Student Filmmakers Magazine: On collaboration with directors, you’ve worked with a variety of directors on diverse projects. Can you share how you adapt your storyboard style to align with different directors’ visions, and what the collaboration process typically looks like?
Anthony Sturmas: Actually, when directors come to me, they come to me for the style I have. It’s different and they like its dynamic and not boring. A storyboard needs to jump out when the director presents this to the ad agency, otherwise they don’t look good and more then likely they won’t come back to use again. When we begin to discuss the frames, we do a Zoom call, and he specifically points out what he wants to see in the storyboards and the rest is on me. Taking notes and being active in asking questions is very important.
Student Filmmakers Magazine: On advancements in storyboarding, how have advancements in technology and changes in the entertainment industry over the past two decades influenced your storyboard creation process? Are there any tools or software you recommend for modern storyboard artists?
Anthony Sturmas: I use Photoshop and a drawing tablet. Prior to that I used sharpie markers. Other then that, you need to be on top of the current trends and technology. As for AI affecting this industry, or using it as a tool, many marketing agencies that I have spoken with are walking away from it because they are not seeing sales results rise. It’s not as personal when you work with a director and storyboard artist because they actually dig deep into the campaign and shoot for story and push “story”. AI in this field won’t sit very well when doing commercials, it’s a tool but won’t replace the traditional way of doing commercials.
Student Filmmakers Magazine: On advice for aspiring artists, given your journey and the experience you’ve gained, what advice would you give to aspiring storyboard artists who wish to make a mark in the industry? Are there specific skills or experiences you believe are crucial for success?
Anthony Sturmas: My best advice, find a mentor who is in this field learn from him. Buy a sketchbook and fill it every week, draw as if your life depends on it because your competing with one million other artists who are shooting for the same project and you need to be sharper then a sword. Study movies and how they shoot certain scenes, do personal projects in your down time, work with directors and offer them free storyboards so you gain experience. Do this until you have enough IMDB credits. These credits speak volumes about your career. Look and present yourself professionally. I’m here anytime for anyone wanting to know more.
Balance Corporate Work and Personal Passion in Your Filmmaking Career
How many times have you heard a filmmaker say they are working on a corporate project, then hang their head in defeat? For many, that is how you pay your bills while keeping your skills honed in the camera and editorial departments. It is often times defeating when you want to be telling stories you are passionate about, whether scripted or documentary, and you feel like you are stuck doing talking head corporate projects with very little artistic value.
Don’t let that get you discouraged. I know of one corporate video that turned into a career that gave us the likes of HocusPocus,X-Men,Wolverine and many others. Just look up the story of how producer Ralph Winter got his start. For me I stumbled upon something that my previous corporate work and even reality TV jobs has prepared me for.
Where it started.
I had been working on some corporate projects and had been finding some rewarding work creating mini documentaries for non-profits and organizations that I felt had great messages to share. One of those projects was a huge success for the client and a little “trophy” of work I would stick in my back pocket.
Then came the 2023 baseball season. A far cry from most corporate work and nothing to do necessarily with filmmaking. I was born and raised in the California Bay Area so naturally my team of choice would be the Green and Gold (Oakland Athletics). In April, the teams ownership announced with much controversy that they were moving the team to Las Vegas, Nevada. Many from both Oakland and Nevada weren’t too pleased. On June 13, 2023, me and my family joined nearly 28,000 fans at the Oakland Coliseum in a game that was referred
to as the Reverse Boycott. It was one of the most memorable baseball games I have ever been to.
This game was moving and something that was a story that I wanted to tell. Now remember this corporate filmmaking discouragement? The documentary jobs I was part of for the non-profits and organizations got me inspired to see if I could tell a story in support of my team remaining in Oakland. It has been snowballing ever since. Finding the core element that gets you excited is your first step, then seeking projects that correlate with your passion is another. This little passion project that is blending the corporate job experience with what I know as a filmmaker is turning into something much bigger than I originally imagined.
If you follow MLB you may know that this one day “Reverse Boycott” has turned into a movement that is spreading across the nation. With these fan protests showing up in Seattle at the All-Star game, across the bay in San Francisco with the bay rival Giants, to the Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orieals, Los Angeles Dodgers and continuing.
I don’t know if I would have had the thought to start documenting a story like this if it wasn’t for all the work I had done previously on jobs I may not necessarily have enjoyed (some I did). If you dig deep enough, you can usually find something that will feed your passion in the dreaded work that you might be doing, and it might breath new life into what you previously thought was unartistic client work. Look for the passion in each project and it will soon not feel like work anymore. You’ll love doing it.
Go A’s and stay in Oakland.
Project details on the documentary can be found at: https://creative.stageham.com/baseball
On-Location Weather
By JC Cummings
When shooting on-location a producer’s job is looking at all the elements and making sure the I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed Everything from crew arrival, location clearance and permitting, gear and talent showing up on time. One other element on a producers A-list is weather.
Often some sidestep weather as a major factor of a production. I know it sounds silly, but when a producer has so many elements to deal with including a limited schedule we show up on-locations expecting everything to be great, look up and see clouds building and ask, I thought it was a ‘no rain’ forecast?
As ‘Mother Earth’ is changing weather patterns around the globe we need to remain vigilant. As more states see the advantage of production by offering incentives, many are in the path of tornados, heavier than usual storms, flooding and of course lightening.
Weather conditions year-round are escalating. Some say, “Come on Cummings, it never rains in California.” We know that’s not true anymore. As I’ve experienced, one can set your watch by the rains in Florida.
On the front page of our web site we’ve linked the National weather Service (weather.gov) checking it often during a production. We dedicate time talking about the “B” plan in production meetings so everyone is ‘on the same page’ should weather suddenly change on us. Many productions use rain as part of the storyline, then it doesn’t matter. Keep your camera and essentials dry under a waterproof scrim or open covered tent as demonstrated with countless UK productions.
What really matters is LIGHTENING! Those dramatic looking streaks spidering across the sky are a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’. All the metal from C-Stands, dolly track, lights, scissor cranes or jib arms, and the list goes on, become major conductors for an on-location lightening strike.
If lightening is tracking within a ten-mile (17km) distance from our shoot location, I’d always cover everything up or wrap a shoot, take a lunch break. I won’t risk a storm rolling in and everyone rushing or scattering to cover gear up. Most of the time we’d wait until a storm past.
As a Producer, I want to reduce as much liability as I can. One way to do that is to keep an eye on what “mother nature” is up too while on-location so that you can have a successful production without any incidents…and that’s the ReelStory!
From Suffering to Connection
AStoryteller’sTool
By Kevin Del Principe
When writing, sometimes you type until your hands feel like unknowable hammers. Working on set often means long hours with lots of pressure and insufficient sleep. The necessary rigorous focus of postproduction work can nearly burn your creative candle right out.
Filmmakers experience all sorts of mental and physical suffering while working creatively. And there’s also the suffering we all experience that may have nothing to do with the creative work itself. It’s just the inevitable suffering that comes with being a human.
Global hardships can become personal difficulties. Your health can fail you. People can disappoint you. Other times you can disappoint yourself.
But suffering is good, or at least it can be when you allow it to change you into a better person and, hopefully, a more adept storyteller. Suffering can help storytellers have greater empathy and, ultimately, lead them to create more fascinating, understandable, and realistic characters.
Suffering can be good because all humans experience it, and we can choose to unite along that common fact. At its most basic level, we all suffer because we are mortal. It can activate our anxiety to face an inescapable physical expiration.
So, we may seek to avoid the reality of our suffering, seemingly, at all costs. But isn’t there a cost to this avoidance? In fact, there are many costs—like carelessly and unnecessarily adding to the suffering of others or never truly knowing ourselves, or never fully loving others. As storytellers, if we try to evade suffering by not allowing ourselves to feel and really live, the cost is that we cannot create stories and characters that feel alive. People will not deeply connect to stories and characters that lack vitality. And audiences expect to see characters suffer because they suffer too. If audiences encounter characters who do not suffer, they’ll find their experiences inauthentic.
Therefore, we must make our characters suffer so they become real for our audience. And suffering can also be good because it has a way of exposing character. In your personal life, suffering can show who you are and set the stage for you to determine what sort of person you want to be. (Hopefully, this leads us all toward becoming more empathetic and compassionate people.)
As storytellers, we must make characters suffer to expose who they are at their core and give them the opportunity to grow or shrink through their suffering. When I teach students how to build characters, I often remind them that it is easy to come across as a decent person when life is easy, and that hardship shows true character. I ask my students questions like those that follow. Whatareyour charactersreallylikewhentheysuffer?Howdothey treatothers?Howdotheytreatthemselves?
And when we make a character suffer, it’s imperative to understand that a character must be considered on three levels.
(1) There is the objective truth of the character.
(2) There is the way the character perceives themself.
(3) There is how other characters perceive the character.
Storytellers must understand all three levels and utilize them to make their characters come alive.
I also remind my students to be wary of their characters because many people and many characters have limited self-awareness, and their characters may even lie to them—knowingly or not. The desire to avoid suffering leads people to wear self-protective masks–ways that they wish to be perceived by the world–to attempt to ward off suffering. Therefore, I encourage my students and all storytellers to increase their consciousness and remove their own masks to see themselves, so they will have the tools to remove the masks of the characters they create. Storytellers must see their characters clearly to tell a story correctly.
Though suffering can be a useful tool for personal and storytelling growth, contrived suffering is not good. Trying to make oneself suffer to make better characters and stories can be detrimental to one’s welfare and is definitely not needed. Instead, we simply need to allow ourselves to be conscious of our suffering and of the suffering of others too. This awareness binds us to other people and to everything. Through this consciousness, we gain empathy which can lead us to better actions that, at the least, strive to not increase suffering unnecessarily.
Be honest about suffering. Make your characters suffer. Learn from suffering. May suffering lead to less suffering and more connection. May connection grow into love.
Temp-Track Love Plan Before You Shoot
By Tony Halliwell
First thing’s first: It’s a tough industry for everyone, and one has to be relentless in their search for work. As a music composer aspiring to work full-time in the Film and TV industry, I’ve knocked on several hundred doors, written several hundred e-mails and come to watch dozens of studio sessions - most of which I practically invitedmyself along to.
Three years later, I have only just begun to receive invitations for taking on assistant work and additional writing tasks for bigger professionals. I’m pretty sure the same applies for directors, producers, editors, videographers and script writers. It’s like getting your foot on to a rapidly spinning wheel.
When the small breaks do come around, however, there can still be difficult times, and complex situations may arise; it’s not all smooth sailing. In this short tip guide, I want to expose and shed light on something about the director-composer relationship I have noticed from day one.
Directors love their temp tracks.
A ‘temp track’ - if you aren’t familiar with the termis a place-holder piece of background or foreground music that the director and/or their team choose for each scene of their film. Temp tracks act as a temporary soundtrack to give the assigned composer an idea of the mood throughout the film - and to help fill silence between dialogue, Foley, etc., before the composer has finished their work for the production.
The entire temp soundtrack across the entire film might be comprised of music available on audio
licensing platforms or library music platforms. Alternatively, tracks may be existing, alreadycopyrighted pieces that the director reckons perfectly suits the mood of the scene(s).
In terms of copyright and intellectual property, using existing material as a temp track doesn’t matter, because it shouldn’t be used as the endresult soundtrack anyway. The assigned music composer will - or at least should - transform the temp track’s signposting and guidance into a fully bespoke, nuanced score which can’t be immediately attributed to the profile of any of the temp tracks.
However - in my own experience, directors do tend to fall in love with their own temp track choices! The composer has to be careful to neither replicate the temp track to a tee, nor stray too far away from the ideas that the director has grown fond of.
There isn’t much wiggle-room for composers to be too risky and stray away from a track that the director has fallen in love with, because the chances are they’ll just buy or license the temp track in preference over yours.
Of course, cashing out on a professional temp track would be budget-dependent, but does often happen - even with the big-shot guys - and ultimately leaves the composer void of work, inspiration or reward.
I worked on a scene for an upcoming film with a big Hollywood actor in it, late last year. He wasn’t the director of the film, but as a globally-renowned star, he picked a piece from the internet to act as the temp track for the scene. I captured its essence, yet provided a freshly invigorated punch to the sound of my track. It featured the same structure and the same syncpoints/hits as the temp track chosen by the star actor, but was slightly different in every other aspect. It deviated from, and danced back towards, the overall vibe of the temp.
Ultimately, the star action had fallen so in love with the track he chose from an online music licensing platform that he ended up rejecting my contribution for the film. This was right after it had come back from the mixing and mastering team, and after much blood, sweat and tears. It was a hard one to swallow, but thankfully, the film’s main composer commended my efforts and thought I pretty much nailed the brief. His comment was something along the lines of “temp-love is a major contributor for rejection in this industry, and it happens to me on the regular, so don’t worry!
So, my gentle-yet-assertive tip for directors is as follows.
If you’ve hired a composer to spend their time and energy creating a bespoke soundtrack for your film, make sure you can part ways with the EXACT sound of the temp track you may have found. An exact replication isn’t going to happen - or at least, it shouldn’t happen.
No one has made the exact same film as your current production you are working on - therefore, no one has pre-made the exact soundtrack for it. That’s your assigned composer’s job. If you love the vibe of a temp track you’ve found, go and speak with the composer about it. Tell them what you love about it and what you wouldn’t mind being changed about it. See how far out you can push changing the vibe using the skill of your assigned composer, without negatively affecting your vision for the scene.
Even top Hollywood actors, directors and music composers can sometimes forget that originality is key in this industry - now more than ever.
Of course, it’s fine to use one or two temp tracks in favour of their pre-made features in a film score where your assigned composer has successfully written pieces for eighteen other scenes.
If an additional writer has been brought in for one of the scenes, however, that’s different, and you might find that putting them aside for a temp track may leave them short of work - and patience, perhaps!
In short, get to know your composer as well as you’ve gotten to know your temp track. The truth is that the most beautiful, original and impactful results for your film’s soundtrack will lie somewhere between your favourite features of the temp tracks you’ve chosen, and the adaptive wisdom and knowhow of your assigned music composer.
Keeponcreating!
Dearly Departed
By Sherri Sheridan
Everyone you know is going to die – unless you die first. Some of these people you will miss more than others. If you are the filmmaker in your family, you will be asked to make films for people who have passed to play at their funerals or going away parties.
Usually, these films involve slide shows of old photos set to favorite music. A Dropbox link is made, and people get together online to upload any images they may have of the person they are still in shock of losing. Young people who grew up with cell phones have more video than old ones. Famous media people have more clips to choose from than unknown farmers.
Nothing replaces video of a person talking who you love that has passed.
Photos do not capture a person’s essence in the same way that video does with the sound of their voice and the way they walk. You can tell if a person is confident about life, or beaten down, by the way they move and hold their posture.
I have made a few of these going away films now and my biggest tip is to start shooting video for these special people in your lives now. You do not want to wait until they are too sick to speak or look disturbingly ill. The energy of their stories will change even after a fatal diagnosis or triple digit milestone birthday. You want to get everyone in your life on video when they have no idea what you are up to and feel open to share in a fun way. You want to remember them in their prime.
Becoming The Family Historian!
People are smart. They are going to know if you are making sad bleak funeral films. You do not want to say, “Hey loved one, you may die before me, and I would like to film you answering some questions first. Please stand over there and tell me your philosophy of life in 10 seconds or less.” This approach will ruin the mood!
You are now the Family Historian! Part of your process in becoming a brilliant filmmaker is to document your roots. What isthethemeofyourfamily?Wheredidtheycomefrom,and whatdidtheywant?Whatweretheygoodatit,andwhodid theylove?
Everyone Is a Filmmaker Now
If you have a cell phone that is less than four years old, you can shoot some pretty clean HD video. The audio may be a little crunchy, but that is okay. The goal is to get their energy on the hard drive. You want to catch your loved ones in situations where they are happy, relaxed and feel like talking.
If you shove a big camera in their face, with a boom mic, the mood changes fast. Backs stiffen and eyes dart around worried about the big lens staring back at their face.
You want to casually find a spot to place a cell phone with nice background framing and let them talk. Family gatherings or visits are wonderful opportunities to tell people about your new Family Historian role. People also like it when you mention it before you arrive to wear their favorite shirt. “I am doing this project about our family (or friends) to understand my roots better, and I would love to ask you some questions!” You can also say you are doing it for school if you are a student. Or that you are going to be really famous one day, and this footage may be used to unravel the source of your exceptional talents. Come up with something that does not arouse any suspicions.
Tips For Shooting & Editing Loved Ones
(1) Pick a setting that the person loves or represents who they are in life. If your mom loves her garden, request a tour while asking life questions. If your dad likes golf, follow him around the course, while he tells you why filmmaking is a bad career choice, and that you should go into real estate or banking.
How can you capture people at their magical best? Pay attention to the backgrounds. Make sure it is quiet so you can hear them talking. Choose a wow setting if possible to quiz people about their lives and get them moving to see their energy.
(2) Make sure the setting looks good if possible. Choose a beautiful place for a meeting spot and sunny weather. Think of where to set up the camera before they arrive. Sunsets and sunrises look really good if you have control over time of day.
(3) You want to see them move so get some long shots of them walking around, dancing or doing things they love.
(4) Hold the camera horizontal like you are shooting film. Not vertical. This makes the background more important. This seems obvious but do this on all interviews to edit together later into films to see on big widescreen TVs or screens.
(5) Make them look good and do not ask shocking questions. Pretend it is you in their shoes and ask how you would want to be remembered and treated during the questions. Keep the mood light and fun.
(6) No background noise so you can hear their voice. This is super important since you are not using mics to be less intimidating. Make sure you can hear a pin drop, or you will not be able to hear their voice clearly. Keep the cell phone close to their mouths. Perch it on a table or gimbal unobtrusively. Do not try to interview them at a concert or sporting event with people yelling in the background.
(7) Capture old photos with your cell phone. Ask to see their photo album when visiting and snap some images that show their lives to cut into their films later. The optics in your cell phone work better than most photo scanners these days.
(8) Use Video AI to increase resolution of old footage. Premiere and several other programs like Topaz are making huge strides in cleaning up old footage. Keep a folder of old video clips for important people in your lives to use later.
Questions To Ask
1. What was the best moment of your life so far?
2. What did you want to be when you grew up as a child?
3. What is your biggest regret in life?
4. What quote best describes how you view life?
5. Tell me about your mother, father, grandmother….
6. What is your favorite place, and why?
7. What was the best trip you went on?
8. What are you most proud of accomplishing?
9. What is your favorite color, drink, food, movie, car, pet or book?
10. What are your top four favorite songs, and why? These will be the soundtrack later.
11. What is the funniest thing that ever happened to you?
12. What is the scariest thing you ever encountered?
13. What is your favorite memory with me?
Masterful filmmakers pride themselves on being able to capture the essence of their characters in one shot. Use this project as a challenge for you to preserve the memory of the people who shaped your life, for when they are gone, and you would give anything just to sit down and have a drink with them again to see what is on their minds. Make those kinds of missing you forever films. Celebrate their lives.
Do not settle scores on cutting room floors. Be respectful of their emotions.
Think of how you want your own funeral film to look and make that one too just for fun! How do you want to be remembered and what do you want to accomplish this lifetime? Storyboard your perfect funeral film in the future to help point you towards your next steps now.
If you are lucky enough to outlive all your friends, and are good at backing up old video files, you can one day put them in your MissingYou films and feel your old pals back in the room for another cup of tea one day. These films are important. Make time to shoot them at the right moments. Being the family historian is a big responsibility. Every time a grandparent dies, all their untold or forgotten family stories die too.
Have fun with this project and push yourself to become a better filmmaker in the process. See if you can get each person’s soul captured into a ten-minute film. If you do a really good job, you may have a feature one day of your family history that your great grandchildren will treasure too.
Did your mom climb Mount Everest? What are they most proud of doing? What made their lives worthwhile? Ask them if they have any photos and take some stills with your cell phone for use in later edits. Photos of trips they took or milestone moments.
An Introduction to How Documentaries Work
By Jacob Bricca, ACE
“Tiger at the Bronx Zoo Tests Positive for Coronavirus,” states the headline on a story dated April 5, 2020, on the CNET website (Figure I.1). Looking at the story, one’s eye is immediately drawn to the picture of the tiger as it roams the grounds of the Bronx Zoo, and one may also note that it is one of “seven big cats at the zoo that are showing symptoms.” The picture caption identifies it as “a 4-year-old tiger at the Bronx Zoo.” This all seems rather unremarkable.
Yet a look at the photo credit reveals a piece of interesting information: the source of the picture is listed as “James Deverney / Getty.” A quick web search reveals that the photo is for sale from Getty Images, one of the largest stock image archives in the world (Figure I.2).
Looking at the details on the Getty site, we can now confirm that while this picture was indeed taken at the Bronx Zoo, it was done so in December 2017, not April 2020 when the story was written. This means that a four-year-old tiger in the Bronx Zoo has indeed tested positive for the virus, but it’s unlikely that this is the tiger in question or that the one in the picture is four years old.
Let’s note that none of the individual elements carry any false claims. But it’s precisely in the implied relationship between all of these true things that we find ambiguity and slippage. Seeing the words “a 4-year-old tiger” directly under the picture created an impression—here’s the tiger that the article talks about—that is not fully accurate. We are instead looking at an impression of the real thing, a serviceable facsimile.
This loose relationship between what images seem to represent and what they actually depict is fundamental to documentary filmmaking. In fact, it is the very indeterminacy of an image’s origin that makes many common techniques of documentary storytelling possible. At one crucial moment in Asif Kapadia’s 2019 film, DiegoMaradona, a documentary about the worldfamous Venezuelan footballer, Maradona’s ex-girlfriend Cristiana Sinagra speculates in an old television interview about why he refuses to acknowledge paternity of their son. Painting a complex psychological portrait of the emotional toll his lies are taking on him, she says with pity, “I think he suffers for this.” Precisely at this moment, the audience sees Maradona in slow motion, taking the field for a match in front of tens of thousands of cheering fans, with a stark look on his face (Figure I.3).
FigureI.2PhotoforsaleontheGettyImageswebsite
Upon the utterance of the word “suffers,” Maradona grimaces, as if thinking about something particularly painful. Precisely what was on Maradona’s mind at that particular moment in a crowded stadium over thirty years ago is unknowable, but it could have been anything from a tight hamstring to pregame jitters. In the logic of the film, however, he is feeling the crushing weight of his own moral shortcomings.
Perhaps no one summed up this concept more succinctly than the aforementioned Dai Vaughan.
The documentary response is one in which the image is perceived as signifying what it appears to record; a documentary film is one which seeks, by whatever means, to elicit this response; and the documentary movement is the history of the strategies which have been adopted to this end.
Documentary will be consequent upon what it appears to show, rather than upon what it necessarily does show; and the relationship between the two is a matter for the filmmakers’ ethics, inaccessible to the viewer. Yet the assumptions which the viewer makes about this relationship, on the basis of signals intended or unintended, will inform his perception of the film. To make a documentary is therefore to persuade the viewer that what appears to be is.
Moving pictures are fiction. When we sit in a movie theater or in front of a laptop screen, we are not actually watching anything move. A series of still frames are being shown in rapid succession, fooling our brain into seeing movement and working in tandem with a set of perceptual cues that allow us to decode two-dimensional images as three-dimensional space. If the film is compelling, we react just as though something were actually happening—we laugh, we cry, we are scared, we are moved. Just as our brain experiences dreams as if they are real while they are occurring, a powerful movie produces convincing sensory stimulation that simulates lived experience.
This comes as a surprise to no one, yet its implications are profound. It means that when we watch a movie or a television show we are entering a dream space that doesn’t actually exist anywhere but inside our own minds. When the content is a scripted, fictional film, we give implicit acknowledgment to this fact—we know it isn’t real. But when we watch a documentary, a much more complex and problematic dynamic is in play because we relate these experiences back to the historical reality that we all share. It seems all too real. As filmmaker and sociologist Edgar Morin said prophetically in 1960.
We ought to know that fiction film is by definition much less illusory and much less deceitful than socalled documentary cinema, because both director and spectator know that it’s fiction, which is to say that its truth is conveyed through the imagination. On the other hand, documentary cinema hides its fiction and its imaginings behind the facade of reality.
While documentaries may seem to be fundamentally distinct from fiction films, in fact they carry far more similarities than differences.
“All films are documentaries,” stated Bill Nichols provocatively in 2001 in the first edition of his seminal book, IntroductiontoDocumentary. As he pointed out, both types of films are created by placing cameras in front of human persons at various moments in time and constitute a record of those moments. While the moments in a fiction film were staged, the moments did exist, or as Vaughan helpfully puts it, “Any fiction film can be perceived as a documentary on its own making.” Whether they involve actors delivering lines from a script or real people performing as themselves, all films are christened with moments of human performance captured by a camera.
Nichols goes on to point out the similarities between professional actors and documentary participants. Film actors are trained to ignore the highly unnatural environment of a film set, on which film lights, props, and scenery are piled high around them and a dozen crew members watch their every move. Directors of documentaries often look for a similar lack of selfconsciousness when they are researching their projects and may drop subjects from the production whose response is to freeze up in front of the camera. But which is the more authentic response: to acknowledge the artificiality of the situation and wonder about the consequences of the shoot, or to pretend the camera and the consequences aren’t there?
FigureI.3DiegoMaradonasuffersinDiegoMaradona
10 Things Student Filmmakers Need to Know About Rights, Licensing, Fair Use, and Public Domain
By Sheila Curran Bernard and Kenn Rabin
How to avoid problems that could prevent you from posting your work publicly online or entering festivals—including student film festivals.
With copyrighted audio, visual, and print materials readily available to download or copy, students often just take what they want and incorporate it into class media projects. For works that won’t be shared beyond the classroom, this doesn’t pose any real problems. Presentation of this work beyond the classroom, however, such as in a public online forum or as part of a film festival, requires that students secure permission for their use of these materials.
While acknowledging that issues of rights and licensing are often very complex, we’re offering a list of 10 basic items to consider as you embark on media projects.
No. 1: Knowing the material’s provenance is key.
Randomly pulling archival images and footage off the web is a big mistake. It’s important that you learn how to determine the original source of the material and the circumstances of its creation, and then follow through to see where the material is archived and who holds the rights. Even if you don’t yet clear the rights, you should know what steps would be involved should you later want to license the material and get a clean, high-resolution copy. It’s also important that you verify that the identity of the material is accurate.
It’s not uncommon, especially on the web, for material to be mislabeled and/or misidentified, purportedly showing one thing when it actually shows something very different. It’s also not uncommon for the rights information to be inaccurate, such as copyrighted material being falsely identified as public domain.
No. 2: Most of what’s on the web is not in the public domain.
In the United States, materials are said to be in the public domain, freely available to anyone to use, if they were:
• never subject to copyright;
• never registered for copyright prior to January 1, 1978, when the Copyright Act of 1976 took effect (after which, actual copyright registration was not required, although it’s still recommended; see www.copyright.gov);
• copyrighted but the copyright has expired. In 2022, anything published in the U.S. before 1926 is now in the public domain, and each year brings that cutoff date one year later.
However, many other materials published before 1978 may be in the public domain if their copyright was never renewed. Only about 15% of copyrights prior to 1978 were ever renewed, but students need to confirm this status before using the material.
Most materials created by U.S. government agencies are in the public domain, although other restrictions may apply. Again, something is NOT in the public domain merely because it’s on the web, ubiquitous, or iconic.
No.
3: Be organized with archival research.
From the start of a project on forward, you should develop a logging system to keep track of where each piece of material comes from. You’ll need a record of URLs and any meta-data you can find on the websites from which you’re drawing.
This includes captions and links for the material as well as any identifying information you can find on the individual or organization that posted the material. (In the case of stills and photos, doing a reverse image search using tools such as www.Tineye.com can be helpful.)
Because the vast majority of content online (YouTube and elsewhere) is untraceable, it’s best to start your search on sites built with trustworthy provenance information, such as the U.S. Library of Congress (www.loc.gov), the U.S. National Archives and Records and Administration (www.archives.gov), most government agencies, and most museums. Professional photography sites, such as iStock (www.istockphoto.com) and Getty Images (www.gettyimages.com), also have provenance.
Some really interesting material can also be found at Internet Archive (www.archive.org); some but not all of their material is in the public domain. (Look for the rights designation on the page of the item in which you’re interested.)
Only a fragment of the larger agencies’ holdings is online, but for student filmmakers, in-person access is unlikely to be an option. However, local archives, such as local libraries, university special collections, businesses, and historic societies and sites can be useful. You might also explore what audio or visual material your subjects’ families, friends, and neighbors might have in attics or old albums. (You will likely still need a written agreement from them for the use of this material.)
No. 4: When researching commercial sites, be aware that “royalty free” does not mean “free.”
Beware: royalty free just means that material is licensed for a flat fee, as opposed to the more common “rights managed” licensing, where the use of the material (where, for what time period, in what venue, etc.) is considered.
In general, other than students in advanced film programs who perhaps have something of a budget, you probably don’t want to deal with using material for which any kind of paid licensing is required.
No. 5: Claims of “fair use” must be supportable.
In the United States, the concept of “fair use” is a First Amendment-based exception to copyright that allows makers to draw upon others’ materials under certain conditions.
It is NOT the case, as commonly believed, that fair use applies if a project is educational, or noncommercial, or for public television, or if only X seconds of the material are used.
A “fair use” is decided on a case-by-case basis, considering four basic tests:
• the purpose and character of the new work;
• the nature of the copyrighted work;
• how much of that copyrighted work is used (in proportion to its entirety),
• to what extent the new use affects the market potential for the copyright holder.
Professional media makers claiming “fair use” of some materials in their project must get a letter from a qualified attorney supporting their claim, which is then presented to insurers who provide the “errors and omissions” liability insurance that distributors generally require. Excellent information about fair use and more can be found at the websites of Stanford University libraries (fairuse.stanford.edu) and American University’s Center for Media and Social Impact (cmsimpact.org).
No. 6: History is not generic.
Documentary students and those creating dramatic projects that rely on real-world verisimilitude should seek out materials of the specific event or people being documented. Do the research necessary to understand the lens (often quite biased) through which these materials were produced, by whom and for what purpose. Consider what you, as media makers in 2022, might want to do to adjust for and make transparent that lens. Here again, too, the labeling of content should be verified, to ensure that it’s been accurately identified.
It is considered unethical to fake historical materials, including footage, photographs, and audio, unless the artifice is made transparent to audiences.
No. 7: Rules for documentary and drama are different.
That TopGun poster on the wall of your main character’s bedroom? Their Yankees cap? The shirt featuring Kanye West? If the film is a drama— meaning that it’s fiction or fictionalized—that room is considered a film set, and any copyrighted or trademarked material on set or in costuming has to be licensed or be removed. This includes scenes that take place outdoors, if signs and billboards are shown.
Note that this is NOT the case with verité-style documentary work. In 2009, American University’s Center for Media and Social Impact worked with professionals throughout the industry to author a “Documentary Filmmakers’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use” (available through their website), which describes the four tests of fair use in practice. “Incidental capture” of copyrighted or trademarked materials was agreed to be a fair use, not least because to ask a character to change or stand elsewhere meant interfering with the real life being filmed.
No. 8: Get signed releases.
There are three main types of releases that filmmakers need to secure. An appearance release should be signed by anyone who appears in the finished project. A materials release or license agreement should be signed by anyone who is licensing or even donating visuals (print documents, photographs, footage, etc.). A location release or permit to film is needed from a person with authority to permit your use of private property, or in some cases even public property.
No. 9: Consider commercially recorded music as out of reach.
In general, students should not use commercially recorded music, which is governed by a complex system of rights involving the creators of a song,
its performers, and its publishers. Unless the album is in the public domain or the use of a small portion of a song is for a purpose that is clearly a fair use, avoid it. Even hiring someone to “cover” a commercially recorded song is trouble because there are still synchronization rights to be cleared. The simplest soundtrack for student filmmakers is original music created and performed specifically for your project.
No. 10: When in doubt, leave it out or consult a lawyer.
None of what’s included above is intended as legal advice, as we are not lawyers. Not all of the work involved in using third-party materials is tricky, but it often can be, and caution is warranted.
Voice Isolation
Clean Up Your Audio and Elevate Dialogue
By Bart Weiss
One great way computer processing assists filmmaking is with voice isolation. Separating the voice from noisy backgrounds has been a problem for filmmakers since the advent of sound in film. We have gotten much better with great microphones, but getting rid of that plane or your neighbor’s leaf blower on an exterior has been a pain.
To help separate the voice from the background, we have voice isolation. Final Cut Pro added voice isolation, which did a great job.
In fact, voice isolation is available on FaceTime calls. The apple isolation does a great job.
DaVinci Resolve added a better version in 18.1. It looks similar to Final Cut’s version but works a bit better and has a big knob to adjust the slider.
You can also turn it on in the Fairlight page.
The advantage is that you can apply to a whole track instead of one clip, which is very helpful.
Resolve 18.1 also has a Dialogue Leveler. This dynamically adjusts the level of a dialogue track, saving you from creating keyframes to adjust for actors who get soft and loud.
It can reduce low volume, lift soft dialogue, and/or reduce background levels. You can see how each of these is adjusting when you look on the Fairlight page.
If you are unfamiliar with how Resolve works with different pages, click on the Fairlight icon at the bottom of the page.
As a film teacher, I hesitate to show you these tools because I don’t want you to think that getting good location sound is not critical. It is. You need to scout locations for good sound and select the gear needed to achieve it. But, when you encounter situations that were not possible or working with archival footage, these tools can save the day. These audio Resolve 18.1 tools are only available in the studio version.
Optimize Your Filmmaker Network Profile: Practical Tips for QuickImprovement
Tap into the StudentFilmmakers.com Global Network for Maximum Impact
In the world of storytelling, filmmakers are the modern-day bards, weaving narratives that captivate audiences and leave a lasting imprint. Yet, being a successful filmmaker extends beyond the craft; it’s about building a vibrant network and forging connections within the industry.
In this digital age, your online network profile serves as your digital calling card, and keeping it fresh is paramount.
If you’re a filmmaker who believes in the paramount importance of storytelling, this article will steer you towards reinvigorating your network profile, ensuring your virtual presence aligns seamlessly with your creative aspirations.
Why Your Network Profile Matters
Before we dive into the ‘how,’ let’s dissect the ‘why.’
In an industry where collaboration is the lifeblood, your online presence can be the gateway to exciting opportunities, partnerships, and artistic collaborations. It is often the initial impression you make on potential collaborators, producers, and financiers. Dedicating time to refresh your profile isn’t just self-promotion; it’s about enhancing your storytelling abilities and connecting with a broader, appreciative audience.
Indeed, self-promotion, when done right, is a vital tool for career growth and personal brand development. It’s about showcasing your abilities and accomplishments authentically, which can open doors to opportunities and support your professional journey.
However, it’s essential to use this tool with care, ensuring it aligns with your values and respects your audience’s interests. Excessive or insincere self-promotion can be counterproductive and negatively perceived. Striking a balance between promoting yourself and contributing meaningfully to your field, nurturing relationships, and maintaining humility is key to achieving both personal and professional success.
Selecting the Perfect Profile Picture
Your profile picture is your digital handshake; make it count. For filmmakers, it’s crucial that this image conveys not just your identity but your passion. Opt for a headshot that captures your creative spirit - perhaps an evocative image from a film set, cradling your camera, or immersed in the filmmaking process.
Select a high-resolution image that resonates with your unique style.
ProInsight: Tweak your image with photo-editing finesse, ensuring that it’s well-lit and showcases your visage distinctly.
Crafting an Intriguing Bio
Your bio section is the canvas for your story, and brevity should not diminish its impact. Mention your cinematic niche, your standout projects, and infuse it with a dash of your personality. Don’t forget to include any prestigious accolades or awards you’ve garnered; they serve as badges of authenticity.
ProInsight: Pepper your bio with keywords relevant to your genre or expertise, facilitating easy discovery by those scouting for like-minded collaborators.
Showcasing Your Magnum Opus
For filmmakers, the portfolio section is your artistic sanctuary. Dedicate your time to infuse it with your latest creative endeavors. Incorporate trailers, tantalizing snippets, or even exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpses, giving viewers a taste of your storytelling magic. Every project should be introduced with a concise description that spotlights your role and the project’s artistic resonance.
ProInsight: Organize your portfolio and categorize your work into genres or themes, simplifying the quest for projects that align with your potential collaborators’ interests.
Cultivate Connections
Networking transcends the display of your work; it’s about engaging with fellow filmmakers, film enthusiasts, and industry mavens. Dedicate moments to connect with fellow filmmakers who share your passion and vision. Contribute thoughtful comments, support the work of fellow filmmakers, and indulge in enriching dialogues.
However, while networking, it’s crucial to remain authentic and genuine. Authenticity fosters meaningful connections and trust within the filmmaking community. Be sincere in your interactions and avoid trying to be someone you’re not. Prioritize building real relationships with fellow filmmakers over opportunistic connections aimed solely at personal gain.
ProInsight: Navigate networking with integrity.
In the world of networking, it’s essential to be aware of opportunistic behavior, and equally vital, avoid becoming an opportunist yourself. Opportunists are individuals who exploit situations or people solely for personal gain, often disregarding ethical and moral principles in the process.
When it comes to networking, remember that genuine connections built on integrity and a sincere desire to connect hold more value than opportunistic pursuits. Prioritize relationships that are mutually beneficial, grounded in trust and support, rather than those driven solely by self-interest. Building a supportive and trustworthy network not only benefits you but also contributes to the overall health and prosperity of the filmmaking community.
Share Your Insights
Filmmakers possess a treasure trove of experiences and wisdom to share. Leverage your network profile to emerge as a thought leader in your niche. Share insights into the filmmaking process, dissect industry trends, or critique films that ignite your artistic spark. By doing so, you’ll magnetize kindred spirits who crave your expertise.
ProInsight: Consistency is your ally; carve out a regular schedule to bestow valuable content upon your audience.
Spotlight Your Triumphs
Don’t shy away from spotlighting your triumphs. If your work has graced prestigious film festivals, garnered awards, or earned critical acclaim, ensure your profile bears these laurels proudly. Such laurels not only validate your mettle but also beckon potential collaborators.
ProInsight: Elevate your triumphs visually by incorporating multimedia elements like captivating images, evocative posters, or engaging trailers.
Seek Out Recommendations
Raving recommendations from associates and collaborators bolster your credibility. Connect with those you’ve worked with and request endorsements and testimonials that highlight your filmmaking skills. Always reciprocate the favor when someone else seeks your commendation.
ProInsight: Customize your recommendation requests, relaying specific projects or shared experiences that etched memories.
A Final Polish
In the final moments of your review, cast a critical eye over your profile. Ensure that every detail is current and precise.
Weed out any lurking typos or grammatical snafus in your bio and project descriptions. A meticulously polished profile radiates professionalism and meticulousness.
ProInsight: Solicit a trusted confidante or colleague to peruse your profile, delivering an objective perspective.
Key Takeaways
1. Your online network profile is your digital calling card in the filmmaking industry, where connections and collaborations are vital.
2. Self-promotion, when done authentically, is a valuable tool for career growth and personal branding.
3. Balance self-promotion with genuine contributions and humility to build meaningful relationships.
4. Select a profile picture that conveys your identity and passion, reflecting your creative spirit.
5. Craft a concise but impactful bio that includes your cinematic niche, standout projects, and accolades.
6. Showcase your creative work in your portfolio section, giving viewers a taste of your storytelling magic.
7. Prioritize authentic networking, engaging with fellow filmmakers, film enthusiasts, and industry experts.
8. Beware of opportunistic behavior in networking, and strive to connect genuinely with others.
9. Share your filmmaking insights to establish yourself as a thought leader in your niche.
10. Highlight your accomplishments and accolades proudly on your profile.
11. Seek recommendations and endorsements from colleagues to bolster your credibility.
12. Ensure your profile is meticulously polished, free from errors, and radiates professionalism.
By applying these key takeaways, you can rejuvenate your network profile and make a lasting impression in the world of filmmaking.
Creativity and Business
Two Sides of a Coin for Filmmakers
By Dr. Rajeev Kamineni
An aspiring filmmaker walks into my office and starts our meeting with the statement, “I have no idea about the business potential for this script/project, I am a creative person”. This set me thinking, isn’t it very self-serving of filmmakers to cast themselves in the creative mould? Thereby, shunning the responsibility of the revenue generation to someone else. That someone else more often than not ends up being the producer. For a successful movie project, it is essential that both the creative and business aspects are given equal weightage. A first-time filmmaker should keep the adage “movies don’t fail only budgets do” in their mind because in their pursuit to translate their vision on to the screen if budget is tossed aside then the result can be sub-optimal or even disastrous. Despite the content not being received in a positive manner the project itself can be termed as successful if the movie released well within its budget and recovered almost all its investment through pre-release business. One of the golden rules that I lay out to first-time filmmakers is that they should think about and understand the distribution dynamics before making the movie and not after completing the movie. It is too late to be thinking of the distribution logistics after the movie is completed because there is no control factor but only recovery factor.
Recovery or revenue generation from a movie depends on the manner in which it is showcased. Showcasing in the movie industry parlance is referred to as movie distribution, i.e., distributing the content to ensure maximum viewership. The traditional industry distribution model has undergone several changes over the years and a significant shift took place after the Covid-19 pandemic when movie screens had to be closed due to lockdowns and strict social distancing norms. For a first-time filmmaker, it is essential to understand the various modes of distribution. Distributors pick up the rights to distribute a movie in a
particular territory. These rights are normally assigned for a specific period of time, like three or five years. During that period, the distributor can screen that particular movie as many times and on as many screens as possible. There are typically three types of distribution arrangements that a producer and a distributor can enter into:
(a) Plain Distribution arrangement where the distributor circulates the movie in a territory and charges a commission of ten to twenty per cent on the net of taxes revenue, deducts this amount and remits the balance to the producer.
(b) Outright purchase where the distributor purchases the rights of the movie for a stipulated period of time and pays an agreed amount to the producer. In that timeframe, if the movie collects more than the paid amount, the producer does not have any claim on that extra amount—termed as the ‘overflow’ amount in cinema jargon. Similarly, if the movie collects less than the agreed amount, the distributor does not have any right to claim a refund for the losses sustained.
(c) Minimum Guarantee (MG) arrangement, where the distributor is willing to take a portion of the risk and pays a minimum sum, non-refundable by the producer. If the movie collects more than this minimum amount, then the overflow amount is shared between the distributor and the producer in a pre-agreed percentage split. As one senior producer commented: In the days gone by, all the distributors on the first day of principal photography used to hand over advance money and book the movie for exhibition in their areas. That concept is gone now. Today, no distributor buys the movie even after it is complete and ready for release. They all look to release the movie and then pay after the audience has watched the movie. That minimum guarantee is not available.
Straight to TV release was considered a rarity though some large production houses used to employ this technique of releasing a movie straight to television so that there is no distributor margin. However, after the Covid 19 pandemic, releasing a movie straight to the home viewing market through streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney etc. gained in popularity because producers wanted to monetise their content that was not being showcased due to screen closures amidst lockdowns and social distancing.
A first-time film maker has to discuss with distributors and conduct market research to understand the business potential for his/her project. If there are no box office drawcards in their project, then the budget should be reduced or ensure that there is a box office drawcard in the project. When it comes to greenlighting of projects firsttime film makers will be better served if they appreciate the fact that green lighting is done based on the business potential or distributor interest of a movie rather than the script alone.
If the script is perceived as too risky in terms of business potential than the chances of it getting approved recede. Without going into specific details and examples, we all heard stories of how blockbuster scripts were initially rejected or passed over because there was no confidence in the business potential of these scripts. The blockbuster ending for some of such scripts might be part of cinema folklore but the reality is that a first-time film maker was rejected due to the lack of distribution interest.
In conclusion, first-time film makers should attend courses on movie distribution along with script writing workshops and they should be trained to accept the fact that creativity and business are two sides of the same coin and it is essential for film makers to understand that one cannot exist without the other.
