You
hear about an audition. Some one posted a
flyer that said something about a short
that's in the Sundance Film Festival. This
sounds interesting.
You,
the actors & aspiring actors go to a
cattle call for a no budget DV short. You
wait in line, although the people sitting
around at the public library is hardly
organized enough to be called a
"line". After you get asked to
read sides and this first time director
doesn't know what a "slate" is,
and he isn't taping the auditions anyway.
You leave wondering what kind of movie this
could possibly be given that you read a
fragment of a script that had dialogue as
interesting as an Insurance Actuarial Table.
After your call back a week or two later,
you read the lines again, and talk about
other stuff with the director and any
cronies they have about your dreams an
aspirations.
CALL
BACKS
At
this point, they tell you the game plan for
this incredible movie. It's a 10-20 minute
opus about an everyman that is in some kind
of struggle and it's completely original.
The goal is to shoot the movie on DV, send
it to film festivals, and then get the money
to re-shoot it on film. Of course there's no
pay. We can't afford it. But this is a
Unique Opportunity because the script and
idea are just that good. You ask about
distribution and you are assured that after
the film plays at several festivals, it will
have a distribution deal. At that point,
everyone will get paid. They say this with
such conviction that you buy into it.
THE
SHOOT
You
work on your weekends for 12-13 hour days,
this first time director is giving you line
readings and there is barely any craft
services to munch on while everyone stands
around. Eventually you finish, and you wait
to see the movie. Over the next few months
you try calling, then emailing the director
and get a status report. It's still being
edited. Eventually you may or may not ever
see a finished product, but waiting for that
film festival screening seems to be as
likely as finding weapons of mass
destruction in the filmmakers basement.
If
this has happened to you more than 5 times,
then you are an ideal candidate to attend an
Amway meeting with me. I have just the right
opportunity for you.
And
now for the flipside...
DIRECTOR/FILMMAKER'S
POV
You
rent movies all the time. You go to the
movies all the time. You have always loved
movies, and you just saw the latest Steven
Seagal movie that went direct to video on
Showtime at 3:30AM, and you say to yourself
"I can do better than this piece of
garbage!" and you have this idea that
has been brewing for at least 5-10 minutes.
You download the latest freeware plug-in for
screenwriting for Word and start banging
away. The story unfolds and the dialogue
sounds really good in your head.
Now
what?
I
read about Soderberg and George Lucas using
home camcorders to make their movies, so all
I need is a Sony Handicam and I can become
the next Kevin Smith!Because it's a camcorder, all I need
to do is point & shoot. No need to know
anything about lighting or cameras.I remember seeing something about
Kevin Smith and the Sundance Film Festival,
so when I finish the movie, I'll just send
it there, it will be accepted, and I'll get
signed to my 3 picture deal at that point.
Should take about 2-3 months.
Now
I need to get people to be in the movie, my
masterpiece. I can hold a casting session!
Casting
Notice reads "Actors Needed - Short
Film for Sundance Film Festival"
AT
THE CASTING CALL:
I
can't believe these people want to be in my
movie. Look at all of them. I want to savor
this moment. See each actor one at a time.
She looks really good, so screw first come
first serve, jet that girl Jennifer in here
NOW. I want someone here to look and act
exactly as I pictured the movie in my head.
With 14-16 people waiting to see me, at
least 5 of them should be perfect.
AFTER
THE CASTING CALL
Why
isn't anyone exactly as I pictured in my
head? That Jennifer was really good looking,
and she really seemed to like me. Should I
cast her solely based on looks? She can't
act her way out of a paper bag.
THE
SHOOT
Nothing
is as good as I thought it would be. The
actors aren't doing exactly what I want and
I even tell them how to deliver the lines. I
know I wanted to do more camera angles, but
we were running late. Everybody is mad at
me, and we can't seem to get it right. I can
fix this in editing.I can't afford to buy another pizza, so whoever is late, is
just out of luck. No food for you.
THE
EDIT (day 2)
This
is fantastic, this is great. I mean, there
are warts, but the core of this - the idea,
it's so good. I can't believe I made a
movie!
THE
EDIT (day 30)
I
don't feel like editing today. I just worked
a full shift at the store, and I'm tired.
Let's see which rerun of Seinfeld is on.
THE
EDIT (day 66)
Finally
finished. I can't believe I edited the whole
thing myself on a home PC with my bootleg
copy of Adobe Premiere. Every word of my
script is here and it's perfect. Let's show
it to my friends and family and maybe the
cast. They'll tell me if anything's wrong
because they are completely unbiased.
SCREENING
DAY
I
can't believe it! My mom, my best friend,
and the lead actor loved the movie! I was
right! This IS a masterpiece. I wonder what
time the limo will be here to pick me up.
Hollywood can just somehow smell talent, and
they'll find me. When they do, I'll hire all
my friends and all these actors to work with
me and Tom Cruise as we make Mission
Impossible 4.
SCREENING
DAY+11
It's
been almost 2 weeks, and still no limo.
Maybe they people who smell talent have a
head cold, or there was a flight delay in
Chicago for the connecting flight.
SCREENING
DAY+17
I
got an email today from one of the bit part
actors, what's-her-name, and she had the
gall to ask me if I had submitted to any
film festivals yet. She doesn't understand
that I am an artist and I have a day job
too. I'll get on this soon.
SCREENING
DAY+24
I
looked into submitting to Sundance and it
costs $25! Jumping Jesus on a pogo stick,
all of these film festivals want money. What
kind of sick bastards charge filmmakers
money to submit their movies? How many
submissions can they possibly have? I can
only afford two, so I will definitely send
to Sundance, because that's the big one. For
some reason I was under the assumption that
either the film festivals were free or that
the entry fees wouldn't apply to me. I guess
I should have done the math ($25x18 film
festivals = $450 - that's more than my Sony
Handicam Camcorder!).
REJECTION
DAY (late November every year)
I
got a letter in the mail today. I can't
believe they didn't pick my movie. I went to
the Sundance page and looked at the movies
that did make it. Why would they pick movies
directed by Matthew Modine, Danny Glover, or
WHAT’S THIS? Kevin Smith got in too? I
thought these people were already famous.
Why are they premiering these Hollywood
movies? Why didn't they pick my mediocre
movie with no stars shot on DV? I better
avoid all contact with any associated the
movie. I'd rather them not know than have to
tell them.
ACTORS
- When you audition, ask about the plan and
distribution. If they can't afford to pay
you, but plan on sending to several film
festivals.... then something is wrong. Do
the math. Each film festival costs $25-50
whether the movie makes it in or not, and
because of simple odds (thousands of
submissions, tens of slots....) the movie
won't get into a lot of film festivals. If
the filmmakers can't afford to pay for
decent meals, how in the hell can they
afford to submit to film festivals?
Now
I'm not saying you shouldn't do the movie.
That's not my point at all. I guess my point
is just BE REALISTIC. Know that you are
doing it for the experience. Occasionally,
there are pearls in the clams, and you won't
find them if you don't look. There are some
good movies and good directors, but it may
take time and a few movies before this first
time filmmaker becomes one.
There
are other options that can make the
experience and work worthwhile. Don't be
afraid to suggest:
DIRECTORS
- Plan for the entire movie. Budget for the
entire movie. That includes money to MARKET
the movie. There is this common mistake that
you spend all of your money MAKING the
movie, and then it sits & collects dust
because you find out that everything costs
more than you thought. Plan for it. Whatever
you THINK it will cost, have double the
money. Did you really think that because you
shot your "film" on Digital Video
that it would be that much cheaper? That's
insane.
Be
Realistic. The chances of getting INTO
Sundance are slim, and winning anything or
getting distribution is a pipe dream. First
of all, DV shorts with no stars are
generally as valuable as rat feces. There is
no real distribution and short films, even
with stars, have very few outlets for
display - and even more rare are places that
pay for them.
Film
Festivals are great, but they are expensive.
Plan ahead for the money you will spend on
submitting to film festivals, and know that
you may not get in. They don't refund your
money when you don't get in. And also as an
FYI - audiences at a regular film festival
average about 12-75 people, most of them the
other filmmakers and casts and crews who got
their movie accepted. Unless your movie is
about filmmaking, this may not be the best
audience or judge for your work.
Make
movies for the experience to start. Don't be
delusional. Want to help yourself, your
movies, and the actors who starred in it?
Get some exposure. Get your work seen by as
many people as possible. Put your shorts on
the Internet, Public Access TV, or anywhere
you can. Get your actors seen by as many
people as possible. That's the least you can
do.
You
have to ask yourself why you made the movie
or got involved with a movie.
Was
it to get famous or make money?
HA!
You're better off buying lottery tickets.
You'll have better odds in a casino.
Did
you make your movie to tell a story?
GREAT,
now share it with people, in as many venues
as possible. Film Festivals are good, but
expensive. Have options.
