THE MICROBUDGET CONVERSATION: DOWN AND DANGEROUS

By John Yost

In sticking with our “Do Your Homework” theme, this week on the conversation we dissect one aspect of the micro-budget equation – crowdfunding. As someone who is about to use Kickstarter for the first time, I felt it was best to leave you in the capable hands of someone who had not only successfully met his goal, but who doubled it. Zak Forsman is no stranger to the world of microbudget filmmaking and I love his advice on crafting a great campaign. At IFP week I heard tons of questions from filmmakers on how to wrestle the task of a good crowdfunding campaign. Very few panelists had a good answer, or the success that Zak has had. Perhaps this is because no two campaigns are alike. It’s always best to see what has worked for others, then add your unique take, and hand tailored strategy. This isn’t the first time we’ve tackled this ever-changing tool, but it’s the first time we in this column have been able to take one apart and see how it works.

About six months ago, I watched a video interview with Ira Glass where he put forth the notion of doing a volume of work to close the gap between one’s own good taste and an ability to execute on that level. It had been a little more than three years since directing my first feature, and this was just enough of a push for me to choose one of several half-developed ideas. I was intent on shooting this sucker before the end of the year one way or another. I wasn’t going to wait for financing, I was going to make the best damn movie I knew how and focus on the challenges that would help me grow as a storyteller. I wasn’t willing to let money be a barrier to making it, so I couldn’t rely on it being there when I did. I chose the most doable story on my slate, a crime thriller titled‚ Down and Dangerous – microbudget, no budget, whatever. I’m making a movie. But as the story developed, … Read the rest

THE NEW BREED L.A. #7: “SCREENING THE CUT”

“Don’t make your festival premiere your first test screening,” I always say to the filmmakers who take the IFP Narrative Lab. It’s sounds basic, but you’d be surprised at how many filmmakers I’ve come across who never properly screen their cuts with an audience before taking them out into the world. In this final episode of The New Breed‘s series on filmmakers and their creative process shot at the Los Angeles Film Festival, Marwencol director Jeff Malmberg and producer Ted Hope discuss their late-edit screening processes.

Thanks to Zak Forsman and Kevin Shah of Sabi Pictures and to the Workbook Project for their work and collaboration with this series.

Go back and watch all the episodes here.

NEW BREED LOS ANGELES – Episode 7 from Sabi Pictures on Vimeo.… Read the rest

NEW BREED L.A. #2: “ENGINEERING SERENDIPITY”

Here’s the second of the New Breed videos on the creative process filmed this year by Sabi Pictures at the Los Angeles Film Festival and presented by Filmmaker and the Workbook Project. Appearing in this episode are filmmaker Julius Onah (one of our “25 New Faces”), filmmaker Jeff Malmberg, actress Trieste Kelly Dunn (another “25 New Face”), director Brett Haley and producer Ted Hope.

NEW BREED LOS ANGELES – Episode 2 from Sabi Pictures on Vimeo.… Read the rest

INDUSTRY BEAT: DIWO REALITIES: WHY WON’T KICKSTARTER AND TWITTER SAVE INDIE FILM?

By Anthony Kaufman

NEW BREED L.A.: “NOTHING YOU HAVE TO HAVE”

Premiering below is the first of a seven-part series entitled “New Breed Los Angeles” presented by Filmmaker and the Workbook Project. Produced and directed by SABI Pictures, the series was shot at the Los Angeles Film Festival and features festival participants talking about their creative process. From the filmmakers:

For the community of working-class filmmakers at New Breed a constantly evolving creative process of telling our stories is the one thing we can count on in these changing times. Embarking on journeys through deeper methods of collaboration & engaging with fans across various platforms is certainly exciting – but one thing is for certain, the creative needs to be the driving force behind any and all approaches in order to preserve the integrity of the story (and the core reason we make our art).

In the previous series “New Breed: Park City,” several knowledgeable artists had converged for Sundance and Slamdance & graciously shared with us their perspective on the state of the industry, film festivals & distribution. As we (and you) continue to weigh and explore distribution offers and new DIY opportunities, one of the things that keeps coming up is the creative process. More specifically, how we want to evolve our collaborative creative process in our next features.

The creative process is itself hard to get handle on as it is different for every filmmaker – and each filmmaker needs to develop their own in accordance with the needs of the film. But there is always room to learn & to experiment, and most importantly to share and discuss what works for you.

In this series we begin at the beginning & explore what what perhaps drew us all into making movies in the first place: the mystery of the creative process. What follows are short documentaries with creative tips, techniques, learning lessons & personal experiences from a handful of artists we encountered at the Los Angeles Film Festival 2010.

Episode One is titled: “Nothing You Have to Have.” Featured in this episode are Julius Onah, Jeff Malmberg, Brett Haley and Ted Hope. … Read the rest

THE DUPLASS BROTHERS TALK STUDIOS AND SNUGGLING

Alica Van Couvering’s interview with Mark and Jay Duplass in the current issue of Filmmaker was conducted at the Sundance Film Festival, where their latest film, Cyrus, premiered. Starring John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei and Jonah Hill, the film is a comedy/drama about mid-life romance and the borderline aggro-child that stands in its way. Alicia’s interview was filmed by Zak Forsman, Kevin Shah and the Sabi Pictures team, and here’s an edit of their conversation. See more videos on our YouTube channel. The film opens Friday, June 18.

… Read the rest

SOLUTION-BASED: NEW BREED AT PARK CITY PART 2

Here’s the second of the New Breed videos discussing the current and future states of distribution. From the makers:

Filmmakers Zak Forsman and Kevin K. Shah of Sabi Pictures arrive at Park City with an intent to define the questions most relevant to independent distribution options. Insights from Brian Newman, Dan Mirvish, Jon Reiss and Ira Deutchman open a path toward discovering some real solutions.

NEW BREED PARK CITY – Discovering the Questions from Sabi Pictures on Vimeo.… Read the rest