I’m not a prolific blogger. I wouldn’t call myself a prolific filmmaker either. You won’t find my films in theaters or rental houses. You probably won’t see them at festivals. 75% of my films you’ll probably never see, but if you follow me on Vimeo or you follow my company Red Futon Films, you might see a few things here and there, but they won’t be mainstream fare. And that’s okay because this is my plan- while you may never see my films, they’re getting made and the right audience is seeing them and in all cases, they’re paid for.

New School?

I’m really turned off by the traditional film distribution/indie film model. It’s got this vibe and aura surrounding it that I never want to be a part of. It has a post-student/emo/half-music video feel. I’m not talking about just the technical merits of poor audio, bad lighting, horrible if non-existent color correction etc. The philosophy also turns me off. Wearing funny hats, retro clothing, asking friends and family to bone up several thousand dollars so you you friends can make the next dramatic Sundance hit it your buddy’s livingroom. Yeah not so much.

Maybe I came in to the game late- from a broadcast world of technical requirements, specs, standards- editing on tape and shooting with huge cameras in large studios with paid professionals. I entered when (as I’ve been reading/told) money dried up for indies, festivals were dominated by $1M “low-budget” films with real directors, rental houses were being killed off my Netflix etc. I never worked in that old film world so I don’t know. I came from broadcast- but I’m doing filmmaking now.

It started as a fluke. I got a full time job outside of media. They realized I had skills and started having me do media things. I met people, started travelling and filming. I’m blessed. I work hard for the gigs I get, but getting into it was less effort. In fact, i didn’t WANT to do this when got the job outside of media. But when you love something and it’s given back to you, you really can’t keep away. But like any good broadcaster, I film for my AUDIENCE. I don’t film for me.

Yes, I love it, but if I do it for me, I fall into the black-haired, big glasses, wool sweater, artsy, no-money, filmmaker lifestyle. One that’s about my story, my creative control, my film. Not my audience. It’s drilled into when you start: audience, audience, audience. From a broadcasting standpoint; no audience, no advertising, no advertising, no dollars, you go under. (Reason 1 your local radio station changes formats every year).

Find Audience. Make Film.

Filmmaking is the same. But it’s not necessarily dollars- yes, you need those to get it off the ground and out to your audience- But it’s AUDIENCE. If you have no audience to watch it, what’s the point? They’ll never see your new creation and you’ll nevery get paid. They’re not going to flock to your next half-assed mumblecore flick- rarely is a movie ever that good. So it’s fairly basic: Identify your audience, write/film something they’ll love. Market the hell out of it every way you can.

“Niche-ified”

Which brings me to my last point: Distribution. The cheapest way to distribute now is online. If you plan accordingly, you can make money and your audience can see it. There are more qualified people to talk on this so I won’t say much but audiences are yes, gathering at the next big blockbuster, but also so fragmented and niche-ified online, you can go where they are will a film about something they love. So try it next time.

I meant to talk about some other things, like how I’m doing it, but I just sort of started writing. So instead of “Make Film > Find Audience” Try it this way: “Find Audience > Make film”

Tags: distribution, philosophy

Yesterday (and you can read about it here)- we drove way out of Dhaka (sort of- it’s really all city) to some smaller communities to get some feedback from the MBB’s about what’s going on with the C5 movement. I didn’t know anything about it and now that I do, it’s heresy if you’re both Christian and Muslim. Anyway, should make great film.

On the way back we stopped at a RESTAURANT (not the street or someone’s home) and Ian and I took ill this morning. We’re both up and functional, but neither of us are eating. Molly’s not here so I can’t ask her if she’s okay. I’m pretty sure she is, she didn’t eat much and Ian and I cleaned off a plate of fried rice.

Molly’s not here because I dropped her off at the airport at midnight last night. It’s a little unnerving seeing your soul enter a foreign airport by herself. I haven’t heard from her yet and don’t really expect to until she reaches the Philippines to start on her PM work. On the professional level, I’m a little bummed a lost another amazing producer/director mind and amazing photographer. Ah well, two heads are better than just me, but I’ve found the more great people I surround myself with, the better the product.

Which leads me to my final paragraph, as an Indie, having as many valuable minds around as possible is essential. Don’t get me wrong, I have the vision, where I want this to go, but bringing on board an amazing storyteller and getting feedback from as many people as possible reveals blindspots, weaknesses, strengths, storylines I didn’t see etc. All of these add up to making a better, stronger, more compelling film. So, don’t hold on to your idea too tight. By letting some else change it a bit, it can be a much better idea! (Or worse- it’s your job as producer to sift through the ideas and work ‘em or drop ‘em for the benefit of your film- my other advice).

Tags: bangladesh, documentary, philosophy, Production, travel

I was just reading an article about The Low-Budget Movie Phenomenon, and it addressed a few things about this movie and that movie and what-not.  But I got to thinking about the impact Hollywood and it’s standard of movie production with numbers in the billions and marketing out the waa-zoo. I recall the dramatic and documentary productions I worked on for this teaching resource or the that international work. There is no way we can get the budget to produce a film with the level of perfection and precision that comes out of Hollywood. Films that even our non-profit audiences are familiar with and know. Films that get compared to the measly production we are able to put out. Ours are good films but never-the-less come up short in comparison.

So the question I pose to you and myself, what’s the basis for your standard of good enough when you know they expect Hollywood, but you can’t deliver?

Tags: philosophy, Production