distribution Company Wants to See My film

G

garylloyd

I sent a distribution company my screenplay and they wrote back saying they Definantly want to see the movie once it's completed.

I'm here in the Baltimore area and want to jump right on it.

I want to work a deal with camera people who can make this happen.

I write funny screenplays. The one I sent them is titled, "Nazi Baby Mamas of Harlem."

I don't have any money, but I'll cut a deal and pay for all the video and props.

I think this project can be completed in a week.

Contact me if you want to help me with this.

riclanders@gmail.com
 
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directorik said:
That was my method for several years. Small distributors were
paying in that range and I could crank out six a year. Not a bad
way to make a little money.

Don’t take my word for it, but those days are over.

I think your first plan is the better one. You spent 20 years as a
news reporter; you have plenty of contacts - use them. Hire a tiny
crew of six - everyone with their own equipment - that way you
don’t need to buy a camera. Share that $20,000 plus points with
them.

Of course you don’t need to share any of that $20,000 if you buy a
camera and shoot it yourself. No crew at all. Will you pay or
share the $20,000 with the cast?

Do you know that the distributor that want to see the finished
film pays that kind of money? Have you done a budget? How much
will it cost you to shoot for a week?
Click to expand...


I found out DSLRs and got very excited. Changed my game plan immediately after I saw the quality of these puppies on Youtube.

And it got me thinking of other things I could do like make commercials, weddings, etc. I was trained as a Photographer in the army many years ago (on an 8x10 Crown graphic!) but everything I know is out-dated.

The main thing is, I want to have fun and it occurred to me I'd have more fun shooting it myself.

Pretty much set on buying the basic equipment needed. Just found out about the Panasonic GH2 after gearing up to buy the 5100.

Leaning toward the Panasonic GH2.
 
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garylloyd said:
Say, TrueIndie, take a look at this:
http://snapsort.com/compare/Nikon-D5100-vs-Panasonic_Lumix_DMC-GH2
Click to expand...

I've seen that. I'm not a GH2 expert. I personally use Canon T2i. I have two of them and I want to replace them both with GH2s. The reason is this thing called moire. It has screwed up my shots in the past, and I did not discover them until I came to edit. I don't want that to happen to me again, if I'm shooting something important. That really is the primary reason for my preference for GH2s. There are lots of people on this board though that already use GH2s and they'll tell you all about how much they love it :)

In terms of your distribution/VOD planning, I think you might want to pay heed to what Direktorik is saying. I really also believe that those days of making money from small films through distributors is over. There are too many films and filmmakers around. They can play us off of one another and not pay squat, and we'll still like it. Your film has to be really really good or you have to have known actors in your film, as finderskeepers said. You can go the VOD route, but ask around and find out how many films have had more than 25 downloads, let alone 100. If you don't spend money advertising your finished film, nobody will know about it and nobody will download it, even if you have it up on Amazon or iTunes. But I don't know all that much about VOD either.

Distribution is going to be the hardest part, but it will be even harder if you don't pay attention to technical aspects such as lighting and sound, before you embark on your new projects.

What else can I say my friend? I got me a plan too. But unless I can execute it, it's just another plan. Let's hope 2012 is good to us all. (Damn, March is going to be here before I know it)
 
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trueindie said:
I've seen that. I'm not a GH2 expert. I personally use Canon T2i. I have two of them and I want to replace them both with GH2s. The reason is this thing called moire. It has screwed up my shots in the past, and I did not discover them until I came to edit. I don't want that to happen to me again, if I'm shooting something important. That really is the primary reason for my preference for GH2s. There are lots of people on this board though that already use GH2s and they'll tell you all about how much they love it :)

In terms of your distribution/VOD planning, I think you might want to pay heed to what Direktorik is saying. I really also believe that those days of making money from small films through distributors is over. There are too many films and filmmakers around. They can play us off of one another and not pay squat, and we'll still like it. Your film has to be really really good or you have to have known actors in your film, as finderskeepers said. You can go the VOD route, but ask around and find out how many films have had more than 25 downloads, let alone 100. If you don't spend money advertising your finished film, nobody will know about it and nobody will download it, even if you have it up on Amazon or iTunes. But I don't know all that much about VOD either.

Distribution is going to be the hardest part, but it will be even harder if you don't pay attention to technical aspects such as lighting and sound, before you embark on your new projects.

What else can I say my friend? I got me a plan too. But unless I can execute it, it's just another plan. Let's hope 2012 is good to us all. (Damn, March is going to be here before I know it)
Click to expand...


Just placed my order for the GH2.

Had a funny experience doing it.

I first went to B&H's used department saw a Panasonic G2 for $389, thought it was the same thing and ordered it. An hour later after doing some more research found out it wasn't, called back and upgraded to the GH2 -- a $440 difference.

Might have been able to get by with the G2, but don't want to chance it.
 
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directorik said:
That was my method for several years. Small distributors were
paying in that range and I could crank out six a year. Not a bad
way to make a little money.

Don’t take my word for it, but those days are over.

I think your first plan is the better one. You spent 20 years as a
news reporter; you have plenty of contacts - use them. Hire a tiny
crew of six - everyone with their own equipment - that way you
don’t need to buy a camera. Share that $20,000 plus points with
them.

Of course you don’t need to share any of that $20,000 if you buy a
camera and shoot it yourself. No crew at all. Will you pay or
share the $20,000 with the cast?

Do you know that the distributor that want to see the finished
film pays that kind of money? Have you done a budget? How much
will it cost you to shoot for a week?
Click to expand...

I absolutely won't share the $20,000 with the cast.

Maybe with the second movie cast will get paid -- not the first.

I placed my order for the GH2 and expect to receive it some time today.

What I was trying to say before is I'm in this for the fun of it.

I thought about porn then quickly dismissed it. There's piles of money in it, but with the money are piles of misery.

I've got a whopping six screenplays, so the writing is over. Now I'll just concentrate on production.
 
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directorik said:
I'm interested, too.

Which distributors are paying for Sci-Fi VFX stuff. Are they
paying in the 20 large range?
Click to expand...

finderskeepers said:
That's interesting Kholi. Why is that? Is there a Sci-Fi VFX cable channel wanting material or some channel most of us haven't thought of? That might be an option for some of us.
Click to expand...



Only two that I know of for a fact, LA based, and super small. They're buying VFX heavy (Asylum heavy) and ambitious projects out for 20K ish and feeding WalMarts/Targets, Overseas like mad. Out of respect--I know the owner of one through a very close friend, actually supposed to meet with him next week I believe, I can't name the company's names.

It's more-so just a heads up that if you really want to sell you might want to learn how to do VFX yourself or find a team.

I deal/live/breathe in the VFX world, so it's not a side-step for me, it's just natural. But, I'd also never sell anyone my work for 20K outright. Not a chance in hell. It IS good to have the connections, as you never know what they may be willing to do to get better material than what they usually have.

And they are definitely like a slightly lower budget Asylum.

This shouldn't be a surprise, though. Market's been shifting this way for years. If you're a filmmaker right now and you are already connected and can do low key projects, that's fine. If you're not, you should've been learning VFX or building a VFX team.
 
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Kholi said:
I can't name the company's names.
Click to expand...
Of course that's your prerogative but I find it odd that a company
buying films would not want filmmakers to know who they are.

Asylum, Wizard, Maverick Global, Brain Damage and the like are
always looking for movies. This small company isn't?
 
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directorik said:
Of course that's your prerogative but I find it odd that a company
buying films would not want filmmakers to know who they are.

Asylum, Wizard, Maverick Global, Brain Damage and the like are
always looking for movies. This small company isn't?
Click to expand...

None of those people will look at your features unless you know someone, and you have certain stipulations (tv actors, so on and so forth). And you sure as heck aren't selling to Asylum on a cold call or someone's "tip" that they pay for features.

And, none of them will tell you exactly how much they'll buy for. If I say who it is, people will go to these companies expecting them to buy their stuff outright for 20K. Kinda silly. True, without a name it's pretty much only peripheral information here, the point was more-so "if you have the right product there are people actually paying for it, just pennies."

20K = Pennies.
 
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Kholi said:
None of those people will look at your features unless you know someone, and you have certain stipulations (tv actors, so on and so forth). And you sure as heck aren't selling to Asylum on a cold call or someone's "tip" that they pay for features.
Click to expand...

We have different experiences. All these companies actually advertise on
their sites that they are looking for new films.

Didn't mean to put you on the spot. I apologize.
 
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directorik said:
We have different experiences. All these companies actually advertise on
their sites that they are looking for new films.

Didn't mean to put you on the spot. I apologize.
Click to expand...

You didn't put me on the spot. Haha. People ought to start talking about this more than which camera to buy, etc.

I'm sure if you know anyone from Asylum personally then you know they aren't looking at your material without very specific stipulations, and they aren't telling people how much they're paying for stuff.

You always hear it from others, but you never get an answer directly from Asylum.

Personally, it's take it or leave it: one either recognizes how the market goes and makes an attempt or sits with the rest of the birds peckin' at scraps, tryin' to figure out where to flock next.
 
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Unboxed my new gh2 a few hours ago, shot a clip, uploaded clip, went to sleep.

First impression: bristling with complexity -- and I mean this in a good way. I once owned a Canon GL-2 and compared to it, the GH2 is like chess to checkers.

It's a tiny movie studio in your hands -- all the horse-power and tools needed to shoot a movie compressed into a little black box.

And it's going to take time to master it, I can see that. But since I'm retired, I've got all the time required.

The first surprise came when I inadvertently shot in low-light. It was just supposed to be a test. It was night outside and normal room lighting. You could have knocked me over with a feather when at playback I see this sparkling, perfectly exposed clip (I had it on auto).

Uploading was dicey at first but I finally figured it out.

Smallness: When strapped around my neck it looks like a cheap drugstore camera. (Well, it would weren't it for the 14.-42 lens.) This is great, here's why: The Canon GL-2 was one of the smallest cams out there during its heyday, but is was still a brick. I never felt safe using it in places where I could get ripped off. It screamed "expensive camera!"

This little camer will generate zero thief interest; they'll see it around your neck and think you and it are a joke.

How small is it?

This little bitch fits right in your cargo jeans pocket! Lens in one pocket, camera in the other and you're ready to get in a bar-room brawl without fear of getting your camera swiped.

Incidentally, it comes with the basic stuff you need to get started including battery charger and lens-hood. The manual is not that bad; don't know why everyone complains about it. Make sure you get at least a 30 MB/s card; that is, a fast one. Check out the ScanDisk Extreme 32 GB, 8 hours, at $55 (B&H)

Lenses: Somewhere someone wrote the 14-140 is inferior to the 14-42. I was going to get the former, now I'm glad I didn't. It would have been heavier and would have added $300 to the price with the camera, $640 by itself.

Buyer's Remorse? Zero. This camera has almost a cult-like following; there are little forums everywhere where everybody gushes about this puppy.

Future purchases:

1. Zoom H4n Handy Recorder Kit

2. Shot-gun mic with boom pole

Everyone seems to think Zoom is the best way to go for a digital recorder and the Zoom H4n Handy Recorder Kit with 8GB SD Card and Remote Control the best fit. It sells for $300. Apparently, there's even a sync routine for the GH2 that someone has hacked.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/669360-REG/Zoom_H4n_Handy_Recorder_Kit.html


Bought GH2 from B&H for $895. Could have got a used Nikon 5100 for $670, but I said, "What the hell! I'll go for the GH2 and eat cheese and crackers for the next three months.

Gh2 quickstart. Go here: http://osgfilms.com/gh2-quickstart/

More later.
 
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