The Sonnyboo Reader

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sonnyboo

The Sonnyboo Reader
Jan 2006 edition

I haven't done one of these in a long while. Post production on the feature have superceded any short film work or promotion, and yet things still happen in the world of Sonnyboo & the short films. It's great when marketing of films become self perpetuating. I'm happy to see that people are interested in the old works as well as the new.

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IFILM.COM is playing the trailer for HORRORS OF WAR.
http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2354099

On Monday, January 23rd, they will be adding it to the home page of Ifilm.com where they average several million hits per day. This is another major coup for Horrors of War and we are proud that we got approached to have the trailer on their site in every format there is on the web.

Post production compelted in December 2005 for the first feature film Horrors of War, see www.horrorsofwarmovie.com for more.

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NEW SCREEN TV is showing several Sonnyboo shorts on their channel in Orlando Florida, starting with THE LINE OF MASCULINITY on January 25th @ 7:PM

http://www.newscreen.tv/Pages/Schedule/a_week/3_wednesday.html



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GOOGLE VIDEO

Google Video has selected & are now playing several Sonnyboo.com shorts

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-210262691513088825&q=sonnyboo


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CNET.COM's DOWNLOADS VIDEO

CNET's Video Downloads has selected & are now playing several Sonnyboo.com shorts

http://video.download.com/3800-11164_53-8410.html?tag=vdl_cntnt_col1_rslt_name

CNET's Video Downloads has selected & are now playing several Sonnyboo.com shorts

http://video.download.com/3800-11164_53-8410.html?tag=vdl_cntnt_col1_rslt_name


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POPCAST.COM

Now broadcasting 4 channels of Sonnyboo entertainment.

http://www.popcast.com/channels/Sonnyboo_Classics
http://www.popcast.com/channels/Horrors_of_War__movie_info
http://www.popcast.com/channels/Sketchcetera
http://www.popcast.com/channels/The_Sonnyboo_Dramas

Popcast is a Peer to Peer torrent based exchange of shows & "channels" of videos on the web. Joe Johnston, creator of OHIOFILMVIDEO.COM is behind this ambitious project called Popcast.com

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More WEB DOCS & INDIE FILM TIPS

http://www.horrorsofwarmovie.com/webdocs.php

Tips on editing, ADR, and more, plus some honst looks at the process of making a feature film with DVD style content.


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UNDERNEATH CINCINNATI

Sonnyboo's THE LINE OF MASCULINITY has been selected as one of the "2005 Best of Underneath Cincinnati" and will screen in competition

2005 Best of Underneath
Friday, February 24th, 2006 @ the Contemporary Arts Center
Doors open at 6pm, show starts at 7pm
Tickets are available through the CAC box office or call (513)345-8405
$10 in advance, $12 at the door

http://www.underneathcincinnati.com

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INDEPENDENT FILM CHANNEL's MEDIA LAB

http://medialab.ifc.com/index.jsp

Several Sonnyboo shorts will be in competition with the IFC MEDIA LAB, and congrats to John Whitney for having his short PASSION selected as one of the shorts to be used as promo on the network and also on the site for IFC. Kudos for a kick ass short.

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Just watched the "Horrors of War" trailer on ifilm.com and it looks most impressive!

Was the film shot on a big budget? And how did you simulate an explosion?

I have also seen your work before when i watched "Line of Masculinity" on www.budgetfilmmaker.com Was Line of Masculinity filmed in Ohio?
 
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Eddie Rex said:
Just watched the "Horrors of War" trailer on ifilm.com and it looks most impressive!

Was the film shot on a big budget? And how did you simulate an explosion?

I have also seen your work before when i watched "Line of Masculinity" on www.budgetfilmmaker.com Was Line of Masculinity filmed in Ohio?
Click to expand...


Thank you. Define "big budget". I had exponentially more money than my DV shorts, but a whole lot less than any other WWII movies ever made. I can't be specific so don't ask.

The explosions are generally (99%) real, no CGI enhancement. We had a licenced pyro guy named RICK FIKE who handled all of our on set special FX, including squibs, bullets, grenades, canon fire, etc. etc.

The LINE OF MASCULINITY was shot in Cleveland Ohio at the SECOND CITY theatre there (before it shut down) with mainstg cast members. Second City is the troupe where Mike Myers, Bill Murray, Tim Meadows, Bob Odenkirk, John Candy, Dan Akroyd, Homer Simpson, and a flurry of others go ttheir start in the biz.
 
Sonnyboo- Why is it you can't reveal the budget? Legal reasons? I've just always curious when people say they can't reveal information like that- does that kind of thing get written in a contract, or is something involving investors rights?
 
Spatula said:
Sonnyboo- Why is it you can't reveal the budget? Legal reasons? I've just always curious when people say they can't reveal information like that- does that kind of thing get written in a contract, or is something involving investors rights?
Click to expand...

It's not in the contract per se, but I am under strict orders by the Executive Producer & my own common sense not to mention the exact budget until AFTER all worldwide sales are completed. If a buyer knows how much you spent, they will offer less money if they know how much you actually spent. The concept of "production value" is about how much you made it LOOK like you spent.
 
I think it looks great, regardless of whatever the budget may have been. :D
I laughed when one of the soldiers shouted "I'm shooting him, but he doesn't seem to notice!"
 
Thats interesting...

How are you going distribute the "Horrors of War?" And at which film festival will it be premiered?

Also i noticed a wartime aircraft (B17 or B25) flying past in the shot which looked very impressive and not cheap to hire. For example my dad once worked on restoring a Spitfire aircraft for airshows which cost just over £600,000!
 
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sonnyboo said:
It's not in the contract per se, but I am under strict orders by the Executive Producer & my own common sense not to mention the exact budget until AFTER all worldwide sales are completed. If a buyer knows how much you spent, they will offer less money if they know how much you actually spent. The concept of "production value" is about how much you made it LOOK like you spent.
Click to expand...

Makes perfect sense. Is this something that should always be done?

What about films with ultra-small budgets like Primer, that flaunt thier cheapness?
 
Regarding "Primer" and "El Mariachi", they are exceptions because of their quality and low budget. That makes them freaks, not in bad way, but in a very promotable way. Like a 5'9" pro basketball player or a Mini-Cooper with a 300 horsepower engine. It's a way to get your movie away from the pack, but it better be damn good.

I shot a film several years ago that I felt should have taken this route. It was a "Jerry Bruckheimer-like" movie made for around $100,000. It was directed by an accountant who had an eye for action and took four years to shoot. I thought they should have sold it that way instead it was just throwing it out there with to compete with $60-100 million action movies so it got buried because it could not be compared to movies where one explosion probably was more than its' budget.

If you're low budget movie isn't good and you try this angle at the outset, then you could end up with offers of pennies.

Scott
 
Eddie Rex said:
How are you going distribute the "Horrors of War?" And at which film festival will it be premiered?
Click to expand...

We're doing a traditional attempt at distribution. We have a sales agent taking the film to the film markets & selling the DVD and home video rights. So far 8 countries are sold. North America is going to be the best & most difficult to sell.

The WORLD PREMIERE is not known at this time. We have the movie being looked at by the SCI FI CHANNEL and they might want the "World Premiere Tonight on the Sci Fi Channel", in which we will have to cancel all public screenings until after the airing, including DVD releases for stores. Just so you know, it's worth more $$$ for them to get the world premiere.

Once we have a determination, we will start pursuing film festivals and alternate screening opportunities. We want to show this at comic book conventions, Horror movie marathons, sci fi events, and really get it out to the types of fans who like this kind of movie. It's more likely to play better with comic book fans than film festival types.

Eddie Rex said:
Also i noticed a wartime aircraft (B17 or B25) flying past in the shot which looked very impressive and not cheap to hire. For example my dad once worked on restoring a Spitfire aircraft for airshows which cost just over £600,000!
Click to expand...

The B-17's and C-47's are computer generated. The P51 Mustang is real (3/4 scale) and photographed at the D-DAY re-enactment on Lake Erie every September.



Spatula said:
Makes perfect sense. Is this something that should always be done?

What about films with ultra-small budgets like Primer, that flaunt thier cheapness?
Click to expand...

As you already pointed out, it's circumstantial. In the case of CLERKS, the $27,000 cheapness was a badge of honor to prep the public to look past it's flaws inherent in a black & white 16mm low budget feature. For EL MARIACHI, the $7,000 was so ridiculously low, and yet an action movie, that it was without a doubt a marketing hook. If the marketing departments sent thos emovies out to the public without the entire backstory of the poor filmmakers and how they struggled to make the film, no one would have thought the movies were comparable to Hollywood fare.

The trick is this... we don't want to tell a BUYER how much we spent until after they buy it. You want the buyers to pay as much money as possible, and if they know how little you spent on it, they are less likely to pay as much for it - unless there is a real frenzy for it (IE Clerks and El Mariachi sized hype). This kind of hype rarely happens. Key things like winning SUNDANCE or having a high profile agent or a studio head (IE Harvey Weinstein) get interested would make that happen, but it's so rare it's NOT wise to bank on a bidding war with the big companies over your film.

Once it's sold, their marketing department will ask and we will tell them what our budget was. It's up to them to see if that will help or hurt the publicity for the film. I might be asked NOT to ever say what it was, and I will comply with their wishes.
 
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Spatula said:
It's interesting how the business angle works, with that in mind... thanks for the info, PJR & SS. Very useful.
Click to expand...

The "business" half of "movie business" gets overlooked by most filmmakers. After all this time & all this work, I'd say I'm barely past the halfway mark of my work on HORRORS OF WAR. Finsihing the feature marks the start of promotion and sales. A feature film entails several more months of concetrated work to successfully get it out there for people to see. Unless you have $$ for a PR firm, it's on you the filmmaker. You don't want to falter & let your film fall to the wayside. If you aren't the film's biggest fan, no one else will get in line to champion it for you.

I have a saying that I repeat often. If you want to be discovered, you have to be somewhere they can find you. If it really is like they say and being in the right place at the right time, then be in a lot of places and increase your chances. Not promoting yourself and your film work ain't gonna help. No one else will want to do it for you if you don't want it done yourself.
 
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