Category: Truly Free Film

We are on the verge of a new film culture and infrastructure.

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Truly Free Film

Most Read HopeForFilm Posts Of 2010

I wasn’t sure what to call this post. “Top Posts”? “Most Popular”? They are not necessarily the most engaging, as they don’t always correspond with the “most commented” — if that qualifies for engaging that is… But I thought it would make some sense to see what was the most viewed.  I thought I would learn from it.

One of the things that I am proud of regarding this blog is the fact that it has become a community forum.  I learn from the comments people post.  I have made new friends from such comments (and identified a few I hope to avoid!).  It’s been really great how much people contribute, and I love that almost half the most popular posts are from folks other than myself.

So, what were HopeForFilm/TrulyFreeFilm’s most read post of the past year?  Surprisingly, they are all quite recent.

38 More Ways The Film Industry Is Failing Today – With over 10,000 views this clearly hit a nerve.  Everyone likes lists, but I like to think  so many folks went to this for a dose of preventive medicine.  We are going to conquer this right?

Ten Things To Do Before You Submit A Script – Getting your script read by the right people will always be a challenge.  As will making the best film you are capable of.  We all need advice, and I probably can come up with a few more posts like this.  You certainly want it.  I have listened.  I hope the advice was helpful!

The Hard Truth: Filmnaking Is Not A Job – I aim to be 100% truthful about what I do.  I want to demystify what producers do.  I think the readers of this blog and the community around it that you have built wants us all to say like it is.  I must confess that occasionally I let the struggle of getting movies made and seen, get me down.  Fortunately I get great support from my wife and friends, yet nonetheless sometimes I produce posts like this one!

The Good Machine No Budget Commandments– Oldies can be

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Bowl Of Noses Truly Free Film

To New Roads In 2011

 


Photo by Yael Melamede

 

Photo (and caption) by Yael Melamede

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Truly Free Film

Revealing Producer / Director Joke

Vanessa and I were invited by Michael Hausman and Sandy Lieberson this past month to teach in Cuba at the National Film School.  It was a truly great experience and we look forward to returning soon.  The students were great, as were our fellow instructors.  In addition to producer legends Sandy & Mike, we were joined by Uruaguayan producer Fernando Epstein and Argentinian Producer Veronica Cura.

We were there to discuss film producing in the 21st century.  At the center of producing, remains the relationship between producers and directors.  It is always a hard thing to explain or even to capture. It doesn’t seem to have evolved that much since the dawn of cinema.  I felt Veronica got close when she told this joke (fable?).

A man on board an air balloon realizes he’s gotten himself lost.

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Truly Free Film

Breaking the Rules: To Screen or Not to Screen Before the Festival Premiere

Today’s guest post is from attorney Steven Beer. Steven’s contributed to HFF/TFF before, and was one of the original Brave Thinkers.  With Sundance around the corner, Steven offers some perspective of a question on many filmmakers’ minds.

To screen or not to screen for distributors prior to a festival premiere?  This question often plagues producers in the months prior to festival season.  Hypothetical Scenario: Shortly after you receive an invitation to premiere your film at a prestigious film festival, an established distribution executive calls to request a screener.  She congratulates you and says that she has heard wonderful things about the project.  Sadly, the acquisition executive reports that her company may not be able to attend a festival screening due to schedule conflicts.  If you screen the film for her company before the festival, however, the company may be able to make an offer and announce a deal at the festival.  What does a producer do?

In the past, cynical producers and their representatives viewed such requests as a professional seduction and respectfully declined.  Conventional wisdom discouraged filmmakers from screening their film prior to a high profile festival premiere for a variety of reasons.  Nothing compares to the satisfaction derived from screening a well crafted film in a state of the art theater — the optimum venue for which the film was created.  After pouring vast sums and sweat into producing a film that was created for the big screen experience, who can blame filmmakers for resisting requests to distribute DVDs before their premiere.  Invariably, producers prefer to showcase their projects to acquisition executives in adrenaline-charged premiere screenings brimming with enthusiastic audiences.  Given this scenario, one can appreciate the cardinal rule against pre-festival screenings.

The traditional way of thinking is beginning to give way, however.  

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Truly Free Film

Some Of What I Read/Watched/Listened To Last Week

It’s become a routine of mine to spend Sunday clearing my laptop of all my half finished articles, podcasts, and videos. I often have twenty or more windows open and I have to find a new system (yes, I use and love InstaPaper, but I need more tools!). I want to find a way to put my bad habits to good use. This is that try.

New Year’s Resolutions For Filmmakers – Scott continues his high level of great posting. Twenty years in, I still find all of Scott’s recommendations useful. Perhaps that is not in spite of, but because of…

Can Art Houses Attract Youth Audiences – Okay, maybe it seems like I am reading my own press (which this is), but with Sundance approaching, I am still thinking of this problem the film biz faces.

The Web Is A Customer Service Medium – Brian Newman tipped me to this latest “Medium is The Message” dispatch from Paul Ford.  

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Truly Free Film

What Does This Decade Offer As An Opportunity For Indie Film? (Pt 3 of 3)

I have been rambling/ranting the last two days about Indie Film’s missed opportunity over the last decade.  Where are we headed now?

If we missed an opportunity over the last ten years, do you know what it was?  We missed the opportunity to make indie film a sustainable culture and business. I earned a good living for over fifteen years, but I don’t expect to do that now or even going forward — if I am even going to stay in Indie Film, that is.  It is going to take an awful lot of work from a great number of people to bring that squandered opportunity back. Are the people out there, who are willing to do that work?

Do you know why we missed that opportunity to make Indie Film a sustainable enterprise?  Because we all were/are selfish, focused on own short-term success, chasing a hit, not devoted to the long term or the community.  The filmmakers, the performers, the artists and the craftspeople all feel as if we’ve behaved as selfishly and as greedilyy as the bankers who have virtually destroyed this country.  Yes, a great number of people give a great deal back, but that is not enough.  Instead of building a system that works for a wide and diverse populace, we all went out and just got ours. We squandered a great opportunity.

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Truly Free Film

Please Vote For This Blog!

It’s an honor to be included on Total Film’s nominations for best Creative Film Blog. But hey, I am a competitive too and would love to win. Please vote and tell your friends do like wise.

Vote here. Scroll down after the list.

It’s a great group of blogs, including some discoveries for me. Nice curating!