Tag: Guest Post

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Truly Free Film

The Digital Recession, Pt 3: The Dreamer’s Disease

By Jim Cummings

This is part three of a four part post.  Part One.  Part Two: The Problem With Piracy.

Many of our peers seem to have rifts in their thinking about the digital revolution, that our future is uncertain, but that considering the negatives might distract from the steadfast pursuit of our work and thus lessen our chances of success. Does considering the reality of our own deaths prevent us from pursuing our lives or living them to the fullest? Of course not, so let’s stop deceiving ourselves that the death of the industry is not a real problem that deserves real answers.

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Truly Free Film

The Digital Recession, Pt 2: The Problem With Piracy

By Jim Cummings

The amount of digital piracy in a country is correlated to the average internet speed. It would be very time consuming to download Avatar on a dial-up modem, so many in El Salvador will have to buy a hard copy, but Americans often watch movies online for free simply by googling the movie’s title followed by the word “streaming”. As if this isn’t already easy enough, advancements in internet speeds will only make watching movies for free easier, or in my opinion, ubiquitous.

In 2010, a filmmaker friend of mine raised

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Truly Free Film

The Digital Recession

By Jim Cummings

In 2011, a speaker at a reputable film festival said to an audience of filmmakers, “the best part about making movies today is that anyone can make movies, and the worst part is also that anyone can make movies.” I turned to inspect the audience because I wondered, as I do still, to whom he was speaking? How could it ever be good for artisans that everyone can make art? What realtor or travel agent is thrilled by new advancements in global connectivity and the democratization of their work? We are all the victims of an imploding digital revolution and although many seem confused about what this means for our future, and the pursuit of film as a career, I’d like to be honest about my experiences in the economics of art, where we seem to be heading, and how we might survive the fallout.

Our first short film was seen by over a million people in 140 counties.

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Truly Free Film

Jennifer Lawrence Does Not Want To Be In Your Movie: Lessons Learned Casting Our Microbudget Feature

By Scott K. Foley and Josh Rosenberg

Maya and DP Joe Fitz

When we set out to cast our microbudget feature, Jessica, we were certain we’d be able to quickly find an up-and-coming actress to star. I mean we’d written a script about a complicated and conflicted character, the kind of breakout-caliber role that actors dream about, and one that with a bit of luck would propel their careers, all of our careers, to the next level. What we didn’t know was how, as first time and microbudget filmmakers, we’d be expending an enormous amount of time and energy trying to get past the gatekeepers and how some much appreciated tough-love advice from an unexpected source would finally allow us to move forward and start making our movie.

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Truly Free Film

Ye Olde Complete Guide to Formats

by Andrew Einspruch

Filmmaker Andrew Einspruch recently attended the Australian International Documentary Conference and wrote a series of articles for the event, which he’s graciously allowed us to reprint here. These articles originally appeared in Screen Hub, the daily online newspaper for Australian film and television professionals.

You’d already know that formats are all over your TV screen. From Big Brotherto Who Wants to Be Millionaire to Go Back to Where You Came From, formats (shows with “a framework which contains several clearly described elements that are combined in a unique way”) are TV mainstays. What you might not know is that worldwide in 2009, formats generated production worth € 9.3 billion (that’s with a “b”), or $11.8 billion. And that amount would only have gone up since then.

Patty Geneste knows a thing or two about formats. Her company, Absolutely Independent, has won several international awards for the formats it represents, and she sits on the board of the Format Recognition and Protection Association (FRAPA). So she brought lots of expertise to her AIDC session on dealmaking.

The first formats were gameshows, like Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. Next came light entertainment, like You Bet or Honeymoon Quiz. Today, formats cover a wide range of styles, from factual entertainment to scripted or constructed reality, from observational documentary to comedy drama. Shows that are formats are often not obviously so. The drama Homeland, for example, was an Israeli format sold into the US.

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Truly Free Film

Diary of a Film Startup: Post # 31: Kinonation — Mistakes Made, Lessons Learned…

By Roger Jackson

Previously: Movie Live on VoD…Now What?

Ted Hope recently asked me to write about what we might have done differently at Kinonation with the benefit of a year’s hindsight. Mistakes made, lessons learned, what worked, what didn’t…

1. Big, Fat Assumptions

Most startups ventures are premised on one or more big, fat assumptions…which may or may not be accurate, even if you’re convinced they are. Kinonation is based on the assumptions that it’s really hard to get indie films widespread VoD distribution…and that there’s a huge backlog of films whose producers want help with this problem…and that the VoD outlets are actually interested in running indie films…and they have the audience to watch them.

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Truly Free Film

Words Of Advice For The 80%: Getting To That SECOND Film

By Jennifer Phang

When Ted and I spoke about a possible post here, he mentioned that 80% of feature film directors never get to make a second feature.  Why is that?

One reason is that it’s difficult to sustain the momentum of a crew. You are creating a whole village around a project which has an indefinite, but definitely finite, lifetime. Morale starts high, because the act of creation is invigorating, and then people get exhausted, because it’s a gigantic process, and along the way the money runs out, because the village grows and every new villager brings new skills and also new needs. And somehow you have to sustain the discipline to find the beauty in every shot, but also the momentum to finish the film.

The first time is not exactly traumatizing, but it can feel catastrophic, especially if you set out with high ambitions. It’s possibly your one chance to

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