Like most of us, I wander around the web and like to get lost. The best times are when from being lost, I am found. You know what I mean? You know how sometimes you find something that feels like they wrote it or built it just for you? I like that. I like that a lot.
It’s happened a few times for me in 2013. I thought I would share it with you. The following folks are doing great posts, and I only just stumbled upon them this year (2013).
It took me a week but I finally caught up with Mynette Louie’s IFP Blog Post “Innovate Or Die“. She does an excellent job at capturing the Indie Producer’s life at this point in our cultural era. More importantly, she makes a fantastic and necessary plea to us all:
“let’s put our heads together and figure out how to sustain not only ourselves, but ultimately, the art that we love so dearly, and the diversity of artistic voices that make it. There is a better way, and we’ve got to find it soon.”
Read the whole post here.
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
Read what Mynette Louie has to say about time in the trenches.
Again today we have a guest post from Mynette Louie and Tze Chun, the producer director team behind CHILDREN OF INVENTION. The film opens this weekend in New York and their whole journey through DIY/DIWO distribution has been fascinating to watch and a learning experience for us all. They have been truly brave and really generous sharing a lot of information along the way. I really love this film and truly admire both of them. Please support their film.
Yesterday they shared their Top 10 Reasons Why They Turned Down The Distribution Offers They Received. Check it out.
Top 10 Things We’re Glad We Did
1. Didn’t take an all-rights distribution deal. For reasons enumerated above, but most of all, for freedom!
2. Played as many film festivals as possible, and traveled to as many of them as possible. We were one of the smallest films at Sundance. It’s a great festival to premiere at, but the press does give most of the attention to the star vehicles and bigger films. So, it was really over the course of the entire festival circuit that we got our buzz, awards, and reviews. It was also great to interact directly with audiences, who essentially act as focus groups for your film. We were able to discover what people respond to in the film, and which demographics respond best. Building a relationship with your audiences is really important.
Today we have a guest post from Mynette Louie and Tze Chun, the producer director team behind CHILDREN OF INVENTION. The film opens this weekend in New York and their whole journey through DIY/DIWO distribution has been fascinating to watch and a learning experience for us all. They have been truly brave and really generous sharing a lot of information along the way. I really love this film and truly admire both of them. Please support their film.
Tomorrow they will share their Top 10 Reasons Why They Are Glad They Turned Down The Distribution Offers They Received. Stay Tuned.
Top 10 (alright, 11) Reasons Why We Turned Down 8 Distribution Offers
1. Couldn’t get straight answers about revenue projections, accounting and recoupment. Why this is bad is self-explanatory.
2. Term was too long. Yes, it’s a lot of time and hard work to self-distribute, but we could always choose not to exploit some distribution channel if we figure it’s not worth it. We can’t, however, choose to get out of a 10 to 25-year deal. And if we did a 25-year deal, we’d probably be in old-person diapers by the time the rights revert to us. And that’s just sad to think about.
Sabi Pictures – Zak Forsman and Kevin Shah – have done a three part series (so far) on this year’s Park City and filmmakers’ efforts to get their work seen and appreciated. They do very nice work. Check out all the episodes on Vimeo.
NEW BREED PARK CITY – Exploring the Solutions, Part 1 from Sabi Pictures on Vimeo.
