Podcast Episode #12 - Stacey Parks on Distribution

In episode # 12 of The Down and Dirty DV Podcast, Stacey Parks, author of "The Insiders Guide to Independent Film Distribution" and founder of the indie film distribution website, FilmSpecific.com, shares her "4 Key Aspects to a Distributable Film":

Cool Tools - Helmet Cam

I've been meaning to write about a couple of new digital tools that have caught my eye out there over the last few weeks. Here's the first of several I will mention...

As someone who shot his first video projects on a 50 lb. 3/4" video tape decks (the camera was separate and only weighed 25lbs!)- I am constantly amazed and amused at the rate that new affordable and revolutionary media tools are being rolled out. So I thought I'd write about some recent tools (and toys- let's be honest) that digital guerrillas may find useful or at least cool and amusing. First up...

VholdR Wearable Cam (MicroSD card)
The VholdR (vee-holder) is a little standard def solid state wearable camera best suited for the sports and stunt video hobbyist. With this little baby you can shoot any number of creative POV sports and chase sequences or get other experimental POV shots. Just think of a place to stick it and let your imagination fly.

One of the big challenges of shooting documentary and reality stories in particular is finding a way to show your audience the story as opposed to just telling them with words. And one of the most powerful ways of showing an audience is the POV shot. According to manufacturer Twenty20:

"VholdR mounts to nearly anything, from helmets to handlebars, roll cages to bull horns. It captures TV quality audio and video to a MicroSD card, and it's abuse proof. No tapes, no cables, no kidding."

I wouldn't risk a DVX-100 on the handle bars of my buddie's bike, but that's exactly this little $350.00 video tool was meant to do- be a poor man's stunt cam. Here's some dirtbike footage shot with the VholdR.



Manufacturer's Specs:

• Video size pixels (lines):640x480 (480 lines)
• Frame rate: 30fps
• File Type: mpeg4
• Video rate: 50min/GB
• Avg. battery life: 2 hours

How to Learn, Break In and Rise Up in the Film and TV Industry

Over the past few months I've been slowly hitting the speaking circuit as my schedule allows. Next week I will be rolling out a brand-new seminar for aspiring filmmakers here in NYC:

How to Learn, Break In and Rise Up in the Film and TV Industry
presented by Anthony Q. Artis, D.V.P.

Wednesday, June 18, 11:00am-1:00pm
B&H Superstore - Event Space 420 9th Ave., NY, NY 10001
(map & directions)

This is a special treat, because this is an all new one-of-kind seminar to help new and aspiring filmmakers breakthrough, jump start and manage a career in film and tv. And this very first time only I will be presenting the entire seminar to the public totally for FREE at The B&H Superstore in NYC.

(Not unlike a comedian, I like to try out new material on a smaller local audience, before adding it to my main paid seminar roster. So this is a one time only chance to see this new presentation for free. The next time it's offered it will be for a fee or if I ever give it again for free, it will only be a limited part of this full presentation. )

Here's a detailed description from B&H website:

How to Learn, Break In and Rise Up in the Film and TV Industry

Anthony Artis, the author of the new "Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide" and host of The Down and Dirty DV podcast and blog, will deliver an inspirational real-world overview of what it takes to break into the film and TV industry. Anthony will cover a wide range of topics, including learning the filmmaking process, film school vs. self-teaching, specific film job resources for NYC, making the most out of your first job or internship, recommended reading, Los Angeles vs. New York, working in an industry office and overviews of common tracks to directing, writing, editing and producing films and TV.

If you’ve recently graduated from film school, or are looking to make a career transition, then this seminar is the perfect introduction into the world of film and TV. Following Anthony’s seminar will be a Q&A session as well as book signing.

I hope to see you all there!

-Ant.

Shut Up and Shoot Goes #1 on Amazon.com

It's now official, the little underground film book that could is now loose in the world and running with the big dogs...The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide has gone to #1 on Amazon in the Amateur Production category.

This ranking changes by the hour, but the book has hit #1 regularly lately. Eventhough rankings fluctuate by the hour, the book has consistenly been at the top of the list for Amateur Production, Technical, and Television and Video categories.

When I began this project, many people looked at me like I was crazy...I was, but I was also on to something and I knew it, eventhough not everyone around me could see it. another lesson in the power of faith and persistence, people.

You can get the book from Amazon or a signed copy direct from me if you want to support the guy that actually wrote it (with a 20% discount and extra bonus materials of course).

Thanks to everyone for making this book #1!

Down and Dirty DV Trick: Getting a dolly or crane shot with just a tripod.

This simple technique epitomizes the Down and Dirty philosophy: Getting a high production value for your project at little or no cost by coming up with creative solutions.

Using just a Mini Bogen or a similar video tripod and zooming all the way out (the wide end) of your digital video camera's zoom lens, you can achieve impressive short dolly/crane shots that rival results from an actual dolly/crane. Check out the video below to see how it's done:

Video Cam Super Trick!

Video by Bruss Pup Productions

Free Distribution Workshop by Stacey Parks

One of the things I find really knocks the wind out of first time feature filmmakers is the conundrum...the cruel irony...the mystery...the realities of DISTRIBUTION. That's right the "D" word.

At a minimum, the whole point is to get people to see your movie and get your money back to make another film. And if you've got investors involved in your project- it's no longer a choice, but a responsibility. Like everything else in low-budget filmmaking, you've gotta be familiar with all your optioins, develop a realistic plan, then come up with Plans B, C, D and E.

Having a vision is good. Actually raising the money to execute that vision is great. Having a vision that you've actually managed to capture in a completed feature film is wonderful. But spending 2-5 years doing all of the above while racking up massive debt and ultimately not having an audience see your movie and help recoup the costs - now that just sucks.

Nevertheless, that reality is the exact scenario that a majority of indie filmmakers ultimately find themselves in and it's enough to permanently take the wind out of their filmmaking sails. Sure there's still the occassional Cinderella stories of first-time indie filmmaker's whose films get picked up by one of the major studios and then go on to mainstream success.

However, the reality of indie film distibution is usually not that easy or simple. There are a dozen different ways to break it down: theatrical, domestic territories, foreign territories, cable, pay-per-view, DVD, cell phone, PSP, network tv...on and on.

Not only that, but the world of distribution is changing by the week as Web 2.0 continues to evolve, new means of digital distribution such as digital projection in theaters and new set-top boxes change the game, and innovative indie filmmakers are challenging and rewriting the ditribution models of the film and tv industry.

So how can you actually learn the distribution game and keep up with it's rapid evolution? I've got three great resources to recommend from distribution guru, Stacey Parks. For a solid overview and understanding of the distribution check out Stacey's book, The Insider's Guide to Independent Film Distribution. And to continue your distribution studies where that leaves off, you can sign up to her distribution newsletter and premium members site, FilmSpecific.com .

There are plenty of general filmmaking gurus, but there really is a scarcity of distribution gurus out there that can help you with solid advice to form a realistic distribution plan, avoid get ripped off or look like a complete idiot when it's time to talk to a distribution company.

Even if you plan to self-distribute, there are a number of models and emerging trends that Stacey keeps her fingers on the pulse of. And everthing in the world of distribution that she observes from Sundance to studio restructuring, she reports back to FilmSpecific members regularly. Want to know what's selling at Cannes this year? Want to know what HBO wants next season? Stacey reports it as it's happening and gives her insider perspective and advice as an active veteran of the distribution business.

If you want to get Stacey's sage advice on distribution stop by and see her in-person this Wednesday for a FREE Film Distribution Clinic and Booksigning at the Barnes and Nobles in Tribeca at 97 Warren St. in New York City at 7pm. (I also plan to be there myself expanding my own guerrilla education.)

Look around the web for yourself, but I'm telling you that quality, comprehensive, up-to-date info for filmmakers focused just on the indie distribution is very hard to come by. I genuinely think FilmSpecific.com is a very unique filmmaker resource. If anyone out there has other good sources for distribution info to suggest, please email them to me or feel free to comment below to share with all.

That's all for today, kids. See you at the clinic.

New Netflix Set Top Box by Roku

The death of DVDs is one step closer. Via manufacturer Roku, Netflix has just released its first set top box for television sets. Joining the ranks of Apple TV and Xbox, Netflix is entering the set top digital distribution arena.

For a one time payment of $99 and a monthly Netflix plan of $8.99 or more, the box brings to your TV unlimited viewing of Netflix’s “instant viewing” online movie and television collection via your household Wifi or Ethernet connection. For more information and specs on the Roku Netflix set top box, click here.

Should the set top box sell like hot cakes (which is possible considering Netlix’s large subscriber base), digital distribution will be one step closer to becoming mainstream. Distributors will no longer have to press DVDs, they will just send the movie as data to Netflix and other companies, who will stream the content directly to television sets.

Although I would wait for the second generation of the Netflix set top box, I am impressed by their efforts in progressing the digital revolution.

-Patrick Ng

From YouTube to the Boob Tube

This is an interesting little tidbit. An amateur videographer captured an incredible wild life sequence while on Safari and it was uploaded to YouTube where it quickly became one of the most popular clips on the site with millions of hits.

The sequence shows a 3-way confrontation between a herd of water buffalos, a pride of young lions and a very sneaky crocodile. A lot of people don't realize that professional wildlife photographers spend most of their lives planning, waiting weks and months and praying to capture such a rare and spectacular moment in nature and this lucky video hobbyist just stumbled upon it.

Not only that, but the clips popularity on YouTube got the interest of Nation Geographic who bought it and turned it into a one-hour special called "Battle at Kruger" which is now showing.

I was a little skeptical about how they would milk an 8-minute clip to make a one-hour show. And while there was the plenty of the expected repetition of of the footage, it actually offerd plenty of new insight and clearly put the YouTube clip into context. (And a YouTube clip actually seen in context is always a good thing.)

Check out the original uncut sequence here:

Read an article on the history of the clip here.

Hey You Guyyyyyyyys!!!

Okay, this has little to do with filmmaking and I'm definitely, gonna date myself with this entry, but I just read that the classic children's tv show, The Electric Company is returning to PBS. They are currently shooting here in NYC and have updated the show to reflect today's sensibilities.

For those of you who have never heard of the show, it's essentially a funkier, musical and joke-filled cross between Sesame Street, Saturday Night Live and Soul Train. Bill Cosby was also on of the regular cast members. (He's in the green shirt in the picture to the right.)

There's lots of music, dancing and skits and somewhere in between all that, kids are actually tricked into learning to read. We used to watch it all the time when I was in the second and third grades and I always preferred it to Sesame Street, which wasn't nearly as cool or funky.

It was also a major influence on my work when I got my first real job in the industry and moved up to producing children's television for The Education Channel. Of all the various types of projects, films and shows that I've worked on, I still feel that working in kids tv was by far the most rewarding and I hope one day to return to the genre. (Puppets are so much easier to work with than people.)

Anyway, read the NY Times article yourself here and set your DVR's if you have kids. Here's a video clip of the opening from the classic show. I can't believe I still get a little giddy listening to this catchy song..."Hey you guyyyyyyyyyys!!!":

Podcast Episode #11 - Pete Chatmon on $$$

There are plenty of sources out there that will tell you the what's and how's of putting together a budget and an investor package, but Premium director, Pete Chatmon, breaks down alot of the less tangible aspects of fundraising such as the mental and social aspects that are also required to convince perfect strangers to gamble small fortunes on you and your film.

Here's Part 2 of 2 of my video podcast interview with Pete.

(Note: The "Lighting Recipe"tm for this somewhat tricky interview set-up can be found on page 117 of The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide.)

Pete Chatmon on the Tangible Intangibles of Fundraising for Your First Feature - Pt. 2 of 2


(Produced by Anthony Q. Artis; Edited by Julian Muller; Music by Bshani Media Group)

• Click here for Part 1 of Pete's Interview
  
• Click here for the Extended Print Interview
  

Pete Chatmon is a Writer/Director/Producer and CEO of Double 7 Films. His feature, Premium, is available on DVD and shown on the Showtime and Starz networks. He is currently recently wrapped production on his documentary feature, The 761st and just won the $12,000 + Top Prize at the Tribeca Film Festival's All Access program for underrepresented filmmakers.