Just find the money!!!!

I'm pretty much over the whining about everyone being broke, budgets being cut, programs being slashed and how corporate America is taking a hit.

Our film festival (http://www.centralfloridafilmfestival.com/), if anything, is feeling the "trickle down effect." We wouldn't have any problems if everyone else didn't overextend and cry about it. Seriously, if I had to look at the value of my house or stock portfolio every day I'm sure I'd have a heart attack. But I don't have to look every day. I hopefully can ride out the storm and keep the festival and my other production business moving in an upward motion instead of the fashionable downward spiral.

I've been told by the Coca Cola Company that money is too tight to provide our festival with what amounts to $178.00 worth of soda. That's retail!!!! I can take a coupon out of the newspaper and go to the store and buy it off the counter for $178.00. And we're not just taking the soda and running away to drink it. We were promoting Coke as 'the official soft drink of the Central Florida Film Festival' and gave them ads in the program, sponsor loop promos, banners, announcements....a two thousand dollar advertising package! Needless to say, Pepsi had no problem becoming our new sponsor and you can bet I will make sure they receive as much exposure as humanly possible.

The same thing happened with Final Draft. They had been sponsoring our screenwriting seminar for the past three years. Product, that's all they gave us and all we ever asked for. We, in turn, passed it on to our winning short and feature film makers and the third copy we gave to a needy writer via a drawing. Photos, announcements, ads, all promoting Final Draft is what they received in return. They now have their own publication and apparently (they say 'no') if you don't advertise in their publication they won't support your festival. Movie Magic - "here we come!"

Even the Orlando and Florida film commissions are hurting. I guess they've cut programs down to just salaries with limited incentives or assistance to film festivals. Our festival has been cut out and our primary function is to promote film making in the state. One would think the Governor would want to help the rebel sect that's trying to create jobs by bringing film production to the area. I'm in the process of working out an agreement that will hopefully bring an Australian Production company to Florida. I hope to make an announcement at my festival and my fingers are crossed.....

.....As I'm writing this I was just asked if we could add three additional speakers for our festival's pool party on opening night at a cost of $380.00. "Do we need it?" I asked. "It would definitely help," was the reply. "Then go ahead and order them," I said..."I'll find the money." Now there's an expression that's died out over the years. "I'll find the money," sounds refreshing, doesn't it?. Imagine going to your producer with a problem and him saying "Don't worry about it, I'll find the money." Those were the days. I'll find the money.....perhaps someone could use it as a campaign slogan. Harry Truman's "The buck stops here" and "a chicken in every pot," went a long way in my parents day.

Support a local business in your community. They are still the backbone of your community. Sure it's the large corporately owned store that anchors the mall but it's the independent businesses that pay the bills to keep that mall afloat. It's the same practice in film producing. Find the independent workers and make a better deal. The overhead is less and they'd rather rent equipment for what you have in your budget than have it sitting on the shelf this weekend. I've fed my entire crew for five dollars a head at a privately owned restaurant but bring in a studio Honey Wagon and caterer and the price is more than double. When you're an Independent Filmmaker think Independent business deals. Printers, restaurants, equipment, even port-a-potties, find the money and make the deal!

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And then there was one!

The selection process continues and believe it or not we have just one film waiting for either selection or critique. I hope the selection committee likes it. After one hundred or so critiques I'm pretty worn out. Now there's another way to get into a festival.....because the film was sooooo bad, the director didn't feel like writing a critique (lol).

Sorry, I digressed. We've also selected our opening night (September 4th) features. DEADLAND (8:00 pm) and SCARE ZONE (9:00 pm) have received the honors. Both are Florida premiers and pending approval from another festival SCARE ZONE could be a World Premier. DEADLAND is an 'end of the world,' piece about a man in search of his wife, in the ruins of America, after World War III. Los Angeles film maker, Gary Weeks does an excellent job as the husband but most of us will recognize William Katt from "Greatest American Hero."

SCARE ZONE is a fun film made by Orlando filmmakers (Jon Binkowsky/Writer-Director and Ben Kupfer/Producer). It was shot over on the Universal Studios, Florida lot, utilizing the Halloween Horror Nights set and employed a cast and crew of local talent. SCARE ZONE is about a Halloween Haunted Mansion gone array. As a maker of horror product, I thought the production value on SCARE ZONE was above average and even the moderate of horror fans will be impressed with the film.

In honor of the two films the Central Florida Film Festival (September 4-6, 2009) is throwing a "Monster Bash" party, with food, drink and music from 5:30 pm until 8:30 pm, before the screening. Festival tickets are on sale NOW at http://www.centralfloridafilmfestival.com/. A daily film pass is twenty dollars ($20) and is good for all festival films all day. There is a limited supply and tickets are offered on a first come first served basis.


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Festival Update (July 20, 2009)

Another day, another filmmaker sends in exactly the opposite of what we requested. It's not like we sent out an "Official Selection" notice and said, "you know, I'm not exactly sure what we need to move things along." Quite the contrary. We give detailed instructions and it's like no one reads past "Congratulations!"

I believe if you're thinking about the film industry as a career, perhaps you should learn to adhere to industry standards. Hell, if you would like to do it as a hobby and get a favorable response for your film, you should adhere to industry standards. That's why they're called standards. Everyone's supposed to do it! Perhaps marketing your film isn't covered in film school but you must have seen other Independent features or looked at a poster while waiting in the lobby. We're not the only festival who requests trailers, posters, one sheets and even some stills to help promote your film. Hard copies! No festival wants to download a video file and go through the process to place a trailer in a movie theater. The movie theater demands quality. It's a reflection of their product. Plus, Festivals are too busy creating their own posters, advertising campaigns and itineraries to take time creating what you're supposed to do. The festival promotes the festival and the filmmakers promote the film.

POVERTY? RECESSION? BAD TIMES? Come on, please, in twenty-five years, I've never met a filmmaker with enough money. When you budget you should set aside funds for your entry fees and your delivery items. Think about where and what film festival you'd like to enter and then do some research to see if the festival is a good fit for your film. What films have won in the past? How much is the prize money (if any) and will "Official Entry" to this festival look good on my poster? These are just a few questions you need to ask yourself when selecting a festival. Begging for a waiver doesn't help either but I've covered that in a previous blog. Find out how many days the festival runs? The Central Florida Film Festival runs over the Labor Day weekend (September 4-6, 2009), a total of three days. However, there are other festivals that run ten days to two weeks. If your film has excellent production value, a good script, some creative camera moves, good sound quality, an editor who knows when to delete or shorten a scene, some music, and you used SAG actors and not Grandma or your sweetie as you main star, and you don't run credits using your name over, and, over and, over, and over again, you probably have a good shot any any second tier festival. A two week festival will need more films for programing than a three day.

Sundance and the other 'top notch' festivals receive thousand of entries and it's a numbers game. I read Sundance receives almost five thousand entries for eighty-five slots. Remember, Sundance isn't the only game in town. Smaller festivals want good product and energetic and talented filmmakers who take their craft seriously. Help them to help you! Promoting your film is your responsibility and promoting the festival is theirs. Festivals that have been around for a few years are hungry for good films. It's our fourth annual event and we've increased in size every year. This year we've selected fifteen features, twelve documentaries, and almost seventy shorts and we're still looking at LATE ENTRIES. We're already thinking about plans to increase for next year's 5th annual event.

When you become a 'real live' filmmaker and your film is hopefully sought for distribution, the distribution company is going to ask you for delivery items. These items can include; Transparencies of your credits, posters (artwork), one sheets (a smaller poster), production stills and perhaps a press or media kit with reviews or coverage worth mentioning. If you don't have them, the distributor will gladly get them for you and charge you 'Top Dollar." It's called a "Charge Back." If you can deliver your own there will be less "Charge Backs" to your account and you film can get to profit sooner (creative accounting is for another blog). Be an educated filmmaker. Everyone and his brother has written a book about film making, distribution and business plans, buy one and read it. I've recently read a book, written by a person who was on the selection committee at Sundance. I wanted to make sure I wasn't out of line when I requested certain tools from the filmmakers. She mentioned they don't even want to see credits unless there's a name star they should know about. Why make them sit through your credits to only see you produced, executive produced, directed, wrote, edited, worked the camera, and served coffee on the set. They are only interested in the film. Is it good? or is it bad? Is it in? or is it out?

Film Festivals are a marketing tool in themselves. Those Laurels you can place on your poster, mean something when it comes time for distribution. Learn to be a better filmmaker. We're NEVER done learning. There are many things NOT covered in film school. Attend seminars, workshops and panel discussions. Pick every one's brain. Watch other films and discuss with the other filmmakers how and why certain choices were made. There may come a time when it will work for you too.

If you haven't checked out our website (www.CentralFloridaFilmFestival.com) tickets are on sale NOW! Save on an "All Access" pass and there's also a movie watchers pass too. Our itinerary and screening schedule will be posted by August 2, 2009. Email us with questions and we'll be glad to respond. We want to make you better filmmakers!

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Filmmakers should be seen and not heard!

After almost two hundred entries it's time to select the chosen few. When programing a three day event with two theater screens, time is of the essence. Five judges, ten categories, and a program director who looks for entertaining films and informative documentaries in order to make up the program for the Central Florida Film Festival (September 4-6, 2009). Shorts are broken up into two hour blocks, which is why shorts that really aren't short are hard to place.

To accommodate the filmmakers, who scored high in film school in their creative skills but low in their editing prowess, we came up with the Mini Feature category. this is my fourth Central Florida Film Festival. We moved from Kissimmee, Florida to Ocoee, because we wanted to be closer to the movie crowd and further away from the rodeo crowd. We also moved from a beautiful auditorium (that few know about) to a "real live" movie theater (West Orange 5). One has to figure that the smell of popcorn alone will provide a flavor of film festiveness.

Selection has it's highs and lows. Twenty-five percent of the films entered are 'no brainers' they belong and we're lucky to have them. There's also another twenty-five percent that are still learning how to become film makers. We offer them a critique in hopes of making them better in the future. It has been written that a short film made for under a grand really doesn't have a place in a film festival. They usually have a punchline and not a plot and are better suited for You Tube or My Space than a movie screen. Then there's the other fifty percent. Based on their scores, they sit on the bubble of selection until the selection committee agrees their film has scored high enough to receive an "Official Selection." Production value is very important in the process and filmmakers that have shot on film may have an advantage for the "big look" a film needs. However, HD looks damn good too and has started to make the Mini DV and Digital format look cheap and amateurish. It seems like every kid out of film school is given an HD camera and editing system these days and call themselves filmmakers. I remember when you got a car and a "kick out the door" when you graduated. Film schools weren't as plentiful as they are now and if you shot a film, it was on film.

Emails and phone calls from bubble filmmakers never help their cause. I hate to say "We really don't care..." but we really don't! If your friends and family have made other plans and can't attend your film if it's not prime time, this would be your problem. Your film has been placed into a time slot we feel best for the festival. We don't want to place all the high scoring films in the same time slots any more than we want to place all the "Fence Films" in the same block either. We don't want a "Mass Suicide" in the theater, which is why we look for comedy to off set the many depressing topics filmmakers choose. Incest, child abuse, rape, murder, molestation, war issues, and psychological issues, seem to be the topics high on the list of new filmmakers. Many of the filmmakers tell these stories with a creative flair but after watching these themes over and over, even a Hyena would get depressed. This is why a short comedy film with less quality will slip into the festival. It's not that their film scored high in production value but it did score high in entertainment value and these film are just as important to the selection process.

The rule of thumb is to keep your short under fifteen minutes. The shorter it is the better chance the selection committee will try to slip the film into a slot. Of course the production value has to be there and it would help to get to the point of your film quickly and not at the end of a seven minute piece.

Did you know that most festivals only give the film's director a free pass to the festival? It's true. There are a small few that will offer travel accommodations but they're the festivals with large corporate sponsorships. The average festival survives on public admissions. The average multiplex screen holds two hundred patrons. If the festival gives away too many free passes to sponsors, media, and filmmakers there would be no room for the general public. Our festival caters not only to film makers but film watchers. A filmmaker should value an audience response. We've all gotten audience responses from a cast and crew screening but they are tainted. Many rejected selections after receiving our critique argued the point that their film was well received at their last screening. Of course "after further review" it was a cast and crew screening and well, if you can't be well received from the people that we involved you might as well cut up the print now and recoup your money by selling guitar picks (assuming you've shot on film, of course).

So, now you have it. The selection process that takes months and a programing process that takes weeks can't be fixed to accommodate you. Film festivals are an excellent marketing tool. A distributor is more likely to view your film if it's "an official selection," "Best Short," "Best Feature," or "Best Documentary" of a film festival. The festival laurels should be placed on your poster or one sheet for all to see. Unless you're in that top twenty-five percent it could be the only festival you are selected to...make it count. Also attend the festival. Share techniques, horror stories and attend other screenings (not just yours), seminars and of course the Award Show (if you're lucky enough to have one) and get the full experience of attending a film festival either as a film maker or a film watcher.

The 4th Annual Central Florida Film Festival (http://www.centralfloridafilmfestival.com/) is held over the Labor Day weekend (September 4-6, 2009) with screenings at the West Orange 5, and parties, seminars and vendor room are at the Best Western Turnpike. Both are in Ocoee, Florida and walking distance from each other. TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!!!

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The Selection Process Begins

Even though the judging process is still in progress, the Central Florida Film Festival (September 4-6, 2009) has begun sending out "Official Selection" notices to films that fared well in the first round of judging. Seventy films are anticipated to be competing for two thousand dollars in prize money over the Labor Day weekend.

In our short category, "Words Unspoken," has become a high profile "Official Selection" from California Writer, Director, and actress, Renee O'Connor. For those who remember, Renee portrayed Gabrielle on the hit series "Xena: Warrior Princess. On "Xena" she was able to direct a few episodes and "Words Unspoken" is her first attempt at producing, directing and writing a short and has ambitions of moving into features. According to the preliminary scores, "Words Unspoken" should contend for the top prize in the featured short category.

CENFLO received more than eighty shorts and the top third are excellent and any of them have a chance to win at our Award's Show on Sunday, September 6th (8:45 pm). "Words Unspoken" as well all our contending shorts will screen twice during the festival. For more information or to purchase tickets go to our website at http://www.centralfloridafilmfestival.com/.

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"To err' is human but the director's problem!"

We've received a record number of submissions for this year's Central Florida Film Festival (http://www.centralfloridafilmfestival.com/) and with that will come a record number of "Official Selections," for our Labor Day weekend event (September 4-6, 2009).

It's getting to be a common explanation that independent filmmakers would have made a better film "if they had more money." I've been working in film since 1984 and never met a film maker that had enough money...no matter how much they had!!! Successful filmmakers go about their business with the money they have and create according to their vision. Of course the good ones are able to adjust their vision according to budget restraints.

An audience doesn't care whether you spent two hundred dollars or two hundred million to make your piece. Once you roll the camera you are obligated to entertain, enlighten or inform the people that fill the seats. It's tough to raise money for a film project. You can blame the economy if you want, but it's always been tough to raise money. A film investment is "high risk." Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm aware it's high return too, but the SEC doesn't force us to put a disclaimer into a film business plan saying an investor will make too much money (see: Blue Sky Law). They only ask us to make sure we remind the investor "there's a good chance YOU WILL LOSE YOUR ENTIRE INVESTMENT!!!"

When I bought my house and started investing in a stock portfolio I looked for disclaimers and warnings such as "This stock may lose value or the owners of this company may take the money and run" or the value of this house may crash and be worth less than you purchased it for, "to no avail". Why is that? Does someone out there have an explanation? At least when investing in film you can watch your investment daily. You've already seen the business plan where the producer, director, cast, crew, and even distribution projections have been exhibited and verified. In some cases, a filmmaker has a track record with films that have already made money or won awards. It doesn't mean this film will make money or win awards but it does mean the filmmaker at least knows how to do it and that's an important factor.

As an Independent filmmaker you've got to decide how much is enough money. I've seen many and I mean loads of "low budget" films. I've even made a dozen or so myself and understand the process. I also understand the bottom line is making money or winning awards. Of course you can pay the bills better if the films you make are earning a profit. The choices we make as directors are the most important in the production process. When a director says "action!" there's already been a number of decisions that have decided the fate of the film. How much have we raised? Who can we afford? And most important, how can we overcome our budget restraints and create a production value to cost ratio that will impress even the most conservative of distributors? Can't afford a dolly? It wouldn't be the first time someone used a wheelchair or shopping cart to move the camera. However, I've seen filmmakers place the camera on a tripod shoot a master two shot with over the shoulder close up coverage that would put an insomniac to sleep and then bitch they didn't have enough money for a dolly. Be creative. Can't afford a crane? Climb a damn tree!

In this day and age where films are being edited on a laptop during a plane ride the competition is too great to become lazy. Even the Screen Actors Guild has created contracts to stop indies from casting their film's with girlfriends, neighbors, and grandma. Remember, in the end someone is going to watch your film. Keep it creative and let those you surround yourself with as a director have some artistic say as well. If you're the producer, director, writer, editor, grip, gaffer, bestboy, and PA, you're probably going to make a film that only you like. You can't do it all even if the software says you can. As a director we are only as good as those we surround ourselves with and they are looking to our leadership and vision to move to the next level as well. When a film is good "The team did a great job." When a film is bad they are all quick to point to the guy in the director's chair. To understand this will make you a better film maker. Now go out, find some money, and do the best you can!

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