Sunday, August 23, 2009

Film Funding

http://www.ehow.com/how_2110501_raise-money-independent-film.html
http://www.microfilmmaker.com/tipstrick/Issue17/FundRai1.html
http://www.ehow.com/video_4395526_what-budget-first-time-film.html
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,804696,00.html
http://www.sistersincinema.com/info/faq_fundraising.html
http://www.newenglandfilm.com/news/archives/98july/funding.htm
http://www.newenglandfilm.com/magazine/2009/06/slayers
http://www.newenglandfilm.com/magazine/archives/2009/01/fundraising

The Art of Film Funding: Alternative Financing Concepts by Carole Lee Dean
Shaking The Money Tree, 2nd Edition: How to Get Grants and Donations for Film and Video by Morrie Warshawski
Filmmakers and Financing, Fifth Edition: Business Plans for Independents by Louise Levison



Here's some info about film funding. Hopes this helps. I will try to post more.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Learning About Film Budgets Can Help us Create an Industry



I love to find out budgets of movies especially the low budget ones. I have to say I do love to find out what black movies like Nora's Hair Salon, Nora's Hair Salon II, A Good Man is Hard to Find (that's another post all together), Phat Girlz, Love for Sale even TP's movies. I also watch movies from http://www.theasylum.cc/ (which can be very bad.lol but I have a weird love for bad genre films)also http://www.maverickentertainment.cc/ which is where you get movies like Nora's Hair salon etc. (but we all need our starting point.lol this goes for York as well) http://yorkentertainment.com/ Also Bollywood movies like Bride and Prejudice (more of a Bollywood Hollywood collaboration which was around 7mill. A movie like Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham around 7mill USD. Yes filmed in India, but I think we could film movies for the same. And Seriously a 7mill movie that is around 3 hours and 25min. and Hollywood can't even do that with 150mill.lol. Movies like El Mariachi which cost $7k, but ended up being 250k or so in post (but just getting in the can and distributed the way RR intended would have been around 7k maybe a little more but not $250k) I actually make a list of movies and go to http://www.imdb.com/search http://www.boxofficemojo.com/ or http://www.mooviees.com/
http://www.scriptsecrets.net/articles/blockb1.htm
http://www.scriptsecrets.net/articles/blockb2.htm

I would also got to some famous celebrities imdb pages and see in their bio how much they got paid for a particular movie (not all have this)and then subtract that from the budget.

Also tax incentives
http://www.slate.com/id/2117309 I can't remember if some of this has stopped, but Hollywood finds all kinds of tricks as do indies.

Filmmakers also have to be careful when you hear that a movie was made for free or on nobudget/lowbudget. Many get euipment, actors etc. for free/deferred or low pay. What many don't realize is if you started paying for these things then the movie would be higher. This can be deceptive because many forgot that the actors aren't getting paid or they are getting low pay.

I also think it's very important that filmmakers, writers etc. watch movies from the classics to international. It amazes me how many people don't watch movies other than Hollywood. Just watch movies period.

My blog is about making a film industry that is not a part of Hollywood literally starting from scratch. Anyways that being said those who are interested in Hollywood are going to have to realize that as black filmmakers making predominately black films you are going to get low budgets (there is nothing wrong with that it makes sense. Most of black films make around 40-50mill or so back so don't expect 50mill)that being said many black filmmakers in Hollywood get upset about the fact that they get around 3-19 maybe 20mill for a film mostly the films are cheaper than $20mill. We can make really good films on low budgets. Tyler Perry has proven that films can be made for low-budgets and make a good amount of money back (not into his films that much, but I do have to give him the credit.) Hell a movie like Bride and Prejudice puts us to shame. Not only was it made for around $7mill, but it was around 2hours (the hindi version I believe)shorter for the U. S. version and it has musical numbers/lavish sets etc. The teen movie Drive Me Crazy cost around $8mill. 10 Things I hate About You cost around $16mill. She's All That cost around $10mill. I know teen films, but many were shot on lower budgets (which are usually the budgets black movies get anyway.) More grown up market films like The Wedding was made for $15,000,000 or Under the Tuscan Sun and reduce the 5mill Diane Lane was paid and it becomes even lower. What I'm saying is that we could take these budgets and make great films that people would want to see.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Black Women and WM in Movies in Predominately Black Settings

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http://www.blogtelevision.net/

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http://zabethblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/are-they-hatin-on-black-girl.html and Marshana my reply about Marshana on the Bachelor

"But anyways has anyone noticed that movies with white men and other non-black men (just added that) going to the bahamas, Africa etc for visiting or living there always seem to be with white women even though the majority is black or other non-bw/poc women. Take case in point a white man lives in Jamaica or the carribean or something ( I know other races are there, but if the movies has the man surrounded with nothing, but black people then what gives?) Case in point The Paradise Virus yes corney diease is going to kill everyone if we don't find a cure fast b-film, but still. First you have Lorenzo Lamas who lives in a country filled with it appears majority of black people yet he doesn't have a black wife, girlfriend nothing. Then you have Ralf Moeller (the man coming out of that water was like woa!!!! hmmm) anyways the dudes been there like forever. Now I know he was a man of g, (can't remember if he was a priest), but why not have a black wife/ biracial family if he is not a priest. (And believe me that would have made by day(besides T. J. Storm he was the main reason I watched Conan.lol) Lets not forget that Tarzan the 1996 Joe Lara series ( yeah I know Tarzan, hey I was a kid and the Tarzan and the brotha on the show were two hot guys)anyways there no way that dude spent all those years around sistahs (whom he mostly I presume saw all of his life) and hooks up with Jane.

I've noticed in these movies/tv shows that the man somehow ends up with a ww (nothing against them), but if a dude ended up in Ireland etc. he would be with an Irish woman like that movie Irish Jam with Eddie Griffin, Hill Harper movie The Nephew , or if he was in Asia and Asian woman Bollywood Hero with Chris Kattan, Mexico etc., as well as countless other movies whether they are straight to video, small screen or big screen.as well as countless other movies whether they are straight to video, small screen or big screen. Yet when the man is in an environment filled with a majority of or nothing but black people he doesn't seem to have any romance going on with the bw there. Now you can't say this about Hotel Rwanda because there was Joaquin Phoenix and the African Girl that he had to leave and probably a lot of other movies. But from what I've seen it's mostly ww/wm in a mostly black enviroment getting together."


I also made a similar comment on another blog (can't remember which blog) anyways I added that the woman that the guy ends up with in the movies are the zany, spunky, sparky, hippy chick, teacher/missionary/adventurer that comes in to save all the little ghetto children, find the lost treasure of whatever and tells the guy essentially how much dudes are loosers or are chauvanist etc. This also applies to the hippy chick, spunky, zany teacher who or even sweet angelical teacher who goes in to teach and save all the little downtrodden African children (believe me Africans notice this image of themselves as a people in the media)


On my new add with movies like Best of the Best is because how the movie started off you would have expected to see more interaction with the black community and possibly having to working with them. For anyone who hasn't seen it watch it and see what I mean.


There are Hollywood or A list films that do this mos def. but I think it's definately sad state when no budget/low budget movies do this. It's sad that even in the indie world you can't show a bw/non bm romance.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Independent and Webseries TV Part II

I'm going to also mention I loved watching Stark Trek Hidden Frontier as well as Star Trek New Voyages, Star Trek Starship Exeter
Okay and that gets me on fan films and fan film series
Doctor Who



a little too much music etc. but kids mad their own 2 seasons of a show.
There are a group of kids who went to school together and made shorts etc. and they also would make productions of their own doctor who series and work with each other etc. Pretty good idea. Anyways one of those kids ended is Tony Coburn I believe in the New Harry Potter movie. I think he's since taken his series down, but he does great vids. He also does parodies.





Then there are others



what got them was the budget etc., but look at this by no/low budget filmmakers




http://www.hgpdoc9.com/

Of course we can’t forget Star Wars















Star Trek



A fan film with Stars from Star Trek seriously and it's pretty good too.

http://startreknewvoyages.com/
http://www.starshipexeter.com/




I got to do PA work on Star Trek Exeter (the second ep. Only a day, but it was a learning experience.)



Star Trek Parody

Firefly









Other



Not a fan film or webseries, but really cool



I liked the the info on how the set construction was done.

This is the site for Broken Allegiance
http://www.brokenallegiance.net/

Yeah everyone now knows my love for fan films. Especially for the Star Wars and Star Trek ones and I can’t forget Doctor Who. Oh and Doctor Who has fan films (professional) called Spin-off Films like Shakedown, the Auton Trilogy, The Stranger Series etc. Yes I am a geek maybe not in the tech since, but in the scifi /fantasy since hell 2 the yeah!!! Okay so I know a hell of a lot of videos.

I’m not saying that everyone should go out and make fan films. What I am saying is to look at these videos as inspiration what could be done on no/low budgets. I want you to watch as many of these fan films as you can as well as others not posted. And if you find ones you like then email them to me so I can make a mention of them. That goes for the original series as well from part I. Now yes many of these films had to be done every once in a while etc. and some couldn’t be finished, have cheesy acting etc, but the point is that if this was done a professional scale it could be done cheaply. Guess what? You’d have control.

But on the off chance that anyone does want to make fan films then checkout
Homemade Hollywood: Fans Behind the Camera by Clive Young and Chris Gore

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Independent and Webseries TV Part 1

A big interest for me along with movies is television. My sole goal in the past was to work in television, but seeing how most television has become I began to loose interest. Most webseries are usually short daily, weekly, monthly or whenever the creators have the time. I have to say I am still interested in creating television weekly series mostly 1/2hr-1hr dramatic series or even sitcoms/comedy made for the internet or other avenues as well.






It's sort of more of an tv pilot inspired by shows like Firefly etc., but it was a pilot for a series that was an original. Too bad they never were able to do the series. Sort of how The Adventures of Stephen Brown was inspired by Doctor Who and Damon Dark shows like UFO, The Prisoner etc.


no/low budget indie public access series in the style of the Twilight Zone very good show.










Another webseries in the style of the Twighlight Zone, OT etc.


a low budget indie scifi series called Damon Dark. These are the early eps made for public access.


indie soap pilot from New Zealand




The original web series of Sancutary. Yes it helped that Amanda Tapping was in it, but I also think it was picked up because of the time length of the episodes.




Short film from online comic book


This is just too cool.

http://reservation.blip.tv/ http://www.thereservation.tv/index.html
http://mikedaviesjrfilms.blip.tv/
I think this was actually a good idea, but maybe they should have charged monthly instead of per ep.
http://irvingrenquist.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLlYM-3uQik a local soap in Britian
http://highrise.blip.tv/ http://www.highrisetheseries.com/
http://www.webserials.com has good series my favorites are cataclysmo and Black Dawn
http://www.beacontv.co.uk/ cheesy, but so cool and it's supposed to be cheesy
http://www.powerofcohesion.com/
http://www.strangerthings.tv/

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