Submitting to film festivals is torture. Did I get in? Did the programmer watch it yet? When will I know? How much to submit? You wait by your email to see if Sundance or SXSW accepted you? Wouldn’t it be amazing if you had some insight into the film festival process? Maybe even some Film … Read more
This is a question I’ve been asked many times. “What is an Independent Film?” Is George Lucas an independent filmmaker? He did make all his films outside the studio system and paid for them all out of his pocket. Is the $8000 horror feature created with the sole purpose to be sold an independent film? Is … Read more
What can I say about Lloyd Kaufman? Director. Writer. Producer. Indie Filmmaker. Innovator. Nice guy. Pain in the ass of mainstream media. I believe all of those statements are true and then some. Lloyd Kaufman is one of the original indie filmmakers going back to the 1970s. The Troma Universe was born in 1974 with a … Read more
OK, so before I get bombarded with hate email please hear me out. I was speaking to my filmmaker inner circle the other day and the topic of format and camera came up. I’m a huge tech-head. I love gear as much as the next filmmaker. Hell, you can’t make movies without gear. Advances in … Read more
If you are a Walking Dead fan you are going to LOVE this episode. If you ever wanted to know what an assistant director does onset you are going to LOVE this episode. In today’s episode, we have a long-time friend Vince Gonzales. Vince has been working in the film industry for over the top decades. His IMDB page is pretty … Read more
I’ve been at a fair share of film festivals in my life and I’ve submitted to many more than I’ve been accepted to. With that said I have seen many less than honorable film festival organizers throughout the process. Now not all film festivals are run by grifters and con men but you need to … Read more
If you have seen Star Wars then you know Joseph Campbell‘s work. If you ever have seen The Lion King then you have seen one of Campbell’s best students, Chris Vogler, work. Related: Michael Hauge: Writing a Screenplay That Sells Chris Vogler wrote the game-changing book The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. I read this book over 20 years ago and it changed … Read more
An Indie Film Hustle Tribe member recently asked me “Should You Work for Deferred Payment or Back End Points?” Believe it or not, I get this question A LOT! So I decided to dedicate a podcast episode to the question. There are times I would say yes definitely work for deferred payment or back endpoints. I heard … Read more
Every once in awhile, I get sent a story that blows my mind. The story is a 17-year-old 1st-time director shoot and sells her first feature film (that was shot on 16mm Film) right out of the gate. How that hell does that happen? Well, may I introduce you to Kansas Bowling, the director of the feature … Read more
Working with a professional colorist can be intimating if you haven’t done it before. I’ve been a colorist for over 12 years and have spent my fair share of time in a color grading suite. I decided to put together a few tips on how filmmakers and directors should work with a colorist. I also … Read more