Category Archives: Film

16 May, 2014
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Film, Filmmaking, Producing, Sex Trade, Sexual Violence, Tampa Film

So here is what’s coming up

So I am developing a series that is to be shot here in the Tampa Bay Area. My plan is to shop it to networks and if that doesn’t happen then I will turn it into a web series. I have shared t the idea to some people and I have gotten a lot of good feed back. I have a ton of research and work to do but it is very exciting for me. The series will have many niche  groups and will be substantive as you might except from me.  I love a ton of books to read and the list gets longer. Plus, I read slow so yay for me.  I believe many will groups will enjoy the series while others will hate it. But I have a lot of things to say and it will be honest.

So as for the film on sexual violence and sex trafficking, it is on hold while Semone is off studying at the American Film Institute Conservatory. I am starting to talk about these issues in my blog Notes From Outpost 187. Doing this I raise awareness to the subject and build an audience for the film. An Audience that will be with me through funding,  production and release. I am talking on a very serious subject, and making the film and getting it distributed will be a challenge, so I need to start working on building an audience now. Not to mention, I might be able to find people who will back the film financially.

So I have a stack of films I need to watch. I have 9 films from the library and I haven’t gotten to any of them. I have a bunch from Akira Kurosawa who is my favorite director. I am hoping to knock out as many I as I can this weekend and throughout next week. We will see.

I also am going to be diving into writing. It is something that I should have been doing years ago. I will be, of course, writing here but in my other blogs.  I feel I need to be a writer first and for most. Yes, this means I have to get good at it; as well as my grammar, which I know is lacking. And that is being very kind to myself.

Ok so you all have a great weekend.

Peace, Love and Nappiness

 

 

 

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15 April, 2014
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Directing, Feature Film, Film, Filmmaking, Producing, Production Company, Screenwriting

I came across this while looking for a document. It is Ted Hope’s 99 Recommended Steps For Making Good Movies. I copied and saved it when it came out so I would always have it.  Ted Hope has been he most influential person when it comes to filmmaking. I never went to film school, so I decided to teach myself. I taught myself how to drive a car and swim, why not film?

I found Ted’s Blog when I first started and have followed it ever since.  Filmmaking and media is changing so fast it is about impossible to see where it will end up. If it ends up anywhere, but instead an ever evolving. He has many great guest writers that give great insight into to today’s film landscape and culture.  If you are reading his blog you are falling behind.

 

This is how I do it, generally speaking.

Or rather, this is how I try to do it. There really is no template; I have to adjust the plan for each project. And it doesn’t always work. Sometimes I fail (at least to some degree).

And yes, I have left out the details. After all, that is where the art, experience, & innovation is. And of course as this is a collaborative endeavor, there is always — and thankfully — that “other” factor.

1.    Maintain wonder & love for the world & most/some of the people.

2.    Recognize the barriers & be empowered by my desire for change.

3.    Find an inspiring idea & the correct collaborator for it.

4.    Maintain love & respect for the film industry.

5.    Develop script.

6.    Fall in love with project.

7.    Get non-financier, non-buyer industry types to give feedback on script.

8.    Maintain wonder & love for the process.

9.    Further develop script.

10.    Maintain respect for collaborator(s).

11.    Identify audience & market for project.

12.    Enhance my enthusiasm for potential of the results of audience engagement with ambitious cinema.

13.    Develop additional materials to properly contextualize project, like image books (aka look books), reference material, blog posts, etc.

14.    Try to locate audience and key influencers for the project.

15.    Develop transmedia extensions (I know I should do this earlier).

16.    Encourage Filmmaker to engage with True Fans (i.e. build community).

17.    Strategize production process.

18.    Ballpark budget.

19.    Evaluate potential cast for project.

20.    Consider possible shooting locations.

21.    Introduce Writer/Director to US Talent Agencies if necessary.

22.    Have Director meet wide range of actors.

23.    Strategize financing.

24.    Strategize casting process.

25.    Develop financing plan.

26.    Execute casting process strategy.

27.    Attach lead actor.

28.    Attach another actor (or two).

29.    Revise financing plan as necessary.

30.    Revise script as necessary.

31.    Estimate possible profit & losses.

32.    Revise financing plan as necessary.

33.    Approach sales agents.

34.    Get foreign sales estimates & foreign sales deal terms.

35.    Revise financing plan.

36.    Budget, ideally in multiple variations.

37.    Approach private equity.

38.    Revise financing plan.

39.    Revise script as necessary.

40.    Get verbal commitments from private equity.

41.    Determine most appropriate & then secure sales agent.

42.    Continue to source additional financing.

43.    Revise financing plan.

44.    Revise script as necessary.

45.    Develop initial outreach, engagement, awareness strategy.

46.    Consider and possibly secure a presale or three.

47.    Revise financing plan.

48.    Revise script as necessary.

49.    Revise Budget.

50.    Consider and possibly secure gap & mezzanine financing if necessary.

51.    Finalize financing structure & partners

52.    Consider & secure key crew collaborators.

53.    Scout primary location.

54.    Revise script as necessary.

55.    Revise Budget.

56.    Secure tax credit/rebate.

57.    Lock all financing.

58.    Lock talent deals.

59.    Lock Location.

60.    Revise script as necessary.

61.    Revise & Lock Budget.

62.    Revise initial outreach, engagement, & awareness strategies.

63.    Prep.

64.    Revise script as necessary.

65.    Initiate initial outreach, engagement, & awareness strategies.

66.    Shoot.

67.    Celebrate completion of shoot.

68.    Wrap production.

69.    Ponder the big picture.

70.    Edit.

71.    Revise outreach, engagement, & awareness strategies.

72.    Initiate revised outreach, engagement, & awareness strategies.

73.    Build awareness.

74.    Ponder the big picture.

75.    Complete “Movie”.

76.    Wrap post.

77.    Further revise outreach, engagement, & awareness strategies.

78.    Take to festivals.

79.    Win awards.

80.    Celebrate.

81.    Further revise & implement outreach, engagement, & awareness strategies.

82.    Sell & license “movie”.

83.    Celebrate some more.

84.    Deliver “movie” to licensors.

85.    Further revise & implement outreach, engagement, & awareness strategies.

86.    Market some more.

87.    Screen, screen, screen.

88.    Publicize.

89.    Market some more.

90.    Distribute.

91.    Harvest, aggregate, & analyze, data.

92.    Ponder the big picture.

93.    Share the knowledge with the community.

94.    Win more awards.

95.    Collect profits.

96.    Share the wealth the partners.

97.    Ponder the big picture.

98.    Plan the next one.

99.    Do it all over again, but do it a little bit differently.

 

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25 March, 2014
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Film, Film Making, Screenwriting, Uncategorized

Please Support Semone’s

I need you all to contribute. Semone Fournillier, who is a Screenwriter from Tampa, who went to UT, and now is getting her Masters at AFI.

For those who know my project on Sexual Violence, know that she is the Screenwriter for it. Please please please, support her Master Thesis Film.

Thank you

http://thedaughtersofeve.com/contribute.php

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17 February, 2013
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Directing, Documentary, Domain Picuters., Feature Film, Film, Film Making, Jonglei Peace Initiative, Producing, South Sudan

South Sudan Documentary

In case you haven’t heard I am doing a full length documentary on South Sudan.  This project fell into my lap about a month, month and a half ago. A friend of mine has been working on something called the Jonglei Peace Initiative which had ended years of ethnic civil war in the state of Jonglei, South Sudan and will bring development to the region and a plan for the rest of South Sudan.  JPI was started by the Diaspora of South Sudan who live here in the United States and Canada.  These men are also known as the Lost Boys of South Sudan and  much has been written about them as well as a documentary done on them.

My documentary will cover many topics: JPI, which is a very important issue to South Sudan’s future,  the tensions between South Sudan and Sudan, which could lead to full scale war, women’s right, freedom if the press, development and education, the rebel leader David Yau Yau and his tyranny and the how does a young democracy survive and grow. I am sure there is more to talk about. Through my research I have become very interested in this project. I and my crew get to document the history of a young  country as it too experiments with democratic rule.

The first leg if this journey is to get to Washington D.C. at the end of March for a conference that is being held with the leaders of JPI and the Vice President of South Sudan.  Then we have to plan our first trip to South Sudan. I am now looking to get this funded. That is the big part now, getting it funded. Where that is going to come from I do not know but I am confident it will come.

My crew; I do have one.  I have Brandon Hyde as our Cinematographer, Tony Tartaglia as our sound guy and William, Billy, Wright as our go to guy for whatever it is we need at that moment.  Tony, Billy and myself have served in the Army. Tony was in Vietnam, Billy in Iraq and me in the 82nd Airborne.  So we have that covered.

I will be writing a lot about this documentary and would love here hear what you have to say and please spread the word. We need to bring awareness of this film and I need your help to do that. Thanks

 

 

 

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17 February, 2013
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Film, Film Making, Producing, Short Film

Why I am doing five shorts this year.

Last Night a colleague of mine, Ron Borders  asked me “Instead of doing 5 shorts why not just do a feature?”  Which is a valid question, which deserves good answer.  First off I have never been to film school, so I do not have the experience of producing and making films that one who went to film school has.   For me it has all been OJT, reading and a lot of listening.  So for me, this is like a year of film school with 5 thesis projects plus a full length documentary on South Sudan.  I will make a lot of mistakes, learn a lot and at the end have a body of work to go off of.  So with that I will have a body of work that I can say to an investor “Here is what I have done, these are the awards I have gotten and yes I seem to know what I am doing. Please trust me with your money.” Also I have to think 5, 10 years down the road. What I mean is that with this year of short films it is a building block to the next level, which if you know me is all the above.  I want to produce and direct in whatever medium I can, meaning Film, TV, Web, Theater, Graphic Novel or in whatever it is.

Yes I have bitten off more than you or I can chew, but I do it knowing I can do it somehow.  I have a company I know I can grow. I have a vision for what I want kinds of material I want to produce and what kinds of people I want to work with.  I also want to be able to help other artist and filmmakers. Right now I am in Tampa and I want to help change the culture of film into something that is well respected and received.   So yes this is the year of short films but it is with a purpose.

 

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16 January, 2013
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Film, Film Making, Producing, Short Film

You can now get paid on Vimeo

Really good news, Vimeo is going to make available to it upgraded members  a way to make money off of their content.  In a short while you can have a tip jar on your page that will allow people to donate money and soon after that they will able to charge for your content. This is a great new platform to monetize your work.

http://www.indiewire.com/article/attention-vimeo-filmmakers-make-money-on-your-films-today#.UFpVW067s_o.mailto

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12 January, 2013
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Directing, Film, Film Making, Producing Image

This will be at the beginning of all my films.

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18 December, 2012
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Film, Film Making

Objectives for the year.

I recently wrote a post for the Slate; which is a online publication for the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Florida Motion Picture & Television Association which I am a board member of.  I thought long a hard as to what I wanted to do as a board member and as a filmmaker in Tampa, Fl.  I feel it is my responsibility to my community to help advance it,  make it better and stronger.  Here is that post.

“I want to thanks those who had voted for me this year. Yay. I have given much thought to want I want to do this upcoming year.  I feel that we have much to do in order for the Tampa Bay film to be taken seriously in the film world; meaning the real film world.  I want to do my part to help us to get to that level by being proactive.  So I have identified areas that I feel will get us there.  These are projects and agendas that I personally want to work on. I believe my projects will benefit the FMPTA.

1. I want identify talented independent filmmakers that are bold, creative, fearless and take their filmmaking careers seriously. We need to find Producers, Directors, Cinematographers and Editors that have a vision and the work ethic to obtain their goals. That they understand how the world of filmmaking is changing and are willing to change with it.

2. The filmmaking paradigm has changed.  Filmmaking is changing and no one one knows where it will wind up. For those follow me and pay attention to my post understand that what worked 5 to 10 years ago does not work now. The way we consume film, engage with our audience and raise money for our films have changed. We now live in a transmedia world where we tell and sell our stories on multiple platforms. Today filmmaker have to take responsibility for engaging their audience as well as your marketing and distribution andI want to help them do that.

3.  I see a the need for acting classes sponsored by the FMPTA; seminars and workshops by renowned filmmakers; and writers, artist, photographers and other kind of creative people. It is important that filmmakers engage with other type creative people. I am already working on this now, and will have some things coming.

4. I  am going to  reach out and get businesses to be involved with our organization. Whether  it be through a business membership or as a merchant partners. I think this would be a great benefit to our organization and members.  We must expand our brand.”

I am doing this because I want to be apart of a movement in this area.  A movement of talented, fearless visionaries that take the art of filmmaking seriously.  People who see and understand the future of filmmaking and story telling.  People who want to be taken seriously in the world of film.

 

 

 

 

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25 November, 2012
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Documentary, Film, Producing, Skinheads

New Project

I have a good news: I am teaming up with filmmaker Alex Alvarez on his documentary about Non Racist Skinheads from the Twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul, Minnesota.  This project will be near and dear to my heart for a Couple reasons. One, I being a punker, and I used to hang out with the Chapel Hill Boot Crew; a non racist skinhead group out of Chapel Hill, NC.   Another reason is, I too used to fight Nazi skins.  If you were in the punk rock scene back in the day, you would have to at some point have deal with Nazi’ skins; I just happened to deal with them with extreme prejudice.

Alex has shot  a lot of this doc and we are now talking about what we need to do to finish this film. I do know that we will be crowdfunding and will need your support.  This is going to be an amazing documentary and  Alex and I are going to come up with a marketing and film festival strategy.  There are tons of details that we have to go over and lots to discuss, but  I am confident that when it is said and done we are going to have a damn good film.

I am blessed and lucky to have good work coming my way. I am working with talented filmmakers and am building up a group of talented people to work with.  Florida film has a LOOOOOONG way to go, and it is going to take talented and fearless filmmakers to get us there; however  I am confident that we can get there and earn respect of our peers from around the country.  I know that some toes will be stepped on and some egos crushed, but that is what it is going to take to get Tampa and Florida recognized as a place for amazing and fearless cinema.

 

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9 November, 2012
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Film, Film Making, Grey Room, Producing, Production Company, Short Film, Uncategorized

Big road ahead

This week has been the week of meetings.  Note to yourself, do them with people you enjoy being around. Makes it fun.

So I have a ton of work and am trying to figure out where and how to start.  I have a ton of research to do on a subject for a film I am producing.  I am teaching myself how to write a business plan so that I can write one for my production company as well as one for a film I am producing.  I need to start  searching for talent and a director for that film I need to write a business plan for;  and as soon as I have said business plan, talent and director I then need to go in search of the almighty investor.

Along with that, I have to do preproduction for a doc I am producing as well as do some social media for Grey Room.  Do not forget we will begin Crowdfunding for it in February.  I also have to come up with an article I need to write for the FMPTA news letter The Slate. Any suggestions? God knows I could use some. Also, if you want me to write about something please feel free to make suggestions. It would benefit me because I would have to go and research the topic.

Also,  with that I am running for Vice President For the Florida Motion Picture & Television Association Tampa Bay Chapter. FMPTA. If you are a member please vote for me. I will be writing as to why you should vote for me.

This is where I need to learn how to plan and organize my tasks. I am starting to learn about strategic planning, something that I think  you should learn if you are to be successful at filmmaking. There are proven tools that work and should be applied to your filmmaking skills.

 

 

 

 

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