Filmmaking stuff modern moviemaking toolkit

Modern MovieMaker Toolkit Copyright 2010 Brubaker Unlimited LLC

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Introduction

My name is Jason Brubaker. I’m a Los Angeles based independent

movie producer. This short guide will provide you with my personal

picks for useful, no-fluff, modern moviemaking tools.

I can give this guide away free, because most of the following prod-

uct and service recommendations are my affiliates. That means, if

you decide any of my suggestions are a good fit for your moviemak-

ing business, I may receive compensation from the providers.

This will not affect your purchase price!

In the event referrals aren’t cool, feel free to get the products else-

where (totally OK!) With that said, if you’re looking for filmmaking

tools, as well as a road map for how to make your movie, I have in-

cluded the following step-by-step guide. Make your movie now!


Your Script – The First Draft

This seems obvious. Without a screenplay, it is very difficult to make

a movie. I know some filmmakers are interested in making an

“experimental” movie. If that’s you, then ignore the following

screenwriting tools. But if you would like to write a screenplay, here

are some professional tools that I recommend.

For screenwriting, Final Draft software is industry standard. You can

also get Movie Magic Screenwriter. But I never used it. And if mon-

ey is tight, there is FREE screenwriting software called Celtix.

I also have a program at www.WriteYourMovieNow.com – It is a

screenwriting system. In it, you get a decade of producer experi-

ence, a screenwriting workbook and over an hour MP3 audio, so

you can listen anywhere. It’s writing from a producer’s perspective.


Break Down Your Script and Schedule Your Movie

After you finish your screenplay, you will want to break it down.

What is a script breakdown? Basically, you take everything in your

script (wardrobe, stunts, locations, characters, props, et al.) And

you put these elements into a schedule. Since this is your “initial

breakdown,” you will use this information to ball park your budget.

If you need some help with this, I recommend you research Peter

Marshall’s Script Breakdown and Film Scheduling Course. Peter has

been in this game a long, long time. He will show you the funda-

mentals of script breakdown. These lessons will help you see your

movie from a totally different, producer perspective.

Try: www.MovieScriptBreakDown.com

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http://www.actioncutprint.com/sbfs/SBFS-filmmakingstuff.html


Scheduling and Budgeting Software

There is plenty of filmmaking software to help you break down,

schedule and budget your movie. One is called Movie Magic Sched-

uling and also, Movie Magic Budgeting. If money is tight, you can

grab a copy of Gorilla. These software tools are great because you

can put them on your laptop and use them in remote places, even if

you don’t have an internet connection!

After you complete the initial breakdown and schedule your movie,

you will use that information to budget your movie. Once you have

a good idea of how much money you’ll need to make your movie,

the next step in the process is getting the money.

To do this, you will need to create a movie business plan.

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http://www.movieplanpro.com/


Get Movie Money

To create a business plan, you may benefit from visiting with the

folks at www.SCORE.org - or you can create your own business plan

with software. Check out www.MoviePlanPro.com

They have created a great business plan kit, which will provide you

with a step-by-step approach to all the business stuff you would ra-

ther not invent from scratch.

Once you have your business plan, you’ll want to contact a lawyer

and draw up some paperwork. Most likely, your lawyer will help you

establish a corporate entity. Your lawyer will also have suggestions

on how to legally approach prospective movie investors.


Legal Stuff

When it comes to entertainment attorneys, you might consider re-

searching Gordon Firemark. He runs www.Firemark.com and has

very informative podcasts, full of valuable legal tips – And if you

need information beyond that, I suggest you get on his mailing list.

When you go after the money, things can get risky and challenging.

To be successful, you will need to legally protect yourself, define

your money-tree strategy and create persistence and enthusiasm.

My film financing website at www.GetMovieMoney.com is devoted

to helping filmmakers learn tricks and strategies for contacting and

building relationships with prospective investors. Building these

types of relationships will be one of the tougher parts of the pro-

cess, but it will make the movie possible.

http://www.getmoviemoney.com/


Find Investors

Most prospective investors will want to know how the money is go-

ing to be spent, what they can expect in return. Obviously, they will

want to see your plan for eventually getting a return on investment.

Filmmaking is a risky business, full of unknowns and you should

never sugar coat the potential risks. At the same time, there are

ways to mitigate your risks. For example, start thinking of you movie

as a product. Then answer this question: How many video on de-

mand downloads does it take the recoup your movie investment?

Have a plan for the movie when it is complete. Will you take the fes-

tival route? Will you market it to colleges and universities? Will you

send it directly to sales agents and acquisition pros? Or will you go

with my friends at www.MovieSalesTool.com to access iTunes?

https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?ii=646837&c=ib&aff=93287&cl=107718


Another Film Financing Tool

Getting a business plan and putting your legal ducks in a row is only

part of the process. Raising movie money becomes much easier

when you have a network of rich and successful friends. So if you

have not already done so, check out www.GetMovieMoney.com

Different from all the other BS out there, you will discover how to

find and make friends with rich people, even if you don’t know rich

people. (Yet.) After that, getting money becomes easier.

Additionally, I can’t forget my friends at Indie GoGo. This site will al-

low you to set up a profile, promote your movie project, set a finan-

cial goal and find folks to sponsor various aspects of your movie.

And if you actually raise 100% of your goal, the company will throw

in a bonus percentage. www.indieGoGo.com


Going Into Production

Once you raise the money, get your cast, crew and equipment, loca-

tions and craft service, the next step is going into production. In this

stage, you’ll find out if all of your planning holds up. This is going to

be both adventurous and grueling. But it will be an awesome time

you will NEVER to forget. Here are several filmmaking classics :

Rick Schmidt’s Extreme DV. He has a great workshop in the Bay Area

where you actually complete a feature film. He is also the writer of

one of the most empowering filmmaking books I’ve ever read.

Rebel Without A Crew. This is another personal favorite. Perhaps it’s

a little dated, but if you can ignore the ancient filmmaking technolo-

gy mentioned in the book, you will get a new found appreciation for

the filmmaking process used to be. No more excuses!

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Pick a Production Date

Assuming you did get the money, pick a date for production.

Go back to your lawyer and get help you with contracts and releas-

es. If you’re short on cash, do a web search for lawyers for the arts

in your state. Since many of these folks will be working for free, ex-

pect a lot of “no’s” before you find the right fit for your show.

You can make your jobs easier if you find someone with film pro-

duction experience.

Then finalize your script. Get it to a point where you aren’t going to

keep changing things. Once you get to this point, consider it a

locked script. Number your scenes. Then break down your script

again, and create your final shooting (production) schedule.

http://www.moviesitehost.com/


Final Budget

From your schedule and breakdown, create a final budget. You probably know how much money you have to work with. If you find you don’t have enough you have two choices. You can get more money. Or you can modify the script and schedule.

After that, get your crew. I suggest working with a seasoned physi-cal producer, line producer or production manager to help you get organized. These professionals will then tweak your schedule as needed to stay within both your budget and time parameters.

Additionally, if you’re going to direct and produce, having these

folks around to help out will open the door to relationships with 1st

ADs and crew. These folks will help you hire the right people. They

may also know a thing or two about tax credits in your state.

This could be invaluable!


Sweat Equity

Money is tight. So instead of hiring a locations scout, you’re going

to have to scout and procure locations yourself. This means you’ll

knock on doors and introduce yourself, your project and your goals.

It is at this point when I warn you – what can go wrong with a loca-

tion probably will. So lock down both a 2nd and a 3rd location. This

way, should something happen, you’ll have a fall-back plan.

Assuming you’re directing this movie yourself, you might find a di-

rector of photography who shares your sensibilities and has equal

enthusiasm for the project.

Your DP will help you design a look and mood for your movie. And

given your presumed cost constraints, you’ll most likely shoot in HD.


Movie Website

Create a website specific to your movie. Then make sure you have a

way to get site visitors onto your mailing list. Additionally, have a

place on your site for press, so that they can download your press

kit and materials. My friends at www.MovieSiteHost.com allow

filmmakers to get hosting, reserve a domain and set up a website.

As you get into production, you will later want to add a movie trail-

er. This will help drive traffic to your website, which will increase the

size of your mailing list. Then later, the people on your movie mail-

ing list will play an integral role in helping you build buzz.

To build your mailing list, check out www.AudienceList.com. This

service allows filmmakers to capture leads from their movie web-

site, build a mailing list and set up email newsletters.


http://www.audiencelist.com/


Casting

If you’re lucky, you already know talented actors interested in your

project and working with you. You’ll have to work out a deal with

these folks. LA and NYC offer various websites that help producers

find actors. But if you’re somewhere rural, I suggest partnering with

local theaters to fulfill your casting requirements.

Once you have your actors, you will want to find a location for a ta-

ble read. Go through the script. If you wrote it, now is a time to take

some notes for a final tweak. Just know – anything you change in

the script also changes the budget and the schedule.

Prior to production, you will put someone in charge of Craft Ser-

vices. They should be good at getting deals on food and catering. If

you can not find anyone to cook, you’ll have to do it yourself.


Last Minute Checklist

Make sure you have adequate food. If you’re doing a union shoot, there are guidelines and rules you must follow. If you’re doing a non union indie, then here is my advice: GET QUALITY!

Do you have all of your permits, releases, location agreements? Do you have production insurance? There are so many different types of insurance, it will make your head spin. Make sure you talk with some experienced professionals so you get adequate insurance.

This should already be in your budget. But meet with your Camera

Department and find out how much tape stock you’ll need

(assuming you’re shooting in HD or HDSLR). If you’re shooting film,

which will be costly, make sure you have enough.


Go Time!

Once you have all the above stuff checked off the list, you’ll want to

meet with your department heads and make sure everyone’s needs

are being met. Assuming you’ve maintained limited locations, with

a limited cast and crew, you will probably still be baffled by the

amount of questions that come flying at you.

Seriously, you would think you’re making a gazillion dollar movie.

But questions are simply indicators that people care about their

work and the movie. And they want to make it a success.

This goes without saying, but don’t be a jerk. Seriously, you’re mak-

ing a movie. It’s a real accomplishment and it’s one of those great

things you can do in life. In fact, it’s quite awesome.

So push forward. ENJOY! Did I mention you need plenty of sleep?


Produce Your Movie

Do well. Don’t lose your temper and have fun!

During production, try to constantly get press to come out and pro-

file your movie in the news. The goal is to leverage the media, cre-

ate buzz and hopefully get people to your website and get them to

opt into your newsletter mailing list. www.AudienceList.com

After the WRAP, have a wrap party. And trust me when I tell you

this—try not to sleep with anybody in your cast or your crew. Also,

if possible, monitor your alcohol intake. You are a professional.



Post Production

After you recover from your hangover, you’ll probably start editing

the movie. This is the phase they call post production. And it really

is the final rewrite of your movie.

In the past, your post production expenses were crazy. But like most

things in filmmaking, modern technology makes your post experi-

ence awesomely affordable.

In terms of software, a decade ago, all the talk and buzz in the

world revolved around Avid. Now you’re like Avid who? Seriously. If

you have a Mac, get yourself a copy of Final Cut Pro. It’s all but in-

dustry standard. It’s powerful and affordable. Enough said.

If you don’t have a Mac, find a friend who does. And if you don’t

know how to edit, you should find a friend for that too.

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Smooth Out The Cut

Your first edit will be rough. Screen it with a group of people who

have never seen the movie. Get feedback. Then take the feedback

and refine your edit. After that, take a week off – don’t look at the

movie or play around with it. In this way, you’ll come back to the

edit suite with new perspective. Refine and refine again.

Have another small screening with people who have never seen the

movie. Take notes. Then take those notes back to your edit suite.

Add some sound FX to your movie. Clean up actor dialogue and

rough areas. Remember, audio is often more important than visual.

Screen the movie again with a new, small set of people. Take notes.

Go back and refine.


What if there are no deals?

When you have a cut you’re happy with, then you can begin to im-

plement your sales strategy. For example, will you go to film festi-

vals? Sales agents? Film Markets?

You may have several opportunities for traditional distribution. With

some qualified professionals, analyze every deal. Find out if the deal

will fit your business objectives, if not, move on to the next deal.

And in the event you can’t find a deal that works...


Market and Sell Your Movie

I’m not going to tell you how to find a sales agent or how to make a three-picture deal. Partially because those deals are rare. And partly because those deals are old school anyway.

Why hire some third party, middle-man when you can build a fol-lowing, sell your own movies and cash your own checks? As a filmmaker, I love this arena. I call it Modern MovieMaking.

Here is how you market and sell your movie:

Refine your trailer so that it helps you sell your movie, without giv-

ing the entire story away. Make sure your trailer includes a back link

to your website. Once you complete the trailer, upload it to

YouTube and all the other video streaming sites you can think of.


Internet Movie Marketing

Get a domain name and website hosting. To do this, set up an ac-

count with a filmmaker friendly company. As mentioned previously,

I prefer www.MovieSiteHost.com for all of my movie websites. And

yes, they pay me to say that. When you set up the site, make sure

you use your movie’s title in your link. For example, in our horror

zombie movie, we reserved: www.SpecialDeadMovie.com

Once you have your website hosting, hire a web designer to create

a website for you. (Actually, you should have built a website prior to

production. But I know your mind was probably focused on actually

making the movie. So it’s OK.) In the event you already spent all

your money making the movie, then check out a service called

www.fiverr.com – On this site, you’ll probably find a dozen people

who will create an awesome website for a whopping $5 dollars!


http://www.specialdeadmovie.com/


http://www.fiverr.com/


Branding

Branding is the marketing equivalent of matching your belt with

your shoes. Don’t make your marketing complicated. Make sure

your colors, logos, posters and fonts are consistent.

Most filmmakers make a crazy website with all sorts of bells and

whistles. Your website should be simple. You should have a trailer,

an “about” page, a “buy now” button, links to your social networks

and your opt-in audience list.

Out of everything I mention, getting people onto your audience list

is most important. An audience list will allow you to collect a name

and email address of your visitor. www.AudienceList.com




Target Audience

Take a moment to think about your target audience. Hopefully you

have a marketable hook for your movie, and a defined marketing

plan for reaching your target demographic. If not, figure it out!

Once you have your trailer and your website, you need to make

sure you set up a Facebook page as well as other ways to grab visi-

tor information. Having a YouTube page, a Facebook page and a

newsletter will allow you to build a relationship with your visitors.

In this regard, if your website visitor does not buy today, maybe

they will buy tomorrow.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Filmmaking-Stuff/31226954215

http://www.filmmakingstuff.com/newsletter


Sell Your Movie

Get your movie selling online. There are so many outlets for this.

One of the best services I’ve found is the very independent

filmmaker friendly site called distribber. This service provides

filmmakers with easy way to get their movies seen and selling via

popular Video on Demand marketplaces, such as iTunes, Amazon

and NetFlix. Check out: www.MovieSalesTool.com

You can still sell physical DVDs too. Amazon’s Create Space makes

this easy. And even though letting CS fulfill orders is more expen-

sive, I advise you to stay out of the shipping business. Let CS manu-

facture your DVDs and deal with customer service issues. In this

way, you can then focus on increasing your sales, as well as your

next movie projects. Not shipping.

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http://www.filmmakingstuff.com/2009/02/projects/


Press Releases

Write exciting press releases touting your movie. Include back links

to your site. Then send the release out to the media via one of the

online press release submission sites. In addition to this, don’t be

afraid to call magazine editors and journalists who write for your

target audience. As they say, if you don’t ask – you don’t get!

Join online forums related to your target market. Create a profile,

complete with a signature link to your website.

Now, whenever you join a conversation, you’ll spread your links.

http://www.writeyourmovienow.com/

http://www.facebook.com/filmmakingstuff


One More Thing...

Just because you’re in a forum doesn’t mean people care about you

or your movie. If you join conversations without adding value – or if

you become spam happy and fail to contribute anything good to the

discussion, you and your movie will get internet blacklisted, fast.

To assist you with this stuff, I have created another product. It is

called The Independent Producer’s Guide to Distribution. In the ac-

tion guide, you’ll get information on how to get your movie seen

and selling in popular marketplaces like Amazon and iTunes.

Go here: www.HowToSellYourMovie.com


About Jason Brubaker

Jason Brubaker is a Hollywood based Independent Motion Picture

Producer and an expert in Video On Demand distribution. He is fo-

cused on helping YOU make, market and sell movies more easily by

growing your fan base, building buzz and creating community

around your title. He is also available for speaking engagements.

Jason is a contributing author of The Independent’s Guide to Film

Distributors, he is the founder of Filmmaking Stuff, a professional

resource for independent filmmakers, and his articles on independ-

ent movie marketing, distribution and film production have been

featured in The Independent and Movie Maker Magazine.

Brubaker has lectured on these subjects to filmmakers from around

the globe through various seminars, panels and workshops.

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http://www.filmmakingstuff.com/speaking/

http://www.filmmakingstuff.com


Filmmaking Tools

www.FreeFilmmakingBook.com is where I give away over $97 in free filmmaking tools, including my filmmaking book and audio.

www.MakeYourMovieNow.com is designed to help you solve your most pressing filmmaking, screenwriting and distribution problems.

www.MovieScriptBreakDown.com is Peter Marshall’s online course on how to breakdown your screenplay and schedule your movie.

www.MoviePlanPro.com is business plan software for movie mak-ers who know they need a plan, but hate paperwork.

www.MovieSiteHost.com allows filmmakers to easily get hosting, a domain name and set up a website for their movie.

www.AudienceList.com allows filmmakers to capture leads from their movie website, build a mailing list and create newsletters.

http://www.FreeFilmmakingBook.com

http://www.MakeYourMovieNow.com

http://www.MakeYourMovieNow.com

http://www.MovieScriptBreakDown.com

http://www.movieplanpro.com

http://www.moviesitehost.com

http://www.audiencelist.com

Education

Filmmaking stuff modern moviemaking toolkit