Maverickshavealwayshadanedgy,rebelliousconnotation to them. Originallyreferredtounbrandedcattlethatstrayedfromtheherd,puttingtheirownershipindoubt. Fast forward 100 years later...and it is used to describe a personwhostraysfromanddoesnotfollowthethinkingofagroupheorshebelongsto,orwhorebelsagainstacceptedideasortoaherdmentality. "Maverick"thuscametogenerallymeananindividualisticandindependentthinker.
These kids have taken it upon themselves to make their own movie. The methods that they used to put the project in the can was exactly the methods that we've been talking about here in the Maverick MovieMaking courses.
They wrote the script based on something that they had readily available, they used their cast and crew wisely, found locations near their home, used a camera that they already had and and editing program that was already on their computer. They've shown us all that if you a desire to do something, nothing can stop you. Anyone who knows making movies, what these kids accomplished was not easy. Good job guys!
The Palm Springs Shortfest &
Film Market is a great event. You might think that being invited to attend this event is a voting thing that’s based on the
quality of your work, but it’s not.
Everyone who enters gets an invitation to the Market. When I found out that I had been invited, I
wasn’t sure if I wanted to go, for an independent film maker, with a family,
my Festival Strategy has to be pretty specific and planned to the nine’s. So I asked around and did some research on
the web about Film Markets and you know what I found…nothing. There is very little information about what a film market is and I had no idea what to expect.
That’s why I’m writing this.
A film market is an event movie industry people, both filmmakers and studios, go to sell and buy films. It where the deals are made between you and anyone who would buy your movie and put it on a network or in a theater.
First off, if you just receive notice that you’ve been
accepted into a film market, get all of your artwork for your movie and go to
Kinko’s. If you don’t have artwork, do
whatever you can to make some, whether it is pictures from your shoot, a
picture of your actor, or anything that could be some sort of representation of
your movie. Take your artwork, make
posters and postcards (the 5x7 postcards like you see at a novelty shop while
on vacation). Print your artwork and
also, if you don’t already have some, get some business cards.
When you arrive at the Market is when the whirlwind begins,
be ready to network, get ready to pimp your movie in every way that you can
think of. Get to know the people who are
putting on the festival and most importantly, introduce yourself and get on a
first name basis with the person who’s organizing the market, that guy needs to
be your best friend.
The whole point of the Market is for acquisitions people for
studios and companies like Netflix to find programming that they can put on
their networks or bring back to the studio.
They will get DVD’s from the market and sit in front of a computer for a
full week just watching movies. The only way that they know what the hot property is, is either through the movies that are
being screened at the festival or by word of mouth. There are going to be a lot of filmmakers at
the market, there are going to be a lot of good films there, some are going to
be better than yours, but don’t let any of those movies stand out more than yours.
The artwork that you printed is going to be what people ask
you about throughout the week, it's what you become known for. Make sure that you always have plenty of
those business cards and the 5x7 postcards ready to pass out at any
time. Check in with the press, get your
posters up and place your postcards in the prime spots.
“The Apparition” was the movie of mine that got accepted into the Market, and I had the idea after I'd already arrived, to
have an actor or something dress up like my main character, come to the
festival and walk around with me everywhere I went. It would’ve been a
great way to market my movie and get my project to stand out above the masses
of great talent that was there. Maybe
next year, but that’s what I’m talking about.
Although it sounds awesome, nobody is going to make a big deal out of
your project if you don’t start the ball rolling and create your own buzz. DON’T BE AFRAID TO GO OUT ON A LIMB AND DO
SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN EVERYBODY ELSE.
Go to the after parties, hang out where all the other
filmmakers are and talk with them, introduce yourself, don’t be afraid to
encourage people to watch your movie. Go
to the screenings and pay attention to what you’re watching and who made the
movie, and when you see that person later at one of the after parties, you
have an approach and can start a dialogue.
In the four days that I attended my first film market, I
learned a ton about the business. I got
the pulse of what’s hot and what’s not, I got a good idea of what kind of movies were being accepted and screened at the festival.
Like I
said before, some of the movies are going to better than yours. But surprisingly enough, some of them are not and are still going to get a screening (some people market themselves better than others). Make yourself and your movie stand out, cause you're not the only one out there. And you may know that the movie you have is top notch, but nobody will know if you don't get someone attention.
The Movie You Write, The Movie You Shoot & The Movie You Edit
It seems like a strange concept but they will not be the same, each phase will be different and you have to roll with the punches. Think outside the box to make the movie the way you intended.
There are two types of editing (both need to be taken into consideration when completing your movie):
Technical Editing- This is where you make your movie look a certain way and with certain specs. (i.e. aspect ratio, frame rate, etc.) and it's really important to get these uniform if you're using more than one camera. Unfortunately, this is an important part of filmmaking and needs to be learned. Don't let this get you bogged down, get out there, shoot, edit it yourself and it'll come.
Storytelling Editing- Edit your own movie. Keep the look and feel of the movie yours. If you hand the footage of your movie over to someone else and your not with them, your not handing creative control over to someone else. Besides, the point of Maverick MovieMaking is to become skilled in every aspect of filmmaking and doing as much as you can yourself.
Most computers come with some sort of basic editing software (and for the Maverick MovieMaker, this is more than enough), but if you want to explore some options, here are some excellent movie editing software:
