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:
There are some keys things to keep at the top of your mind while you're shooting your movie.
Locations- The bottom line is DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU'RE GOING TO.
Mind The Way You Treat The Cast And Crew- Over the course of my career, what I am complimented the most on is my demeanor and attitude while on set. I don't yell, I don't get angry and I try not to be too involved in what I'm doing to talk to people. During "The Apparition", we were on our last day of shooting and the company had just spend three twenty hour days and everybody was a little spent. For the first three days, this crew was magic, everybody was getting along and everybody was fire on all cylinders, like a well oiled machine. Well, on the last day, the company was stumbling some and things weren't going as smoothly as they had been the days prior and I thought that it was because we were letting our guard down thinking we had this one in the can. So, I decided to get the crew motivated by barking some orders and telling them to get their shit together. It didn't work. All it did was make matters worse for a few more hours and make everyone uncomfortable and awkward. Not good when you're trying to pull something like a movie together. That was the first and last time I've ever done that. One of the worse things that you can do to your movie and the people who are taking their time to help you make your movie, is to ruin a good vibe and good creative flow by making everybody feel uncomfortable by yelling and getting upset.
The 180-degree Rule (per Wikipedia)- "In film
making, the 180-degree rule is a basic guideline
regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and another
character or object within a scene. An imaginary line called the axis
connects the characters and by keeping the camera on one side of this axis for
every shot in the scene, the first character will always be frame right of the
second character, who is then always frame left of the first. If the camera
passes over the axis, it is called jumping the line or crossing the
line."
Keep in mind with the 180-degree rule that this is a rule that can be broken, but only if it's done the right way. Make sure that you "jump the line" in one cut or it will seem like your characters are sitting next to each other instead of across from each other.
The Rule of Thirds- This is basically a "rule of thumb" to help you frame your character and sequences. It's a theory that divides the screen into 9 equal parts and that your subject and scene should be lined up and inside these imaginary lines. I personally don't buy into this one, but some think that it's an important theory when shooting a movie or photography (you'll notice that this video is completely outside the "Rule of Thirds" theory).
Trust your intuition, and listen to that little voice inside your head that's telling you how to do something.
This is your best time to work out the kinks in your story, your dialogue and your blocking with the actors. All of which need to look and sound professional. I also suggest that if you're not the one shooting the movie, get your DP or Camera Department to go to rehearsals as well (tell them to bring the storyboard material that you gave them). That way, they can see the the blocking also, and with the storyboards, they will have an idea of what going on, they can plan and be ready to rock n roll on the day of the shoot. It helps the entire company to be firing on all cylinders come shoot day. That is what you want because you're on a schedule and nobody is helping you keep that schedule, except you.
