Filmmaker Freedom

If you haven't seen The Joyful Vampire Tour of America doc-series yet, it's amazing and insightful. Watch it here.

And you can stay up to date with all of Naomi's projects and workshops and such from her website.

Today on Filmmaker Freedom, a super in-depth interview with Marcus Mizelle.

Marcus is a multi-talented filmmaker with three micro-budget features under his belt, and that's alongside a prolific career directing music videos, working in the grip department, and being a writer/producer. 

And pretty soon, he's launching an entirely new kind of film festival dedicated specifically for us micro-budget folks. It's called the Micro Film Tournament, and it looks pretty rad.

Anyhow, this conversation was a blast, and we touch on so many aspects of what it really takes to succeed in this brutal business.

Hope you dig it :)

Full Transcripts & Archive

Each solo episode of Filmmaker Freedom (not the interviews) has a complete written transcript so that you can revisit the ideas quickly and easily.

You can find those transcripts, as well as the full archive of shows, right here:

www.filmfreedomshow.com

A Weekly Newsletter for Ambitious Filmmakers

Every Sunday morning, I send out a handful of stories, carefully picked to help you make films you care about, build a business, and master your psychology. Plus I share a short film I love, and various other bits of inspiration. Get it here:

www.filmfreedomshow.com/newsletter

A Community Just for Entrepreneurial Filmmakers

Want to join a community of like-minded entrepreneurial filmmakers who will push you to grow and succeed? Then Freedom Fighters is the place for you.

Here's where you can learn more about this one-of-a-kind community and apply to join our ranks. (Don't worry, it's totally free, but there's an application process to make sure this community is full of the right people.)

www.filmfreedomshow.com/community

Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time!

-Rob Hardy

So, you’ve chosen the perfect niche for your films. And you’ve done the research to ensure it can support you financially. Now what?

Well, one option is to just start making films and marketing yourself.

Just taking those two prerequisite steps—finding and validating your niche—puts you ahead of 95% of other indie filmmakers in terms of building a sustainable business around your work.

But I’d be remiss if I didn’t share the final piece to this niche puzzle—one that’ll help you create and communicate in such magnetic, compelling ways that when you release a new film, the folks in your niche won’t be able to whip out their wallets fast enough.

It’s a technique called “audience mapping,” and it’ll be your secret weapon for creating content and telling stories that are so specific, so emotionally-resonant, and so custom-tailored to your niche, that people will feel like you’re reading their minds.

They’ll feel connected to you and your work in ways that most filmmakers never experience. It’s that connection that opens the door to creating true fans, and building a sustainable long term business around films you care about.

That, my friend, the power of an audience map, and you’re about to learn exactly how to create one of your own.

Full Transcripts & Archive

Each solo episode of Filmmaker Freedom (not the interviews) has a complete written transcript so that you can revisit the ideas quickly and easily.

You can find those transcripts, as well as the full archive of shows, right here:

www.filmfreedomshow.com

A Weekly Newsletter for Ambitious Filmmakers

Every Sunday morning, I send out a handful of stories, carefully picked to help you make films you care about, build a business, and master your psychology. Plus I share a short film I love, and various other bits of inspiration. Get it here:

www.filmfreedomshow.com/newsletter

A Community Just for Entrepreneurial Filmmakers

Want to join a community of like-minded entrepreneurial filmmakers who will push you to grow and succeed? Then Freedom Fighters is the place for you.

Here's where you can learn more about this one-of-a-kind community and apply to join our ranks. (Don't worry, it's totally free, but there's an application process to make sure this community is full of the right people.)

www.filmfreedomshow.com/community

Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time!

-Rob Hardy

In the Art of War, Sun Tzu tells us, “victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win."

If your goal is to earn a living from your films, this is wisdom to live by.

I mean, what if you could virtually guarantee your film would be profitable before you ever wrote a word or shot a frame?

What if you knew—with a high degree of certainty—that if you engaged a particular niche, you’d be able to build a sustainable, enjoyable business by producing films for them?

That’d be pretty rad, right?

It’d take so much of the pressure off when it comes to raising money and distributing your films.

With that kind of certainty, you’d be able to focus more of your energy on telling stories you care about.

You’d be able to spend more time doing what you love, and less time worried about whether your efforts would ever pay off.

Once you work through the research strategies in this article, you will have that kind of certainty.

You’ll be able to win the brutal war for audience attention before ever stepping foot on the battlefield.

So let’s get to it.

Full Transcripts & Archive

Each solo episode of Filmmaker Freedom (not the interviews) has a complete written transcript so that you can revisit the ideas quickly and easily.

You can find those transcripts, as well as the full archive of shows, right here:

www.filmfreedomshow.com

A Weekly Newsletter for Ambitious Filmmakers

Every Sunday morning, I send out a handful of stories, carefully picked to help you make films you care about, build a business, and master your psychology. Plus I share a short film I love, and various other bits of inspiration. Get it here:

www.filmfreedomshow.com/newsletter

A Community Just for Entrepreneurial Filmmakers

Want to join a community of like-minded entrepreneurial filmmakers who will push you to grow and succeed? Then Freedom Fighters is the place for you.

Here's where you can learn more about this one-of-a-kind community and apply to join our ranks. (Don't worry, it's totally free, but there's an application process to make sure this community is full of the right people.)

www.filmfreedomshow.com/community

Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time!

-Rob Hardy

This episode is long. Quite long. In fact, when it comes to choosing a profitable niche audience for your micro-budget films, you’re about to listen to the most comprehensive guide on the internet.

Make no mistake, if you want to succeed as an indie film entrepreneur, targeting profitable niches is the single most important skill for you to learn and master.

Getting your niche right is the 20% of efforts that drive 80% of results.

In other words, you could be a mediocre filmmaker and an amateur marketer, but if you follow through on what’s coming in this article, you’ll still be set up for financial success in our absurdly competitive media landscape.

For that reason, what’s coming is easily the most impactful piece of content on this website. Hell, it might be one of the most impactful in the entire indie filmmaking space.

That’s obviously a bold statement, and you might think I’m full of shit. But it’s not hyperbole.

If you take what I’m about to share and apply it, you’ll be able to build a sustainably profitable business around your indie films, no matter where in the world you live.

You’ll be that rare indie filmmaker who earns a comfortable, consistent living from their work—while everyone else is still spinning their wheels, waiting for some festival, distributor, or gatekeeper to pluck them from obscurity.

So if you’re committed to the path of indie film entrepreneurship, you’re in the right place. Finding the perfect niche is the foundation on which your business will be built, and we’re about to dig extraordinarily deep into that very topic.

Buckle up, amigo. 😎

Full Transcripts & Archive

Each solo episode of Filmmaker Freedom (not the interviews) has a complete written transcript so that you can revisit the ideas quickly and easily.

You can find those transcripts, as well as the full archive of shows, right here:

www.filmfreedomshow.com

A Weekly Newsletter for Ambitious Filmmakers

Every Sunday morning, I send out a handful of stories, carefully picked to help you make films you care about, build a business, and master your psychology. Plus I share a short film I love, and various other bits of inspiration. Get it here:

www.filmfreedomshow.com/newsletter

A Community Just for Entrepreneurial Filmmakers

Want to join a community of like-minded entrepreneurial filmmakers who will push you to grow and succeed? Then Freedom Fighters is the place for you.

Here's where you can learn more about this one-of-a-kind community and apply to join our ranks. (Don't worry, it's totally free, but there's an application process to make sure this community is full of the right people.)

www.filmfreedomshow.com/community

Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time!

-Rob Hardy

Today on Filmmaker Freedom, the only sustainable way for micro-budget filmmakers to win the brutal war for audience attention.

This is a war being dominated right now by the likes of Netflix, Disney, YouTube, Facebook, and plenty of others.

You might not think you have much chance of competing against companies like this, with their multibillion dollar content and marketing budgets.

But when you shift your focus and niche down, you absolutely can.

In fact, there’s surprising power and freedom in creating niche media in a world where everyone else is obsessed with reaching bigger, broader, more generic audiences.

When done right, it’s a shift that allows you to tell stories you care about to a genuinely receptive audience, and ultimately make a living doing what you love.

Sound good? Let’s get to it.

Full Transcripts & Archive

Each solo episode of Filmmaker Freedom (not the interviews) has a complete written transcript so that you can revisit the ideas quickly and easily.

You can find those transcripts, as well as the full archive of shows, right here:

www.filmfreedomshow.com

A Weekly Newsletter for Ambitious Filmmakers

Every Sunday morning, I send out a handful of stories, carefully picked to help you make films you care about, build a business, and master your psychology. Plus I share a short film I love, and various other bits of inspiration. Get it here:

www.filmfreedomshow.com/newsletter

A Community Just for Entrepreneurial Filmmakers

Want to join a community of like-minded entrepreneurial filmmakers who will push you to grow and succeed? Then Freedom Fighters is the place for you.

Here's where you can learn more about this one-of-a-kind community and apply to join our ranks. (Don't worry, it's totally free, but there's an application process to make sure this community is full of the right people.)

www.filmfreedomshow.com/community

Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time!

-Rob Hardy

Today on Filmmaker Freedom, how to approach building an audience for your films, and do it in a way that leads to sustainable revenue with minimal work. 

That might sound like a hyperbolic promise, but I guarantee you it's not. 

There are two foundational missteps that entrepreneurial filmmakers tend to make when building audiences, and these strategic errors limit how much you can earn from your films, while dramatically increasing the amount of work you have to do. 

Basically, if you're not careful, you might end doing more work for less money. And that's no bueno.

 So today, you're going to learn a concept that I call the dichotomies of audience building, and come out the other side with a smart, strategic approach that will serve you well in your entrepreneurial filmmaking journey for years to come. Enjoy :)

Full Transcripts & Archive

Each solo episode of Filmmaker Freedom (not the interviews) has a complete written transcript so that you can revisit the ideas quickly and easily.

You can find those transcripts, as well as the full archive of shows, right here:

www.filmfreedomshow.com

A Weekly Newsletter for Ambitious Filmmakers

Every Sunday morning, I send out a handful of stories, carefully picked to help you make films you care about, build a business, and master your psychology. Plus I share a short film I love, and various other bits of inspiration. Get it here:

www.filmfreedomshow.com/newsletter

A Community Just for Entrepreneurial Filmmakers

Want to join a community of like-minded entrepreneurial filmmakers who will push you to grow and succeed? Then Freedom Fighters is the place for you.

Here's where you can learn more about this one-of-a-kind community and apply to join our ranks. (Don't worry, it's totally free, but there's an application process to make sure this community is full of the right people.)

www.filmfreedomshow.com/community

Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time!

-Rob Hardy

Today on Filmmaker Freedom, an interview with Jason Zink.

Jason's directed several micro-budget, DIY features, all in the realm of horror and punk rock. His latest is called Straight Edge Kegger, which looks awesome.

He's also experienced first hand just how predatory some traditional distribution deals can be.

So in our wide-ranging conversation, we go deep on Jason's ethos for making cool, grungy flicks that he and his team can be proud of, what to watch out for when offered distribution, his plan for staging a DIY tour for his current film, and a whole lot more.

It's a fun conversation, and I hope you dig it.

Full Transcripts & Archive

Each solo episode of Filmmaker Freedom (not the interviews) has a complete written transcript so that you can revisit the ideas quickly and easily.

You can find those transcripts, as well as the full archive of shows, right here:

www.filmfreedomshow.com

A Weekly Newsletter for Ambitious Filmmakers

Every Sunday morning, I send out a handful of stories, carefully picked to help you make films you care about, build a business, and master your psychology. Plus I share a short film I love, and various other bits of inspiration. Get it here:

www.filmfreedomshow.com/newsletter

A Community Just for Entrepreneurial Filmmakers

Want to join a community of like-minded entrepreneurial filmmakers who will push you to grow and succeed? Then Freedom Fighters is the place for you.

Here's where you can learn more about this one-of-a-kind community and apply to join our ranks. (Don't worry, it's totally free, but there's an application process to make sure this community is full of the right people.)

www.filmfreedomshow.com/community

Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time!

-Rob Hardy

Today on Filmmaker Freedom, an in-depth interview with Mike Dion.

Now, Mike's not a household name in the film community, but to my mind, he's one of the real pioneers of indie film entrepreneurship.

In fact, since 2010 Mike's put out a handful of features that appeal to an extremely small, niche audience. But despite the size of the niche, Mike's managed to make a good living for himself—without film festivals, distributors, sales agents, or any middle men whatsoever.

Instead, Mike has figured out how to sell directly to fans, put on his own theatrical tours, create cool physical products, and lots more. He even created something called the Whole World Wide Premiere, where you create an amazing in-person event for your film, but then livestream it to the world and charge for access.

Point is, Mike has been on the cutting edge of direct distribution for a long time. And today, you're going to hear his story, and get the inside scoop on some of the strategies he's used to make the films he loves, and make a living completely independent of the industry.

So let's get to it.

Full Transcripts & Archive

Each solo episode of Filmmaker Freedom (not the interviews) has a complete written transcript so that you can revisit the ideas quickly and easily.

You can find those transcripts, as well as the full archive of shows, right here:

www.filmfreedomshow.com

A Weekly Newsletter for Ambitious Filmmakers

Every Sunday morning, I send out a handful of stories, carefully picked to help you make films you care about, build a business, and master your psychology. Plus I share a short film I love, and various other bits of inspiration. Get it here:

www.filmfreedomshow.com/newsletter

A Community Just for Entrepreneurial Filmmakers

Want to join a community of like-minded entrepreneurial filmmakers who will push you to grow and succeed? Then Freedom Fighters is the place for you.

Here's where you can learn more about this one-of-a-kind community and apply to join our ranks. (Don't worry, it's totally free, but there's an application process to make sure this community is full of the right people.)

www.filmfreedomshow.com/community

Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time!

-Rob Hardy