Filmmaking Sucks

We're back! 
After a lengthy hiatus, which we totally didn't intend, we're finally back. This week, we discuss a panel we sat in on at the New York Short Film Festival, about How To Get our Feature Made, and cover some of the talking points hit by the panelist Rob Margolies. 

Is it the right time to make the film? Do you have the right script? The right people? The right locations? The right budget? We talk what is the "combination lock" that many producers consider to be the way to get your feature film made, and be successful. 

So, just keeping it short, lets get into the episode! 

Upcoming Events:
Krampus AP Film Festival in Asbury Park Dec 1st & 2nd, our short film Grub vom Krampus will be screening there.
The Northeast Film Festival Horror Fest at Teaneck Cinemas, Teaneck, NJ on Dec 6th & 7th, our newest feature Theta States will screen Dec 6th at 830pm. 
Bizarre Haunted Flea Market in Old Bethpage, NY Dec 9th & 10th, Grub vom Krampus will also play there, and we will be there with a vendors table selling DVDs and some of our horror-inspired art! 

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at [email protected] with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.
You can also now follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
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Happy month of Halloween! We've spent the last couple of weeks at different film festivals, including the Shawna Shea Film Festival and Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. On top of winning two awards, we watched a lot of excellent films, and learned a lot about ourselves, our strengths, our weaknesses and were able to realize what some of our near-future goals are. 

An important part of being able to grow and improve your craft is the ability to self-reflect, self-critique and look at your own work objectively. It's not the easiest thing to do, but it is imperative to your personal growth as a filmmaker and artist. On this episode we discuss what we've learned over the past few weeks and how we (and you!) can work to improve our films. 

November 4th at 9:30pm, Linsdays new film "Beneath" is screening as part of the New York Short Film Festival at Cinema Village in Manhattan! Tickets go on sale this week. Join us for the New York Premiere of Lindsays first film! 

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at [email protected] with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.
You can also now follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
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To kick off the Halloween Season, we have decided to attempt to cover subjects that relate directly to horror films for this month, and we kick it off with a conversation relating to something we recently spoke about in our Production Apps episode: The Seven Basic Plots.

In writing, generally all stories can fall into one of 7 basic plots, which are explained heavily in the book The Seven Basic Plots by Christopher Booker. By learning and understanding these guidelines for writing, you can gain a better perspective on your story, and will help you in creating more complex and interesting characters and stories. 

In a horror twist, we have decided to explain how these basic plot lines can be used in making great horror films. Every horror film ever made is the first plotline of "Overcoming The Monster" but what makes great horror is when you combine multiple structures into your stories. Using examples of some of the greatest horror films including The Shining, Alien, Rosemarys Baby, Nightbreed, Event Horizon, Night Of the Living Dead, and many others. 

Thursday, October 5th at 4pm is the New England Premiere of our film, Theta States! We will be the first film of the Shawna Shea Memorial Film Festival! Both of us will be on-hand for all three days of the fest, so please come on out to support this wonderful charity and celebrate independent artists and filmmakers. Tickets for the screening are only $10!
#SwagBag https://www.shawnasheaff.com/

You can find the Shawna Shea Memorial Foundation, where donations are welcome, here: http://www.shawnafoundation.org/

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at [email protected] with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.
You can also now follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
#FilmmakingSucks

When your movie is complete, and you've found distribution, there is a list of items that the distributor (or sales agent) will ask for so that they can properly package and sell your film. This is called your Deliverables.

This list contains very specific requirements for your film including the final rendered version, M+E tracks, 5.1 audio, specific codecs, your script, dialogue tracks, and more. Unfortunately, most filmmakers do not know what the list will include until they are presented with a distribution contract, in which case they are then forced to scramble to get it all done, only to realize some they sometimes cannot meet these requirements. This doesn't mean your deal is finished, but it does handcuff your distributor on how far they can push your film. So, this week we will discuss many of the items that are on that list of requirements, and help you to prepare for this list. 

On that list as well, your distributor will ask for the Credit Block, and while most think its just a list of people who worked on the film, it turns out the credit block is something that is a high point of contention and negotiation with actors, producers, directors and all the unions. So, we will explain each piece of the credit block who gets credited, how they get credited, the order they are credited in, and how you can use your credit block to negotiate with your cast and crew. 

October 5th at 4pm has been announced as the official New England Premiere of our film Theta States! We have been selected to be part of the Shawna Shea Foundation Film Festival, and will be the opening film of the festival! Both of us will be on-hand for all three days of the fest, so please come on out to support this wonderful charity and celebrate independent artists and filmmakers. #SwagBag https://www.shawnasheaff.com/

You can find the Shawna Shea Memorial Foundation, where donations are welcome, here: http://www.shawnafoundation.org/

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at [email protected] with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.
We have also (contrary to what was said in this episode) opened our Facebook page, so you can now follow the podcast at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
#FilmmakingSucks

This week on Filmmaking Sucks we discuss some of the low-cost production apps and programs which will help to streamline your production, especially wen shooting with a small crew!

We begin discussing CineSummit 7, which will go live next week, Sept 12&13. Cinesummit presents numerous video lectures and seminars over the course of two days, taught by industry professionals, and is completely free! Check out this great yearly resource of knowledge and information that can help bring your productions to the next level.

After that, if there's one thing you can never have too many of is apps and programs that make production smoother. So we discuss a few of the programs we use ourselves. Some are cheap, some are not, and some are free! We'll discuss what each program does, and how you can utilize it on your next production!

Wednesday, Sept 13th is the premiere screening of our newest short, An Act Of Concession at Neirs Tavern in Woodhaven, Queens! Free to attend, so come on out, see some indie films, along with ours, and #SupportIndieFilm!

October 5th at 4pm has been announced as the official New England Premiere of our film Theta States! We have been selected to be part of the Shawna Shea Foundation Film Festival, and will be the opening film of the festival! Both of us will be on-hand for all three days of the fest, so please come on out to support this wonderful charity and celebrate independent artists and filmmakers. #SwagBag https://www.shawnasheaff.com/

You can find the Shawna Shea Memorial Foundation, where donations are welcome, here: http://www.shawnafoundation.org/

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at [email protected] with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.
We have also (contrary to what was said in this episode) opened our Facebook page, so you can now follow the podcast at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
#FilmmakingSucks

Film is a visual medium, and your Director Of Photography is the person who will bring your visual story to life. They help you craft the story through lenses, angles, lighting, movement and color. But, they are incapable of bringing your vision to life if they are ill-prepared. 

This week, we discuss a few of the basic elements of your film that needs to be decided upon during pre-production, so your DP can do their job efficiently, and create the film you set out to make.

If you are in the NYC area, come on out to Lovecraft Bar NYC on Friday, August 25th and join us for a screening of three of our short films, among many others, as we celebrate the 127th Birthday of HP Lovecraft! #HBHP
https://www.facebook.com/events/718929351624306/permalink/732927853557789/

October 6th-8th has been announced as the official New England Premiere of our film Theta States! We have been selected to be part of the Shawna Shea Foundation Film Festival. Both of us will be on-hand for the weekend, so please come on out to support this wonderful charity and celebrate independent artists and filmmakers. #SwagBag https://www.shawnasheaff.com/

You can find the Shawna Shea Memorial Foundation, where donations are welcome, here: http://www.shawnafoundation.org/

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at [email protected] with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.
We have also (contrary to what was said in this episode) opened our Facebook page, so you can now follow the podcast at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
#FilmmakingSucks

Keeping things low-budget can be difficult, and there are many things indie filmmakers do to stretch their budgets as far as possible. 

This week, we discuss a few of the methods we have used in the past to achieve professional results on an amateur budget. From home-made (and safe!) squibs and blood pumps, how to create a gun muzzle blast with ANY editing software, to inexpensive lighting diffusion and a $5 follow focus. We hit on all of these, plus more items that will help you get that shot you've always wanted, but thought you couldn't afford. 

Come on out to Lovecraft Bar NYC on Friday, August 25th at 6pm and join us for the HP Lovecraft 127th Birthday Party, and check out three of our short films there; Sleepless, The Au Pair and Knock Knock! 

50 Avenue B, New York NY, 10009
$5 entry donation, one drink purchase mine
21+ event.
HORROR Readings 6pm - 9pm
BANDS 9pm -midnight
HORROR ART SHOW/FILMS 6pm - midnight

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at [email protected] with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.
We have also (contrary to what was said in this episode) opened our Facebook page, so you can now follow the podcast at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
#FilmmakingSucks

On most Low and No-Budget films, the director is usually also the writer, and producer, sometimes camera operator and editor as well. With all of these hats to wear, there are a few key components to being a director that you need to know and have to consider before shooting your film. 

There's more to making a film that just writing it then grabbing a bunch of your buddies and calling yourself a director. Wanting to help you make the most out of your limited budget and means, pre-production is a big part of your film, and its not just for producers. Directors answer many important questions during pre-production that will allow them to walk onto the set ready, with a clear head and on a definitive track of what you're getting out of this movie. This week, we discuss some of the duties of the director, and how to mentally prepare yourself for your film, shooting, editing and the release.

We also cover some of the things we have been working on, updates on Lindsays' new film, and a few of the people we've been working with lately, as well as a slight touch on post-production audio. 

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at [email protected] with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.
We have also (contrary to what was said in this episode) opened our Facebook page, so you can now follow the podcast at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
#FilmmakingSucks

Film Races are something we've always enjoyed doing, ever since we began making movies. Our first film race was in 2007 for the Alamo Drafthouse Bloodshots Competition. We have competed in three others since then, we hosted a panel discussion about them at Macabre Faire in 2014, and Manny recently was a judge for the Madison, WI wing of The 48 Hour Film Project contest. 

This week on the podcast, we discuss our time spent competing in these races, how we got the work done, and tell you about the three films we shot over the last two weeks, which have taken up all of our time, which is the reason we haven't had a new episode! haha

If you want to check out our Annabelle-Inspired short at MyAnnabelleCreation.com: go to View Gallery and click the one labeled "Manny S. Woodhaven, NY" and help us get noticed by the Filmchilla Film Festival by posting on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram the hashtags #Filmchilla, #ChillaContest and #ThetaStates, and if you bought a ticket already, or or planning to buy a ticket, please tell them Theta States sent you!

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at [email protected] with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.
We have also (contrary to what was said in this episode) opened our Facebook page, so you can now follow the podcast at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
#FilmmakingSucks

Your first film set can be a big undertaking, and you need to be prepared or your filmmaking journey will be over before it begins.
Where do I shoot?
What do I need?
What should I prepare for?
How many people do I need on my crew?
Who does what??
Do I seriously have to feed everyone?!
Having started out with a 4 person crew years ago, and to this day, we still attempt to keep our crews as small and efficient as possible, we will discuss all of these questions, and more on this episode!

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at [email protected] with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.
We have also (contrary to what was said in this episode) opened our Facebook page, so you can now follow the podcast at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
#FilmmakingSucks