| | NO-BUDGET FILMS AT A THEATER (AND/OR TV) NEAR YOU
I wanted to let you know about a number of no-budget films that are playing or coming out soon. As is typical these days, many of these films are either going out straight-to-VOD or doing some kind of small theatrical in conjunction with their VOD/DVD release. We should all make an effort to see these films--especially as close to their opening dates as possible. This support strengthens the marketplace for all of us, making it possible for our films to have a place to be on display in the future. And nothing will give you more inspiration to make your no-budget film than to see someone else pull it off. Yes, it is possible! * |
| 4 Nights In The Hamptons
You may have seen Michael Knowles' previous feature, The Trouble With Bliss, on Showtime, where it has been playing for a couple of years. Or if you've taken my class, you'll be familiar with his invention, the Atlas Camera Support, which I usually give away in my raffle. Michael is a multi-talented writer, producer, actor, director and inventor. He also teaches writing and acting classes. Rather than wait around for money to make his follow-up to Bliss, he decided to write something he could make for nearly no money. Set in mostly one location and with only four actors, (one of whom was Michael), 4 Nights In The Hamptons was shot for $25,000 in 12 days with a 5-man crew. The principle location was a beautiful house in the Hamptons that Michael rented after emailing about 100 places. Cast and crew lived in the house during the shoot--it had 7 bedrooms and 5 baths. The four actors--all SAG--rehearsed extensively prior to shooting, even though two lived in New York and two (including Michael) lived in Los Angeles, (they used Skype). It was shot 2-camera using RED Scarlets, mostly with natural light, except for a few small lights for the night work. The crew consisted of a DP, sound person, AC/PA and a camera op for B-camera. Michael's wife was also on hand to cook meals for everyone (and take care of their infant son during the day). They rehearsed for 2 days on set before shooting.
Michael edited the film himself and raised an additional $15,000 for post using Kickstarter. Rather than play a bunch of festivals like he did with Bliss, he decided to just get the provocative film out as quickly as he could on as many platforms as he could. He showed the film to Gravitas Ventures, who he had worked with on 3 previous films, and they agreed to release it on VOD. The film is now available via numerous cable providers, (in 100 million homes--click here for a list), on iTunes, Vudu, and on his own VHX site. To entice audiences to rent or buy from him using VHX, Michael is making his three previous features available for free to buyers. This is an example of the kind of creative incentives filmmakers are using to encourage folks to purchase from them directly. Not only do filmmakers collect a much bigger chunk of the revenue, and pretty close to immediately, they also collect the buyers' names and email addresses, to use for future projects. If you're skeptical about what a film can look like when it's shot this way, I encourage you to check it out. These days, it certainly doesn't take thousands and thousands of dollars and a big crew with lots of equipment to make something look good! |
| King of Herrings
If you attended my May 2013 class, you're very familiar with the story behind Eddie Jemison's terrific King of Herrings, as Eddie was a guest speaker in that class. I met Eddie a few weeks before the class when we both attended the Phoenix Film Festival, where Eddie won the Breakthrough Director Award, (with co-director Sean Richardson) for Herrings. I immediately recognized Eddie from his acting work with Steven Soderbergh (namely all the Ocean movies) and his role on HBO's Hung. Eddie had never written or directed before, but an acting class piece he wrote turned into a feature script, and rather than wait around for the $150k that was budgeted for the film by a friend, Eddie took $6,500 that he raised on Kickstarter, plus another $3,500 of his own money, and went to New Orleans to shoot Herrings no-budget style. At that budget level, they paid for nearly nothing. One element they did spend money on was production sound, paying their sound person $150/day. Besides sound, the crew consisted of Sean (who shot and edited the film), Eddie, (who also plays one of the leads), and Eddie's longtime friend, actor John Meese. That was it. Sean shot the film on a Canon 5D DSLR with a few borrowed pieces of equipment. The actors were all friends and though it was shot using the SAG Ultra-Low Budget contract, the actors donated their pay back to the production. Rather than shoot in one location like 4 Days In The Hamptons, Eddie shot all over town, begging, borrowing and stealing locations.
After editing the film for about a year, the group met again in New Orleans for pickups, which cost another $5k. Total cost of the film, including music, post sound and festival fees, was $25k. I asked Eddie if he learned anything from working with Soderbergh that he applied to making Herrings. Here are a few quick insights: work with friends; no one stands around not working, (if you're not working on the film, you're working against it); nothing is precious; forward momentum is everything; continuity is for pussies; and don't be afraid to improvise in the moment--plan ahead of time, but go with your instincts.
Herrings is coming out January 20th through Devolver Digital. It will be available on cable VOD and on iTunes on the 20th, and then several other platforms later. |
| The Sublime And Beautiful
Veteran character actor Blake Robbins was ready for a change when he took my class a few years ago. After working on numerous feature films, in countless commercials, and on several popular TV shows, he wanted to step up his game and take control over his already successful career. After completing my two-day The Art & Science of No-Budget Filmmaking class, he took his script and some money raised on Kickstarter and went to Lawrence Kansas to film The Sublime And Beautiful. I will write more about the making of this film in a future email, and we will cover it extensively when Blake speaks in my upcoming February 28th class. Suffice to say, the film was shot for a little over $20k and ultimately premiered in Dramatic Competition at the 2014 Slamdance Film Festival. After playing numerous festivals and winning 8 awards, it was recently released by Candy Factory Distribution, first playing in a few cities theatrically and now on iTunes and Vimeo On Demand. Other platforms are coming. This is a beautiful and brutally honest film about grief, with an actor's appreciation for strong performances and subtle details. |
| OTHER FILMS TO MENTION...
Another former No Budget Film School student, writer/producer Ron Jackson has announced that his award-winning film 5 Hour Friends, which he made after attending my class a couple of years ago, is coming out on February 3rd through Gravitas. It will be released on cable VOD in nearly all of the top 25 MSO's, and will be available on most of the other popular VOD platforms, like iTunes, Amazon, Google, Vudo, etc.
If you like Indie Sci-Fi, you won't want to miss The Phoenix Project, which was released this past Friday by Film Buff. Currently playing in Los Angeles (through this Thursday) at the Arena Theater and in 10 other cities, the no-budget film was shot on the RED with money raised on Kickstarter and has played numerous sci-fi festivals over the past year. A kind of Frankenstein, by way of Primer, it's also available on iTunes and numerous other VOD platforms.
Another award-winner at the Phoenix Film Festival, and at many other festivals, Life Inside Out opened this past Friday at the Quad in New York, following a successful, held-over run in Los Angeles. Producer Tessa Bell and star Maggie Baird, who co-wrote the film, will be on hand for Q&A's after each show; the film closes on the 22nd. Another project successfully funded via Kickstarter, I consulted a bit on it and am incredibly proud of the result. This should be available on VOD later this year. |
| NO-BUDGET FILM SCHOOL GUEST SPEAKERS IN THE NEWS...
I'd like to give a quick shout-out to several former NBFS guest speakers with new projects. Congrats to Sean Baker, Craig Zobel, and Joel Viertel for getting their new films--Tangerine, Z for Zachariah, and Zipper, respectively--into Sundance. I'm looking forward to catching them all when I hit Park City later this week. And, I really enjoyed the new HBO series Togetherness, co-created by Jay Duplass, who also appears as an actor in the Golden Globe winning Amazon series Transparent. |
| FINAL REMARKS...
I want to give a final shout-out to No-budget Filmmaking itself. One of the first films that inspired me to make no-budget films in the first place, when I caught it at the River Oaks Theater in Houston in the Summer of 1991, was Rick Linklater's Slacker. Linklater's film was part of a new movement of American Independent films, shot on 16mm for practically nothing, and demonstrating big ideas over big production values. Along with El Mariachi and Clerks, Slacker convinced me it was possible to make a film myself with money I already had, rather than chasing down money and talent I was likely never going to get access to. I was still an executive at Next Wave Films in 2002 when IFC, who financed our company, announced their plans for a unique, new Linklater project, one the filmmaker planned to shoot over a 12 year period. It was exciting to see my old boss Jonathan Sehring accept the Golden Globe for Boyhood last weekend, and I feel strongly about its chances for winning Best Picture at next month's Oscars. It would not only be a triumph for low-budget independent filmmaking, but also for big ideas over big production values.
This is one of the ideas I try to instill in every one of my students. * My upcoming class doesn't just teach you the techniques and principles of successful no-budget filmmaking, it inspires you to apply them. It gives energy and air to ideas and shows you a new way to invoke your creativity. I can't promise you'll be the next Chris Nolan or Rick Linklater, but I can promise my class will give you the tools and inspiration to go out and give it a try. I look forward to seeing you February 28th! (And don't forget to use your Promotional Code SUBS to save 20%)!
Best,
Mark |
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