Table of Contents
This book will cover everything about production from the initial movie idea, all the way through pre-production and up to the first day of principal photography. Each chapter will include examples and material culled from interviews with filmmakers I know & have worked with, including Eli Roth (Director, Cabin Fever & Hostel), James Gunn, (Writer, Dawn of the Dead, Writer/Director, Slither), and Steven Paul (Producer, Ghost Rider, currently no. 1 in the box office), as well as low-budget filmmakers, all of whom have films currently in distribution. These filmmakers represent all of the 4 different models of independent filmmaking, as outlined in Chapter 1:
1. The 4 Types of Independent Films--Know What Damn Movie You're Making!
-No Budget Model ($1K - $25K)
-Credit Card Model ($25K - $250K)
-Troma Business Model ($50K - $500K)
--Indie Cross-National Model ($500K - $5 Million)
2. Tailor your script to your film ? Write Your Own Damn Movie!
-Tailor your script to your budget (e.g., Micro-budget films often don't even have scripts)
-Do I need actors attached?
-Writing & re-writing
3. Finding Investors: Please Pay for My Damn Movie!
-Mom & Dad, your local dentist
-Arts Service Non-profits (e.g., Fractured Atlas)--make donations to your film tax-deductible !
-Writing proposals & grants
-Filming a trailer
-International co-productions
-forming an LLC (leads to Chapter 4)
4. Legal stuff --forming an LLC, insurance, copyright issues
-Forming an LLC
-Production insurance
-Interviews with entertainment lawyers
5. Locations--Can Tijuana pass for New York City?
-Using government incentives to your advantage
-Shooting on location vs. in studio
-Contacting the local film commission
-Location scouting
6. Crew
-Determine needs: Will there be special FX? Stunts? Pyro? Or just Jimmy the PA watching camera equipment?
-Union or non-union?
-Craigslist, myspace, college campuses--great sources for the young, cheap, and horribly inexperienced
-Find a DP & camera crew
7. Costumes, Props, Special FX
-Getting as much for free as you can from local businesses
-Product placement & $ponsors
8. Cast
-Casting calls, callbacks,-- narrowing the field
-Names vs. unknowns
-Organizing a rehearsal schedule
-Always have plan B, C, & D
9. Getting ready for principal photography
-Setting a date
-Making a realistic shooting schedule
-Timing the script
-Housing
-Location permits & staging areas
-Craft services
10. Filmmaker interviews / stories / advice
-No Budget Model: Giuseppe Andrews (Director, Trailer Town, Actor, Detroit Rock City, Cabin Fever, & Independence Day)
and Chris Watson (Director, Zombiegeddon)
-Credit Card Model: Caleb Emerson (Director, Die You Zombie Bastards)
-Troma Business Model: POULTRYGEIST: Night of the Chicken Dead
-Indie Cross-National Model
