FIRST REFUSAL

DON'T CALL THEM "REJECTIONS"

     If you've done the research and really understood how political Film Festivals can be and the number of variables there are, it's easier to deal with not getting accepted. Big places like to deal with people who they've worked with before or big names, some festivals wind up with a "theme," some just have too many submissions and your movie got in after they'd programmed all of the slots... In fact, the reasons are so varied, that not getting into a Festival isn't necessarily a Rejection of the work so much as your film not "fitting" that year or in that particular Fest.

     I bring this up, of course, because we just got our first refusal - from LIFT-OFF LOS ANGELES FESTIVAL - one of a series of "LIFT-OFF" Festivals around the world. If this was the very first place to get back to us, I'd maybe be taking it hard, but I'm pretty okay with the movie, so I'm chalking this up to "Millions of movies, specific criteria, fifty slots" kind of thing. They sent a well-worded form email being generally supportive, and you could always pay for specific feedback if you wanted it, but no.

     And call it schadenfreude or even thinking too much, but I watched AMERICAN MOVIE again today and wow..... wow. There's a lot to be impressed by in that movie and a lot to pity. Most of all, keeping that passionate energy and drive and determination will get anything completed - as long as you're working with supportive people and, honestly, know what you're doing in terms of telling  story. Mark Borchardt is a guy who really knew how to shoot film and frame some shots, but in terms of storytelling, he's a mess. But who cares? The fact is, he talked a great game, and was ultimately really supportive of people (unless that was part of the great game, but I doubt it).

     I've been thinking about what to do next, in terms of shooting a film. Between some small ideas and some big ideas, I found that I'm not passionate enough about anything yet. I have more than enough on my plate right now with two short plays and directing "This Is Our Youth" for the NoHo Fringe in October, but I always want to have the answer to "what are you working on?"

     "Getting sleep" is the current answer.

FIRST DISCOURAGING FESTIVAL RULE!!

SXSW AND "I AM NOT A TECH GUY"

     Well, this is frustrating...

     Just upgraded my vimeo account ($60 a year) to have a streaming password-protected copy of the movie online - this was mainly because Jonny had "Streaming and Downloadable Copy of The Movie" as a Kickstarter award, but I discovered that South By Southwest only accepts films that are streaming on vimeo. So, cool! No more Film Freeway or Withoutabox for this one, I can go directly to the source!

     So I looked at all of the info for submissions (the usual $40 for short films, have the vimeo streamer available, they'll set aside hotel rooms for you if you get it - not pay for them, mind you, that kind of thing) and then I took a look at how SXSW accepts films to be shown at the festival.

     It's called DCP or Digital Cinema Package. This is a very specific package which gives your film the best resolution possible in 2K or 4K by upgrading everything, even if it wasn't necessarily shot in 2 or 4K. It requires downloading a free program (so that's alright), and then basically being a technical wizard going through forty thousand steps transforming the movie into TIFF images, then to JPEG 2000s before getting original audio source files into a Surround format--

     That's when I stopped watching the "How To" video. I even found a way to do this on FCPX, but considering how much technical work this requires (and files that I may not even have), I may just have to skip the whole festival. Part of me thinks this is ridiculous and I should never give up  chance to get into a festival, and the other part of me thinks that in the middle of doing all this work, I'll find out I don't even have enough space on my external hard drive and I'll wind up getting screwed anyway.

     A quick chat with my buddy Chris Hill (professional awesome editor guy) sent me to easydcp.com while he told me, "Yeah, it'll probably cost around $3000-$6000 for a DCP."  After telling him about this workaround I found online, his immediate reaction was "chances are it won't work well and will be unusable." And knowing my technical expertise, that sounds about right. The other option is buying a DaVinci Resolve plug-in (also for a few grand) that apparently has an "Easy DCP" button.  BUTTON.  Like, press a button, get a coffee, DCP ready.  Worth buying with a group of filmmakers is my thought....

     So, this is annoying. Obviously, I can't complain too much - if this is the way movies are headed and some festivals have certain technical aspects, so be it, but I know my limits. I've taught myself a lot of technical things over the last few years, but I'm a storyteller, not a tech guy. That's why my initial toe-dip into the world of becoming an AE (which I did because I thought I was going to get married.... long story...), was simply a toe-dip: I can shuffle footage around to tell an interesting story, but I'm not into the gear, file formats, etc. Which also means that I shouldn't kick myself when I don't know or understand technical stuff and can't just "do it all myself."  I'm just not that guy. Which is okay.

     But if anybody wants to buy me a full-on DaVinci Resolve and ten years of access to AfterEffects and Photoshop, I won't be sad.

FIRST.... um... ok SECOND ACCEPTANCE!

TWO DOWN!

    DEPTH OF FIELD is another monthly online film festival!  That's two in two days! Good start! A quick look at the website actually makes it seem pretty low-budget and a little, shall we say, "Scammy." It's a REALLY poorly designed 90's-style website with scrolling graphics and some poorly produced Vimeo videos of a woman on a green screen "news-type" background with "newsy" music explaining the rules and regs and how the festival is linked to World Wide Motion Pictures Corp in Huntington Beach, CA who may offer to distribute the movie.

     Obviously, this is a lower tier festival, touting that "unlike other film festivals that play your movie in a theatre where only the cast and crew might see it, we put it on the web and market it to our large email list of interested viewers!"   ......yeah, well, honestly, I'd rather see my movie alone in a theatre. That guarantees that it has, y'know, played in a theatre. Nice that you promise that no, really, you've got people watching on the internet, but I have no way of knowing.

     BUT! I'm not trying to be negative, just wary. Online monthly Festivals could very well simply take anything that came with a poster so they can fill up on content. And of course, while the two festivals have their own judges, they, too, have Audience Awards.

     In theory, Audience Awards are great. It's like People's Choice Awards: the idea that the consumer likes your work is most important. But ONLINE Audience Awards?  Not so much. Because most of the movies aren't streaming so that they can be in contention for other festivals, so if they win an Audience Award, it's simply because they've arranged for tons of friends, family, or multiple email addresses to vote sight-unseen. Which is a ludicrous reason to win an award, unless it's for "Organizing A Blind Committee."

     But whatever. We're in two festivals, we have two laurels, and now we sit back and wait to see which PHYSICAL Festivals we get into!!

     Do I have a Wish List?  Of course.

     "Anything" is a good start, but I'm actually pretty sure we'll get into at least two or three of the 26 or 28 to which we've applied. (I mean, two MORE!) So as far as Dream Scenario?

     Sundance, obviously. Not just because of name recognition, but because I had SUCH a great time going last year! (Slam dance for same reason.)
   
     Kerry or UK Film Fests, as I want a reason to go to London or Ireland.

     Victoria Film Festival, as I want a reason to go to Canada.

     SXSW or Austin Film Festival because I had a blast in Austin a few years back for the music festival.

     North Hollywood Cineast, as it's close to a lot of my friends and would be a great way to get a large group to see the movie in a theatre.

     Something in Baltimore, New York, or Pittsburgh. Just so I can head back home and see family and friends - and the movie!

     And Carmel Valley, as I want to go up and hang out in wine country.

     But really, I'll be very happy with any place: New Hampshire, Colorado, Oregon, North Carolina, any of the places we applied.  Traveling and seeing the movie in Festivals wasn't at all the reason we made it, but it's a nice icing.


ADDENDUM 8/10/15!

     We just went from "Official Selection" to "Official Nomination"!  Which, I guess, means we weren't nominated for anything before? Just selected? Selected for what? To be nominated? Is this like a teaser trailer for a teaser to a trailer?  Confused.

     Regardless! Always nice to have a little something extra.

FIRST SPREADSHEETS

PREP YOUR INFO!

   I am not a detail perslon.

     I don't notice the little things often, as I'm too concerned with the Big Picture. And when I DO notice the details, it's usually because I've convinced myself (or it's true) that if I don't, there will be serious repercussions (like failing Algebra and not going to college....).

     I've gotten better at this and certainly for work related things or the movie, I get more specific. One of the ways this has manifested has been the FILM FESTIVAL SPREADSHEET.  Everybody's got a spreadsheet program these days (that sounds like an obscure Beatles song), and once you've gone through the hassle of setting it up from scratch, it becomes fun and (dare I say it?) exciting to fill out.

     As I pressed the "Submit" button over and over on both Withoutabox and FilmFreeway, I realized I should maybe keep track of where I had submitted, especially if they would need a DVD or digital copy sent.  So the Spreadsheet began.

     I highly recommend this for a number of reasons, many of which are probably self-explanatory based on the graphic, but if you'd like detail:

     This originally began because I could spend more time online than my producer, and I wanted to get a nice list of festivals that we could then discuss and decide where to submit. I separated between WITHOUTABOX and FILMFREEWAY - who knows if there would be submission problems or I'd have things to fill out later based on how I submitted? I then started a list of all the festivals I wanted to submit to. It was just a laundry list in the first column, appropriately titled "FESTIVAL." It was just a wish list of options to discuss.

     DUE DATE was actually next. That's how to keep the spreadsheet in order: BY ORDER OF DUE DATE - you'll always know what's coming up next. You can put festivals on "Watch Lists" on the sites which will then email you, but it's good to have your own stuff together as well.

     PRICE is important for records, especially if you're splitting costs. Make note of who paid, and you can then settle up afterward. Or if you'll be doing a fundraiser afterward, you'll know how much to ask for!

     Note when you SUBMITTED and what the RESPONSE DATE is. The first is so if anything goes awry, you have a specific date of when your film was submitted, the next is so you don't go crazy wondering "why haven't they contacted me? Have they got my movie? Do they not like it?" If the response date is December and it's now August, don't even think about contacting the festival unless you personally know someone. (Just my opinion, but I always err on the side of "Don't bug people, especially if there's nothing really to be done.")

     Keep your TRACKING NUMBER - it's even more important than the date you submitted. With a  tracking number, if anything goes wrong, you have solid proof that you submitted and you can either get refunded or your movie resubmitted for free. (On that note, once again, submit EARLY so that any issues can be addressed before the festival judges and viewers are tired and want to kill people for submitting more films.)

     I also made a column for media type. Do they want a DVD, a Blu-Ray? A Digital copy? Often this information wasn't available, but when it was, I made sure I notated - a lot of festivals tend to ask for two copies of your movie on DVD. This may change in the future to video drives and encrypted USBs.

     Finally, the FESTIVAL DATE and ADDRESS. Knowing in advance if you can or cannot attend a festival based on date and location is important. Not attending a festival where your movie is playing isn't the kiss of death (for short films, at least), but it certainly seems wise (and fun!) to attend as many as possible, or connect friends or family local to a Festival to go in your stead.

     I'm a fan of highlighting completed transactions so they don't get confused on the page, also of continuing to list upcoming Festivals that may or may not even have a due date yet. This is why so many people say that going to Festivals is a year-long or sometimes two-year affair. Two years seems way too long to me.  Hell, eight months seems too long, but let's assume you're working on your next film at some point in there. ;)

 

FIRST ACCEPTANCE!

WE'RE IN!

    LOS ANGELES CINEFEST is a monthly online film festival which gives prizes for Shorts, Short Docs, Trailers, Features, and Feature Docs. Of course, because there are many other Festivals that don't want you to have your film on the web, most people choose to keep their film offline and just let the judges award the films. However, there's also an Audience Award - these are voted on by home viewers. So really, this means that whoever has the biggest social media presence, they win an award, even if they don't stream their film online. Plus, hey, it's a MONTHLY Festival, so they always need material. In fact, thinking about it, this is a genius business model: use Weebly to create a site, allow advertisements, spend a few bucks for access to Film Freeway and one or two other sites as well as paying a few "film professionals" for your voting panel and rake in cash - the filmmakers provide you with links to posters and the films so you don't use up bandwidth, and you get a few hundred bucks a month or more in submissions.

     While my initial reaction may seem a bit cynical, I'm actually super excited! Getting a laurel is super validating and this is the first response we've gotten from a Festival - and it was YES! So really, this is a good thing all around. My mother, of course, is certain that we are going to win, but I actually don't care about that. As far as I'm concerned, we did it and now we just wait for the next response dates which are August 15 (LOS ANGELES LIFT-OFF FESTIVAL) and August 18 (OUT ON FILM in Atlanta)!

     Speaking of knowing when the response dates are:

     

FIRST VIEWING!

FINANCIERS DESERVE
THEIR OWN SCREENING

    Like many independent projects these days, we used Kickstarter to fund our movie. Rewards ranged from Thank You videos and online copies of the film, to T-shirts and signed blow-up dolls (from the movie.... or the most random reward ever) and we even offered to throw you your own Reunion!  (That was for $7000.  In hindsight, knowing that our movie ultimately cost about $8000 including Post and reshoots, unless we had sold that one AND $3000 in other rewards, perhaps not the best idea. But if you'd like to give $7000 now, I will still gladly throw you a reunion and show you my next movie that I make with it!)

     Because many of the backers lived in or near Los Angeles, we were able to throw a party at Jonny's house to thank them, show them the movie, and drink. (But hey, who needs an excuse for THAT?) We'd saved almost all of the decorations from the movie, so we decorated the place appropriately to recreate the atmosphere.

Jonny prepping the screen.

Costume and set pieces chillin'.

     This was one of the more rewarding experiences of the whole process. It's been a few weeks since we officially finished and I'm far enough away now that i can enjoy the movie again. But still, it hasn't been in front of an audience - we've had individuals view it and one viewing party for five or six people to discuss what was and was not working in the edit, but not a whole audience watching finished product. 

     I knew most of the people there, many very well, so it was a relaxed party atmosphere, and the vodka punch was helping whatever stress I may have been feeling. My cinematographer was unable to make it, but we had Charlie, our lead actor; Harry, my A.D. (and fill-in director for one scene); our Associate Producers; and some P.A./background people, plus backers and some very close friends. 

     After about forty-five minutes of catching up with people, I ushered everyone into the living room and gave a quick "Oh my God, Thank You, guys, we LITERALLY could not have done this without you" speech (all very true) and handed it off to Jonny, who did some of the same.

Our first audience.

Jonny toasting our backers. 

     Then, we watched the movie.

     Charlie hadn't seen it since we had a very rough cut late last year and we'd done some significant work on it since. He was standing with his wife (one of our casting directors) and me in the back. So when HE laughed along with the crowd, I knew we had done something right. We got all the appropriate laughter and "awww"s in all the right places, and the requisite applause afterward. Then, back to drinking.

     I had three important interactions after that: the first was Jonny's uncle David who was one of the Associate Producers. He was very happy and impressed, so it was great to please one of the financial backers and family members - nothing worse than someone financially and emotionally connected watching something they helped fund say "Well, I didn't get it, but glad you guys had fun..."

     Next was Alyson, my good friend Geoffrey's girlfriend who also happens to work in the Festival world and watches tons of these things. She was impressed and remarked about not only how the story was complete, but that there was a lot of heart. These were the two most important things for me, as Jonny's goal was to make a movie that had a true story (beginning, middle, end, and JOURNEY) and that it, even at twelve minutes, made you care about the character and what happened to him.

     Then was my color correctionist who, in my opinion, took this movie and made it something truly great. Never underestimate how sound and color can tell a story on their own. The subtle tweaks and major shifts in color changed the way I saw the story, in a way that I had planned and hoped when in pre-production, but had faded into the background since. There was ONE shot where I noticed a problem a while back and I mentioned this to her after the screening - and she hadn't noticed it. And since everyone involved in a movie tends to pay the most attention to what they were involved in (ask a costumer how the movie was and you get "splendid! Those dresses looked spectacular," etc.), I was happy that she was involved enough in the story that she even missed the one scene that needed her help.

     Possibly most importantly, Charlie was really happy. I asked if he would be interested in attending a Festival if we got in and he responded quickly with "Absolutely. Wherever and whenever you need me." I've gone on a terrific night-long drinking binge with Charlie, so a Festival will be amazing...

Moi, Charlie, and Jonny