In October of 2004, Pitt in Hollywood helped to send me, Carrie Pavlik, your PIH webmaster, to the Hollywood Film Conference in Hollywood, California. It was a three day event held at the ArcLight Cinemas.
Each day, from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM, consisted of three lectures by a panel of various professional/experienced/supposedly important people. CEOs, presidents of companies, producers, attorneys, agents, editors, PR people, etc. There were people there from Paramount, smaller production and distribution companies, A.C.E., agencies, ASC, UCLA, etc. Some of their work that stood out to me: Donnie Darko, Breakfast Club, Kill Bill.
So I guess I should tell you about what I learned, eh? Alright. The lectures mainly concerned independent films. But by "small budget independent films," they1re talking around $3 million. Everything they said was way beyond where I, or anyone I know, is at, so I figure I'll just share with you what would be most useful to beginners. The three main relevant topics that I picked out were: financing, selling your film to Hollywood, and alternative distribution. So I'll tackle each of those separately.
- Financing
One of the first points they made was that film is not like other arts, in that it costs a lot and is meant to be displayed. Let me explain what I remember and add what I am distorting into my own ideas. Ok, if you like painting, it doesn't cost very much to go buy a canvas and some paint. Now while you may try to sell/display your work, you probably just do it for your own personal enjoyment. But with film, one must make a huge investment, and enjoyment does not necessarily come from making the film, but by distributing it for others to view. Yet, this distribution is way harder than other art exhibits. So even after you spend all your money, only a few people may see it, and they may hate it, so you deem it a failure and shove it in your closet. The truth is though, that most independent films, even those that are semi-successful, do not actually make any profit. So get that idea out of your head.Alright friend, so are you ready to make films just for your own enjoyment and to gain experience?! Alright! For small films that we might make, you'll probably just need enough money for a camera, equipment, film/tape, and editing stuff. That couple thousand will probably have to come from your own pocket. Or credit card. (You could also take a class at the Pittsburgh Filmmakers Institute or join Pitt's TV station, UPTV, and borrow some of their stuff.)
The conference didn't deal with productions that small though. On the next step up, the best option for raising money is the old fashioned way - donations! Gather up money from your friends and family. Target rich doctors and lawyers. (For some reason, they said that dentists are always a good source!) Go beg on the streets or hit up your professors, for all I care. Don1t think this it's possible to raise enough money from simply begging? Remember that clip from Cannibal the Musical I showed at that one meeting? That movie was made by the South Park creators when they were 21 year old college students, during spring break! They raised $20,000 simply by asking rich people for money. (Don't ask how I know this much information, but if anyone ever wants to chitchat about South Park/Trey Parker, you know who to come to!)
Along those same lines, you can also get private investors. It's the same thing - asking friends, family, doctors, lawyers, dentists - BUT you1re promising to pay them back (and then some) if your movie makes money. They recommended promising a 110% return. Like I said though, most indies don1t make any money, so this is not a safe investment. So why do doctors and lawyers donate or invest in movies then? For the glam! That's it. End of story.
Another interesting tidbit that you guys will like - product placement. Now, while only major major films can actually get financing through product placement, smaller films may be able to get free food/pop/beer to feed/hydrate/reward your crew!
Alright, here begins info on some other options that are probably beyond our level right now, but it's still interesting to look at. They used the term "soft money" to refer to money you don't have to pay back. Along with your own investment and donations, another option is seeking out locations where you will receive monetary benefits. You can actually receive tax breaks, straight up cash, or production help by making a movie in areas that want to bring in the movie industry. Sometimes you have to make a movie about that state/country, or fill crew quotas and such, but sometimes not. A couple of places they mentioned were: Louisiana, Hawaii, Canada, the Isle of Mann, and other various countries. I would not recommend any of you, however, to fly your crew to the Isle of Mann, because that would probably cost more than what your budget was to begin with.
Another option is bank loans. For this to happen, however, you need to have a complete script, a notable actor/director, and a contract of some sort. I imagine you also need good credit. (So if you do use a credit card to pay for production now, make sure to pay it back so you can get bank loans later!)
Finally there's production companies and agents and such that might fund your project. For example, there were representatives from Lightning Entertainment and Regent Entertainment at the conference. More about what these companies look for below.
- Selling your film to Hollywood
Alright, so you're ready to go big time, eh? Not so fast. There are several problems that often trip up beginning filmmakers. First, there's technology. Consumer digital video cameras today are pretty good. And anyone can hop onto a computer to edit. The result? A lot of bad films. Oops. Second problem, "film fundamentalism." This is the state of mind where you think your film is superawesome and everything is going great, making you blind to major flaws that other people may see. Third, is momentum. If you1re so tied up with flying to the Isle of Mann, filling crew quotas, wooing famous actors, making sure the weather is perfect, getting loans, closing this deal, meeting that deadline, etc etc, you may lose the whole artful purpose that drove you to make this film in the first place. Teardrop.So how to get around these glitches? What are producers/agencies/distributors looking for? You won't believe this, but Carl was right! The two main things the conference people seemed to stress were a good story and good contacts. Rewrite that script until it is great. Make people excited about it. Set it apart from the rest. Then, there are the contacts. You usually can't just mail in your script to these places. And if you do, they1re going to just end up in a drawer/garbage can with a bunch of other scripts that people have sent in. A lot of times, you just need to know someone for your script to even get looked at. Good luck. Another way to draw attention to your production is to have a good cast or director. Between major blockbusters, some stars like to redeem themselves by acting in indies. There's examples of this all the time. But I don't feel like thinking of one right now.
- Alternative Distribution
So you don1t have the money or desire to take the Hollywood route? That's ok. There are other ways for people to see your movie. (These are all great ways to get Hollywood's attention, as well.)The best way for one of us would be the film festival. There's festivals around Pittsburgh all the time. Not only can you entertain your peers, but Hollywood people also seek out these types of events. I think sometimes monetary prizes are involved in some of these things as well, but I may be making that up.
Other options include going straight to video, selling it to specific TV channels (e.g. HD Net, Lifetime, Sci-fi), or posting it on the internet (e.g. www.customflicks.com, www.buyindieflicks.com). Probably in the future, there will also be some sort of interactive on-demand type deal where any film ever made can be conjured up to watch. Cool.
So those are some of the major points I learned. Hooray. So besides this conference, the Hollywood Film Festival was going on at the same time in ArcLight. I wasn't supposed to be able to get in with my pass, but there were so few people going to the screenings that they let me in to several of them! I saw Forbidden Warrior (directed by a Pittsburgher who was excited to learn that I was a Pittsburgh as well. if anyone is interested, he would eagerly come speak!), Last Day on Earth, and part of Peaches. I also saw some shorts: Dysmorpho, The Two, and some others that I forget. I had coffee with the guys who had The Little Match Girl in the festival as well.
So there ya go. I felt obligated to first tell you about the film conference and festival before I told you about the rest of my Hollywood experience. But now I will do that, so bear with me. The weather was really nice the first two days. Then it rained and I got soaked. Apparently I brought Pittsburgh with me, because some people I was talking to said it hadn't rained in over six months. My goal was to not spend money, so, I lived off of coffee and granola bars for five days. My hotel was on Sunset, but it was in kind of a scrungy area and I had to walk everywhere alone, so that was a little freaky, but oh well.
Actually, Hollywood wasn1t anything like what I thought it would be. I was expecting something more like Las Vegas, I guess. Flashy lights and gold buildings and such. But it1s really not like that at all. Not a lot of tall buildings or anything. Not really that much touristy stuff to do either. Along Hollywood Blvd, there's the Walk of Fame, the Grauman1s Chinese Mann1s Theater (really pretty!), the Hollywood Highland mall, and some stores/giftshops, and not much more. (Well, I guess my problem was that there wasn't a lot to do if you don't want to spend money!) There was a premiere going on one night at the Chinese Theater for some Christmas movie with Ben Affleck. The street was blocked off and there was a big Christmas set, and lots reporters and such. I stood around and watched a little bit.
In general, people were really nice! I've never had so many random people come up to me, talk to me, buy me coffee and such. (God forbid anyone in Pittsburgh talk to each other! Actually, I have a friend here at Pitt who's from L.A. and I never really knew what she meant when she said people from Pennsylvania were "social retards" until now.) It was actually a little overwhelming and I kept having to dodge off a few weirdo stalkers. Don't know if it's cause people move out there and don't know anyone, so they're lonely, or people are just always on the lookout to "network."
The conference went to 5:00 PM everyday, so I had to squeeze in a lot during the evenings. The first night, I went to a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live. It was pretty funny. The guest that night was Andy Dick, in case anyone was watching.
Of course, I was obligated to go see Team America on opening night! Hilarious. Not quite up to South Park standards, but hilarious. The best part was being packed into a theater with a bunch of other South Park idiots. Everyone was so into the movie - cheering, laughing, screaming. It made it so much fun!
I really wanted to go on some sort of touristy tour for tourists, so I could see the sights and figure out what there was to do. I had problems with this one company though, because they kept canceling my reservations and telling me misinformation and blah blah blah. Finally, on my second to last day, I got to go on my tour. It was cool. We saw the Hollywood sign. We drove around Muholland Drive, which was an awesome curvy road up through the hills. It was so pretty and landscaped. The busdriver pointed out celebrity homes too. Then we went to Beverly Hills. It was also really pretty. More Hollywoodish than the area I was staying. Unfortunately, I don't have very many pictures from the trip. I brought a disposable camera, which I don't normally use. I think it was the combination of a crappy camera plus the fact that I wasn't used to having to remember to turn on the flash, that led to only a handful of gray grainy photos. Oh well. Somehow, though, I managed to take a panoramic picture! How this happened is beyond me, but I'd better enjoy it, since I probably paid a lot for it. Oh, it's of the inside of a bathroom. Awesome.
Also, our PIH co-president, Nate, forced his brother (who also went to Pitt and now lives in L.A.) to hang out with me. I had a blast with Nate's brother, cousin, and all of their friends (another one of which was a Pitt alum). They let me tag along with them and they even drove me to the Santa Monica Pier just so I could say that I made it all the way to the coast! Without acquaintances, transportation, or money, my evenings definitely would have been a lot less funner without all of them. And yes, funner is a word. I really had such a great time. Believe me, on that last morning, it was hard to get out of bed, pack, and hop a plane back to the Burgh, where a huge paper and test awaited me. I definitely had a leftover energy buzz the week after, though, so that was cool.
My final thoughts on the conference and Hollywood in general are this - If you're looking for the glitz and glam of Hollywood, then go to the theater and watch a movie. Everything looks better when it's edited together, and even the town of Hollywood itself isn1t all it's cracked up to be. (It doesn't matter where you live, it1s how you live. If you can't have fun in a small boring town, then you're not a fun person.) Even the Ben Affleck premiere was just set up for the media to edit together into something that looked cooler than it was. The whole film process is a lot less glamorous - mostly financing and business. This could be a job like any other. But if you do have that spark, then take this wild ride and trick people into paying you for doing something you love.
Questions, Comments, Anybody want to go back to L.A. with me? Anyone wanto to give me a job? Email: cap12@pitt.edu