IMPORTANT DATES FOR THE CENTRAL FLORIDA FILM FESTIVAL -
Early Bird Submissions _ February 1, 2018 thru March 7, 2018
Regular Entries March 8th, thru April 11th
Late Entry Period - April 12th, thru May 16th
Film Freeway Extended Deadline May 17th, thru May 31st...
I've been asked many times how we select films and how filmmakers should go about selecting a film festival that may be right for the promotion of their film. In a perfect world where all films are created equal how will you stand out and how will you eliminate yourself from becoming an official selection for the festival of your liking.
I've always preached that there are only two reasons to make a film. The first is to make money and the second to win awards. Sometimes winning awards will enhance the marketability of your film helping you to make money. Don't lose sight of the fact that becoming an official selection to a film festival enhances the value of your film. Your film at the same time should enhance the program of the film festival. How does your film rate with other films in the same category. Look for a festival and take a look at previous finalists and winners.
Everyone thinks their film is good enough to get into Sundance. That's why Sundance receives over five thousand film entries each year. Two or three percent of these entries get into the festival. if you have limited funds for festival fees make sure you have a fighting chance to get in. Festivals of two weeks or more need more films than say a four day film festival. Check out festivals in your home state. Most states have at least one and many have several. Check out what you get for your entry fee. We provide (if asked) those films that do not become an official selection a critique letting the filmmakers know where their film fell short. We believe the critique alone is worth the entry fee but becoming an official selection enhances your film by displaying festival laurels on your poster. Official Selection, Finalist, Winner, all enhance the value of your film. Take a good look at the festivals close to you. The festival may give your film a second look because of local appeal. Try to find a local tie in with your film and the festival.
Credits aren't important to a selection committee. We get it, you wrote, directed, produced, edited, shot, and served coffee to the cast. We're not interested in seeing how creatively you're able to put your name on the screen. In many cases these aren't credits they're blame. Selection committees are interested only in your film. Does it have production value? Does the cast perform well and is there chemistry? Is there creative choices in the shot selection? Does the script follow structure? Is there entertainment value? How's the sound mix, the score, the over all quality of the project? You have to be professional enough to take a step back and look at your film and decide what's it worth? If you made a film for ten grand and it looks like a million you're in but if it looks like ten bucks you're dead. However, there may be a festival out there that will screen your film. New festivals are a bit less selective than established film festivals. Because of entry fees each festival competes for the better films. This leaves smaller festivals to pick up the scraps and who cares as long as your film is an official selection someplace right? There are problems with taking anything such as if your film had a good budget and you're planning on taking the film to a distributor and you entered the Squedunk, Iowa Film Festival and lost it could hurt your value. Any win is a good win but a loss hmmmmmm? It's a choice that you will have to decide.
Don't beg for a waiver. If the festival states no waivers then it means no waivers. However, there are some festivals that have sponsors that allow waivers because they pay the entry fees. Those festivals advertise such a campaign. There are also festivals that do not have entry fees at all. Again, your research is an important part of this process. The festival will not conform to your wants and needs - you must conform to the festival's wants and needs. The Central Florida Film Festival is a competition with cash prizes and offers NO WAIVERS. It would be unfair to those that do pay the entry fees to compete. Festivals have overhead. This includes, advertising, seminars, guest speakers, screening times with theaters, and even withoutabox and Film Freeway take a percentage cut from entry fees in order for them to stay in business. Some festivals have large advertisers and grant money but they also have large salaries and expenses. Smaller festivals struggle for each dollar. Here at CENFLO we are run totally by volunteers. All money is put right back into the festival.
One final word to the wise. Follow instructions. There is a different process for each festival you apply to. Follow their instructions completely if you don't you may be eliminating yourself without knowing it. And festivals don't like to hear "the other festivals do it this way." We all know that all festivals are different and each festival has it's own niche. Do your research and take advantage of attending a film festival even if your film doesn't get in. It may help you understand why. It will also allow you to network with festival officials and other filmmakers. This will help you chances next time.
I hope this helps !
Until Next time.
Bob
Showing posts with label film directing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label film directing. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Thursday, December 28, 2017
ACCOUNTANTS, AND LAWYERS, AND NURSES, OH MY!
This will be my last column for 2017, and I wanted it to help all the filmmakers that received new cameras for Christmas.
This column will cater to filmmakers that have a budget of a few hundred thousand or more rather than those that will be making movies from change found in their sofa.
Young filmmakers have asked me why I have an accountant, lawyer and nurse included in my credits at the end of my film. "Aren't they a luxury you can't afford?" or "wouldn't the money be better used someplace else?" My answer is always the same. I have learned from experience that these people are necessities and although you may look at them as not bringing anything to the screen they are very important to every film production.
If you are making a film with absolutely no money then it's hard to look or even act professional. This is especially true if you are a filmmaker over twenty-one, not living at home and have absolutely nothing to lose if someone is to sue you. Nothing to lose means nothing to protect. Shoot away and hope for the best. Now, for those of us who make films to show a profit for our investors, here are a few necessities besides the obvious ones we see on the screen.
1. Why do I need an Accountant?
If your budget is two hundred and fifty thousand or more there is a good chance you will be asking for state funded incentives. These states want an accounting. Not every expense is counted towards incentives (all states are different). States such as Louisiana, Georgia, New Mexico, Florida and even California (Although in CA they supply the accountant and you pay for him) you should have an accountant with an understanding of what the state wants and what you need in the way of accounting. Do you really want to be tied down with this additional task? Shouldn't you have peace of mind that someone is taking care of this for you?
Remember, not every accountant understands film incentives. It's good to look for one that does, interview him/her, look at the films they've worked on in the past and then negotiate a fee. By the hour? By a flat fee with a film credit at the end of the film? That will become part of your budget and when the time comes and you have to present paperwork to receive your incentive money you will be happy you decided to use a professional instead of a sister who took accounting in college.
Remember, for those of us that have an LLC or a corporation for the film project, an accountant is needed to file your taxes at the end of the year. They also keep an accounting of any money received from distribution and from that, a percentage would have to be paid to unions and your investors.
I let my father do my accounting on a film I did in 1997, entitled "Lycanthrope." He had an accounting background and incentives weren't being offered at that time. He just needed the formula for pension and welfare plus state and Federal Taxes to write the checks at the end of the week. He did a great job. Every dollar was accounted for and he even had a ledger which showed every detail. Who needs an accountant, right?
The State of Tennessee, California and Florida don't always see eye to eye on taxes. I received a letter from the Internal Revenue Service asking for thousands of dollars that I didn't have. The problem stemmed from some of my actors were flown in from Los Angeles, most of my crew was based in Florida and I made the film in Tennessee. They didn't cover that when my father took accounting in school and I only new the Florida Laws for my crew working in Florida. I had to hire an accountant to iron things out and the charge was more after the fact than it would have been if I had an accountant on board from the beginning.
Now that we have incentives there is even more of a reason not to skimp on using a professional to keep your accounting.
2. Why do I need a Lawyer?
If you make your film with a handshake that's commendable, but when your cameraman doesn't show up because he didn't have use of the car that day what are you going to do? You have a set full of volunteers and maybe even an actor or two that you paid, but no camera. You call him and you get an "I'm sorry, but something came up". What are you going to do? Send everybody home and whatever money you spent that day was spent for nothing.
Most, if not all, (good) Entertainment Lawyers have in their files generic contracts and agreements. These are standard texts that 'yes' you can find online. These agreements are used for locations, crew and you might even need a release form if you use an extra in a shot.
If you use a SAG/AFTRA contract, they are pre-printed but any profit sharing or out of the ordinary requests are not and should be handled by your attorney. This is just the obvious up front needs for an attorney. Once you've made your film you are going to want to sell it. Distributors are going to hand you a contract. You should have someone who knows what they are reading in the language it is written take a look at it. Plus, when a film gains any kind of success, people come out of the woodwork looking for their piece. Your attorney will protect you and if the film fails they can help show you how to protect your personal stuff.
I negotiated selling a few films from my film library about ten years ago. I made the deal but still needed an attorney to look over the contract and make sure our due diligence was performed for every title we sold. I had to make sure everyone involved in a percentage of the films signed off and accepted the rate negotiated. Then the attorney wrote the individual contracts which all became part of the library transaction. It helped me sleep at night.
Network with Entertainment Attorneys. They can charge you an hourly rate, by the film, or again a negotiated rate with a credit at the end of the film. In the long run, you need an attorney.
3. Why do I need a Set Nurse?
Take a look at your SAG/AFTRA contracts. Not just the addendum at the end of the contract for the Ultra Low or SAG Indie contracts but the pages you are required to follow in the main SAG/AFTRA contract. Set nurses are suggested during certain scenes and even a medical doctor is required on set for certain stunts. There are industry trained set nurses that can assist with day to day aches and pains. You don't want your leading lady unable to go on because of a headache. I had a scene one time where we were more worried about the shot and not the ant hill we set the camera on. Ant bites are easy to treat if you know what you are doing.
When your local SAG/AFTRA agent pays a surprise visit to the set (yes, they can do that) it's nice to know that your set has a craft service table and a set nurse and not one that doubles as both. Professionalism is an attitude but an appearance as well. Instill that attitude in everyone on your set and you will have a better film. You will be surprised how many times you use your nurses services as a director. Plus, if you are lucky enough to never have an incident on your set or behind the scenes they make great stand-ins for lighting. Nurses get bored too and sometimes will gladly help out if they aren't busy.
I shoot outdoors a lot and there's always a need to tend cuts, scrapes, bruises, and bug bites.
I hope I was able to enlighten some of you why Accountants, Lawyers and Nurses are professionals that should be included on your team.
Be safe this New Year's and bring a designated driver with you. I want your next film to be a hit and not an x-ray.
Happy New Year and I'll see you at the movies!
Bob
Bob Cook
Film Director
www.BCEntertainmentGroup.com
This column will cater to filmmakers that have a budget of a few hundred thousand or more rather than those that will be making movies from change found in their sofa.
Young filmmakers have asked me why I have an accountant, lawyer and nurse included in my credits at the end of my film. "Aren't they a luxury you can't afford?" or "wouldn't the money be better used someplace else?" My answer is always the same. I have learned from experience that these people are necessities and although you may look at them as not bringing anything to the screen they are very important to every film production.
If you are making a film with absolutely no money then it's hard to look or even act professional. This is especially true if you are a filmmaker over twenty-one, not living at home and have absolutely nothing to lose if someone is to sue you. Nothing to lose means nothing to protect. Shoot away and hope for the best. Now, for those of us who make films to show a profit for our investors, here are a few necessities besides the obvious ones we see on the screen.
1. Why do I need an Accountant?
If your budget is two hundred and fifty thousand or more there is a good chance you will be asking for state funded incentives. These states want an accounting. Not every expense is counted towards incentives (all states are different). States such as Louisiana, Georgia, New Mexico, Florida and even California (Although in CA they supply the accountant and you pay for him) you should have an accountant with an understanding of what the state wants and what you need in the way of accounting. Do you really want to be tied down with this additional task? Shouldn't you have peace of mind that someone is taking care of this for you?
Remember, not every accountant understands film incentives. It's good to look for one that does, interview him/her, look at the films they've worked on in the past and then negotiate a fee. By the hour? By a flat fee with a film credit at the end of the film? That will become part of your budget and when the time comes and you have to present paperwork to receive your incentive money you will be happy you decided to use a professional instead of a sister who took accounting in college.
Remember, for those of us that have an LLC or a corporation for the film project, an accountant is needed to file your taxes at the end of the year. They also keep an accounting of any money received from distribution and from that, a percentage would have to be paid to unions and your investors.
I let my father do my accounting on a film I did in 1997, entitled "Lycanthrope." He had an accounting background and incentives weren't being offered at that time. He just needed the formula for pension and welfare plus state and Federal Taxes to write the checks at the end of the week. He did a great job. Every dollar was accounted for and he even had a ledger which showed every detail. Who needs an accountant, right?
The State of Tennessee, California and Florida don't always see eye to eye on taxes. I received a letter from the Internal Revenue Service asking for thousands of dollars that I didn't have. The problem stemmed from some of my actors were flown in from Los Angeles, most of my crew was based in Florida and I made the film in Tennessee. They didn't cover that when my father took accounting in school and I only new the Florida Laws for my crew working in Florida. I had to hire an accountant to iron things out and the charge was more after the fact than it would have been if I had an accountant on board from the beginning.
Now that we have incentives there is even more of a reason not to skimp on using a professional to keep your accounting.
2. Why do I need a Lawyer?
If you make your film with a handshake that's commendable, but when your cameraman doesn't show up because he didn't have use of the car that day what are you going to do? You have a set full of volunteers and maybe even an actor or two that you paid, but no camera. You call him and you get an "I'm sorry, but something came up". What are you going to do? Send everybody home and whatever money you spent that day was spent for nothing.
Most, if not all, (good) Entertainment Lawyers have in their files generic contracts and agreements. These are standard texts that 'yes' you can find online. These agreements are used for locations, crew and you might even need a release form if you use an extra in a shot.
If you use a SAG/AFTRA contract, they are pre-printed but any profit sharing or out of the ordinary requests are not and should be handled by your attorney. This is just the obvious up front needs for an attorney. Once you've made your film you are going to want to sell it. Distributors are going to hand you a contract. You should have someone who knows what they are reading in the language it is written take a look at it. Plus, when a film gains any kind of success, people come out of the woodwork looking for their piece. Your attorney will protect you and if the film fails they can help show you how to protect your personal stuff.
I negotiated selling a few films from my film library about ten years ago. I made the deal but still needed an attorney to look over the contract and make sure our due diligence was performed for every title we sold. I had to make sure everyone involved in a percentage of the films signed off and accepted the rate negotiated. Then the attorney wrote the individual contracts which all became part of the library transaction. It helped me sleep at night.
Network with Entertainment Attorneys. They can charge you an hourly rate, by the film, or again a negotiated rate with a credit at the end of the film. In the long run, you need an attorney.
3. Why do I need a Set Nurse?
Take a look at your SAG/AFTRA contracts. Not just the addendum at the end of the contract for the Ultra Low or SAG Indie contracts but the pages you are required to follow in the main SAG/AFTRA contract. Set nurses are suggested during certain scenes and even a medical doctor is required on set for certain stunts. There are industry trained set nurses that can assist with day to day aches and pains. You don't want your leading lady unable to go on because of a headache. I had a scene one time where we were more worried about the shot and not the ant hill we set the camera on. Ant bites are easy to treat if you know what you are doing.
When your local SAG/AFTRA agent pays a surprise visit to the set (yes, they can do that) it's nice to know that your set has a craft service table and a set nurse and not one that doubles as both. Professionalism is an attitude but an appearance as well. Instill that attitude in everyone on your set and you will have a better film. You will be surprised how many times you use your nurses services as a director. Plus, if you are lucky enough to never have an incident on your set or behind the scenes they make great stand-ins for lighting. Nurses get bored too and sometimes will gladly help out if they aren't busy.
I shoot outdoors a lot and there's always a need to tend cuts, scrapes, bruises, and bug bites.
I hope I was able to enlighten some of you why Accountants, Lawyers and Nurses are professionals that should be included on your team.
Be safe this New Year's and bring a designated driver with you. I want your next film to be a hit and not an x-ray.
Happy New Year and I'll see you at the movies!
Bob
Bob Cook
Film Director
www.BCEntertainmentGroup.com
Monday, December 11, 2017
I got a car for my agent...and it was a good trade!
I purchased tickets to see the new STAR WARS movie. I bought them online and started thinking "another industry job is being done away with". Seriously, I went to the movies and bought tickets at a ticket vending machine and had to pick out seats from a chart. One person in the ticket booth in case you only had cash and one person at a podium tearing tickets for all twenty-four screens. I'm surprised you aren't allowed to bag your own popcorn or pour your own drinks. I am assuming that day will come.
Negative cutters are already a dinosaur and what's a print? Everything is done digital and by computer making the process cheaper. However, I haven't seen the price of admission going down. The big studio corporations use the computer age to cut jobs and increase bottom line. When are these studios going to begin making new films and not just reboots, remakes and sequels?
I spoke to John Shea (Frontier Booking) over the weekend. John is a long time friend and agent who has told me even his job is being phased out by Internet postings. Here's an agent that has been in the business for over twenty-five years and he's struggling to keep the doors open because the new generation of performers believe they can self market through social media. How crazy is that? About as crazy as a filmmaker that wants to self distribute his film online rather than pay a percentage to a distributor to increase his chances of getting money back for his investors.
Is it because crowd funding doesn't demand a profit to be turned? Where have the days of pitching a film for the purpose of showing an investor how (with your business plan) can create a return on investment. As a filmmaker do you look at an audition tape that has been edited to be perfect or would you rather meet with someone in person. How about trust in networking? For years agents and casting directors worked together keeping the producers and directors of the world happy by supplying the right choice. To me it's important to make sure an actor is punctual, dressed properly and has the demeanor you want representing not only your company but you and your film. You've heard the expression "You are what you eat?" How about you are judged by those that represent you? (I just made that one up). If an actor/actress can't get to the audition on time and can't remember sides, what are the chances they're going to be a good casting choice?
I just returned last month from AFM (American Film Market) and there are hundreds of distributors looking for product. Many have connections with the larger VOD and PPV companies. Companies that you just can't try to send your film to and honestly have a fighting chance. Networking with distributors is as important as making the film itself. Due diligence my friends, use the Internet as a source of research and not immediate display. See what's the most lucrative direction for you to get the word out for your film and at the same time minimize the risk while maximizing the return. We do still care about return, right?
There are no short cuts. The film industry is evolving and we as filmmakers need to evolve with it. Yes, it's easier for a filmmaker to write, produce, direct, shoot and edit the project in this new era but should we? Because the computer age allows us to cut out jobs, should we? Isn't it better for a filmmaker to use another set of eyes to insure their vision is what the story is telling? Distributors are now just as interested in how many influencers your film has instead of what name stars are driving your film. Yes, there are distributors that continue to look at a film based on name value but newer distributors are finding new ways to create a buzz for your film.
I'm going to try something new and original to see if this theory works. I'll keep you in the loop whether or not it does.
Until then, support Independent film!
Bob Cook
www.BCEntertainmentGroup.com
Negative cutters are already a dinosaur and what's a print? Everything is done digital and by computer making the process cheaper. However, I haven't seen the price of admission going down. The big studio corporations use the computer age to cut jobs and increase bottom line. When are these studios going to begin making new films and not just reboots, remakes and sequels?
I spoke to John Shea (Frontier Booking) over the weekend. John is a long time friend and agent who has told me even his job is being phased out by Internet postings. Here's an agent that has been in the business for over twenty-five years and he's struggling to keep the doors open because the new generation of performers believe they can self market through social media. How crazy is that? About as crazy as a filmmaker that wants to self distribute his film online rather than pay a percentage to a distributor to increase his chances of getting money back for his investors.
Is it because crowd funding doesn't demand a profit to be turned? Where have the days of pitching a film for the purpose of showing an investor how (with your business plan) can create a return on investment. As a filmmaker do you look at an audition tape that has been edited to be perfect or would you rather meet with someone in person. How about trust in networking? For years agents and casting directors worked together keeping the producers and directors of the world happy by supplying the right choice. To me it's important to make sure an actor is punctual, dressed properly and has the demeanor you want representing not only your company but you and your film. You've heard the expression "You are what you eat?" How about you are judged by those that represent you? (I just made that one up). If an actor/actress can't get to the audition on time and can't remember sides, what are the chances they're going to be a good casting choice?
I just returned last month from AFM (American Film Market) and there are hundreds of distributors looking for product. Many have connections with the larger VOD and PPV companies. Companies that you just can't try to send your film to and honestly have a fighting chance. Networking with distributors is as important as making the film itself. Due diligence my friends, use the Internet as a source of research and not immediate display. See what's the most lucrative direction for you to get the word out for your film and at the same time minimize the risk while maximizing the return. We do still care about return, right?
There are no short cuts. The film industry is evolving and we as filmmakers need to evolve with it. Yes, it's easier for a filmmaker to write, produce, direct, shoot and edit the project in this new era but should we? Because the computer age allows us to cut out jobs, should we? Isn't it better for a filmmaker to use another set of eyes to insure their vision is what the story is telling? Distributors are now just as interested in how many influencers your film has instead of what name stars are driving your film. Yes, there are distributors that continue to look at a film based on name value but newer distributors are finding new ways to create a buzz for your film.
I'm going to try something new and original to see if this theory works. I'll keep you in the loop whether or not it does.
Until then, support Independent film!
Bob Cook
www.BCEntertainmentGroup.com
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