Filmmaking Checklist Filmmaking Stuff1

Jason Brubaker - Filmmaking Stuff – Filmmaker Checklist

Filmmaking tools for serious filmmakers…

Filmmaker CheckList …a filmmaking resource for indie filmmakers... Take Action: Make Your Movie Now! ™ By Jason Brubaker

© 2014 Brubaker Unlimited LLC - All rights reserved. No part of this book, including interior design, cover design, and icons may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

=> Get more filmmaking information at www.MakeYourMovieNow.com <= Copyright 2014 Brubaker Unlimited LLC – All Rights Reserved

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Contents Disclaimer............................................................................................................................................................ 3 Introduction........................................................................................................................................................ 4 Getting Started.................................................................................................................................................... 5 Filmmaker Checklist......................................................................................................................................... 6 Modern Moviemaking Manifesto................................................................................................................ 3 !"out #ason $ru"aker.................................................................................................................................... 4 !dvanced Filmmaking Courses................................................................................................................... 5 !"out Filmmaking Stuff................................................................................................................................. 6


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Disclaimer This eBook is designed to provide information on modern filmmaking. It is sold with the understanding that the author or publisher is not providing tax, aounting, legal, investment, business or other professional advie. Filmmaking is risky. !hile the proess of making movies an be fun, filmmaking an also be detrimental to your life, wellbeing and savings aount. The information in this ebook is meant to supplement, not replae, proper filmmaking training. "ike any business involving money, employees, personal and professional liability and emotions, Filmmaking poses inherent risks. #lthough the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was orret at press time, the information ontained herein is limited. This book is meant to provide a viewpoint on filmmaking and serve as a supplement to other texts and information on the sub$et. The purpose of this book is to eduate and entertain. The author and publisher do not assume and hereby dislaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption aused by errors or omissions, whether suh errors or omissions result from negligene, aident, or any other ause. DISCLOSU: %any of the ompanies, produts and servies mentioned in this book are affiliates of Brubaker &nlimited ""'. This means that the publisher gets paid to reommend various produts and servies. (our prie will not be affeted. But please ondut your own due)diligene prior to making #*( purhases both here and everywhere on earth. Before making any business or finanial or life deision, you are advised to speak with the neessary +ualified tax, legal and business professionals.


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Intro"uction ello Filmmaker ) %y name is Jason Brubaker. -ine youre reading these words, odds are good you either heard of me through my popular filmmaking website, #ilmmakin$ Stu%% / 0r you have a friend who exitedly heard of me and then gave you this guide. . . Before we get started, its important that you know a little about me... And I promise to keep this part short. #s a filmmaker, Im urrently living and working in "os #ngeles. -o far, I have made, marketed and sold a few feature films via popular Internet, video)on)demand platforms. 0utside of making movies, I am very muh foused on helping other filmmakers 1people like you2 make, market and sell movies more easily. This involves helping you grow a fan base, providing you with solid tatis on how to build bu33 and also, how to reate long term ommunity around your movies. Im also ontributing author of The Independent4s 5uide to Film 6istributors, founder of Filmmaking -tuff, a professional resoure for independent filmmakers, and my artiles on independent movie marketing and distribution have been featured in Film -late, The Independent and %ovie %aker %aga3ine. 7ery reently I served as the manager of Film #+uisitions for 'hill 1whih was funded in part by !%82. #nd prior to that, I was the 6iretor of 0perations for the popular video on demand aggregator, 6istribber. (And as a result, I have helped over onehundred filmmakers get their movies distributed.) I share this beause I think it is important to understand who youre talking to. #nd while I dont laim to have all the answers, some of what Im about to share is going to provide new insight. #nd finally, if you like this stuff / (ou are going to "078 the free filmmaker e'ourse I deliver to your inbox. To make sure you dont miss any valuable tips, click &ere to re$ister %or #'


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(ettin$ Starte" #s a filmmaker, making a movie is hallenging. There are a lot of elements that must ome together. -ometimes you work with good people and this omes easy. -ometimes there is so muh to do, that you get overwhelmed. (Believe me, I've been there) But dont worry. . . I put together this guide to help you. The following film prodution heklist will provide a brief overview of the independent filmmaking proess. 9eep in mind that this is only an overview. -eriously. . . !ithout atually grabbing a amera and working with people more experiened than you... #ll the resoures in the world will do you no good. -o here is our goal. :eady; #fter reading this guide, if you an grab at least one useful filmmaking tip from this heklist, then we an both be happy. Thats it. 8asy, right; I mentioned this earlier. But in %ull "isclosure: !here it makes sense, I have inluded reommendations for related produts and servies. If you lik the links and make a purhase, I may reeive ompensation. If referrals aren!t cool, ignore the links #s always, if you have +uestions about anything in this guide, please feel free to ontat me. I love it when I find out how these tips have helped you get loser to your filmmaking goals<


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#ilmmaker C&ecklist In the following heklist, I broke the filmmaking proess into => steps. 0bviously some steps will be more hallenging than other steps. But like I said, if you take time to study this guide, you might get a tip or two that an potentially make your life easier. ere we go. . . ?. Before you get started, make sure you read and study everything you an about the filmmaking proess. # good plae to start is obviously the #ilmmakin$ Stu%% we)site. @. # sreenplay is the blueprint to your movie. !rite or a+uire a sreenplay you want to produe. %ake it something exiting< A. 'omplete an initial breakdown of your movie. From there, shedule and budget the pro$et. ow muh does it ost; *ote If youre unsure how to break down and shedule a movie, Ceter %arshall has an awesome Movie Scri*t +reak"own ourse. #lso, some invaluable prodution management software an be found at Li$&tS*ee" *s' D. !rite a )usiness *lan that details how your movie will be made, marketed and sold / and how muh this will ost you. >. Talk with a lawyer and other produers to figure out your best money strategy. !ill you utili3e e+uity funding, rowdfunding and tax inentives to fund your movie; # little bit of everything; =. Following laws and regulations, go after the money. This will re+uire strategy, persistene, honesty and enthusiasm. E. Finding, meeting and losing prospetive investors on the merits of your movie will be one of the tougher parts of the proess. :eali3e that every noG gets you loser to yes.G H. %ost people will want to know how the money is going to be spent, what they an expet in return and how will you eventually get their money bak. Filmmaking is a risky business, full of unknowns and you should #"!#(- dislose this. => Get more filmmaking information at www.MakeYourMovieNow.com <= Copyright 2014 Brubaker Unlimited LLC – All Rights Reserved

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. ave a plan for the movie when it is omplete. !ill you take the festival route; !ill you market it to olleges and universities; !ill you send it diretly to sales agents and a+uisition pros; Note: !hile its great to imagine that a movie distributor will hand you a million dollar hek, this rarely happens. In fat, most movies end up in popular marketplaes like #ma3on and iTunes, and others. You must *lan %or t&is. ?. #fter following these steps, you have been networking with prospetive investors. The +uestion is, were you able to get the money; If not, here are some 1but not all2 of your options. #. 'hoose a new movie pro$et. B. #lter the sreenplay to ut osts. ??. 5et more favors and freebies. -eriously, write out a list of everything you an get for free, or at a disount. This inludes props, wardrobe, loations, transportation and raft servies< ?@. #ssuming you did get the money, pik a date for prodution. (And if "ou don't get the mone", go back and repeat step one.) ?A. ire a lawyer to help you with ontrats and releases. If you4re short on ash, do a web searh for lawyers for the arts in your area. These folks will usually help with minor legal stuff. ?D. Before you have the money, many people will be working for little to no money. -o expet a lot of nosG before you find the people who an help you bring your vision to life. ?>. (ou an make your life easier if you work with people who have prodution experiene. If you are in a small market, reah out to people who spend their days produing orporate video. ?=. Finali3e your sript. 5et it to a point where you are no longer going to keep hanging things. This is a loked sript. ?E. *umber your senes. Then one again, break down your sript. This involves grabbing eah element, loation and harater. From this information, reate a final shedule.


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?H. From your shedule and breakdown, reate a final budget. (ou probably know how muh money you have to work with. If you find you don4t have enough you have two hoies #. 5et %ore %oney< B. %odify the sript and shedule. ?. 5et your rew. !ork with a seasoned Chysial Croduer #9# "ine Croduer #9# &nit Crodution %anager to help you get organi3ed. These pros will look at your shedule and tweak it. @. #dditionally, if you4re going to diret and produt, having these pros around to help out will open the door to relationships with ?st #ds and rew. These folks will help you hire the right people. They will know a good payroll ompany. #nd many know a thing or two about tax redits in your state. @?. I know. %oney is tight. -o if you annot hire a loation sout, you may have to sout and proure loations yourself. This means you will knok on doors, introdue yourself, your pro$et and your goals. The goal here is to appear reasonable and sane. @@. !hat an go wrong with a loation probably will. -o you will want to have a @nd and Ard loation added to the mix. This way, should something happen, you will have a fall)bak plan. @A. #ssuming you4re direting your own movie, you will want to find a diretor of photography who shares your sensibilities and has e+ual enthusiasm for the pro$et. @D. (our 6C will help you find an astheti for your movie. 5iven your ost onstraints, you will most likely shoot in 6. @>. %arketing 'reate a website speifi to your movie. %ake sure you have a way to get site visitors on your mailin$ list. @=. "ater as you get into prodution, you will be able to add a movie trailer. (#he goal$ increase "our mailing list subscribers and create a %ebsite "ou can later modif" into a sales funnel.) @E. If you4ve raised money, you an hire talented ators interested in your pro$et. But in the event your budget is tight, try to ast people with large soial media followings. => Get more filmmaking information at www.MakeYourMovieNow.com <= Copyright 2014 Brubaker Unlimited LLC – All Rights Reserved

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@H. 0ne you have all of your ators, you will want to find a loation for a table read. 5o through the sript. If you wrote it, now is a time to take some notes for a final tweak. *ote #nything you hange in the sript also hanges the budget and the shedule. -eriously. @. 60 *0T skimp on food. (ou will want someone in harge of 'raft -ervies. They should be good at going out and getting deals on food and atering. If you an not find anyone to do this for you, youll have to do it yourself. Allo% me to repeat. . . A. %ake sure you have ade+uate food. If you are doing a union shoot, there are guidelines and rules you must follow. If you are doing a non)union indie, then some advie is 58T K&#"IT(< A?. 6o you have all of your permits, releases and agreements; 6o you have prodution insurane; There are so many different types of insurane, it will make your head spin. %ake sure you talk with some experiened insurane professionals to make sure you have ade+uate insurane for your movie< A@. %eet with your 'amera 6epartment and find out how muh memory youll need 1assuming you4re shooting in 62. If youre shooting film, whih might be ostly for your first feature / you will want to have an idea of these needs too. AA. Try to take as many naps as you an. This is a fun, but stressful time. -o sleep. 8at. #nd take time to exerise. AD. 0ne you have all the above stuff heked off the list, you will want to meet with your department heads and make sure everyones needs are met. #ssuming youve maintained limited loations, with a limited ast and rew, you will probably still be baffled by the amount of +uestions that ome flying at you. A>. -eriously, you would think youre making a ga3illion dollar movie. But this is indiation people are about their work. They are about the movie. #nd they want to make it a suess< A=. This goes without saying, but dont be a $erk. -eriously, never forget you are making a movie. 8n$oy the experiene.


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AE. 6id I mention you need plenty of sleep; I am serious here. %aking a movie is going to demand a T0* of energy. (ou need to keep up with the physial and mental demands. AH. 'ommene prodution. 6efer to your ? st #6 and "ine Croduer to keep everything running on time and under budget. 9eep your ool and always remember to have fun< A. 6uring prodution, try to onstantly get press to profile your movie. It would be great to reate bu33, get people to your website and get them to opt into your newsletter mailing list. D. #fter the !:#C, have a wrap party. 6ont sleep with your ast and rew, get overly drunk or make a fool of yourself< (ou are a professional. #t like one. D?. #fter you reover from your hangover (I &ust %arned "ou), you will probably start editing the movie. I suggest sharing the edit suite with another set of eyes. #nd do be nie to your editor. Those professionals an offer valuable feedbak. "isten to it< D@. (our first ut will be rough. -reen it with a group of people who have never seen the movie. 5et feedbak. DA. Take the feedbak and refine your edit. #fter that, take a week off / 6o not look at the movie or mess around with it. This way, when you ome bak to the suite, refine and refine again. DD. ave another small sreening with people who have not seen the movie. Take notes. Take those notes bak to your edit suite. D>. #dd some sound FL to your movie. 'lean up ator dialogue and rough areas. -ound is more important than visual. D=. -reen the movie again. This time, have the sreening with a new, small set of people. Take notes. 5o bak and refine. DE. !hen you have a ut youre happy with, then you an begin to plan your next strategy. Find out &ow to sell ,our movie. DH. There are opportunities for traditional distribution. !ith some +ualified professionals, analy3e eah deal. Find out if the deal will fit your business ob$etives. If not, C#--. => Get more filmmaking information at www.MakeYourMovieNow.com <= Copyright 2014 Brubaker Unlimited LLC – All Rights Reserved

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D. !hat if there are no traditional deals; If you planned aordingly, you will have a strong mailing list, a marketable hook and a plan for reahing your target audiene. >. !hen you are ready to start selling, refine your website into a sales funnel. &pload your movie to one of the many popular 706 platforms. :efine your movie poster and artwork to fit. >?. &pload your trailer to (ouTube and all the other video sites on the internet. I prefer to stream from (ouTube beause I dont have to pay for streaming and I an monitor viewer omments. >@. !rite press releases related to the release of your movie. ave a blog omponent that details your movie and allows other people to omment. *ote, if you need publiity / 'ontat my friend eather at Talk a"io -u)licit,. Tell her I sent you. >A. Clay around with your key words and -80 1-earh 8ngine 0ptimi3ation2. If those terms are new to you, find someone in your network who understands the importane of the web. >D. %arketing is all about telling memorable stories and getting into the onversations. #dding your thoughts on website forums is one way to get the word out about your movie. But if you totally disregard the onversation / thats bad form. >>. 'reate both a #ace)ook and Twitter handle for your movie. The purpose of this page is to lead people bak to your site. >=. ave ade+uate soial share buttons on your website so people an easily tell their friends about your movie. >E. If you have the budget, purhase some offline advertising in publiations related to your movie. (#his assumes "ou've taken time to define "our target audience and %a"s to reach them) >. #ll of these methods are intended to get people bak to your website. The purpose of your site is to get people to wath your movie trailer and lik the B&( *0! button. #nything that distrats these visitors must go< Install (oo$le Anal,tics' =. If your website visitors fail B&( *0!, then at least try to get them to opt into your mailing list. 6o you need a mailin$ list; => Get more filmmaking information at www.MakeYourMovieNow.com <= Copyright 2014 Brubaker Unlimited LLC – All Rights Reserved

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=?. 0ut of all the people who lik the B&( *0! button, some will atually buy. If you have aess to the ontat information, reah out and personally thank your ustomer. =@. #ssuming you are generating revenue, onsider using that money to purhase more advertising and repeat the proess. In internet marketing, they all this saling a business. The name of the game is onversion ates.* :ead this marketin$ article. =A. -ooner or later, you will figure out how to $ump)start your next pro$et. #nd you will reali3e that making movies and making money making movies is possible. =D. The thing to remember is long term perspetive. 0n average it takes seven meetings to make a relationship< %ost people +uit long before they get to meeting number seven. *ot you< =>. #s a final thought, I would ask you to onsider the following +uestions +iven the resources that "ou have right no%, %hat is the movie that "ou %ill make this "ear

))) I hope you en$oyed this brief filmmaking guide. If you did, you are really going to "078 the free filmmaker e'ourse delivered straight to your inbox. To make sure you dont miss any valuable filmmaking tips, click &ere to re$ister %or #.

#nd one more thing. . . If you really like this guide, please share it with every filmmaker you know. They will thank you for it and frankly, I will too<


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Mo"ern Moviemakin$ Mani%esto ?. %odern %oviemakers are entrepreneurs and view eah movie as a startup. Instead of raising investment dollars for $ust one title, %odern %oviemakers fous on establishing a mini)studio business, omplete with development, planning, prodution, marketing, sales and distribution. @. %odern %oviemakers fous their business on produing a slate of at least five genre speifi movies, targeted to the same growing audiene. %ovies are reated inexpensively and will be delivered to the audiene via popular 706 marketplaes. A. Instead of fousing on pro$ets entered on freelane day) rates, %odern %oviemakers raise enough money to put rew on a salary, with benefits. 8verybody in the ompany will own e+uity in the ompany. -o in this regard, someone who owns ?M in ompany stok will get ?M of all movie profits. This will supplement rew salary with an ongoing, lifelong stream of inome ) and inentivi3e everybody involved to sueed. D. %odern %oviemakers work to grow our ommunity 1and ustomer base2 bigger. 0ver time, our fans will begin to know us and elebrate our work. !e will reah mass great enough to inrease revenues through multiple streams of movie inome. >. %odern %oviemakers believe that produing multiple movie titles over time builds enough bu33 to reate long term, sustainable revenue. In this regard, modern moviemakers fous on reating entire library instead of $ust depending on one title.


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A)out .ason +ru)aker Jason Brubaker is a ollywood based Independent %otion Citure Croduer and an expert in Internet movie distribution. e is foused on helping (0& make, market and sell movies more easily by growing your fan base, building bu33 and reating ommunity around your title. vents/ 0orks&o*s an" #estivals Jason Brubaker speaks about modern movie distribution. If you know a meeting planner or film festival oordinator, Jason is available for speaking, workshops and panel disussions. 1ow to Market An" Sell Your Movie: %aximi3e %ovie Crofits !ithout The %iddle %an !ith an independent movie market saturated with ompetition, finding a traditional distribution deal for your movie is inreasingly hallenging. *obody knows this better than Jason Brubaker. #fter failing to garner a traditional distribution deal for his first feature, he figured out how to market and sell his movie online. Five years later, his original movie is still selling< In his easy to follow, step)by)step presentation, Brubaker shows filmmakers how to maximi3e movie profits without the middle)man< ))) If you would like to invite Jason Brubaker to your next event, workshop or panel disussion / please ontat Jason Brubaker Brubaker &nlimited ""' =E=E -unset Blvd N?>A "os #ngles, '# @H JasonOFilmmaking-tuff.om A?)ED=)AH=H


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A"vance" #ilmmakin$ Courses I4m about to share my personal filmmaking tools with you. This is the stuff I4ve either reated to help you ahieve your goals. 0r it4s filmmaking stuff that I4ve thoroughly reviewed and endorse. In full disclosure, man" of these resources pa" me to promote. o conduct due-diligence prior to making purchases an"%here.

-re2-ro"uction MovieScri*t+reakDown'com provides online training for filmmakers who want to breakdown and shedule movies. In"ie-ro"uctionTool'com is an online prodution management tool that allows you to shedule your movie and manage your prodution from anywhere.

#ilm #inance (etMovieMone,'com is a resoure for filmmakers seeking strategies for ontating and building relationships with prospetive investors. #ilm#inance(ui"e'com one you ontated investors, this is Tom %alloy4s blueprint for raising money. (o far he has raised over / million for his o%n pro&ects) This guide tells you how.

Movie -romotion Au"ienceList'com 1#weber2 allows filmmakers to apture leads from their movie website, build a mailing list, set up email newsletters and a se+uential email auto responder. 1owToSellYourMovie'com provides tips on getting your finished feature seen and sold. This site ontains resoures on how to leverage digital distribution and internet marketing.


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A)out #ilmmakin$ Stu%% #t Filmmaking -tuff, you will reeive tips and strategies on how to make, market and sell your movie without the middleman. %y name is Jason Brubaker. 0ver the last deade, I have worked professionally in the film industry. In addition to produing four feature films, I have spent the last five years working in film distribution, where I have helped hundreds of independent filmmakers get their movies seen and selling in popular video on demand marketplaes. #ilmmakin$ Stu%% %or in"e*en"ent %ilmmakers' The site inludes filmmaking artiles on how to take a story idea from sript to sreen, inluding sriptwriting, produing, film finane, shooting, editing, direting, marketing, distribution and how to build an audiene. ere are popular filmmaking artiles that sum up our philosophy 1.

Mo"ern Moviemakin$ Mani%esto

2.

1ow To #inance #ilms wit& 3OD Sales -ro4ections

3.

T&ou$&ts on #ilm Sc&ool

4.

M, Stor,

5.

5 Ste*s %or Sellin$ Your Movie Online

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