Raindance Producers' Lab Lo-To-No Budget Filmmaking, 2nd Edition

Table of contents

1. Cover
2. Half Title
3. Dedication
4. Title Page
5. Copyright Page
6. Table of Contents
7. Preface
8. Acknowledgements
9. About the Author
10. Introduction to the Second Edition
11. 1 Nobody Knows Anything
    1. Why nobody knows anything
    2. Banks
    3. Channel 4
    4. Money
    5. Scripts
    6. Lights
    7. Camera
    8. Why do you want to make a movie?
12. 2 The Hollywood Zoo
    1. The animals in the film industry zoo
    2. Bullies
    3. Screamers and shouters
    4. Snakes
    5. Crouching tigers
    6. Casting couch lotharios
    7. Sharks
    8. Ruthless climbers
    9. Star chasers
    10. The nice people
    11. Saying thank you
    12. The greeting card
    13. The gift
    14. The postcard theory
    15. Developing a personal image
    16. The three reasons you will not make a movie
    17. Lack of confidence
    18. Self-destruction
    19. Procrastination
    20. Seven essential steps for becoming rich and famous by making a low-budget film: Step 1
    21. Find an excellent screenplay
13. 3 Budgeting and Scheduling
    1. Choosing a budget
    2. The four budgets
    3. Find the right budget for your script
    4. Describing your budget
    5. Talking the talk
    6. The nine most famous words in Hollywood
    7. The two big questions
    8. Advantages of a 1-week shoot
    9. Elements of a budget
    10. How to choose your budget
    11. How I chose a £10,000 budget
    12. How I chose a zero budget
    13. Refrigerator theory of budgeting
    14. Preparing the schedule
    15. Script breakdown
    16. Production board
    17. Writing for lo-to-no budget films
    18. Moving the budget down
    19. Strategy for producing a zero-budget film
    20. Script strategy
    21. Locations strategy
    22. Talent strategy
    23. Special effects strategy
    24. Shooting schedule strategy
    25. Sample £3,000 ($4,500) 35mm shoot
    26. Sample £1,000 ($1,500) digital shoot
    27. Seven essential steps: Step 2
    28. Find some money
14. 4 Originating Formats
    1. No budget
    2. Toy cameras and phones
    3. Advantages
    4. Limitations
    5. Low budget
    6. DSLRs
    7. Advantages
    8. Limitations
    9. Prosumer camcorders
    10. Advantages
    11. Limitations
    12. Digital cinema cameras
    13. Advantages
    14. Limitations
    15. Digital Q+A
    16. Originating on film
    17. Super 8
    18. 16mm/Super16
    19. 35mm/Super35
    20. Choosing a format
15. 5 The Camera Package
    1. How film cameras work
    2. Camera movement
    3. Zoom
    4. Pan and tilt
    5. Track
    6. Dolly
    7. The camera
    8. Film drive and transport mechanisms (film cameras)
    9. Tachometer (film cameras)
    10. Shutter speed
    11. Lenses
    12. Lens sharpness and contrast
    13. Camera rental
    14. Negotiation techniques
    15. How camera rentals are negotiated
    16. Requirements of a cheap camera rental deal
16. 6 Sound
    1. Three sound ingredients
    2. Dialogue
    3. Sound effects
    4. Music
    5. Recording location sound
    6. Sound crew
    7. Sound consistency
    8. Microphones
    9. How a microphone works
    10. Types of microphones
    11. It's all just a chain
    12. Sound as picture
    13. Recording sound in camera
    14. The meaning of 16-bit and 24-bit
    15. In camera or sync sound?
    16. Sweetening the soundtrack
    17. ADR
    18. Foley
    19. Sound design
    20. In conversation with Roland Heap
    21. In conversation with Stephen Coates
    22. Film sound glossary
17. 7 Cinematography
    1. The production process
    2. Pre-production
    3. The shoot: the life of a DoP
    4. Post-production
    5. Film lighting crash course
    6. The low-budget shoot
    7. Shooting without lights
    8. Hiring a DoP
    9. Career route of a DoP
    10. Lighting terms glossary
18. 8 Production Values
    1. Role of the production designer
    2. Art department
    3. Low-budget art department
    4. Low-budget special effects
    5. Stunts
    6. Sex scenes
    7. Firearms
    8. Screen combat and fight directing
    9. Working with a fight director
    10. Low-budget CGI
    11. Keys to the special effects kingdom on a lo-to-no budget by Floyd Webb
    12. In conversation with Joe Pavlo
    13. In conversation with Simon Hughes
19. 9 Locations and Permits
    1. Location scout
    2. Location manager
    3. Shooting on private property
    4. Additional budget when shooting on location
    5. Shooting on public property
    6. Guerrilla filmmaking
    7. Shooting on the street
    8. Permissions
    9. Risk assessment forms
    10. Health and safety
    11. Basic principles of health and safety
20. 10 Office and Essential Paperwork
    1. The office
    2. Location and equipment
    3. How your office works
    4. Answering the telephone
    5. Staff
    6. Other uses for your office
    7. How to look established for next to nothing
    8. First: Get a URL
    9. Second: Get a landline
    10. Third: Get a business address
    11. Fourth: Get a business card
    12. Fifth: The tyranny of the hotel lobby
    13. Sixth: Get a car service
    14. Seventh: Become an expert
    15. Essential paperwork
    16. Everything you always wanted to know about incorporating a company but were afraid to ask
    17. In consultation with Sean Faughnan
    18. Structuring success
    19. Insurance
    20. Seven essential steps: Step 3
    21. Telephone
21. 11 The Shoot
    1. The seven steps to a successful shoot
    2. Step 1 Get organised
    3. Step 2 Hire a line producer
    4. Step 3 Hire the right crew
    5. The crew
    6. Step 4 Make sure everyone knows who's boss
    7. Step 5 Be professional
    8. Step 6 Food
    9. Step 7 Learn to say no
    10. Being a runner in Soho by Oscar Sharp
    11. In conversation with Ate de Jong
    12. Seven essential steps: Step 4
    13. Saying no
22. 12 Ten Steps of Post-production
    1. The ten steps
    2. Step 1 Pick an editing format
    3. Step 2 Hire a picture editor
    4. Step 3 Hire a sound editor
    5. Step 4 Do ADR
    6. Step 5 Do foley
    7. Step 6 Secure music
    8. Step 7 Rerecording or the mix
    9. Step 8 Get an M&E track
    10. Step 9 Get titles
    11. Two types of title
    12. Step 10 Colour grading
    13. Film editing glossary
23. 13 Above the Line
    1. Producer credits
    2. Producer
    3. Associate producer
    4. Co-producer
    5. Executive producer
    6. Line producer
    7. How much you get paid
    8. How to break in
    9. Seven essential qualities of a producer
    10. The producer's contract
    11. In conversation with Mark Shivas
    12. Writers and buying screenplays
    13. Development team
    14. Three types of script deal
    15. The writer's contract
    16. In conversation with Steve Kenis
    17. The director
    18. Hiring a director
    19. The director's contract
    20. Four responsibilities of the director
    21. Shooting a page
    22. Qualities of successful directors
    23. Nine routes to becoming a director
    24. In conversation with Michael Radford
    25. In conversation with Bernard Rose
    26. Actors
    27. How actors break in
    28. How to treat actors
    29. The actor's contract
    30. Finding actors
    31. Hiring a casting director
    32. In conversation with Ewan McGregor
    33. In conversation with John Hubbard
24. 14 Moving the Budget Up
    1. Basic considerations
    2. Film prints and DCPs
    3. Moving a £100,000 ($150,000) budget up
    4. Originating format
    5. Moving a £250,000 ($375,000) budget up
    6. Originating format
    7. Moving a £500,000 ($750,000) budget up
    8. Originating format
    9. In conversation with Nick O'Hagan
    10. In conversation with Simon Rumley
    11. Seven essential steps: Step 5
    12. Savvy
25. 15 Preparing the Marketing Plan
    1. The competition
    2. The majors
    3. The mini-majors
    4. The independents
    5. Film production companies
    6. Independent producers
    7. Genre
    8. Adult movies
    9. Bollywood
    10. Exhibitors
    11. Who buys films?
    12. What screenings do you want buyers to attend?
    13. Attracting acquisition executives
    14. Career route of acquisitions executives
    15. Choosing your niche
    16. Key artwork
    17. In conversation with Graham Humphries
26. 16 Publicity
    1. Creating a press kit for £1,500 ($2,000)
    2. Step 1 Create a folder
    3. Step 2 Write a synopsis
    4. Step 3 Write cast and crew bios
    5. Step 4 Create ten FAQs
    6. Step 5 Get publicity stills
    7. Step 6 Include reviews and third-party endorsements
    8. Step 7 Create an electronic press kit
    9. Publicity strategy
    10. Step 1 Get listed in the trades
    11. Step 2 Create a website
    12. Step 3 Press release
    13. Step 4 Distribute completed press kit
    14. Approaches to publicity
    15. Making contacts
    16. In conversation with Phil Symes
    17. In conversation with Tom Charity
27. 17 Film Festivals
    1. Start your own film festival
    2. Creating a film festival business plan
    3. Premieres, world premieres and festival politics
    4. Staff needed to run a festival
    5. Festival director
    6. Programmer
    7. Publicist/head of marketing
    8. Print traffic coordinator
    9. Sponsorship coordinator
    10. Runners
    11. Types of film festivals
    12. Majors
    13. Mini-majors
    14. City festivals
    15. Genre festivals
    16. Mom and pop
    17. Presenting yourself to a film festival
    18. What it costs
    19. Attending a film festival
    20. Four reasons to attend film festivals
    21. Cannes Film Festival
    22. Routes to a screening ticket at Cannes
    23. Routes to a party invite at Cannes
    24. Trade show
    25. Networking
    26. Business cards
    27. Getting your film into Cannes
    28. In conversation with James Youngs
    29. Seven essential steps: Step 6
    30. Bottom
28. 18 Film Markets
    1. How film markets work
    2. Who attends film markets?
    3. How to attend a film market
    4. Sales agents
    5. Tips and strategies for Cannes
    6. Have a plan
    7. Have something on paper
    8. Play ping-pong
    9. The Nick O'Hagan method
    10. The American pavilion strategy
    11. Sellers sell
    12. Dress code
    13. Publicists can help you
    14. Bring your lawyer
    15. The Hotel du Cap
    16. Parties
    17. In conversation with Samantha Horley
29. 19 Distribution
    1. A recent history of distribution
    2. The traditional distribution formula
    3. Delivery schedule basics
    4. How distribution companies work
    5. Preparing the distribution marketing plan
    6. P&A budget
    7. Marketing terminology
    8. Distribution and marketing tools
    9. Distribution terms
    10. Distribution deals
    11. Anatomy of the box office
    12. Why films are released in cinemas
    13. Other release windows
    14. In consultation with Claes Loberg: Branded entertainment
    15. Alternative buyers of your film
    16. Branded entertainment
    17. Is your script branded entertainment?
    18. Censorship
    19. In conversation with Simon Franks
    20. In conversation with Martin Myers
30. 20 Alternative Distribution
    1. Releasing in cinemas
    2. DVD sales
    3. VOD
    4. Simultaneous release
    5. Self-distribution checklist
    6. A budget
    7. Time
    8. An audience
    9. The rights
    10. Video
    11. Graphic design
    12. Copywriter
    13. Timeline
    14. Seven deadly sins of self-distribution
    15. Deadly sin #1: Pride
    16. Deadly sin #2: Greed
    17. Deadly sin #3: Sloth
    18. Deadly sin #4: Envy
    19. Deadly sin #5: Gluttony
    20. Deadly sin #6: Lust
    21. Deadly sin #7: Anger
    22. Seven most frequently asked questions of Elliot Grove about self-distribution
31. 21 Social Media
    1. Just shut up and start
    2. Define your social media objectives
    3. Running a website
    4. Search engine optimisation (SEO)
    5. Hone your tactics
    6. The right tool for the right job
    7. 1. Twitter
    8. 2. Blogging
    9. 3. Google+
    10. 4. Facebook
    11. 5. Video
    12. Who notices? Measuring your results
    13. In conversation with TomSka
    14. Social media glossary
32. 22 Best Laid Plans
    1. Power tools for creating a business plan
    2. Pedigree
    3. Creating comparisons
    4. Creating a brand
    5. Running a business
    6. Contents of a professional business plan for presenting to private investors
    7. Presenting to the private investor
    8. Business plan mistakes
    9. Presenting to the industry: The package
    10. Issues you must address
33. 23 Ten Tricks and Traps of Producing
    1. 1 Measure success by more than a theatrical release
    2. 2 Learn how to use agents
    3. 3 Presales
    4. 4 New money vs. old money
    5. 5 Festivals besides Toronto, Cannes and Sundance
    6. 6 Sales agents do not advance money
    7. 7 Big sale vs. big career
    8. 8 Success is relative
    9. 9 Get a sales agent early on
    10. 10 If it ain't on the page it ain't on the stage
34. 24 The Development Process
    1. The development path
    2. Securing story rights
    3. Development financing
    4. What is development money?
    5. Typical development budget
    6. How development finance deals are structured
    7. Sources of development finance
    8. Tools for raising development finance
    9. Making your project attractive
    10. Pitfalls to raising development finance
    11. A microbudget case study
    12. Love.Honour.Obey. (2013)
    13. Commercial reality of low-budget films
    14. The script
    15. The director
    16. The sales estimates
    17. The finance model
    18. Start date
    19. Casting
    20. Heads of department
    21. Pre-production
    22. Rehearsals
    23. Nudity
    24. Stunts and SFX
    25. The location
    26. Insurance
    27. The shoot
    28. Sound recording
    29. DIT
    30. The post-production
    31. Timeline
    32. In conversation with Tracey Scoffield
35. 25 Production Financing
    1. Private funding
    2. Loans
    3. Equity investment
    4. Family and friends
    5. Presales and foreign sales agents
    6. Gap finance
    7. Completion guarantee
    8. Co-productions and European tax incentives
    9. Finding a suitable co-producer
    10. The definition of a British film
    11. Other tax incentives
    12. Deferrals
    13. Equipment and post-production charge deferrals
    14. Crew deferrals
    15. Talent deferrals
    16. Producer deferrals
    17. Corridors
    18. Other sources of funding
    19. Soundtrack album
    20. Music publishing
    21. Gaming rights
    22. Product placement
    23. Strategies for raising finance
    24. Three ways to derisk your film finance package
    25. 1 The power of genre
    26. 2 The power of talent
    27. 3 The power of UK tax programmes
    28. Crowdfunding
    29. The crowdfunding industry
    30. Crowdfunding models
    31. Choosing a crowdfunding website
    32. Trig's top five for a successful crowdfunding experience
    33. Top ten crowdfunding websites
    34. Glossary of crowdfunding terms
    35. Seven essential steps: Step 7
    36. Talent
36. 26 Resources
37. 27 Endpapers
    1. About Raindance
    2. Join Raindance: Be a Raindance member!
    3. Raindance feedback
    4. How to claim your free premium membership
    5. Write and sell the hot script
    6. On the website
    7. Showreels and film clips
    8. Printable production paperwork
    9. Extra information
38. Appendix: Top 101 Film Festivals
39. Index