Development

WSJ Looks at Indie Film Investing

An article over the weekend from WSJ talks about investing in independent films. Interesting to look at this through the prism of someone with decent wealth who is looking for some high risk investments to diversify their portfolio. Here's how they paint the ideal...

Is Group Brainstorming BS?

People in groups tend to sit back and let others do the work; they instinctively mimic others’ opinions and lose sight of their own; and, often succumb to peer pressure. The Emory University neuroscientist Gregory Berns found that when we take a stance different from...

How to Figure the True Cost of a Kickstarter Project

Focus of Project The first big question is do I got for all the money I actually need (to film, edit, and send to festivals) or focus the project on one specific event, and take it one step at a time, with future projects for different stages of the production. … Well, if you were 100% honest and your project budget is the bare minimum you need to complete it, then where is that couple of hundred dollars supposed to come from?

Behavior Patterns of Kickstarter Funders

This is a precursor to a post I'm writing on how to figure out the true cost of a Kickstarter Project (using my recently posted project as an experiment). I was curious to see what funding levels got the most response, so I'd know which area to put the most attention...

Keep the Pitches Off the Elevator

Imagine this - you stop by a big studio, maybe to try to get a few minutes with an exec to pitch your next idea. As you get back on the elevator to leave (with the no scheduled meeting), the door opens to reveal the Head of the Studio already riding down. "Great Zeus,...

Keeping the Outline in Scope

Thursday we had to read off outlines based on our pitches. The outlines are a bulleted list of important plot points you need your script to have. Most were within scope, at least time wise. It seems there will be a lot of guns and violence in the screenings next...

Pitching Story Ideas

Today we had to pitch ideas for our F3 to the entire class. It was more of a "this is where I'm at with my script" versus selling your idea, since anything you decide to go with will get a greenlight. There were a few good pitches. Some even had scripts written out,...