I will be teaching in Portland, OR again

EXTREME LOW BUDGET FILM PRODUCTION Course #208

KELLEY BAKER
SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS, JUN 5 & 6, 12 & 13, 19 & 20, 9 AM-6 PM
AND TUESDAYS, WEDNESDAYS, THURSDAYS, JUN 8-10 & 15-17, 6-10 PM

When resources are super tight on a dramatic film, there are right and wrong ways to cut costs. Do it right and you keep the focus on telling the story as effectively and cheaply as possible. Do it wrong and you compromise goodwill with cast and crew, spend money you don’t have, and end up with a movie which simply doesn’t look and sound as good as it could on screen. This intensive crash course takes intermediate and advanced students step by step through the process of producing a short dramatic film, emphasizing the short cuts and tricks at each stage of production which lead to extreme low budget success (tip: light it right and you avoid expensive color correction). Serving as writer/director, the lead instructor will provide hands-on guidance throughout, aided by a visiting director of photography, sound recordist, and other specialists who drop by along the way. Students will serve in at least two crew positions, ranging from camera/lighting/grip to editor and sound designer. Assignments will be made based on student interest and skill, but at instructor discretion. The class will culminate with a sound mix at a local post-production house and a final screening for families and friends. Every student will be credited for their roles and receive the completed film on DVD. The goal is for participants to feel confident in budgeting, scheduling, and producing their own extreme low budget short dramatic film at a later time.

Pre-requisite: Some previous production experience. Knowledge of Final Cut Pro highly recommended.
12 sessions

Tuition: $775 | Equipment/Lab Fee: $230

NON-CREDIT OR 4 PSU CREDITS
PSU Credit Fee: $240 (OPTIONAL)
NW Film Center School of Film

934 SW Salmon St, Portland, Oregon
Mailing: 1219 SW Park Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97205

or call 503-221-1156 for more info.

Let's Talk Docs and other stuff

December 1, 2008

Well, I made it through another Thanksgiving holiday relatively unscathed.

Let’s talk about documentaries here for a moment…

Documentaries are so hip right now, you should find a non-profit sponsor if you want to make one. A 501(c)3 in IRS terms. I don't think you can do a dramatic feature this way, but I'm not a lawyer. Go ask one. You can also form your own non-profit corporation, but it's a lot of hassle and paperwork, and to do it right you really do need an attorney. I would only suggest forming your own nonprofit if you plan on doing a lot of documentaries or educational films. For a one-shot deal, it's too expensive and too much work.

So what does a non-profit provide for you in return? Free money. Pure and simple. Okay, it's not really free, you’re still going to have to work to get it.

You can apply to foundations, which by law can only give to non-profits. You can also solicit donations from individuals and, after discussing it with their tax professional, they can probably write the donation off on their tax return. It works wonderfully for everyone involved.

What's the downside? A non-profit will usually charge you anywhere from 5 - 8% of any funds you raise, to administer the funds and do all the bookkeeping. Some non-profits won't allow you to go after the same foundations that they're pursing, and they certainly won't help by giving you their contacts. Those are about the only downsides I've encountered.

You’re going to work just as hard at raising money as you would for any other project. It's just that you aren't dealing with investors in this case, and no one expects your movie to make any money.

On one of my docs, I needed to do a shoot in Bowling Green, Ohio, and I had no money. I needed to do this shoot to keep my credibility intact with my subject. So two weeks before I was to leave, I made phone calls to about 25 people I knew, and in two nights I raised just over $1200. It was enough money for me to do the shoot and keep my credibility intact.

The big selling points for me were: It was a donation from my friends that they could write off at tax time and they were helping me. The personal thing will get you further than anything else. If your friends and family won't help you, why should anyone else?


I’ll talk more about docs next week.

Other stuff…

There are some new things happening, my work books now exist as PDFs and they will be posted on my site soon so that they can be downloaded. I am still working out the prices, but they will be less expensive then if you buy the printed versions. Keep watching this space.

I seem to be popping up on YouTube and ViodaTV. You can go to http://blip.tv/file/1370245, or www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn5x3Avb45M to catch an interview I did with Roger Bindi while I was in Madison, WI doing workshops for the Wisconsin Film School. Check out blip TV, it’s an interesting site and go to http://www.viodi.tv/ Roger has a lot of things up there that might be of interest.

Also check out www.youtube.com/user/dreamcatcheriowa. Dream Catcher Productions sponsored one of my work shops in Iowa (yes, the famous night I did the wrong workshop for 3 hours) and put up a short segment from the work shop. Check it out! You can also check out their web site, www.dreamcatcher.com.

Don’t forget to check out my tour sponsors, Film Baby (www.filmbaby.com), Pollard Design (www.pollarddesign.com), Zoom Studio (www.zoomstudio.com), The Indy Film Co-op (www.indyfilmco-op.org) and Cheezy Flicks (www.cheezyflicks.com). All great people, all great companies.

If you haven’t checked out their site and their services, you better.

The first two Workshop DVDs are selling well. You can find them at, www.angryfilmmaker.com, and at Film Baby.

Talk later.

Kelley

www.angryfilmmaker.com
www.facebook.com
www.myspace.com/theangryfilmmaker
www.youtube.com/theangryfilmmaker
www.filmbaby.com

Mid-West Weather/More Writing/New Stuff/other thoughts

First and foremost I want to say that I have been reading the news about the bad weather in the mid-west all weekend. I hope that my friends out there are doing okay. I’ve sent some e-mails to check in. I can’t believe all the bad weather you have been getting back there. Take care of yourselves.

And to my friends in the Franklin, Indiana area, (home to the Indy Film Co-op), I heard your town was really hit hard. I am so sorry. It was a beautiful town and I hope the flooding doesn’t have lasting effects. Good luck with the clean up, whenever that can start. I understand that you’re getting more rain later today. I hope you are all safe.

Take care and know that I’m thinking about you guys. I wish I could be back there to help.

From my previous blog.

Writing continued…

When I give my scripts to people I trust, I also give them a questionnaire so I can find out specific things about my story and characters. I want to know who they like, and why? I want to know if the story drags anywhere, does anything not make sense. I want them to put their thoughts in writing. That way I can compare their thoughts with others. Does more than one person have the same problem with a character or plot point? The more people agree on certain things within your script the more you know what is working, and what isn’t.

After talking to everyone, I go through all the notes and make comparisons. That usually tells me what I need to work on. I will do another draft or two and then hand my revised screenplay to the second group of people. They also get a questionnaire that usually contains the same questions that I asked the first group.

I want to see if I fixed the problems from the earlier drafts. I also want to know if I have created any new problems. Depending on the response tells me how many more drafts I will need to write.

The group that I have put together over the years is very important to me. They come from all walks of life and have all sorts of different points of view. Only one of them is a filmmaker. He is also a novelist. I rarely have other filmmakers read my scripts. Why?

Most filmmakers can’t separate themselves from their craft. They always want to talk about how I’m going to shoot something, what kind of gear I’m going to use, or they will compare my script to something else they’ve seen. (Film Geeks are even worse in this aspect.) That doesn’t help me at all! I want people who like films, but are more interested in character development and plot then blood, special effects and explosions.

I also want people who will be honest with me about the script. When someone says your script “sucks”, walk away. You will never learn anything from that person. If a person tells you they had some problems with your story and they have some questions, open your ears. You are (hopefully) going to be told honestly about problems with your story.

Many people have their own agendas when discussing your work, and that’s fine as long as you are aware of that. I always tell people that your parents and your friends will always tell you that your scripts (and films) are great. They don’t want to disappoint you.

I don’t have that problem. I can tell people that I have problems with their scripts and WHY! Why is a big thing. You need to explain why something doesn’t work for you. That helps the writer to understand where your criticism is coming from.

When I was at USC they would rip our films up one side and down the other. It was some of the meanest criticism I have ever seen and experienced. The faculty there wanted to know how badly you wanted to make films. We had a 50% drop out rate with the group that I started with.

I now have extremely thick skin and I’m smart enough to know that someone may not like my work but that doesn’t mean they don’t like me. It just means that I made something that they don’t like. That’s fine. You can’t please everyone all the time. (There are a lot of people who don’t like me or my work, trust me, I am not losing sleep over it.)

More on writing next week.

Your Angry Filmmaker Tip.

The Gospel According to Arthur: "Don't ask. Don't get!"

- - from The Angry Filmmaker Survival Guide (coming really soon)

Other thoughts.

I am not sure what’s going to be happening with my Masters Class in Filmmaking this summer through the Franklin Film Institute. Let’s see what happens with the damage in the town. Go to www.independentcinema.net and we’ll post details as we know them. I’ll also post them here as well.

Find out more about the Angry Filmmaker @ www.angryfilmmaker.com. There are a lot of great tips contained in my work books. Buy one and see for yourself. You just might learn something.

I have also posted some new stuff on the site. Check out Odds & Ends, and the new page, The AF Speaks. Links to both are on the Home page, www.angryfilmmaker.com.

Take care, Bill, Josh, and all my other friends back in the mid-west. - - Kelley

AF's Guest Quote of the Day

In Hollywood the woods are full of people that learned
to write but evidently can't read; if they could read their stuff
they'd stop writing.
~ Will Rogers

AF's Rant of the day

One of the great things I learned in film school is that you always finish what you've started.

- - from The Angry Filmmaker's Survival Guide (coming Fall 2007)