Production Resources by Sam Mestman:
Production. Welcome to hell. The following will not teach you how to deal with the shitstorm that awaits when you begin filming your indie movie. The only honest advice we can give you is to learn your craft, and learn everyone else’s too. The better prepared you are to communicate what you want and have reasonable expectations of how much you can accomplish on a given day, the better off you’ll be once the cameras start rolling. Stuff WILL go wrong, and it is absolutely impossible to plan for everything. But if you know your craft, and have some experience to fall back on, you’ll be prepared to improvise when the shit hits the fan. That’s why people go to film school (even though it’s mostly a waste of money), and why people spend years making shorts and other small projects. It’s so that when you really get your chance, you will not drop the ball. We do hope, however, that some of the following will help you plan for what’s ahead, and especially with some of the legal resources, prepare you in setting up a healthy, efficient production environment that will prevent you from getting sued.
Books – Producing, Camera, and Sound (best of list… there’s a million of these… but here are some REALLY good ones to have)
- From Reel to Deal by Dov Simens – Straight to the point. Practical. No bullshit. A mandatory read. If you buy one book about how to make an indie film… buy this one. Some of the stuff is a little older and outdated (especially when it comes to the digital world), but it is still, BY FAR, the most helpful production book ever written to get a true sense of what really needs to be done to make an indie film. Not only that, but it won’t make your head hurt from being over complicated like some of the other books I’ll list. $12.21 on Amazon.
- Cinematography for Directors: A Guide for Creative Collaboration by Jacqueline B. Frost- Honestly, though, I wish this book was better… a lot of it is total fluff and starfucking (except the stars in this case are cinematographers) nonsense. Not the most practical read in the world, but somewhat helpful. $19.77 on Amazon.
- Sound For Film and Television by Tomlinson Holman- Sound is important. Make a movie with shitty sound and you’ll truly understand why you should have read this book. 42.38 on Amazon
- The Camera Assistant’s Manual – Haven’t read this but everyone who makes a living working with a camera seems to have read it… it’s probably useful. $44.95 on amazon
- American Cinematographer Manual by Stephen H. Burum – I’m not a DP and have not read this. I don’t plan to… but if you work behind the camera, you probably should.
- Lighting for TV and Film (3rd edition) by Gerald Millerson – Supposedly the best book ever written on lighting. $70.15 on Amazon
- The Grip Book (fourth edition) – Basically teaches you how to be a professional Grip. $32.36 on Amazon
- The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook – These books always tend to annoy me, but I liked this one… just, uh, take it with a grain of salt. There is a lot to be learned here, especially if you’re a first time filmmaker… HOWEVER, what’s funny about this book is that they go department by department kind of explaining how much you should spend on each of these things. If you listened to all of their recommendations, you would no longer be making an indie feature! You’d have a studio budget. On the other hand, it is a nice overview of what’s involved and there is A LOT to be learned here. Great content, just don’t believe everything you read. From Reel to Deal is a much better, much shorter version of this, although this is newer. $29.67 on Amazon
Law, Contract, Budget and Fundraising
- Elsa Ramo (Entertainment Lawyer in Los Angeles) – Whether you like it or not, if you want to produce a film professionally, you need a lawyer to approve all your stuff. You should check her out… not only is she extremely nice and professional, but she will give you a pre agreed upon flat rate for you film… as in, no $300/hour bullshit every time you talk to her. This is important. http://www.entertainmentattorney.biz/
- Film & Video Budgets by Deke Simon – Indispensable. Sample budgets for various types of productions (from 5 million on down to a student short), and all kinds of explanation for what everything means and how to go about doing things. This is kind of a no-brainer if you aren’t very experienced with film budgeting. $17.79 on Amazon.
- The Pocket Lawyer For Filmmakers by Thomas A Crowell – This book is great. It clearly spells out many of the legal issues you’re going to run into from script to screen and steps you can take to prepare for them. It’s written in clear, everyday language that is easy to understand for people who are not lawyers. A great intro for all this stuff. Read this, then start researching the various topics more in depth after… there’s also a pretty good resources section in the back of the book. $18.67 on Amazon.
- The Independent Filmmakers Law and Business guide – The only book that thoroughly goes through, chapter by chapter, and explains many of of the annoying issues that always tend to screw filmmakers… such as LLC agreements, the law behind investor business plans, on down through budgeting, contracts, and all the other bullshit that we need to know, but don’t really want to know. Mandatory reading if you don’t already know anything about this stuff, and want to set up your film in the right way legally. Not only that, but it’s a 2009 release, so this is all relatively current. $19.77 on Amazon.
- Incorporation for Artists – Basically, you pay 20 bucks for a .pdf that teaches you how to incorporate and do your taxes and learn how not to get screwed when you fill out your forms. Get this and you don’t need an accountant… although, admittedly, I still have an accountant after I read this cause I’m lazy… but at least now I know how to talk to him.
- Bankroll by Tom Malloy – I loved this book, even though part of me thoroughly hated it. It’s the part that laughs when I see Glengarry Glen Ross during the “Always Be Closing” speech, and the reason we all thought The Player was a satire. Sadly, though, there’s a way the world works, and you might as well learn how it does, and how to make it work for you. So, my recommendation is to put your inner rage against the machine to the side, and just read it. At the end of the day, this book is about HUSTLING to get your film funded, and the smart ways to go about doing it. It’s smart, it’s realistic, and it’s practical. It’s also, unlike many of the books I list, a fairly entertaining read. There’s a sample business plan in there that is both genius and totally aggravating at the same time (because, well, it’s SUCH BULLSHIT). I loved this book, and it’s indispensable if you want to even begin hitting people up for money to invest in your movie. But you will feel a little dirty when you’re done reading it. If your conscience can’t handle this, find someone who is all about this shit to do it for you. That person is generally referred to in the industry as a “producer”. Bottom line is you should read this book because it’ll teach you how to hustle, and how to do it smart. $16.47 on Amazon.
- Movie Money – Here’s a link to the only book I’ve found that clearly explains how studios and distributors are actively screwing you with their accounting. Learn why “gross” and “net” points are essentially meaningless terms. Learn exactly why you can sell 10,000 copies of your movie through a distributor and not see a cent. Learn why, essentially, the deck is stacked against you. It’s not the most entertaining read, but should put the fear of God into you about why you need to start learning as much as you possibly can about the distribution process if you ever want to make a cent with your movie. Not many solutions here, but at least the problems are all explained. Also, keep in mind this book is a little older, and some of these practices have changed a bit. Sometimes for the better… usually not. $15.95 on Amazon.
- The Independent Film Producer’s Survival Guide: A business and legal sourcebook – Exactly what the title says it is. This is all about the legal shit you need to know when setting up, casting, crewing, making, finishing, and selling a production. Latest edition is from 2005, though, so keep that in mind. Another pretty boring but also pretty important read. $16.47 on Amazon. This book is a lot less accessible than the Pocket Lawyer. Read that first, then this.
- Contracts For The Film and Television Industry by Mark Litwak – Exactly what the title says… a broad collection of a lot of the sample agreements that you’re going to find in this business and some explanations for how they work. This won’t replace having a lawyer, but should save you a bunch of money in billable hours talking to one. $23.10 on Amazon.
- www.larryedmunds.com – This place has a COMPREHENSIVE selection of filmmaker/production books and materials. Haven’t been to the store in person, but if you want to go, it’s 6644 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90028.6644 Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90028
VENDORS (LA)
(disclaimer) – This section is very much work in progress. I’m a New Yorker and recent LA transplant. I don’t know the ins and outs of the rental houses out here. But these recommendations are from people I trust… whether you should trust them is up to you, but they’re supposedly the best value (aka: cheap) when it comes to G&E and expendable rentals. I’m definitely interested in hearing other people’s recommendations, especially when it comes to camera packages and rentals, so if you’ve had some especially great experiences with vendors out here (for anything), drop me an email (and list why you thought they were great).
G&E rentals – Wooden Nickel – (6920 Tujunga Ave, North Hollywood 91605)
Expendables – Atomic Production Supplies – (2621 N. Ontario Street 91504)
Castex Rentals – (1044 Cole Avenue Hollywood)
WEB RESOURCES
- State by State Film resources/film commissions – The kind people of the Screen Actors Guild have posted a state by state list of each state’s current Film tax incentive programs, and links to each state’s film commission’s website. Currently, your best bets are in Michigan, New Mexico, and Connecticut… but a lot of states have some interesting things going. However, make sure these programs are still current as States have been cutting WAY back on their film funding programs since this whole economy problem started.
- www.sagindie.com – All kinds of great info about working with SAG actors on indie productions.
- Location Scouting article – If you’re not a locations scout but you can’t afford to pay one, read this, and it’ll give you a basic idea of what you need to do and what you need to look out for.
- www.cml.com – the cinematographer’s mailing list website… basically a giant discussion place for cinematographers to go and argue about stuff… this is where the pros go to argue, at least…
- U.S copyright office FAQ – here’s a link to the U.S copyright office FAQ page.
- Sample budget/pre-production/production/post-production forms (all free) – From the www.makingthemovie.com site is a link to the free paperwork section which has a bunch of sample forms and contracts you can check out. Take a look at the rest of the site too… good blog and lots of other resources.
- Film independent – Legal ease – A good blog on some of the various legal issues in the film world.
- www.indieclub.com – Came across this website… they’re basically a MUCH larger version of us with a much smaller personal touch, but you may be able to find some good crew through them. Can’t say for sure as I’m not a member.
- www.ifp.org – The Sundance of indie film organizations.
- www.assistantdirectors.com – Some good stuff here… some not good stuff… but I figured I’d list it anyway.
SOFTWARE
- Scenechronize – This is the future of cloud filmmaking. I took a seminar with these guys and it’s the real thing. Your AD department will love you if you sign up with these guys, and so will your crew. Their pricing isn’t bad, and they offer some free options for shorts and the indie feature crowd. These guys will replace Movie Magic scheduling it exists in the cloud and is real time accessible. Also, if you get in touch with them, they’ll send people out to your production and teach you and your AD department the ins and outs of the software. Nice people, and a really smart company. Highly recommended.
- Movie Magic budgeting and scheduling – well, they’re fucking expensive, but they’re also the industry standard. Hopefully they will gradually die out and be replaced, but right now, this is what most people are comfortable working with.
- Gorilla Software – Rrrrrr…. I’m hesitant to list them because I can’t fully recommend this software… BUT… the concept and thought behind it are great… sadly, there is nothing else that even attempts to do what Gorilla does, which is literally manage an entire film from schedule to contacts to budgeting to accounting to investors to post workflow to a whole bunch of other shit. In theory, it’s an indie filmmaker’s dream come true… in practice, it just doesn’t work the way it should. It’s too hard to use, and the UI blows. Teaching all of your department heads… hell, just your producers and AD department how to use it is a nightmare waiting to happen. HOWEVER, there is supposedly a new version (5.0) coming out sometime this year that will address a lot of these problems…. supposedly. I hope so, because there should be a program like this that is affordable for an indie production that does everything this program sets out to do. Jury’s still out, but while the concept is great, this just isn’t ready for primetime yet.
- 4.www.filmwareproducts.com – A site with a large list of a lot of the various film/writing/production software, tutorials, and products.
