Cover: Inside Track for Independent Filmmakers, 1st Edition by Adam Leipzig

Inside Track for Independent Filmmakers

First Edition  ©2015 Adam Leipzig Formats: E-book, Print

Authors

  • Headshot of Adam Leipzig

    Adam Leipzig

    Adam Leipzig is an entrepreneur, filmmaker, producer, publisher, and author. He is the COO of CreativeFuture, a non-profit organization advocating for the creative community. He is also the CEO of Entertainment Media Partners, which provides informed guidance for independent media companies, financiers, and producers, and is the publisher of Cultural Weekly (www.culturalweekly.com). Adam teaches at Chapman Universitys Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, in the Executive Education program of UC Berkeleys Haas School of Business, and in UCLAs Professional Producing Program. He has overseen more than 25 movies as producer, executive, or distributor, including March of the Penguins; Dead Poets Society; Titus; Honey, I Shrunk the Kids; Amreeka; and The Story of the Weeping Camel. Adam served as president of National Geographic Films and as senior vice president at Walt Disney Studios, and in each of those positions was responsible for the movie industrys most profitable film of the year. He is the author of Inside Track for Independent Filmmakers: Get Your Movie Made, Get Your Movie Seen, a how-to manual with tips for solving the problems most faced by emerging and independent filmmakers. Adam worked his way through college with a number of summer jobs, including a stint as a garbage collector for the City of Los Angeles. He says it prepared him well for his work in Hollywood. Adam loves to hear from his readers; contact him at Adam@AdamLeipzig.com

Table of Contents

THE LANDSCAPE　

Don’t Doubt Your Purpose
A Short and Recent History of Indie Movies in America
Who Will Be the New Miramax?
The Eighth Studio
What Money Means　

GET YOUR MOVIE MADE
I.　Inside Track: Concept The core of your movie
1. What’s the Big Idea?
2.　High Concept
3.　The World
4.　The Title
5.　It’s About a Guy Who . . .
6.　Can You Say it All in a Sentence?
7.　Log Lines That Worked
8.　What Does It Look Like?
9.　What’s the Tagline?
10.　The Truth Test
11.　Make Your Truth Niche-Specific
12.　Concepts That Didn’t Work
13.　Concepts That Worked

II.　Inside Track: Comps Can your movie make money?
14.　What’s a Comp?
15.　Budget Comps
16.　Rating Comps
17.　Language Comps
18.　Genre Comps
19.　Star Power Comps
20.　How to Find Comps
21.　How Many Comps Do You Need?
22.　How Recent Do Comps Need to Be?
23.　Now That You Have Your Comps
24.　How Financiers Use Comps
25.　How Financiers Recover Their Investments
26.　How Distributors Use Comps
27.　Examples of Comps in Action

III.　Inside Track: Script What’s on screen can only be as good as what’s on the page
28.　Why Script Matters
29.　How Should Your Script Look?
30.　How to Make Your Script Read Well
31.　Make It a Page-Turner
32.　Keep It Short
33.　Top 10 Screenwriter Mistakes
34.　Write to Sell to Investors
35.　Write for Casting

IV.　Inside Track: Casting Getting the right actors
36.　Why Casting Matters
37.　How Do You Get Stars?
38.　The Actor Dance
39.　The Pile-On Effect
40.　The Director Dance
41.　Casting Non-Stars
42.　Tactical Approaches
43.　Cast the Rest of Your Relationships
V.　Inside Track: Cost You need to know the numbers
44.　Budget Is for Amateurs, Cost Is for Professionals
45.　Make the Cost Rational
46.　Include Marketing and Distribution Costs
47.　Planning and Scouting
48.　Incentives, Rebates, and Credits
49.　Contingency
50.　Costs You Might Not Know About
51.　Pre-Selling Expenses
52.　Selling Expenses
53.　Assume You Will Need to Cover Everything
54.　Not All Money Is Equal
55.　Crowdfunding Is Double Money
56.　Crowdfunding: Be Prepared!
57.　Launching and Managing Your Crowdfunding Campaign
58.　Crowdfunding Doesn’t End When the Campaign Does
59.　What Will You Have to Give Up to Get What You Want?
60.　The Myth of Final Cut

VI.　Inside Track: Now You Make Your Movie The moment you’ve been waiting for
61.　This Is the Inside Track Where You Make and Finish Your Movie

GET YOUR MOVIE SEEN

VII.　Inside Track: Getting into Festivals When Your Movie’s Ready Sundance and beyond
62.　Do Festivals Matter?
63.　Some Festivals Are More Than Festivals
64.　How You Get into a Festival

VIII.　Inside Track: Selling at Festivals　 Can you make a deal here?
65.　Leap into Action
66.　Get Your Materials Ready
67.　Get Your Rep
68.　Get Some Early Press
69.　But Don’t Let People See It Yet
70.　Reach Out to Your Preferred Distributors
71.　Get Them to the Screening
72.　Get the Press There
73.　Follow Through

IX.　Inside Track: Selling Everywhere Else for Theatrical Distribution More places to make deals
74.　Most Sales Happen This Way
75.　Get a Representative If You Can
76.　If You Can’t Get a Representative . . .
77.　You Have to See It with an Audience First
78.　If You Can’t Get a Distributor to an Audience Screening
79.　Should You Show a Distributor an Unfinished Film?
80.　What to Show Potential Distributors
81.　Know How Much You Need

X.　Inside Track: Selling for Non-Theatrical Distribution The screens that make the most money
82.　What’s Non-Theatrical?
83.　Why Are You Doing This?
84.　Aggregators
85.　Materials
86.　Direct Submissions
87.　Know Your Windows
88.　Deliver to Their Specs

XI.　Inside Track: Free Range Distribution The new frontier
89.　What Are Free Range Distribution Platforms, and How Do They Work?
90.　You Can Keep Your Rights
91.　What Rights Are There?
92.　Know Your Rights
93.　Integrate Everything
94.　Marketing Is Your Job
95.　Four-Walling
96.　What to Look for in a Free Range Distribution Platform
97.　What You’ll Need
98.　What’s Been Working
99.　What’s Next for Free Range Distribution?

ESSENTIAL RESOURCES

Distribution Platforms Where You Sell or License Your Rights
Free Range Distribution Platforms
Directory of Sales Agents
Best Information Sources
Your Attitude Is Your Greatest Resource
The Academy Award Speech I Hope You Make One Day

INDEX

Product Updates

Authors

  • Headshot of Adam Leipzig

    Adam Leipzig

    Adam Leipzig is an entrepreneur, filmmaker, producer, publisher, and author. He is the COO of CreativeFuture, a non-profit organization advocating for the creative community. He is also the CEO of Entertainment Media Partners, which provides informed guidance for independent media companies, financiers, and producers, and is the publisher of Cultural Weekly (www.culturalweekly.com). Adam teaches at Chapman Universitys Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, in the Executive Education program of UC Berkeleys Haas School of Business, and in UCLAs Professional Producing Program. He has overseen more than 25 movies as producer, executive, or distributor, including March of the Penguins; Dead Poets Society; Titus; Honey, I Shrunk the Kids; Amreeka; and The Story of the Weeping Camel. Adam served as president of National Geographic Films and as senior vice president at Walt Disney Studios, and in each of those positions was responsible for the movie industrys most profitable film of the year. He is the author of Inside Track for Independent Filmmakers: Get Your Movie Made, Get Your Movie Seen, a how-to manual with tips for solving the problems most faced by emerging and independent filmmakers. Adam worked his way through college with a number of summer jobs, including a stint as a garbage collector for the City of Los Angeles. He says it prepared him well for his work in Hollywood. Adam loves to hear from his readers; contact him at Adam@AdamLeipzig.com

Table of Contents

THE LANDSCAPE　

Don’t Doubt Your Purpose
A Short and Recent History of Indie Movies in America
Who Will Be the New Miramax?
The Eighth Studio
What Money Means　

GET YOUR MOVIE MADE
I.　Inside Track: Concept The core of your movie
1. What’s the Big Idea?
2.　High Concept
3.　The World
4.　The Title
5.　It’s About a Guy Who . . .
6.　Can You Say it All in a Sentence?
7.　Log Lines That Worked
8.　What Does It Look Like?
9.　What’s the Tagline?
10.　The Truth Test
11.　Make Your Truth Niche-Specific
12.　Concepts That Didn’t Work
13.　Concepts That Worked

II.　Inside Track: Comps Can your movie make money?
14.　What’s a Comp?
15.　Budget Comps
16.　Rating Comps
17.　Language Comps
18.　Genre Comps
19.　Star Power Comps
20.　How to Find Comps
21.　How Many Comps Do You Need?
22.　How Recent Do Comps Need to Be?
23.　Now That You Have Your Comps
24.　How Financiers Use Comps
25.　How Financiers Recover Their Investments
26.　How Distributors Use Comps
27.　Examples of Comps in Action

III.　Inside Track: Script What’s on screen can only be as good as what’s on the page
28.　Why Script Matters
29.　How Should Your Script Look?
30.　How to Make Your Script Read Well
31.　Make It a Page-Turner
32.　Keep It Short
33.　Top 10 Screenwriter Mistakes
34.　Write to Sell to Investors
35.　Write for Casting

IV.　Inside Track: Casting Getting the right actors
36.　Why Casting Matters
37.　How Do You Get Stars?
38.　The Actor Dance
39.　The Pile-On Effect
40.　The Director Dance
41.　Casting Non-Stars
42.　Tactical Approaches
43.　Cast the Rest of Your Relationships
V.　Inside Track: Cost You need to know the numbers
44.　Budget Is for Amateurs, Cost Is for Professionals
45.　Make the Cost Rational
46.　Include Marketing and Distribution Costs
47.　Planning and Scouting
48.　Incentives, Rebates, and Credits
49.　Contingency
50.　Costs You Might Not Know About
51.　Pre-Selling Expenses
52.　Selling Expenses
53.　Assume You Will Need to Cover Everything
54.　Not All Money Is Equal
55.　Crowdfunding Is Double Money
56.　Crowdfunding: Be Prepared!
57.　Launching and Managing Your Crowdfunding Campaign
58.　Crowdfunding Doesn’t End When the Campaign Does
59.　What Will You Have to Give Up to Get What You Want?
60.　The Myth of Final Cut

VI.　Inside Track: Now You Make Your Movie The moment you’ve been waiting for
61.　This Is the Inside Track Where You Make and Finish Your Movie

GET YOUR MOVIE SEEN

VII.　Inside Track: Getting into Festivals When Your Movie’s Ready Sundance and beyond
62.　Do Festivals Matter?
63.　Some Festivals Are More Than Festivals
64.　How You Get into a Festival

VIII.　Inside Track: Selling at Festivals　 Can you make a deal here?
65.　Leap into Action
66.　Get Your Materials Ready
67.　Get Your Rep
68.　Get Some Early Press
69.　But Don’t Let People See It Yet
70.　Reach Out to Your Preferred Distributors
71.　Get Them to the Screening
72.　Get the Press There
73.　Follow Through

IX.　Inside Track: Selling Everywhere Else for Theatrical Distribution More places to make deals
74.　Most Sales Happen This Way
75.　Get a Representative If You Can
76.　If You Can’t Get a Representative . . .
77.　You Have to See It with an Audience First
78.　If You Can’t Get a Distributor to an Audience Screening
79.　Should You Show a Distributor an Unfinished Film?
80.　What to Show Potential Distributors
81.　Know How Much You Need

X.　Inside Track: Selling for Non-Theatrical Distribution The screens that make the most money
82.　What’s Non-Theatrical?
83.　Why Are You Doing This?
84.　Aggregators
85.　Materials
86.　Direct Submissions
87.　Know Your Windows
88.　Deliver to Their Specs

XI.　Inside Track: Free Range Distribution The new frontier
89.　What Are Free Range Distribution Platforms, and How Do They Work?
90.　You Can Keep Your Rights
91.　What Rights Are There?
92.　Know Your Rights
93.　Integrate Everything
94.　Marketing Is Your Job
95.　Four-Walling
96.　What to Look for in a Free Range Distribution Platform
97.　What You’ll Need
98.　What’s Been Working
99.　What’s Next for Free Range Distribution?

ESSENTIAL RESOURCES

Distribution Platforms Where You Sell or License Your Rights
Free Range Distribution Platforms
Directory of Sales Agents
Best Information Sources
Your Attitude Is Your Greatest Resource
The Academy Award Speech I Hope You Make One Day

INDEX

Product Updates

Empowering independent filmmakers to turn the tables on Hollywood—and get their movies made and seen.

Inside Track for Independent Filmmakers is your roadmap to getting your movie made, seen, and distributed. With 11 Inside Tracks and 99 step-by-step tips, youll discover insider secrets, step-by-step instructions, and time-saving shortcuts-everything you need to approach financiers, actors, agents, and distributors like a savvy professional. Written in straightforward, everyday language by media expert Adam Leipzig, the past president of National Geographic Films and a former senior executive at Disney, who has supervised more than 25 films. This concise volume tells you exactly what you need to do to get your movie made and find the perfect audience. You will learn how to get great casting for your movie; pitch your project to financiers and speak the language they understand; find the evidence to support your creative vision; work the festival circuit like a pro; and make your film incredibly attractive to distributors.

Looking for instructor resources like Test Banks, Lecture Slides, and Clicker Questions? Request access to Achieve to explore the full suite of instructor resources.

ISBN:9781319019952

ISBN:9781319013189

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