Film Strategy

Film is an artform. But it is also a business. If you want to keep making your art, you have to treat it like a business ( I am talking about the logistics of making film, I am NOT talking about the cinematic parts; please don't substitute artistic elements and creativity with financial ratios and marketing buzzwords ). Running a business well means asking the right questions. Here's an article meant for small to midsized business (which is what most film production companies are) about 5 questions they should ask regarding their intellectual property. Substitute "IP" or "intellectual property" or "copyright" with "film" or "pilot" or "media project" and it will make sense and be relevant to you.  So enjoy: Five IP Lessons for Small to Medium–sized Businesses Originally published on 6/29/2016 by Joseph Walsh, Jr. | Harness, Dickey & Pierce, PLC Intellectual property plays an increasingly significant

Here's a guest post I did for Script Reader Pro entitled " How to Copyright a Script and Other Legal Tips for Screenwriters ." Of course, this advice also pertains to filmmakers, in general, since so many of you wear multiple hats in your productions and are aspiring Tarantino-types.  I know I am biased but it's a really good article. Check it out. ~~Danny Jiminian, Esq  I am an entertainment lawyer at www.djimlaw.com . For help in getting permission from musicians and other copyright owners to use their stuff without getting sued, as well as, clearing the script, negotiating life story rights, researching public domain works, registering your script with the US Copyright Office, drafting collaborator’s agreements and dealing with copyright infringement/entertainment litigation matters, you can contact me at danny@djimlaw.com

A snapshot of what these 2015 low-budget films did to make a profit. Deadline just published a good article with breakdowns of the numbers of 5 "small" films (by Hollywood standards) that had big profits . I was curious to probe a bit more into why these films were able to make a profit and came across a couple of recurring themes which I elaborate on in the FILM STRATEGY TAKEAWAY : their use of the horror genre, that the films are based on a well-known novel or sequel, their exploitation of production incentives, their release on a day with no competition and more. Check it out: +++++++ Each year when Deadline runs its film profitability countdown , readers understandably ask about wildly profitable films, usually genre pictures, that don’t merit inclusion on the basis of highest domestic gross. But that doesn’t mean these films don’t tell compelling stories in their own right. So this time, we included snapshots of five overachieving pictures. The final four film

So there is a benefit to becoming famous on Youtube. Feature-length films starring YouTube stars are getting Hollywood's attention. In their quest to de-risk a film and make a film with a built-in audience and marketing potential at little cost, they have decided to invest in films starring people popular in the digital world. According to THR : There were about a dozen such "film" projects in 2015 alone, and that number could double this year as major entertainment players look to cash in. These digital-focused films follow a similar, and more inexpensive, formula on their way from concept to completed project. According to numerous industry sources, studios will pay between $500,000 and $1.5 million to produce the movie, and the marketing spend is a fraction of the minimum $20 million that a studio normally would shell out.  Instead of going to theaters, studios typically distribute the films through iTunes and Vimeo, where viewers can download them for about $

Even a famous actress like Shirley MacLaine finds making indie films difficult.  I discovered this in an article she recently wrote about her experiences making the film, Wild Oats . Despite the difficulties, why making movies is a useful experience: Making a movie is the most useful experience I’ve found for getting to know more about myself. But you don’t have to be an actor or work in show business to have that experience. We’re all creating our lives every day. We are the actors and writers and directors and producers and financiers of our lives. So I’d say that means that our life itself is an art, one we’ve chosen to take part in. It’s like a movie we’ve chosen to make. Both need financing. Did anyone assure us when we were born that the money would be there?No. Did anyone assure me when I began Wild Oats that the money would be there? No. So why did I do it? Ambition? Adventure? Challenge? Fame? Because they asked me to? I’m not sure the “why” even matters now. How tax

If you want to reach the Chinese market, one way to do it is through the Netherlands. Here's why .

Filmmakers, no, you will not go to jail for bankruptcy. Fraud on the other hand... It is difficult to plan ahead and come up with the perfect budget for a film but the allure of making a film can not be denied. And so, the filmmaker plods ahead come what may to make that film. But for low-budget indie filmmakers all it takes is one misbudgeted item to derail the whole project. So when you gotta make that film even if you lack enough funds then you must be efficient and flexible to make it to the finish line. Here are 3 tips to get there: ATTRACT TALENT WITH PARTNERSHIPS Find the best Writer, Protagonist Actor/Actress, DP, Sound Mixer, Line Producer / Production Manager, Lawyer and Editor you can afford. Develop a professional relationship and friendly rapport with them. Think long term. If you can't afford their fees, put together a compensation package that is more than just credit and deferred compensation. Even low pay is better than nothing. Some other forms of comp

Economics of the film avant-garde:  networks and strategies in the circulation of films, ideas, and people by  Kathryn Ramey How do experimental filmmakers survive? And not just in tough economic times, but routinely? Can they make a living from their creative work, and if so, how? If not, how do they keep going? What social networks, communities, and institutions do they make or work within to continue their art-making? What ideas do they have about their chosen profession? How do they evolve and change with changing technologies and new opportunities? These are the kind of questions that motivated me to do an ethnographic study of the avant-garde film art world. Here I want to lay out one aspect of that project. Methodology* This essay was originally written as part of a multi-sited ethnography on late 20th century experimental filmmakers in North America focusing primarily on New York and Chicago and their environs in partial completion for a Ph.D. in socio-cultural