Writing and Producing the Micro-Budget Film

ABOUT THE WEBINAR

Hollywood: Home of the true 1%. Behind this gated community are the kidney-shaped pools and impeccable hedge rows, million-dollar mansions and Lamborghini excess. This is the Country Club of which you are most definitely not a member. You cannot apply to this club. The gatekeepers know you are not of their cloth. They can smell you. You are the Unwashed. They can smell your wanting, your desperation to join them on the inside. They have set up impenetrable motes and ramparts to stop you. How will you scale these walls?

Ask yourself: Do I need to be in Los Angeles to consider yourself a screenwriter? Do I need to be in Los Angeles to write a movie that launches your career? Do I need to have an agent or manager to place well in screenwriting contests? The answer is – NO! Back before the digital age John Cassavetes made films for low money. So did Orson Wells, who made bad wine commercials to finance his low-budget Shakespeare adaptations. Robert Rodriguez literally wrote the book, and major directors like Spike Lee and Aronofsky got their starts on the cheap. Credit-card filmmaking has been around forever, the watchword being film making. These early low-budget efforts were all shot on film-- which then brings us to what is new in the equation: Technology. There has never been a better time to break into the business. Now all you need is a script that can be shot for a micro-budget price and a producer with full knowledge of fund-raising, budgeting, and scheduling. It might seem like it, but this is not Everest you’re scaling. This can be done!

Paul Peditto and Boris Wexler, two long-time micro-budget filmmakers, have put together a webinar that takes you through the full process of making your film happen. This will be instruction for the full range of writers, producers, and directors--from someone writing/directing their first movie, to more advanced filmmakers who have been through the process but are looking for tips to wring value out of every last dollar. Of particular interest will be the case study of Chat, a movie Paul and Boris just wrapped, which has been picked up for North American distribution by Gravitas Ventures for Christmas, 2015.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

• Discover brainstorming techniques for stories that can be shot for a micro-budget
• Review the Top 10 rules for writing a micro-budget screenplay
• Gain insight on the pre-production process, from location scouting to casting to crewing up
• Follow the journey of Chat, a $44,000 micro-budget film, from idea to North American distribution
• Compare and contrast different budgets. Find the one that fits your movie
• Prioritize what you absolutely have to pay for, and what you should NOT pay for
• Learn about the current distribution landscape—do you need a name actor?
• Clarify the process of working with actors, and if you need SAG actors in your movie
• Define tips to help you “make your day”, even if you’re a first time director.
• Learn how to maximize director collaboration with the writer, the composer, the editor
• Review the scoring of the film, sound design on the cheap, how to work with your composer, and how much you really need to pay for scoring and sound design
• Gain insight on what actually happens in a Post House
• Discuss successful (and not successful!) strategies for marketing your film in the current marketplace glutted by product
• Clarify your film festival strategy. How much money will you need for submissions, how much should you spend?

WHO SHOULD LISTEN?

• First time writers, directors and producers trying to maximize every dollar they spend
• Writers looking for tips to save money at script level, before the movie is even shot
• Writers tired of the L.A. grind, looking for self-produced alternatives
• Writers living outside of L.A., looking to break into Hollywood by making a cheap film as their first film
• Film school students gearing up for their first feature-length movie
• Producers looking for creative ways to fund their projects
• Producers looking for ways to budget and schedule for maximum dollar impact
• First time directors seeking advice on casting, location scouting, and crewing up
• Directors seeking way to squeeze that last dollar into the production

The Writers Store does not offer any refunds for the webinar. All sales are final.