Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Advice from Don Cheadle...about tenacity.

Don Cheadle gives advice to an Acting Student about what it takes to go after an Acting Career...


...and the importance of doing your own thing, which best markets yourself, which is exactly what I'm doing with BECOMING MAGNUM.

We are getting so close to having everything done. Diane is putting the finishing touches on the New Promo Trailer, and for the 1st Episode. I'm meeting up with her on Thursday to see the Final Cut of the Promo Trailer and hopefully of the 1st Episode.

I'm then going to be taking the footage over to Bloody Bob's for him to watch and get a sense for what kind of Music is needed.

This week: I've got to listen to Tom Selleck speak in scenes from MAGNUM P.I. so I can get a sense of how he talks, and start working on learning how to sound similar to him for narrating for the 1st Episode of BECOMING MAGNUM.

I've also got to finish working on my Pitch, and re-listen to all of Gary Goldstein's "Scaling The Great Wall Of Hollywood," mp3's from the course that I took with him.

I've also got to go over my Internet Marketing for Filmmaker's materials.

Once the Promo Trailer is ready, I will be emailing the link to specific people that I've met in the Film Industry and have them Test Screen the Trailer for me, and share their reactions and comments and feedback.

Then I will send them a link to checkout the 1st Webisode of BECOMING MAGNUM, and again get their reactions and feedback.

A few more steps forward,

Mike

Mike

Sunday, May 16, 2010

An Owle Bubo Comparison Test.

Hi everyone,

I just popped onto YouTube to look for Video's about the Owle Bubo when I came across this great video that does a comparison of video shot with the iPhone vs. video shot with the iPhone and the Owle Bubo and the VeriCorder Microphone.



It has me really excited about getting my hands on the iPhone especially with all of the great Apps that are out there for Independent Filmmakers and Actor's.

It is definitely a brave new world out there for Indies and Studio's alike.

Viva la Dream!

Mike.

A Great Tool for Shooting Video...

I just found out about The Wrist Shot by Hoodman through the Hand Held Hollywood Website.


There's also the WristShot Camcorder Support System Video directly on the Hoodman Website.



It sells for only $149.99 US and is definitely going to be a great addition to helping shoot BECOMING MAGNUM.

I'm going to be picking up an iPhone in the very near future, and once I've gotten it, I will be picking up both an Owle Bubo and the Wrist Shot and I will begin testing out shots and shooting footage for the 2nd Webisode.

I'm really excited and can't wait to see how things turn out.

Mike.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

The Hidden Influence of Social Networks.

I just saw a powerful eye opening video about the hidden influence of Social Networks, in particular was the influence of obesity within the social networks.

It also gives you a greater understanding in the importance of expanding your social networks in targeted areas for expanding your net-worth along with your network...in the TV/Film Industry, or any Industry.

Here's the Video.

Enjoy,

Mike.

http://www.ted.com/talks/nicholas_christakis_the_hidden_influence_of_social_networks.html

Film ideas must be pitched creatively in Hollywood

I came across a great Article earlier this week while checking out Gary Goldstein's Mentoring Group's Website, and it gave me a couple of really big Aha! moments.

I realized that I"m going to need to make some changes to my Website - the feel and layout - as part of the Brand that I'm creating. It also made me think about the overall approach, and what needs to be refined and/or tweaked.

Here's the Article:

Film ideas must be pitched creatively in Hollywood

Alex Ben Block

Thu Oct 29, 2009 11:20pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The novella "Embassy" recently was sent around to producers by talent manager Joel Gotler, inviting them to team with him to create a movie package to offer major studios.

FILM | FRANCE

What was unusual was not that the thriller was written in five days by New York real estate investor, hedge-fund manager and author Richard Doetsch, or that it was published by Simon & Schuster but isn't available in bookstores.

What was new was that "Embassy" has been published as a Vook, a hybrid of text and embedded video that intertwine to tell the story of a hostage crisis and can be read and viewed full-screen online or on any mobile device. The Vook, Gotler says, is "the hottest thing right now."

What the Vook offers, along with a dramatic "Die Hard"-style story, is compelling video that helps sell the concept -- an element many producers are adding to market their projects alongside a script, book or graphic novel.

Why so much effort?In a consolidated marketplace, with fewer buyers making few movies and creating fewer TV pilots, they are demanding a higher level of proof that whatever they buy can be made into a movie or TV show.

"It's more work now," says Gotler, president of the Intellectual Property Group, a management and production company with literary roots. "You need a compelling story, but that isn't enough. You've got to bring in either a director, a writer, co-financing or a co-production deal. We're trying to think outside the box."

Many movies come from obvious sources -- best-sellers, remakes or high-concept marketable elements including toys, video games or classic TV shows -- but there still is a market for original material, especially family movies, comedies, horror and action pictures. However, the bar has been raised as to what it takes to make a sale. There are a lot fewer pitches or even spec scripts being sold, unless they come with elements that elevate their value.

"Right now, the development dollars are hard to come by," says Erwin Stoff, a partner at 3 Arts Entertainment, which manages talent and produces projects. "People are way more careful about what they are buying, so the more you have to offer going in, in terms of a comfort level in that what they are buying is a movie they will want to make, the greater the likelihood you are going to sell it."

Stoff recently sold "Water for Elephants," a best-selling historical novel by Sara Gruen. To make the deal, he partnered with producers Gil Netter and Andrew Tennenbaum; attached his client, writer Richard LaGravenese; and director Francis Lawrence.

"We had one of the most respected screenwriters and a very in-demand director and a property with heat," Stoff says. "It was still not the easiest of materials to sell because people are far less into speculative buying than they were."

In this case, "Water" found its level at Fox.

Producer-manager Doug Drazin of Epigram Entertainment says he recently submitted two scripts that "two years ago would have been bought. Now, it's, 'Yeah, bring an element attached.' So I'm saying, 'OK,' and what I'm finding is agencies are more open to reading material because they realize they have to do more packages themselves."

The shift has hit cost-conscious studios and networks, most of which have pared development staffs, a process that accelerated during the 2007 Hollywood writers strike. As a result, they look to packagers, especially manager-producer hybrids, to come in with material that won't require extensive additional development.

"They want stuff that is as close to ready to go as possible," says J.C. Spink of BenderSpink. "If you can come up with stuff that makes sense, they're really excited to be in business with you."

Spink uses the analogy of a Crock-Pot, or slow cooker: "It used to be a quick-fried sale; now we've gone to the Crock-Pot sale, adding ingredient by ingredient and letting it simmer. It's definitely harder to set things up, but what is good is that for the first time as a business, we are setting up stuff that they will really make."

That often means not only enlisting one's own clients but also working with other managers, talent agencies and producers to gather elements that make projects attractive to buyers. "It's always been a business of matchmaking," Spink says. "It's just the matchmaking has gotten a lot more specific."

Spink recently sold to DreamWorks a book titled "I Am Number Four," written by Jobie Hughes. It was brought to BenderSpink by its client James Frey.

"We found the right elements in terms of filmmakers with Michael Bay directing and Steven Spielberg executive producing," Spink says. "We hired a writer after the fact. It was the Bay attachment that got it set up."

What Spink hesitates to attach is an actor. "There are only about 20 actors that get a buy everywhere," he says. "Every other actor, some studios like and some don't. In a market where you are down to 12-13 people who can actually pay a fair amount of money for a script, I find that attaching actors can actually be a problem. What's been successful for us is finding the right material and packaging it with a writer."

Sometimes, however, having the right actor can help. Lucy Stille, who heads the literary-rights department at Paradigm, recently represented "The Fabulous Fraudulent Life of Jocelyn & Ed," an article that appeared in Rolling Stone about modern grifters that she felt was a surefire movie idea. Before going to studios, she gave it to Annette Savitch, a partner with Natalie Portman in Handsome Charlie Films.

"She loved it," says Stille, and gave it to Tracy Letts, who wrote "August: Osage County" not long after he won a Pulitzer Prize for drama "because she knew Tracy had a deal at Warner Bros."

"The combination of a terrific article, Natalie and Tracy got us a deal at Warner Bros.," Stille says. "I doubt, had I just sent the article cold to Warners, I would have done that. So all of us are spending much more time trying to put the right smart pieces together. The truth is, a lot of executives at the studio level don't have the time or inclination to do that."

When it makes a package stronger, Stille won't hesitate to reach out to big talent firms Creative Artists Agency or International Creative Management for clients. She says that while she looks out for Paradigm clients first, "we want to do what is best (to sell a book as a movie). If that means reaching out to another agency, we're secure enough to do it."

Although this evolution is more pronounced in the feature world, consolidation and cutbacks also have changed the game in television.

"Packagers have become more important because buyers have smaller and smaller budgets," says Brian Volk-Weiss, head of production and senior vp talent management at New Wave Entertainment/Dynamics. "People are being laid off, so there's a real need at the buyer level to have a lot of these components put together."

Volk-Weiss compares it to the way NASA worked during the 1960s and '70s, when the agency created every tool and piece of hardware in-house. "Now NASA has a lot of budget cuts and goes to vendors to lower overhead," he says. "The same thing is going on with studios and networks right now: If they used to have six people developing shows or 10 developing features, they now have three and four, respectively. There's a real impetus for outsiders who are not on their payroll to develop, and that's where packagers come into play."

Five years ago, Volk-Weiss says, New Wave was "scared" to attach too many elements to a pitch or script because it might give buyers a reason to say no. That idea pretty much has been turned on its head. "You don't want to be in a room anymore where the buyer goes, 'Great, but who is going to write this?'" he says. "Basically, they want all the pieces put together."

Volk-Weiss says his company almost always prepares a short video to help sell a concept. "I go into a room with 20 people and pitch an idea with a brown dog, and you've got 20 people thinking about 20 different brown dogs," he says. "When you go in with tape, you are showing the buyer exactly what we mean. That's why we have such a high pitch-to-sale rate."

Having the video already created is among the exciting things about the Vook, says Brad Inman, the technology's creator and CEO. "We think our technology, and video clips, is something that can be used to set up bigger movies and bigger events."

For now, one can read and watch the Vook on an iPhone for $4.95 or online for $6.95, with a selection of titles from Simon & Schuster that includes "Embassy," an exercise book and a cookbook.

(please visit our entertainment blog via www.reuters.com or on blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/)

It's been a crazy busy week as I've been working on cutting together a PROMO TRAILER, as well as looking through all of the footage of the Acting Class with Matthew Harrison at the Actor's Foundry where David Attar and myself are being coached through a MAGNUM P.I. Scene.

I only have a 6 minute window, and I have to figure out which is the best footage for the story that I want to tell. I'm also looking at the performance, and the personalities within the footage, and looking for the strongest of each, as well as what fits into the overall story that I'm looking to tell over the course of 12 Episodes to be shot over the next 6 months.

Two days ago, I met up with BRAD KING (one of Canada's Top Nutrition Experts) about my fitness and weight loss goals. He gave some great information, shot some footage for the Promo Trailer and for the 1st Episode. He also shared some great information with me that has really got me pumped and excited, and I'm really looking forward to getting started with my new Nutrition Plan and everything that Brad is going to be teaching me in order to achieve my lifelong nutrition goals.

NEW CONTACT!

I managed to make 1 new contact this week. My friend Karen Holness who is a Working Actor, introduced me to Richard. Richard is producing a $35 Million Feature Film about a True Story about his father. It's a powerful story, and I can't wait to see it.

The Coming Week...

My Goals for the coming week are to finish shaping the 4th Video of the 1st Episode of BECOMING MAGNUM. Season 1, Episode #101 - "Resolution is Proximity."

Finish the PROMO TRAILER, get it uploaded onto my Website and then send out emails to people to get them to watch the Trailer and provide their feedback on it.

Contact Key People that I know in the Entertainment Industry that are higher up than I am about a Dinner Party that I'm putting together for the Test Screening of my 1st Episode - to gauge their reactions, and to get their opinions and feedback.

Pick up a Swimming Pass for the Month, and go swimming 3x this week.

Meet up with Rob Epp and Joe Docherty and find out about Music for the 1st Episode.

Call Garry Chalk and ask him if he'd be willing to be my Voice Coach/Director as I have some Narration to do. Also ask him if he could Narrate a section for me for the Trailer and possibly Opening Sequence.

I need to make 1 new solid contact in the Entertainment (TV/Film/Media/Music) Industry.

Until next time,

Mike.



I read an article earlier this week that I find through Gary Goldstein's Mentoring Class

Monday, May 10, 2010

Funding Resources for Filmmakers...

I received an email from www.documentaryhowto.com as part of their DocuMentors Series about a FREE TELESEMINAR this Thursday night as part of their DOC TALKS session.

Go to www.documentaryhowto.com and click on FREE TELESEMINAR)

DOC TALKS this Thursday May 13th will give you the inside scoop on securing ITVS LINCS Funding.


I signed up and I'm looking forward to getting some great information about securing ITVS LINCS Funding.


I also went to the ITVS.org Website and downloaded a very informative PDF which I'm going to use as a reference source for my Pitch to Investors, Tom Selleck, and Brian Grazer when the time comes.


http://itvs.org/funding/resources/digital-survey-2009

I've also just finished writing out the Paper Edit for my PROMO/TEASER Trailer that I'm going to use to Promote BECOMING MAGNUM with, and use it to attract some more money from Investors so that I can get down to the 2010 Produced By Conference. I will also be sending the PROMO/TEASER Trailer to Tom Selleck once we've got it cut together.

All the best,

Mike.

Focus on the solution...not the problem.

I've been a little stressed out this weekend as I have to figure out a way to come up with up to $4,500 to finish the editing of my 1st Webisode, pay for tickets to the 2010 Produced By Conference in LA, pay for airfare, and get some new clothes...

I handed the problem over to my subconscious mind, forgot about it for awhile, and then got frustrated when I did think about it, and so I had to force it out of my conscious mind completely. A few hours later, an idea popped into my mind.

I NEED TO CREATE MORE VALUE...and show my small investor the value of his investment by putting together a really solid TEASER TRAILER that piques people's curiosity and intrigue and leaves them wanting more.

I've spent the past few hours going over the footage and rearranging it, moving it around, and trimming it using iMovie.

I now have a rough cut I'm going to take over to my Editor's and get her to put together a really powerful TEASER TRAILER that we can use to promote to my current investor, and possibly to attract some more investors with.

At this point, I'm not sure we're going to make it for the Wednesday Submission Deadline, which is too bad, but really, my focus is on getting the best 1st Webisode and promotional Trailers/Materials and Pitch materials ready, and then get in touch with Tom Selleck...so that is where my priorities are at the moment, and then to get down to the 2010 Produced By Conference.

It's gonna be a crazy busy month, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm doing what I love, I get to be creative and I'm going after a really Big Crazy Impossible Dream!

Lovin' life,

Mike

Sunday, May 09, 2010

Episode #1, Video #4

Happy Mother's Day everyone,

A very interesting thing happened at work last night. I wrote yesterday about how I have X amount of dollars that I need to come up to finish the Editing for the 1st Episode, and get myself to the 2010 Produced By Conference from June 4-6th...

While I was working at the Bar, in walked my small investor who was supposed to be out of the country. Part of me is reluctant to approach him about investing some more money, but at the same time, I can't ignore the fact that I need to come up with some more money, and the very same day he walks into the Bar.

I've also been reviewing the footage of the 1st Episode so far, and I need to cut together a 4th Video which will round out the first Episode and bring everything full circle and set things up for the 2nd Episode. I will be working on that today, and once I've got it finished, I'll take it over to my Editor's to get her to work her magic.

I'm also looking at putting together a Dinner Party and inviting everyone involved in BECOMING MAGNUM - From my Investor, to my Personal Trainer, my Chiropractor, my Acting Instructor, my Nutrition Expert, my Scene Partner, my Composer, my Entertainment Lawyer, Garry Chalk who narrated the Trailer for me...and have everyone in the same room so they can all finally meet each other and to share the 1st Episode with them.

I'm considering asking them to help me put together the rest of the money that I need to get myself to LA to the 2010 Produced By Conference.

I'm also looking at approaching Tom Selleck in the next 7-10 days...

Part of me wants to rush to get the 1st Episode together for the Wednesday Deadline for the PRODUCER'S CHALLENGE for the 2010 Produced By Conference. The Grand Prize of $30,000.00 would help significantly in financing my Reality Web Series.

Another part of me wants to make sure I've got the best product, and that I've tested it with an audience before submitting it to anything. I'm on the fence about that right now.

I am also going to need to get a copy of the 1st Episode into Tom Selleck's hands, and hopefully get him on board, and then if we both approached Brian Grazer together, I think that'd give us a lot more leverage.

It's time to get back to Editing the 4th Video of the 1st Episode.

All the best,

Mike.

Saturday, May 08, 2010

Cutting together the 1st Episode...

Hi everyone,

I've been working hard cutting together the 1st Episode of my Reality Web Series, BECOMING MAGNUM with my Editor Diane Fraser.

While taking Gary Goldstein's "Scaling The Great Wall Of Hollywood Course," he told me to make sure I had a finished product to give to Brian Grazer when I meet him.

I found a small investor who gave me money $2,500 to get this done. The first thing I did was to buy a Mac Book so that I could help review all of the footage, and then do a Pre-Edit for my Editor, to help save myself money. The Mac Book cost me $800. I also bought 2 External Hard Drives totalling 2.5 TB and cost another $200. Leaving me $1,500 to finish the 1st Episode.

I'm so incredibly glad that I did this. I went through 8 hours of footage that we had shot, and cut it down to 1:11:18 seconds and took it over to my Editor.

I then realized that I am going to need to learn how to Market my Reality Web Series on the Internet. So I signed up for an Internet Marketing for Filmmaker's Online Course which cost another $500.

That left me with $1,000. I gave $50 to my Web Designer, and another $100 for Web Hosting for my Main site, and all of the different sites attached to it. That leaves me with $850 for my Editor.

She then called me up, and had me come back over, and we went through some of the footage, and she had me go back and write a Script based on all of the dialogue within the footage so that we can find the heart of each scene, and the overall story that I want to tell in the Episode.

I did, and it took me about 2 days to go through all of the footage, and write out the script. It was an amazingly powerful experience. I went back over to Diane's with the Script, and now I have to figure out and write Voice Over/Narration for the Opening and Closing of each segment of the Episode.

Which I'm currently in the process of doing right now.

I have also found out about www.producedbyconference.com from Leanne at Cineworks, in which Brian Grazer will be one of the speakers, and it would be a great place for me to meet him. They also accept Submissions for Webisodes from Independents such as myself, and they are giving away a $30,000.00 Grand Prize to go towards Production. As an Actor, it's also a great place for me to be to meet the Top Producer's in Hollywood and begin building relationships with them now.

OPEN CALL FOR ENTRIES
  • Narrative Shorts

    Films must be under 40 minutes (open to close) and be narrative in form.

  • Documentary Shorts

    Documentary shorts under 40 minutes.

  • Webisodes

    Independent Webisodes. Entrants must submit a minimum of THREE webisodes to demonstrate overall continuous storyline. Individual webisodes must be no longer than 6 minutes each.

  • Studio Webisodes

    Studio and network-made webisodes. A studio webisode constitutes a webisode backed by a studio, network, TV show, or production. For example, "Lost" webisodes produced by Universal. Entrants must submit a minimum of THREE webisodes to demonstrate overall continuous storyline. Individual webisodes must be no longer than 6 minutes each and must be original material created specifically for the web.

MISSION & OBJECTIVE

The Producers Challenge is intended to promote the work of emerging storytellers, spotlighting producers who demonstrate outstanding promise in their respective fields. In so doing, we aim to deliver exciting new projects to a wider audience and expand the reach of the entertainment community to include the next generation of great producers. Producing is a holistic craft; there is no facet of production a true professional does not touch. Accordingly, submissions will be judged in their entirety, as cohesive and self-contained pieces of storytelling. Juror considerations may include—but are not limited to—originality of creative vision, quality of production values, and inventiveness in the face of narrative challenges or technical constraints.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

The 2nd Annual PRODUCERS CHALLENGE contest is being presented in concert with the 2nd Annual PRODUCED BY CONFERENCE, an extraordinary gathering of top producing talent in film, television and new media. New and emerging producers are encouraged not only to submit to the contest, but register for the multitude of seminars, discussions and special events that have made the Conference the destination for the producing community this summer.

The Producers Challenge presents finalists in each of four categories: narrative short films, documentary short films, independent webisodes, and studio webisodes. With finalists to be selected by a jury of renowned producers, the Challenge offers storytellers a chance to have their work screened for an audience drawn from every corner of the entertainment industry, with winners receiving not only a complimentary registration to the entire conference program, but an opportunity for connection and mentoring with acclaimed professionals such as Marshall Herskovitz, Gale Anne Hurd, and many more.

The prizes this year are better than ever! Each winner will receive a MAKE YOUR NEXT Short Film Package totaling $30k in services for EACH WINNER. Just bring your DP and editor and Equilibrium Entertainment will provide consulting on pre-production, camera and audio gear, production van, a small crew, edit facilities, audio mixing, graphics and titling and MORE. Get details on the equipment winners will have access to use.

Other prizes will include a private mentoring lunch with a top producer like Gale Ann Hurd, Mark Gordon or Marshall Herskovitz, full budgeting and scheduling software packages from Entertainment Partners and an all-session badge to the 2011 Produced By Conference.

The three finalists in each category will have the opportunity to screen at the Conference.

Tickets for the Event Sell for $995, it cost $100 to submit BECOMING MAGNUM the 1st Episode to the Event. The deadline for submissions is Wed May 12, 2010 (5 days from now). It'll cost an additional $1,200 to get my Editor to finish it in time, plus I need to get it Scored with Music and have it all packaged together and sent off. Plus, I'll need to pay for Airfare ($500) and Car Rental ($250), and some new clothes ($500) to go to the Event.

At this moment, I need to come up with an additional $4,540 (2 Tickets to the Event. Pay my Editor, Airfare, Car Rental, and Clothes.

I need to come up with $3,290 by Wed. If I'm unable to finish and submit the 1st Episode by Wed, I will still need to come up with $995 x 2 ($1,990) for Tickets to the Event and $1,200 for my Editor ($3,290) asap.
My focus for the next few days is to to finish writing the Opening/Closing Voice Over for each segment and to come up with the $3,290 so I can get myself to the Produced By Conference with BECOMING MAGNUM in hand when I meet with Brian Grazer and all of the other Top Hollywood Producers.

And on getting the 1st Episode finished along with the Music.

Wish me luck,

Mike.

Monday, May 03, 2010

Right place, right time...

What an awesome turn of events coming out of the weekend!

I'm currently in the process of cutting together (editing) the 1st Episode of BECOMING MAGNUM.

I organized the rough cut for my Editor on Thursday night, and I'm getting really excited about how it is looking.

I'm planning on doing a Test Screening of it on Wed May 19th, but I ran into a snag last week.

I need to find some more money so I can pay a Composer to SCORE the Episode...

Then, out of the blue, my old friend Bob Epp and his girlfriend Christine show up at the Bar that I work at.

I was talking with Bob about doing Music for BECOMING MAGNUM two years ago, and then we sort of lost touch with each other.

I went over to his place after work, where he played 14 different variations of the MAGNUM P.I. Theme Song that he's created, and I found the perfect modern MAGNUM P.I. Theme Song for BECOMING MAGNUM.

I mentioned my current situation to Bob, about how I'm intending on doing a Test Screening on the 19th, and I need to get the Episode Scored. He said he is more than willing to help out.

He's got a very demanding job/work load, but he will do what he can, which certainly fits in with my current budget of ZERO DOLLARS.

He gave me a copy of the New THEME SONG which I'm going to be taking over to my editors later today.

On a different note...my buddy Brendon mentioned to me last night that I should talk to his friend who is a Personal Trainer at Studeo 55 (where the Elite and A-List Celebs work out) here in Vancouver.

I've gotta say, I'm really glad I took Gary Goldstein's "Scaling The Great Wall of Hollywood" Course recently, as things are beginning to open up and move BECOMING MAGNUM forward.

All the best,

Mike