Flattery Will Get You Everywhere...

Today, I shipped off a series of Blu-Ray's to Sony.

When the biggest Media Company in the world asks to take a look at your movie, there is no possible bad outcome. Regardless of what happens next, I've managed to get on their radar and for someone working at this level, it's hugely flattering.

Most indie film makers spend their entire careers jumping up and down hoping to catch the eye of a giant like Sony. That's never been my style. I've never harbored any illusions that I'm on the verge of 'breaking big', or that I'm somehow on Hollywood's front door. "This is the movie that's gonna change everything..." is the rally cry of nearly every low budget film maker I've ever met. Not me.

I make movies with budgets that most studio's in Hollywood couldn't pay for lunch with. That's fact. And I've been making my living making these types of movies for 12 years now. I know enough about the business of entertainment to know that 'Hollywood' doesn't come calling for $10,000 features shot on $2,000 camera's with up and coming actors that most in the Valley have never heard of. It just doesn't happen.

Sure, I know about the "Paranormal Activity" and "Blair Witch" films, and even Kevin Smith's "Clerks". It's these "Low Budget Turns Blockbuster" stories that keeps most in Indie Film going. The truth is, the chance of something like this happening to the average indie film maker is about the same odds as getting struck by lightning. Still, I hear it all the time from my friends and colleagues. "This one is gonna get picked up..." 

Is is possible "Blood of Ohma" becomes the next 'Big Little Movie'? Sure. But it's not likely, and I know that. I'm flattered that Sony has asked to look, and like every other project I've worked on, I'll talk to anyone about any one of them. I make movies because I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing to pay my bills. But to do it - I have to run GMD Films like a business. I have to make my films efficiently and I have to control the distribution of them. I have to monetize them as many ways as the market allows.

For as much as it perplexes my colleagues in indie film, the plan is actually pretty simple. I make the best movies I can make for the money I have to work with. And I control the rights. I've turned down all the 'Distribution' Deals that most film makers are in such a hurry to sign off on. Those Companies that take the film makers exclusive rights for 5 - 7 years, expense out all the profit and send statements once a year telling the film maker how much money he still owes the 'Distributor'.

And they all justify it by saying "Well, at least it's 'Out There'". Well, 'Out There' doesn't pay the electric, and it sure doesn't line up the budget for your next film. And I get asked A LOT from indie film makers how to 'do' what we do here at GMD Films. And I tell them ALL the same thing - control your rights. Sell your film yourself. It's not hard to get it on Amazon, and it's not hard to build a web site. Those 'Distributors' are going to press 1,000 units of your DVD and that's the end of it. So, 'Out There' actually means you have 1,000 units in the market, and after expenses... you still don't have a revenue stream.

It's not Rocket Science, it's just a little bit of business sense and a willingness to put your ego on the shelf so your films don't end up lost in the black hole of indie distribution. No one is going to work your film and promote it harder than you. Those 'Distributors' make their money on volume. They acquire as many films as they can sign, and they expense out all the costs right back to the film maker. For them, it's free content, because they know going in, they aren't going to be paying much to the film maker.

Instead, if the film maker holds their rights, and exploits the film themselves, they get paid on every copy. Every download, and should a legitimate deal come into play - the film maker can make the choice for himself, rather than turning it over to their 'distributor' for pennies on the dollar.

Again, it's not Rocket Science. It just requires that you put a value on your own work, and have the ability the accept $20 at a time instead of holding out for that elusive 'Studio Deal' that more than likely is never going to happen. 

Back To Bedlam

Larry Laverty with Katie Russell

 It's now been four years since we took our first trip to Bedlam, PA. where we told the story of this strange town and what happened to that group of college students who were unfortunate enough to spend a night there. 

For me as a film maker, this was my first full High Definition feature film. We had just acquired a big fancy Sony HDV Camera and we hiked out into the woods to try our hand at what was then still pretty new technology, especially for the indie film community. 

Shooting 'The Lynching'

The technology was so new in fact, that the editing system I was using (a MAC running Final Cut Pro) wouldn't recognize the camera in High Definition. The system would enable me to capture the footage in Standard Definition for editing, but it wouldn't see it as High Definition. 

The Theatrical Premiere was scheduled before we even finished shooting, so I forged on with the edit of the film, assuming that a future version of Final Cut Pro would arrive with the ability to recognize my camera and allow me to recapture the footage in HD and the whole thing should line right up for a future Blu-Ray release. 

Well, in the meantime, Apple came out with the iPAD, the App Store and pretty much forgot all of the indie film editors who were working with their professional software. Since many Hollywood editors use Final Cut Pro, the software always recognized the $20,000 HD Camera's that David Fincher uses, and it always saw Red One footage, and 4K digital files. But I was shooting 1080/60i on a camera that cost $2500. I was simply not on the priority list. 

Jason Hull with Make Up Artist Curtis Thomas

By the start of the next project, I changed editing systems and now run an amped up Windows System running Sony Vegas Pro. We've been shooting in HD ever since, but "House of Bedlam" got put on the back burner for awhile. 

Last winter, while waiting on the weather to shoot "Blood of Ohma", I decided to re-visit "House of Bedlam" and start the process of re-capturing all the footage in High Definition. I shot over 30 hours of footage for the movie, so it took several weeks of capturing the footage in between the other projects. 

Seneca Shongo with Patrick 'Mr. Miagi' Cleary

Last summer I shot "Blood of Ohma", and when the dust cleared on that, winter rolled in. So, I've been working on re-editing "H.O.B." for a Blu-Ray release. 

I'll admit, I was encouraged by the folks at the Blu-Ray Forum. For the last couple of months, they've been picking apart "Blood of Ohma" and holding this little no-budget 3D movie against Hollywood's biggest Summer Blockbusters, and I'm proud to say "Ohma" has held his own. 

"This film is 3D, legitimate full depth inwards and outwards. How a movie like this gets minimal attention yet Day of the Dead is post converted double 2d to push the flat frame a foot back into your TV gets attention across the board while spitting on the genre is beyond me." - The Blu-Ray Forum

So needless to say, it got me thinking about "House of Bedlam" on Blu-Ray. 

Katie Russell with Paul Gorman

 

Thanks for rubbing it in Facebook. 

Since I don't have the patience for a 'shot by shot' re-creation, I'm re-editing the film from scratch. It's been an interesting process. I'm still working from the same footage I shot four years ago, but my choices are a little different now. 

I'm about 20 minutes into it, right about where the kids set up camp, and I think the film is already paced faster and maybe a little more intense. It'll be interesting to see where it goes. 

I don't have a release date, or even a window. This is very much a 'side project' for me, so it can be sidelined at any time, but I've been making a point to work on it a bit each day, and I think at this rate, it could be done by summer. 

What's next for me is an episode of "It's A Tasha Thing" for MaddyGTV. I'll be Directing "Episode 3" which will be shot in 3D. As soon as the weather breaks, we'll be starting "Virgin Pockets" the series. We've been in pre-production on this for a few months now, but we're ready to roll as soon as Mother Nature makes room for us. 

After that... Adam Moore is polishing up a script called "Mettle to Mettle" that could turn into our 'Big Summer' Feature. 

I'll be back with more...