7-STEPS to FILM SUCCESS

(1) Read this Blog

 (Follow these 7 Steps and practice your acceptance speech)

(2) Pick one of the Top 10 Movie Budgets (see below) that is either #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 or #6… Go Budgets #7 to #12 and you are not realistic

(3) Get the KISS Script… Keep-It-Simple-Stupid (90-pages, 1-Location, No Stunts, No VFX, No EXT-NIGHT, No Crowd Scenes, No Car Chases, No Costume Period pieces…)

(4) Hustle some money (see below, #1 to #6)

(5) Make the Film; do a 1, 2 or 3 week shoot. 3 weeks is a shooting schedule of 5 pages/day; 2 weeks is a shooting schedule of 7 pages/day and a 1 week shoot is a schedule of 10-12 pages/day or 1 page every hour… but do it with Talent (Talent can’t be taught)

(6) Be a Good Person (Who have you helped today?)

(7) Trust God… (God likes good people with talent and a work ethic)

…This ain’t rocket science

Want to Write, Produce or Direct a successful feature film… then forget big-budget and medium-budget and start at the bottom

START AT THE BOTTOM

 (First feature KISS… Keep-It-Simple-Stupid… 90-pages, 1-Location)

Now with state-of-art micro-dollar cameras and on-demand revenues, plus increased foreign sales and product placement revenues there is no excuse for not making independent (Micro-Budget & Low-Budget) feature films that profit if you get realistic and start-at-the-bottom and make your first feature film.

The phrase is “Are you sick-and-tired of being sick-and-tired”. If so then 12 Blogs (posted 4-6 months ago) will be perfect for you.

Why?

Because in the 12 Blogs  (2 per past week… please I beg you to go back & re-read ’em)  detail 12 Feature Film Budgets, that are realistic to make for your 1st feature film, while outlining (checque-by-checque) exactly what to pay Crew, Cameras, Vendors, Writers, Actors, Suppliers, Attorneys, Agents, Props, Wardrobe, Music, Lab, DCP, Publicity, etc. when making your first feature film…

The 12 Budgets detailed range from as little as $1,000 (3-day, 2 iPhone shoot), and please do not tell me that that is not obtainable, to as high as $10,000,000 (7-week, Visual Effects, Road Flick, with 2 Movie Names) which is definitely a stretch for first-timers but not if your daddy is a Billionaire named Pritzker or Ellison or a Sheik or a Trump.

Bottom-Line, is that after perusing the 12 budgets (12 Blogs) you will be 100% focused on what your first feature film will be,… and know exactly what you can achieve as you move your career forward.

The Top 10 Budgets (okay 12) for First-Time Filmmakers are…

           (These Films are budgets 1-6… maybe 7)

(1) ($1,000 – $10,000):  NO-BUDGET Weekend BUDGET

(2) ($10,000-$20,000): CREDIT CARD 4-Weekends over 3-Month BUDGET

(3) ($20,000-$30,000): SHOT-FOR 1-week power-through but No-Post BUDGET

(4) ($30,000-$50,000): MICRO-BUDGET Real-Time with Post & Music BUDGET

(5) ($50,000-$70,000): MINI-BUDGET 1-Week 16mm Film BUDGET

(6) ($100,000-$200,000): LOW-BUDGET 1-2 Week 4K BUDGET

(7) ($300,000-$500,000): MILLION DOLLAR 3-Week, 2 Red, 20:1 Shooting Ratio BUDGET

(8) ($1,000,000-$2,000,000):  CROWD-FUND 1-Month, 3 Guild BUDGET

(9) ($2,000,000-$3,000,000): TV MOW 5-Week, shot in Canada, True Story BUDGET

(10) ($3,000,000-$5,000,000): PRODUCT PLACEMENT 5-7 Week BUDGET

(11) ($5,000,000-$7,000,000): INTERNATIONAL CO-PRODUCTION 5-7 Week BUDGET

(12) ($10,000,000+): WEINSTEIN/MIRAMAX BUDGET

BOTTOM-LINE: Your 1st Feature Budget Will Be?

Now, please be “ruthlessly honest”… and for your very first feature film..of the 12 Budgets outlined below which is going to be Your 1st Feature Film Budget?

Is a Million Dollar budget realistic? I think not.

Is a $1-2 Million budget realistic? I think not.

Is a $2-3 Million budget realistic? I think not.

Is a $3-5 Million budget realistic. I think not.

Is a $7-10 Million budget realistic. I think not.

My opinion, even though the above budgets ($1-$10 Million) are called “Low-Budget”, are still massive amounts of money to secure for your first project and I truly believe that your first feature film is going to either be…

…(1) “No-Budget” 3-day shoot… I Think Yes

…(2) “Micro-Budget” 1-week Shoot… I Think Yes

…(3) “Mini-Budget”4-Weekend Shoot over 6 months… I Think Yes

…(4) “Low-Budget” 2-week Shoot, Non-Guild, Non-Union, maybe SAG-AFTRA ULB… I Think Maybe

or …

…(5) “Under $1 Million” 3-week Shoot, Non-Union but SAG-AFTRA… I Think Maybe… but it’s a weak maybe.

…and all are made for $1,000 – $200,000…. maybe $500,000.

Happy Filmmaking,

Dov Simens / Dean / Hollywood Film Institute

XXXXX

Want theory & romance? Go to a traditional 4-year film program and spend $100K-$300K

Want to Produce, Write or Direct and launch your career… then aattend one of my 16-hour Film Programs in either an Online, DVD or Live format.

Join Our E-mail List.

Keep Up to date (Click Below) … http://webfilmschool.us10.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?

313d0b336735c6d5fbf1a8e9d

Happy Filmmaking.