Streaming Film School™

Lesson #1: Independent Filmmaking 21st Century Production Basics

Understanding the Film Biz
What is needed for Fame & Fortune.
The $20 Million Studio Feature
The $200,000 Low-Budget Feature
The $20,000 No-Budget Feature
Getting Started & Breaking in

Lesson #2: Screenwriting Writing & Selling the Great Script

Working with the Writers Guild
Writing Treatments
Rigister & Copyright Your Ideas
The Keep-It-Simple Formula
Writing the First Draft
The Re-Writing Process
Hiring Writers Cheaply
Optioning Properties
Hiring an Agent
Selling the Hot Script

Lesson #3 Guilds & Union What are the Low-Budget rules

What is Low-Budget. The Writers Guild &WGA
The Directors Guild &DGA
The Screen Actors Guild & SAG. The Crew Union & IATSE.
Their Rules & Rates. What to Pay?
Procuring Crew.
Hiring Actors. The $100 / Day Rate. Union vs Non-union. Cost-Cutting Hiring Tricks

Lesson #4: Pre-Production Lights, Camera, Sound etc

What Film Costs. Kodak vs Fuji
What Camera Cost. Penavision vs Arriflex vs Aaton
Above-the-Line vs Below-the-Line
Vendor & Equipment Suppliers
Fisher Dollies vs Chapman Cranes
Negotiating Film Lab Deals, Print, Process & Develop
Securing a Light/Grip Package
Lighthing A-Z
Capturing Sound

Lesson #5: Directing A-Z The Art & Craft of the director

Directing the Actor
Casting A-Z
Rehearsal
Shot Selection
Directing the Camera
Interpreting the Script
Director’s Pre-Production
Securing a Performance
Mastering the Scene
Maximizing Coverage
Master Shots, Medium Shots and Cutaways
Reaction Shotsand Close-ups
Shooting Ratio
Directing the Camera
Directing the Crew
Directing the Edit

Lesson #6: Production BAsics Shooting the Film

Establishing a Shot List
Hiring a Crew
Securing 24-35 Setups/day
First Shot, Final Shot, Wrap
Department Heads
Cinematographer
Production Manager
Production Designer
Production Coordinator
Who to Hire
What to Pay
Film Permits
Production Insurance
E&O Insurance
Completion Bond
Synchronizing & Edge Coding
The Actual Shoot Costs

Lesson #7: Post-Production Process Finishing the Film

Film Editing
Hiring an Editor
Rough Cut
Assemble Edit
Post-Production Sound
Hiring a Sound Editor
Dialogue Cutting
ADR, Lip Syncing
Looping & Foley
M&E Tracks
Hiring a Music Editor
Music & Score
Music Clearance
Negative Cutting
Conforming
Striking an Answer Print
Negotiating Post=Production Costs

Lesson #8: Digital Filmaking A-Z The $500 to $50,000 Feature

Conon vs Sony
HD vs 24p
Mini-DV vs DVcam
Buy or Rent
The 1-Day or 1-Week Shoot
The Best 3-Chip Cameras
3CCD Microphone Dos and Don’ts
Digital Lighting
Non-linear Editing
Digital Distribution
Streaming
Archiving
VOD
Digital Film Festivals
Digital Guerilla Filmmaking Tactics

Lesson #9: Budgeting A-Z The $50,000 to $10,000,000 Feature

Producting the $500 Feature Film
Making the $100,000 Feature
Budgeting the $1 Million Independent Feature
The 1-Week or 2-Week Shoot
The 18-Day Shoot
The 16mm vs 35mm Shoot
Guerilla Filmaking Secrets & Tricks
The $3-$5 Million Movie-of-the-Week
The $7-$10 Million HBO/Showtime Special
The Cost-Cutting Nuts & Bolts

Lesson #10: Publicity & Marketing Selling the Film & Securing a Distributor

The Film Festival Circuit
Selecting Festival
Winning Awards
Attracting a Distributor
Cannes vs Sundance
Film Festivals vs Film Markets
Film Production Charts
Daily Variety vs Hollywood Reporter
Film Finders
Preparing a Press Kit
Securing a Distributor
Working Acquisition Executives
Creating a Buzz
Being Discovered
Hiring an Agent

Lesson #11: Cable & Video/Dvd Deals Maximizing 3rd Window Sales

The lucrative 3rd Window
Maximizing Revenues
Ancillary Revenue Flows
Video/VHS Sales
The DVD Explosion
DVD Rentals & Sell-Throughs
Cable Deals
Pay-Cable (HBO, Showtime, Encore)
Basic-Cable (IFC, A&E, Bravo, TNT, TBS, etc)
The VSDA
Made-for-Home-Video
P-P-V vs V-O-D
Broadcasting Licenses

Lesson #12: Foreign Sales & Film Profits Maximizing Global Revenues

Selling Global
Film Markets vs Film Festivals
AFM, Cannes & MIFED
North American Theatrical Deals
Split Rights Deals
35 Nations & Territories
100-200 Film Sellers
1,500-2,000 Film Buyers
Foreign Sales
Global Pre-Sales, Foreign Video/DVD
Foreign Broadcasting
What’s Hot, What’s Not
Who’s Buying
What are They Paying

Lesson #13: Financing & Deal making Securing Film Production Money

Indie Film Finance Guide
Securing Investor
Raising $1 Million
45 Theatrical Distributor Contacts
Preparing a Movie Package
Independent Film Financing
Funding By-The-Numbers
Sell the Sizzle
Limited Partnerships vs LLC legal structure
Selling Units
Offering Memorandums
What to Offer Investors
50% Profits, 1st Position & 25% Interest
100% Guarantees

Lesson #14: Theatrical Distributing Negotiating a Distribution Deal

50-50 Net Deal
Net vs Gross Deals What’s Negotiable, What’s Not
P&A Budgets
What Film Prints Cost
Advertising Costs
Distribution Fess
Box Office Gross
Distributor’s Gross
Producer’s Gross
Exhibitor’s Share
Profits, Net Profits & Net Producer’s Profits
Recouping expenses
The major Distributors (Warner Bros, Paramount, Fox, etc)
The Mini-Majors (Miramax, Lionsgate, NewLine, etc) & The Independent Distributors
Deal Memi Points

Lesson #15: Film Organization A-Z Preparing a Shooting Schedule

Preparing a Production Board
Planning an efficient Shoot
Securing a Shot List
Story boarding and Shot Selection
What to Shoot First
Scheduling Locations
Location Scouting
Pre-production paperwork
Production Forms & Contracts
“13” Easy-to-Follow Planning Steps
Creating a Shooting Schedule
Interior vs Exterior Shots
Day vs Night Shots
How to Organize Your Shoot

Lesson #16: Filmmaker’s Gameplan A Roadmap to Hollywood Success

Hollywood Frame, What is Needed
How to be Rich & Famous
The 7 Traits to Movie Frame
After Talent, What is Needed
The KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) Formula
Good is Not Good Enough
The Script Must be Great
Quentin Tarantino, Guy Ritchie, Baz Luhman & Doug Liman’s Success Formula
First, Make-a-film. Then, Make-A-Deal
How to start
Produce!
Write!
Direct!

Box Office Trends
Low-Budget Rules
Digital Cast & Crew
3D Filmmaking Basics
Product Placement Revenues
Foreign Pre-Selling
On-Demand Revenues

Filmmaker Resources
Write & Sell Scripts
Electronic Cameras
HD/Digital Budgeting
Government Funding
Crowd Funding Money
Future of Hollywood