MicroBudget Feature Film Course

[Christian Ford]

Hello All--

Forgive the self-promotion, but since many of you are, like me, about to be proud owners of Red Ones, you might be interested in an online course that my producing partner and I are teaching at UCLA Extension. It's called (brace yourself) “Micro-budget Feature Films: Total Control and Maximum Profit.”

You can look at the UCLA Catalog Blurb here:
http://www.uclaextension.edu/index.cfm?reg=S9975U&href=/courseListings/course_display/CourseDetails.cfm

Or download our flyer here:
http://homepage.mac.com/christianford/filechute/MicrobudgetFinalFlyer.pdf

So you've got your Red and now you want to make a movie, but the investors you approach aren't automatically reaching for their checkbooks, because someone's told them the truth, namely, that investing in an indie film is worse than wildcatting oil wells. (Seriously.) But this paradigm is changing if you make a film between $150k-$300k. The reason is that the DVD distribution network is now so mature that the sales companies can reliably put together that amount with small sales in every territory. So, a project that can be slotted into some genre, plus a fundamentally no-name cast (William Katt would be a real “name” in these scenarios) is all it takes to get the sales companies interested. Now, here's the good part: you can get estimates from the various sales companies before you spend any of your investor's money, which means is that you'll know if you're going to get a return on that money before you take it out of the escrow fund. The obvious question is, “what if the estimates are wrong?” The answer is that between all the sales companies (there are 15-20 of them) their estimates will vary maybe 10-15k. Which means they're more projections than estimates (think Kelly Blue book) and if you don't like one company, you can go to another.

There are a lot of things not to like about making a feature for this kind of money. But there are also two huge positives. In this world, you are the studio. No one's going to tell you what to do. Second, if you do have a good script and attract good talent, the value of your project can go up very, very quickly. That William Katt film? The sales estimates on that one are over $800k. That's a whole lotta cash when you didn't spend a million in the first place.

[Joel Kaye]

I think I'd be interested if you were heavy on the business strategy, marketing, distribution end and a little lighter on the artsy side... like auditioning etc.

[number6]

Hello All--

Forgive the self-promotion, but since many of you are, like me, about to be proud owners of Red Ones, you might be interested in an online course that my producing partner and I are teaching at UCLA Extension. It's called (brace yourself) “Micro-budget Feature Films: Total Control and Maximum Profit.”

You can look at the UCLA Catalog Blurb here:
http://www.uclaextension.edu/index.cfm?reg=S9975U&href=/courseListings/course_display/CourseDetails.cfm

Or download our flyer here:
http://homepage.mac.com/christianford/filechute/MicrobudgetFinalFlyer.pdf

So you've got your Red and now you want to make a movie, but the investors you approach aren't automatically reaching for their checkbooks, because someone's told them the truth, namely, that investing in an indie film is worse than wildcatting oil wells. (Seriously.) But this paradigm is changing if you make a film between $150k-$300k. The reason is that the DVD distribution network is now so mature that the sales companies can reliably put together that amount with small sales in every territory. So, a project that can be slotted into some genre, plus a fundamentally no-name cast (William Katt would be a real “name” in these scenarios) is all it takes to get the sales companies interested. Now, here's the good part: you can get estimates from the various sales companies before you spend any of your investor's money, which means is that you'll know if you're going to get a return on that money before you take it out of the escrow fund. The obvious question is, “what if the estimates are wrong?” The answer is that between all the sales companies (there are 15-20 of them) their estimates will vary maybe 10-15k. Which means they're more projections than estimates (think Kelly Blue book) and if you don't like one company, you can go to another.

There are a lot of things not to like about making a feature for this kind of money. But there are also two huge positives. In this world, you are the studio. No one's going to tell you what to do. Second, if you do have a good script and attract good talent, the value of your project can go up very, very quickly. That William Katt film? The sales estimates on that one are over $800k. That's a whole lotta cash when you didn't spend a million in the first place.

Christian, you tease us. I would love to take such a course, but I am on a nano-budget as opposed to a micro budget. And the price of that course could possibly be better used for sustenance (many cans of Trappey's pinto beans... yummy!) But just reading your post adds to my knowledge base, so thanks.

[Jim Arthurs]

Christian, you tease us. I would love to take such a course, but I am on a nano-budget as opposed to a micro budget. And the price of that course could possibly be better used for sustenance (many cans of Trappey's pinto beans... yummy!) But just reading your post adds to my knowledge base, so thanks.

Hah! As you say, one man's micro is another's mega-budget! Exactly ten years ago I DP'ed a 16mm feature for a friend, and he took it all the way through post and music, right down to box art and pakaging for a grand total of 10,000 . This was a true 10,000 dollar budget, as it had VFX, original music, and nothing left to "improve" if picked up by a distributor. He literally had boxes of shrink wrapped product at the end of the work.

Now here's more interesting info... out of that 10,000 dollar budget, fully 7,000 went to Kodak, processing and telecine. So, in essence, it was a 3,000 dollar feature!

So, the "micro" budget of 150K to 300K is fully 15 to 30X more than we had to work with!

We've often done the thought experiment on what would have been improved if we'd had, say, 100K to work with? Well, the story and directing wouldn't have changed... nor would the format (16mm). We might have had a couple more grips, or a better lighting package (maybe a real DP instead of me), maybe a talent "upgrade" somewhere in the mix, but it wouldn't have been a significantly "better" film, IMO.

In fact, my firm belief is you either pay no one or pay everyone. For 10K no one expected to be payed (yet the main actors actually got stipends), but for 100K people start stretching out their hands for just compensation.

My friend set up a website to talk about his experience, with brutal honesty about the process...

http://www.tengrandmovie.com/

Regards,

[number6]

Hah! As you say, one man's micro is another's mega-budget! Exactly ten years ago I DP'ed a 16mm feature for a friend, and he took it all the way through post and music, right down to box art and pakaging for a grand total of 10,000 . This was a true 10,000 dollar budget, as it had VFX, original music, and nothing left to "improve" if picked up by a distributor. He literally had boxes of shrink wrapped product at the end of the work.

Now here's more interesting info... out of that 10,000 dollar budget, fully 7,000 went to Kodak, processing and telecine. So, in essence, it was a 3,000 dollar feature!

So, the "micro" budget of 150K to 300K is fully 15 to 30X more than we had to work with!

We've often done the thought experiment on what would have been improved if we'd had, say, 100K to work with? Well, the story and directing wouldn't have changed... nor would the format (16mm). We might have had a couple more grips, or a better lighting package (maybe a real DP instead of me), maybe a talent "upgrade" somewhere in the mix, but it wouldn't have been a significantly "better" film, IMO.

In fact, my firm belief is you either pay no one or pay everyone. For 10K no one expected to be payed (yet the main actors actually got stipends), but for 100K people start stretching out their hands for just compensation.

My friend set up a website to talk about his experience, with brutal honesty about the process...

http://www.tengrandmovie.com/

Regards,

Jim, thanks for the link. I've gone there and bookmarked it and will read it (probably time and again) when time permits. Thanks again.

[Christian Ford]

I think I'd be interested if you were heavy on the business strategy, marketing, distribution end and a little lighter on the artsy side... like auditioning etc.

Hi Joelnet--

If you're interested, here's a week by week breakdown of the class, so you can see how we're weighting it.
WEEK 1 — Overview and Preliminary Microbudget Story Development
WEEK 2 — Preparing the One-Page Selling Synopsis
WEEK 3 — Fundraising & Foreign Sales Estimates
WEEK 4 — Casting Realities
WEEK 5 — Budgeting & Scheduling
WEEK 6 — Directing
WEEK 7 — The Production: Workflow Overview & PreProduction
WEEK 8 — The Production: On the Set
WEEK 9 — The Production: Post-Production
WEEK 10 — Marketing & Distribution
WEEK 11 — Exploiting & Future-Proofing Your Asset
WEEK 12 — Group Review of Selected Proposals

Re: Casting. We find it to be the lynchpin of both the creative and business side as it (along with story) is the most significant creative decision and it entirely determines your foreign sales estimates.

Cheers,
Christian

[Christian Ford]

but I am on a nano-budget as opposed to a micro budget.

Hi Number6--

Glad to help out with your knowledge base. Who knows, by the time this thread is done, I may well spill the entire class...

cheers,
Christian

[Christian Ford]

My friend set up a website to talk about his experience, with brutal honesty about the process...


Hi Jim--

10k! I love it. Thanks for sharing your experience and for the link. I'm very interested to examine your pal's website. Maybe we should have him podcast for the class: "$150k -- Luxury! Luxury, you wimps!"

cheers,
Christian

[shaftbond]

pardon my ignorance, but how does UCLA extension work? are there lectures we download? or is all of that explained once i sign up?

this looks like a great class.

[number6]

Hi Number6--

by the time this thread is done, I may well spill the entire class...

cheers,
Christian

In that case, be seeing you...

[Christian Ford]

how does UCLA extension work? are there lectures we download?

Hi Shaftbond--

You access the class website via the UCLA online gateway. Once there, you'll find the 12 classes, each one of which goes live as that week begins. We are using a variety of materials in the class. There are written lectures (full size and smaller ancillary ones, called sidebars) audio and video casts of interviews with people involved in all aspects of marketing, casting, distribution, production, financing, etc. Additionally, there will be case-study budgets and schedules to download and examine, as well as a substantial recommended reading list. A student forum will also exist, to help with networking and discussing issues from class, and students will be encouraged to submit well-considered questions which we will answer by distributing the combined Q&A to the entire class. In terms of classwork, students will write a few short papers that we will return with our comments for rewriting. The purpose of these papers is to give each student, by the end of the class, a combined sales/marketing document which they can use to sell their project to investors.

If you have any other questions, let me know.

Christian

[Tom Lowe]

Sounds like an awesome class. Exactly what I need, really.

Any chance you will be doing this as an in-person course in the LA area? Like a bootcamp type thing? The price also seems a little steep if it is aimed at people trying to scrape every last penny together to make their films. I don't know how much control you have over the price, but you'd probably get 5 times more interest if this was priced closer to 200 bucks.

[Christian Ford]

Any chance you will be doing this as an in-person course in the LA area? Like a bootcamp type thing? The price also seems a little steep

Hi Tom--

Great to hear that it sounds appealing. And sorry about the price tag. UCLA makes that call, we're just the guns for hire.

As far as the in-person class/bootcamp, it might be a possibility somewhere down the line. For now, though, we're trying to take advantage of the online format by bringing in lots of guest speakers whom we'd never be able to schedule into a live class.

cheers,
Christian

[Babu Kantamneni]

Good idea.Let us start
babu

[GlennChan]

My friend set up a website to talk about his experience, with brutal honesty about the process...

http://www.tengrandmovie.com/
Interesting read Jim!

[Joel Kaye]

Re: Casting. We find it to be the lynchpin of both the creative and business side as it (along with story) is the most significant creative decision and it entirely determines your foreign sales estimates.

Cheers,
Christian

Yeah - I'll buy that notion. I think that is a critical business decision. How much do you pay for who and what can you anticipate in return. And how do you research that.

I'd say I'm more likely than not to sign up.

[number6]

Re: Casting. We find it to be the lynchpin of both the creative and business side as it (along with story) is the most significant creative decision and it entirely determines your foreign sales estimates.

Cheers,
Christian

Christian, can you elaborate on how casting affects foreign sales?

[JD Holloway]

I shot a film called "The Behaviour of Houses" years ago for 10 Grand....

...canadian...

100min drama

That included purchasing the camera (DVX 100 #5 in Canada).
The rest of the money was spend on tapes, gas...celery.
Mountains of celery.
I hate cellery now.
I had to build the lights...didn't have to...Sigh....
Crew? Whats a crew?
Writer pulled sound (bad idea).

Its available on amazon.com
www.behaviourofhouses.com
It was an answer to the Danish Dogma movement and great experience considering I'm IATSE.
The DVX had back focus issues right out of the box.
We didn't know until we projected it.
(that's why you have dailies.....DOH!)

[Christian Ford]

Christian, can you elaborate on how casting affects foreign sales?

In short, the foreign sales companies are selling a generic product (from their point of view) to a worldwide audience. How do you sell something that no one's heard of? Either by positioning it within a certain genre (their default mode) or by selling the faces on the box. This is where it gets interesting, because some of the most unlikely faces can be quite valuable for the sales companies -- and hence for the filmmaker who casts his film in such a way that the sales estimates go up. This pool of valuable low-profile actors is constantly changing, and different companies value these same people differently, but you can engage in a dialogue with the companies while you're casting and try to shape your cast in that way. Of course, you could make a knockout movie and sell it for a bundle to IFC at a festival -- but just in case that doesn't happen, a worldwide DVD release and not losing your shirt is a nice fallback.

Christian

[shaftbond]

CRAP! for some reason i got it in my head that this class started in late July...

so, anyone in it? how's it going so far? any plans to do another semester?

[Michael Hastings]

CRAP! for some reason i got it in my head that this class started in late July...

so, anyone in it? how's it going so far? any plans to do another semester?



Hi Number6--

Glad to help out with your knowledge base. Who knows, by the time this thread is done, I may well spill the entire class...

cheers,
Christian

Christian:

When you are through is there any way you can create a cliff's notes version or semi permanent web version of your knowledge of the microbudget feature.? I'm sure a number of redusers would be interested and willing to pay a reasonable fee?

[mdo]

Christian,

I tried to call the enrollment office, but they're no longer open for enrollment. The UCLA website apparently is allowing me to enroll and is right about to debit my credit card. I want to confirm there's no problem jumping in on the course two weeks in before I charge the card. Let me know. I should have no trouble catching up.

Mike O'Brien

[wshultz]

I tried to enroll yesterday and it the online forms took all my info including card info but then sent me a notification that my card would not be charged until my enrollment was confirmed. So far I haven't heard anything back.

[wshultz]

Enrollment confirmed today so I guess it's not too late to catch up.

[JW Lee]

Christian,
Is this class only taught "real time" over the Internet or do you archive the classes for viewing at a later time? I work for a company that provides online courses and we basically post the classes for our students to view 24/7 whenever they have a chance.
Thanks!

[mdo]

I talked to the people that put the class on. They have classroom sessions on blackboard that are online for a week after the class. They're checking with someone on Monday to see if it's possible to view them after that. Also, they're checking to see if they'll let late registrants in. After seeing wshultz's post, I registered. It seems most likely that, at best, the classroom instruction for all but the last 7 days will be lost. We'll see.

[wshultz]

I hope not! I want FULL money's worth.