How to Write, Produce, Shoot & Distribute Your Micro-budget Film
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Webinar hosted by: Tatiana Kelly
Producer at Serena Films (Almost two dozen films which have premiered at Sundance, Tribeca and more!)
Tatiana Kelly's first film Wristcutters: A Love Story starred Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sossamon, Will Arnett, John Hawkes, Shea Whigham, and Tom Waits. It premiered at Sundance in 2006, was released by Lionsgate, earned two Independent Spirit Award nominations, was screened in over thirty film festivals, and was an eight-time Best Feature festival winner. Subsequent productions were Happiness Runs starring Rutger Hauer, Andie MacDowell, Shiloh Fernandez, and Jesse Plemons, Smother starring Steven Bauer and Taryn Manning, and Dark Yellow, starring Melora Walters and John Hawkes. Recent theatrical releases include The Words, which was the Closing Night film in 2012 at Sundance starring Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Irons, Dennis Quaid, Zoe Saldana, and Olivia Wilde, and The Procession, written and directed by Academy Award-nominated writer Robert Festinger (In The Bedroom), starring Lily Tomlin, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Lucy Punch. Upcoming films include "Sunset Stories," which premiered at SXSW which starred Monique Curnen, Sung Kang, Joshua Leonard, Zosia Mamet with cameos by Jim Parsons and Kevin Bacon, "Amos' Wake" starring Shiloh Fernandez and Keisha Castle-Hughes, and "Perfection," based on the short film "Slice," which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was a participant in IFP's Independent Filmmaker Lab, and winner of the Adrienne Shelly Female Directing Grant. Upcoming theatrical releases include "Life of a King" which premiered at the LA Film Festival starring Cuba Gooding Jr. Kelly is also on pre-production on "Cut Throat City" which she is producing with Reggie Hudlin ("Django Unchained") and which is being directed by RZA from the Wu Tang Clan, "Catcher Was a Spy" based on the New York Times bestseller of the same name, directed by Ben Lewin ("The Sessions") and written by Academy Award-nominated writer Robert Rodat ("Saving Private Ryan", "The Patriot", "Thor 2"), and "House of Curl" based on the bestselling book by the same name starring Guy Pearce and Laura Linney. She is also in development on projects with Academy Award-nominated writer Tab Murphy ("Gorillas in the Mist"), Ernesto Foronda ("Better Luck Tomorrow"), and companies including Lynda Obst Productions, CBS Studios, and Tribeca Productions. Full Bio »
Webinar Summary
Learn directly from Tatiana Kelly who has produced 12 independent films including Wristcutters: A Love Story and The Words (Bradley Cooper and Zoe Saldana), and The Procession.
The barrier of entry for the micro-budget / DIY / indie filmmaker has never been lower, making the landscape of independent film more exciting than ever. With box office and VOD sales at an all time high and more distribution opportunities than ever, independent films are enjoying a resurgence. Throw into the mix that many studios and larger production companies are committed to producing numerous micro-budget films each year (see Paramount Insurge) and independent producers such as Jason Blum (Blumhouse) have made a living in the space, and the demand for films with micro-budgets has never been higher. Additionally, many creatives are taking matters into their own hands by making micro-budget films as a calling card for their talents.
Some examples of micro-budget films include Napoleon Dynamite, Halloween, Clerks, The Blair Witch Project, Mad Max, Eraserhead, Open Water, Catfish, Saw, Once, Pi.
Story and style win the day as a result of the passion and dedication put into micro-budget films. If you are a screenwriter, producer, filmmaker or any other creative that values control of your story and film and has decided to write, develop, shoot or distribute a film in the micro-budget space, this is the webinar for you.
What You'll Learn
- Why do a micro-budget film vs. the traditional studio/foreign sales driven route
- Script development and creative plan to doing a micro-budget
- Setting yourself up to succeed both from a production standpoint and in the marketplace
- General approach to crewing up
- How to make sure you’re buttoned up legally
- Priorities during pre-production
- Pitfalls to avoid throughout production
- How to position your film prior to finishing it
- Critical elements to have in place for distribution
- Navigating the film festival circuit
- Q&A with Tatiana
About Your Instructor
Tatiana Kelly
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Reviews Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5
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Cedric Scott Wood The content might have been good. But the video quality was horrible preventing me from getting anything out of the video. When I complained I don't remember anyone caring or trying to get a watchable video to me. Thank you for asking. -
Tommy G. Kendrick Sounded very promising but did not deliver. Way too much overview and way too little detail. Maybe detail is impossible in this format but...If the info is not going to go in depth then the presentation should at least be professional. After the thousandth "ummm, you know" I was ready to shoot my computer screen. I know the presenter is a producer not an actor, but at least sound prepared. Rehearse your friggin power point slides so you actually sound like you know what you're talking about. Constant referrals to 'like I said yesterday...' were off putting. Did I miss the good stuff and this was just a quick and dirty 'reduced content' version designed to scrape off some more profit? I love Stage32 but I would never recommend this particular webinar. I will do a better job of vetting any other webinar or classes presented in this fashion before parting with even $39. You can all do better than this.
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