Indie Film Hustle® - A Filmmaking Podcast

Oscar-Winner Russell Carpenter A.S.C. - Shooting Blockbusters, Titanic & James Cameron I can't tell you how excited I am about today's guest. I sat down with the legendary and Oscar® Winning Cinematographer Russell Carpenter A.S.C. Russell has been shooting blockbusters for over 40 years and has shot films like Ant-Man,  xXx: Return of Xander Cage, Charlie's Angels, The Negotiator, True Lies, Mons...

How a 19 Yr Old Directed & Sold 6 Feature Films with Dylan Mars I always talk about the grind, doing the work and just going out and shoot your film. Today's guest does just that, Dylan Mars Greenberg. Dylan has directed 6 feature films at the ripe old age of 19 years old. I can't tell you what a treat it was to speak to this young filmmaker. I hope Dylan's drive, excitement to tell stories and go...

Why Facebook Watch is a Game Changer for Indie Filmmakers The online video landscape is changing on a daily basis. The newest gladiator to step into the ring is Facebook. Facebook is launching Facebook Watch, a new "show tab" that will host original shows produced exclusively for Facebook. Considering that Facebook has 1.32 Billion people who come to the site on a daily basis this is a game change...

How to Become a "Jack of All Trades" Indie Filmmaker On today's episode, I want to discuss the need for indie filmmakers to become a "Jack of All Trades." As you travel down your filmmaking path you need to be adding tools to your tool box. You have to be adding new skills, knowledge, and experience to your tool box every day. I go over not just the basic skills you need to know but some tool you...

How to Build an Audience w/ Social Media & Hustle - Hollyshorts! Film Festival Conference In today's episode, I wanted to share the talk I did with RB Botto (Stage 32) at the Hollyshorts! Film Festival Conference 2017. RB and I spoke about a lot of different topics covering, crowdfunding, crowdsourcing, building an audience, self-distribution, and much more. There's truly one knowledge bomb droppe...

Hollywood Directing: How to Choose the Right Lens for Your Shot On today's episode, I wanted to give you a sneak peek of one of the best selling filmmaking courses on Udemy right now, Hollywood Film & Television Directing Masterclass with former guest and master film instructor Gil Bettman. On the show, you'll hear a lesson on how you can AMP UP your static shots by the choosing the right lenses....

This is Meg is LIVE on iTunes & Some Other Surprises Today is the day. This is Meg is FINALLY been released to the world on iTunes. It's pretty incredible that an idea I had over a year ago is now a feature film that has been released on mutha f'in iTunes. It's humbling. I'm so grateful to you, the IFH Tribe for your support, love and well wishes. I know that I wouldn't have been able to do this w...

Spielberg, Take Me & Directing for the Duplass Brothers with Pat Healy Today's guest prolific actor/writer/director Pat Healy. Pat discuss his new Netflix film Take Me starring himself and Orange is the New Black's Taylor Schilling. He also talks about his experience working with the Duplass Brothers, working with the legend Steven Speilberg, and how he has made a living being a script doctor over...

How to Make Money with Your Indie Film (Crazy Case Studies) So you want to make money with your film. Who doesn't? I've always been a hustler, and I used that word in the most positive way I can. Filmmakers need to stop just thinking about the art and start thinking about the business of filmmaking. They need to become entrepreneurs. That is the only way filmmakers from this and future generations...

How a Screenwriter Becomes a First Time Director with Kelly Fremon Craig I'm asked all the time "How does a screenwriter get the opportunity to direct one of their screenplays?" That is the question. In Hollywood, more times than not, writers don't have the power or ability to direct their own material. It took a few screenplays before Quentin Tarantino got the shot with Reservoir Dogs. Today's gu...

How to Make Money Renting Your Film Gear with ShareGrid's Brent Barbano Have you ever wanted to make a little extra cash with that film gear sitting in your closet? Have you ever wanted o rent that new Arri ALEXA but were afraid you couldn't afford it? Well, I came across the solution for both problems, it's call ShareGrid. ShareGrid is a per to per community, think Airbnb for filmmakers, that all...

How To Be Creative - The War of Art & Turning Pro How to be creative? This is a question that surprisingly has a simple answer. DO THE WORK! In this episode, I'll be going over a remarkable book I've read that has truly changed the way I think about life, the creative process and making films. The book is [easyazon_link identifier="1936891026" locale="US" tag="whatisbroke-20"]The War of Art: Break...

How to Make $3 Million Selling Your Indie Film on iTunes & Amazon w/ with Nick Palmisciano of Range 15 We all hear that self-distribution is the future for indie filmmakers. Build an audience and make a film for that audience but finding real world examples of a "true" indie film breaking $1,000,000+ using that model is tough. Well, I'm happy to introduce you to Range 15, the indie film that not o...

Independent Film Self Distribution & Marketing Blueprint with This is Meg Over the past 6 months or so I've been getting an enormous amount of emails and messages asking me the same question: What is your distribution and marketing plan for This is Meg? I hear you IFH Tribe, so I decide to put this podcast together and lay out the marketing and distribution blueprint I created to get This is Megou...

Why Creating Systems is Better Than Setting Goals We've all been taught that creating goals is important and they are but creating systems is even more powerful. How many times have you lost weight just to gain it back? How many half-written screenplays do you have sitting on your computer?  When your focus is only the goal then what happens after you achieve that goal? In this episode, I discuss...

Vintage Lenses for Indie Filmmakers MasterClass w/ Alan Besedin One of the main goals of Indie Film Hustle is to give real world knowledge and resources to indie filmmakers so they can make a living doing what they love. Film gear is a big part of that equation. I always am on the lookout for the best bang for the buck when it comes to film gear. I recently began to dip my toes into the world of v...

Why Indie Filmmakers Need to Break the Rules In this episode, I discuss breaking the rules. why it is important to your career as an indie filmmaker and how it can make you stand out from the crowd.  I share examples on rule breakers in throughout Hollywood history and the impact it had on their careers. So get ready to break some mutha f'**kin rules! Also, I have some HUGE news. This is Meg is no...

7 Tips To Nail Your First Week On a Film Set Your first week on a film set will be an intimidating experience. It takes time to find your feet and feel comfortable in such a unique working environment. You may have experience from college working on short film sets, but it is usually completely different working on blockbusters with hundreds of crew, cast, and extras. There can be large machinery...

Veydra Mini Cinema Primes: Real Cinema Lenses You Can Afford If you're an indie filmmaker and shoot your own stuff, the price of really good glass is generally too damn expensive and cinema-style primes lenses are totally out of reach...until now. Until recently, the most cost effective cinema-style primes lenses have been pre-existing stills lenses, which can create problems with matching and phy...

How to Make a $9000 Feature Film with Ed Burns Many of you might have heard of the Sundance Film Festival winning film called The Brothers McMullen written and directed by Edward Burns. Burns went off to star in huge films like Saving Private Ryan and direct studio films like She's the One but what you might not know is he has been quietly making completely independent films on really low budgets....

How to Build a Film Brand w/ Zombie with a Shotgun's Hilton Ruiz I always talk about building a fan base and making art or products that can be sold to that audience. Well, today's guest is doing just that with his viral sensation Zombie with a Shotgun. Creator Hilton Ariel Ruiz created this film property and is really knocking it out of the park. He has comic books, posters, a web series and soon...

If paperwork, contacts and E&O Insurance was as sexy as a new 8K camera then filmmaker would never get into legal trouble when making their film. Alas it is not sexy and filmmakers, myself included, hate even thinking about that side of the business. One thing I've learned over the years is if you don't understand the business side of "show business" you will get burned. Filmmakers ask me legal ad...

How to Shoot 360 Video & Actually Make Money with Josh Gibson This week on the show we have Josh Gibson from 360 Video Academy. I know just enough about 360 video to be dangerous, and not in a good way. I wanted to bring Josh on the show to really break down the myths and techniques on how to shoot 360 video. I also wanted to dive into how filmmakers could ACTUALLY MAKE MONEY shooting 360 video. J...

You are in for a treat IFH Tribe. Today's guest is directing guru Gil Bettman. Gil is a seasoned director shooting features, television, commercials and music videos for over 30 years. He has written two best-selling books:  Directing the Camera: How Professional Directors Use a Moving Camera to Energize Their Films First Time Director: How to Make Your Breakthrough Movie One of his filmmaking men...

What the Heck is a Line Producer with Sevier Crespo I've been asked by the tribe to do a show on what the heck is a line producer. Ask and you may receive. Today's guest is Line Producer Sevier Crespo. Sevier is line producer that works in the indie film world. He knows how to handle lower budgets and get the most out of them. According to Wikipedia: a line producer is a type of film producer who...