Indie Film Hustle® - A Filmmaking Podcast

5 Rules to Make Money Selling Indie Films I feel that one of the reasons I was put on this earth was to help filmmakers and artist make money selling their films and art. There's no reason why filmmakers shouldn't be able to make a steady income from their films. You can here my inspiration rant on this topic here: Why Filmmakers are Always So Damn Broke & What They Can Do to Change It.  So I came...

No Budget Filmmaking with Mark Stolaroff I've been trying to get today's guest on the show for months. Mark Stolaroff is a No Budget Filmmaking maestro. Here's a bit about our guest. Mark Stolaroff is an independent producer and a founding partner of Antic Pictures, an LA-based production company producing a slate of low-budget, high-quality digital features. He recently finished principal photogr...

Should You Own Your Own Film Gear? Happy New Year IFH Tribe! We are now in 2017 and this will be ana amazing, creative and monumental year for us all. I wanted to start off the year with an "Ask Alex" episode. On this episode I answer the follow tribe member questions: Though I plan on hiring a DP for my movies, I'd like to invest in my very own camera equipment and lights. (Was thinking about inv...

Inspiration in 2017 & What I've Learned Can you believe we've arrived at out last episode of 2016? The Indie Film Hustle Podcast has had some amazing interviews this year, so before the new year arrives, I wanted to review some of the highlights of 2016. I wanted to thank the IFH Tribe for all the support, well wishes, emails, messages and overall good mojo. 2016 has been a remarkable year for Ind...

What is Your Film Really Worth? So you are thinking of making an indie film or you've just finished making one...now what? When filmmakers go on the long journey of making a feature film they rarely ask the question that could make or break the success of the movie, "What is my film worth in the marketplace?" Before you begin the process of making your film ask the following questions? What is you...

What is Cinematic Virtual Reality with Jason Diamond Is Virtual Reality the next big step in visual storytelling? Steven Spielberg said: “I think we’re moving into a dangerous medium with virtual reality. The only reason I say it is dangerous is because it gives the viewer a lot of latitude not to take direction from the storytellers but make their own choices of where to look. I just hope it does...

What "Hamilton the Musical" Can Teach Indie Filmmakers If you have been living underneath a rock you probably haven't heard of the Broadway smash hit Hamilton. For the rest of you, this remarkable musical by Lin-Manual Miranda has changed not only Broadway but storytelling as well. I know that is a bold statement but let me ask you, how many other new Broadway musicals have you heard about in the...

The Art of the $6000 Feature Film with Joshua Caldwell I had the pleasure of meeting Joshua Caldwell, a brother in "indie filmmaking" arms. He directed a $6000 feature film called LAYOVER, which World Premiered at the 2014 Seattle International Film Festival where it was nominated for the New American Cinema Award. The story of how he made the film was education, rebellious and funny. Many things...

What the HECK is a Scriptment? So what is a Scriptment? I found it to be a liberating form of prepping a story to be filmed? When I was in pre-production on my first feature film This is Meg, I wanted to get into production as fast as I could without waiting to develop a full screenplay. I've written a few screenplays in the past and as any screenwriter will tell you, it ain't easy. So I found ins...

E&O Insurance, Music Rights, and Copyright Oh My! So after last week's huge success of the "Ask Alex" segment, I decided to bring it back this week. The IFH Tribe filled my inbox with tons of amazing questions, which I'll try to cover in future episodes. If  you have a question that you would like for me to answer on a future episode of the podcast just email them to  ifhsubmissions@gmail.com  and...

This week we have Zak Knutson on the show. Zak is a producer/writer/director/editor based out of Los Angeles. In 2005 he co-founded Chop Shop Entertainment, a filmed entertainment company that supplies added value materials to all of the major studios, and a large number of independents. Chop Shop Entertainment has supplied more movie based content for the internet than any other company in the in...

So this episode is going to be fun. I'm starting a new segment I call "Ask Alex." Yes, I know it's very creative = ) I asked the IFH Tribe to submit questions to  ifhsubmissions@gmail.com  and I'll do my best to answer them. This week we have a bunch of question from tribe member Kenny from Sweden. Here are the question I answer in the podcast. Which is the best type of camera to buy for your firs...

On this week's episode, I go way to a simpler time, the 90s, and discuss the lessons we can learn from some filmmaking legends. I'll discuss films by Robert Rodriguez, Christopher Nolan, and Richard Linklater to break down and learn the techniques they used to make awesome, No-Budget Feature films with limited resources. "In no-budget filmmaking, your limitations are your guide." If you take note...

How to Shoot Video That Doesn’t Suck with Steve Stockman In this week’s episode, we have Steve Stockman. Steve is an author/writer/director/producer at Custom Productions, Inc. in Los Angeles.  He’s created and Executive Produced tv series Brew Dogs for the new Esquire Network, Dogs of War for A&E, Devils Ride for Discovery Channel and $24 in 24 for Food Network;  plus worked on over 200 commercia...

The Six Stages of Character Development with Michael Hauge This week we have a returning guest, screenwriting guru Michael Hauge. On this episode, he discussed The Six Stages Character Development. A very eye opening episode. Check it out.   Right click here to download the MP3 These videos on screenplay structure are from his best selling online course: Story and Screenwriting Blueprint - The Her...

Post Production Process: Understand It or Suffer the Consequences Filmmaking is a long process and is divided into three stages. The first stage is pre-production stage, the second one is production, and the last one is post-production stage. In this podcast episode, I go into each of the following steps and add a few bonus ones as well.  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.co...

This is a special edition of the IFH Podcast. We have for you a rare interview by Stanley Kubrick. A 37-year-old Kubrick sits down and speaks with Jeremy Bernstein. It's a remarkable look into the beginnings of the filmmaking master. Enjoy! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support .

Film Festivals: Are They Relevant Anymore? Film Festival Hacks is the podcast that explores the festival circuit “from both sides of the badge.” Alex Ferrari is an award-winning filmmaker with nearly 600 international film festivals under his belt. He’s joined by Chris Holland, author of Film Festival Secrets: A Handbook for Independent Filmmakers who has worked closely with more than 200 film fes...

Sean Baker: 'Tangerine' How to Shoot a Sundance Hit on Your iPhone I've recently been looking and studying alternative shoot methods to shoot a feature film. One name that keeps coming up is Sean Baker. His ground-breaking film Tangerine made more noise at the Sundance Film Festival  than the winner that year. The film was also produced by the indie film legends, Jay and Mark Duplass. Tangerine wa...

Today we have on the show the very talented writer/director Benjamin Cox. He is the founder of Red Square Pictures, a New York-based film production company. As creative head, Mr. Cox oversees all aspects of the company's development, production, and content-related activities. A producer, writer, and director, his Red Square Pictures projects include work for a wide range of commercial/fashion cl...

Film Distribution: Top 10 Rules for Success When filmmakers go out into the world to try to sell their indie film it can be a bit dangerous. The shark infested waters that make up film distribution can be brutal. Since I'm now going down the same dangerous road with my film This is Meg, I decided to write up a few rules I found useful over the years when it comes to film distribution. Split Up You...

Special Edition: Thought I’d bring this episode back since the new season of The Walking Dead premiered yesterday and it was a brutal one.   The Walking Dead – Working on the Dead Set If you are a Walking Dead fan you are going to LOVE this episode. If you ever wanted to know what an assistant director does on set you are going to LOVE this episode. On today’s episode, we have a long time friend V...

This week we have Rafael Diaz Wagner, co-writer, and producer of the new Cult Classic "Attack of the Killer Donuts." Yes, that is really the name of the film and it's glorious. He started making films with a Beta Camera when he was 10 years old. Since then Rafael has written or co-written over 15 screenplays I wanted to find out how this film was made, marketed and sold. It's a wonderful case stud...

How to Shoot Super 16mm Film with Egon Stephen Jr. So you want to be a filmmaker. You want to put the FILM back into FILMmaking. Well this episode is for you. Film is not dead. It has been quietly working in the background of the industry. Some of the productions that shooting film these days are: Mad Max: Fury Road Noah The Avengers The Bourne Legacy Captain America: The First Avenger Iron Man 2...

Directing Actors & How to Become an Actor’s Director with Per Holmes Directing actors can be one of the most difficult parts of wearing the director's hat. Actors speak a language that a director must understand if they are to pull and nurture an amazing performance. Unfortunately film schools do not teach this must need "foreign language" course. I've worked with every kind of actor there is. Fro...