Indie Film Hustle® - A Filmmaking Podcast

Why I Choose Seed & Spark.com to Crowdfund THIS IS MEG With all the choices out there to crowdfund your film, it can get kinda crazy! Kickstarter and Indiegogo are the two Goliath's in the arena with Seed&Spark.com play David. If you know the story the two Goliaths don't fear David but this David has a hella of a punch.  I choose Seed and Spark to crowdfund my new feature film THIS IS MEG, because...

From Micro Budget to Million Dollar Budget Films with Christian Sesma Many indie filmmakers dream of going from micro budget to million dollar budget films. Well my friends on this weeks episode I've got a guy who not only did exactly that but also had fun doing it. Christian Sesma is a indie film writer/director based in Palm Spring, CA. I've know Christian for probably over 10 years now and I've...

Follow Your Passion, No Matter What! This is a special episode of the podcast guys. I recently had a good friend of mine pass, Allan Wertheim. He was a legendary First Assistant Director and Unit Production Manager. Allan and I worked together almost 20 years ago on one of my first directing gigs.  This is by far the most difficult project I have ever worked on and Allan was kind enough to mentor...

Acting & the Art of Being Yourself with Adrian Martinez Being yourself in any situation in life is hard for many people. Actors do make a living playing other people but the art of being comfortable in your own skin is a lesson we can all learn. I invited on the show Adrian Martinez, a actor, writer, producer, and soon-to-be-director, with nearly 100 film and TV credits. Adrian's career began as a...

How to Blaze Your Own Path in the Film Industry Have you been banging your head against the wall trying to figure out what you need to do to break into the film industry? Me too. This episode  is dedicated to all the indie filmmakers out there trying to make a living as a filmmaker.  After studying so many success stories of directors, writers, producers, and actors who finally broke through and m...

Every once in a while we all need to get a gut check. A "gut check" is when some new situation, or in this case knowledge, that tests your belief on what it takes to achieve your goal. I invited Sebastian Twardosz to give us that gut check and lay down some major knowledge bombs on the Indie Film Hustle Tribe. Now Sebastian has been playing the Hollywood game for close to two decades and has ranke...

We making money selling your short film, feature film or web series just got a whole lot easier. Amazon.com has thrown it's hat into the Independent creators VOD ring with the launch of Amazon Video Direct. This move is designed to go head to head with Google's YouTube for video-ad dollars. as well as going after other juggernauts like Facebook and Vimeo. Amazon Video Direct has four distribution...

Film Gear in Cinematography Today with Ernesto Lomeli Oh, the dilemma! What film gear should I use for my film? Which camera will give me the look I want for my project? What gear can I afford? Well as I've said before: "Film gear does not make a movie, the story does. No one ever won Sundance or an Oscar® because they used the latest and great film gear. They won because of, you guessed it, story...

How Marketable is Your Film Idea or Screenplay? So how marketable is your film idea or screenplay? I know so many screenwriters and filmmakers who spend months and sometimes years on an idea that is cool to just themselves.  Depending on what you are attempting to achieve with your story, you should always figure out if you idea is marketable or if you have a fighting chance of selling the screenp...

Why would you want to ‘Save the Cat’? If you are a screenwriter or aspiring one you should of heard by now of Blake Snyder’s game changing screenwriting book. In his 20-year career as a film producer and screenwriter, Blake Snyder sold dozens of scripts, including co-writing Blank Check, which became a hit for Disney, and Nuclear Family for Steven Spielberg — both million-dollar sales. Named “one...

So this week I'm doing something different. I occasionally get asked to be guest on other people's podcasts. In these podcast I go over topics I might not of spoken about on the IFH Podcast in the past so to mix things up, with the permission of the hosts,  I'll be uploading bonus episodes with these interviews. In my effort to bring you more value I think you'll enjoy these interviews. First up i...

I'm always looking for indie filmmaking models to study. I like to analyze how other filmmakers make successful indie films while doing through a new DIY method, self distributing their film or achieving critical and fan respect for their work. Well I found a film that checks all the boxes, For Lovers Only create by the Polish Brothers, Michael and Mark Polish (more on that film later). These film...

Do You Need a Movie Star to Sell Your Indie Film? Being in post production for over 20 years, many films have walked through my doors. Some with huge movie stars that go nowhere and other with no stars that win Sundance. The question is do you really need a movie star in your independent film to be able to sell it? The answer is yes...and no. I layout specifics on when and if you need star power i...

Submitting to film festivals is a torture. Did I get in? Did the programmer watch it yet? When will I know? How much to submit? You wait by your email to see if Sundance or SXSW accepted you? Wouldn't be amazing if you had some insight to the film festival process? Maybe even some torture Film Festival Secrets? On the show today I have one of the leading authorities on film festivals, Chris Hollan...

This is a question I've been asked many times. "What is an Independent Film?" Is George Lucas an independent filmmaker? He did make all his films outside the studio system and paid for them all out of his pocket. Is the $8000 horror feature created to with the sole purpose to be sold an independent film? Is the five million dollar film starring a major movie star that worked for scale an independe...

What can I say about Lloyd Kaufman? Director. Writer. Producer. Indie Filmmaker. Innovator. Nice guy. Pain in the ass of main stream media. I believe all of those statements are true and then some.  Lloyd Kaufman is one the original indie filmmakers going back to the 1970's. The Troma Universe was born in 1974 with a series of highly original, raunchy comedies such as Squeeze Play!, Stuck On You!,...

No One Gives a CRAP What You Shoot Your Film On! OK, so before I get bombarded with hate email please hear me out. I was speaking to my filmmaker inner circle the other day and the topic of format and camera came up. I'm a huge tech head. I love gear as much as the next filmmaker. Hell, you can't make movies without gear. Advances in filmmaking technology has liberated a generation of storytellers...

IFH 063: 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 Vince Gonzales. Vince has been working in the film industry for over top decades. His IMDB page is pretty crazy. He's worked on 90 cl...

Top 5 Film Festival SCAMS Filmmakers Need to Be Aware Of! I've been at a fair share of film festivals in my life and I've submitted to many more than I've been accepts to. With that said I have seen many less than honorable film festival organizers throughout the process.  Now not all film festivals are run by grifters and con men but you need to be aware of the signs that a film festival you are...

If you have seen Star Wars then you know Joseph Campbell's work. If you ever have seen The Lion King then you have seen one of Campbell's best student's, Chris Vogler, work. Chris Vogler wrote the game changing book  The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. I read this book over 20 years ago and it changed the way I look at story. Chris studied the work and principles of the late master ...

A Indie Film Hustle Tribe member recently asked me "Should You Work for Deferred Payment or Back End Points?" Believe it or not I get this question A LOT! So I decided to dedicate a podcast episode to the question. There are times I would say yes definitely work for deferred payment or back end points.  I heard a story of a screenwriter that was asked to do a rush job, write an entire screenplay i...

Every once in a while I get sent a story that blows my mind. They story is a 17 year old 1st time director shoot and sells her first feature film (that was shot on 16mm) right out of the gate. How that hell does that happen? Well may I introduce you to Kansas Bowling, the director of the feature film B.C. Butcher. Inspired by the likes of Russ Meyer, Annette Funicello, and Roger Corman, Kansas and...

Working with a professional colorist can be intimating if you haven't done it before. I've been a colorist for over 12 years and have spent my fair share of time in a color grading suite. I decided to put together a few tips on how filmmakers and directors should work with a colorist. I also included a few videos to help you along on your post adventures. Become a supporter of this podcast: https:...

Have you ever wanted to know what really happens behind the scenes at a top level film festival like the HollyShorts Film Festival? Well this week I kidnapped co-founder and film festival programmer Daniel Sol, tied him up in a darken warehouse and shine a bright light on his face to get the truth out of him.  The interview might not have been that dramatic but Daniel laid down a ton of behind the...

Is an agent or talent agency needed to make it in Hollywood? Well it helps! Seriously, this is a question I get asked all the time. In this episode I go over what you need to do to get an agent and also help you figure out if you need one right now. Below are the seven major talent agencies in Hollywood. APA Talent Agency Size: 3,400 clients; 325 employees (210 agents, 15 managing partners); offic...