He posits how AI was used in the workflow makes an interesting case study of how these types of tools can help filmmakers create movies. ChatGPT was utilized to not only generate some ideas for a short film, but to also write the script, create a shot list, and in essence direct the film.
“With the help of ChatGPT of OpenAI, we were able to not only get it to write us a full script, but also have it direct us in the production of this short film. We were able to ask ChatGPT to give us a full shot list, suggest specific instructions for the Director of Photography and camera operators (choice of camera lenses, camera movements and lighting requirements), recommend wardrobe preferences, and even give us specific prompts to let Dall-E 2 create a full storyboard.”
My take: Looking past the quality of this one film, AI opens up limitless questions. For instance: What are the legal ramifications? What does it mean when everyone can issue prompts for their own personal movies? What happens to the human race if we in effect outsource dreaming to technology?
To celebrate the holiday season, Santa has collected a sack of scripts for your reading pleasure!
Screenwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for films, television, and other visual media. Screenwriters are responsible for creating the dialogue, plot, and characters for a film or television show. Screenwriting can be a challenging and rewarding career, but it can also be highly competitive. Successful screenwriters often have a strong understanding of storytelling, character development, and the structure of films and television shows, as well as excellent writing skills and the ability to collaborate with others.
They also have to network, constantly promote themselves and be very, very lucky.
The Black List is an annual compilation of the most popular unproduced screenplays in Hollywood, as determined by a survey of film industry executives. The list is compiled by Franklin Leonard, a former development executive at Warner Bros., and is announced every year in December.
Each year, a group of over 250 film industry executives are invited to participate in the survey, in which they are asked to identify the best unproduced screenplays that they have read in the past year. The screenplays are ranked based on the number of votes they receive, and the top screenplays are included on the Black List.
They list Originals (spec scripts) and Stunts (based on existing IP for entertainment purposes only.) For instance, this stunt script will appeal to fans of SNL and Die Hard: https://www.ericmoyer.com/dielaughing.pdf
My take: reviewing these log lines, pitch decks and scripts is a great education. I really enjoyed Die Laughing — it would make a great group read!
“For the movie, the producers hired Pierre Laroche, the makeup artist who worked for David Bowie and Mick Jagger and helped pioneer the androgynous glam rock look, to transform Curry into the future horror/musical icon. ‘He kind of adapted the makeup that was already in my case and did a very kind of high fashion version of it,’ Tim Curry told Interview Magazine. Even today, he was not sold on the glam version of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. ‘He got a little more high fashion,’ the actor elaborated. ‘I don’t know whether I like that or not.‘”
While filming Congo, I sat on top of a Volcano talking to Tim Curry about that movie. He said one of the coolest things was that it saved a number of small indie theaters from going under, because they knew that two nights a week Rocky was going to do big business.https://t.co/dvtd6sYm4G
“If you’re thinking about making your own feature film, I’m hoping this gives you an abridged, table-of-contents-style sketch of all the different parts of filmmaking. So many articles and interviews are all about writing, working with actors, camera choice, and the other creative aspects of the film, I thought it might be useful to get into the actual nuts and bolts. We absolutely loved making our film. All these spreadsheets helped us to get there.”
He discusses each one from the perspective of his second feature “All Sorts,” and includes some examples.
I like his advice for Credits:
“Just for keeping track of all the lovely folks who participated on the film. I know you’re thinking this should be in the post-production section, but start this on day one and just add people as they start to come into the life of the film. It’s easier than sitting with a blank slate all the way at the end of the film.”
Here are the titles of most of the spreadsheets Rick used:
Pre-Production Spreadsheets
Budget spreadsheets
Team spreadsheets (possible producers)
Location spreadsheets
Contact spreadsheets
Casting spreadsheets
Background
Auditions
Confirmed Cast
Scheduling spreadsheets
Art/props spreadsheets
June’s Diego vs Anthony spreadsheet
Calendar spreadsheet
“Go June” signs spreadsheet
Costume spreadsheets
Investor Spreadsheets
Production Spreadsheets
Call sheets
Post Spreadsheets
Footage spreadsheets
Editing spreadsheets
VFX spreadsheets
Credits spreadsheet
Master Rights Grid
Music Cue Sheet
QC Notes/Fixes
Crowdfunding Spreadsheets
Targets/contacts
Reward lists
Distribution Spreadsheets
Distributors
Deliverables spreadsheets
Screening invitees/attendees
PR/Marketing Spreadsheets
Social Media
Marketing
Email lists
Film Festivals
Published Articles
My take: Wow, that’s a lot of spreadsheets! What this actually reveals are the myriad jobs indie filmmakers routinely take on. With more money, each of these activities might be accomplished by a specialist in that one field. When you’re truly indie, you just do it all yourself. No wonder Rick resorted to these spreadsheets to track everything. You should too.
The new monthly subscription plans are MovieFlex ($9.99) and MovieFlex+ ($14.99.)
Jill quotes Marcus CEO Greg Marcus as saying, “We can’t live off just blockbusters. We cannot just live off dinner. We need breakfast and lunch too.”
“The question is, is there enough demand in the market? We just don’t know that yet. But it’s promising. We are just going to continue watching, tweaking, working with content partners. But we are seeing positive signs. We want to be a very open book and share what’s happening with the studios, and get their feedback. There’s work to do on companion tickets, and families. And once we get through that, to figure out what the demand is. We want this to be a win-win-win for everyone.”
Marcus Theatres already showcases indie movies in their Spotlight Films series.
My take: I sincerely hope this experiment works. Diversifying the cinema experience beyond comic book movies at a reasonable price is truly a win-win-win for the audience, the theatre and indie filmmakers. It will also counter the rise of streaming and keep another distribution option open.
“Bigger, better, fewer. That is the refrain inside Netflix that feature film executives, led by division chief Scott Stuber, are grappling to operate under as the digital streaming giant changes course and confronts new realities, such as lagging subscriber growth (it lost 200,000 subs in its latest quarter) and rising competition (Disney’s bundle of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ now has 205 million subs combined, just behind Netflix’s 221 million global subs).”
With its stock price down, Netflix has cut 150 jobs and doubled down on marquee movies.
Borys continues:
“As it moves forward, Netflix wants to focus on making bigger movies, making better movies, and releasing fewer than it previously did at a gluttonous pace. ‘Just a few years ago, we were struggling to out-monetize the market on little art films,’ Netflix co-chief Ted Sarandos told analysts on the company’s April earnings call. ‘Today, we’re releasing some of the most popular and most watched movies in the world. Just over the last few months, things like Don’t Look Up and Red Notice and Adam Project, as examples of that.‘”
My take: C’mon, Netflix. $469 million for Knives Out 2 and 3? That’s almost fifty $10 million movies. And one of those could be mine. Let’s talk! (P.S. Don’t you think the reason your subscriber numbers are down is because you rightly left Russia?)
“The post has gathered up lots of attention online and has already rounded up over 430,000 likes and 47,600 retweets on Twitter. While the original tweet was meant to poke fun at today’s movie poster designs, many users responded with their favourite posters that break away from this format.”
My take: So funny because it’s so true! The problem I have with superhero movie posters is the same one I have with superhero movies: so many characters and so much busyness, but a dearth of ideas and anything I’m actually interested in. I have two suggestions for movie posters: one, make sure to come up with a snappy title and a killer central image while writing the script so that you can begin designing and capture that image during production, and two, put the title on the top half of the image — too often I’ve seen titles in the bottom third get covered up with extraneous material and supers.
“Content is not king. Distribution is king.… If you go back 10 years, the studios had all the power, because they controlled the distribution…. Studios are on their knees. They got no clout at the table because anybody can produce. The whole world is upside down, particularly for the studios.”
His advice:
Team up with producers known to the streamers.
Have a realistic budget.
Sell your film upfront (or finance the contract) to make the movie.
She quotes him:
“Most films lose money. This is a losing business, don’t do it, especially if you don’t have a pre-sale to a streamer. But if you can sell to a streamer, then you get your premium. You’re not going to get a share of the net profits. There is no back-end payment, but you’ll get a significant premium and will walk away with some cash.“
My take: it seems there’s always somebody in between my movie and my audience!
“Private equity, or PE, firms are pumping money into the entertainment content, financing independent production and snatching up companies at a level never seen before in the indie industry…. Some of the biggest players packaging projects and inking deals on the Croisette have backing from private equity groups…. The bet PE investors are making is that the explosive growth in streaming services will lead to a similar demand boom for content. And that the companies that own the IP, the original films and TV shows the streamers need, will be best positioned to benefit.”
He traces this demand squarely back to government policy:
“Many see particularly strong growth potential in Europe, where European Union (EU) content quotas for SVOD platforms — 30 percent of all content on streaming services in Europe must be European-made — has created guaranteed demand for original, home-grown films and series which most streamers will be unable to fill on their own.”
As to Cannes, filmmaker Jeremy Lutter (pictured above) compares this year’s experience with previous ones:
“Cannes is in some ways the same and in some ways different. I would say it’s two thirds the size as previous non-COVID years in terms of events. But, considering the situation, it’s impressive! The crowds are smaller but it’s still busy. As for deals — people are looking — there’s been less movies made recently — everyone is hungry for movies. Oh yeah, instead of a gift bag, this year you get a PPE mask with a logo on it!”
My take: of course, quotas drive national production. We proved that with CanCon and Canadian music; witness the dozens of Canadian superstars, who, as Simu Liu points out about Shawn Mendes, Avril Lavigne and Arcade Fire, “like me have fulfilled the ultimate Canadian dream of making it in America — but to our credit, we always come back!”
