Going from 'Live' Radio Show to 'Live' Event

Things have not come fast nor easy as I begin this new decade. Free time has been hard to come by. I have started two blogs since my last entry and I have been unable to finish off either. Seems silly to now post a new year's resolution-esque blog.

My thoughts and energies have been concentrated on opening up revenue streams which will allow me sustain myself. This long-lasting drought of revenue streams is now going to get some much needed water. It would be great if the water came pouring in the way it is right now on Los Angeles. (For the first time ever, I saw at least a dozen cars pulled over within a quarter mile of one another on the 405 last night. Los Angeles folks do not know how to drive in the rain. Or should I say they do not know how to drive period? )

I would like to mention that John Keating, Gregor Collins, Richard Jacob, Michael Shaun Sandy, Thomas Corkran and myself had a great time at the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema where Night Before the Wedding was showcased. Idyllwild is a gem of a town. We were embraced with open arms by the many gracious locals. I certainly want to thank Stephen Savage, Julia Countryman, Ashley and Traci for being such wonderful hosts. And a special thanks to Filmmaker Phil Calderone who made it all possible for us.

Thomas Corkran, David Branin, Michael Shaun Sandy, Gregor Collins, John Keating

To see all of our Idyllwild photos, please click HERE

Our next screening of Night Before the Wedding is going to be on Thursday February 11th in Orlando, Florida at the Enzian Theater. Please visit www.NightBeforeTheWedding for details.

Lastly, Karen and I are extremely excited to announce what we are calling the Film Courage Interactive which is set to be a monthly event at the Downtown Independent in Los Angeles. We believe it will serve as an extension to our show and provide us the opportunity to bring filmmakers together on a consistent basis. Our aim is to build up the appetite for smaller films along with building up the community itself. Karen and I feel grateful that we are in a good position to unite filmmakers and that is what we intend to do. I believe the event will be inspiring for many and I envision a new synergy will come out of it that is desperately needed. This is something that is certainly going to evolve over time. That makes it quite thrilling.

The Downtown Independent

The plan is host the Film Courage Interactive the last Monday of each month. Our first one is this Monday January 25th at the Downtown Independent (which is a gorgeous venue) from 7pm to 11pm. The event will showcase an independent feature film, Q&A with the filmmaker, and then a group meet & greet with various indie heads.

The first film we are going to showcase is Jake Barsha's EUGENE. For more information you can visit either page below.

Facebook Event Page

Downtown Independent Event Page

A New Way To Connect With and Build Your Audience

Building an Audience/Connecting with an Audience has been a hot topic for not just me but the entire movie industry. Guess what, I have something fun to share with you.

As you may be aware, Night Before the Wedding just screened in Columbus, Ohio. It was a screening that I knew I would not be able to attend. When brainstorming on the phone with our Social Media Manager, Angie Palmer of Skye Public Relations months before our screening, one idea I had was to do a 'Live' Q&A through my computer. We weren't sure if we could pull it off, get the proper permissions, etc. but it was something I really wanted to do.

Thank goodness that Angie is so resourceful and amazing at what she does. And thanks to some gracious folks at the Arena Grand Movie Theater in Columbus, the Mid-Ohio Filmmakers Association and again to Angie's dedication, we were able to test and eventually execute a 'Live' Skype Q&A from Los Angeles to Columbus following the screening.

I am not sure how often this has been done. I imagine plenty of times. For whatever reason I just haven't seen it implemented after a movie screening. Thanks to Actor Kevin Deen flying out to Columbus and documenting his whole experience, I now have the power to share with you what it was like for us to Connect with our Columbus Audience.

Immediately following our screening, I was projected onto the theater screen along with Filmmakers Gregor Collins, A.J. Rickert-Epstein, and Actor Michael Shaun Sandy. Although we were staring at a black computer screen, it was just a fun and fantastic experience to know that we were being seen and heard inside a movie theater a thousand miles away. Okay, I admit it was a little odd from our side of the equation. We had no idea how many stayed for the Q&A, or whether it was having any impact.

It wasn't until I was able to watch the footage that Kevin Deen shot that I realized just how powerful our Q&A had been. For you filmmakers wondering how you can connect, build, and grow your audience. The evidence can be seen clearly in this video. I believe this will be a big part of the present and future for ALL independent filmmakers. It is a no-brainer. It's something that smaller films which are screening in one theater at a time can accommodate with enough planning and effort. It gives smaller films a huge advantage over our blockbuster counterparts. Karen and I just went to see A Serious Man, but the reality of the Coen Brothers popping up on the screen right after the credits role and having a chance to ask them questions about their film just isn't going to happen.

I found out later that our Columbus crowd absolutely loved the interaction we had with them. None of them had ever experienced this before. It endeared them to us and to our film. We are now hoping to duplicate this with our next screening December 3rd in Washington D.C and beyond.

Please share your thoughts, ideas and reactions.

My short film "Shoot-Out" now available in it's entirety

At the persuasion of close friend Brian Erzen, I have decided to release the full version of my short film Shoot-Out online.

This film represents a lot to me. It is my first scripted effort. Every film I did before Shoot-Out didn't have an exact script. They were outlined improv pieces. And other than Night Before the Wedding, this is the only other film that we had a production budget for. It's also my first film to be accepted into a Film Festival and win an award. All told it was accepted into over 20 International Film Festivals.

The film stars Tyshawn Bryant and Daniel Sol. These guys put a lot of work in with me making this film. I don't know how many days it was, but there was quite a bit of rehearsal for this little short film. Including at least two days of choreographing parts of the basketball action. Not to mention that the filming of this short took place during extremely hot days in July and August in Porter Ranch, CA which has it's share of brush fires.

Allow me once again to thank my extraordinary crew on this one, Ivan Vatez Rodriguez the Cinematographer. Andy Brennan the 1st AD for holding things together. Jesse Pinder for Production Sound Mixer and Boom Mic Operator. Key Make-Up Artist, Keith Beck. Editor and Sound Designer Damon Stout. Kevin Deen for doing everything from Stand-In, to Second Boom to Key Production Assistant. Mike Gin, Production Assistant. Karen Worden our Still Photographer and Script Supervisor. To Michael Shaun Sandy my Creative Basketball Consultant. And additionally behind the scenes to Janna Magnusson our Graphic Designer, Alex Schwartz our Foley Recording Artist, Jean-Pierre LeFlore After Effects Artist and Andy Ta our DVD Author.

With that, here it is for your viewing pleasure. I am not sure how much promotion I will do. Hoping this can find an audience with it's own legs, but just in case, would be great to have you pass it on to anyone you would like.