Hooks

Having deliberately made up my mind to write a story in this holiday season, I struggled (again) to generate a nice hook. Then I landed on this page which gave the following ideas:

"A teenager is mistakenly sent into the past, where he must make sure his mother and father meet and fall in love; he then has to get back to the future."

"A group of ex-psychic investigators start a commercial ghost extermination business in New York City."

"A defense attorney falls in love with her client. As the trial progresses, she doesn't know if she's sleeping with an innocent man, or a murderer."

"A rotten kid captures the monster under the bed. He gets seduced into the dark underworld, to the point where he almost becomes a monster himself."

"A guy writes a letter breaking up with his girlfriend, sends it OVERNIGHT EXPRESS. He changes his mind, chases the letter across country, and falls in love along the way."

Sample Budget for $40M movie

Recently I was reading another book on movie and money (was the title Movie Money - I dont quite remember now) but I found this sample budget in it and thought this might be usefuls for budding movie makers out there. (Sorry I cant rember the correct title of the book and hence couldnt five the right credit)

Budget for a $40M film

Above the line 
 Story              $300,000.00
 Scenario           $1,450,000.00
 Producer           $1,000,000.00
 Director           $3,300,000.00
 Principle Cast     $11,670,000.00
 Supporting Cast    $950,000.00
 Stunts             $65,000.00
 Fringe Benefits    $800,000.00
 Travel & Living    $720,000.00
 Above the line total $20,255,000.00
 
Below the line 
Production 
 Extras/Stand-ins      $530,000.00
 Production Staff      $980,000.00
 Art Department        $580,000.00
 Camera                $950,000.00
 Set Construction      $1,750,000.00
 Miniatures            $760,000.00
 Set Operations        $850,000.00
 Electrical            $720,000.00
 Special Effects       $180,000.00
 Set Dressing          $660,000.00
 Props                 $290,000.00
 Action Props          $80,000.00
 Wardrobe              $520,000.00
 Makeup & Hair         $340,000.00
 Production Sound      $230,000.00
 Transportatoin        $1,400,000.00
 Location Expense      $1,700,000.00
 process Photography   $550,000.00
 Production Dailies    $350,000.00
 Below the line travel $710,000.00
 Fringes               $2,100,000.00
 Tests                 $60,000.00
 Facilities Fees       $170,000.00
 Production total      $16,460,000.00
Post Production 
 Editing                    $500,000.00
 Music                      $1,300,000.00
 Post production sound      $430,000.00
 Stock shots                $25,000.00
 Titles                     $55,000.00
 Opticals, mattes, inserts  $55,000.00
 Laboratory processing      $240,000.00
 Fringe benefits            $80,000.00
 Post production total      $2,685,000.00
 
Other direct costs 
 Administrative expenses  $260,000.00
 Insurance                $200,000.00
 Publicity                $120,000.00
 Fringe benefits          $20,000.00
 Other direct costs total $600,000.00
 
 Below the line total  $19,745,000.00
 
 Total budget    $40,000,000.00
 

Movie Money & Hollywood Economist Revisited

I found Edward Jay Epstein's home page. He has posted lots of articles! Check them out...
Also here is another link and of course this one that I thought might be useful to tuck in here...

Shaking the Money Tree

OMG! Morrie did see this post!! Pls see the comments below!! Check out www.warshawski.com for more info on Morrie's book.
I read the book Shaking the Money Tree by Morrie Warshawski - rather I gave it a detailed browsing. Here are some of the topics I found interesting in it:

The initial section that Morrie briefly concentrates on:

• Mission (Why you want to be a filmmaker? What do you want to accomplish?),
• Vision (Paint a future vision...) and
• Values (your core values which you want to hold at all costs)

seem to have sneaked in from career building camp; none the less it is valuable if it is your career. In a sense mission and vision will keep you motivated while values will throw you a guiding light.

I liked the tips on setting easy wins and long term goals. If you are serious you could try to create

• "5 easy/quick wins" and
• "5 bold moves".

I agree that these are important for your morale.

Anyways, I thought the next section was more valuable to me... it is where Morrie talks about the pitch.

• Create an elevator pitch and polish it; and practise delivering it too. You should be able to describe the genre, visual appeal and probably throw a couple of similar movie names to convey what you have in mind.
• Competition: Pick at least 5 movies that are similar to your movie. Differentiate your move along the following areas:
• Style
• Content
• Timing
• Depth
• Audience
• Target Audience: You have to determine to whom you want to target your movie to. "Everyone" is not the right answer. Think along the lines of demographics and psychographics. You could try to define the target audience and also who the audience is not. Here are the broad audience types:
• Geography
• Age
• Gender
• Race
• Religion
• Income level
• Educational background
• Political affiliation
• Occupation
• Lifestyle
• Hobbies
• Interests
• Distribution: What is your strategy? Think how you would exploit the following channels:
• Festivals
• Theatrical
• Cable TV
• Public Television (local and national)
• Video and DVD
• Educational markets and libraries
• Internet
• Team: Is the core team experienced enough to produce this movie?
• Schedule: Rough time line with major milestones. When do you expect to finish the movie etc.
• Budget: You need to have the regular budget and the "scrappy" version of the same. The scrappy version is for your eyes only and to be used when you are running out of money during production. Also pick a few similar movies and see how the dollars were spread. This would serve as a quick validation on what you have arrived at.
  

How can I fund my movie...?

This is one topic every indie movie maker wants to master... yet there is not much openly available info. Here is what I stumbled upon, will add more later:

• http://filmfundingsources.com/
• http://www.selffundingmagazine.com/article-detail.php?issue=issue-10&article=reeducing-self-funding-costs-through-tax-
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_finance

I also stumbled upon this book The Hollywood Economist: The Hidden Financial Reality Behind the Movies. You should read it. I will try to summarize some interesting topics soon.

Look right at you!

Have you ever debated if you would want your actor to look straight at the lens or off to one side? You are not alone. I personally want my actors to bond with my audience. Here is a blog article from one of my instructors at De Anza. What do you think?

Screenwriting: What makes a good script?

Here is another good website that I stumbled upon: http://www.screenwriting.info/01.php Here is a snippet.

Characters: The movies you loved most featured characters that swept you up, who captivated your emotions, got you involved. The audience viewing a movie not only wants to be interested in and care about the people they see on the screen, they want to be passionate about them, whether they like them or not. Great heroes and heroines inspire us; great villains make us want to jump into the screen!

Quest: There is always something at stake in a good movie. Not
just something someone wants, something that must be acquired, no matter what
the risk, as in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Or something
highly desired by as many main characters as possible, like the small black
statue in The Maltese Falcon. Some times it can be an intangible thing, like the
freedom of a people in Lawrence of Arabia or Gandhi. All these things drive the
character's quest, even gives the hero superhuman strength. It can be something
personal (romance) or for the good of all (saving the world from aliens) but it
must be powerful and grow more desperate as the story unfolds.

Conflict: There are always obstacles, which provide that catchword that actors love so much -- conflict. This is the heart of drama. Someone wants something and people and things keep getting in the way of them achieving the goal. At times, the obstacles can be common to
both the hero and villain, and the ultimate goal a laudable one for both
parties, as in Jingle All The Way. In that film, Arnold Schwarzenegger and
Sinbad battle to achieve the same goal--the acquisition of the last popular
action figure for sale that Christmas season. Both of them have promised their
son, and they must not fail. Conflict and obstacles can be physical or
emotional. But they have to be in your story or you don't really have a story.

Wound: In most good stories, the protagonist will also have an inner obstacle, some
mental or even spiritual problem, that will be resolved by the time s/he reaches
the outward, physical goal of the story. Some people call this inner demon a
"ghost," while others call in a "wound."

Hook: You need a hook. That's a songwriting term that describes that thing that catches the public's attention. A popular Hollywood term is a "high concept." A better idea might be a simple "What if?" In Galaxy Quest, for example, the concept is "What if the washed-up actors from the crew of a cancelled but still popular sci-fi TV show are pressed into a real war in space
by aliens who think the TV show broadcasts they received were documentaries?" A
good enough "what if?" will set your script apart from the pack. It is why
people will leave the comfort of their homes and plunk down their hard-earned
bucks at the local cineplex.

This site has lots of information. Check it out: http://www.screenwriting.info/