Budget for Hero Fest?

[Alex DePew]

Yeah, I'll buy THE ORE, as I'm a fan & friend of Sams, so I want to support him, not to mention excited to see it on my big screen.

That said, we're expecting the BTS to be as big if not bigger drawn than the film itself, which has already garnered interest in the full version. I'll even be marketing my "famous BBW ribs recipe" ala Robert Rodriguez style, and some "How To's" in the editing side, as I'll show ways how to correct angles in post, fix when the actor has their head tilted the wrong way in another take, etc.

There'll also be interviews with folks beyond just the director & DP, as our lighting guy will be there to talk about some of this lighting tips, etc.

I don't expect actual distribution, Alex, but I do hope to be able to sell these on my own.

Also, and here's another tip, we've got one of Skillet's songs in our film, and they've got a pretty good fan base (over 30,000+ fans/friends on MySpace), so I'll be adding as MANY of those fans to my friend list as well, so when we release the DVD you can bet that I'll market to those folks & let them know that we've released our DVD for sale which features one of their favorite band's songs ... and that a portion of the funds will go to charity.

Always have to look at the sales angle and what will entice people to want to buy your product, as long as you're offering them something of value in exchange.

Good to know. That does sound really interesting. I do think the BTS is a huge draw. I know it has me interested. Thanks for the very useful information. And I think it is probably better to handle your distribution the way you are doing it. You keep the control and the profits after the donation to charity and costs.

I will definitely keep this in mind for my next short.

You can definitely market a short film. Although, I wouldn't try selling anything less than twenty minutes, that's just mean/silly.

As mentioned, the "broken" guys claim to have sold plenty of their short film, which was also packed with Behind The Scenes. I actually wathced the Behind The Scenes more than the short itself.

I plan on buying The Ore dvd, and that's only a short. In fact, I've been meaning to see if there's a waiting list so that I can jump on it.

I agree that twenty minutes or so is probably most consumer's low end. And I have seen the ads for "Broken" everywhere. They are a promotion machine! I will definitely look into buying "The Ore" as well, the trailer looks great.

Alex

[Aaron Marshall]

I didn't spend much, if at all, on my production, but I busted my ass.

I didn't starve my cast and crew. My cast and crew = me. I used a single brand new tape for everything. I've always been inspired by Roger Corman like economics and resourcefulness.

[Norm Sanders]

Well, okay Aaron, I guess a cast & crew of one will be an exception to the rule.

[Edgen]

My cast was really cheap and I recycled the same tape.

/j

[Norm Sanders]

Yeah Justin, I knew you'd be in the same boat as Aaron (Noct).

[capitalP]

Great marketing plan Norm, taking some tips here, not to hijack your thread but, I'd have to PM you and talk soon about that DVD replication thingy we talked about a while back! I'm almost ready to get a quote from you.

And you can count me buying your DVD, loved to support, keep us posted.

[Norm Sanders]

Thanks, capitalP, and look forward to that PM as well!

[Larry Rutledge]

The bulk of my expenses were craft services/meals and the costume. All the cast/crew worked on "deferred pay" contracts knowing that there wasn't much chance of this film making money, but always the possiblity

It's amazing the help you can get if you just ask....the guy I got, at the last minute no less, is a professional actor (SAG). He's done some made for TV movies, some national comercials and a lot of theatre. And he did it to help me out.

I haven't pulled the receipts, but I think we spent about $450 - $500...mostly for food (if you can't pay 'em, at least feed 'em)

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

under $500 I think
makeup = $130
rubber rat = $8
freeze dried real rat = free (on loan)
Sunglasses = donated by Somatic
$200 or so in food.
$100 or so in set and paint materials.
$50 or so in transportation (some gas and cab fare for people when appropriate)

[soffcore]

"The Ore" cost us about 3 grand. Maybe a bit more. We got a lot of help from people willing to give us their time for free, actors included. Most of our money was spent on feeding everyone.