Mark Johnson
The Dude Abides
I had a good conference with our propmaster, Dragon, from Renegade Effects, today. He's going to hook us up with what he describes as "some very cool hand props" and he's invited Tim and me to come by Renegade this coming week to make some decisions and look at some gadgets. He's also going to loan us his two personal smokers for the shoot (one handheld and the other a biggie). Finally, he's coming through on one of our most critical items and told me that he's been building it for the upcoming WOLVERINE film but that he'll get it finished in time for us to use on our little movie. How cool is that? All of this came about because of a personal referral to Renegade Effects from the scheduling manager of Laurel Canyon Studios who put in a good word for us and set things up so that Dragon was willing to do us this favor.
I think I've mentioned before that the Fat Monster credo is "we depend upon the kindness of strangers and happy accidents to get by" and this shoot is certainly no exception. When we developed this project we knew we wanted to shoot it on a set at Laurel Canyon and we were aware that there was no way we would be able to afford it if we had to pay their rates. I consider myself a grandmaster schmoozer and I told Tim that I'd figure out a way for us to shoot there. To his credit, Tim never questions my schemes and is willing to jump off a cliff if I tell him there will be a net by the time he gets to the bottom.
Anyway, I made plans to drop by the facility with some frequency so that I could get to know the scheduling manager. Eventually, I picked up on a few items that I realized we could be of help with and I scheduled a meeting with her to discuss scheduling a shoot. I was up front with her and told her I knew that every indie producer in the city must hit her up for cheap rates and discounts. I explained that while we, of course, operate on shoestring budgets like other small production outfits, we also have a very good track record of finding ways we can help our clients, vendors and partners so that we give back as much as we get. I had already worked up a couple possible areas that I felt Fat Monster could be of service and I ran through these with her and gave her a written packet with supporting info on each item.
I was a trial lawyer for 14 years so that I'm fairly well versed in the art of persuasion and reading people (witnesses, jurors, judges etc.) I was able to pick up a couple reactions on her part that eventually led me to the key I needed to really get her interested in cutting a deal. Without going into details here, I learned that she has a pet personal project that she's been wanting to develop. This was on a Friday and I asked her to give me the weekend to put some proposals together. On Monday I had a whole new presentation for her and the result was that we worked out a trade-out whereby we are going to be allowed to shoot at the facility only for the cost of a Stage Manager and the cost of any high-amp power we use. We're getting two full shooting days and, on top of that, we're been allowed in for a pre-light session on Friday. If we had to pay the rate sheet this would have been close to $10,000!
I decided to mention this because I've been so inspired by the priceless information that Adam (Taormina) has been providing on his Corrado thread. I'm assuming most of you are following it daily, but if not, you owe it to yourself to read it from the top. Anyway, I think too many people fail to really work the angles that are available to them. When we made Threading the Needle we got the use of an airport, a stunt pilot and plane and an ambulance, firetruck, fireman costumes and a commander's vehicle all for free (well, we did buy a tank of diesel fuel for the provider of the emergency equipment). On Where the Heart Lies we had incredible locations donated to us that would have cost thousands of dollars if we had to find them through traditional resources. Tim and Blaine shot Thou Shalt Not at the same diner that Tarentino used in Kill Bill and I think they paid $150 total.
The point is that IF you are willing to devote some time to understanding persuasive appeals you can achieve all sorts of results by acquiring goodwill.
I think I've mentioned before that the Fat Monster credo is "we depend upon the kindness of strangers and happy accidents to get by" and this shoot is certainly no exception. When we developed this project we knew we wanted to shoot it on a set at Laurel Canyon and we were aware that there was no way we would be able to afford it if we had to pay their rates. I consider myself a grandmaster schmoozer and I told Tim that I'd figure out a way for us to shoot there. To his credit, Tim never questions my schemes and is willing to jump off a cliff if I tell him there will be a net by the time he gets to the bottom.
Anyway, I made plans to drop by the facility with some frequency so that I could get to know the scheduling manager. Eventually, I picked up on a few items that I realized we could be of help with and I scheduled a meeting with her to discuss scheduling a shoot. I was up front with her and told her I knew that every indie producer in the city must hit her up for cheap rates and discounts. I explained that while we, of course, operate on shoestring budgets like other small production outfits, we also have a very good track record of finding ways we can help our clients, vendors and partners so that we give back as much as we get. I had already worked up a couple possible areas that I felt Fat Monster could be of service and I ran through these with her and gave her a written packet with supporting info on each item.
I was a trial lawyer for 14 years so that I'm fairly well versed in the art of persuasion and reading people (witnesses, jurors, judges etc.) I was able to pick up a couple reactions on her part that eventually led me to the key I needed to really get her interested in cutting a deal. Without going into details here, I learned that she has a pet personal project that she's been wanting to develop. This was on a Friday and I asked her to give me the weekend to put some proposals together. On Monday I had a whole new presentation for her and the result was that we worked out a trade-out whereby we are going to be allowed to shoot at the facility only for the cost of a Stage Manager and the cost of any high-amp power we use. We're getting two full shooting days and, on top of that, we're been allowed in for a pre-light session on Friday. If we had to pay the rate sheet this would have been close to $10,000!
I decided to mention this because I've been so inspired by the priceless information that Adam (Taormina) has been providing on his Corrado thread. I'm assuming most of you are following it daily, but if not, you owe it to yourself to read it from the top. Anyway, I think too many people fail to really work the angles that are available to them. When we made Threading the Needle we got the use of an airport, a stunt pilot and plane and an ambulance, firetruck, fireman costumes and a commander's vehicle all for free (well, we did buy a tank of diesel fuel for the provider of the emergency equipment). On Where the Heart Lies we had incredible locations donated to us that would have cost thousands of dollars if we had to find them through traditional resources. Tim and Blaine shot Thou Shalt Not at the same diner that Tarentino used in Kill Bill and I think they paid $150 total.
The point is that IF you are willing to devote some time to understanding persuasive appeals you can achieve all sorts of results by acquiring goodwill.
Last edited:
