"Corrado" - A production blog

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Ted Arabian said:
hee hee hee.... great line!

Congrats on the cutting.

I was just reading through some of you comments here and I started to wonder.... did you have someone shooting for "bonus material" on a dvd? I imagine that there is so much to think about and this could be easily overlooked.
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even more important than content for a DVD is content for your EPK -- on set b-roll, interviews with cast and crew. I have enough from Heart of Now to cut a feature length doc on the making of it if I wanted to. the first thing i'll cut with once the feature edit is locked is a sizzle reel -- which is essentially a trailer with some interview bites and b-roll. that's just the beginning of the EPK content i'll produce for the marketing of the film. it's going to be enormous.
 
Whew! That took me 4 different google attempts but I got it!

EPK - Electronic Press Kit.

(yeah.... I'm a newbie! :) )
 
Dan Brockett (Puredrifting) does EPK / bonus material for a living. He was on the set a few times, but before we started shooting, I more or less decided not to do EPK - no budget for it.

Dan will definitely do the featurettes and EPK stuff on movie #2.
 
I just can't imagine trying to juggle all of this.

I didn't realize that there was a profession in producing EPK and bonus material. Makes sense.
 
Japan's lovely, though humidity is not my friend. That would be an interesting read: Behind the scenes of the Behind the scenes.... boggles the mind.

Adam, just curious if you have a set date you're working towards. Are you on a schedule of some kind or is this all just self-perseverance? Obviously you'd like to get it out sooner than later but just curious if there are other factors at play.
 
Adam, I was just reading a few pages back about the distribution, have you not had any offers yet? I'm surprised you’re not rejecting 100's of offers already :P, I agree with Brandon, festivals are the way to go unless you happen to have another major contact in Hollywood, although it wouldn’t surprise me if you did. Honestly in my opinion putting up a few of the major cast in a hotel for a few day’s would probably be worth it, as you well know you have to spend a little to get a lot. Anyway I’m surprised at how fast you work, it feels like it was only a few days ago you were announcing that production had started, oh wait, it was! Hope all is going strong.

David.
 
Hi David,

I was absolutely going to comment on the distrib thing - just too busy editing.

Before I started filming, it quickly became apparent that while I had many many distributors interested in Corrado, I wasn't going to get a firm, written offer without them seeing the movie or at least a portion of it. I'm just too new to the scene.


A few called back after I wrapped, and I told them the film was in post - they were like...wow. Here is a memorable one....


Them: Really? You're wrapped????

Me: Yes, of course

Them: That's amazing

Me: Well, the shoot did go fairly quickly.

Them: That's not what I meant....I'm surprised the movie got finished at all! The hardest part is actually finishing the movie!


He then proceeded to tell me how many of these "meetings and phone calls' he had with people when their movie was in prepro. You see, distribs call you when your movie is in prepro because it's listed in the trades, and it feels viable. They call when the movie is finished as well as a follow up - your wrap date was also listed in the trades - remember???

Except according to this guy, very few movies actually see production, and fewer yet see completion. Every event imaginable conspires to make you NOT film your movie from no-show actors, budget overruns, sick crew, you name it. It's a miracle low budget indies even get done.

So what does this have to do with offers?

As soon as some distribs found out the movie was in post, they phoned and asked if they could take first crack at it, to which I responded vaguely. Some want to see finished screeners, while some others want to see just a trailer - one even is happy with a few of the best scenes.

So while I have enough material right now to make a trailer....why should I? It can only hurt me. I am proceeding to try and finish the movie to keep my options open with sales.

Will the guy that only wants a trailer pay as much as the guy that is sitting there with the whole, finished, movie in his hands???? Probably not.

The guy with the trailer is taking a chance - the guy with the whole movie in his hand is bidding on a known, tangible commodity.


Time is on my side here. The closer I get to a finished film, the more money I will get. Oh, I will cut a trailer to give to my first people, for sure I will 'cause I said so, but I'm not sure I'll immediately take their offer unless it's amazing because I know a finished movie has far more sales outlets.


I am doing this because I want a good relationship with distributor that I can get presales on for movie #2!!!!! It's not just about Corrado. I'm planning to try and cut two deals at once, here.

Because once Corrado has been purchased, and is out there in the market with a distributor, I'm golden. At that point, I'll be able to get distribution deals on my next film while it's in pre-pro or filming - just like larger movies, because I will be a known, proven commodity.
 
Great stuff, Adam. You are on the right track with the distribution thing. Do NOT give out trailers or an unfinished product to the bulk of distributors. They rarely buy anything that way.

I recently took a couple of distribution seminars in L.A., given by filmmakers like you, but who have already been around the block a couple of times. And they all emphasize that you should only ever go in with a finished product.

It's simply the job of some underling at every distribution company, to follow the trades and request trailers and scenes, just to keep up with what's out there. But it's also a safe bet for underlings to NEVER recommend a BUY off a trailer. Why should they? That only risks their jobs if the eventual movie does not pan out.

I was also told in the seminars and by a few other successful filmmakers, never to hold a private screening for distributors. They don't buy that way either. In fact, the only movie that ever made a big splash with a private screening was Swingers, way back in 1996, and that's only because some big buzz had been generated in the previous year.

What you want (for a genre pic like yours) is the finished movie in the hands of 7-8 top distributors at the same time. You want some form of bidding war to take place, even if it's not the higher-stakes type of bidding war that might erupt at Sundance every few years. Screening your movie at the AFM, with advance notice to your top distributor choices, is also a good way to go, and might even be optimum.

Just make sure you sell it within a year of its completion, otherwise its shelf life starts to expire very rapidly. That's where IMDB can be your worst enemy. If a movie is 2-3 years old and not sold, the perception becomes one of 'well, there must be a problem with it then...'

All of the above is second-hand info, since I have not personally done any of this yet (but hope to very, very soon). You are out there blazing the actual trail. Maybe you will write some new rules or find a new path. Whatever you do, thanks again for inviting us all in on the journey!!
 
I meant to ask earlier but forgot ...Do you have marketing funds in your budget? I seem to remember your final budget was $300,000. How much of that was earmarked for marketing?

I ask this based on the strategies suggested in the last two posts. Since the distributors you know already know your budget, why don't you ask one of them to take a look at the movie while you're editing it? Maybe if one of thess distributors will take a personal interest in you as a filmmaker.

If you wait until it's finished, maybe it'll be harder to get much of an advance. To get a $300,000 advance from distributors will be very difficult. I realize that I'm asking too much here, but if you can comment at this point, it will be a great learning experience for me, because I've never heard of many distributors being really interested in an indie movie in production or post-production. I really hope I'm wrong...
 
filmman said:
I meant to ask earlier but forgot ...Do you have marketing funds in your budget? I seem to remember your final budget was $300,000. How much of that was earmarked for marketing?

I ask this based on the strategies suggested in the last two posts. Since the distributors you know already know your budget, why don't you ask one of them to take a look at the movie while you're editing it? Maybe if one of thess distributors will take a personal interest in you as a filmmaker.

If you wait until it's finished, maybe it'll be harder to get much of an advance. To get a $300,000 advance from distributors will be very difficult. I realize that I'm asking too much here, but if you can comment at this point, it will be a great learning experience for me, because I've never heard of many distributors being really interested in an indie movie in production or post-production. I really hope I'm wrong...
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As far as they know, the budget is $750K - there is plenty of interest. Besides, I'm not dealing with any underlings....I'm dealing with two very senior people at a major distributor.

Just trust me on this one, guys. I'm going to bring home the bacon. Stay tuned.
 
taormina said:
As far as they know, the budget is $750K - there is plenty of interest. Besides, I'm not dealing with any underlings....I'm dealing with two very senior people at a major distributor.

Just trust me on this one, guys. I'm going to bring home the bacon. Stay tuned.
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Very cool, Adam. Didn't mean to imply that you personally were dealing with underlings. Just reporting what I have learned so far from other people's recent experience. It's rare that first-time indie filmmakers get contacted by senior people at distribution companies. So you are walking on exceptional ground!

Staying tuned for a big hickory smoked slice...
 
You're right, Ozzy, it is rare - except in this case I happened to work on a pretty big Millennium film, and met these people back in 2005 - so the relationship had already been established!
 
That’s some good advice there ozzy, I’m taking a seminar on distribution in June, hopefully it will help me further my projects. Although I think this thread has informed me on a lot of different issues when it comes to budgeting and on insurance etc, its helping improve my production quality greatly. I look forward to seeing where Corrado goes!

David.
 
oh, okay. Then your budget is really $750,000. If you include marketing. Which you have arranged prior to production, but it's still worth $450,000. The major studios typically spend double or triple the budget of the film in marketing (prints and advertising).

So officially the budget is $750,000. I think it's still a good budget, considering you have name talent in your movie, and the movie is action genre.

You definitely know what you're doing. Everybody here is pulling for you too. I'm glad...
 
filmman,

If I recall correctly (I don't want to dig through 800+ posts!), Adam's budget to make the film was $300K - but he has informed the industry that the budget was $750K.

If distributors knew his solid film was made for $300K, they would likely low-ball him when making an offer. The inflated budget amount would (should) be taken into account when an offer is made.

I don't want to speak on Adam's behalf - but that's the logic that I recall from an earlier post.
 
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Neal - exactly

Filmman - Thanks for your calculations, but if you read an earlier post, my people said the movie was worth $750K to them right out of the gate, and up to $2M if well executed.

They said this just based on the script and cast list, but needed to see some of the final movie to confirm this.

Disregard everything you've read about distribution when it applies to me. Or Corrado.

This film is an anomaly! Find me another movie made for what I made this movie for that has the same caliber of cast in it. Go ahead, name one. I actually can't think of any off the top of my head.
It's a mistake to bet against me. ( I know you aren't, filmman, and I'm not singling you out here at all. This is more of a general statement

Remember - most films in my budget range are crap. Not only are they crap, they never had a story that generated buzz like Corrado did - they never had name talent (or at best a quick appearance by a lesser Baldwin), they never had he mojo that Corrado has.

Corrado has generated a ton of publicity - from multiple articles, radio interviews, and CNN on set for four days.

I'm not claiming that it is all my doing, all I'm saying is that Corrado........doesn't fit your average distribution logic.

And where it concerns DVXUser....45,000+ views can't be wrong.
 
Also a word about the budget....

When I say $300K (actually it's more like 320K now), that's only my hard costs. There are a bunch of costs not in that number - some hard, some soft. Here is what the budget does not include:

1. The script
2. Director's fees
3. Producer's fees
4. The cost of all the equipment I purchased - 3 ton lighting and grip, cameras, lenses, grip truck, etc.

Just with the above numbers alone I could justify $750K, so it's not too much of a stretch in my mind.

Where do you buy a script that makes name actors want to work on the project...and how much?

In any case, If I gave Joe **** the Rag Man $300K and told him to film Corrado again, but pay for a script, bring on a producer and director and go buy gear, it could not be done for that amount.

So is $300K the budget? Sure, for me, and for my circumstances at the time, it was. But not to someone who is writing a check for the movie...they must pay all costs, hard and soft, and a profit.....see?
 
It seems to me that if you only sold "Corrado" DVD's online to this forum alone, you'd probably break even. You might even see some profit. I don't see how this could fail under any circumstance.

"...lesser Baldwin..." I'm still laughing at that phrase.
 
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