At the Foot of a Tree - Official Press Release

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GregorySinger

Member
Hey everyone!

I've been on DVXUser for about 3 years but since I haven't been posting, I seem to have lost my login. I just wanted to say that information I have gotten off this website has been invaluable to my film making efforts. Finally, I am able to release some AMAZING NEWS!

One of my films, AT THE FOOT OF A TREE, has been selected for the IFP Rough Cut Lab! http://labs.ifp.org/ If you are not familiar, the Rough Cut Lab is a 4 day intensive workshop (similar to the Sundance one) where established industry professionals work with us film makers to polish the film and get it ready for major festivals like Sundance and Tribeca. The official press release is here: http://www.ifp.org/ifpnews/newsitem.php?id=604

It is also mentioned in Variety: http://www.variety.com/awardcentral_article/VR1117987010.html?nav=news&categoryid=1983&cs=1

and The Hollywood Reporter:http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ic22e8ae49977b0fae69c50b1e27ffa43

New this year for the IFP Rough Cut Lab is a $50,000 grant to one of the films for finishing funds. In addition, during the IFC Marketplace this fall the 11 films selected will be featured, and we will be given one on one sessions with major distributors and festival programmers! Each year, several films from the lab have been selected for Sundance! Not bad for a first feature dramatic film!

We hope to go well beyond that little English film, ONCE, that won an Oscar last year for its musical performance. Our cinematography, poor as it is, is much better we think!

Anyway, the logline to the film is: Alfie, a freckle faced eleven year old boy, seeks heartfelt and poetic revenge for the beating of his father.

The official trailers for the film are here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrKpwzOPkYo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx5H6KKuhlk

You can find them also at my company's page on Youtube.com/StallionAV.

Dreams really DO come TRUE!

BTW, I am Co-producer on the film. I spent the past 10 months of my life editing it. We have an amazing soundtrack by Doro and Okkervil River, as well as a great sound designer and talent. We WILL be selected by Sundance and we WILL get a distribution deal by a major distributor. Fingers crossed!

Peace,

Gregory Singer
Director/Producer
Stallion AV Productions
Maelstorm Films
 
Hey All,

Just had the first day of the IFP Rough Cut Lab. It was at a swanky NYC hotel, the Soho House. We spent the day where 4 different professional editors critiqued the cuts of the 11 movies selected. It was long at 9 hours, but it also was very informative. One of the other films had one of the main actors from 90210 and many of the films had large budgets. Ours budget was microscopic compared to theirs. However, our film was one of the best there! Most of the issues our critiqing editor sad our film had we had already fixed in the past few weeks, subsequent to the version of the film he viewed. Our film is well on its way to Sundance!
 
IFP Rough Cut Lab Thoughts...

IFP Rough Cut Lab Thoughts...

Howdy!

I had an amazing week last week at the IFP Rough Cut Lab. Our film was very well received and we made many great contacts with distributors. I'll just say that if you're not a member of the IFP, you should join! They have lots of events and seminars and screenings that are free to members.

Anyway, we had lots of great meetings with top industry people. After reading many of the threads on this site about filmmaking and distribution, I'll just say that there is A LOT of false information out there! Basically, there are three main groups of filmmakers:

1. Studio babies who deal with high budget mainstream films. This is the level that most people aspire to. There is nothing wrong with it, but as a filmmaker generally your hands are tied as to what film you make. It's more of a 'committee' film and not a single vision.

2. Independent filmmakers who want to make high budget but don't want to or don't have the ability to work with studios. These people do everything themselves but want to make a marketable film.

3. Truly independent filmmakers who have a passion for making film, and don't care to make any money, other than make enough for the next film.

If you are 1 or 2 then you typically wouldn't be on this board. I consider myself more of a 2, as I want to segue into a studio deal with my next film. However, in order to get my start I had to do lots of research, and that is where this site came in. I never went to film school, and I haven't been making films since I was 4. I picked up my first real camera 3 years ago, and now I have a film that is on its way to Sundance and most likely will premiere at SxSW next year and get a distribution deal. One of my mentors worked as a festival screener for Sundance and for the Weinstein Company, so I am getting good information there.

If you are a 3, then you would be on this site day in and day out, swapping advice with other 3's. This is a great environment in order to get a basic knowledge of filmmaking and storytelling.

I'm not sure what my point is about this post, other than to ramble on. If you want REAL distribution then you really should not show ANY work, other than a few production stills. This is advice from a rep at Sony Pictures Classics. If you want to self distribute, then by all means show anything and everything you can in order to get public interest. I may speak up about other things I've learned, but I'll be honest and say that I'm a selfish person, and I want to make sure that my film does well by not helping other films be as good as mine. (j/k).

Gregory Singer
 
We are just about done with the final cut. I'll post some screenshots and production stills later when I get a chance. I think we're going to have a one on one meeting with the festival organizers for Sundance in September. If we do, possibly we can persuade them to let us premiere our film there! Who knows... but we definitely have a shot. If not, we have a tremendous shot at winning South by Southwest.

Now we're at the point of doing the audio dubs and mixing in sound effects. The soundtrack will go through its final studio mix this afternoon. I can't believe we're actually going to finish this film! It's been about a year since we started, a year of editing and re-editing and re-re-editing. We're already gotten some great feedback from industry people and they love this film. I certainly hope everyone else does too.
 
Thanks for sharing; you're not selfish :-) just cautious. You have to be in this business.

It's very informative if you would answer some of these questions.

1) Is the $50 k grant in services or cash?
2) Is it repaid with interest and does IFP become part owners of the movie?
3) Do you get to decide how the money is used?
4) Are you guaranteed distribution?

By the way, I liked the trailer and I think your premise is very strong. Good luck with the movie.
 
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