Recent content by dougspice

Looking to replace an aging Blackmagic Decklink Pro with something capable of at least 2K (4K wouldn't be a bad thing for future-proofing, although at the moment we have no 4K monitor) and 3D via HDMI. These seem like the two best options from the two leading brands, but am I missing anything...

Write only what they DO see, simple as that. Getting any more specific with descriptions of camera work in the script is usually a mistake.

It's you. :) We're busier than we've ever been over here!

Franklin’s a wine salesman who has given up, and only two people can help him. One just moved into his house and changed the locks. The other is having an affair with his girlfriend. Cement Suitcase is a micro-budget indie comedy shooting in Washington's Yakima Valley, where writer-director...

Awww, I was just getting excited for a political debate!

The problem is that the clients who are willing to pay are generally also looking for you to have the experience to back it up. You gotta put food on the table. I completely understand. I worked through years of shitty jobs for clients I hated that weren't paying enough. Worked harder than I...

Educating clients is part of the job. When these bottom-drawer clients come to your door asking you to do work for $600, it's your responsibility to explain to them why you can't – and why that's good for them. This is a really important part of the sales process, actually. If you can't...

Unless you intend to make 100% truly independent films for your entire life (and some people do), then this will always be true even as a "pure" filmmaker. You might luck out and have great producers who believe in you 100%, but that'd be a rare case... and even then you might turn out to be an...

What do you get when you combine a sunny afternoon in Palm Springs, a swimming pool, a few beers, and a guy with an underwater camera? A lot of fun and a few hangovers. Hope you like it... it makes me insanely happy every time I watch it!

Simple but elusive: 1. Stop spending effort on angles that don't pay off. 2. Spend more effort on angles that DO pay off. Being honest and getting to know what you're actually good at and actually bad at, especially when it comes to marketing and bizdev, is a hard thing and can take years...

One of the best business skills you can learn is how to sniff out potential clients who don't actually value your services. It can take time to learn how to do this, and when you're starting out you may have to work for these people, either to pay the rent or to learn how to spot them. But in...

I think you probably misunderstood me. By industry I didn't mean "video production," I am referring to the markets in which we are selling products. In this case, government and military. But to answer your question: have a great reel, streamline your production pipeline so you can deliver on...

Two things. First, why would you want anything but "the most confident sales person"? I think a quick viewing of Glengarry Glen Ross is in order. Second, if you want to attract those repeat clients, you absolutely have to offer market differentiation from your competitors. What can you offer...

Thought I'd share one of my old-school classics. This was one of my USC student films. In many ways it is a mockery of everything "student film" had come to mean. I mean, if they were going to make us shoot 16mm B&W, I was going to take advantage of it, right? Without further ado: WADING...

Lately I've been reviewing a bunch of independent film investor pitch documents that I've accumulated in the last year or two, and I've been noticing a recurring theme throughout them – they all treat the potential investor as a moron, or at least a mark! Here's a couple quick examples. First...