"Corrado" - A production blog

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Orson Welles, arguably a genius, who was given carte blanche after his masterpiece "Citizen Kane", and who never had another successful film (he barely even finished any) poignantly had this to say, late in life:

"An absence of limitations is the death of art".

M. Night Shyamalan has pretty much re-proven this idea, under very similar circumstances (complete creative control, tons of cash after his brilliant "Sixth Sense" debut), although he's actually released a bunch of really terrible films where Welles didn't.

So embrace your limitations, and make the best of it.

Also remember as you fear you've made a crappy film that Coppola was consumed with the same late-inning doubts as he made "Apocalypse Now", one of his greatest masterpieces.

It's normal...
 
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Brandon Rice said:
Moving fast bro... I thought I was quick having picture locked about a month and a half since we finished shooting (though we did just finish shooting the first scene three days ago)...

Good on ya though... glad to hear it's coming along... who is giving you notes on the edit?

We've been keeping it pretty close to the vest, just the EP, Director, and myself have been giving notes on the cuts (on 4 right now, 5 will be the final cut)
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The only person giving me edit notes is really.....me. Candace watches from time to time and points things out, but mainly just me.

This is how I do edits on all my stuff:

1. Do a rough cut.
2. Watch it and take notes.
3. Fix stuff in the notes.
4. Repeat step 2 and 3 until it all looks good.
5. Burn a copy to DVD.
6. Watch it on 50" plasma, take notes.
7. Fix stuff in step 6 which was not obvious on a computer monitor.
8. Fix until done.

The last couple steps are bummers because you are literally going back to fix a single spelling mistake on a title or something trivial. It's time consuming.

Realistically today I am on step 3.
 
Another brief update:

The people that loaned me the money for all this fun are not too keen on only having my movie shopped at Millennium. They figure I am not going to get a good bid if I ONLY take it to their contacts. I have been instructed to seek out at least one other distributor for a comparison bid.

About 4 days ago, I got a call from one out of the blue before I could look. They have released many many movies the size of Corrado and larger. They asked for some raw demo footage, and I gave them the trailer. They asked me to come in so here I go today.

Tell you what, for as much **** as I caught on the trailer (really a rough demo) it does make people call back.
 
taormina said:
Another brief update:

The people that loaned me the money for all this fun are not too keen on only having my movie shopped at Millennium. They figure I am not going to get a good bid if I ONLY take it to their contacts. I have been instructed to seek out at least one other distributor for a comparison bid.
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Yep... good call... gotta make there be some competition for your film
 
taormina said:
The only person giving me edit notes is really.....me. Candace watches from time to time and points things out, but mainly just me.

This is how I do edits on all my stuff:

1. Do a rough cut.
2. Watch it and take notes.
3. Fix stuff in the notes.
4. Repeat step 2 and 3 until it all looks good.
5. Burn a copy to DVD.
6. Watch it on 50" plasma, take notes.
7. Fix stuff in step 6 which was not obvious on a computer monitor.
8. Fix until done.

The last couple steps are bummers because you are literally going back to fix a single spelling mistake on a title or something trivial. It's time consuming.

Realistically today I am on step 3.
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Seems like you really need someone else to watch and give you notes. I realize you're not too keen on other people's opinions, but twice as many eyes means you catch twice as many mistakes, so you can fix them all at once... or come up with ideas for fixing them you never would have thought of. I think working in a bubble is dangerous.
 
Adam:

As I've been reading this thread while editing my felliniesque feature, I've been very curious about the distribution aspect. You're really the only movie maker whom I've known that had the money and the distribution from day one. Well, as far as indie filmmakers are concerned...

Now that you're in editing and only one day from finishing the shoot, you're considering other distributors -- why? Won't this jeopardize your deal with Millennium?

Do you have such a hot film that you'd throw away the security of a sure distribution deal with a company that has offered you a win-win situation?

There is also one other question that I'd love for you to answer eventually (whenever you like), is this the movie you would've made regardless of whether you had the distribution deal or not?

If this is the case then this is another first for me :) You're in a truly enviable position as a movie maker. All I can say at this point is congratulations -- your movie must be good, because everyone who sees it has told you so -- and I'm looking forward to reading more postings.
 
filmman said:
You're really the only movie maker whom I've known that had the money and the distribution from day one. Well, as far as indie filmmakers are concerned...
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I'm pretty sure distrib. was NOT guaranteed when Adam went into production...

correct me if I'm wrong.
 
I do not have a distribution deal in place. I have two people that are hugely interested in the movie, one group being some people at Millennium, but that's it.

I haven't even shopped distributors yet - these are people who are finding me. I'm at a bit of an impasse now because there is nothing that can be done vis a vis a distribution deal until the movie is done.

Today's meeting went very well, there was excitement over the demo, and they can't wait to see the movie.

The good news is people are calling, and people are liking the demo, which is really all that can be done at this stage until I have a completed movie.

I'm stoked!
 
In the meantime, why don't we talk about what's a good trailer? Because that would help us all, you know :) That would make a great thread all by itself.

Seriously, by definition a trailer is cut only after the movie is completely edited and ready for screening, usually a theatrical screening. Then it's a trailer.

But before that, it ain't a trailer -- a teazer perhaps? What are the rules for a teazer? Here's an example:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zyv19bg0scg&hl=en"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zyv19bg0scg&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
 
i've cut some high profile trailers. most are cut from selected dailies or rough cuts of the film. long before picture lock.
 
Zak is right. I would personally cut a trailer right after the movie is in the can. Except I can't cut trailers. Still, if I needed one, that's when I would do it.

I've received two other e-mails asking about Corrado and distribution. Both want screeners. Bidding war?????
 
taormina said:
Zak is right. I would personally cut a trailer right after the movie is in the can. Except I can't cut trailers. Still, if I needed one, that's when I would do it.

I've received two other e-mails asking about Corrado and distribution. Both want screeners. Bidding war?????
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haha! be careful. I get a dozen emails a week from the acquisition dept of various distributors asking to see my features. a quick bit of research will reveal that most never intend to give you the kind of deal you'll need to pay back investors. we're talking offers of $10,000 for a feature, if they even offer an advance at all. the most notorious is Echelon.... and there are many other small distributors that don't have the money or the reach... BEWARE!!!!!
 
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over the last 4-5 months I've been seeking out a home for two features (currently in post). a few distributers have made sh*tty offers. and I rejected them. Magnolia Pictures is bugging me to see a locked cut of Heart of Now, but I'm not interested in selling it. i'll do non-exclusive, but i'm not letting go entirely. it's the smart move in the long term for a niche content provider like me (sabi). the more I've read and researched and learned, it was clear I could make a hell of a lot more dough investing money into building and branding my own distribution company -- one that lived on the cutting edge of where distribution models are headed. the old model is on its way out and new opportunities are emerging. i plan to capitalize on that.
 
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