FEATURE: DEUCE OF SPADES - How I made a period full feature film all by myself on ZERO budget

Ted Spencer said:
I wonder about theatrical as well, and as others have asked previously, whether the current self-distribution run would help or hurt in that regard. On the one hand you could argue that Faith's S/D 'steals thunder' from a potential theatrical release, but on the other hand you could argue that her exceptional success so far has *proven* the film to be worthy of it.

Anyone with greater experience than I in matters of indie feature distribution care to weigh in on this question? Zak? Barry?
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Absolutely - no question it's an issue, but at the same time, I think the quality of the work can supercede just about any rule when it comes do theatrical distribution or festivals, I'd imagine that given the hype that now surrounds the film that the top festivals would be hard pressed not to find a way to get her film in despite the fact that the way the film is being distributed now might not jive with typical festival entry rules - I'd imagine it would be similar with a limited theatrical run (or hell, a big theatrical run) if there seems to be enough interest (and it appears there very well might be).

Of course Barry & Zak certainly know more about this, however!
 
Gary Huff said:
I wonder if sending them a free "screener" copy would help with getting some positive coverage on those sites.
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Yeah, that's what I'm talkin about, man. Especially slash film and he infamous AIcN. Any press on AIcN is good press... Which might be a bad thing?
 
Giriki said:
Congratulations from Finland. I'm gonna order a copy as soon as I can financially. Your work is very inspiring and gives me motivation.

I haven't read the whole thread, but I was wondering, do you have any other connections to Finland apart from the subtitles?
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Hi. The subtitler here :D

There are couple of Finnish hot rodders appearing in the El Mirage scene.

And some of the music on the soundtrack by Finnish bands ;)

I am working on getting some screenings done in Finland and am also selling the DVD :)

At some point I was nominated as the 'ambassador of dos' by Faith :p
 
moondog man said:
Hi. The subtitler here :D

There are couple of Finnish hot rodders appearing in the El Mirage scene.

And some of the music on the soundtrack by Finnish bands ;)

I am working on getting some screenings done in Finland and am also selling the DVD :)

At some point I was nominated as the 'ambassador of dos' by Faith :p
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Well you should feel very proud to be a part of it all. Deuce of Spades is by far the best movie I've ever seen from a first time filmmaker, anywhere. It can easily stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the best fare Hollywood has to offer.
 
Faith Grainger is THE most under rated filmmaker on the net, it's shocking that this blog is not in the top all time indie filmmaker bogs.

FYI, Zac or Barry won't do her any justice in the industry although they are great.
 
Kholi said:
Have there been any reviews from larger blogs yet? AICN, Twitch, Slash, etc?
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Haha, this is me demonstrating how much of a rookie I am: I have never heard of any of the above LOL. Fill me in boys :). So far all the press and radio / TV exposure (and there has been a lot) has been because these people CAME TO ME. I am so busy trying to fullfill demand for photos, interviews, press, etc that I don't have the time to actually knock at doors... Maybe this is a blessing in disguise though :) cause by the time I do, I'll have such an impressive track record people will be willing to listen to what I have to say / check out the film and get behind it.

thisisapocalypse said:
Absolutely - no question it's an issue, but at the same time, I think the quality of the work can supercede just about any rule when it comes do theatrical distribution or festivals, I'd imagine that given the hype that now surrounds the film that the top festivals would be hard pressed not to find a way to get her film in despite the fact that the way the film is being distributed now might not jive with typical festival entry rules - I'd imagine it would be similar with a limited theatrical run (or hell, a big theatrical run) if there seems to be enough interest (and it appears there very well might be).

Of course Barry & Zak certainly know more about this, however!
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Well I think festivals are most useful for those looking to secure distribution for their film, but if you are not dying to get a third party to control your film, and you are self-selling tons of DVDs and making a lot of money cause no one is sharing in the proceeds, then festival no longer are that "vital". they are still a good ide to do, but the super big urgency is not there. They are on my "TO DO" list but I have a few other ideas in the works that may keep me busy for the next 9 months or so. After which I can focus full throttle on Festivals. I'm sure I'll do a few here and there until then, but will focus on the good ones.

Giriki said:
Congratulations from Finland. I'm gonna order a copy as soon as I can financially. Your work is very inspiring and gives me motivation.

I haven't read the whole thread, but I was wondering, do you have any other connections to Finland apart from the subtitles?
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As Petri pointed out, Finland has been good to me. My DVD sell out instantly there. A store ordered 50 copies to start. got them, put them on the shelf at his store and sold them in one hour. So he turned around and ordered another 100. I shipped them. two days later he emails me and says he already presold 95 of those and need 100 more LOL.... Yeah, Finland and Sweden have been GOOOOOD to me :). Plus the great bands that donated music (thank you guys!), help with subtitles THANK YOU PETRI, those guys are hard core. they even flew to my Premiere to perform and support the film! What more could a filmmaker ever hope for?

Kholi said:
How many have you sold so far?

It's kind of crazy to hear that your self distribution numbers are reaching those of some of the most recent limited theatrical release titles sales. Keep it going, Granger.
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About 7000, right from my online store. Amazon does not have it, Wallmart does not have it, nobody has it, except me and a few select small mom and pop stores ( so to build that "hard to find must see cult film" solid fan base, the type of fan base that will support every movie you make in the future. I also have several major magazines in Europe / Australia / New zealand selling the DVDs. The film is now entirely recouped (I'll be figuring out how much it cost me to make withi the next couype month when I do last year tax return) and the film is now making a profit. And I think I have only barely "Scratched" the surface of my market.... Potential for a zillion more DVD sales.

My promotion budget to date?

ZERO DOLLARS. :D

Not a PENNY was spent on print adds, radio adds or any promotion for that matter.

The momentum of the film is solely word of mouth and magazine write ups / TV / and internet (blogs, forums, people posting about the film, raving about it on facebook etc etc...) - Word of mouth, to me is the best, most authentic way to promote and a tangible, irrefutable proof you have a hot film on your hand.



craigbowman said:
If you've seen the movie, its of no surprise in the least. I ordered a couple of copies long before release and I'm still in complete AWE of the total brilliance of this project. I must have watched it at least a dozen times over. Faith Granger has all the skills, talent and commitment of filmmakers with decades of experience, and this is her very first movie after just barely picking up a camera. She's a complete natural. Deuce of Spades leaves dozens of Hollywood movies with hundreds of times the budget completely in the dust. This movie is destined to be a landmark in the history of independant cinema. I'll be ordering at least another five copies to give to some people who just absolutely must see it.

We always talk about how equipment it just a small part of the formula. This movie pounds that point home with a pile-driver!
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hey it's not the size, it's what you do with it ;)

hehehehehehehe....

Thank you for your super nice feedback Craig. I am honored to have such a wonderful hard core fan base, fans that APPRECIATE the film and the insanely hard work that it took to make it.

thisisapocalypse said:
I have to say I'm not surprised after watching Faith's progress - I've always fully believed that if what you make is really good enough, people are going to see it, your project will find a way - and clearly Faith has shown that if you build it, they will come (if it's good). Time to order my copy :)

I have to ask Faith - are there any chances that this film is going to have any kind of limited theatrical release around the country? I'd love to see this film in a theater in the Boston area (whether a festival or whathaveyou).
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I'm working on it ;) - I might even be personally visiting Boston this fall - with the film and the deuce - PM me :) - we should meet up!

Ted Spencer said:
I wonder about theatrical as well, and as others have asked previously, whether the current self-distribution run would help or hurt in that regard. On the one hand you could argue that Faith's S/D 'steals thunder' from a potential theatrical release, but on the other hand you could argue that her exceptional success so far has *proven* the film to be worthy of it.

Anyone with greater experience than I in matters of indie feature distribution care to weigh in on this question? Zak? Barry?
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From bring in the trenches and knowing my niche market audience, I can already tell you that the limited distribution of the film I am doing is only going to HELP MAJORLY any theatrical release. Because this is a cult classic, people who watch the DVD once usually want to watch it a bunch more time and dream of seeing the film in all its "splendor" on the big screen, with loud speakers to heard those engines LOUD.... All these guys would for very sure come to a screening, and bring all their car buddies with them "you GOT to see this film " sort of thing.

So in short I am actually paving the way for a theatrical release. :)

Of course an idiotic big corp that does not understand the hotrod market may not see that and miss the boat. But a smart one would jump on it, cause I have already done part of their job for them :).

ALSO at both my test screening the feedback forms indicated that 90% of those who saw the film wanted to

1- See it again and

2- Would come to a screening at a theater near them to see it on the big screen.

Numbers can't lie.
 
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Deuceofspades said:
My promotion budget to date?

ZERO DOLLARS. :D

Not a PENNY was spent on print adds, radio adds or any promotion for that matter.
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Excellent. Definitely a testament to you knowing your audience intimately enough for it to take off like it has thus far.

A lesson to all of us indie filmmakers...knowing your audience well will help you deliver "in Spades" ;) to them.

Keep it up, Faith. You're rockin' it!

-M
 
Re: Kholi's question about sales so far:

Deuceofspades said:
About 7000, right from my online store. Amazon does not have it, Wallmart does not have it, nobody has it, except me and a few select small mom and pop stores ( so to build that "hard to find must see cult film" solid fan base, the type of fan base that will support every movie you make in the future. I also have several major magazines in Europe / Australia / New zealand selling the DVDs. The film is now entirely recouped (I'll be figuring out how much it cost me to make withi the next couype month when I do last year tax return) and the film is now making a profit. And I think I have only barely "Scratched" the surface of my market.... Potential for a zillion more DVD sales.
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This is truly a triumph, Faith. That many sales in such a short time (IIRC the last 5000 are from only the last month or so), completely self-distributed, is probably getting close to some kind of a record. I'd love to know the stats if anyone's got 'em:

Have there been any other comparable (indie, strictly self-distro'd feature) films that ever sold 5000 copies in a month?

PS: congratu-frickin-lations, babe : )
 
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Hey Faith (and DOS fans) I just read an interesting article on legendary rock guitarist Jeff Beck, who as it turns out is a also huge Deuce Coupe (1932 Ford, for those who might not know) afficionado. Here's an excerpt:

"He owns 14 hot rods, housed at his English estate. But that doesn’t keep him from pursuing more. He has a particular obsession with the ’32 Deuce Coupe. He wrote the forward to Tony Thacker’s book, “’32 Ford The Deuce: A formal and sporting history of Ford’s first V8 and the Model B,” Beck describes how he acquired his very first Deuce by swapping a ’63 split-window Chevy Corvette for it and 800 English pounds. And that happened after he had become somewhat of an aficionado by devouring every American hot-rodding book and magazine he could get his hands on as a kid."

And a link to the whole article, which is primarily about Beck's connection to an even bigger guitar legend, Les Paul:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/41375957/ns/today-entertainment/

It made me wonder if he (Beck, that is - Les Paul has gone to the great music hall in the sky) has heard about your film yet. I bet he'd be *very* interested in it, and who knows - maybe he can help you out with it in some way. Might be worth a shot...
 
Is there any kind of review of Deuce of Spades up anywhere? On any film blogs etc?

I think I asked before, just wondering if one's popped up.
 
Somebody want to summarise this thread for me??? I read the fist and the last page! :-/

What I don't understand is, you say you're making this film alone, and in one of the photo's on the first page, someone is holding a boom mic. Did many people actually turn out to help you? And did you spend much money in the end? And how did you support yourself financially whilst making it? I'm sure you've answered these questions already, but the thread is 150 pages! 150 pages!! Please sympathise with me! :)
 
"...all by myself on zero budget" is pretty much the metaphoric way of putting it. I'd say that actually means "with no outside financial or film company support" (or words to that effect). Faith had the help of any number of people in most technical areas, virtually all unpaid volunteers. She put up all the money for it from her own pocket, on a more or less piecemeal 'as needed' basis. At least that's how I understand it from what I can infer.

But it really, truly is (almost) 100% her baby, no doubt.

Faith, or someone else who knows the inside story better than I, will correct me if necessary on any or all of this...

And no sympathy will be offered nor is it necessary - go ahead and read the darn thread anyway. It's a blast... : )
 
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