felliniesque film

filmman

filmman

Veteran
My feature film THE RED QUEEN has been invited to THE AVA GARDNER INDIE FILM FESTIVAL in Smithfield, North Carolina. It will have its world premiere on November 20th, 2009.

I was notified yesterday, so I had to come up with a poster fast. The first artwork that I had created was from the movie itself. I shot the movie over a period of two years in a highly creative style, one of my felliniesque no-budget compilation movie projects. The camera that I use for experimental filmmaking and event projects is the Sony Z1U digital camera. Since I work alone, I don't use any stills cameras. I move fast and usually don't even use a tripod with most projects.

So for a poster I had no time but to grab one of my 1080i 60i frames and turn it into an artwork. I used Photoshop texturizer filter to get the poster below.

Tomorrow I will go to a print shop and see if I can get a nice poster out of it. I'm going to do one full sized poster and many 1/2 sized one for the festival.

Also, on November 4th I'm going to the AFM and see if I can find some future customers for my movies. I will report on the market here as well.

Wish me luck and let me know if I can help you with distribution.
red_queen_poster_texture2.jpg
 
Congratulations and Good luck at AFM...definitely post about the experience. I went to AFM last year and it was eye-opening and a rugged reality check for me...still got a deal for a friend's film that will release next week on Netflix (Stragglers if anyone is interested in popping it into their queue) but overall felt overwhelmed.

So do post about AFM and congrats again on getting a festival.

-M
 
The image doesnt look to bad, but i dislike the fonts. They make it look more amatuerish than im sure you wish to go for.

Fix them if you can, and turn the glowing effect down on the red in the font at the top.
 
Now that is an accomplishment. None of my films have been invited to festivals, well maybe to festivals/contests that accept every film. I wish you the best. My film shall also premiere three days later (November 23) in North Carolina as well. But if you can help me in any way to distribute it to a wider audience, that sounds good. Thank you.
 
Thanks for all the comments. I really appreciate your support. Here is the new poster. This one I reduced to a smaller size for the web, but I made the changes suggested. Take a look.

red_queen_t4-2.jpg
 
thanks Gilbert. I've been trying to get invited to festivals, but without much success ... except for the Ava Gardner Indie Film Festival. This is the third one to be held. My movie BUTTERFLIES IN THE WIND was invited from Myspace exposure and then the following year THE CHASE was invited. So it was great that this year for the third time my movie THE RED QUEEN gets invited.

It's good to establish friendships with festival directors. I'd encourage you to subit your movie to the Ava Gardner Film Festival and tell Kirk I recommended you.

Here's the website: http://www.myspace.com/avagardnerfilmfestival
 
thanks for the suggestion, Jon~ check it out. I overlayed the fonts again. I had texturized them because I was in a hurry.
 
I appreciate it, Chris. And thanks Nate for the encouragement.

Still, I agree with you, it would be far better to rent the red queen costume and shoot a new poster image in the studio. I will do it once I have the money for the international markets. I used to have poster painters paint the posters for all the movies I represented at CANNES, the AFM and other festivals I attended.

But the last few years I've been on the comeback trail and I'm scrambling....LOL
 
filmman said:
thanks, Martay. I hope I run into you this year at the AFM ... if you're going? Let me know.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately I won't be there this year (as I'm trying to complete two features in post-production) which is why I'm very interested to hear your reports.

Otherwise, I'd be sure to track you down for some coffee or an overpriced Hot Dog there :)

Again, congratulations and good luck,

Martin
 
LOL, I know, water is $7.50 ... plus tip. I bring my water bottle from home.

I'll do the rounds this year and see what's cooking. Good luck with your films. I might go to the Berlinale this coming year, and I'll definitely make a play for CANNES.
 
Be sure to get everything on tape (or card). You can make a doc about trying to sale at the AFM. I'd buy that from you in a heartbeat and I'm sure everyone else will too. Think about it.

-Nate
 
Great idea, Nate. I have some footage from previous AFM markets. I always thought it would make a great story ... an indie filmmaker and all the crazy stuff that goes on in the international film markets. I describe a lot of it in my film book FILMMAKING A TO Z. The book is on Amazon BTW :) http://www.amazon.com/Filmmaking-Z-Film-Making-Vic-Alexander/dp/1438209630/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253883663&sr=1-1
you know you designed the cover :)
amazon_filmmaking_a_to_z_icon.gif


Filmmaking A to Z covers the five areas of filmmaking: Screenplay writing, pre-production, production, post-production and distribution. It even has a lot about acting:
gloria_swanson_sunset_blvd_op.jpg
I love this scene of Gloria Swanson from Sunset Boulevard.
http://www.amazon.com/Filmmaking-Z-...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253883663&sr=1-1
 
Most of us have unrealistic ambitions when we start out as filmmakers. Then when we run into obstacles we begin to hide our goals, lest we get run over. The hiding is very detrimental to our progress as filmmakers. It's happened to me, I'm not ashamed to say.

What I learned about 35mm filmmaking I put in the book Filmmaking A to Z, yes, I'm plugging it :) it's on Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Filmmaking-Z-Film-Making-Vic-Alexander/dp/1438209630

Whether it's getting too bogged down in technique and technology or holding out for an unreasonable advance from distributors, I've made the mistakes and I write about all that. I used to plan and plan, and planning is good; I used to read everything about new equipment, and knowing the latest technology is great; but at a certain point you have to forget about it and go out there and make a movie.

It's like Zorba said, "A man has to take down his pants and look for trouble." Well, I wouldn't go that far LOL; but read the book, it has practical advice even for digital filmmakers.
 
I haven't seen the parody, Nate. But this scene shows how powerful is the attraction of film. It's a felliniesque moment. Gloria Swanson is in her own world, a dream world like Fellini's.

Here is a still from THE RED QUEEN.
liv_jenessy_shawn.jpg
 
Jenessy did two of the songs in the movie. She's a real singer. Here is a shot of her in the studio doing her thing.
Jenessy-3.jpg
 
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