FEATURE: Magic - A Matt Sconce Film

Matt and I just got off the phone with MAGIC Co-Producer Eric Edmeades, CEO of the KERNER GROUP (the old Industrial Light and Magic). We had a very productive call and we are moving right along toward many of our goals. We also chatted with AREA 9 folks too. Great night. ONWARD!

Matt is in the Editing Chamber of Glory working on the new Teaser Trailer for MAGIC. Go Matt!
I'm syncing up my new iPad.

:kali:
 
Gary Sconce said:
Yup same cemetery. We hope to use Mountain View Cemetery in Pasadena (the one used by Criminal Minds) for the film to make use of the larger tombstones and the mausoleums. It is really creepier there.

We are making this teaser to give investors something visual to get them more excited about the project.

Having a short teaser will allow them to conceptualize the project more thoroughly.
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Interesting. It's amazing how folks can do different things to come to the same result. We were told that a script and then also our previous work would be really all we would need to get to work securing investors.
 
Yep, different investors want different things. They all have separate processes or ways of doing things. Some people want something visual to go along with the story. This teaser is very minimalistic but offers that to the investors who want it. Now all of our bases are covered.
Woohoo!
 
The bottom line is that no two movie projects are produced exactly the same way. You deu wha you hae ta deu laddies. :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
 
Brandon Rice said:
by the way, I passed through Fresno the other day :D
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You should come by and hang out Brandon. It would be good to see you again. :engel017:

We are just 40 or so minutes north of Fresberg. There is always another chair in the Editing Chamber of Glory. Plan to stop by sometime when traveling. Heck I even have an 'apartment' where David Fine and others have stayed. He didn't even steal the towels... :cheesy:
 
Matt Sconce said:
And you didn't stop and make a movie to take advantage of our free film licenses and all around goodness? :)
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Gary Sconce said:
You should come by and hang out Brandon. It would be good to see you again. :engel017:

We are just 40 or so minutes north of Fresberg. There is always another chair in the Editing Chamber of Glory. Plan to stop by sometime when traveling. Heck I even have an 'apartment' where David Fine and others have stayed. He didn't even steal the towels... :cheesy:
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Honestly I was there for work, and was in the city for a grand total of an hour! :D Maybe next time.
 
Here are some BTS pics of the MAGIC teaser trailer shoot.

MAGICpic19.jpg
Matt and the crew unload all the stuff at the Oakhurst Cemetery. I built the Hypercrane. Matt is here with grip Jimmy Nelson.

HannaH Eisenmann is so cute!
MAGICpic1.jpg

HannaH, her brother Stone, her mom Zadrina and her dad Al Eisenmann were all so nice.
We then got to work.
MAGICpic2.jpgTroy is so funny!

Speeding... And Action!
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HannaH did a great job. Her dad Al stood in for the future lead.
MAGICpic11.jpg

The team functioned very well.
MAGICPIC13.jpg

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A successful morning and coffee! Great! We shot later inside shots of magic tricks being performed by Rachel Ward (HannaH). The day was long, fun and successful.
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More later.
 
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So the Kerner people wouldn't let you shoot the teaser with their cameras? Isn't that part of their partnership? And wouldn't it have helped to show actual 3d footage to investors? One other quick question... When you get someone to invest 10 mil and they want to hire more famous actors, how are you going to handle that?

Honestly I thought this was a joke when you said you wrote the ending on your cell phone. But now I see it's legit. Great work.
 
aurantaurant said:
So the Kerner people wouldn't let you shoot the teaser with their cameras? Isn't that part of their partnership? And wouldn't it have helped to show actual 3d footage to investors?
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This is a teaser to help pitch the project in a preliminary way for investors needing to have a visual element to see. The 3D aspects and Kerner's resources will be put into play when we are closer to shooting. If we want to pursue it, a 3D teaser would be done after we secure our A-list talent so we do not have to do it twice with the Kerner equipment.

aurantaurant said:
One other quick question... When you get someone to invest 10 mil and they want to hire more famous actors, how are you going to handle that?
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Most of our leads will be very big names. We have 4 roles we are targeting for A-list actors and we are actively pursuing them. Currently, a huge name is reading the script and we approach another in 2 weeks. These are HUGE names (instantly recognizable household names-Academy award winners and nominees). We can discuss more if they decide to become involved.

aurantaurant said:
Honestly I thought this was a joke when you said you wrote the ending on your cell phone. But now I see it's legit. Great work.
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Celtx is a great screenwriting tool and since apps exist on the Iphone and Ipad, you can write wherever you go. This is serious stuff. We plan to blow up the box office.

Best wishes, Matt Sconce
 
Giriki said:
Would love to hear more about the casting process. How did you get those names to read the script and consider your production without firm money offer in place? Or did you already have enough money to go "pay or play"? Can you reveal at least the ballpark salaries of that kind of stars (like Adam in Corrado threads)?

Btw, the project is looking great, keep goin'!
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Thanks! I have definitely learned a lot through making Stricken and now getting ready to make Magic. It is ALL about who you know. Networking is key to reaching your dreams. In this case, four of the people we are associated with have personal ties to 5 name actors. We are approaching the actors through previously established relationships. We have several avenues for investors and they are quite interested to see who attaches or even gives us an LOI. The funds will appear as these actors become interested because their names are so marketable. All of these actors are averaging 5-15 million per movie so our budget will depend on who we get for the roles, if they believe in the project, and if they would work for less as many of them have done in the past. We will see but it is all very exciting! -Matt
 
How would the visual element from the GH1 support the 3D ideology to investors? Is it merely just to demonstrate your ability as a director? I'm just curious because I would be scared the investor would judge the visual end result based on your teaser. What are your thoughts on that? Any reservations going in? And are you making offers to the talent or are you just sending over the script? Also how did you like the GH1 stock lens? I actually like it a lot. Did you guys have other lens options to play around with?
 
aurantaurant said:
How would the visual element from the GH1 support the 3D ideology to investors? Is it merely just to demonstrate your ability as a director? I'm just curious because I would be scared the investor would judge the visual end result based on your teaser. What are your thoughts on that? Any reservations going in? And are you making offers to the talent or are you just sending over the script? Also how did you like the GH1 stock lens? I actually like it a lot. Did you guys have other lens options to play around with?
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Talent is simply reading the script. If they are interested after that, as Kerner Studios, David fine, and Area 9 were, then we move forward from there. Remember that all 3D movies are also 2D movies. Their trailers come out in 2D theaters and sell tickets to 2D screens as well as 3D screens. Also, you cannot have a successful teaser online if it is 3D because people will not have glasses or a way to view it. You need a 2D way to tease people with the concept.

The teaser trailer is simply a visual tease to help build interest of the investors. It does not need to be 3D to do what we need it to at this stage. Some investors are very numbers oriented and need to see something visual related to the story to connect themselves to the story idea: concept art, storyboards, teaser trailers etc. It will show them HannaH Eisenmann, the little girl lead, and also tease them with the story concept building their curiosity to read the script and see what the fuss is all about. That is its purpose, as we have numbers and profit margins to show them why shooting in 3D is a good idea so we end up with both a 2D and 3D product to market.

I like the Stock lens but we used a 50mm Nikon f1.4 for most of the shots. I did use the 14mm for slomo. Best, Matt
 
The MAGIC script is outstanding IMO, and offers a great platform for top talent to stand upon. The story is very positive, timely and will play well in the present political and economic climate. The challenge is to beat the catch 22 faced by all but the big boys in the industry: You have to get past the barrier placed by some representation to get a great script to be read by top talent, yet you need to have money for pay or play to get the representation to allow the script to even be read by that talent. You get past this money wall through webs of influence and personal contacts with the stars.

For instance, one of the A list talents we have targeted as a possible actor for a lead role has representation that wants $1million pay or play or they won't even let their talent see the script or even know we are approaching with the role. The star is amazing and the role would be profitable for the star, but they may never know of the possibility as the representation won't even tell them of it. The way around this is to show them the script personally through contacts with Kerner Group, Area 9 and Aftershock Studios personal contacts.

We are blessed to even have these challenges possible, and are very tenacious about thoughtfully moving forward to achieve our ultimate goal of production of MAGIC with A+ list talent; shooting in 3D at Kerner for wide theatrical release in both 2D and 3D.

Even more than that, we have a whole series of exciting scripts that can be made in the same fashion once the tracks of the train are constructed, and with the reinvestment of profits into those projects. We would like to keep our whole production team together and our partnerships vibrant and effective for years to come. We hope to move to 'large production house' status without all the monetary waste associated with being large, and finally, even leading the industry in creating wonderful films with great stories and high profitability for investors.
 
Matt, you and Gary rock! Man, it looks so nice and warm in Cali. What's the status on the trailer? How close is it to being done?
 
Marlon Ladd said:
Matt, you and Gary rock! Man, it looks so nice and warm in Cali. What's the status on the trailer? How close is it to being done?
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I am working on the teaser trailer now, with the first music mix from James Mierkey. I am seeing how it cuts and then giving some feedback on it to get final music. After that, it goees to Kunal Rajan for Sound Effects and we should have a trailer. :)
 
Matt,

Aren't you worried that if you do manage to get the interest an A-Lister that they'll balk if an established director isn't attached to the project? Most A-Listers won't work with an unknown. Of course, this is just what I've heard through the grapevine. And I've also heard that its next to impossible to get pre-sales unless there is an established team at work (A-Lister(s), Established Director, Established Producer). Thoughts?
 
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