The Echo Game - feature filmmaking at new car prices

Hey Mark, thanks for following along...

Right now we're working on music and VFX. The score is about 75% done and soon to be recorded, and the VFX are about halfway through. Then the final sound mix and graphics are all that's left, so we're getting really close!
 
I thought it was one of the best trailers I've seen posted here. Too many just show pretty or cool shots without giving much of a sense of the story (possibly because there isn't much of a story to give?). Yours had just the right amount of story tease I thought, and the ending line with the child was especially effective. Who could resist wanting to see a move about a "game" we shouldn't play?

: )
 
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BTW you mentioned that you replaced a tripod and dolly with better units for the shoot. Just curious - what did you have originally and what did you replace them with? Thanks : )
 
Oh, yikes, I don't even remember now. I can't tell just from looking but maybe someone with a more discerning eye for gear can tell from the BTS stills?

As for releasing, we've been contacted by about half a dozen sales agents or distributors, several of which seem like a pretty good fit for our film. We've also started submitting to a few festivals. We are focusing primarily on niche genre festivals like After Dark (which turned us down – it's not their style of horror) and the midnight horror component of Toronto. Festivals are only a small fraction of the strategy, but the more people who get a chance to see it, the better!
 
dougspice said:
Oh, yikes, I don't even remember now. I can't tell just from looking but maybe someone with a more discerning eye for gear can tell from the BTS stills?

As for releasing, we've been contacted by about half a dozen sales agents or distributors, several of which seem like a pretty good fit for our film. We've also started submitting to a few festivals. We are focusing primarily on niche genre festivals like After Dark (which turned us down – it's not their style of horror) and the midnight horror component of Toronto. Festivals are only a small fraction of the strategy, but the more people who get a chance to see it, the better!
Click to expand...

But your goal is going to be sell it outright? Or would you try to hang on to any of the distribution yourselves?
 
Awesome trailer! Can't believe you're making it happen for so cheap! I've been convinced during the last year that this sort of thing is possible, but again and again I hear everyone saying minimums of 200-500K budgets. The only reason I can think it's costing so much is because they're having to pay people to, like you said, be creative with other creative people. It seems so bizarre that ultra-low-budget indie people are actually seeking out and paying professionals to do their movies. Here in Chicago there are people literally lining up to work on a project, whether they be actors, musicians, tech guys, cameramen. The second you start to dump money on something you start concerning yourself with the money instead of the intent of the project.

Anyway, this looks really awesome and I can't wait to see it (at my local video store!)

Also, I was wondering where you purchased the video player for your website. I can't decide on which one to buy.

And how do you plan to distribute? I've been wondering if these ultra-low-budget indies could survive the way indie comics do, by giving downloads for 99 cents. It seems that if people are willing to spend a dollar or two on a single song they'd be willing to spend the same on a short or a film so long as they had the right incentives.
 
Outright sale is good if the money paid repays the investment and provides for a decent profit. This movie is now in its second year of production and post production. So an outright sale has to be several times its budget.

But if a distributor sees the movie at a festival and offers a few million upfront (or even one million, like for Blair Witch), then the festival route will have paid off.

The foreign market is more secure as far as I'm concerned, but in this case I understand the desire to go for broke. It's what makes filmmaking such an exciting gamble.

Good luck, fellas!
 
Well, I certainly doubt that this movie is going to get offers in the millions. That would be amazing, but honestly this is not a unique, revolutionary movie in the way Blair Witch was. This is a solid, well-made movie that tells a good story clearly. We're certainly happy with that; we didn't set out with any blockbuster gimmicks in mind.

The amount of time we've been in post has no bearing at all on what the sale price has to be. We have not been working on the movie 24/7: there have been many delays when the director or composer or myself had to set this movie aside for a while to focus on their paying job first. I'm sure everyone here can relate to that. But it's not like any of us are posting monthly invoices to the production. We know what the crew are owed and what we'd like to see to be able to do another one after this. We DO need to recoup several times the budget because of deferments to cast and crew and our fixed post-production costs... but we've always known that was true. Luckily the budget was so small that we hope to be able to do that easily.

Thanks for checking it out, Chamber. Really the budget is the key here. You're right, the reason why everyone else is spending hundreds of thousands is that a lot of that is going to pay talent that you would have heard of. It's considered necessary by some people as a pre-condition to a sale. But I happen to know people who have made fine little films without name talent and made their money back and then some on them. I'd rather make a good movie full of talented nobodies any day of the week over some generic thing with Dolph Lundgren in it, you know?

I don't think we'll have trouble selling the film. Whether we sell it outright or territory-by-territory, or even try something zany like selling downloads online or even giving it away for free is not something I worry too much about. It's not a movie that depends on one specific strategy that has to work in order for anyone to ever see it.

The video player is JW's, running in a Shadowbox frame. I'm assuming you mean on the Psychic Bunny site. The EG trailer is just a quicktime. Soon to be overhauled!
 
Nice trailer Doug! Very well shot and professional. Yeah, you shouldn't have much of a problem selling it! Congrats!

Todd
 
dougspice said:
Thanks for checking it out, Chamber. Really the budget is the key here. You're right, the reason why everyone else is spending hundreds of thousands is that a lot of that is going to pay talent that you would have heard of. It's considered necessary by some people as a pre-condition to a sale. But I happen to know people who have made fine little films without name talent and made their money back and then some on them. I'd rather make a good movie full of talented nobodies any day of the week over some generic thing with Dolph Lundgren in it, you know?
Click to expand...

Yo, you did NOT just diss on Dolph. Are you LOOKING for a fight?

Can you possibly give titles of some of those little films? Would love to get some more examples of micro budget films that had realistic sales for realistic numbers. Not the Blair Witches, or any other fluke.

And actually trailer is nicely put together, BTW. Did you guys do it, or turn to someone who does that for a living?
 
Congratulations Doug on the trailer - looks awesome. Thanks for sharing this incredibly valuable and inspiring information!
 
Mark: some guys I went to school with produced a film called SUSPENSION in 2007 which was recently sold through Warner Home Video, I believe. I don't have any numbers on what it sold for but they seemed satisfied with the deal.

I have some other friends who produced a film called PRESENCE which I think has not yet found distribution, but they're working on it. It was completed a few months ago.

Both of these films, to the best of my knowledge, had budgets of $100-200k, no name actors, but are very solid storywise with some interesting psychological plot elements. Neither of them were models for what we set out to do (I don't think our writer-director has seen either) but you can see some similarities imposed by budget restrictions.

As for the trailer, Brian cut it himself, as that's what he does for a living. I'm glad everyone likes it... we all agree that Brian's good at what he does!
 
Doug told me about this thread a while back and I just caught up with it.

I'm the writer/ director of the film Doug produced.

He's right in saying that the lengthy amount of post-production time has no bearing on our film's budget. We've continued to work on post around other jobs. . . which is what has led too the lengthy post-production time.

I think we ultimately pulled off a solid little movie for what we had to work with. I hope we sell it and are able to pay some of the actor's deferred pay agreements. But ultimately, not bad for what is basically a $40,000.00 movie.

The key is trying to make the most of what you have at your disposal. Don't go trying to make a period costume flick if you have very little money.

We were fortunate enough to know some people with cool locations which were incorporated into the script.


Anyways, just wanted to jump on and say "hey." I've been checking out some of the other threads on here, and there are some really interesting discussions on this board.
 
It is probably worth mentioning that this movie is now 100% complete!

We are working on setting up a VIP screening.
 
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