What I learned on my first feature

matthattar · Aug 24, 2013

Hey guys!

I wanted to share just a few things I've learned when shooting my first feature. It's been one of the coolest experiences of my life, and I can't wait to do it again!

1. Community theaters are cool - I found two actors through our local community theater, both were willing to work for a t-shirt/dvd/poster, and they did a fantastic job. I live in a small town rural area, so if you're in a big city I think it would be that much easier to find actors through your local community theater.

2. Ask and you will receive - We needed a place to build an 8x16 set and store a ton of antique furniture. We talked to some locals about possibilities, and were reminded of an abandoned grocery store in town. We contacted our local service club who controlled the property, asked to use it for two months for a community film project, and they gave us a key! - It's a 9000 square foot space (you read that right, a nine with three zeroes), for two months, for FREE. COOL

3. Goodwill rocks! - My wife assembled the costumes for our feature (it was a period western), and we made so many fantastic finds at several Goodwill locations. The shirts and pants were each like $2-3 I think. You can't beat it.

There's a lot more I could share, but those are just a few revelations I had this year!

Thanks for being an awesome community willing to listen and help!
-Matt

sfoster · Aug 25, 2013

thanks for sharing

ChimpPhobiaFilms · Aug 25, 2013

Cool post

Very informative.

CraigL · Aug 26, 2013

matthattar said:
2. Ask and you will receive - We needed a place to build an 8x16 set and store a ton of antique furniture. We talked to some locals about possibilities, and were reminded of an abandoned grocery store in town. We contacted our local service club who controlled the property, asked to use it for two months for a community film project, and they gave us a key! - It's a 9000 square foot space (you read that right, a nine with three zeroes), for two months, for FREE. COOL

What do you mean your "local service club"? Curious, as finding locations is always a beast of an issue.

CraigL

JHar888 · Aug 26, 2013

I'd love to see the feature. Nice post.

matthattar · Aug 26, 2013

CraigL said:
What do you mean your "local service club"? Curious, as finding locations is always a beast of an issue.

CraigL

From town to town, I'm sure these matters are handled by different entities and organizations. Our town is very small, only about 1100 people, and the Service Club is a local organization that meets each month and maintains a number of properties around town including recreational facilities. They also have a hand in the conservation and beautification of the town, as well as supplying certain community needs such as goods and services for the poor.

I have no idea how the abandoned grocery store came to be controlled by the Service Club, but that's how it worked out. We contacted them and they were very accommodative to our needs. I should back up and say that we started doing film projects about 4 years ago when the director of our "Career Center" in town was looking for projects to encourage local kids to be active and productive in the summer months. So, it helps that we are able to say "This is a community project for kids" rather than "This is a film my wife and I are making"! Whatever you can do to get the locals to see that you are doing something productive and positive for the community, all kinds of doors will be opened to you!

But like I said, every town is different, and I'm sure the service club is something unique to us. It's probably a good starting place to contact your chamber of commerce/city hall and tell them what you are looking for. Most folks are very willing to help you find what you need.

Hope that helps!

matthattar · Aug 26, 2013

JHar888 said:
I'd love to see the feature. Nice post.

Thanks! I'm sharing most of the progress of the film over in the Narrative forum...
That thread is here: http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=49848

Here's the trailer for the film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJDHybWF1UM

Thanks again!

CraigL · Aug 26, 2013

matthattar said:
From town to town, I'm sure these matters are handled by different entities and organizations. Our town is very small, only about 1100 people, and the Service Club is a local organization that meets each month and maintains a number of properties around town including recreational facilities. They also have a hand in the conservation and beautification of the town, as well as supplying certain community needs such as goods and services for the poor.

I have no idea how the abandoned grocery store came to be controlled by the Service Club, but that's how it worked out. We contacted them and they were very accommodative to our needs. I should back up and say that we started doing film projects about 4 years ago when the director of our "Career Center" in town was looking for projects to encourage local kids to be active and productive in the summer months. So, it helps that we are able to say "This is a community project for kids" rather than "This is a film my wife and I are making"! Whatever you can do to get the locals to see that you are doing something productive and positive for the community, all kinds of doors will be opened to you!

But like I said, every town is different, and I'm sure the service club is something unique to us. It's probably a good starting place to contact your chamber of commerce/city hall and tell them what you are looking for. Most folks are very willing to help you find what you need.

Hope that helps!

Ah, I was wondering if it was something like that, as opposed to just a moniker for something.

Yeah, we go through as many official routes as possible, but the organizations like that I hadn't thought of. Something to add to the list for sure! Thanks for the info and the updates. Project looks pretty good!

CraigL

rayw · Aug 26, 2013

That looks like it was... so much work and fun!
Looks really good.

Where'd or how'd you cast all those young actors?

And what's the marketing & distribution plan at this point?

Liked!

matthattar · Aug 26, 2013

rayw said:
That looks like it was... so much work and fun!
Looks really good.

Thanks rayw! And also thanks for the youtube comment - I replied to you on YT, but I'll reply here in a little greater detail...

rayw said:
Where'd or how'd you cast all those young actors?

We're in a small East Texas town and the kids are all from the community. My wife and I direct a summer filmmaking program through the local Career Center. This is our fourth year making a movie, and our first full length feature. We started advertising in May to high schools in the area, had a casting call in June, filmed in July, and started editing in August.

This was the first year that we worked with older actors as well. As mentioned above, we found two actors from the community theater. We also met a girl who was going to college to teach acting, and she plays the sheriff in our movie! All our actors, kids or adults, agree to work for the small price of a T-shirt, an 18x24 poster, and a Blu-ray/DVD of the movie. They deserve more, and one day we hope to repay them in some way as they have been so good to us!

rayw said:
And what's the marketing & distribution plan at this point?

Well, we haven't thought too much about actually "marketing" the movie. There are a couple of festivals we would like to play, but really the most exciting thing to us is our PREMIERE NIGHT...On December 5, Boomtown will show at the historic Rio Theater in Center, TX! It will be the first time we've ever had our work shown on the big screen. My wife and I visited the gorgeous 400-seat theater a few weeks ago and screened our trailer privately there and it looked and sounded beautiful!

Beyond that, we make Blu-rays/DVDs in house and we'll certainly let everyone in the forum know when they'll be available for purchase. If anyone has suggestions about how to approach marketing or distribution beyond that, I'm certainly open to any ideas!

Thanks again!

IndiePaul · Aug 26, 2013

matthattar said:
Well, we haven't thought too much about actually "marketing" the movie. There are a couple of festivals we would like to play, but really the most exciting thing to us is our PREMIERE NIGHT...On December 5, Boomtown will show at the historic Rio Theater in Center, TX! It will be the first time we've ever had our work shown on the big screen. My wife and I visited the gorgeous 400-seat theater a few weeks ago and screened our trailer privately there and it looked and sounded beautiful!

That will be one amazing night matthattar!!!

And as I said in your other thread - it's great involving your local community and the end product is super.

I'm sure starring/appearing in a movie is sweet payment in itself for the young folks involved.

Well done.

Sweetie · Aug 27, 2013

matthattar said:
Beyond that, we make Blu-rays/DVDs in house and we'll certainly let everyone in the forum know when they'll be available for purchase. If anyone has suggestions about how to approach marketing or distribution beyond that, I'm certainly open to any ideas!

It depends on your film, whether it has marketable qualities or not. The selling of DVD/BR could hinder interest from distributors.

Ideas, heaps. Idea #1: Find yourself $50mil and create a national advertising campaign.. usually outside the realm of reality for all but the richest of rich for normal folk.

Idea #2: Create a guerrilla marketing campaign. Gain sufficient buzz that you get a few of the smaller distribution companies in a bidding war over your film.

It also comes down to your available resources and your goals for your film and yourself.

matthattar · Aug 27, 2013

It depends on your film, whether it has marketable qualities or not. The selling of DVD/BR could hinder interest from distributors.

That's a good point. Even though I'm really proud of what we've put together with limited resources (We shot it for a minuscule budget on an entry level DSLR, the T3i), I doubt it would be the kind of movie that would draw interest from big distributors.

Ideas, heaps. Idea #1: Find yourself $50mil and create a national advertising campaign.. usually outside the realm of reality for all but the richest of rich for normal folk.

Idea #2: Create a guerrilla marketing campaign. Gain sufficient buzz that you get a few of the smaller distribution companies in a bidding war over your film.

What we would love to do is gain as much exposure through festivals, private screenings (like our premiere in Center), and individual distribution on DVD/Blu-ray as possible. And perhaps from that exposure more doors will be opened to us for bigger and better things. We've been very fortunate to have investors/sponsors COME to us with contributions and grants that have boosted us along the way. That doesn't mean we've never reached out for funding, but when people like what you're doing they'll support you in so many ways.

For us, it really all goes back to the community thing...getting the locals behind what you are doing. In our case, we live in rural East Texas where the cowboy movie is still the king. If my wife and I had set out to make the next slasher flick or a Tarantino tribute, we would have been in trouble. We made a family-friendly western film with kids in most of the roles, and our community loves it and is willing to support the effort.

It also comes down to your available resources and your goals for your film and yourself.

Right. Maybe my priorities need tweaking, but I have fewer goals for this particular film than I do for my wife and I as filmmakers. I almost view each film as a stepping stone to get to where I can make another better one. That may sound bad, but it's the way it is.

No matter what, I always want to make movies, always! I have a little rule for myself: "3 & 3" - My goal is to always have 3 scripts I could shoot tomorrow for a nickel, and 3 scripts I would love to shoot in the future for $millions. If I can stay that flexible, I'll always be able to do what I love, and if my work is good, I'll eventually be able to do it on that larger scale.