Our Previous Film: "Plasterhead" (2007)

We've been getting a lot of requests to hear more about our previous film, which up until this point, we haven't disclosed on the blog.

It's not that we don't want to talk about it or aren't proud of it; we both are, immensely so. However, we made our first film, a $20,000 horror feature called Plasterhead, when we were 22. We did a lot of things right, and we also did some things wrong. As with any piece of art, Plasterhead inspired a lot of strong opinions, from the extremely positive to the vile and negative. Mike and I have learned and matured so much in the time since Plasterhead that we don't want to be judged solely on that one piece of work. Mainly, though, we want to keep the focus of this blog about our new film, Nitecrawlers.

That being said, our little $20,000 horror film Plasterhead was, by all accounts, a great success. It was distributed on DVD in the US by Arts Alliance America (distributors of Super Size Me). Through our distribution deal, "Plasterhead" was available in stores like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, FYE and Hollywood Video, and can still be found online at Netflix.com (DVD & streaming), Amazon.com and Blockbuster.com.

Here's the original distributor's sell sheet for the American release:



Another cool thing was seeing the film released in different international territories. Plasterhead has been released in four countries: Russia, Japan (as No Face), Germany and Singapore.

Here is the Japanese and Russian cover art:





If you want to learn more about the film, you can visit the Official Website. Here also is the teaser trailer for the film:



And finally, since a lot of you guys and gals visiting the blog are aspiring filmmakers, I'll share with you a "Reverse Distribution" case study video that Mike and I recorded for Plasterhead. Reverse distribution, if you're not familiar with the term, is the process of preparing for distribution early in on the filmmaking process. Essentially "reverse engineering" your film for distribution by tailoring elements specifically to things distributors are looking for.

As a tiny film with no budget and no "name" actors, we faced an uphill battle finding distribution with Plasterhead. We spent a lot of time preparing for distribution, even before we rolled on a single frame. We credit the reverse distribution techniques we employed on Plasterhead for the film's eventual success. Anyway, here's that video, if you're interested:



So anyway, that's about everything there is to know about Plasterhead. As good an experience as it was, Nitecrawlers will be on a whole new level. We can't wait.

- K

Out with the Old, In with the New (Business Models...)

While developing the script, it's important to be mindful of the new business model we are embracing, as it's going to have an effect on how our story unfolds. Under the transmedia business model, we are going to tell part of our story through a different medium other than film, long before financing is secured.

With an elaborate story and a complex time-line of events to interweave through two different mediums, it's important that all our story elements work in harmony of each other. We must tread lightly and remain sensitive to the fact that we are introducing our character's back-stories independently from the script itself.

So why is the transmedia business model beneficial over the old business model? (Robert Pratten from the workbook project explains the different business models here)

With our previous film, it felt like our distributor simply stuck the film on Hollywood Video's new release wall and hoped for the best. Or perhaps they assumed that the film's slick DVD artwork would stand out from the thousand of other horror films on Netflix. They were simply trying to inflate their marketing numbers without getting their hands dirty; this ensures that the filmmaker won't see any back-end profits while the distributor puts forth minimal marketing efforts..

By attempting to gain 5,000 fans before production begins, we are taking matters into our own hands (and remaining one step ahead of filmmakers who wait until post-production wraps to start the process). Why rely solely on the distributor to raise awareness and interest for the film?

As Kevin stated previously, having a pre-established fan base is much more attractive to investors, as we are assuring them that a market already exists for a film that has yet to begin production. The transmedia model is certainly favorable in this aspect.

Alternatively, this new business model will help filmmakers gauge how a story will be perceived by fans, before the camera's start rolling. Is there even an audience for the film we want to make? The transmedia model helps test the waters. It can be viewed as a form of risk management; why waste our time (and others money) with a story that no one has any interest in?

Lucky for us, we've got a story that no one's told yet.

- Mike

Beginning the Search for a Concept Artist

As Kevin immerses himself in the film's second draft, it's important to identify other areas of the development process that we can simultaneously concentrate on; designing business cards for networking purposes, researching other film's sales data for business plans, and last but not least, conceptualizing our monster's design. Working as a team allows us to divide and conquer, to remain focused on the bigger picture.

With "Nitecrawlers", we'd like to develop more of an organic monster than a stereotypical masked villain this time around. We've got some ideas kicking around that we'd liked to see fleshed out through an artists perspective. Once we enter pre-production, an FX artist will ultimately have the final say in our monster's design, however, for developmental purposes, an illustrator is needed for concept design for investor materials.

While projected investment returns and risk management details are immensely important to an investor, it's equally as important to brand your film from it's inception. After all, we are visual creatures by nature. We are selling our vision. Bring your ideas to life before you present to the investor. Let him see the film's potential through dynamic artwork; then capitalize on that excitement.

After reviewing 50 different on-line portfolios from artists around the world, we have a handful of potential illustrators fit for the job. Sometimes the internet can be a black hole of useless information, yet, for as much junk as there is out there, talent is always waiting to be discovered.

Stay tuned as we secure an illustrator and start to bring our ideas to life.

- Mike

Plotting Meeting #1 (aka "The Importance of a Scene-By-Scene Outline")

Some might argue that thinking of an idea for a film is easy. Everyone's had a moment where they've thought "that would be a great idea for a movie!". They've got a beginning, they've got an end, maybe some cool characters, maybe even some cool scene ideas and set pieces.

That's kind of where Nitecrawlers has languished since this past summer. The first draft of the script was written by myself in October 2009, without a "proper" outline. Instead, I worked off a long and messy series of notes and computer documents containing broad scene ideas and super-specific plot elements. The result was a first draft of the script that addressed many individual scene ideas but lacked a cohesive narrative structure. It was more an exercise in writing than a true first draft.

Previously, when Mike and I would come up with a cool scene idea, we would assign it a single descriptive phrase (like "Jason Makes Enemies at School", just to give an example). This usually captured the essence of the scene, but gave no details as to what actually occured. Who is present? Where is it taking place? What is being said? Most importantly, what purpose does the scene serve? What does the scene accomplish in terms of advancing plot points, conveying knowledge to the audience, or giving definition to the characters?

What we lacked (and what I realized was ultimately preventing the script from moving forward into an honest 2nd draft) was a comprehensive scene-by-scene outline. Several popular novelists, including Stephen King, downplay the necessity of an outline. King in particular notes that he used to work off long and elaborate plot outlines, but nowadays just sits down and starts writing, letting the story take him where it may. As someone whose primary craft isn't writing (see my previous blog post), however, I realized that I needed to have Nitecrawlers in front of me in outline form before I could proceed with the 2nd draft.

Plotting a movie is also a lot more deliberate than plotting a novel, even more so if that film is an independent film being done on a limited budget, like Nitecrawlers. Beyond conveying the story, the writer must remain cognizant of both time and budget restraints. For me, simultaneously processing these elements while still trying to move the plot forward was too arduous a task without an outline in front of me, on which most of the "processing" had already been done and laid out.

That's why Mike and I spent most of the day today hashing out Nitecrawlers scene by scene. We started at the beginning of the film, listing the scene number, scene title (that one line description I mentioned earlier), characters, location, and a fleshed out description of the key points and motivations that each scene is responsible for conveying. I found this process to be immensely cathartic, and I highly recommend doing it for any film, and especially doing it with someone.

For one, Mike and I were able to debate each scene and ensure that we were both on board with the plot points and general idea of the scene. Plotting scene by scene together also helped us to recognize any potential plot loopholes, inconsistencies and vagaries and cut them off at the head. We forced ourselves to identify the specific purpose of each scene. On a $200,000 budget, we need to strongly enforce a strict economy of scenes. If it doesn't have a purpose, we can't shoot it. As a film based in the horror genre, we also have to juggle conveying backstories without allowing any one scene to get bogged down with talking heads. And as an ensemble cast film, we need to meticulously plot each scene so that no character gets left behind or their arc neglected.

We made it about halfway through the film today, and we expect to continue tomorrow. Then I'll take our scene-by-scene outline and begin the 2nd draft next week, for a February 1st deadline.

- K

Writing Your Own Script (versus Optioning)

So why am I writing Nitecrawlers myself?

To save money, for one. Rather than pay a writer to write our script or option an existing script, writing Nitecrawlers will save us immense amounts of cash. When the script is complete, I can simply sign over the rights to the LLC that we will establish for the production of the film. This can be done for a nominal, symbolic amount of money (like $1).

More importantly, though, writing Nitecrawlers is a catharsis for me, on several levels. The screenwriting process on our last film (which I also wrote) was extremely hectic, and though we eventually got our shit together, there was always the concern that the script wouldn't be ready by production. On that film, I was writing all the way up until 2 weeks before production began. On top of that, location and weather inconsistencies necessitated the writing of additional scenes during actual production days. The entire writing experience from our last film left me with many metaphorical gray hairs and a desire to handle the screenwriting duties with more grace on our next film, which would eventually become Nitecrawlers. This time around, I want to finish the script before we proceed to the next step in the pre-production timeline. Because we're no longer playing with only our own money anymore, it's important that we start the filmmaking journey on the right step.

The basic story framework for Nitecrawlers is also one that I've had brewing in my head for years, so much so that I feel that I must write the script myself, if only to exorcise the demons in my own mind. It feels good to see ideas begin to take shape on paper, and to see other people close to the process embrace the plot points and concepts which I've ran through hundreds of times in my own internal world.

That said, screenwriting is hard. It's goddamn hard. There's absolutely no way to bullshit your way through the process. It involves long blocks of time, in a room by yourself, staring at a computer screen. All the great and whimsical ideas you've had while taking a nighttime drive, or hiking a mountain, or staring at the stars suddenly seem to disappear into the dark recesses of your brain when you're staring at a blank computer screen (kind of like some of my blog ideas!).

It's even harder when you're directing the film (as I will be). Knowing that I'm directing causes me to take undue liberties with the script that may make it hard for outside readers to comprehend. Because I know I'll be on set, I often find myself emitting certain important details within the script that make sense in my head but that need to be on the page in order for outside readers (especially actors) to understand what's going on in the story. As we will be going through the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) and pursuing some name actors, I need to make sure that the script reads just as cleanly for an outsider as it does for me, that no reading in between the lines is required, and that every important bit of information is right there on the page, rather than in my head.

- K

Welcome 2010.

I've been absent from this blog the past couple of months because I have been traveling overseas. Kevin's been doing a great job in the meanwhile. Here are some initial thoughts as we prepare to fully dive into this project in the new year.

As I enter the second quarter of my life and inch towards my thirties, Kevin and I have made the conscious decision to make a new film. We feel like we owe it to ourselves to see what we are capable of. It's comforting to know that whatever I risk materially, can be regained over the course of my life (along with my sanity). If there is nothing risked there is nothing gained.

First, anything is possible. Even raising $200,000 for a film. Sure, it sounds ambitious, but the more we educate ourselves, the smaller the gap becomes between the impossible and the possible.

I think of it this way--If you would have told a younger version of myself that a film of mine would be available in Japan, Russia, Singapore and Germany, I would have never believed you. If you told me I'd be on an airplane flying across the world by myself to travel for months on end, I would've thought you were crazy. If you told the 13 year old version of myself that a small record label would put out my band's CD, I wouldn't have believed that either.

Secondly, you need to build everything from the ground up. Block by block. You make a $200,000 film by making a $20,000 film. You make a $2 million dollar film by making a $200,000 one. You get the point.

I've grown up with a DIY mindset since I was young. I've seen friends start bands in their garages, get in vans, drive across America and develop a following one fan at a time. Those who inspire me are my very own friends.

The world will fail us if we give it a chance. The longer we spend being led, the more we forget how to lead. Whatever you want out of life you need to create for yourself, rather than sitting and waiting for a life that's already passed you by.

Another precept that we prescribe to is-- do everything better. Just by reviewing other filmmakers business proposals, I know Kevin and I can improve upon what they've done. Research, identify and leverage the shortcoming of others to your advantage. Set the bar higher.

If you look at films within our previous films budget range, I'd like to think that ours is better than the majority. That's not to say that our previous film didn't have problems. We were young (22) and there were many aspects about the film that were rushed. When we started it, I don't think we really believed thousands of people would be viewing it. Perhaps we weren't ready for our work to be put under a microscope. We know the film's weaknesses better than anyone. We lived and breathed it everyday for two years.

I'm a realist and I don't expect anything to be handed to me. Failure is frighteningly real. One of the hardest lessons to learn is; just because you work hard, doesn't mean you are entitled to anything... praise, success, respect. Hard work doesn't guarantee people will like what you do. Don't take it personally. Be open to criticism. Brush things off quickly and move on (aka when your film leaks and you get your first negative review on IMDB, hole yourself up in your apartment and drink heavily).

It's an interesting time for film. The classic distribution model is broken and in return, filmmakers are thinking outside the box. They are offering their audiences much more than the typical experience. Filmmakers can now tell their story across a wide range of mediums and multi-platforms. We are no longer bound by just the movie screen. Filmmakers are creating entire worlds out of their ideas and allowing the audience to take part in their creations.

Kevin and I have some exciting ideas we'd like to pursue with this film; we are looking into different mediums that will help us offer more depth to the film's backstory. We are exploring different ways to develop our characters off screen. An important question to ask is; what will make this film better than the thousands of others that are currently being made? What separates us from the rest?

This blog may seem a bit pre-mature to a few and it's easy to say we are going to do this and that, but until we have a final draft, invest the first thousand dollars, create investor materials and open our LLC all this is just talk. This is us thinking out loud from the beginning. Follow us as we make this a reality.



- Mike