Chris Jones Blog

Four Eyed Monsters film maker Arin Crumley speaks to the Guerilla Film Makers Handbook, on the most appropriate of settings...!

Hectic! Hectic! Hectic! That’s been my day so far. I have been doing interviews for the book, with fascinating film-makers, and I have got several more to go today too - between breathes, I ended up on a BBC radio show from Scotland called Movie Café - they wanted to know more about Gone Fishing and how we funded it, and the Oscars drive… Anyway, you can hear the show on BBC iPlayer (in the UK only) for the next week - click here and listen to the Dec 10th show.

OK, I also spoke at length with indie film and internet guru, Arin Crumley, who famously made the micro budget feature, ‘Four Eyed Monsters’, with his then girlfriend and partner Susan Buice. Most of their adventures has been well documented on the internet, in part by themselves by extensive video blogs, in part by other commentators (the presentation above was part of Power To The Pixel). I wanted to know about what Arin felt he had learned from the whole experience and what wisdom he could pass on to other film makers.

I called him on his cell in East Coast America, and rather entertainingly, and revealing of the path most indie film makers are forced to take, interviewed him on a bus! No Limmo or first class flight. A bus. Actually, three buses, as every half hour or so, Arin would apologize and explain he needed to switch buses and could I ring back in ten minutes?

So we had a rather visionary discussion, about where film making, in fact all forms of creative media, are headed. His focus was very much on a new model of distribution – what he had personally experienced on ‘Four Eyed Monsters’ and what he had seen in other film makers, is a kind of terrible anxiety at investing so heavily in a film, giving so much, and then when it came to selling, one is overwhelmed by fear and paranoia, and an absolute need for their film to perform. Even though ‘Four Eyed Monsters’ ended up making money, other film makers he knows still owe money on their own films, and in his words, ‘that weighs heavily on the soul of creative people…’ I couldn’t agree more. His new model, which I know we will all hear much more about in the coming year, is community based, and of course, involves audience participation before the film is produced. Nothing new here of course, it’s how I did it with ‘Gone Fishing’… But… he has figured out a way to put all of these tools, film makers and audience members into a single ‘Facebook’ style environment, so as to streamline the process and really bring film makers and film lovers together. Less like a hard sell webpage and blog, more like a chat around a campfire – that’s how it will feel he hopes.

Of all the incredibly useful points he made, perhaps the one that stuck with me the most was that of learning how to harness the power of the internet. Of course, nothing new there either. But he elevated this to the same level as say, an understanding of editing or camera work. He proposes that you would never shoot a film with out understanding how to use a camera, and if you didn’t know how to use one, you would find and expert who did – so film makers need to really engage with internet tools, and if they are not self learning, find people to do it for them. And at a level way and above Twitter, Facebook and blogs.

All good stuff.

The whole interview will be in the next Guerilla Film Makers Pocketbook, when released early next year.

The pic here is of Arin on the final leg of his bus journey. He twittered about our chat too, and you can follow him on Twitter here, and his Facebook is here.

His personal site is here, and finally, the Four Eyed Monsters website is here.

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author

www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

Marc Price, director of 'Colin', talks to the Guerilla Film Makers Pocketbook

I just spent the last hour and half interviewing the Marc Price, writer and director of zero-budget Zombie movie, ‘Colin’, for the new Guerilla Pocketbook. Marc is a effervescent Welsh lad, self confessed movie geek, whose humble view of himself and his role in the film business is both refreshing and charming.

We all know the broad strokes behind the making of ‘Colin’, but I wanted some real facts and not just PR hyperbolae. So I questioned hard…

The budget? As suspected, the ‘£45 budget’ claim was misreported by the press. Marc cleared this up… ‘I actually said, AROUND £45…and when I heard someone thought it might have cost as much as £500, I was shocked as I didn’t have that kind of money…!’ So it’s true. The film was made for the loose change in his pocket.

No-one was paid any money. No-one was paid expenses. Anyone who helped was expected to supply their own stuff, like make-up from make-up artists. No-one complained and everyone had a great time… ‘Everyone paid for their own tube pass, and had to bring sandwiches. In the morning they would be made up as a zombie and in the afternoon, they would be cleaned up and play a human… in some scenes, people playing zombies are actually chasing themselves as humans!’ On one day, they had 100 actors turn up for this experience. 

So even though BECTU are making wild claims about enforcing minimum wages, there is a thriving and seemingly expanding group of people who will continue to make movies irrespective of such ‘rules’ (I aim to do an interview with BECTU very soon to really get to the bottom of this).

Critical to the success of ‘Colin’ though was that immediately reportable phrase, ‘the movie cost £45…’ and as Marc said, most journalists outside of media journalists, think that going to Cannes means that you are IN THE FESTIVAL. And so his ‘credit crunch £45 movie’ was widely misreported as being a contender at the Cannes Film Festival. This was a real ‘against all odds’ story about a film maker who made something amazing from latterly nothing. No fat cats involved, just passion, glory and lots of guts! This was too juicy for editors in need of a story from the very downbeat and subdued Cannes Film Festival in 2009.

Marc also feels, and I agree with him here, that the film had to stand on its own two feet too, albeit shuffling feet for ‘Colin’. While of course there are many problems with the film, it does have that terrific central perspective of telling the story from the zombies angle, and it remains faithful and honest to that intention, something other film makers might have lost their nerve with. Marc has proved he is a film maker of vision and integrity.

And how did it do in the UK? Well only having been out for a few weeks, they have shifted (reportedly) close to 30,000 units. Very impressive.

OK so the whole interview will appear in the next Guerilla Pocketbook, but before that, I do plan to run a big event with Marc in January, where we will really get to dissect his success in front of a live audience. If you want to attend, join our newsgroup by clicking here and you will get an email when the details are fixed.

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author

www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

Quick Guide Film Insurance in 2009 for The Guerilla Film Makers Pocketbook

Yesterday, for the new Guerilla Film Makers Pocketbook, I interviewed Paul Cable of  Media and Entertainment Insurance Services Limited. Paul is a great guy and has helped many emerging film makers through the difficulties of finding the right insurance package for their production.

After chatting to Paul, it was clear that there are a number of issues facing film makers working on an ambitious project with specific regard to insurance. There are three main problematic areas.

First is kit hire – here’s why.

It’s not uncommon for a big hire company to help out film makers by supplying half a million pounds worth of camera equipment for free, we certainly got that kind of help from Arri Media Services on ‘Gone Fishing’. But… it needs to be insured, and given the way films are made (you know, hanging out of windows with the camera, working 20 hours a day, using inexperienced crew), and then considering the expense of the equipment, insurance is going to cost a sizeable chunk of the budget. Add you can add to that the problem that the hire companies are also going to need ‘loss of hire’ in that insurance policy too (so if you broke a camera and it could not be hired for three months while it was getting fixed they could claim for loss of hire).

There appears to be no simple way around this and it’s one of those pretty much unmoveable expenses. For ‘Gone Fishing’ our insurance package ended up costing £1,000, but we managed to cover a few other corporate jobs under that same policy, and the clients for those films ended up paying for it (don’t tell anyone!)

So I guess you need to consider insurance as a line in your budget that you are just going to have to bite the bullet on.

The second insurance problem would be ‘Public Liability’ and ‘Employers Liability’, again needed for any shoot really – though Paul accepts that many film makers go without it and just hope that they do not run into problems. These two policies protect you from damage to property and injury to both your film making team and the public – and some councils and other organisations won’t even let you on site without all these ducks in a row. One cheeky way around this is to enter a co-production with a bigger company and sit underneath their insurance policy, and I know of one very ambitious film that did this successfully recently.

The third problem is the old ‘Errors and Omissions’ policy which is essential for features and documentaries (if you ever expect to sell to a major broadcaster or to the USA) – it’s always a shock, especially as it costs around ten grand! The E&O and how to get around it was a major topic in the ‘Delivering Your Baby’ workshop that I ran earlier this year and it really helped to highlight the problems we all face if we are not successful like ‘Paranormal Activity’ (when the studios just take over and remove all the problems).

But, we didn’t need E&O for ‘Gone Fishing’ - our insurance policy just covered equipment, loss of rental and Public and Employers liability, and it cost (if memory serves) around £1,000 (and there is no VAT on insurance). But… I have heard rumours that iTunes is now, or may be, requiring E&O for shorts that it releases. I will do some digging and try and confirm this either way.

Paul also commented that contrary to expectation, HD films do not make many insurance claims for ‘loss of data’. Of course he added these were the films that could afford that kind of insurance cover and that they had excellent onset data backup procedures in place. The problem I see for low budget film makers is that they cannot afford that type of insurance and more than likely, they will suffer data loss as they won’t have adequate backup procedures in place. Now I think about it, most low budget tapeless productions I have been witness to have actually lost some data at some point due to user error, compounded by the lack of any backup system. Doh! I guess the lesson here is, don’t buy the insurance, buy several terabytes of storage and backup every night (and make sure you know what you are doing!).

The whole interview will be in the upcoming Guerilla Film Makers Pocketbook. Paul also wrote an article for Netribution which you can read here.

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author

www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

Getting Great Deals, the mindset for a film maker...

Monday morning and I have hit the tarmac running on the new Guerilla Film Makers Pocketbook, which we are racing to complete for delivery at the end of the month (and I suspect we will be a week or so late!) I am hammering through interviews and writing up box outs and tips after long chats with industry experts.

I just did a great interview with producer Ivan Clements, who produced ‘Gone Fishing’ as well as a number of features – that’s me with him in the pic, on the set of Gone Fishing – yes it was a producer / director conversation about budget or schedule no doubt!

The interview was about how to get deals and the state of mind required to hit the phone and ask for the profoundly unreasonable. Here is a little extract from some of the stuff he said…

Q - How do you get great deals?

Ivan - I think I should preface this with the fact that you need to be passionately driven by the project you are involved in. If you are not sold on the project, then how can you sell anyone else? Pick up the phone and start talking to people. It’s amazing how much people want to help in this business. And everyone is very forgiving of naiveté. It seems to me that almost everyone has been through mountains of crap to get where they are. Unlike school, where inflicting the same pain on newbies as was once metered on them is held in high regard, peers in the film business seem to actually want to help. How mad is that?

Q - How do you deal with the fear of picking up the phone and cold calling?

Ivan - Making the first call is always the hardest. It’s a bit like approaching someone you fancy. You’re full of excitement but you fear rejection. Just take the plunge. If you get rejected first time, remember, there are plenty of others to try. Have you seen the size of the ‘Knowledge’ in the UK. Or the ‘Hollywood Creative Directory’ in LA? Both are big directories, really big. Another great way to look at it is not that it’s cold calling, but rather rapport practice (thanks to Gary Craig for that).
 
Q - Why would anyone give you something for free?

Ivan - I never view it as getting something free. I prefer to view it as relationship development. What you’re saying to whomever you are trying to get to collaborate with you is this, ‘roll with me on this and you’ll get my future business and referrals’.  And you better be good on your word and mean it. If a lab gives you an unbelievable deal, make sure you go back to that lab with paid work. This will give you credibility and the word will spread. Go bad on your word though, and people won’t let you use their toilet let alone notice that your alive.
 
Q - Why do you think others don’t get such great deals?

Ivan - I’m not sure really, I can only tell you what I do to achieve results. Be funny. Most of the time this business is merciless if you’re not on the creative side. Make someone’s day with a giggle and you’ll get miles ahead. Lift spirits, cajole, be cheeky, ask for the moon always, always be VERY thankful for what ever you get. Make them feel like merciful gods. People like to feel that they have done something amazing for someone else. Don’t you?
 
Q - How do you know what to ask for? If it costs 100 grand, how much should you try and get it for?

Ivan - Something I learnt early on is never to pay rate card. If you’ve actually got money to spend, you should be able to get at least 40% off that quoted rate. That was minimum for me. 50-60% is achievable. It’s not unusual. Here’s a deal I negotiated with a well known film stock company which we’ll call Major Film.

I needed 100,000 feet of 35mm stock. Rate at the time was 24p per foot which came to £24K + tax. At the time, this was way beyond anything I could afford. And I can remember this deal clear as day. I invited the chief sales exec for a drink in a bar on Wardour Street, central London. I began by talking about HIM and his life (we later on became good friends). I definitely wanted to go with this company as they were much more friendly and accessible to guerrilla film makers like myself. After a few drinks we drifted into the deal. I said look Joe (real name withheld) I’m only doing this deal with Major Film because of you. But I’m absolutely flat broke.

‘So Joe’, I continued ‘How about this I’ve got £8K I can give you today if you can defer the balance till we hit profits and the VAT until I get that back next quarter?’ It was the ballsiest ask I’d made so far, but also the easiest in a way as I had no choice. There was no more money. Joe laughed, ‘you’ve eaten the ass out of my trousers.’ We shook on it and I bought another round.

Q - How do you get money out of investors?

Ivan - Once you’ve found investors, you actually have to convince them that it’s a sound investment. Film investment has had pretty bad press in the past. Fortunately it’s had better press more recently in the UK. This is due to generous government tax incentives that the savvy producer can take advantage of. These are in the form of Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and the film tax credit. As long as a film is British qualifying, it can get 20% rebate on the spend. There are several companies out there that will cashflow this for you for a fee. Typically the fee is 3-5% of the tax credit. This means you get the money up front, less the fee, and then the tax credit is paid directly to the financier once the claim is made. EIS is very attractive as it reduces the risk for the investor. For every £1 then invest, the government gives a rebate of 20p. So their risk is reduced. Under the scheme, if they pay Capital Gains Tax, they can defer this for 3 years and write it off if the film fails.

Q - What are the key deals to get in place?

Ivan - This is tricky and very chicken and egg. You could find yourself with a name actor that actually means the film will make money, but who won’t commit until money is in the bank. And you may have finance that won’t attach until they see a signed contract with the named actor. This is a typical and tough position to be in and will be challenge for your creative negotiating skills. If you can’t get 100% financed privately, try and get a pre-sale that’s worth a percentage. Use ‘soft’ money (tax credit, forward VAT cashflowing, EIS). This can end up representing 40-60% of your budget and make you look much more credible to investors and key actors.

The whole interview will be in the upcoming ‘Guerilla Film Makers Pocketbook’

If you have any questions you would like Ivan to answer, drop me a mail here and we will see what we can arrange.

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author

www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

New Digital Film Makers Pocketbook nears completion

We are getting very close to completing the all new Digital Film Makers Pocketbook – a guerilla film makers handbook for the digital age. And isn’t it tiny!

In fact isn’t this 'mock up' tiny, this isn’t the final book.

And actually, this isn’t the final cover either (it's with a designer now), but it is the final size!

So you get the idea.

All this week, while I have been running around with Judy, working on our as yet unannounced feature film project for a Hollywood studio, ace production manager Helen Taylor has been permanently wired into a Skype account and ringing around the film business, attracting companies to sponsor sections of the book – there are ten sections, and so the opportunity for ten sponsors.

We aren’t really selling it as advertising, more just a logo, a few lines about the company and contact details – pretty much what we did with The Guerilla Film Makers Movie Blueprint.

And so far, even though we are in a credit crunch induced recession, we are doing pretty well – or rather, Helen is doing very well. I think it’s partly to do with the brand, the fact we have been writing for 15 years, have sold over 100,000 copies and this is our seventh book! And of course, Helen’s charm on the end of the phone certainly helps too. Not to mention her dogged persistence!

So this new book is smaller and shinier, but it’s the familiar house style mix of inspirational case studies as well as tips and expert advice. The plan now is to launch the book at the Cannes Film Festival 2010, with a big swanky party, much like the one we had for the last British book when we threw a bash on a boat in the marina (pic right). It was a very cool night!

So if you know anyone who might want sponsor a section in the book, send them to me, or show them this PDF here...

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author

www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

Interviewing the film makers... 'Dead Wood', shot for peanuts and sold to Lionsgate for hard cash

Film Making Tip #682 - If shooting on location and the fridge makes too much noise, the sound recordist will switch it off. But, if they forget to switch it back on, it could ruin a fridge or freezer’s worth of food. It has happened many times! So ask the sound recordist to leave their car keys in the fridge so they will remember to switch it back on.

One of the great things about writing the Guerilla Film Makers Handbook is that I get to meet and interview loads of amazing film makers, and they all have incredible journeys to share, and tips to offer like the one above. Yesterday I spent the whole day chatting with three groups of Brit film makers, and filming them for the upcoming Guerilla Pocketbook. We shot at the Roxy Bar and Screen in Borough, which provided a suitable red crushed velvet background and spent over an hour with each set of film makers.

First up were two guys, Seb Smith and Dave Bryant, who had made a DV horror movie called ‘Dead Wood’ (with their third partner, Richard Stiles), on what they referred to as a nano-budget – basically zero dosh.

Shooting with a crew of three and a handful of brave cast members, they ventured out into the dark woods and shot for 11 days, then spent the next two years editing, reshooting, editing more, doing special effects, sound mixing and generally learning their craft as film makers – what is exceptional about their case study is just how technically excellent their film is, and indeed, their whole presentation of the final product – be it their website, press pack and DVD artwork. The upshot? Lionsgate contacted THEM! That’s right. They didn’t even get to a sales agent as their dream distributor called them and said ‘we want your movie!’ They did a deal and walked away with a large wedge of cash in their pocket – and then other international distributors jumped on the bandwagon too (‘if Lionsgate bought it, it must be good…’), even resulting in a UK DVD release.

By their own account, the boys concede that there were problems with their script, and I would add that some of the performances are a little stiff in places, hampered even further by the need to re-record dialogue in post. BUT… it’s a nuts and bolts horror that does what it says on the tin. They learned huge amounts and have become technical experts too. It cost peanuts to make…and most importantly, they sold it to a major US distributor, got huge kudos from that deal, and walked away the whole project in the black. There is much to learn form these guys.

If you have done the Gone Fishing workshop, you will know I spend a good hour or so on building a four step career plan, and ‘Deadwood’ is a classic ‘Stage 2’ film, a film they could walk away from but learn huge amounts. Now there are in ‘Stage 3’, ready to make the career launching film, and behind them, they now have allk that great experience of film making and distribution. I for one will be watching what they do next with great interest.

The boys offered many more tips too, all of which will be detailed in the new ‘Guerilla Film Makers Pocketbook’.

More about the other film makers we interviewed will follow over the next few days.

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author

www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

FTX Guerilla Film Makers Course a Success

I just wrapped the two day Guerilla Flm Makers Master Class here at FTX in Vancouver. It was a tremendous success! I have been running this course for a few years now and it’s always a pleasure as I can see in the group, so many people become profoundly motivated to get on, not just with their films, but also their lives.

This was also the first course on which I also integrated some of the stuff I learned on Gone Fishing – and I showed the film as a test - it went down better than I could have possibly dreamed of! I could only show the final locked offline cut from the Avid, but it’s pretty well honed with basic grading, music and sound. The group loved it, with all of them fully understanding the narrative. Everyone was very moved by it. One person, Kathy Fedori, was so touched by the story, she took $100 out of her bag and gave it to me, right there on the spot! This was a splendid example of one of the things I teach on the course, about taking a stand for what you really want to do, and money will then somehow magnetically become attracted to you. I really hope Kathy will be able to make it to the premiere in London in January. I am sure she will!

There was a real mix of people on the course too, and all of them were very dedicated and sharp. It was a really good event and I miss it already. Anyhow, here are a few of their comments…

PS - I am also running the course in London at the end of January – link here…

‘Incredibly inspiring on both a film making and personal level…’
Diane Fraser, Editor

‘The past two days have filled me with excitement and enthusiasm that I only felt prior to my three years at film school…’
Josh Rainhard, Director

‘I am blown away at how much incredible info Chris taught me in two days…’
Taroh Hall, Film Maker

‘You are one of the greatest motivational speakers! I am going to start work on my film tonight!’
George Somerwill, Film Maker

‘Your honest, vulnerable energy, combined with clarity and fun made this seminar a powerful tool for transformation in my perception of who I am as a film maker, and for that I send you my heartfelt thanks… Who you are in your books and films, opened the door to seeing who I could… This is new. This works. This is a rare gift. Thank you Chris!’
Kathy Fedori, Film Maker

Blimey… I will post all the responses on the course page soon.

Onward and upward!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

Yesterday, I spent a couple of hours with Genevieve and her husband Andrew (and daughter Casey Mae), signing copies of all three Guerilla Film Makers Handbooks (Including the new Movie Blueprint cover) at the FTX West Conference at Canada Place in Vancouver. FTX is a combination of Film Maker Forum with seminars and full blown technology expo. Sony unveiled a new HD Camera, but for me, the big thrill was to finally see the Red camera in the flesh. It’s not a pretty camera for sure, and it looks like there are many wrinkles to be ironed out, but it’s still by far the cheapest way to buy into full blown HD.

The Canadian Film Industry seems quite similar to that of the UK. It’s a film world in the shadow of America. It’s also a place where there is ‘free’ government money available. And like Britain, all too often, then combination of USA and free money tends to lead toward films being made that often should not be made. Far too much emphasis seems to be put on cultural identity, and much less on a ‘great story well told’. Ho hum.

On another note, Gone Fishing producer Ivan Clements seems to have pulled a major coup for the premiere. More on that in due course when I have spoken to him tomorrow. 

Onward and upward!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

Guerilla Film Maker in Vancouver

I flew into Vancouver, BC, Canada a few days ago, with a dual remit. First off, I am running my two day Guerilla Film Makers Masterclass here at a film makers conference called FTX West. Second, I am location scouting for Rocketboy and plan to spend a week looking for amazing places to shoot the movie – as well as getting the lowdown on the Canadian film industry.

First off, the course. I am running this one as a hybrid, building a large new section in from Gone Fishing, and what I learned making the film. This is in part a semi dressed rehearsal for the UK course I will be running in January. And I am really looking forward to it. I met with film maker and FTX Organiser, Rob Nielson, last night for dinner and we discussed the course and the state of the Vancouver film business. Vancouver is being hit hard by the writers strike with huge shows closing down completely in the next few weeks. Rob made the point that he understands why there is a strike, but often, those who are striking don’t really understand how far reaching and devastating it can be for other people involved in the film process and business.

FTX is also carrying some other seminars, including Genevieve and Andrews Guerilla Film Makers Documentary Masterclass which I hosted for them last year in Ealing, (where it was an amazing success). I am also looking forward to the FTX convention where all the cool new hardware will be on show. I will report back on anything particularly cool that I find.

Right… got to go and collect Genevieve and Andrew from the airport!

Onward and upward!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

Movie Blueprint New Cover Quotes!

Out of the blue, I got a call from the publishers of The Movie Blueprint – they are shifting printers and have lost the digital files for the cover. So I seized the opportunity to redesign the cover, adding some of the quotes we got from reviews. I also thought, ‘I wonder if anyone has anything nice to say about the book’ and posted a request on our mailing list.

OH MY GOD! I was OVERWHELEMD with the response. So many nice things said by so man nice people! Really, it was an extraordinary afternoon where every email brought a smile to my face… so here are just a few of the hundreds of amazing responses I got…

‘There are filmmaking guides, and then there's the Movie Blueprint. I can't think of a better companion to guide you through the filmmaking process. Brilliantly accessibly, engaging and packed to bursting with first-rate expert advice, worked examples, flowcharts and case studies; it's both a film school, and a 'cookbook' from a masterchef. Essential reading…’ - Nic Wistreich – The Film Funding Guide

"The level of detailed knowledge in this book is simply incredible. It eased me through scriptwriting, guided me through pre-production, kept my sanity while shooting, cajoled me through editing and yelled at me through marketing! Every problem, every joy and every decision I encountered making my film was foreseen in it's pages. As a direct result, my debut feature got made, shown at the cinema and is now selling around the world."
Allin Kempthorne - Producer / Director, ‘The Vampires of Bloody Island’

'Every time I bought this book someone stole it. It's that good.' - Nicola Fletcher, Producer.

'Buy this book... it's f***ing brilliant!' - Andy Sutton, Filmmaker

'The GFMB is the only tool that an indie filmmaker absolutely must own. I couldn't have made my feature without it, and if I'd followed all the advice I'd have made a better film.' - John Rackham, writer, actor, filmmaker, director of indie psycho-thriller 'Bloodmyth'

‘The Movie Blueprint Book was my second investment in the movie business -- after my camera.  I tend to zone if confronted with too many obscure details or movie references, but this is the perfect mix of fun, technical details and everything you need to know to make your own movie.  It leaves in the challenges of making movies, but encourages us to believe that we can create the world we see in our heads.  And so I did. Thank you, Movie Blueprint Book.’ - Michelle Denise Norton - President, Lonely Pond Productions, Inc. Writer & Director LONELY POND MONSTER (looking for love) & Up On A Rooftop.

Thank you, everyone who wrote in – I will get back to you all in due course!

You can read a large portion of the comments here

Onward and upward!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com