Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Episode 30 - Shawn Coyne

Episode 30 - Shawn Coyne



itunes pic

Shawn Coyne has been a book editor for over 25 years, is the co founder of Black Irish Books and the literary agent for Robert Mckee and David Mamet.
We talk storytelling, self publishing and everything in between.
Find Dave at:
-Official Site http://DaveBullis.com
-Twitter http://Twitter.com/Dave_Bullis
-Facebook https://www.facebook.com/OfficialDBullis
-Sign up for my newsletter: http://eepurl.com/JcrN1

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Episode 29 - Tom Malloy

Episode 29 - Tom Malloy





itunes pic

Tom Malloy is a producer, actor and filmmaker. Tom has raised over $25 million dollars in private equity for films projects.
He also is practioner of BJJ under Rigan Machado and one of the top ranked celebrity poker players in Hollywood poker.
Today we discuss raising funds, how to find investors and people that burn bridges.
-Official Site:
http://www.tommalloy.com/
-Tom's Book on Film Finance
http://BankRollTheBook.com
-Tom & Jason Brubaker's Film Finance Guide
http://FilmFinanceGuide.com
-Twitter:
http://Twitter.com/TommyMalloy

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Episode 27 - Alex Dinelaris

Episode 27 - Alex Dinelaris



itunes pic

Alex Dinelaris is a two time Drama desk nominee. He's a screenwriter, playwright as well as a director.
His most recent project, Birdman, starring Michael Keaton is currently in theater's.
We talk writing, finding success and he field's questions from a lot of people named Scott.
Find Dave:
Official Site - http://DaveBullis.com
Twitter - http://Twitter.com/Dave_Bullis
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialDBullis
Sign up for my newsletter: http://eepurl.com/JcrN1

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Episode 24 - Mark E Phillips and John Maslowski

Episode 24 - Mark E Phillips and John Maslowski



itunes pic

The Walking Fool returns! In this episode, Mark E Phillips and producer John Maslowski return to discuss whats going on with the project, their current Indiegogo campaign and we play a word association game with the various States. (hint: West Virginia = Shotgun).
About the Guests:
Mark E. Phillips has directed several shorts, two off-off-Broadway plays, and produced and directed his own television series for the Manhattan Neighborhood Network. 'The Walking Fool' is his first feature-film.
John Maslowski is a former attorney who has recently become involved in the film industry. Lately he has been focusing on non-fiction storytelling, helping produce the documentary, "The Shawshank Reflection" (about the 20th anniversary of "The Shawshank Redemption"). John is a producer on, 'The Walking Fool,' film.
Find Dave at:
Official Site - http://DaveBullis.com
Twitter - http://Twitter.com/Dave_Bullis
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialDBullis
Sign up for my newsletter: http://eepurl.com/JcrN1

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Episode 21- Eli Regalado

Episode 21- Eli Regalado



itunes pic

Eli Regalado is the Chief of Madness at the Mad Hatter Agency,
where he shows clients how to leverage and build their businesses and
in the past year he's raised over $400K through various crowdfunding
platforms.
Today we talk tips & tricks you can use to build a pre launch to make sure your crowdfunding campaign is successful.
Eli's Crowdfunding Course on Udemy (get it for $19 by emailing him at Eli@MadHatterAgency.com and tell him you heard about it via this podcast)
https://www.udemy.com/how-to-raise-over-400k-with-crowdfunding-and-kickstarter/
Find Eli at:
Official Site: http://MadHatterAgency.com
Twitter: http://Twitter.com/EliRegalado
Sign up for my newsletter: http://eepurl.com/JcrN1

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Episode 20 - John Trigonis and Michael C Dougherty

Episode 20 - John Trigonis and Michael C Dougherty





itunes pic

John Trigonis is a filmmaker, poet and campaign specialist at Indiegogo.
Michael C Dougherty is a filmmaker and crowdfunding consultant. He fully crowdfunded his last movie, Z Con, for $30k.
In this episode we talk mistakes filmmakers make when crowdfunding, how to set your perk structure, we give our thoughts on celebrity crowdfunding and possibility create a new show for John & Mike, the Zen Master and the Sledgehammer.
Michael C Dougherty
Official Site - http://bigdamnfilms.org/
Twitter - http://twitter.com/wickedjava
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/mcdougherty
Z-Con Movie - http://zconmovie.com/
Your Crowdfunding Sucks - http://yourcrowdfundingsucks.com/
Dave Bullis
Official Site - http://DaveBullis.com
Twitter - http://Twitter.com/Dave_Bullis
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialDBullis
Sign up for my newsletter: http://eepurl.com/JcrN1
Crowdfunding Picks:
Trigonis' crowdfunding pick - Hullabaloo Steampunk animated film
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/hullabaloo-steampunk-animated-film
Michael's crowdfunding pick - Starship Farragut: The Crossing
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/265092982/starship-farragut-the-crossing
Dave's crowdfunding pick - The Tombs: Rise of the Damned
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-tombs-rise-of-the-damned
Show Notes:
Hybrid Vigor Film
Official Site: http://www.hybridvigorfilm.com/
Twitter: @HybridVigorFilm
Al Pacino's speech from 'Any Given Sunday'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSDhhZtRwFU

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Episode 16 - Kelley Baker

Episode 16 - Kelley Baker

Kelley Baker has worked in Hollywood for 20 years. He’s well known for being the sound designer on six of Gus Van Sant’s feature films, including My Own Private Idaho, Goodwill Hunting and Finding Forrester. He’s also made numerous award winning short films and 3 of his own independent feature films.

Today we talk about making your first movie, sound design and how to run a set.

Visit Kelley at:

Official Site: http://www.angryfilmmaker.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theangryfilmmaker
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thekelleybaker


Visit Dave at:

Official Site: DaveBullis.com
Twitter: http://Twitter.com/Dave_Bullis
Facebook: http://Facebook.com/Dave.Bullis

Sign up for my newsletter:

http://eepurl.com/JcrN1




Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Episode 15 - Elliot Grove

Episode 15 - Elliot Grove


itunes pic

Making Your Movie I. 
Elliot Grove founder of Raindance Film Festival comes by to chat about why he started Raindance, stories about then rookie filmmakers Edgar Wright & Chris Nolan and making your movie from script to distribution.
Sign Up for My Newsletter Here: http://eepurl.com/JcrN1

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Episode 14 - Elizabeth Karr

Episode 14 - Elizabeth Karr



itunes pic

Elizabeth is an actress appearing in theater, film and television for over twenty years.
She currently is a producer for, 'Radio Free Albemuth', a feature film based on the work by legendary sci fi author, Phillip K Dick.
We talk about producing a movie, go in depth with crowdfunding and discuss getting talent for your project.
Radio Free Albemuth
Buy here: http://ykr.be/21bb435982
Radio Free Albemuth at the Alamo Drafthouse 8.29.14
Buy tickets:http://radiofreealbemuth.com/screenings/details/4944/14777
Radio Free Albemuth at the Jean Cocteau Cinema (owned by George RR Martin) starting 8.29.14
Buy tickets: http://www.jeancocteaucinema.com/film/radio-free-albemuth/
RadioFreeAlbemuth
Official Site: Http://RadioFreeAlbemuth
Twitter: @RFAMovie
Elizabeth Karr
Official Site: http://ElizabethKarr.com
Twitter: @ElizabethKarr
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0440066/
Connect with Dave;
Official Site: http://DaveBullis.com
Twitter: http://Twitter.com/Dave_Bullis
Facebook: http://Facebook.com/Dave.Bullis
Sign Up for My Newsletter Here:
http://eepurl.com/JcrN1

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Podcast Milestone & Thanks!

My podcast just crossed over the 5,000 listen mark. Below is a map of Plays Worldwide.

We've hit all 6 Continents and each podcast episode increases in numbers.

I'm in the midst of transferring my main site to a Wordpress site and then I'll have the podcast up on iTunes.

 September is going to be, "Making Your Movie" month. I'll be interviewing four film industry influencers about how to make your movie, build audiences, budgets, getting locations, etc.

THANK YOU everyone for subscribing and sharing the podcast.

-Dave
Join my email list
Follow me on Twitter


Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Writers Wednesday: Show Your Work




Final piece of Show Your Work outline. We've gone from seed idea to outlining to first draft to this final draft.
This is a parody black comedy.

Next phase is to keep flexing that idea muscle and continuing brainstorming.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Writers Wednesday: Show Your Work

Here is the outline of my short story script. I've taken all the ideas, etc and molded them into the 3 Act Structure. It's a short story revenge black-comedy.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Writers Wednesday: Show Your Work

I was recently listening to the James Altucher podcast, he had on guest Austin Kleon, who recently published a book, 'Show Your Work' where he encourages artists to show their process and how something evolves from idea to a final piece. From nothing to something.

I thought this idea was excellent. Steven Pressfield introduced me to the idea of the fool's cap method and what he's been doing is showing how he brainstormed various projects particularly, 'The Legend of Bagger Vance' and 'The Lions Gate'. It's an insight into a process that until the internet revolution was (mostly) hidden away.

In the coming months I plan on publishing snapshots along with ideas, thoughts about new feature length screenplay I'm working on. Below is a brainstorming session I had last night for a new short screenplay challenge for my writers group. One note book page just making dashes and arrows for different ideas for jokes, structure and scenario's. Next week I'll show you a polished version (as it's due next week) and the week after that what the writers group thought of it (it's a gross out comedy where I'm parodying the day in the life of a person in the group so I'm expecting mixed reactions). 

And speaking of my writers group, we've finally launched a Facebook page for my screenwriters group so please LIKE the page if you want to be keep informed on screenwriting and our group. To note we're discussing the idea of having a live event soon here in the Philadelphia area. 

Thanks for reading, 

Dave 


Wednesday, May 14, 2014

RIP H.R. Geiger


Geiger became known throughout the world for his macabre paintings that combined organisms with mechanical imagery. Most of his inspirations were said to come from night terrors he experienced throughout his life. 

Below are some of his drawings followed by two videos focused on Geiger and his artwork for, Alien (Scott, 1979), which speak volumes of his talent and mastery of the craft. 
















Monday, April 28, 2014

Iron Fist Films Launch Part II

I've relaunched my original TeeSpring campaign this time with the official launch design. If you feel so inclined the shirt is only $20 plus S&H. 

The campaign can be found here: 
http://TeeSpring.Com/IronFistFilms

If you buy one let me know, you'll get;
1. I'll give you an (iron) fist bump next time I see you in person. 
2. You can pick my brain about whatever you want (screenwriting, etc). 
3. I'll retweet, share etc any campaign you have three (3) times on the platform of your choice. 
4. Add your name and link to the Iron Fist Films site. 
5. Shout-Out on Social Media.




- Dave

Monday, April 21, 2014

Two Steps Forward, One Step Backwards, Repeat

A wise man once told me that in every defeat you should do 3 things.
1. Learn a new skill
2. Network
3. Read a ton of books

1. Learn A New Skill
With access to the internet you have entire library's at your fingertips. You can learn vitally anything you want if you have the drive.
Access to some classes cost money while others including classes from MIT are free.

2. Network
Whether with an old associate or meeting a new contact.
When/if you plan on switching jobs don't send out a mass email. That's just spam. What you should do is target people who you've helped (hopefully) over the years.
The best way to network is when you meet someone is to help that person. Don't just give out your business cards or do the dreaded tactic of connecting on social media and then saying nothing (I get that all the time).

3. Read A Ton Of Books
You can either read books on your particular field (I guarantee you there are several) or you can read a wide variety of fiction and non fiction. 


Thanks for reading,
Dave

Sunday, April 13, 2014

The Beginning of the Beginning: Launch of Iron Fist Films

For the past few months I've been working on making my own film production company. On April 11th, my 30th birthday, I finally launched the company. 

I've hit a few roadblocks thus far and wanted to share with you the experiences and process as I go through it. I found this is the part I find in most books on start ups that is generally glossed over.. the up front dirty work.

So here we are... at the begining of the beginning. I was able to tweak and formulate my plan thanks to several people including Jason BruBaker, Guy Kawasaki, Tim Fargo, Aaron Lee and a few others I'm forgetting at the moment.
There's only one way to go from here...

Thanks for reading,

Dave

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Louisiana is the new Film Capital of the World

A few years ago, I won the Pennsylvania Film Industry Association award for my paper on keeping and increasing the PA film tax credit aka movie production incentives. An incentive by definition is something that motivates an individual to perform an action. For example a coupon is an incentive because it gets you to buy a certain product at a discount. In the film industry, tax credits exist as an incentive to attract production to certain areas. Most industrialized nations offer a tax credit program and here in America most states offer some kind of film incentive program.

Film In LA just released their annual film production report and Louisiana, has just taken over the #1 spot for film production largely due to the fact that the state's tax credit is uncapped and there is no budget limits. Louisiana's program also encourages independent filmmakers to apply for tax credits, which is crucial, in my opinion. Yes big budget productions are nice but film commissions need to focus on filmmakers who live in the area and besides movies that cost a few hundred thousand are more frequent.
California comes into the rankings at #4, behind Louisiana, Canada and the UK. California's tax program is capped at $100M and it's based on a lottery system for projects under $75M. A bill has been introduced to allow California's tax program to increase and allow productions over $75M to apply. In addition, Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti has appointed Ken Ziffren as his 'film czar' to help formulate a  plan to resurrect film production inside LA. I'm not exactly sure what he could offer that would help keep productions in Los Angeles besides offering some tax breaks.
And here in Pennsylvania, there is a new campaign to uncap the tax program. Over the past years the tax credit has gone up and down and it currently is capped at $60M. This year, Philadelphia landed at #7 on Movie Maker magazines, 'Best Place to Live and Work as a MovieMaker in 2014.'

Film tax incentives are among a hot button topic right now as proponents detail how they work because they bring millions of dollars and jobs into areas and there are opponents who say they take away from other incentives programs and demonize the film tax program by using the phrase,  "Hollywood Handout."
Obviously not all films applying for the tax credit are Hollywood backed, the fact is when someone uses that phrase it does more harm to the independent film community if anything.
In the end, each state is closely monitoring the ROI of the film tax credits not only of their state but of neighboring states. Interesting enough, some states without tax programs are getting creative, such as New Hampshire (they share and promote filmmakers crowdfunding campaigns), Delaware (promotes no sales tax) and South Dakota (no income tax).

This article is a reprint of my Examiner article.

- Dave
http://DaveBullis.com 

Monday, March 10, 2014

CrowdFunding 101: Terminology

These are not all of the crowdfunding 'lingo' you'll hear but it's good to know this terminology as you'll need to know this when planning but you'll hear a lot of them again in other areas particularly terms like ROI.

Above the Line costs: All costs associated with the Writer(s), Producer(s), Director(s), and Actors. These costs are typically fixed costs.

Accounting Costs: All monetary costs associated with a project or activity.

Angle Investor: Don't let the term 'investor' fool you. An Angel Investor  is an investor or investment group that provides financial backing as initial capital (aka seed money) whether it's a one time donation or continued support in cycles or at specific 'times of need.' Angle Investor's are seen as the opposite of a venture capitalist.

Below the Line costs: All costs associated with everyone else of a production after those included in Above The Line costs. These costs are typically variable costs.

Break Even: Point at which costs/expenses equal revenue, resulting in no net loss or gain.

Donation: When a person makes a contribution to your project.

Economic Costs: Economic Cost = Accounting cost + Opportunity cost

Equity: A percentage share/stake of a project.

Funding Goal: The monetary goal for a project.
Funding Goal formula = Above The Line Costs + Below the Line costs + Cost to fulfill perks + Platform Fees

Landing Page: Typically the main page of your project on a particular platform that is usually linked  from social media and other sites.

Perks: An incentive given for donating at a certain level. Ex, if you pay X, you get a digital download of the film.

Perk Fulfillment: The cost and process of fulfilling campaign perks.

Pitch Video: Video used on your crowdfunding landing page to promote and pitch yourself and the project.

Platform: The crowdFunding site you choose to use for your campaign.

Progress Bar: A physical representation to show people that arrive on your landing page how close the project is to it's goal.

ROI: Return on Investment. A method used to determine if investment is worth costs by the amount it will yield. ROI = Gain From Investment - Cost of Investment/Cost of Investment
When you know how much perk fulfillment will cost.
Example -  if we figure out that a certain perk costs $5 per copy, S&H costs $5, then we know the perk will cost $10. If the perk level is $20 and the cost to fulfill the perk is $10, ROI = 1.
$20 - $10/10 = $10/$10 = 1

Tip Jar: A button you put on a site so people can tip you, typically these buttons are link-backed to a PayPal account.

Look for another crowdfunding article next Monday. As always any tips, recommendations and requests just comment at the bottom.

Thanks for reading,

-Dave
http://DaveBullis.Com 

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

CrowdFunding 100: Kickstarter Reaches over $1 Billion in Donations & New Series

A few years ago, I was at a film event chatting with several producers. The conversation naturally steered towards funding when the producers I was speaking to agreed that crowdfunding was a fad and would never take off into the mainstream. No matter how I presented by counter argument they were convinced it was going to die out soon...

Yesterday, Kickstarter officially passed the $1 Billion dollar mark for donations. What does this mean? Well for starters, it shows that;

1. Crowdfunding is now mainstream & accepted. 
2. CrowdFunding (in all it's forms) is the future
3. Those producers from above were dead WRONG (obviously)

Gone are the times when only a certain few, who were in the know, could raise funds (As long as you have a quality campaign). Thankfully crowdfunding has been growing each year, not just Kickstarter but the other platforms as well.

Below are the Top Countries & Territories stats via Kickstarter 

  1. United States: $663,316,496 (no surprise here that the US leads this by a wide margin). 
  2. United Kingdom: $54,427,475
  3. Canada: $44,913,678
  4. Australia: $31,776,566
  5. Germany: $21,607,047
  6. France: $10,131,159
  7. Japan: $7,139,419
  8. Sweden: $7,150,257
  9. Netherlands: $7,033,026
  10. Singapore: $6,710,981

Kickstarter also gives out  two very key statistics', the average donation per day and time of month.
Using this to plan your campaign accordingly we know that the 'best' day of the week is Wednesday and "the best" time of the month is the 13th.
Remember though, the most important factor is the strength of your network.

In the coming Mondays, I am starting a new series that will focus on crowdfunding piece by piece. I've ran and consulted on numerous crowdfunding campaigns, so the advice I give won't be the same bullshit fluff I've seen passed off in other articles.

If there's anything specific you'd like me to cover let me know in the comments.

-Bullis
http://DaveBullis.com

Sunday, March 2, 2014

2014 Oscars

My Picks: 


Best Picture:
(Tie)
The Wolf of Wall Street
Nebraska

Best Director:
Martin Scorese

Best Actor:
Bruce Dern

Best Actress:
Judi Dench

Best Supporting Actor:
Jared Leto

Best Supporting Actress:
Lupita Nyong'o

Best Original Screenplay:
Nebraska

Best Adapted Screenplay:
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Animated Film:
The Wind Rises

Best Foreign Language Film:
The Hunt

Best Documentary (Feature):
The Act of Killing

Best Documentary (Short):
Prison Terminal

Best Live Action Short Film:
* I didn't see any of these

Best Animated Short Film:
* I didn't see any of these

Best Original Score:
Gravity

Best Original Song:
Frozen

Best Sound Editing:
Gravity

Best Sound Mixing:
Gravity

Best Production Design:
Gravity

Best Cinematography:
Gravity

Best Make-Up:
The Lone Ranger

Best Costume Design:
The Great Gatsby

Best Film Editing:
Gravity

Best Visual Effects:
Gravity



Chart below copied from Wikipedia. 

Best PictureBest Director
Best ActorBest Actress
Best Supporting ActorBest Supporting Actress
Best Writing – Original ScreenplayBest Writing – Adapted Screenplay
Best Animated Feature FilmBest Foreign Language Film
Best Documentary – FeatureBest Documentary – Short Subject
Best Live Action Short FilmBest Animated Short Film
Best Original ScoreBest Original Song
Best Sound EditingBest Sound Mixing
Best Production DesignBest Cinematography
Best Makeup and HairstylingBest Costume Design
Best Film EditingBest Visual Effects

- Bullis