Story Generation and the Creative Process

 Post:  Driving in the Outback can be inspiring.

Valeska and I took off for about ten days and went to outback NSW and rambled from town to town, going with the flow and only moving when we felt like it. We did not see a drop of rain and loved  the constant blue skies.

Before you ask, “How can you go to a part of the world that has temperatures hitting the 40C mark (105 F)”, please let me explain.

Well I did have a mission. I wanted to come up with a great story outline and treatment for our next screenplay.  I love the great open spaces of the outback and country New South Wales. Very inspiring. No tourists are crazy enough to go out here in the heat of summer and that is exactly why I love it. It feels like the real deal,  like a road movie.

Our goal was to create an awesome story outline  and utilize the passing scenery and all the quirky cooky and very friendly characters we met on the way.

Idea after idea flowed and nothing seemed to gel. We would come up with one story outline after another and then trash them.  We could only find enough for B Grade film.  Story after story idea was tossed around and then trashed.

Even  at Lightning Ridge where black opals are mined, we could not get a story outline that was a winner.  All the story ideas, we came up with in the first eight days of traveling just seemed to be a cliche and stale.  From Coonabarabran to Gundegai to  Lightening Ridge to Bourke to St George , we created only garbage. Our characters seemed to be just flat.

Exasperated, I was about to give up on Day 8 and just enjoy the rest of our road trip, when it happened. We were approaching Moree when something on the radio sparked me off. Suddenly an amazing idea floated into my head. I got out my IPhone recorder and started flowing with a story that would prove to be so cool and original and dare I say it “Fresh”

Valeska and I then started talking about the story and more flowed. Out of that amazing creative dimension called creativity,  scenes spouted out at a faster rate than we could record them.

There was an excitement about this idea that was missing from all previous ideas. We were suddenly on fire.

The next day we went back to the story and it still seemed like a really fresh story.  More ideas and more scenes appeared to us and we felt that sense of flow that happens when you hit oil. I reflected on inspiration and what happens when a story truly appears.

Here are some of my thoughts:  I believe that finding a great story is like searching for gold. You have to shift a lot of dirt to get to gold but when it happens it’s priceless. Then it’s like striking oil. Ideas and scenes spew out at an alarming rate faster than you can process them.  To get to this point I believe  that you need to trash bad story outlines as soon as you know it. This saves you so much time and stress later.

Today I am knocking out a 20  page treatment of the story that will encapsulate the whole film from beginning to end. Then the story is submitted to my 3 week test. In other words, will the story be as strong at  the end of Janaury as it is now. If so, I will fully comit and move on to producing and developing the story as a  film.

What is the movie called ,   “Hot Streak”.   30% of the film takes place in California and the other 70% in Australian outback towns. Our lead character is American and most of the supports are Australian. Anyone interested in investing, get in early.

If you are interested in creating a really cool story, look at our
4 month Film School in Sydney . The first two weeks is all about developing a story and writing a screenplay or please look at our Weekend Film Schools in Adelaide and Melbourne 

 

Till next time, have a great one.

 

Colm O’Murchu

5 Reasons why I love the AFM in LA every year

 I attended the AFM for the third time in November.

I always find the AFM an inspiring event. The AFM stands for the American Film Market. It is where films are bought and sold by Sales Agents and Distributors from around the world. For example, Ron Howard visited selling his Formulae One film, RUSH.  The film business epicenter is Los Angeles and Hollywood and right in the heart of it is the AFM.  The AFM is one of the key events every year.

Why do I enjoy the AFM so  much and why do I go year after year? Here are five reasons that I love going every year.

1 Relationships.

Film making and financing requires key relationships to make films happen. The AFM has many people pitching their projects to Sales Agents and Distributors. This year, we made progress. We have now attracted a company in the US who will finance the Script Development and packaging of our $5 million dollar film “The Lima Connection.”  set in Lima Peru and Mimi Florida With a film like this, we have to take an international approach attending the AFM

2 Seminars:

Every morning there are very useful seminars on financing distribution and marketing films. Film Sales is in such a state of flux. With the internet changing the landscape of how films are presented and sold, the market is in a state of shift. At these seminars, one is educated in exactly what is happening.

3  Networking Drinks at the Lowes Hotel

Every afternoon about 3PM,  the networking drinks start at Lowes Hotel. This is where everyone meets and greets each other. There is a mixture of Sales Agents, Actors, Film Makers and Distributors. You never know who you are going to meet.
The Goal is always to find mutually beneficial relationships. One of the ironies of the networking drinks is that nobody drinks much. Most people do not drink at all. Yes drinks are expensive but the main reason, none of us drink is that we want to stay sharp. Nothing looks worst than a tipsy person trying to network. For me, these networking drinks led to meeting some key people who I will form alliances with in the future.

4  Parties

After  the networking drinks, the major players and stars often throw parties. Getting invited is the trick. But every night there is a different party. Once again, this all works back to reason number one. Relationships. It is who you know that helps you finance your films. The more key relationships you build , the better.

I attended a fun party in the Hollywood Hills where there were many people you see in papers all the time. I also attended another very good film industry party in Venice beach. Even with Door Security, this party was packed. Still great fun . Once again, this is where you meet people who in the future , may end up as a key alliance in the financing of a future film. Once again stay sober and sharp, if you want to get the maximum benefit from the parties. Also you want to be in great shape for the Seminar next morning at 9am.  Another cool party was where Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park, The Fly) was playing in his band.

5 Deals and Meetings

Meetings happen at all the cafes and restaurants all over Santa Monica. I had one of my main meetings at my favourite Hollywood Hotel called the Roosevelt Hotel. Yes in the end it is all about signing contracts and financing future projects. I very much enjoyed signing our contract for The Lima Connection at the Polo Bar in Beverly Hills Hotel. Jennifer Anniston was sitting at the power table near-by which added a very Hollywood feel.  This is what it is all about. Relationships that lead to your next project getting made and distributed widely worldwide.

Summary:

Yes it was a great 10 Days in the epicenter of the film business. I find the time there is inspiring and up-lifting. Should you go? Once you are developing feature film projects, I think you will find the international relationships you develop will be of great benefit to you. With two feature film projects in development, the American Film Market is a week where I make major progress and also check closely on how my past films are selling. In the end it is still all about making films.

Since I have being back in Sydney Australia, I have been working with a very cool film called “Repressed “as a DOP. I am also gearing up to shoot my next feature film in May 2012.

If you would like to learn how to make your own films, the first step is to attend a great film course. it is part of my inspiration to teach other people how to produce an direct their own films.  As we say at International Film Base, we want toe create the Film Director Stars of tomorrow.

I am  presenting my  Weekend Film School  <http://www.sydneyfilmbase.com.au/sydney-weekend-film-school-brochure-december-10th-11th> in Sydney Australia this weekend on December 10th and 11th. This is one of the last times I will present as next year , I will delegate the film teaching to other Film Instructors

Also we have our One Week Film Directors School <http://goldcoastfilmschool.com/>  at the Gold Coast . This is a 100% Hands on Film School where you learn to make a film by actually making a film. Please leave comments as I always like to hear from you.

Till next time have a great one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colm O’Murchu   Director International Film Base

Postcard from LA and the ACT OF VALOR, a movie you must see.

Yes I am in LA. I am attending two different events over the next week. The New Media Convention and  The American Film Market.

You know you are in LA when you try to find the LA Convention Centre and you get lost.  I walked around the a street corner and right into the Conrad Murray Michael Jackson Trial. Today the jury is deliberating over the verdict. The media circus is huge and camped right outside the courthouse. There is the parade of people who support Conrad Black and the people who think he is guilty as hell.  It is quite a buzz as the verdict is only hours away.

From there, I eventually found what I was looking for , The LA Convention Centre. And then it happened.  I was blown away by an amazing film  called Act of Valor.  This is a ground breaking film and I managed to see a sneak 20 minute preview.  What I saw was incredible and ground-breaking. It is the very first big budget Authenthic Action film where everything exactly like in a war situation. Watch the Trailer.

The Film uses real Navy Seals who play themselves in a full on action film. This action film has a major difference. Its real.

The Film looks like a big Hollywood extravaganza except that the actors (Real Navy Seals) use real weapons and explosions and shoot real bullets. The film is inspired and exceptionally well shot and has generated a new genre. Authenthic Action. What this means is the good guys get killed and what happens is exactly like in a real war situation. Every last detail is cross checked and validated.  That means the way they use the weapons, the way the soldiers talk, the way they fight battles and what they think about when the  battles are over.

ACT OF VALOR will be released in the United States on February 17th 2012 on 3000 screens and when it reaches a screen near you, I highly recommend that you see it.

I asked the Director …….. a few difference questions at the end of the 20 minute screening.

Q How did they  find working with non actors.

A Well it was easy when we were shooting the action scenes as they were so well drilled in how to fight a war. But when it came to scene that had dialogue or emotion, it was a challenging and could take up to 15 takes to get a take that the director was happy with.

Q How long did it take you to make the film

A It took four years to make and in that time the director met , got engaged and married  his wife.  He also had two kids and has had two kids. How on earth did he manage that.

This is a passion film at the highest order and is made with integriity The film is financed privately giving the Director and Producers creative control.  Relativity films is distributing the film.

What an inspiring achievement. Let me know what  you think.

Due to other comittments I am presenting my last weekend film school in Sydney in early December. Please book in if you want to find out how to produce your own short or feature film or documentary. It is an amazing two days.

Also after six months of teaching the One Week Film Scool I will be passing it on to a New Teacher in 2012.

So if you would like to attend the One Week Practical Film School in the Gold Coast, please enroll soon. We only take 10 bookings and we all ready have 7 bookings. so get in fast if you want the full practical film school where we shoot and edit a film in one week using all the professional techniques needed to produce a film.

Till next week have a great one.

 

Colm O’Murchu

Director International Film Base

Shooting with the Panasonic AF 100. This is an awesome camera

It has been some weeks since I last wrote a post. In that time I have been busy travelling to Europe where I spent some time in Ireland and England and France.  We had our very first Weekend Film School in London, which I very much enjoyed presenting. We had the course just off the famous Brick Lane. It was only ten days after the riots so London was still in recovery mode. The weather was very warm and August is definitely one of the best times to be in Europe. What can I say about Paris except it is truly one of the most beautiful cities.  The Food  and the restaurants and the the french language . Beautiful.

So now that I am back in Sydney, I want to rave about the wonderful film shoot I DOP in the last week.  Last week I shot a film written and directed by a former film student of mine,  Matt Smith. It was great to see how much he has progressed from his first film . He is now

gaining the confidence of a film director and is now clearly communicating his vision for the story to crew and cast. The Director’s  confidence takes practice and experience. The more films you direct the more confidence you gain.

On the shoot, we used The Panasonic AF- 100. (please see clip below) This camera had been on my radar for about the last 10 months so I was very much looking forward to shooting with this camera. I have to say this is a remarkable camera. It shoots in 1920 x 1080 HD with interchangable lens. It also shoots amazingly good slow motion. All I can say is Rave Rave Rave.

For  value for money at $ 4,700, for the camera body, this camera really punches above its weight. You can get a set of prime Zeiss Lens for about a further $4000 and a Zoom for about $70o All up you get a great camera for shooting short films and micro budget feature films. The depth of field is wonderful and the  image quality is superb. All up your film will look very professional.

This is a clip from the film “Repressed that I shot last week on the Panasonic AF- 100

I liked the camera so much that  I have now decided to buy the camera.

If you would like to learn more about making your own films, please look at our courses that we are presenting at the moment. The courses always change peoples year for the better. If you want to break into film, this is the quickest way to make it in the film world.

 

Current Film Courses September-December  2011

 

The Auckland Weekend Film School
October 29th, 30th 2011, AUT Univeristy, 55 Wellesley Street East Auckland

 The Sydney Weekend Film School 2011
Saturday & Sunday December 10th 11th, NSW University Anzac Parade Kensington

The Melbourne Three Month Film School
September – December 2011
Trinity College  Parkville Melbourne VIC

The  Gold Coast Film Director’s School
December Tuesday 13th – Sunday 18th 2011
Twin Towns Clubs and Resorts
Coolangatta, Queensland

The Online FIlm School
Anytime you can start now.  Start Today.

 

Making a living from Independent Film Production

Its very warm in Sydney today. It is supposed to be mid winter but the temperature is currently 25C.(75F). I am writing this post sitting on the beach at Dee Why and it’s just beautiful. Next week I am off to Qatar, Paris, Dublin and  London where I present my Weekend Film School for the first time. I will get back for my Charity Premier Screening of Dealing with Destiny   on Monday August 29th and just in time for the Cinema release on September 1st .  Firstly, Here is some clips and an interview with me for “Dealing with Destiny”

On the last post, I itemized the different ways to make a living from film and the film world. Just  a reminder.

1. Independent Film Production Micro Budget – Low Budget Feature Films (100k – 5 Million Dollar Budgets)
2. Freelance DOP and Editor Work on other peoples short films and feature films
3. Music Videos Corporates and Commercial Film Making
4. Crew Work on mainstream Film Shoots for TV & Feature FIlm
5. Working for Film Distributors and Government Industry.
6. Mega Directing, Screenwriting or Producing on the big budget Hollywood films.

Making a living from independent film production is a challenge. There is a long build up period to the time when you make your first feature film.  But how do you get started?

The entry point tends to beFilm School or Film Courses like ours. The best film school is one that shows you how to make a film by actually making a film. As you make more and more films and provided you put everything you have into each film, the better a Film Director you will become.

When you leave film school, you will then want to work as an independent film maker. Most people will try to do Number 4 on our list above. Find Crew Work on mainstream Film Shoots for TV and Feature Film. We will cover that area in a later post.

Some people will invest in Film Equipment buying Cameras, Lights, Sound Equipment, Grips Gear and a Post Production Suite. You may have to take out a loan and invest  $30 – 50k initially in Film Equipment.  This will get you most of the equipment that you need. I know when I first invested in my own equipment, I advertised my services for Free. Needless to say, there was a flood of interest and I had non stop film jobs where I became an expert at using all of my equipment. Eventually, I felt confident to start charging and moved quickly to a $500 per day or $2000 per week rate.  I was still flat out working and my problem was too many jobs and feeling overworked.

And this is the point: It is very important to diversify. When I ask people on my film courses what they would like to do in the Film Business,  they nearly all want to be a Film Director. And that is great as long as there is plenty of Directing jobs out there. But if you diversify and learn how to DOP (shoot) films and edit films, there is plenty of  extra work to fill in the lean times between Directing gigs. In fact on our Weekend Film Schools , we show you the agencies to join, so that you get plenty of work. We also show you how to get your brand out there so that you are getting many people offering you gigs.

Now this is all well and good. But what if you want to be a Film Director making your own award winning feature films that get sold all over the  world. Well that is the second part of it. At Film School you will learn how to make films and hopefully if it is a Film Course like ours, you will get to make a film of your very own. When you leave the Film School, you will continue making short films till such time as you win or get regular entry in to major film festivals. Now it is important to monetize your short film and we show you that process on our film courses. We show you the sites where your film can make money.

As soon as you have an award winning short film, then you move on to a low budget feature film that you make on the weekends. A Feature Film can be shot on 1o weekends on very little money. How do I know this because I produced and directed and edited a zero budget Feature Film “The Makeover”.   I would like to announce that you can now buy  The Makeover on our Website and you can now download the film and watch it today. It is a great example of a film that was made on a micro cash budget. The Makeover won Best Comedy Drama at the New York City Film Festival and has sold Pay TV in Europe and in the US.

When you make successful low budget films, usually bigger films attract themselves to you. While I was making The Makeover I was offered the job directing Dealing with Destiny  which is on limited release in Australia on September 1st. When you keep making independent films,  you will eventually find the budgets and the success of your films grow.

So your plan should look like this

• Do a really cool Film Course like ours  and keep doing courses as you develop your film skills. You need to learn.
• Make short films till you win A or B list Film Festivals and can monetize your films online.
• Then, make a low budget feature film on the weekends
• Apply for funding and the producers offset from the government for another one of your feature films that has a budget of $1 million – $5million. This is a long process and can take years. That is why you need to make your own micro budget films on the side.
• Network and get to know the people who matter in our film industry
• Keep your  eagle eyes open and pounce on opportunity
• Allow ten years to make it as a fully established Film Director.   If you have the persistence, you will succeed.

Many of you have asked me can I make films on the weekend and keep my day job. Absolutely. In Australia, many of the top film producers have other businesses or jobs which they do in-between film productions.

 

Till next post, have a great one

 

Colm O’Murchu  _ Director

http://internationalfilmbase.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

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