What You Can Learn From Porn

So, when you're, uh, watching your porn... where do you get your, um... 'content' from? I'm going to take a stab in the dark, so to speak, and assume that you watch a lot online. Sure, you may have an old, sticky mag sitting around and there may be that scratched up, worn DVD that your "friend" gave you when he moved in with his girlfriend, but I'm going to make a bold statement here. I guarantee that if you've watched porn at some point over the last year, you've watched some porn online, in some form. Yeah, you know you have. Probably at work, too. So, who cares? Well, the porn industry cares... and, guess what? As much as Hollywood hates to admit it, the porn industry has pioneered almost every innovation in the film industry. They were the first to adopt video and the first to use the internet, but now they're in trouble and they're back to their pioneering ways. Piracy and free content, like user-generated shit, is cutting deep into their profits and they need to right the ship... so, it's time to watch porn. Well, what the industry is doing, anyhow.

Here's a link to an article I read called, "Internet Piracy Is Killing Porn's Profits", by Amy Kaufman on TheWrap.com. It doesn't say a whole lot more than exactly what the title implies, but there was a link to an interesting article on there called "Adult Industry Has Some New Ideas", also by Amy Kaufman, here's the link. (Dig porn much, Amy?) Now, there are a few, key differences between porn and the film industry and the main one is that porn is really only needed for a few minutes, at best. On the flip side, a few minutes of "Friday the 13th" won't really satisfy anyone. Therefore, pirated and free internet content is far more damaging to the porn industry than it is to the film industry. However, there is a key similarity between the two and it's that they're both 'non-essential' luxuries, in a way, and free, pirated alternatives are available. What's the answer? Well, porn seems to be banking on digital, interactive content and social networking. As for revenue, it looks like it'll be a mix of advertising and paid content. They're scrambling and eventually they'll come up with some innovation and they'll recover... then Hollywood will follow their example.

While we're on the fledgling porn industry, remember that other hurting industry called the music industry? Well, they're figuring shit out, too. I was just reading about how U2 is the first musical guest on "Late Show with David Letterman" to be on for an entire week. They're promoting they're new album, "No Line on the Horizon", but a whole week?! I was also reading how bigger music stars are trying to get on things like American Idol and be featured in Rock Star and Guitar Hero. That's all great and all, but the music industry does know where their bread is being buttered these days and it's from live performances. So, what do you think of Live Nation, the biggest concert promoter, and Ticketmaster, the biggest music ticket seller, merging? It's about vertical integration, which means more marketing power and ways to get you to buy those tickets. That also means that that new company could be the biggest entertainment company in the world. So, it looks like the answer for the music industry is in live performances and events, plus pushing the boundaries of where musicians and their music can go. The music, itself, actually becomes a bit of a loss-leader... talk about a major difference from just a few years ago.

Most importantly now, what does this mean for Hollywood... not even Hollywood, what does this mean for you, the indie horror filmmaker? Well, almost all of these forces are against you, plus a few more. Think about it, piracy and free, online entertainment will suck up a lot of your potential audience. Who wants to pay for something when there's free alternatives? Not only that, if you find an audience that IS willing to pay for your film, there's so many choices out there, how do you get them to find you? How do you even compete for shelf space against bigger budgeted films and all the other indie films? You really do have the cards stacked against you. Like they say, once your film is finished, the real work begins...

The key is, you can't push on a string. You need to pull the audience to you. If you just put your film out there with its fancy cover art and a press kit that you put together to sell it, it ain't going anywhere. You need to create awareness any way you can and get people to walk into the video story looking for your title... or going online, searching for your film. To do that, you're going to need a mix of everything that porn and the music industry is doing. You're going to need to create a website, a Facebook page, a Myspace page and start interacting with people and getting your name out there. Announce when and where it's available. Approach websites like ours and give out screeners, do interviews, get people talking about your film. Go to festivals and conventions and, better yet, get involved with them. Getting a screening at a festival is huge exposure. If you can't get a screening, get a booth at a convention. Utilize everything, sell something at every turn and leverage what you've got.... because, really, it's all you've got.

In the end, you need to watch what people are doing in these other industries and figure out a way to copy them, but that's if what they're doing is working... if what they're doing isn't working, avoid it. It sounds simple and, really, it is. Remember, in the indie film world, you can't just be an artist. You'll also need to be the agent... and the sales guy, marketing guy, janitor, shipping and receiving guy...

You get the picture.

The committed composer always gets more work

Here's another post from our friend in the UK, Tony Longworth. He's an independent music composer and he's worked on tons of different low-budget horror films and, a lot of the time, for no real monetary gain. If you have any questions on music for your film or anything to do with that whole side of the filmmaking process, send me an email. I'll pass it on to Tony, who will be more than happy to answer. This post is about cutting it as a indie film composer and what he has to say is not only equally relevant to indie-filmmakers, but for almost anyone who is getting into the 'independent arts'...

So, you want to be a composer for independent movies? You think you've got a good ear for music and you’re a big movie geek? That’s all good, but have you got the commitment for working on an independent project?

You think you have? Well, consider these following points:

- You probably won’t get paid for anything you do, now or in the future. Although the filmmaker might offer you a share of the profits, the movie itself might never get any form of distribution & will eventually disappear without making any money whatsoever.

- The movie might never even get screened anywhere, so no one will ever hear your wonderful soundtrack. After getting turned down by several film festivals, the filmmaker could very well give up on this project & move onto something new. Hell, the movie might even fold part way through before it’s even complete.

- You might end up with more work than you can cope with. You’re not getting any money up front & the filmmaker is making all these ridiculous demands from you for the soundtrack – they want an orchestra, they want a choir, they want bloody everything !!

- You might find that the project goes on for months, even years with the possibility of the director popping up from time to time to ask you to either write something new or tweak an existing song that you might have written ages ago & completely forgotten about. In fact, you can’t even remember where that particular track is on your hard disk.

So, do you still want to be a composer for independent movies? Are you still reading this? Haven’t I put you off?

Now, don’t think I’m being negative here, I’m just being totally honest & realistic. All of the above happens to me on a fairly regular basis. Being an independent movie composer has many downsides but going into a project with all the above points in mind will help you a lot. Just remember, you’re not in it for the money; you’re in it for the music & the music alone.

Go into each project with a positive mind. If the filmmaker asks for the impossible, give it your best shot. Make sure you store everything on your hard disk in a logical order so you can find things in the future. Always remember to backup your data.

There are a lot of risks involved with composing for these types of movies, but what's the worst that can happen? You put a lot of your spare time into doing something you really like doing which never sees the light of day? Big deal.

Just think, you’ve spent a lot of time doing something you enjoy & you’ve gained a whole lot of experience doing it & you wrote some amazing music. If the movie hits some film festivals or gets a distribution deal, then treat that as a big bonus. If nothing happens to the movie at all, just be thankful for the enjoyment & the experience, plus you’ll be building up a library of music which can be customised for other projects.

What I’m saying here is: don’t get your hopes up, but at the same time you’ve got to be 100% committed to the project & see it through to its natural (or unnatural) end – if you can’t give that type of commitment, then you’re in the wrong game. That’s the bottom line, if you don’t like it, then don’t do it.

So, by giving this type of commitment you will become known as a reliable composer who can be trusted with anything that’s thrown at you. You’re guaranteed to get more repeat work, as well as new work simply from word of mouth.

It’s worked for me so there’s no reason it won’t work for you as well.

Music in Indie Film and an introduction to Tony Longworth

You wrote the script, you got the money and you went out and shot your film. You put effort into the effects - they look good, you got decent performances out of your actors, you're happy with the look you got and now, it's time for post... you just cut it, throw in some sound effects and you're done, right? Well, unfortunately, for a lot of filmmakers, that's what you get... I'm not sure if they think they can't afford music or if they just don't think it's important, but it is. In fact, it can make or break a film, especially an indie film. So, it's with great pleasure that I introduce Tony Longworth and I'll let Tony explain who Tony is...

It’s no surprise that music is one of the most commonly overlooked elements in many independent movies. The indie-filmmaker has a very limited budget, so when the time comes for music, the pot is usually empty and the filmmaker has to resort to using public domain or band written music. Now this music will probably work fine with the movie in question, as the filmmaker tends to spend a long time sourcing the existing music, but it will be nowhere near as good as a score specifically written for that movie.

I guess a lot of filmmakers either think that they can’t afford a composer or they just don’t have the contacts. Let me tell you that there many are composers out there willing to work on low or non-existent budget movies. How do I know this? Well, I’m one of them.

My name is Tony Longworth and I’ve been involved with music and movies for over 15 years now. I’ve been in several bands and I’ve written music for many movies in that time. All of the movies I’ve written music for are of the lower budget variety, with the percentage of them sitting in the horror genre. I’ve only ever been paid upfront once for writing music and that was a meagre £50. In most cases I’m quite happy with a credit in the titles, a copy of the movie and a promise of a cut of any profit made which in nearly all cases is a big fat zero.

Now this lack of incoming money for my music is never going to put me off. Writing music is my passion and I love movies, so I’m going to keep doing what I do. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t like to be paid for what I do, that goes without saying, it just means that I’m not in it for the money alone. My main goal is to bring something good and something original to a movie, I want my music to make the movie live, for it to come alive and thrill an audience with all its different emotions.

I know for a fact that I’m not the only composer in the world who feels like this. Hell, there are hundreds of us, maybe even thousands out there who are looking for good, exciting indie movies to score, so there’s really no excuses – do a little searching on the internet and you’re sure to find a good, willing composer who can bring a little magic to your movie.

Now, some filmmakers might worry that although they’ve found a willing composer, they are in fact not local to them – they could even live on the other side of the world. Well, let me reassure you by saying that this isn’t a problem at all because I actually live in the north west of England, close to Liverpool, and most of the movies I’ve scored are American and my location hasn’t impeded me at all. The internet really has made this planet a smaller place. I know it sounds corny, but I’ve seen that evidence with my own eyes. When I’m working on a project, the director will e-mail, chat or even speak to me across the internet, uploading scenes for me to view, giving me direction. I then send music ideas direct to them electronically, any time of the day – it’s a 24/7 process that is fast and inexpensive. From my own experience it works a treat and I believe that there really is no other effective way of working.

So my advice to all filmmakers, do that search, spend a little time dropping e-mails and you’re guaranteed to find yourself a composer that will make your movie that much better.

Like I said, Tony will be writing further posts on his trials and tribulations as a composer on indie films... Now, if you have any questions on the topic, feel free to email me at ted@deadharvey.com and I'll pass them on to him. For that matter, feel free to email me if you have any questions at all, or want us to cover any topics in particular.