Indie Filmmakers, Check This Out...

I rarely look at the analytics for the site, but I just checked them and it's really interesting to see where our readers come from. Most readers come from North America, with the U.S. being the top and Canada being second... but we do have a fair amount of readers from the UK and abroad. We even have readers in Russia, Poland, Romania... kinda cool. What's really cool is that when you look at the U.S., specifically, there's only two states where not one person has checked out our site: Wyoming and Nebraska and that got me thinking... what the fuck is going on in Wyoming and Nebraska? Actually, that's not what I was thinking. What I was thinking was the fact that half of our U.S. readers come from New York and California, with about a third of the total US visitors coming from California alone. This makes sense, as New York City and Los Angeles both have huge indie film communities, but if you flip it, that means that HALF of our U.S. readers DON'T come from New York or L.A. Now, why does that matter?

Well, imagine you're an athlete from a small town. Imagine you're pretty good and you can beat everyone there at whatever sport it is that you play. What happens when you enter a state-wide tournament? What about a national tournament? An international tournament? Well, chances are, you're not going to be as good as you think you are. Now, if you're an indie filmmaker from a market that doesn't have a big indie film scene, the only real gauge of how good you are will come from entering festivals and watching stuff that gets distributed. There's really not a lot of support from the community, I'm guessing. When you're in a town like LA or New York, you can get into the scene and work with people, see other projects in production, watch other filmmakers films, discuss ideas and prop each other up, gaining success on the backs of each other. In a way, Dead Harvey tries to be just that, a community where we can learn from each other and make each other better... and I realized that we need to show more content. More clips, trailers to indie projects, behind the scenes stuff. I mean, you can read all you want, but film is a visual medium and you need to SEE what other people are doing. You can look at their production values, see how they make that look and learn from it.

Anyhow, that's why I went through my inbox and found a few clips and links that I wanted to pass on. Further, if you've got some clips of a project that you'd like to share, shoot me an email. I'd love to check it out, pass it on to our readers and get some discussion going.

First up, click HERE to be taken to The Vampire Film Festival's Youtube page. Not only do you get to vote on what goes into the festival, you can see the trailers for all the indie films that are entered. Pretty cool... "Thicker Than Water" is in there and it's an indie film that I highly recommend. I just watched it recently, great film. More importantly, though, you can see the quality of the films that are being submitted.

Next up, Gris Grimly, who we've featured a few times, has posted some behind the scenes stuff on his new short film called "Wounded Embark of the Lovesick Mind".

Here's the teaser for the film...



For the behind the scenes stuff, here's Webisode 1, Webisode 2, Webisode 3, Webisode 4 and, finally, Webisode 5. There's some pretty cool stuff in there, I definitely recommend checking them out.

Lastly, because I just got this, this morning... Go HERE to check out the latest on George Romero's new zombie flick. No clips or anything, it's just George Romero's Myspace page.

That's it for this week, have a good one and we'll see you next week!

A Tribute To John Hughes AND some info on upcoming film festivals

There's a few festivals and things that I want to tell you about, but before I do... I'd like to talk a bit about John Hughes, who passed away from a heart attack at the age of 59 yesterday.

Personally, I think it's tough to not credit John Hughes as being one of the most influential comedic filmmakers of all time. For those of us who were raised on 80's films, Hughes WAS comedy. From "National Lampoon's Vacation" to "Planes, Trains and Automobiles", he was responsible for a lot of the films that shaped our generation. I can't tell you how much I quoted movies such as "Weird Science" ("Chet, the name is Chet... and I didn't think it was a whale's dick, honey"), "The Breakfast Club" ("The next time I have to come in here I'm crackin' skulls"), "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" ("Those aren't pillows") and that goes without mentioning "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", "Sixteen Candles", "Uncle Buck" and many, many more. (click here to go to his imdb page) When you look at what he wrote, directed and produced, you realize how much he meant to the world of film comedy and how much he'll be sorely, sorely missed. So, I encourage everyone to dust off their favorite John Hughes film this weekend and sit back and remember just how much he meant to you and your love of film...

There's some upcoming festivals information that I want to pass on to you... now, before you just gloss over this, I'd like to reiterate that even if you don't have a film to enter or you live no where near any of these festivals, you should still go to their sites and check out what they have going on. As I say all the time, the festivals and conventions are really the backbone to the whole indie horror scene and it's good to keep tabs on what's going on. You can see what audiences are interested in and, maybe, get some ideas. That... and I bothered to create the links, so you should use them. Here's some press releases and info that I've recently received.

Vampire Fest 2009 takes place in the beautiful city of New Orleans from October 23 - 26, 2009

Filmmakers have heard our call, and Vampire Fest has already received submissions from the United States and around the world. Vampire Fest has a number of activities planned—feasts for the mind as well as the eyes—including a literary panel hosted by writer Gabrielle Faust and events around the Vieux Carré and the Garden District. The festival will screen an international slate of vampire and gothic features and shorts and include costume parties, fashion shows and performance artists. Vampire Fest is proud to call its home New Orleans with its fabulous nightlife, Gothic architecture, international cuisine, voodoo history, beautiful necropolises, and the birthplace of jazz and Anne Rice. Submissions Are Still OPEN

Vampire Fest is seeking narrative or experimental films of all lengths that emphasize the grotesque, mysterious or desolate. Since the legends of the werewolf and other supernatural creatures are interconnected with that of the vampire, Vampire Fest also accepts films of the Gothic, zombie, werewolf, witch or ghost genre.

Filmmakers can submit online at vampirefilmfestival.com or at withoutabox.com until September 16, 2009.

Fright Night Film Fest presents the 7 Day Film Fest and I'm not giving you much notice on it, but check it out... what have you got to lose?

Alright all you filmmakers get ready for one of the funniest times you'll ever have making a movie. The 7 Day Film Fest was created in 2007 to satisfy all of the crazy filmmakers who love to be busy. The 7 Day Film Fest is a film fest within a Larger Film festival.

This is how it works. On August 7th (that's today) you will go frightnightfilmfest.com to the 7 day film fest page. After you arrive on the 7 day page, you will sign up for the fest my submitting your email and paying by paypal or submitting a check to the address below before August 13th. All teams of filmmakers or single filmmakers can sign up for the event.

You must use the elements that you receive in the email. You will be notified by email. NO EMAIL, NO PLAY. SORRY!! It's that simple.

Lastly, I recently mentioned a site called PutItOn.com, the home to the undiscovered artist. Well, they're putting on a film festival called the "Put It On Picture Show", here's some info.

Budding filmmakers can upload their films to Put It On with the hopes of winning a free scholarship to the New York Film Academy and a cash prize of $5,000 USD in one of three categories. The festival will run from July 30 and closes for entries on November 26. Internet voting will continue until December 17, and winners will be selected and announced on January 7, 2010.

The first round of the competition for best feature film and best short film will be decided by a global Internet vote, which will narrow the entries to a list of the top 10 finalists per category. At the second and final stage of the competition, the finalists for these two categories will be judged by a panel made up of one member of The New York Film Academy, Max Fraser (co-founder of Put It On), and an industry professional yet to be named. The award for best achievement in acting will be decided separately by the panel of judges, with all submissions automatically entered for consideration.

Put It On is accessible in 10 languages and was created to help unknown artists take their work from the “garage” to the global marketplace where fans can connect with them directly. Leveraging an online platform for showcasing and marketing art, music, fashion and film, PutItOn.com helps undiscovered artists from around the world become both artistically and financially successful.

Interview with Asif Ahmed, Festival Director of The Vampire Film Festival

I believe the future of entertainment will be niche. It will be specific and cater to your individual tastes. I mean, you can be a general horror fan, but you can also be a fan of 'zombie survival horror' or 'teen slasher flicks'. Where as we used to have only a handful of genres and categories, say... drama, comedy, horror, sci-fi and documentaries, the categories will be endless. Just think about how you can break out your choices on Amazon now... I think we'll get even more precise.

The way I look at it, as the people who sell, rent and stream content and films continue to categorize and specify genres, it's only a matter of time before the festivals do, too. It almost seems archaic to have a genre neutral festival, doesn't it? Like, "Hi, we're the ABC Film Festival and we accept ALL genre's and they'll ALL be competing for the same prizes." (I mean no offense to any existing festival that may or may not be called the ABC Film Festival) Right now, we have hundreds of horror festivals every year, but even those are becoming a bit too general. So, when I heard about The Vampire Film Festival, I really thought they were on to something...

The Vampire Film Festival takes place in New Orleans this Fall and it's not open to JUST vampire films, but all vampire related films... which can incorporate lots of things, such as goth, werewolves, zombies, etc. If you're working on something that could be considered vampire related, you're into vampires or the goth scene, this is something for you. Hey, even if you're just interested in how the festivals work, you'll want to give this a read, as we had the opportunity to discuss it all with the festival director, Asif Ahmed...

Tell us about yourself, how’d you get into the indie horror scene?

I’ve been working on small horror films since I was in grade school. My first film was about a killer bunny rabbit that sucked blood. We created a monster bunny from a stuffed toy, added fangs and the engine from a remote control car. It was great! One day I want to remake this film. Growing up I made vampire shorts, gothic films, and more.

Some purists might consider horror the “easy” way to make a film, just mix some corn syrup with red food coloring but I don’t. You learn the essentials of character, plotting and story from horror.

Tell us about the Vampire Film Festival. When and why did it get started?

We had our first in Los Angeles in 2003 at the Los Angeles Film School. Short Vampire Films and video of the event are on our site. The Red Cross blood mobile was parked on Sunset Blvd in front of the theatre. We had a gothic music performance artist in the theatre performing live between films and a red-carpet Vampire costume ball. Our plan was to always bring the festival to New Orleans but Katrina got in the way. We are looking forward to bringing the festival there this year and making it a permanent fixture of the city and we plan to travel with this festival to many other cities around the world – the touring Vampire Festival.

There’s a lot more to the festival than just films, tell us a bit about what you have going on.

First we want the festival to be part of the rebuilding efforts in New Orleans. It’s very difficult to go back to the city and see the parts that are still devastated. The Lower 9th is an open field with a scattering of homes and it’s depressing.

Our mission with the festival, beyond the films, is to showcase vampire art, screenplays, novels and theater as well as have some great parties! We also plan to use some of the local bands and hope we can attract some New Orleans vampire writers. The event will include panel discussions, meetings with filmmakers, parties, fashion shows, music and some surprises.

Why vampires? Talk a bit about vampire films and what they mean to the horror genre.

Vampires are an enduring cultural phenomenon and are found in every culture. The literary genre, and it truly is a separate genre, can encompass horror, romance, humor and the erotic, really whatever you want. Regarding films, Nosferatu and Dracula actively engaged the world audience to the joys of being scared to death and they are still enjoying it. Regarding horror, the classic Hammer vampire films with Christopher Lee, some of the lesser know films like Near Dark and the newest classic, Let the Right One In show what the vampire film genre can be. I’m also looking forward to Johnny Depp’s Dark Shadows.

From the perspective of the filmmaker, what can I expect to get out of attending and/or having my film screen at the Vampire Film Festival?

Attendees are going to have fun. This is going to be an international film festival in one of the greatest cities in America. Attendees will be meeting filmmakers from around the world- we already have submissions from 4 continents. Filmmakers will get a chance to showcase their works in the vampire, gothic, supernatural genres. We want ghost films, werewolves, witches, mythic creatures, films that span these genres will all be considered. We are talking to some distributors who want to see what films get selected.

As a horror fan, what can I expect to get out of attending the festival?

The audience gets a chance to let their hair down, wear costumes, drink some booze and have a truly visceral experience. We will have panels, filmmakers, live music and more and of course you are going to see some trendsetting, genre defining films about Vampires, ghosts, werewolves from filmmakers around the world and might get a sneak peak of some of Hollywood’s latest offerings as well.

When you’re accepting films, what are you looking for?

Submissions are now OPEN. You can submit from our site or on Without A Box. We want creativity above anything else, a coherent plot and story, good photography and acting. Audiences are tired of stupid horror films and I’m wondering about the future of slasher films and remakes of Asian horror films too… unless the filmmakers start using more creativity. A good story is a good story….

Does budget come into play when you’re considering films?

No, absolutely not - a big budget is just that, more splash but it sure can’t guarantee a good film. We’re looking for artistry, a good story, creativity, not bucks splashed across a screen.

So, in general, why should indie horror filmmakers try to get their films into festivals?

It’s very difficult for indie filmmakers of any genre to get their films seen. There are more and more films being made and less outlets for them. The Internet has been a game changer but how can one distinguish their work from thousands if not millions of other films online. The majority of films end up as a dusty dvd. Filming in the horror genre makes it even harder as a lot of critics come out with their fangs out without knowing anything about the film.

Festivals give filmmakers a forum, more options for distribution, a chance to build a fan base, and more exposure for their film. The more a film is seen, discussed and critiqued the better.

Festivals are also the way to get the kinks out of a film especially with digital editing being the norm now. Once a film goes before an audience, all those little flaws you never noticed suddenly pop out. Festivals allow you to erase them before they are distributed.

As a filmmaker, what can I do to make my film more festival friendly? Should I even be thinking of that?

Make a great film and be willing to submit to festivals. Some filmmakers are hesitant to get their film out there or worse don’t know what to do once they complete their film. Filmmakers need to believe in their film and push it every chance they get.

At what point in the filmmaking process should I be thinking about the festivals?

From day one. As a filmmaker you need to understand your film and which festivals match its style, genre, and tone. A filmmaker should never rush their film to meet a festival deadline.

What advice can you give to an up and coming filmmaker in the indie horror genre?

Study the great films of horror including ones from the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. Read about film and see everything. Who would have thought the one of the classics in vampire cinema would come from Sweden in 2008. There are new films coming out everyday and it’s important to see them. A lot of people don’t want to hear this, but it’s also very important to learn the nuts of bolts of filmmaking, including marketing. Some don’t think it’s creative but you can’t have show business without the business.

Where do you think the indie horror scene is now and where do you see it going?

With the new digital cameras, editing equipment, power computers, the sky is the limit. Also a lot of noted directors and actors who were initially put off by the idea of horror are looking at it with kinder eyes. I think a new wave of horror classics is just on the horizon

What’s next for you and Vampire Film Festival?

We’ll continue expanding our site and make the Vampire News Network a reality on the web. We also want to have on-going Vampire Fests in other cities – Las Vegas, San Francisco, Boston and maybe go to Europe. We also want to look for scripts and novels too. It’s hard to believe it but American vampire lore is still untapped. There are legends with historical roots that haven’t even been touched yet.

Where can people find out more about the festival and how can they go about entering their film?

Vampirefilmfestival.com - Look at our articles on film and television and expect a lot of surprises in the future – We’re trying to expand our content on a daily basis. And if you are interested in being a contributing writer, please contact us!