Using YouTube Tools To Build Your Audience

I was going to just briefly mention this in a post with a bunch of links, but the more I started reading about it and thinking about it, the more I thought that it may be worth dedicating a whole post to. However, before I get into what these YouTube tools are all about, let me tell you why this is important.

Hollywood is a business, plain and simple. They have executives, boards of directors, investors and CEO's to answer to and all of them never went to film school, care about the process of making a film or watch many films oustide of their private jets. They're just too busy counting their money, while they're up in the Hamptons. Anyhow, those are the guys that give a 'green light' to a film, meaning the studio can go into production on it, and when they do, it wasn't just done on a whim. They've spent so much money on test audiences, analysis and market research that they could've funded every low-budget, indie horror that I've watched in 2008, so far... and that's before a single frame has even been shot. The main reason they're doing this is because they're hedging against a loser and they do this by studying YOU. They want to know who you are, what you like, how you like it, why you like it and when you watch it. That way, they take ALL that data, then try to put together a formula that pumps out films that are both marketable and have, what they call, playability. Meaning, not only does it get a big box office opening, but it's still in the theaters a few weeks later. They're not always right, either. Think about "Bangkok Dangerous", which probably tested through the roof on all fronts, yet... flop. Don't worry, though. They'll get their money back internationally, on DVD, licensing and every other place they sell it. Nic Cage has great internationally marketability and playability. Regardless... why am I telling you all this? Well, because, in your own little way, you can now do this too... by using YouTube Tools.

Okay, you're an indie filmmaker, right? If you're not using YouTube, Myspace or one of these other apps for marketing your film and networking, you need to start. Put together clips, trailers, any sort of content you can, and get it out there on YouTube... then, have it direct people to your website, your Myspace page, whatever. Now, before (less than a year ago), you just put it out there and hoped for the best. However, now, you can use YouTube tools to help increase your viewership and study your audience's viewing habits. As, just like Hollywood, the more you learn about your audience, the more you know how to cater to them. For example, if you found out that your audience was made up of males, aged 18 - 24, who lived on the East Coast of the U.S. versus females, aged 30 - 40, who lived in the UK, you may start trying to cater to your audience AND you'll know how to find them. The long and short, the more knowledge you have, the more power you have. Now, do you want to start using YouTube tools and find out how this shit works?

These analytical tools were primarily developed for marketers, as, if you haven't noticed, most brands put their ads out on YouTube. YouTube wants to make money, the marketers have it, so... let's cater to them and let them analyze how people view their content. That's when I thought, shit... if they're doing it, indie horror filmmakers should be doing it, too. Best of all, most of these tools are free. The coolest new tool (which isn't available yet) is called "HotSpots" and it allows "video creators to monitor how viewings rise and fall within a video", basically it tells you what people rewind to, where people tune out, if it's getting more viewings than average, etc. So, it's going to tell you HOW people watch it and what parts they like, which could be pretty damned powerful. It's going to be a new feature under their "Insights" application, which you'll find if you just go to the YouTube homepage and look on the right side. Currently, "Insight" just gives you more demographic based information: who's watching, when they're watching, where they're from, etc. So, there you go. Tools at your disposal. Now, go use them... Plus, do yourself a favor and read a bit more about all this... there's a whole article on Adage about it and they go more into depth, plus talk about actual case studies and examples. Here's the link to that article.

In the end, if you want, you can just go out there and make whatever film you want and hope for the best. However, if you take your time, find out more about your audience and then cater to what they like... you will be more successful, I guarantee it. I can think of thousands of examples and I'll leave you with just one. What if everyone who watches your content on YouTube lives in the Southern States? Would it then make sense to enter film festivals in California and New York only, or should you try to find more festivals down South? What if you never knew that?

September 16, 2008 - New horror on DVD this week: Uwe Boll madness continues...

I think it's a bit of a 'calm before the storm' deal with the releases this week, although there's a bunch of really good ones here. Leading up to Halloween is always busy, so we can expect a ton of releases to come out over the next few weeks. Having said that, there's a lot to look at this week. Click on the titles to buy them off Amazon and, as usual, you can go to our Youtube page and check out all the trailers.

"Monster Movie" comes from Mark and John Polonia. Now, you'll need a bit of back story on these guys, as Mark and John are twins and were always working on horror features until John's untimely death at the age of 39 in February of 2008. So, this may be the last film that they collaborated on, I'm not sure. The two of them have been making films since they were teenagers and actually gained a bit of notoriety in the 90's. Looking through the 20 or so films that they made, you may remember "Splatter Farm", "Hellspawn", "Night Crawlers" or even "Gorilla Warfare: Battle of the Apes"... I don't know. Either way, "Monster Movie" is a Cloverfield-like effort, where 8 rolls of damaged 16mm film reveal one of the most bizarre cover-ups in the annals of true-life events... terrifying menace's in the form of strange reptilian lizards. The DVD offers some bonus features, including: a tribute to co-director, John Polonia. Do yourself a favor and check this out.

"The Legend of Bloody Mary" comes from writer/director John Stecenko, who also directed "Marked for Mary: The Game" and "Mr. Id", both of which I'm not familiar with. "The Legend of Bloody Mary" is, in fact, not the ongoing saga of what I consume on most mornings. It's actually based on the legend of the Bloody Mary Witch that comes out of the mirror if you call her name. Stecenko actually comes from a cinematography background, so, if anything, the film's worth checking out simply for the way that it's shot, where he used both 35mm and HD mediums.

I can't beleive it, but the Uwe Boll madness continues, although his power does seem to be fading. There's been Boll releases the last two weeks and, although he didn't direct, write or have any creative input on it, he did executive produce "They Wait". It stars Jaime King, who you probably know more-so because she was one of the world's top fashion models - turned actress. I'm trying to think what film or TV project she'd be best known for, but nothing really stands out. She was in "Sin City", "White Chicks" and "Blow". Either way, "They Wait" is an original film, heavily based on J-horror story lines. A couple returns to North America, having lived in Shanghai, and soon after they arrive, their son see's ghosts and suffers possessions... and it's all tied to the Chinese festival of Ghost Month, when the doors of hell open and angry spirits are given the chance to terrorize the living.

Now, I'm not sure if "Last Horror Movie" (which is all Amazon is offering up, as far as information) is actually "The Last Horror Movie", which is the British film directed by Julian Richards, originally released in 2003. If it is, it won tons of awards and was considered to be fairly groundbreaking in that it 'broke the fourth wall' and used 'meta-reference', meaning it addressed the audience. It about a disturbed wedding video Camerman and his assistant who just taped over a horror film that YOU, the audience, just rented. Now, I thought this was already available through Fangoria's 'Gore Zone', so I really don't know if this is the same film or not. I'll check back and find out... (upon further inspection, I think that previous link is now defunct. If you're interested in "The Last Horror Movie" that I was talking about above, click here)

Could this really be the second week in a row that we've had a release with Hercules himself, Kevin Sorbo, in it? That can only mean one thing... it's another Sci-Fi original release! "Never Cry Werewolf" also stars Nina Dobrev from "Degrassi: The Next Generation" and it was directed by Brenton Spencer, who's spent a lot of time directing TV shows, such as "Stargate: Atlantis", "Earth: Final Conflict" and "Andromeda". He's also clocked a lot of hours in the cinematography department, having worked as a DP on a ton of projects. It's basically a rip-off of "Fright Night", but is supposedly pretty good. (I haven't seen it) I would like to make a side note here. Is it me, or does it seem like werewolf movies are making a bit of a comeback? I'm seeing more and more of them, although they all seem to be of the low-budget variety. That doesn't mean anything, though... that's usually where it all starts.

Is "The Breed" really just coming out now? I saw this forever ago... anyhow, it came out in 2006 and was directed by Nicholoas Mastandrea and stars Michelle Rodriguez. It's Mastandrea's directorial debut and it wasn't too bad, to be honest. It was produced by Wes Craven and it's really about a bunch of rabid dogs on a deserted island. There's not mythical creatures or anything, just an entire island filled with a vicious breed of dogs who like to kill people.

Film Fest Updates: Catching up with Butchers Hill, Dead Moon Rising and the Chance brothers.

I'm going to take a different angle with our film fest updates by taking a look at three films that we covered a while ago and see how they're doing on the festival circuit, as well as tell you a bit about the festivals they're in. I'll link to everything, so you can go check out all the stuff I'm talking about here.

"Butchers Hill" is a short film that we covered forever ago... well, January 9th, 2008, which is almost forever ago. Here's the link. And since then, they've been doing nothing but kicking some serious ass with it. They've now acquired the support of three major companies in LA and London who have pushed "Butchers Hill" right into the last stages of fundraising. They screened it at "Fantasia Fest", which is one of the biggest genre festivals of the year and, according to them it "was an amazing festival". When it screened, they had a turn out of over 400 people, tremendous cheers and support along with very kind words spoken from chop top himself, Bill Moseley. With that success, they've now been invited to screen at 4 upcoming film festivals: Fantastic Fest in Austin, TX (Sept), Sitges International in Sitges, Barcelona (Oct), Screamfest in LA, (Oct) and Leeds International in Leeds, UK (Nov). Here's a link to the "Butchers Hill" website.

Another film that we covered forever ago was "The Veil", here's the link. Now, the guys behind "The Veil", the Chance brothers, come up with a sci-fi short called "The Day I Tried To Live" not too long ago and, not to take anything away from the "The Veil", but they sure upped their game on this one. "The Day I Tried To Live" was an unreal short film and they did SO much with so little. If you can get a chance to see it, it's well worth it... it's really what low-budget filmmaking is all about. It was last shown at the Portobello film festival on the 3rd of September and it won Best Guerilla film. It also won the Xristos Award at the AOF Film Festival held in Pasadena, L.A. Now, they've made another short horror film called "Chainmail" and it's going to be showing on Satellite TV on SKY 195, Sept 14th @ 10PM and it'll reach an audience of 8 - 14 Million people in Europe and the UK! In any case, these guys are getting things done these days! Check out any of their stuff, if you can. For more info on the Chance brothers, go to their site - chance-encounters.org

Lastly, "Dead Moon Rising" was one of our favorite low budget horrors of the year, mostly because it was just so damned ambitious. Well, "Dead Moon Rising" continues, over a year later, to infect the film festivals. It'll be screening at Scarefest , which is this weekend - Sept 12, 13 & 14 - in Lexington, KY. We've talked about Scarefest, but to touch on it again, they're set to host a lot of great celebrities such as Sid Haid and Bill Moseley from House of 1000 Corpses, Kane Hodder from Friday the 13th, PJ Soles from Halloween, Tony Todd from Candyman, Michael Berryman form The Hills Have Eyes, and many more.

Dead Harvey inteviews Denise Gossett, founder/festival director of Shriekfest

We here at Dead Harvey are steadfast in our devotion to the indie horror filmmaker, we aim to be a complete and full resource for you. That, my good reader, is our goal. Now, whether or not we succeed is another story, but hey... at least you know where we're coming from. As you may or may not know, we've interviewed lots of indie horror filmmakers and have a massive amount of insight and advice compiled in our Dead Harvey Film School section from them, but recently we've been trying to interview people in other facets of the indie horror scene. So, since getting into the festivals is almost as important as getting distribution, we've been concentrating on trying to talk with festival directors. This time around, we talk to Denise Gossett, the founder and festival director of Shriekfest. Shriekfest is both a competition horror film festival and a horror screenwriting competition AND it's one of the best of the year. If you're going to be entering indie horror film festivals, this is one of the 'musts'. For more info, you can go to the Shriekfest homepage here.

Please tell us a bit about yourself… how’d you get into indie horror?

My name is Denise Gossett. I have been in the industry for 16 years, primarily as an actress. I can be seen on such tv shows as "Veronica Mars", "The New Adventures of Old Christine", "Mind of Mencia", a recurring role on "Zoey 101", "Drake & Josh", etc. I am also the founder/festival director of Shriekfest Horror/SciFi Film Festival and Screenplay Competition. I moved to Los Angeles from Orlando, FL.

Tell us a bit about Shriekfest… when and why did it get started?

Shriekfest is in it's 8th year. I came up with the idea to do a genre festival after I starred in the horror film "Chain of Souls". I had asked the director and producer what they were going to do with the film and they said, straight to video and I asked how about festivals? They replied that there weren't really any horror festivals out there...and that's where the idea came from! I told my sister in law my idea and she said let's do it. Since then she has moved back to Michigan to raise her son and her brother, my husband, Todd Beeson has been my partner ever since.

From the perspective of the film, why should indie horror filmmakers try to get their films into festivals?

I think indie horror filmmakers need all the help and exposure they can get. I know from the past that films who get in festivals have an easier chance at getting distribution, agents, managers, etc.

From the perspective of the filmmaker, what can I expect to get out of having my film screen at the festival?

Well, Raleigh Studios, where we hold the festival, has an excellent screening facility. We've been told many times by filmmakers that their film has never looked so good as when it screened in Shriekfest. We also invite a lot of distributors, agents, press, etc to the festival and try to get as much recognition as we can for the filmmakers/screenwriters. All year long we get contacted by distributors, investors, agents, etc and I will always refer a project that I personally liked. I still refer films/screenplays from our first year back in 2001!

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

You can expect to see top notch indie horror films! And, the filmmakers are usually in attendance so you get to meet them as well.

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

We are looking for good films and screenplays. This means...good quality, good story, good acting...basically a complete package. They don't have to be scary or gory. There are a lot of horror comedies our there too.

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

Yes, I think you should think of those things, if the festival circuit is your goal. Make sure it's a quality product. Make it tight...don't submit films that are over 2 hours...even studio films that long can rarely hold one's attention. Think of the audience that the festival attracts. Check out some of the other films they've received to see the quality that they accept. What part of the country is the festival?

Are there any particular success stories from films that screened at Shriekfest?

Oh, there are tons! We have a whole page on our website that talks about some of them. (find that here) I would say that every feature that has screened at Shriekfest has gotten distribution and a lot of the shorts have as well...because dvd compilations are very popular right now. People have gotten agents and sold scripts too!

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

Be persistent, don't give up. Let's keep raising the quality of the horror films out there...horror deserves the same respect that any other genre gets. Make what you love and don't ever give up on your dreams!

Tell us about the future of indie horror, where do you see it going?

Well, with all of the new technologies, I see indie horror really going far...I see the films looking better and better and with horror losing it's stygma, we are now seeing more and more top quality actors willing to act in horror films. I think it's getting smarter too...not every horror film is the same anymore, we are getting more intelligent with the horror films/scripts.

What’s next for you and Shriekfest?

For me, I am starring in a Western film in the next month playing a gunslinger and then after that I have another film I'm working on called Take One. (DH - check out denisegossett.com) And for Shriekfest...more of the same and bigger and better things...some things are in the works...it will be a big surprise.

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

shriekfest.com - Entry form and all the info is on the site...plus google Shriekfest and check out past press articles and past reviews from filmmakers and screenwriters. You can tell alot about a festival by what people say about it who aren't involved with it.

Zombies Eat Brains And Clay

Horror's reach is absolutely never ending, it's tentacles have slithered their way into every medium and it's been made into so many sub-genres. For example, I watched "Fringe" last night, which I thought was great, by the way... and it had horror elements, mixed with Sci-Fi, and it's a big network TV show. Some would say that horror's made it's way into music, with guys like Necro, Cradle of Filth and, especially, Rob Zombie, who embody horror elements. Of course, there's film, where you get psycho-thrillers, gore-fests, slasher flicks, you name it... it's almost rare to see a film that doesn't have some element of horror involved. So, as horrors reach continues, sometimes I think we're near a saturation point... I mean, where else could people take it? But, when I saw "Zombies Eat Brains And Clay", I realized that we may still be on the tip of the iceberg here.

What's "Zombies Eat Brains And Clay", you ask? Well, eventually, it's going to be a feature length claymation film. Currently, it's a short film on Youtube, which you'll find embedded below, plus it's a Myspace page, which you'll find here.

After watching it and going through their Myspace page, I feel like I've learned a couple things here. One, I love blood and guts that are made out of clay... who knew? Secondly, it just made me think about how there's so much more that can be done in horror. Every time I think I've seen it all, I see something new... on some new medium or in some new form. Whether you think out of the box on how you distribute your idea or content OR you think outside the box on what your idea or content is... the fact remains that there's endless new routes to take out there. We shouldn't get stuck in thinking that you have to make a 90 minute film that conforms to what Hollywood considers standard or acceptable. Get busy making something that isn't standard (or acceptable) and then go find an audience any way you can.

Until then, enjoy some zombies that, as the title states, eat brains and clay...

Dead Harvey Interviews Erik Soulliard, writer/director of "The Creek"

When indie horror filmmakers set out to make their film, a lot of them rely on gore, nudity and comedy to make up for their lack of budget. And, I really don't have anything against that, it just happens to be the way it is and, quite personally, I like it. However, every once in a while I'll come across an indie horror that relys on story, "The Creek" is one of those films. It's definitely a horror, as it's filled with tense moments, there's a fair share of gore and there's a menacing ghost, but what drew me into the film was its really well done story. The film is about six friends who are forced back together by the ghost of their deceased buddy, but when they head up to woods, which happens to be where that buddy died, people start dying. So, is it the ghost, is it one of them or is it because they returned to "The Creek"? It's written, produced, edited and directed by Erik Soulliard and Dead Harvey had the opportunity to ask him about the film... it's a lengthy interview, but he offers some great advice, insight and stories.

First off, tell us about yourself as a filmmaker. Who are your influences? What’s your directing style like?

I am originally from Lebanon, Pa. After college I moved to the NYC metro area in early 2000. Once in the city, I started to establish myself as an actor doing a lot of student and independent film. The city is great for student and independent projects, unfortunately, most never get completed and about 5% ever see the light of day. I began to write screenplays in college and continued writing afterwards. I met a lot of talented people on many of the shoots I was on as an actor. After years of working on other people’s projects I decided to do my own short. This way I could guarantee that the project would get finished. I contacted the people I worked with in the past such as Jason Contino and we collaborated on my short Interrogation. After this Jason moved on to his own feature. He and his production partner on that project tapped me for a sizeable part in their film The Murder Game. Working with Jason has always been a fun experience so when it came time to shoot The Creek I immediately got in touch with him. I also was fortunate enough to bring in James Hollenbaugh, an old classmate from Millersville, as my AD. We only knew each other peripherally from school but quickly hit it off on The Creek. Both Jim and Jason brought a great deal of production experience and resources to the film. I know I’m drifting from the question but what The Creek became and my style of direction was strongly influenced by both Jason and Jim and I felt as though it was important to recognize the both of them before moving on.

My directing style is very collaborative. I did have a full storyboard done before the shoot. We followed it very closely and it was invaluable when shooting on such a tight schedule. However, there were many times when Jason would set a frame and say, “Take a look at this.” Frequently, his on-set instincts were on the money and we would grab his shot in place of the storyboard shot and or get both. His shots often won out in the edit room. Jim also had a great deal of influence on the shoot. As my AD Jim was my eyes behind the camera while I was in front of it. We would frequently talk about the scene ahead of time so he knew what I was after. If he felt we weren’t getting there or saw something that I couldn’t due to being in the scene he would always call me over and we’d review it. Film lends itself to collaboration very easily and I feel we all had a great experience on set because everyone was contributing. Working this way is great when everyone is on the same page. Luckily for me my DP and AD worked well together and when it was time for an executive decision both understood that as Director it was my call and immediately rallied behind the new course of action.

My influences are almost embarrassing because everything they have accomplished is so much greater than what we did on this tiny film. I am a big fan of Tim Burton, Alfred Hitchcock, and David Fincher to name a few. Each varies greatly from the other but each has a unique vision and style that I admire. We obviously weren’t trying to imitate any one person’s style.

Film School: Yes or No?

Sort of. I do have a BS in Broadcasting from Millersville University so in some ways it was related. It was far from a film program but it did give me the fundamental skills to write scripts and I was first exposed to non-linear editing there.

Where did the idea for “The Creek” come from and what made you actually get off your ass and go make it?

Well, the “what made you actually get off your ass and go make it” question I discussed in the first answer. I’ve always loved film and although acting was my main focus for many years I’ve always been interested in filmmaking as a whole. Once I got more experience on sets and started editing and writing more I realized that I could combine all my interests. Now, this isn’t always the best thing because it’s hard to focus on any one area when you’re doing so much but it’s been a great learning experience. I don’t regret doing so much on The Creek but I have figured out all the areas that I need someone better than myself to handle on the next project. I’ve also fought through the jobs that I now know I definitely don’t want to do the next time. On The Creek I had to wear many hats out of necessity but from that I now have a much greater understanding of the process.

The idea for The Creek came from a mixture of things. The first thought was that I wanted to do something in the thriller/horror genre. The second thought was that for my first feature I didn’t want to go too far out of the box and sort of “out unique” myself. The third thought was to figure out what assets we had at our disposal to utilize.

I went with thriller/horror because it’s such a great genre with great fans and I love that you’re not always stuck in reality. The supernatural is always something fun to work with and many of my other scripts have an element of the supernatural to them so it wasn’t a stretch. My interests lean more toward thriller than horror and that is clearly reflected in the movie.

When I say I didn’t want to go too far out of the box I mean that my other writings tend to be far less straight-forward. My short Interrogation leaned far more toward experimental because it mixed multiple genres. I feel strongly that I mixed quite a few genres with The Creek as well but I think it is much more straight-forward. I did go into The Creek with a firm belief that you can make a thriller/horror and still mix some drama in it. Granted, The Creek is in no way high art but I do feel the complex relationships between the characters is much greater than the usual offering in a normal horror film. I’ve always felt that the characters coming back together after five years and how they are reacting to that is more of the story than the actual ghost and people dying. I’ve gotten reviews where people completely get that aspect of the film and I’ve gotten reviews where they only see the horror. Either way I’m happy as long as they like the film.

The overall idea of The Creek was to make something that I personally liked but at the same time make something that had the potential to get out into mainstream outlets.

The third component was what we had available as pertaining to locations, housing for actors, etc. I sat down and made a list of possible locations we could get for free. I also considered availability of help and support from friends and family who I knew would graciously volunteer services to us. I also had a strong desire to shoot in PA around my hometown. I think that the variety of landscapes and locations in PA are amazing and I knew I wanted to work with crew from that area.

How did you go about securing financing and what was the approx budget?

Securing finances was the big obstacle in doing the film. I did feel that there were avenues of possible investors for the film but these would have been friends and family. Seeing that this was our first feature and it was going to be ultra low budget, we were very concerned with going this route. At the time of shooting I knew people who had also done their own feature projects but no one had been financially successful. We were very concerned that the added pressure of financing with money from such close personal ties would be too much. Also, the strong possibility of financial failure for the project made this just too risky. My wife and I had a long conversation about all these things and decided to take the financial responsibility ourselves. Thanks to a then booming housing market we were able to secure a home equity loan for the film. Keeping within the tradition of independent film we did end up also having one family investor for a small portion of our budget. We tried to turn it down but in the end we appreciated the support and it did allow us those few extra equipment perks we greatly needed. In the end the support of family and friends in non-monetary ways was also amazing. Our primary locations were donated by close friends and their family. Our food was supplied by alternating family members each week of shooting. Even our housing for our out of town actors and crew were supplied by family. It’s safe to say that this shoot could not have occurred without all of this help and was just as important as any investors. Without this help our budget would have increased by at least 25%.

I tend to keep the budget of the film under wraps. I believe once or twice I’ve slipped but I don’t like to give figures. People tend to have expectations either good or bad when they know the budget. In some ways it’s good because we can surprise them but in some ways it biases the audience. I will say that it was less than a new Volkswagen, which Volkswagen I won’t say.

What did you shoot on and how long was the shoot?

We shot on the DVX100 B in 24P.

Our shoot was an 18-day shoot that ran Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights for six weeks. Each week everyone on the cast and crew worked their day jobs or at least half of them and then came to set and shot from 7pm until 6am. Thursday nights were tough to say the least. I would leave my job in NYC at noon, take the train to NJ, meet our two actresses from NYC in NJ at 2pm and then drive to PA. We’d arrive at about 6pm, have an hour to get settled before reporting to set at 7pm, then work until sunrise Friday morning.

What struck me the most about the film was the story. There was a great hook, then… all of a sudden, it was like “Shoot to Kill”, where you have a group of people in the woods, you know one of them is the killer, you just don’t know who. Tell us about the process of writing the script…

Thanks for the compliment on the story! Glad you mentioned the early hook. I really wanted to have that quick unexpected event to pull people in early. Again, we didn’t have a big budget so I wanted to grab people’s attention as soon as possible.

I talked a little about how the locations affected the script earlier so I won’t bore you with that again. I really enjoyed writing a script about six people coming back together after a horrible accident. I had one review that summarized the movie as a mix between The Big Chill and The Grudge. I was really happy with that comparison. On one level I really wanted to have that underlying tension/suspense that The Grudge had while at the same time I hoped people would enjoy the drama between these six mostly ex-friends. I think most people transition through different groups of friends throughout their lives, particularly between early teens and thirties. Every group of friends I ever had contained those typical character types. Inside the group there is always that struggle of conflicting personalities but usually there is that one person who keeps everyone together. In this case that person is gone so when they come back together it’s sort of a no-holds-barred kind of experience. There is no more need for tolerance or niceties. I’m a dialogue person so I really enjoyed writing those scenes where everyone’s true colors come out.

Next, tell us how you went about accomplishing the ghost effect. I thought it was great, very believable.

First and foremost I believe that ghosts MUST BE translucent. You just can’t have a solid ghost. I’ve seen people do it but it never works for me. We did test shooting early on and decided that plate shots were our best option. A plate shot works great as long as you don’t have camera movement. Of course bigger budget films can afford equipment which allows this but we did not.

My second concern was make-up. I had high expectations for this and we knew of an amazing make-up artist named Sandy Andrle (sandyandrle.com) so I knew she’d knock it out of the park. Sandy and I talked and she had some great ideas to give our ghost a unique look. The make-up took about two hours but it was well worth it.

Once we had a final cut of the film I passed the ghost footage on to Justin Harrell and Michael George for the final touch. They worked in After Effects to give the Ghost a light glow so as to bring in a more ethereal feel to him.

Tell us about some of the hurdles you overcame to get the film done. Any advice you can pass on to other indie filmmakers who might be just setting out to make a film.

The biggest hurdle is having good people to work with and enough of them. We had a small crew but we had a good crew. We hired the people you need to really give it a professional look and sound. A lot of independent producers try to get away without a sound man, a gaffer, professional lighting or make-up. The majority of our budget went to professional lighting equipment and experienced people who knew the jobs we needed them for. Granted, no one is huge in the industry at this point but everyone had worked in their positions prior to this shoot and had marketable experience. Everyone brought something to the table.

The second thing I highly recommend is organization. Many of the shoots I’ve been on have fallen prey to their own lack of organization. We spent a good amount of time making sure we had as much ready in pre-production as possible. Obviously you’re going to hit things along the way you didn’t expect, it wouldn’t be a movie if you didn’t, but being prepared ahead of time allows those things to be manageable.

After it was all said and done, what would you have done differently?

There’s a ton of things I would have done differently if I could have but the truth is it all required more money and more time and we had none of both. There are of course little things here and there like some shots I would maybe get a little different but overall I’m very happy with the end results given our resources.

There’s just such a big difference in the way you have to shoot when your budget is so low. Honestly for anyone to even say we made a movie is a compliment even if they hated it. If you ask the general public how much a low budget movie costs you’re going to get an answer in the millions. To filmmakers like myself that would be a dream! If you give a world class chef a can of spam, a loaf of bread, and ketchup you don’t expect him to be able to make a meal let alone a good one. Filmmakers on this level are doing just that. I feel as though we made a meal and a pretty good one. Now how good it is is up to the individual audience. So far we appear to be falling somewhere between fast food and a cheap sit-down restaurant. I’m more than happy with that.

Talk about the festival circuit. What did you learn? And what can you pass on to other filmmakers who’ve finished an indie horror and want to enter it into festivals?

We entered into a good number of festivals and ended up playing in five during the fall of 2007, one this spring, and another coming up in September 2008. So we managed to get in a total of seven with the highlight being our win of Best Feature Horror at the Illinois International Film Festival. We decided to enter festivals and then after we played in them, start looking for distribution. In retrospect, we should have entered festivals and immediately started looking for distribution. The festival process from submission to actually playing is long and drawn out. That time could have been used better to start our search for distribution. We felt that we’d do the festival circuit first and hopefully get some attention from distributors but that isn’t necessarily the case at this level.

Before I go ahead I’d like to say that we were ECSTATIC for every festival we landed. You have to understand that first and foremost! There’s a TON of films that never get into any festivals. So we are very pleased with our run. BUT here again the budget comes into play. We do have some actors with experience but we do not have “Name” actors. That is a big thing when it comes to the bigger festivals where distributors are attending. Is it possible to have no names in your film and play a big festival? Of course it is and people will name those few films that had the perfect hook or the marketing that did it. The truth is that’s the 1%. If you don’t have a “name” in your film it is very very very hard to get accepted into LARGE mainstream festivals. There are so many movies out there with the resources to shoot on film or high end HD and the ability to attach a name or two. I mean seriously, is a festival going to take our little film over some 500k-1million dollar movie that was shot on 35mm and has two sitcom stars from the 80’s and the guy who played in one of the most memorable horror films of all time? No way! Is that film better than ours? Depends on who you talk to but probably not. But that’s the way the business works. That’s what we found out ourselves and also what other filmmakers we’ve met have said.
So what I’m trying to pass on is keep your expectations in check. Don’t get me wrong, spend some money and send to the BIG festivals if you can. You might be the 1% but realize it might not happen so send to that weird little horror festival in the middle of nowhere too. Those festivals can be your best friend! Also, those festivals are getting hundreds of submissions so be proud if they accept you. Again, most films don’t play anywhere.

What about distribution? How’s that going? Are there any lessons that you would pass on to other indie filmmakers who’ve just finished a film?

We have signed distribution with a great company called Indie-Pictures (indie-pictures.com). Our street date is October 28th 2008 and you can pre-order the film now from the Indie-Pictures Coming Soon page.

My main advice for distribution is do your homework. We were offered multiple deals but many of them we found out were with less than reputable companies. Don’t get me wrong, they had a great website, they said all the right things, the contracts looked great but once I started contacting filmmakers whose films were released through them I found the true story. Independent filmmakers are amazing when it comes to helping each other out. Every time we received an offer I would hit IMDB and look up all the films they’ve put out. From there I’d track down directors and producers from those films and start emailing. Within two days I’d have enough feedback to know which way I wanted to go. Always remember that other independent filmmakers are your best friends when it comes to distribution.

Where can people find out more about “The Creek” or, better yet, buy a copy?

The Creek will be in most major DVD outlets on October 28th, 2008. You can find out all the current info on The Creek at thecreekmovie.com. I already mentioned where you can pre-order but because I’m a whore so I’ll say it again. Visit indie-pictures.com, go to their catalogue page and click on coming soon or go here. We should be hitting the Indie-Pictures homepage in September. I believe we just got listed on Amazon.com but they don’t have our full listing yet. Type in The Creek + Erik Soulliard and it’ll take you right there and you can bypass all the Dawson’s Creek DVD’s. Thanks in advance to everyone who picks up a copy!!!

What’s next? Do you have any projects in the works?

We do have a couple other scripts written but there’s one in particular we are looking to do next titled 12 Bells. We have a starter website up for that at 12bellsmovie.com. We’re really excited about 12 Bells. It’s going to be a big step up from The Creek. As you’d expect, the budget is going up and we’re planning on attaching a couple names. Currently we’re in the very early stages of pre-production and are looking for investors to fill out our budget.

Thanks again for the interview! We’re very excited to be featured on Dead Harvey!

September 9, 2008 - New Horror Out This Week: This week's for YOU, fans of Uwe Boll and Tiffany Shepis!

I'll give this week a C+, potentially a B- in releases. If you're an Uwe Boll fan or a Tiffany Shepis fan, you'll think it's an A day, for sure. Remember, you can click on the titles to buy them from Amazon and/or go to our Youtube page and check out all the trailers...

Uwe Boll fans rejoice! It's the second Boll film in as many weeks. Last week, we had "Postal" and now "Seed" tears video stores a new a-hole. So, "Seed" is based upon the fact that, according to US Federal law, if a death row inmate gets the electric chair and survives three jolts of 15,000 volts each for 45 seconds, he/she gets to go free. Well, that's actually bullshit, but it didn't stop them from making the film. When Max Seed survives three volts, is buried alive, then claws his way to the surface, he's hell-bent on vengeance. The film was shot a few years ago for around $10Million and I don't think it had much of a theatrical release. As it's Uwe Boll, there's a lot I could talk about here, but I'll just say this - you have to give credit to Boll for one thing. He's done what only the elite of the elite in Hollywood have been able to do... he completely transcends his films. Like Spielberg or Scorcesse, you don't care about the title as much as the fact that it's an Uwe Boll film. Good or bad, he's made his mark... and a career.

It's almost fitting that when an Uwe Boll film comes out, there's also an Ulli Lommel film. Even though Ulli's a lot older, he's sort of the poor man's Uwe. This week's Lommel film is "Son of Sam"... and, WTF Ulli? Seriously. Ulli Lommel is the guy behind all the serial killer films and they're all just so-so. You know, there was "Zodiac Killer", followed by "B.T.K. Killer", then "Green River Killer", followed by "Killer Pickton", right before "Cannibal", which was... yeah, you get the picture. In fact, he did 17 serial killer films in 4 years. No shit. Lommel is right up there with Boll, but isn't quite the character that Uwe is. Lommel's claim to fame is directing one of the biggest indie horror hits of all time, which was "The Boogeyman" in 1980. He made it for $300K and it went on to gross $25Million and I guess that was enough for him to keep on making movies...

I guess zombies and strippers just make a good combo. First there was "Zombie Strippers" and now "Zombies! Zombies! Zombies! - Strippers VS Zombies". However, I think they added the "Strippers vs Zombies" bit later. Either way, I like zombies... and I like strippers. I don't see why we can't turn this into Sci-Fi series, it makes way more sense than Werewolf Strippers or Zombies vs Nuns or something. Maybe in the next incarnation, zombies can infect an all-girls Catholic school, and the surviving group of hot school girls can be rescued by a pack of vampires or something? Okay, if I see that film, give me credit at least. "Zombies! Zombies! Zombies!" stars everyone's favorite scream queen, Tiffany Shepis, and a whole bunch of other hot chicks. It's the directorial debut from Jason Murphy and it was written by Anthony Steven Giordano. The plot revolves around... really, do you care? Zombies and Strippers, 'nough said.

Tiffany Shepis has another film out this week, this one's called "Nympha" and it's directed by Ivan Zuccon. Zuccon's made a few other films, mostly in his native Italy, including "Bad Brains" and "The Shunned House". (I think it's Italy, I'm not sure... my apologies if I'm wrong) "Nympha" is about a young English girl named Sarah, who goes to Italy to take vows needed to become a cloister nun of the 'New Order' Convent... however, the rules of this convent are torture. So, violence, disturbing content, nudity and lesbianism ensue.

"Manje", directed by Josh Muscatine, is about nine friends who take a vacation to end the mourning period of one of their beloved, but a tenth member has joined the festivities and he has less joyous ideas in mind. This is Muscatine's directorial debut, although it looks like he's been involved in the editorial department for almost two decades. The trailer looks pretty f'ing good, it looks very indie and I can't find much more out about it, so I may have to delve a little deeper into this one and find out what it's all about.

"Awakening" was originally called "Zombie Night II", as it was the follow up to 2003's "Zombie Night". Also, it looks like it originally came out in 2006, but that doesn't mean much. A lot of indie films toil around for a while, trying to find a distributor. The film is from David J. Francis, who's also made two other zombie films, the afore mentioned "Zombie Night" and this year's "Reel Zombies". It's a fairly low-budget indie horror and it looks like the film's got everything you need, from nudity, zombies and midgets, to... well, what else do you need? Check out the trailer, it looks great.

"Vampires Vs. Zombies" is actually a few years old, so I'm not sure why it's being rereleased already. It's from director Vince D'Amato and it was originally called "Carmilla", before The Asylum decided to cash in on the "Freddy vs. Jason" crowd, which just came out when they originally released this. Also, the film was cut by over three minutes in North America due to comic bloodshed and one shot of oral necrophilia... potentially, this release restores all that, I'm not sure. Do note, if you do check this out, the biggest disappointment will be that at no point in the film do vampires actually combat zombies. So, the title, you know... kinda lies... but if I can see some oral necrophilia, it might make up for it.

"Something Beneath" stars Kevin Sorbo and was directed by David Winning. It's a Sci-Fi Original movie, so know what you're getting into there. Actually, David Winning has made some of the best Sci-Fi Original films that came out, so... take that for what it's worth. However, I do dig this one because it's sort of an homage to "The Blob", as it's about a slime that amasses on the lake front and seeps into rooms, but Hercules discovers that the slime is actually a massive cellular organism living in the sewer system that's highly intelligent and capable of inducing fearful hallucinations in its victims.

Linkapalooza - September 8, 2008: Woody's Battling Zombies and other stuff going on in the industry

I meant to have the up for this morning, but a bunch of shit came up today... so, you get it now. Excuse me all to hell.

Woody Harrelson versus the zombies on THR.com: Now, this seems like an odd project... not because it's another zombie comedy, but because it's from the guys who brought you "The Joe Schmo Show". Well, it's written by them, anyhow. Even odder, it's being directed by Ruben Fleischer, who's directed a few episodes of "The Jimmy Kimmel" show and not much else. I can't say I know too much about those guys, but good on 'em. Having said that, I can't believe that the zombie genre, let alone the zombie-comedy sub-genre, is still going strong and they're still green lighting a bunch of them. Whatever... doesn't bother me. I'm not sick of them.

Paramount Pictures acquires Screenlife on THR.com: I'm sure a lot of people glossed over this news when they saw it, but I think it's kind of cool, just for the rationale behind the acquisition. First off, Screenlife is the company that makes that video based game, "Scene It?". You know, where you throw the DVD in, it shows you clips, etc? Well, I'm not sure that Paramount gives a flying F about the game, BUT it does give a crap about digital content platforms and they see Screenlife as a portal to use digital media. So, just to keep reiterating my point - don't think of your film as a film... think about it as content. Then, think about all the different ways you can get that content infront of eyeballs.

Lonely Girl Seeks Money on Forbes.com: You remember the Youtube series, Lonely Girl 15... or is that lonelygirl15? I can't recall. Anyhow, remember how millions of people got all enthralled by it, thinking it was real... then it was revealed that it was actually a produced show? Well, the guys behind Lonely Girl, Miles Beckett and Greg Goodfried, are back... and this time they want to get paid. The new project is called "LG 15: The Resistance". ...and, no, I'm not kidding. It's about "a group (that) battles a powerful secret society bent on controlling rare young girls whose genetic code offers the key to the fountain of youth." Regardless of whether or not you think that premise is ridiculous, what isn't ridiculous is the way they're distributing it. Not only will it go through web video aggregator's such as Myspace and Hulu, they're creating an in depth LG15 website where fans will "drive how each weekly show is edited for its weekly debut: by interacting with blog posts, short videos and puzzle-solving." Further to that, they're looking for real advertising dollars through product integration, web banners and short videos that are sponsored, so that users will interact with the brand that's sponsoring it. Premise of the story... could be a little off. How they're executing it... spot on.

Cable tries to keep command of crucial pipeline on Marketwatch.com: Oh, just another article on how the cable companies that deliver broadband to homes will be the media distribution companies and gate-keepers of the future. The internet, it's not just for porn anymore... although, it's still quite good for porn.

Fans Go Viral Over Fox's 'Fringe' on Adage.com: This is an article on JJ Abrahams and how he kicks ass at viral marketing. He's an f'ing genius at taking something that's two dimensional and making it jump off the screen through marketing efforts. This show hasn't even aired yet and, already, people are going nuts over "Fringe"... I'm a little excited. We'll see.

Dead Harvey Interviews Ted Alderman

Ted Alderman is not only a producer, director, actor and martial artist, but also the founder of Wicked Dreams Entertainment (Scream Farm, The Deepening, Vampyre Tales. Ted was kind enough to give us an interview, tell us about his influences, and the steps he's taken to amass such an impressive amount of work in both the indie. and Hollywood film bizz. Thank's for the interview, Ted! Keep up the great work!

DH: You've worked as producer, director and actor. Tell us which you prefer the most and why?

TA: I really prefer working as an actor. I enjoy being able to work in different roles and it challenges me more to bring out what different directors want.

DH: Film school: yes or no?

TA: I personally didn't take film school, but I do agree that it's a great choice due to getting the full aspect of different jobs that go on during a shoot. That way you're already familiar with that type of atmosphere.

DH: What films and/or artists have inspired you the most?

TA: Chuck Norris has most inspired me to get into both martial arts and films. Next is Patrick Swayze for the guts to challenge himself to perform so many different type of roles in his career. As far as films, I would say in the action genre would be "Revenge of the Ninja" and "Moulin Rouge" in the drama genre.

DH: Talk about how your skills in martial arts, stunt work, etc., have added to and incorporated themselves into you career.

TA: When I first wanted to get into films I wanted to be a fight choreographer. Every film I watched I would study each and every move and pick what I wanted to use. Then I started acting in Indie films and was given the chance to work the martial arts and stunt work with my acting since most Indie films don't have the budget to hire stunt/fight doubles.

DH: What are the right and wrong steps people take when they first get involved in the business?

TA: The first steps would be is keep promoting yourself. Never think that your name will get out there on it's own. Keep trying to get parts even if you get turned down. You have to keep going. Too many quit early cause they don't get roles they audition for. You may have to go to 100 auditions before you get one job. Also some people have quit due to thinking that they should make it in the biz fast and easy or they think they're going to make a ton of money right off the bat. In the Indie biz you're just not. In fact a lot of your early roles won't even be paid or you have to pay your own travel. Some people just aren't willing to sacrifice that and quit too early. You have to have persistence and just never give up no matter how long it may take to reach your dreams.

DH: As a producer, what elements combine to draw you into a project?

TA: Well I mainly only produce projects that my company 'Wicked Dreams Entertainment' is involved with making. But the elements would include a good story, decent actors and a great film crew.

DH: What your personal favorite project to date?

TA: Not to be biased but I would say "The Deepening". The second film that myself and my business partner/friend, Jim O'Rear made a couple years ago. It's my favorite mainly because I had come up with the original idea for the film. I'm a professional fire fighter so I called up Jim and asked him if he had ever heard of a fireman slasher flick and neither of us had. So I told him that's the next project I wanted to make. I gave him a couple ideas and he had wrote the entire screen play for it himself. Also its the first project I was able to use my martial arts background in a classic bar fight scene like Chuck Norris had done when I was a kid.

DH: What's the best and worst thing about the indie. film business?

TA: The best thing is having the chance to do projects you normally wouldn't have a chance if working in major 'Hollywood' pictures. Being able to do a wide range of different roles to build your resume before trying to move into the 'Hollywood' films. The worst thing is the money. Indie films don't have the budget like major films and you don't make, if any, a lot of money. As stated before, you just have to be willing to work for no or very little pay.

DH: If you had to start over again, would you have done anything differently and why?

TA: Well since I kind of 'fell' into it, I wouldn't of did anything different except that I would of started earlier then I did. But things happen for a reason. When I first met Jim, he really liked my acting ability and cast me in my first feature film "Wolfsbayne" now title "Aconite", we had similar thoughts about things and we just clicked like brothers.

DH: What do you have in store for your fans in the future?

TA: They will have to just wait.... No I'm kidding. I have in store much bigger and better projects coming up for them in the future. I have some things lined up and will keep people up to date on my sites.

DH: Where can people find out more information about
you and, better yet, order your films?

TA: They can check out TedAlderman.com for info on me and my projects. Also there are links to Amazon.com and other sites where they can buy films I've worked on. If anyone wants to see more info and clips of some films I've worked on they can check out Myspace.com/TedAlderman
DH: If you had an unlimited budget, what would your dream movie be and why?

TA: Something with a Renaissance theme to it cause i just love that time era in history. It's the era when men still had honor and chivalry. Something that lacks in today's time. Also Patrick Swayze would have to play my dad and Chuck Norris as my teacher/mentor in it.

Another Short Film From Fewdio - Anniversary

Okay, okay... one more post before we all get into the sauce this weekend.

I'm happy to share the latest short film from Fewdio, this one's called "Anniversary" and it's Marichelle Daywalt's directorial debut. Check it out!




To see all Fewdio's films and find out more about them, go to their site, which can be found here.