Show Don't Tell: Micro-Budget Filmmaking

On this week’s episode, I am joined by Cory Reeder of Renaissance Man Productions. Cory’s path is unlike any other filmmaker I have met - After building a successful career in Orange County working in the music scene, he moved to Los Angeles and started over from scratch. This meant taking work as a PA before he could climb his way back up to the role of director & producer full time.Cory’s tenacity has led him to find amazing success with his work, which has involved creating music video content for some incredible rock bands. Jonathan Davis (Korn), Seether, Of Mice & Men, and Five Finger Death Punch are just a few of the amazing groups he’s worked with in recent years. Over the course of this interview we chat about Cory’s unique career path, his production work, advice for filmmakers, and his involvement with the Easterseals disability challenge - An organization that promotes the involvement of disabled individuals in front of and behind the camera.Links from the show: Cory’s Website - https://www.coryreeder.comCory on Twitter - https://twitter.com/CoryReederCory on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cory_reederCory on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/cory.reederCory’s Easterseals Film - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y139ah9jDKgFor more content like this visit www.noamkroll.com

For this week’s interview, I am joined by Josh Stifter - An incredibly talented, multi-faceted filmmaker who recently appeared on Robert Rodriguez’s Rebel Without A Crew Series. As part of the show, Josh was given $7000 and 14 days to make a feature film with no crew… And he pulled it off.Over the course of our discussion, Josh outlines his experience making his movie under such unusual circumstances, and the many lessons learned along the way. From there, we discuss the importance of embracing the creative process, what it’s like to leave your 40 hour a week job to pursue filmmaking full time, the business side of being a filmmaker, and much more.Links from the show:http://joshstifter.comhttp://www.facebook.com/joshua.j.stifterhttp://instagram.com/flushstudioshttp://twitter.com/joshstifterhttp://patreon.com/flushstudioshttp://youtube.com/flushstudiosFor more content like this visit www.noamkroll.com

If you work in post-production (or just love great movies), chances are you've come across Vashi Nedomansky's work. He an acclaimed ACE editor who has not only cut 11 feature films, but was also tasked with creating the post workflows for Deadpool and David Fincher's Gone Girl.Throughout our conversation, Vashi and I cover a whole lot of ground - Starting from the very first few jobs he booked after retiring from professional hockey, all the way through to lessons learned after two decades in the business. We touch on the common pitfalls that plague many editors today, the critical importance of sound, philosophical and career advice for filmmakers, and so much more. This one is a must listen for all filmmakers!Links from the show:Vashi's WebsiteVashi on TwitterVashi on FacebookVashi on InstagramVashi on LinkedInVashi on YouTubeVashi on IMDBFor more content like this visit www.noamkroll.com

Filmmakers often ask me how to get a competitive edge with their freelancing career or production business, and I almost always give them the same advice:It's not about the gear you have or how big your client list is. It's not even really about your demo reel. Those things may get your foot in the door, but what builds long lasting careers is the client experience. If you can get that right, business growth and opportunity tends to take care of itself.This and much more covered in today's show.For more content like this visit www.noamkroll.com

Many filmmakers were told early on in their careers to specialize in only one field and to master a single skill. But as the landscape of content creation continues to evolve, creative generalists - especially those who emphasize post production - are proving that this theory may no longer hold the same weight.In this episode, I make a case for embracing a generalist approach to filmmaking, outlining how it allows DIY filmmakers to make better movies for less money, and in less time than ever before. Topics covered include: Breaking the "jack of all trades" stigma, the financial benefits of mastering post production, educating yourself on fundamental editorial/finishing skills, when you should (or shouldn't) hire outside help, and loads more.For more content like this visit www.noamkroll.com

This week, I’m excited to have Alex Ferrari of Indie Film Hustle back on the show. Alex was last on the podcast back on Episode 44, when we chatted about his film This Is Meg, and his process developing and producing his DIY film which eventually sold to Hulu.Today, Alex has returned to chat about his latest book: Shooting For The Mob. The book is based on Alex’s real life experience getting hired by the mob at age 26 to make a movie for them. He outlines the story behind the story, how he adapted this real life experience into a novel, and why it was absolutely critical for him to tell this story. Over the course of the interview, we also delve into many other topics, including: tackling the creative process as a whole, finding your way as a filmmaker, and achieving success on the business side of show business. Links from the show:IFH on Facebook - www.Facebook.com/indiefilmhustleIFH on Twitter - www.Twitter.com/indiefilmhustleIFH on Instagram - www.Instagram.com/ifilmhustleIFHTV - www.IFHTV.comShooting For The Mob - https://www.amazon.com/Shooting-Mob-based-Incredible-Story/dp/194808063X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3RAHIUEGZVN38&keywords=shooting+for+the+mob&qid=1551981886&s=gateway&sprefix=shooting+for+the+%2Caps%2C186&sr=8-1 For more content like this visit www.noamkroll.com

On this week’s episode, I interview two amazing filmmakers - Hannah Black and Megan Petersen - who are in post-production for their $50K micro-budget feature Drought. Having never made a feature before, they were able to write an incredible script, raise $25K in crowdfunding through Seed & Spark, and an additional $25K through the Duplass Brothers who are Executive Producers on the project.Over the course of the interview we cover their entire process from A to Z - From the development of their first screenplay draft to shooting the movie in 18 days, and pushing through post-production with their sights set on a festival run - Not letting anything stop them along the way, including a massive hurricane that hit in the middle of production!Links from the show:Mark Duplass SXSW Keynote - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZeWOAliA6YHannah on Facebook - http://facebook.com/hannahblackHannah on Instagram - http://instagram.com/hannahfrazelleblackMegan on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/megan.petersen.545Megan on Instagram - http://instagram.com/megan.petersen.ilmDrought The Movie on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/droughtthemovieDrought The Movie on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/droughtthemovieDrought The Movie on Twitter - https://twitter.com/droughtthemovieFor more content like this visit www.noamkroll.com

In this episode, I sit down with Matteo Bertoli - the incredibly talented DP who shot my latest feature film White Crow. Despite working under tremendous time constraints, Matteo, myself, and the rest of our team were able to shoot nearly 90 pages of script in only 9 days. Over the course of our chat, we explain how we pulled it off without sacrificing quality.Other topics covered include: Camera choice, shooting minimal coverage, the importance of prep, developing a visual style, finding synergy on set, workflow issues, handling creative problems in production, and much more. This is a great listen for any director or DP working in the micro-budget realm.Links from the show:Matteo's Website - https://www.matteobertoli.meMatteo on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/matteobertoliMatteo on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOYko5i4zMPwmS-68hnhIOwMatteo on Twitter - https://twitter.com/matteobertoliFor more content like this visit www.noamkroll.com

Many filmmakers fall into the freelancing trap - They develop a relatively specialized skill, get great at their craft, gain lots of clients, but inevitably find themselves buried in work. Ultimately, this leaves them unable to focus on their passion projects (such as original feature films or new business ventures), as they are anchored to their client work day in and day out. Some people find themselves stuck in this situation for their entire careers, but all of us have the ability to choose a different path.In this episode, I outline how you can use passively generated income to avoid this problem entirely, by becoming far less reliant on a single revenue stream. The goal is to stop trading your time for money.Putting systems in place that will ultimately make money while you sleep is not easy, but it is possible. And once that goal is achieved, you will have infinitely more flexibility with how you spend your time. This means more time spent being creative, working on the projects you want to be working on, or developing new business ideas - a situation we should all be striving for.For more content like this visit www.noamkroll.com

Over the years, I've learned that having too much time to work on any creative project can be a bad thing, but that having too little time can actually be helpful in some ways... So naturally, when it came time to edit my latest feature film (White Crow) I decided to give myself only 3 weeks to edit down a 23+ hour mountain of footage into a 90 minute assembly. While it may seem counter-intuitive to work this quickly, in my case it was actually a huge asset to the process.In this episode, I outline exactly how I used aggressive deadlines and other self-imposed time constraints to tap into my gut instincts, and turn around a great first cut in record time. I also touch on applying these principles to our work consciously, to reach an ideal state of creative flow every time we sit down to work.For more content like this visit www.noamkroll.com