1. Zero to One: An Infinite Change - Blog
2. Free Actors Profile Site
3. Filmaka – Film Contest by Heavy Hitters
4. Distribution – IMoovies
5. Member Updates
6. Articles
The Million Dollar Pitch
Runner-Up Takes on YouTube
Reasons to be Thankful: Ten Dazzling Short Film DVDs
Weinsteins Bet on Blockbuster
15 Films Selected for Oscar Short List in Doc Feature Category

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1. ZERO TO ONE: AN INFINITE CHANGE

I was just speaking with my good friend who is thinking of going into
private practice. He has no wife, kids, or mortgage so he can take
risks. He was still worried, but I told him that he's going from zero
to one in terms of knowledge. He has zero knowledge regarding private
practice and for him to go to "one" which is a low level of skill, but
the most crucial step is vital. Mathematically, when you go from the
number zero to the number one, it is an infinite change. When you go
from one to two, it's only a hundred percent change. Pause and think
about that for a second – do the 5th grade math in your head. Then it
continually decreases as illustrated by the law of diminishing
returns. I'm only talking about going from zero to one.

I came upon this theory when I was teaching guitar. I get a lot of
enjoyment from teaching people who have never picked up a guitar to
play a few basic chords and subsequently pretty much any pop song on
the radio. Whereas my fellow guitar teacher friend whose students
were already very good players he progressed up to `excellent'
players. Not only did I feel that I open the door for them, but I
built a door and opened it. That felt so much more gratifying to me.
Not that one is greater than the other. There are merits for both,
actually business wise, we'd compliment each other very well.
As actors and filmmakers it is vital that we take this zero to one
approach. I see so many Bollywood stars who fake playing the guitar
and it's so hideous to see such lack of skill and dedication to your
craft. I'm not talking about brand new actors, but rather veterans
who've been in dozens and dozens of movies playing a guitar or some
similar instrument. If he were to spend literally spend 20 minutes to
acquire the knowledge then a few hours of practice, to cement that
skill, it would be so much more convincing.

A really good example in terms of this is `Shine' with Geoffrey Rush
playing the piano. It totally changed the shot-list for the director
because he didn't need a hand-double. He could shot it wide and Rush
would be dead-on synced up. He might've hit some bad notes, but those
won't show up in the perfectly prerecorded audio track. Another
excellent display of dedication is by the Karate Kid himself, Ralph
Macchio, in Crossroads (no, not the one with Brittney Spears). He had
to learn to mimic Steve Vai's actual playing – one of the most, if not
the most technically gifted rock guitarist ever. These are extreme
examples musical acting proficiency, probably at a level 10 of
`acting' musically. However, I'm talking about going to level one or a
couple of rungs above it.

An example of this would be Keanu Reeves and company in the Matrix.
He spent about six months learning martial arts. To the average viewer
it was convincing, however, to a trained martial artist it represented
a low skill level.

Filmmakers: As writers and directors an example of not knowing what
you're writing about is watching an early James Bond movie for a
horrendous display martial arts. As a director you're letting these
thing pass and not redoing it. For cinematographers to shoot it at the
right angle. For producers to get the proper equipment/personnel:
stunt coordinator, pads, wires etc.

Learn as many different skills, music, drawing, dancing, martial arts,
acrobatics, learning language, accents, etc and it will put you in a
smaller pool of acting applicants and in higher demand. Furthermore
and more importantly, once you get the job it will be a more solid
piece of work. Making an infinite change seems impossible
mathematically, but in the real world is only a few moments of your
time – an excellent return on investment.

Anup

Comment on this blog at:
http://anupfilm.blogspot.com
http://www.myspace.com/anups

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FREE ACTORS PROFILE SITE

Actors Pages is open for registration. Check it our and tell all of
your friends and colleagues. It is the only 100% free service for
actors and models.

http://www.actorspages.org

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FILMAKA – FILM CONTEST BY HEAVY HITTERS

Yo Anup,

Here's the website for the competition I was telling you about:

http://www.filmaka.com

Just sent you a friend's request too. I thought you'd be interested
and probably have some friends that are interested. I've been doing
the marketing here for a little over a month - basically our company
has started this new competition for filmmakers where the winner gets
a deal to direct a feature film. People behind the whole thing are
Deepak Nayar (Bend it Like Beckham), Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man), Neil
LaBute (Nurse Betty), Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver), and others...

We have multiple contests all year, but the longer we're out there
will be more competition and then it'll be harder. Therefore you're
competing with more and more filmmakers that want the feature film deal.

So I'm telling people who I know are interested to do definitely do it
for our first contest where we're still growing...

The theme for the first contest is: 'stuck in traffic.' So that means
you have to make a short film based on this theme, something less than
3 minutes. Best part is, if you get picked in the top 15, you win
$500, and if you don't then you've got a short that you can still hang
onto for festivals.

Thanks Anup, this would be good to pass onto your listserv, I'm sure
you have tons of filmmakers there.

And from me to you...have a good Thanksgiving!
Sabina

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DISTRIBUTION

Check out IMOOVIES, LLC and www.imoovie.com. They want to be the
independent film distributor that works with you to turn your project
of passion into a financial success.

Visit them to see how they can be a partner in your film's success.


IMOOVIES, LLC
email: imoovie@...
web: http://www.imoovie.com


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5. MEMBER UPDATES

VIJI SESHADRI

When the spirit moves me, I create crazy characters...friends said
"you should put it up on youtube.."...finally succumbed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx4yQWjHnrg

Viji
P.S. - If you like it, great.
P.S.2: - If you like it a lot, pass it on..to a friend or 2 or an
entire egroup...

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PARK GRUBBS

Check out the site for Dr. Kurtis Strange's out of the box film, PARK
GRUBBS.
http://parkgrubbs.com/

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6. ARTICLES

THE MILLION DOLLAR PITCH
by Chad Zuber

Review of panel titled, "The Million Dollar Pitch" at the San Diego
Film Festival 2006.

The presenters:

Hartford (Harty) Brown - attorney for film
Scott Storm - filmmaker
Karl Kosak - co-founder of film festival, filmmaker (4 films)
Chris Gore - filmmaker

Probably the biggest reason that the independent filmmaker doesn't
even produce a film, and almost definitely not a second one, is not
the lack of talent nor the lack of motivation but rather the lack of
dollars. However, funding a film, short or feature, doesn't have to be
funded by you, the inspired filmmaker. The four presenters in this
panel at the San Diego Film Festival provide a rare insight to the
process of actually getting those dollars to produce your film. They
did it themselves and it really isn't as difficult as you may think.

First of all, forget about big, corporate investors. Look to private
investors. Your film isn't going to cost $135 million. Realtors,
doctors, dentists and small business owners often earn a very above
average income and have extra to spare. They may even need an
additional tax write-off at the end of the year and what would be a
more exciting investment than a movie? Sure, film is probably the
worst investment someone could make but it's really not about
investing. It's about being a part of the most exciting, glamorous
industry in the world. It's movie making! He or she gives you $50,000
and you make he or she "executive producer" of your film. Give them an
executive producer chair for when on set and a credit in the film and
they will be thrilled to write the check.

Send potential investors business cards with their name, the title of
the film and the title "executive producer" on it. Appeal to their
ego. If it's someone you already know, they usually do it for you, not
for the film.

You need to be a good marketer to get investor' dollars. If you're not
comfortable with marketing then get someone who is. Creative artwork,
log line and good visuals are essential. Create a website for your
film with a private area for investors. They will feel special. Most
of all, have fun and be enthusiastic. If the investor feels your
enthusiasm for your film he or she will feel more confident and
writing the check will be much easier.

It is also important to be able to show some credibility. If you have
never produced a film before then it would be a good idea to first to
a short. Start small.

Investors will naturally want to have a lot of questions answered
before signing the check. You should be able to answer all of the
following questions and more:

* Who's your target audience?
* Who do you see being the lead character?
* Who's in it?
* What genre is it?
* What is it about?
* What's the title?

All of the questions should be answered confidently and with
enthusiasm. Again, it's more about the vibes that they feel coming
from you that will close the deal.

So, it sounds pretty simple, right? Well, it's not quite that simple.
There are other aspects to consider. Assuming that you have the 3
elements for a great film - 1) great script 2) great actors and 3)
great locations - before you even approach investors it is a good idea
to consider the legal aspects. The basic rule of thumb is, "cover your
ass!". The $125 LLC is not a good idea. Do it right!

A good attorney that specializes in film can save you time and legal
problems down the road. You will need an operating agreement and
investor package. The average LLC costs $1500 to set up but will be
well worth it for peace of mind. The average investor package costs a
few thousand dollars. You super low-budget indie filmmakers may be
thinking that you could just bypass all of this and use that initial
start-up cost towards your film but doing this right will really
separate your film from the ghetto productions and investors will have
much more confidence in you as well.

There are a key details to close with investors during the deal making
process. First of all, the filmmaker, that's YOU, must control the
creative decision making regarding the film, not the investor. Some
investors will try to seize partial control of the director's job. No,
the investor is to provide the financial support only. Also, you will
have to decide what percentage of the movie that the investor owns.
Now there will likely be many investors and the ownership percentages
may vary depending upon the amounts invested. After distribution, the
investors will receive a percentage. It usually takes at least two
years for investors to see something of their investment start coming
back. Consider all sales venues including foreign sales, home DVD and
cable. Again, if you're not good at marketing, find someone to push
the distribution of your film.

When determining the budget for your film, never low-ball it. Hold
back points in case of going over budget and/or for actors' bonuses.
Set aside a good amount for marketing. Get great photographs of the
actors on set. Be creative. Great photos can set your movie apart from
others. The locations that you shoot also make a big impression.
Powerful visuals will make the difference. When searching for actors
you may run into agent roadblocks with up and coming "A" list actors.
Go around agents and managers. Agents just want money. Actors often
just want to work.

- Chad Zuber
Actor, writer, photographer

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METACAFE VS. YOUTUBE

Hello All- You know I am constantly searching for ways to make this
business pay! So here is an article about You Tubes competitors-
some of which pay for your films! You can follow the link or read
below.
Good Luck! and Happy Filming!
Slainte,
Tara Donovan
www.TaraDonovan.com
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72022-0.html?tw=rss.index

RUNNER-UP TAKES ON YOUTUBE
By Michael Calore|

YouTube may be the king of online video, but if Arik Czerniak has his
way, the king won't stay on the throne for long.

Czerniak is the CEO and co-founder of Metacafe, one of the web's
leading independent video-sharing sites. The company is launching a
new service Monday called Producer Rewards which will offer cash
payouts to video creators who upload the most interesting and
entertaining clips.

By offering incentives to users who upload premium content, Czerniak
hopes to be able to deliver a richer experience to the casual viewer,
thus giving Metacafe the edge that it needs to maintain in order to
compete with YouTube, MySpace Video and the other big names in
user-generated video content distribution.

Metacafe utilizes 100,000 volunteer reviewers who sort through the
flood of video submissions, promoting the best videos and rejecting
the clips that they find unappealing or boring.

"People who watch video on the web are hungry for good content, and
they are ready to consume a lot of it," says Czerniak. "You could put
your video on YouTube and get a lot of views, but you have to
actively market yourself in order to be heard over all the noise.
Or, you could post it to Metacafe where we have developed a process
that lets the best videos get played immediately so they can start
earning you real money."

Metacafe users can submit videos to the Producer Rewards program if
they meet the legal standards required for licensing: The clip must
be suitable for all ages and the producer must own all of the
content -- lip sync videos are out, and any people featured in the
video must sign a consent form. Once the video is accepted by the
reviewers, it's put on the site where it can be viewed by all
Metacafe users -- and where it can start earning cash for the creator.

The Producer Rewards videos on Metacafe are served along with short
post-roll or pre-roll advertisements which provide the revenue the
company shares with the producer. After a video reaches 20,000 views
on Metacafe, the video creator starts receiving payments of $5 per
1,000 views. Czerniak estimates that more than 30 percent of the
videos on his site have surpassed the magic number of 20,000 views.

Metacafe, which has recently relocated from Tel Aviv, Israel, to Palo
Alto, California, claims that user feedback from a beta test during
the month of October has been positive. One participant earned
$23,000 after his video was viewed 4.5 million times.

While YouTube has yet to institute a model for paying users who submit
the most entertaining videos, other video-sharing sites have
recently begun compensating their most creative uploaders. Video
startup Revver serves short, static advertisements at the end of user
videos. If a viewer clicks on the ad, Revver splits the ad revenue
with the video creator, paying out 50 percent of the profits.
Low-brow humor video site Break.com pays its submitters $1,000 if
their original video is popular enough to get promoted to the site's
front door. Video producers whose submissions to the Yahoo Current
Network get picked for the site's front door or its companion cable
television network can earn a one-time reward of up to $600.

Metacafe licenses the videos in the Producer Rewards program from the
creators under a nonexclusive agreement, so users are able to share
the videos and re-post them elsewhere. Producers also earn revenue
from their videos if they are shared on other sites using Metacafe's
embedded video player. "Metacafe's model is a powerful way of
persuading users to publish on one site rather than the other," says
Joe Laszlo, a senior analyst at JupiterResearch. "Since there are so
many producers of video content right now, competition is bound to
heat up." "YouTube will continue to attract the most submissions as
long as it has size on its side," Laszlo continues. "YouTube can
say, 'Publish here, we have the biggest audience.' Smaller sites
will have to move towards this payment model in order to counter
against that size advantage YouTube has." Roughly 1 million users
visit Metacafe per day, and the site's users watch about 15 million
videos every day, a fraction of YouTube's estimated 100 million
daily video views. Czerniak claims that YouTube's size works against
content creators by making it difficult to get noticed. "Saying
YouTube is a good distribution model is like saying Blogger is a
good distribution model," says Czerniak. "YouTube is a really great
product, but there are tons of videos with zero views on the site.
Many of the clips that are actually good or interesting get lost
under this mess."


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REASONS TO BE THANKFUL: TEN DAZZLING SHORT FILM DVDS
by Kim Adelman

As the holiday season fast approaches, short film aficionados should
be saying grace and giving thanks for the bounty laid out for mass
consumption. While everyone can enjoy the never-ending feast of
mini-movies available online, true connoisseurs will want to devour
the latest offerings on DVD. And what an amazing buffet there is: from
timely holiday fare from photographer/filmmaker William Wegman to
tasty treats from animator Don Hertzfeldt . If you're wondering what
to put on your holiday wish list, look no further than these ten
recent DVD releases.

1. "William Wegman's Fay's Twelve Days of Christmas" (Released by
Microcinema International DVD, Oct. 31, 2006) 2. "William Wegman's
Alphabet Soup" (Released by Microcinema International DVD, Oct. 31, 2006)

Originally produced in 1995, Wegman's half-hour Christmas classic gets
a stunning DVD reissue, showcasing the artist's famous Weimaraner Fay
Ray in all her glory as she undertakes Martha Stewart -ish
preparations to ring in the holidays. Make it a double-feature by also
indulging in "William Wegman's Alphabet Soup," a charming (and
educational!) canine comedy suitable for even the youngest viewers.

3. "A Collection of 2005 Academy Award Nominated Short Films"
(Released by Magnolia, July 25, 2006) 4. "75th Annual Academy Awards
Short Films" (Released by Questar, February 28, 2004)

Yes, the Award Season is around the corner, and you can whet your
appetite by indulging in some past years' winners. Magnolia has done a
fabulous job of collecting eight short films nominated for the 2005
Academy Awards (five live action, three animation, plus two bonus
animated shorts) to provide 162 minutes of fine viewing. The standout
is the 27-minute Irish dark comedy, "Six Shooter," which took home the
statue and launched playwright Martin McDonagh's film directing career.

The "75th" is an older collection of Oscar shorts given the Academy
nod in 2003. The films that make the strongest impression among the
100 minutes of viewing are the slick studio-produced animated shorts:
Sony Pictures Imageworks ' "The ChubbChubbs!" (dir. Eric Armstrong)
and Pixar's "Mike's New Car" (dirs. Pete Docter and Roger Gould).

5. "The Journal of Short Films, Vol. 5, Fall 2006" (Released by
www.theJSF.org, October 24, 2006)

For those unfamiliar with the Journal of Short Films, it's a quarterly
DVD series produced out of Columbus, Ohio, with a mandate to celebrate
diversity, experimentation, and independent work. The fifth volume,
which came out last month, marks the Journal's one-year anniversary.
Among the most arresting of the ten films are Jennifer Levonian's
two-minute experimental animation rumination, "You, Starbucks," and
Hope Tucker's war-footage piece, "Noel."

6. "Shorts! Volume 4" (Upcoming release by Film Festival Collection,
scheduled for January 16, 2007)

Put in your pre-order for this fourth installment of sixteen
award-winning short films culled from the world's best film festivals.
Overflowing with 220 minutes of films and six hours of filmmaker
commentaries, this DVD should satisfy even the most hardcore viewer.
One of the most accomplished films in the collection is John Mitchell
and Jeremy Kipp Walker's hospital room dramedy, "Goodnight Bill,"
which features a commentary track by the co-directors and a second one
by cinematographer Martin Matiasek. For those who can't wait for
Volume 4, check out the previous volume, which contains "Half Nelson"
director Ryan Fleck's 2004 short, "Gowanus, Brooklyn."

7. "American Short Films" (Released by Cinema 16, June 5, 2006) 8.
"European Short Films" (Released by Cinema 16, June 5, 2006) 9.
"British Short Films" (Released by Cinema 16, June 5, 2006)

This Cinema 16 series of DVD collections comes from Great Britain,
which means they've been issued in Region 2 PAL format. But it's well
worth the extra effort to view them because where else are you going
to see short films by Chris Nolan ("Doodlebug," 1997), Ridley Scott
("Boy & Bicycle," 1958), Lars von Trier ("Nocturne," 1980), and Tom
Tykwer ("Epilog," 2000). The American Collection is thankfully in NTSC
format and offers up 16 outstanding shorts (often accompanied by
director commentary) including little seen films by George Lucas
("Freiheit," 1966), Todd Solondz ("Feelings," 1984), and D.A.
Pennebaker ("Daybreak Express," 1953).

10. "Bitter Films Volume One: 1995-2005" (Released by Bitter Films, 2006)

Animator Don Hertzfeldt collected all of his beloved short films
("Lily and Jim," "Billy's Balloon," the Academy Award-nominated
"Rejected," and all the rest) and personally put together this amazing
elaborate DVD package, complete with an impressive 16-page
retrospective booklet. As the back of the DVD case proclaims, "At
last, all the landmark animated films collected together for the very
first time, lovingly remastered in high definition from their original
film negatives, providing alarming clarity and squiggly detail never
before seen outside of theaters!" How can you resist?

[Kim Adelman is the author of "The Ultimate Filmmaker's Guide to Short
Films."]

http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/news/iw/20061120/116406286800.html

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WEINSTEINS BET ON BLOCKBUSTER

Beginning in January, the video superstore chain will have the
exclusive rental rights for all Weinstein Co. movies. But there's a
catch.

By Dennis Michael, FilmStew.com

Bob and Harvey Weinstein are setting up a new deal with Blockbuster
Video. In an agreement announced this week, the filmmakers will give
Blockbuster exclusive rights to rent their films to the public for
three years, beginning January 1st. The studio and the video chain
will share the resulting revenue, a deal similar to the one Disney had
with Blockbuster in years past, when the Weinsteins ran the Disney
subsidiary Miramax. Bobby, School for Scoundrels, Shut Up and Sing ,
and The Nanny Diaries are among the early titles to be affected by the
deal.

How much of effect is still in question though. The Hollywood Reporter
notes that under the first-sale doctrine of U.S. Copyright law, any
video dealer can buy a copy of a Weinstein Co. DVD, and then turn
around and rent it, and sources close to Blockbuster's big rivals,
Movie Gallery and Netflix indicate that they will probably do just that.

http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/news/fs/20061121/116412975400.html


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15 FILMS SELECTED FOR OSCAR SHORT LIST IN DOC FEATURE CATEGORY

by Eugene Hernandez

Fifteen documentary films have been selected for the "short list" of
titles competing for one of five nominations for the 79th Academy
Awards. Eighty-one eligible films were submitted for consideration for
the Best Documentary Feature category this year, according to the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The full list is:

"Blindsight," directed by Lucy Walker

"Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?" directed by Frank Popper

"Deliver Us from Evil," directed by Amy Berg

"The Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends," directed by Patricia Foulkrod

"An Inconvenient Truth," directed by Davis Guggenheim

"Iraq in Fragments," directed by James Longley

"Jesus Camp," directed by Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing

"Jonestown: The Life and Death of People's Temple," directed by
Stanley Nelson

"My Country, My Country," directed by Laura Poitras

"Shut Up & Sing," directed by Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck

"Sisters in Law ," directed by Florence Ayisi and Kim Longinotto

"Storm of Emotions," directed by Yael Klopmann

"The Trials of Darryl Hunt," directed by Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg

"An Unreasonable Man," directed by Henriette Mantel and Steve Skrovan

"The War Tapes," directed by Deborah Scranton

The Documentary Branch screening committee viewed the eligible
documentaries in a preliminary round of screenings, according to
AMPAS, and branch members will now select the five 2006 nominees from
among the 15 titles on this shortlist. Nominations will be announced
on Tuesday, January 23, 2007 and the Academy Awards for outstanding
film achievements of 2006 will be presented on Sunday, February 25, 2007.

http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/news/iw/20061115/116363601900.html