Indie Film Hustle® - A Filmmaking Podcast

So today we are going to go down the rabbit hole of NFTs. What the heck is an NFT. It is a Non Fungible Token. Basically, an NFT is a completely original digital file or a digital collectable which is registered on a blockchain ledger just like any cryptocurrency. But unlike cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin or Ethereum, an NFT is totally unique and because it lives on the blockchain it verifies who is the rightful owner of this one-of-a-kind digital collectable file.In February 2021, digital artist Peebles sold a digital artwork for $69.3 million at auction. You heard correctly almost $70 million for a digital file. The founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, sold his very first tweet as an NFT for $2.9 million.It took me a minute to understand what these things were and then it clicked. NFTs are digital baseball cards, comic books, Garbage Pail Kids or Pokemon cards. They are just a digital version and in many ways better because you know exactly how many copies exist.The NBA is sell "moments" as NFTs through NBA Top Shots. Basically, they are selling highlight clips as NFT and they are killing it. Fans of the NBA are gobbling these NFTs as fast as they are released. I really think there is now one doing NFTs better than the NBA right now.Musicians are having amazing success selling NFTs directly to their fans. This is turning the established music industry on its head. NFTs are essentially killing off the middle man. No more label, just a direct relationship with the artist's fans.The other amazing thin about NFTs is that the artist continues to make money on every sale of the NFT forever. Let me explain. When an artist creates a NFT by minting it. Minting is the process of create the digital file (NFT) and placing it on the blockchain. The artist then sets the residual percentage every time the NFT sells.So if I mint a short film and sell it for $500. I get $500. Now, if the new owner sells it 2 years from now for $10,000 I get 10% of that sale. Every time that NFT is resold I get my cut. All transactions transparent. All on the blockchain.So how can filmmakers make money? There are so many options because NFTs are in their infancy. Everyone is trying  to figure out how to use them  in indie film. Some ideas are:Selling the distribution rights to the entire film, like Kevin Smith is doing with is latest film KilljoySelling the distribution rights to your film in shares like the indie film LotawanaCreate  an NFT to a short film to finance itSell NFT collectables from the filmFund raise your film's budget with NFTsThese are just some ideas. I decide to throw my hat in the ring and created an experiment. I minted a few NFTs for my first short film BROKEN and some "legacy NFTs" of the first ever filmmaking tutorials ever uploaded to YouTube. Here is the description of one of the NFTs.This NFT is called Muzzle Flash Breakdown and is one of the first filmmaking tutorials to ever be uploaded to YouTube. It was uploaded on August 28, 2006 by filmmaker, author and Indie Film Hustle Podcast host Alex Ferrari from his 2005 award-winning short film BROKEN. It was taken from the best-selling DVD of the film. That DVD was one of the first indie short films to ever create a massive collection of tutorials and making of videos that explained how to make a low-budget independent film with off-the-shelf software and digital consumer cameras.  This is part of a limited series of filmmaking tutorials that were uploaded to YouTube from the short film BROKEN. All the videos were uploaded and released on the same day in 2006. The external link attached to this NFT will show the original upload to YouTube.Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFPoBZY5BrAWhen you purchase this NFT you will also gain access to the short film BROKEN, the entire collection of tutorials and commentary tracks via private link and passcode. You will also receive the original QuickTime file that was uploaded to YouTube.To access my NFTs go to: www.ifhnft.comI released three of 6 of the total filmmaking tutorials I uploaded on YouTune back in Aug 2006. If these sell out I'll upload the rest and maybe some of my other popular short films I directed over the years. I wanted to give you an example of what an independent film NFT looked like and this is totally an experiment to see what happens.Maybe I'll never sell an NFT, maybe I sell  them three years from now or maybe they will sell out in 15 min. Who knows. What I am excited about is the potential of what this could mean for the indie filmmaking community.In this episode I break down everything you need to know about NFTs, how to make money with them and more. Enjoy!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

Our guests this week are stars from the early 2000s teen drama television hit show, One Tree Hill, James Lafferty, and Stephen Colletti. The buzz the show had was undeniable, and if you were a fan of the show, then you would be glad to know that your favorite characters, Nathan Scott and Chase Adams have a new project together and they talk all about it in this week’s episode. But first, a summary of our guests’ track records in the industry. Both James and Steven landed their first acting gigs in their late teens and have since expanded their skills to writing, producing, and directing. James, started out as a series regular on One Tree Hill in 2003, having appraised one of the lead roles of the show for which he was nominated four times by the Teen Choice Awards. Actor and television personality. Stephen joined as a regular after recurring his role as Chase Adams since the show’s premiere.Half-brothers Lucas and Nathan Scott trade between kinship and rivalry both on the basketball court and in the hearts of their friends in the small, but not so quiet town of Tree Hill, North Carolina. Here’s a first look at the characters in its pilot episode:Steven has consistently worked in film and television hosting MTV specials Beach House, Spring break and the VMAs backstage live among others. He’s made appearances on TV shows MTV reality television series Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, VH1 2013 romance drama, Hit The Floor, and Taylor Swift’s White Horse music video. Between 2009 to 2012, James began testing out the directing pond. He directed four episodes of the nine season run of One Tree Hill and five episodes of The Royals, which he played another lead role on. In 2016, he briefly graced our screens in six episodes of Underground, the series, as Kyle Risdin.With the country on the brink of Civil War, the struggle for freedom is more dangerous than ever. Underground follows the story of American heroes and their moving journey to freedom.The guys creatively reunited in to create an original comedy television series, Everyone Is Doing Great that’s streaming on Hulu. They co-directed, produced and wrote the show.  What was remarkable was that the sold an independently produced show to a major streamer, which never happens. We dive in on how they were able to do that. The seven episodes show follows Seth and Jeremy, two guys who enjoyed relative success from 'Eternal', a hit television vampire drama. Five years after their show has ended, they lean on each other as they struggle to reclaim their previous level of success and relevance, awkwardly navigating the perils of life and love amidst a humorously painful coming of age.  I had lots of laughs with these two and can’t wait for you to listen.Enjoy my conversation with James Lafferty & Stephen Colletti.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

I am a huge fan of today’s guest. Since seeing one of her first documentaries, I was transfixed by her power of storytelling. Our guest is an Emmy and Peabody award-winning documentary filmmaker, Lynn Novick---a formidable and respected PBS documentary filmmaker with thirty-plus years of experience in the business.Her archival mini and docu-series documentaries bring historically true events to the big screen alongside her filmmaking partner, Ken Burns. You’ve most likely seen some of her landmark documentary films. The likes of Vietnam (2017), TV Mini-Series documentary The Civil War (1990), College Behind Bars (2019), eighteen hours mini-series, Baseball (2010), and many more.Just this year, the pair premiered their latest co-produced and co-directed three parts documentary on PBD---recapitulating the life, loves, and labors of Ernest Hemingway. The series explores the painstaking process through which Hemingway created some of the most important works of fiction in American letters. Novick is an experienced-learned documentary filmmaker. In the mid-1980s, she applied to film school but did not pursue that lane when she couldn’t find a documentary filmmaking-specific program. Instead, she sought out apprenticeships. Starting at the PBS station in New York City WNET, for six months. And then worked for Bill Moyers as an assistant producer on a series of projects, including her debut production in 1994 with Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth, followed by A World of Ideas with Bill Moyers, etc. The Civil War is a comprehensive survey of the American Civil War.Novick’s decades-long collaboration with Ken Burns emerged in 1989 and has led to the co-production of a number of renowned docu-series.  First, there was the highly acclaimed ‘The Civil War’ which traced the course of the U.S. Civil War from the abolitionist movement through all the major battles to the death of President Lincoln and the beginnings of Reconstruction.Her vast experience as a researcher comes in handy on these kinds of projects, she explains during our convo. She won an Emmy Award in 1994 for producing the Baseball documentary and won a Peabody Award in 1998 for her co-directing and co-producing of Frank Lloyd Wright's documentary. Baseball covers the history of the sport with major topics including Afro-American players, player/team owner relations, and the resilience of the game.Other must mention include multi-Emmy nominations documentary ‘Prohibition’, The Vietnam War, Jazz, and Novick’s first solo directing, College Behind Bars (2019). College Behind Bars explores urgent questions like What is the essence of prisons? Who in America has access to educational opportunities? Six years in the making, the series immerses viewers in the inspiring and transformational journey of a small group of incarcerated men and women serving time for serious crimes, as they try to earn college degrees in one of the most rigorous prison education programs in America – the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI)Novick is one of those filmmakers who have combed through an obscene amount of knowledge and understanding of documentary films. I have a feeling you will enjoy this chat as much as I did.Enjoy my conversation with Lynn Novick.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

I have been a fan of today’s guest since I first saw his mind-blowing film, Night Watch years ago. Timur Bekmambetov is an established director, producer, and writer who has built a name for himself both in his home country, Russia, and here in the U.S., making films, music videos, and commercials. At first glance at his film, I became obsessed with Timur’s work and his filmmaking style.He is the producer and director of Day Watch (2006), Wanted (2008), Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter (2012), Profile ( 2021) and many many more.Timur is a jack of all trade. His journey in the industry started with theater production design and soon he got the directing bug. While honing his directing skills, he took up producing which then led to movie production.  One of my favorite of his films is the genre bending Wanted, starring Angelina Jolie, James McCovey and Morgan Freeman.Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is an office worker whose life is going nowhere. After his estranged father is murdered, he meets Fox (Angelina Jolie), who recruits him into the Fraternity, a secret society of assassins which takes its orders from Fate itself. Fox and Sloan (Morgan Freeman), the Fraternity's leader, teach Wesley to tap into dormant powers. Though he enjoys his newfound abilities, he begins to suspect that there is more to the Fraternity than meets the eye.Abraham Lincoln is reinvented as a vampire-killing president in this Timur Bekmambetov-directed action picture starring Benjamin Walker, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rufus Sewell, and Dominic Cooper. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies author Seth Grahame-Smith adapts his own book for 20th Century Fox. Tim Burton produces alongside Bekmambetov and Jim Lemley.Timur's latest project is Profile. The film was initially released in Russia in 2018 and is set to be released in the US on May 14, 2021.Based on Anna Erelle's non-fiction book, In The Skin of a Jihadist, the film contextualizes our digital life and fears. It explores the role of digital spaces in the recruitment of young European Women by ISIS. British journalist, Amy Whittaker sets on this investigation by creating a Facebook profile under the alias of Melody Nelson along with a persona online of a woman who has recently converted to Islam. The results are thrilling and eye-opening.Profile was shot in a new film language called Screenlife.What is Screenlife?Screenlife is a new format of visual content that has grown from independent projects to full-length, world-renowned films, documentaries and TV shows. Its main idea is that everything that the viewer sees happens on the computer, tablet or smartphone screen. All the events unfold directly on the screen of your device. Instead of film set — there’s a desktop, instead of protagonist’s actions — a cursor.If you are involved in video production, cinema or even video games, Screenlife is a new expressive environment for you, the potential of which is yet to be discovered. Before your eyes, there will be new tools to work with, such as the screenlife recorder.Bekmambetov produced the Screenlife film Unfriended, in which the action takes place on the screens of protagonists’ computers. With a budget of only $1 million, the movie raised $64 million at the box office worldwide. This new film language is extremely exciting. Timur and I discuss Screenlife, his visual style, his directing process, Hollywood politics and much more.Enjoy my conversation with Timur Bekmambetov.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

Today’s guest on the show is Scottish award-winning filmmaker, and writer, Ben Sharrock, known for his Cannes Official Selection 2020 feature film, Limbo, and Pikadero, among others. Ben’s unique visually captivating films are inspired by middle eastern and northern European cinema. Interpreting middle eastern character in his films as he does in some of his recent work stems from an academic background in Middle East Cinema, Fine Arts, and working advertising in Dubai. The rooted connection --- learning and understanding these cultures carved a for Ben, a unique cinematic voice in the industry.Sharrock and his producing and life partner, Irune Gurtubai founded their production company, Caravan Cinemas under which they premiered their first film, Pikadero at the 2015 San Sebastian International Film Festival. A penniless, young couple has trouble consummating their fledgling relationship in their parents' homes, forcing their relationship into question as they try to break free from the shackles of a crumbling economy.The film which had initially gone by Patata Tortilla was Sharrock and Gurtubai’s Screen Academy Scotland graduation film. They won two awards at the Zurich Film Festival in 2015, Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2016, and two BAFTA awards that year for new Talent Best Drama and Best Screenplay.The recognition of Pikadero made it easier to get funding to write the screenplay for Limbo which came out in 2020.Ben directed and wrote the original screenplay for Limbo---a wry and poignant observation of the refugee experience which follows Omar, a promising musician and Syrian refugee who is separated from his family, stuck on a remote Scottish island awaiting the fate of his asylum request. Ben approaches the sensitive issues of refugees' dehumanization and orientalism in this film with absurd humor and honesty. The film was nominated at this year’s BAFTA for Best British Film, Best debut and best international Feature Film for the GoldenEye.I truly had a fun time geeking out on a tandem with Ben about film lenses, and cameras and learning of his film influences and transferred skills from his career in advertising to filmmaking. Enjoy my conversation with Ben Sharrock.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

There are performers that impact your life without you even knowing it and today's guest fits that bill. On the show we have comedic genius, multi-award-winning actor, writer, producer, director, and television host, Billy Crystal. We’ve seen Billy’s versatile work across all areas in the entertainment world, stand-up, improv, Broadway, behind and in front of the camera, feature films, television, live stages like SNL, and animated movies. It's fascinating how much the man has done over the span of his career---and his lengthy IMDB page is only the tip of the iceberg.Billy’s career took off for his role in the 70's sitcom SOAP, where he played a gay character, Jodie Dallas. This launched him into box office hits such as When Harry Met Sally, City Slickers, Analyze This and the kids favorite, Mike Wazowski in Monsters, Inc. just to name a few. Aside from hosting the Oscars® a record nine times and being only one step away from an EGOT, he’s a philanthropist. Billy, along with Whoopi Goldberg and the late Robin Williams created the annual fundraiser stand-up comedy show, Comic Relief, in 1986 that has over the years, raised over $60 million to support the homeless. The late 80s and early 90s were a really magical time for Billy's career. He had the box office hits Running Scared and Throw Momma from the Train. He had scene stealing parts in the classics This is Spinal Tap and The Princess Bride. There’s the 1989 box office smash hit When Harry Met Sally, starring Billy alongside Meg Ryan and Carrie Fisher. The story follows Harry and Sally who had known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.You can’t talk about Billy Crystal classics without mentioning City Slickers for which he won a Golden Globes award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical/Comedy. On the verge of turning 40, an unhappy Manhattan yuppie is roped into joining his two friends on a cattle drive in the southwest.Billy's interest in entertainment started way before college. But his decision to go to NYU put some goals into place for him. He was a member of an improv/comedy group at college and soon he started to host solo standup shows. By 1978, he landed his first starring feature film role in Rabbit Test in which he starred with Joan Rivers. Towards the end of the 90s, Billy joined iconic Robert De Niro and Lisa Kudrow in the box blockbuster hit Analyze This and its sequel to the Analyze That.Billy’s work transcend generations and Gen Z is his newest fandom; distinctively for his role in Monster Inc. and Monsters University, Mike Wazowski. Monsters University revisits the relationship between Mike Wazowski and James P. "Sully" Sullivan during their days at Monsters University, when they weren't necessarily the best of friends.Billy will reprise his role as Mike Wazowski in the Monsters at Work Disney+ series that is set for release later this year.One defining element of Billy’s work, be it writing, acting or directing is that the pulls from real-life experiences and balances funny and hard conversations effortlessly. Having started out in the business since he was 20 years old, it is absolutely thrilling to watch how he’s knitted together diverse platforms and filed into a accomplished career. This Friday, May 7th, Billy’s newest film, in which he wrote and directed, Here Today, stars himself and the incredibly funny, Tiffany Haddish, will be released only in theaters. These two make a seamless pairing and their chemistry is oh so charming. The intergenerational teaming of Billy and Tiffany tells a love story that is of friendship, support, and empathy. I absolutely LOVED the film. Do yourself a favor and go out and catch this gem of a film. When veteran comedy writer Charlie Burnz meets New York street singer Emma Payge, they form an unlikely yet hilarious and touching friendship that kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust.Billy has always been there to make me laugh, in good times and bad. I can not tell you what and honor and thrill it was getting to sit-down and speak to a filmmaker, writer and actor that has meant so much to me in my life.Enjoy my entertaining conversation with Billy Crystal.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

We have on the show this week, film director, bestselling futurist author, speaker, and actor, David Simpson. You’ve probably stumbled upon his 1.7 million views TEDx presentation ‘Our Post-Human Future’, on Youtube. If not, no worries. This is your chance to get to know the talented storyteller that is David.  He’s written a number of brilliant sci-fi futurist books since his twenties, including the popular ‘Post-Human’ six-part book series, Dawn of the Singularity (The Singularity Saga), The A.I. Chronicles, among others.As a child, David aspired to be a novelist. So his journey led him to study creative writing at the University of British Columbia where he was exposed to screenplay writing and structure. His structural versatility can be seen so brilliantly in his work's visual and technical aesthetics.On the come up, his first short film project was a really small crew of his wife and a camera assistant, including himself. That humble start is common in our line of business---undoubtedly some of the fondest memories for indie filmmakers. David recently shifted to film with his debut feature film, Dangerous to Know (2020). It is a psychological thriller adaptation of his forthcoming novel of the same title. The film is told across the intersecting and intertwining lives of three characters, exploring mental illness and how it affects not just the sufferer, but all those that the person’s life touches as well. A troubled young woman recovers from a suicide attempt in a secluded cabin, but when a series of unexplained and terrifying incidents occur, she realizes someone-or something-has a far darker future planned for her.Meanwhile, his first film adaptation, Post Human was released in 2015. Post-Human draws back the curtain on the Post-Human world where everyone is immortal, has onboard mental "mind's eye" computers, nanotechnology can make your every dream a reality, and thanks to the magnetic targeted fusion implants every post-human has, everyone can fly.But there's a dark side to this brave new world. Surveillance. Every post-human is monitored from the inside out, and the one artificial superintelligence running the show might be on the verge of making its first big mistake.It was an absolute honor chatting it up with David and going on a tandem about 90s film gadgets.Enjoy my entertaining conversation with David Simpson.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

This week, I wanted to pick the brain of a brilliant filmmaker, Mike Dion. Mike is an award-winning filmmaker, marketing strategist, and multimedia storyteller who has made a living over the last 20+ years applying all the tools needed by a filmtrepreneur. He's found his niche creating documentaries of adventurous brevets and transcontinental cycling races across the US, Mexico, and CanadaMike has produced globally distributed feature-length projects like Hair I Go Again (2016), Inspired to Ride, Reveal The Path, Where The Yellowstone Goes, and Ride the Divide that can be streamed across major platforms like Netflix, Amazon, and iTunes. On June 7, 2014, forty-five cyclists from around the world set out on the inaugural Trans Am Bike Race, following the famed TransAmerica Trail. Their mission is to cover 4,233 miles in one enormous stage race, traversing through ten states in a transcontinental adventure of epic proportions. Inspired to Ride follows a handful of cyclists from around the world as they race unsupported in the inaugural year, with four cinematographers, cameras flying in the sky, and GoPro’s galore. Mike produced the Inspired to Ride documentary in 2015.Here's a peak of Mike's latest documentary, Hair We Go Again: Facing a midlife crossroads, two longtime friends risk everything as they set out to fulfill their dreams of achieving rock & roll stardom. The first and last chances happen only once as their improbable journey is chronicled in the feature-length documentary, Hair I Go Again.One of the reasons I invited Mike on the show was to have him share what he's doing, how he's selling content, what's making money, and what's not making money. In 2008, he created Mike Dion Productions which original content like films, strategy, and branded content for social media, marketing, etc.In 2012,  he paired with his producing partner, Hunter Weeks for his directorial debut documentary film, Reveal the Path---A genre-defying adventure film that contemplates what it means to live an inspired life using the bicycle as a mechanism to explore, dream and discover.In true Mike Dion niche-storytelling fashion, one of his first producer/editor gigs was the award-winning feature film about the Tour Divide Race in 2010 titled, Ride the Divide. The film weaves the story of three characters' experiences with immense mountain beauty and small-town culture as they attempt to pedal from Banff, Canada to a small, dusty crossing on the Mexican border.The Tour Divide Race is basically a mountain bike race that traverses over 2700 miles along the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route.The COVID pandemic has required everyone to profoundly change how we budget, prep, and produce a feature film or television show project in order to work safely and effectively. So this is a very educational episode if you are looking to learn how to safely shoot a feature film during COVID and how to make money from it.Enjoy my informative conversation with Mike Dion.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

We all need a kick in the butt sometimes on our filmmaking or screenwriting journey. This show will do just that. Never stop chasing that filmmaking dream. Keep on hustling.Proud Member of the IFH Podcast Network (ifhpodcastnetwork.com)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

On the show, today is an indie film director, and CEO of Unstable Ground multi-media company, Justin McConnell.  Even though he’s known for his work in post-production, Justin has also directed and written projects like Clapboard Jungle, Skull World, Lifechangers, and Galaxy of Horrors across the sci-fi-horror and documentary genres.Justin is a man who wears many hats; his multi-media company, Unstable Ground, which he has been running successfully for the last 22 years specializes non-exclusively in film and television production. The main reason I wanted him to come on the show was to discuss his new documentary called Clapboard Jungle, which explores the painful and brutal journey of a filmmaker trying and the movie-making process. I absolutely loved the documentary. It’s in a great tradition of films about making movies sort of a love letter to independent filmmakers.Clapboard Jungle, directed by Justin in 2020, is a documentary that follows five years in the life and career of an independent filmmaker, supported by dozens of interviews, posing one question: how does an indie filmmaker survive in the current film business.Clapboard Jungle was birthed from his lacking for such resource at the start of his career in the industry and launched onto developing the project/thought after directing and writing his 2013 documentary, Skull World, which follows two years in the life of Greg Sommer, aka Skull Man, as he builds the Canadian chapter of Box Wars, an international underground movement of cardboard-based combat.Talking about horror, he wrote and directed a fantastic yet disturbing horror feature film, Lifechanger in 2018 that is about a homicidal shapeshifter who is obsessed with reconnecting with the woman he once loved. To cheat death, he leaps from one body to the next, stealing the form of his murdered victims. And with each new identity, he circles closer and closer to her, looking to wind his way back into her life and her arms, no matter the cost.Clapboard Jungle is a MUST WATCH FILM for all filmmakers. It shows you the raw truth behind the dream of being a filmmaker.Enjoy my eye-opening conversation with Justin McConnell.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.