WHAT THE 16 (1-HOUR) DVD LESSONS CONTAIN

FRESHMAN YEAR
DVD Lessons #1-4 teach how to Write, Budget
& Package your movie.

DVD LESSON #1: INDEPENDENT FILMMAKING
21st Century Production Basics
*Understanding the Film Biz *What is needed for Fame & Fortune. *The $20 Million Studio Feature *The $2 Million Art House Feature *The $200,000 Low-Budget Feature *The $20,000 No-Budget Feature *Getting Started & Breaking in

DVD LESSON #2: SCREENWRITING
Writing & Selling the Great Script
*Working with the Writers Guild *Writing Treatments *Register & Coyright Your Ideas *The Keep-It-Simple Formula *Writing the First Draft *The Re-Writing Process *Hiring Writers Cheaply *Optioning Properties *Hiring an Agent *Selling the Hot Script

DVD LESSON #3: GUILDS & UNION
What are the Low-Budget rules
*What is Low-Budget. The Writers Guild & WGA *The Directors Guild & DGA *The Screen Actors Guild & SAG. The Crew Union & IATSE. *Their Rules & Rates. What to Pay? *Procuring Crew. *Hiring Actors. The $100 / Day Rate. Union vs Non-union. Cost-Cutting Hiring Tricks

DVD LESSON #4: PRE-PRODUCTION
Lights, Camera, Sound, etc
*What Film Costs. Kodak vs Fuji *What Cameras Cost. Panavision vs Arriflex vs Aaton *Above-the-Line vs Below-the-Line *Vendor & Equipment Suppliers *Fisher Dollies vs Chapman Cranes *Negotiating Film Lab Deals. Print, Process & Develop *Securing a Light/Grip Package *Lighting A-Z *Capturing Sound *Hiring a Sound Crew

SOPHOMORE YEAR
DVD Lessons #5-8 teach how to Direct, Shoot
& Edit your movie.

DVD LESSON #5:  DIRECTING A-Z
The Art & Craft of the Director
*Directing the Actor *Casting A-Z *Rehearsal *Shot Selection *Directing the Camera *Interpreting the Script *Director’s Pre-Production *Securing a Performance *Mastering the Scene. *Maximizing Coverage *Master Shots, Medium Shots and Cutaways. *Reaction Shots and Close-ups *Shooting Ratio *Directing the Camera *Directing the Crew *Directing the Edit

DVD LESSON #6: PRODUCTION BASICS
Shooting the Film
*Establishing a Shot List *Hiring a Crew  *Securing 25-35 Setups/day *First Shot, Final Shot, Wrap *Department Heads *Cinematographer, Production Manager, Production Designer, Production Coordinator *Who to Hire *What to Pay *Film Permits *Production Insurance  *E&O Insurance  *Completion Bond *Synchronizing & Edge Coding *The Actual Shoot Costs

DVD LESSON #7: POST-PRODUCTION PROCESS 
Finishing the Film
*Film Editing *Hiring an Editor *Rough Cut  *Assemble Edit  *Post-Production Sound *Hiring a Sound Editor  *Dialogue Cutting *ADR, Lip Syncing, Looping & Foley *M&E Tracks  *Hiring a Music Editor  *Music & Score  *Music Clearance  *Negative Cutting  *Conforming  *Striking an Answer Print *Negotiating Post-Production Costs

DVD LESSON #8: DIGITAL FILMMAKING A-Z
The $500 to $50,000 Feature
*Canon vs Sony *HD vs 24p * Mini-DV vs DVcam *Buying or Renting *The 1-Day or 1-Week Shoot *The Best 3-Chip Cameras *3CCD.  Microphone Dos and Don’ts *Digital Lighting *Non-linear Editing *Digital Distribution *Streaming *Archiving *VOD *Digital Film Festivals *Digital Guerilla Filmmaking Tactics


JUNIOR YEAR
DVD Lessons #9-12 teach how to Market, Publicize
& Sell your movie.

DVD LESSON #9: BUDGETING A-Z 
The $50,000 to $10,000,000 Feature
*Producing the $500 Feature Film *Making the $100,000 Feature  *Budgeting the $1 Million Independent Feature  *The 1-Week or 2-Week Shoot *The 18-Day Shoot *The 16mm vs 35mm Shoot  *Guerilla Filmmaking Secrets & Tricks *The $3-$5 Million Movie-of-the-Week  *The $7-$10 Million HBO/Showtime Special  *The Cost-Cutting Nuts & Bolts

DVD LESSON #10: PUBLICITY & MARKETING 
Selling the Film & Securing a Distributor
*The Film Festival Circuit *Selecting Festivals *Winning Awards *Attracting a Distributor *Cannes vs Sundance   *Film Festivals vs Film Markets *Film Production Charts *Daily Variety vs Hollywood Reporter *Film Finders *Preparing a Press Kit *Securing a Distributor *Working Acquisition Executives *Creating a Buzz  *Being Discovered *Hiring an Agent

DVD LESSON #11:  CABLE & VIDEO/DVD DEALS 
Maximizing 3rd Window Sales
*The lucrative 3rd Window *Maximizing Revenues *Ancillary Revenue Flows   *Video/VHS Sales  *The DVD Explosion  *DVD Rentals & Sell-Throughs  *Cable Deals *Pay-Cable (HBO, Showtime, Encore)  *Basic-Cable (IFC, A&E, Bravo, TNT, TBS, etc)  *The VSDA  *Made-For-Home-Video *P-P-V vs V-O-D *Broadcasting Licenses

DVD LESSON #12:  FOREIGN SALES & FILM PROFITS
Maximizing Global Revenues
*Selling Global *Film Markets vs Film Festivals *AFM, Cannes & MIFED *North American Theatrical Deals *Split Rights Deals *35 Nations & Territories  *100-200 Film Sellers   *1,500-2,000 Film Buyers  *Foreign Sales  *Global Pre-Sales.  Foreign Video/DVD *Foreign Broadcasting  *What’s Hot, What’s Not  *Who’s Buying  *What are They Paying

 

SENIOR YEAR
DVD Lessons #13-16 teach how to Finance, Schedule
& Distribute your movie.

DVD LESSON #13:FINANCING & DEALMAKING 
Securing Film Production Money
*Indie Film Finance Guide *Securing Investors *Raising $1 Million *45 Theatrical Distributor Contacts *Preparing a Movie Package *Independent Film Financing *Funding By-The-Numbers *Sell the Sizzle *Limited Partnerships vs LLC legal structure *Selling Units  *Offering Memorandums *What to Offer Investors *50% Profits, 1st Position & 25% Interest *100% Guarantees

DVD LESSON #14:  THEATRICAL DISTRIBUTING 
Negotiating a Distribution Deal
*50-50 Net Deal *Net vs Gross Deals *What’s Negotiable, What’s Not *P&A Budgets  *What Film Prints Cost *Advertising Costs *Distribution Fees *Box Office Gross *Distributor’s Gross *Producer’s Gross *Exhibitor’s Share *Profits, Net Profits & Net Producer’s Profits *Recouping Expenses *The Major Distributors (Warner Bros, Paramount, Fox, etc) *The Mini-Majors (Miramax, Lionsgate, NewLine, etc) & The Independent Distributors *Deal Memo Points

DVD LESSON #15:  FILM ORGANIZATION A-Z
Preparing a Shooting Schedule
*Preparing a Production Board *Planning an Efficient Shoot *Securing a Shot List *Storyboarding and Shot Selection *What to Shoot First *Scheduling Locations *Location Scouting *Pre-production paperwork *Production Forms & Contracts *“13” Easy-to-Follow Planning Steps *Creating a Shooting Schedule *Interior vs Exterior Shots *Day vs Night Shots *How to Organize Your Shoot

DVD LESSON #16:  FILMMAKER’S GAMEPLAN 
A Roadmap to Hollywood Success
*Hollywood Fame, What is Needed *How to be Rich & Famous.  The 7 Traits to Movie Fame *After Talent, What is Needed *The KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) Formula *Good is Not Good Enough *The Script Must be Great *Quentin Tarantino, Guy Ritchie, Baz Luhrman & Doug Liman’s Success Formula *First, Make-A-Film. Then, Make-A-Deal *How to start *Produce!  *Write!  *Direct!