What a crazy month it has been. For those who are interested, I've been posting the details of my trip on twitter. You can follow me here: www.twitter.com/todfilm.
I'll have more in depth postings later. Hong Kong was great. Amsterdam was cold. Cannes had great food. That's my short review. More in depth coverage will come. After my around the world trip, including HK Filmart and MIPTV, I am so incredibly busy. I have so much follow up to do. Basically going to two markets in a row, a film market and a TV market, means I have double the amount of work to do. Now I am working on a bunch of deals to bring our product to distributors in Asia.
Then a couple weeks after I got back, I went to Coachella. This is my fifth time going to the music festival. I had a lot of fun. Stand out performances for me were Leonard Cohen, Antony, and The Hold Steady. I didn't see many bad performances because I didn't bother to stick around. Why would you when you have five stages of music to choose from?
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Making Money in Short Films?
This isn't a post so much as it is a question. Back when I started making short films back in 2003, there wasn't really a market for short films. The broadcasters I talked to didn't even know what to do with them. This was back when digital filmmaking was just starting to take off. So with all of the changes in digital filmmaking and websites and everything, is anyone making any money at short films? I'm not talking a couple hundred or a couple thousand dollars from film festival license fees. But is anyone making serious money off their short films? Like $30-50,000 with their shorts? And I am talking about profit not net. I have friends that have spent $30,000-50,000 on their short films that got substantial five figure license fees from broadcasters, but they still haven't broken even. Is there a market for short films or are they still used mostly as calling cards and stepping stones to make features?
I'm just wondering how much the short film market has changed in the past five years. After I did my last couple of shorts, I decided to take some time off. Now I am thinking about getting back behind the camera again but wondering what I will find once I enter that world again. For the past couple of years, I've been focused on selling and promoting other people's films.
I'll be traveling a lot over the next couple of weeks with Hong Kong Filmart and MIPTV coming up. Then a week later I head out to Palm Springs for Coachella. It's gonna be an interesting month. I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures to share with you guys.
I'm just wondering how much the short film market has changed in the past five years. After I did my last couple of shorts, I decided to take some time off. Now I am thinking about getting back behind the camera again but wondering what I will find once I enter that world again. For the past couple of years, I've been focused on selling and promoting other people's films.
I'll be traveling a lot over the next couple of weeks with Hong Kong Filmart and MIPTV coming up. Then a week later I head out to Palm Springs for Coachella. It's gonna be an interesting month. I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures to share with you guys.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
The storm cometh
Remember that storm I was talking about? Well, it's here and the reason I haven't been blogging much lately. I'm in the process of getting ready for my around the world trip in two weeks. If you want more immediate updates, I'd suggest following my twitter feeds.
You can definitely feel the effect of the world economy on the international film world. A lot of my regular buyers are deciding not to spend the money to go to the film markets. Let's hope they still have money to buy programming.
Looking forward to a boring film market. I'll be sure to bring my DS to play while I am bored.
You can definitely feel the effect of the world economy on the international film world. A lot of my regular buyers are deciding not to spend the money to go to the film markets. Let's hope they still have money to buy programming.
Looking forward to a boring film market. I'll be sure to bring my DS to play while I am bored.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
The Calm Before The Storm
I realize I have been rather absent from my blogging duties the past two weeks.
First of all, the big news is that my short film Coffee came out on DVD on the gay short film compilation FirstOUT 3 from Alluvial Filmworks. I haven't gotten any reporting yet. But supposedly it is performing well. I have already gotten a couple of emails from people that saw the film. So I know it is out there and available. If you see the DVD in the wild, please let me know where you saw it. If you absolutely must buy it, you can get it from TLA Video. In addition, I am pretty sure it is also available for rent from Blockbuster and Netflix.
Other than that, I have been getting ready for the coming busy festival and film market season, with Sundance, NATPE, Berlin, Filmart, MIPTV, and Cannes all coming up in the next six months. I won't be going to all of those events, but it's still going to be pretty busy for all the ones I will be attending.
That's it for now. I am going to enjoy what little peace remains before my job gets all hectic and super crazy.
First of all, the big news is that my short film Coffee came out on DVD on the gay short film compilation FirstOUT 3 from Alluvial Filmworks. I haven't gotten any reporting yet. But supposedly it is performing well. I have already gotten a couple of emails from people that saw the film. So I know it is out there and available. If you see the DVD in the wild, please let me know where you saw it. If you absolutely must buy it, you can get it from TLA Video. In addition, I am pretty sure it is also available for rent from Blockbuster and Netflix.
Other than that, I have been getting ready for the coming busy festival and film market season, with Sundance, NATPE, Berlin, Filmart, MIPTV, and Cannes all coming up in the next six months. I won't be going to all of those events, but it's still going to be pretty busy for all the ones I will be attending.
That's it for now. I am going to enjoy what little peace remains before my job gets all hectic and super crazy.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Goodbye 2008
I leave you with this cute picture of my sister's two adorable Dachshunds.I hope 2008 was a good year for you. I hope that 2009 is even better!
Happy New Year everyone!
Top Ten Things in 2008 aka Year's End
Here's to wishing you all a Happy New Year.
At this time of the year there are endless top ten lists. So here is my top ten list of things for 2008. It was a very good year for me.
10. Rock Band in the New Year - Last year, I spent the New Year's right by rocking out the vocals on Rock Band with my friend Randy and his friends up in SF. It was a blast. My favorite was War Pigs by Black Sabbath.
9. Warhammer Online - I traded my old MMO addiction City Of Heroes for a new addiction Warhammer Online. I'm not generally a big fan of PvP, but the way it is structured is very fun and interesting.
8. Global Economic Crisis - I'm not sure how much of this was self fulfilling prophecy. A rumor can lead to runs on the banks which just exasperates the problems. Despite whatever theory you may have about the cause of the current downturn in the economy, it's definitely going to effect us all. Just remember that this is nowhere near as bad as the great depression where we saw unemployment figures over 20%. I doubt we've seen the worst of it. Most likely we will have at least another 3-4 years of hard times. So just hunker down and prepare to stick it out. Now may be a good time to get rid of expensive habits like Starbucks Lattes, smoking, drinking or gambling.
7. Coachella - Every April I spend three days out in the desert listening to as many bands as possible. Some are great, some are just okay and some suck. But it's okay because there are five different stages. So if one band sucks you can always check out a different one.
6. Promotion - Making the transition from sales support to actually doing the sales was not easy and I had a ton of stuff to learn but it was worth it. Nothing worth doing is ever easy, it seems. But I got a nice promotion this year, which I think more accurately reflects my level of experience and ability. There's nothing worse than toiling away at a job you could do with your eyes closed. I am really enjoying the challenge of my new responsibilities. Plus I also enjoy meeting new people and traveling.
5. Milk - Seriously, if you have not seen this movie, I urge you to go see it and to bring along a couple of friends. For some reason, the movie hasn't been released as wide as it should. Some of my friends still haven't been able to see the movie because it isn't playing anywhere near them. Please, Focus and Universal, open this puppy wider. More people need to see it. And it has added poignancy considering the ongoing debacle of prop 8. Which leads me to:
4. Prop 8 - Honestly, I don't know where to begin. Our foes think the fight is over, but it only just began. When you are talking about the civil rights of millions of Americans, you can rest assured that we will keep fighting until we have won. Although, along with many in the LGBT community, I wondered, "Where are our leaders?" The old guard failed us: HRC, GLAAD, LAMBDA Legal, etc. They were too busy throwing parties while ignoring the people on the street. But the good thing is that this loss has spurred a new generation of activists. The people protesting in the streets aren't veteran protesters. They are everyday gay and lesbian people that are sick and tired of being pushed around.
3. Obama - While I am on the subject of politics, let's talk about Barack Obama. Personally, I was always a much bigger supporter of Hilary. And let's face it, Obama is no friend to the gay and lesbian community. Sure he gives us lip service, but his actions speak louder than any speech. Where was he during the prop 8 campaign? And, of course, we have the slap in the face with him invited Rick Warren to the inauguration. This is a man who has said that homosexuality is the same as incest and child molestation. In fact, his church welcomes everyone except for people who are gay. Nevertheless, it's a big step forward for this country to finally have elected its first minority President. Enough about politics, here's some personal moments:
2. Moving - After 8 years of roommates, I figured it was finally time to move into my own place and become an adult. I am enjoying the freedom. Although, since I am a social person, I miss the random conversations with my roommates. It also helps that I moved to an area that is within walking distance of a ton of shops and restaurants.
1. Distribution for 'Coffee' - Finally, the most important moment for me was securing distribution for one of my short films. I had always waited until I got an offer from a company that I trusted. Finally a good offer came along and I took it. I hope it does well and that I make some money back from it. Of course, now I have no excuse not to start making some more short films.
That's it for 2008. Here's to hoping that 2009 is just as good, if not better.
At this time of the year there are endless top ten lists. So here is my top ten list of things for 2008. It was a very good year for me.
10. Rock Band in the New Year - Last year, I spent the New Year's right by rocking out the vocals on Rock Band with my friend Randy and his friends up in SF. It was a blast. My favorite was War Pigs by Black Sabbath.
9. Warhammer Online - I traded my old MMO addiction City Of Heroes for a new addiction Warhammer Online. I'm not generally a big fan of PvP, but the way it is structured is very fun and interesting.
8. Global Economic Crisis - I'm not sure how much of this was self fulfilling prophecy. A rumor can lead to runs on the banks which just exasperates the problems. Despite whatever theory you may have about the cause of the current downturn in the economy, it's definitely going to effect us all. Just remember that this is nowhere near as bad as the great depression where we saw unemployment figures over 20%. I doubt we've seen the worst of it. Most likely we will have at least another 3-4 years of hard times. So just hunker down and prepare to stick it out. Now may be a good time to get rid of expensive habits like Starbucks Lattes, smoking, drinking or gambling.
7. Coachella - Every April I spend three days out in the desert listening to as many bands as possible. Some are great, some are just okay and some suck. But it's okay because there are five different stages. So if one band sucks you can always check out a different one.
6. Promotion - Making the transition from sales support to actually doing the sales was not easy and I had a ton of stuff to learn but it was worth it. Nothing worth doing is ever easy, it seems. But I got a nice promotion this year, which I think more accurately reflects my level of experience and ability. There's nothing worse than toiling away at a job you could do with your eyes closed. I am really enjoying the challenge of my new responsibilities. Plus I also enjoy meeting new people and traveling.
5. Milk - Seriously, if you have not seen this movie, I urge you to go see it and to bring along a couple of friends. For some reason, the movie hasn't been released as wide as it should. Some of my friends still haven't been able to see the movie because it isn't playing anywhere near them. Please, Focus and Universal, open this puppy wider. More people need to see it. And it has added poignancy considering the ongoing debacle of prop 8. Which leads me to:
4. Prop 8 - Honestly, I don't know where to begin. Our foes think the fight is over, but it only just began. When you are talking about the civil rights of millions of Americans, you can rest assured that we will keep fighting until we have won. Although, along with many in the LGBT community, I wondered, "Where are our leaders?" The old guard failed us: HRC, GLAAD, LAMBDA Legal, etc. They were too busy throwing parties while ignoring the people on the street. But the good thing is that this loss has spurred a new generation of activists. The people protesting in the streets aren't veteran protesters. They are everyday gay and lesbian people that are sick and tired of being pushed around.
3. Obama - While I am on the subject of politics, let's talk about Barack Obama. Personally, I was always a much bigger supporter of Hilary. And let's face it, Obama is no friend to the gay and lesbian community. Sure he gives us lip service, but his actions speak louder than any speech. Where was he during the prop 8 campaign? And, of course, we have the slap in the face with him invited Rick Warren to the inauguration. This is a man who has said that homosexuality is the same as incest and child molestation. In fact, his church welcomes everyone except for people who are gay. Nevertheless, it's a big step forward for this country to finally have elected its first minority President. Enough about politics, here's some personal moments:
2. Moving - After 8 years of roommates, I figured it was finally time to move into my own place and become an adult. I am enjoying the freedom. Although, since I am a social person, I miss the random conversations with my roommates. It also helps that I moved to an area that is within walking distance of a ton of shops and restaurants.
1. Distribution for 'Coffee' - Finally, the most important moment for me was securing distribution for one of my short films. I had always waited until I got an offer from a company that I trusted. Finally a good offer came along and I took it. I hope it does well and that I make some money back from it. Of course, now I have no excuse not to start making some more short films.
That's it for 2008. Here's to hoping that 2009 is just as good, if not better.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Tangerine Jam
As I write this I am enjoying homemade tangerine jam on top of toast. It's delicious.10 tangerines basically makes enough jam for three jars. I just put some in the fourth jar because I wanted to taste some for myself. The other three jars are Christmas presents.
I'm not normally this into cooking. But I just hate to let things go to waste. Plus, it's not like making jam is all that hard. You just put some tangerines in a saucepan, add some sugar and salt and let it simmer for an hour. Yummy! And it tastes better knowing that I made it.
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