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Performers, Writers, and Artists Unite!
The Marvel movies, Infinity War and Endgame generated a combined
whopping gross of 4.7 billion dollars. The true creator of these properties
(Captain America. Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, and the Avengers), Jack Kirby,
was considered a work-for-hire employee back in the 1960's. After his death in
1994, his family had to take legal action to get a slice of the pie.
The Deeper Problem
It seems that the industry is set on a select few to reap the rewards, and they
are not creators but are recipients/acquirers of the content.
One of the concerns of writers is that they will be
replaced by AI.
With a large enough database of stories, that could be possible. Do you recall
when Netflix
was looking for AI specialists with an average
salary of 900,000?
Actors are afraid that their likeness can be mapped to
a motion-captured stand-in. These deep fakes are becoming more and more
convincing.
A Solution
So if you are dealing with entities that don’t value or diminish your
contribution, what do you do? Band together and form your own production
company. Actors
do this all the time to get promising projects made. Michael B.
Jordan, Brad Pritt, Adam Sandler, Reese Witherspoon, Viola Davis, and Ice Cube
are a small list to name a few.
Ice Cube said wisely in an interview, “We got the idea
that you don’t have to spend $100 million to make $100 million,” he said. “If
you got a good story, good actors, people willing to work, if you can
keep the budget down, at the end of the day everybody’s happy and you
get a chance to do another one.”
If you can figure out your own marketing/advertising
strategy and distribution you are set.
Social Media & Crowdfunding
So you are not a name actor with deep pockets. What do you do?
Crowdfunding
is a possibility to get funding for your film. Who would have thought
that Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and GoFundMe could be viable platforms for film
funding?
The use of social media is a way to market and
advertise your movie. TikTok videos and YouTube have been used to advertise
just about anything to great effect when done properly. The use of the Facebook
Groups community is another way to generate interest. Building up anticipation
with your fanbase is the way to get the ball rolling.
The Budget
The budget is the thing that will make or break your filmmaking odyssey.
Going indie means you have to keep your costs down. A low budget does not mean
low quality. Roberto
Rodriguez filmed “El Mariachi” on a budget of $7225. His little
film got him a three-picture deal with Sony Pictures, set off his career as a
professional filmmaker and allowed him to create his own production company,
Troublemaker Studios.
Robert Town was a frustrated black actor who maxed out
his credit cards to co-write, produce, and direct “Hollywood
Shuffle”. The movie was not only a smash hit but
paved the way for future stars like Keenen Ivory Wayans, Anne Marie Johnson,
Damon Wayans and John Witherspoon.
So-called Micro-Budget movies
when executed properly can give a big payoff to the producers/writers/directors
involved. The Blair Witch Project, Clerks, Eraserhead, Night of the Living
Dead, Pi, She’s Gotta Have It, Following, Roger and Me, and Paranormal Activity
are all prime examples that started the careers of Kevin Smith, David Lynch,
George Romero, Spike Lee, Chris Nolan, Daron Aronofsky, and Micheal Moore.
Tyler
Perry is a breakout producer and studio owner who didn’t let a
lack of funds keep him down. Perry had nothing but a dream back in the 90’s
sleeping in his car wanting to be in entertainment. He started writing stage
plays and built that success into movie production and studio ownership.
“Don’t wait for someone to green light your project,
build your own intersection.” — Tyler Perry
What are your thoughts on this subject? Do you think
Hollywood can be beat at its own game? Let me know for a follow-up on this.
Want to generate ideas quickly for film, novels, and comics?
Get the Idea Genesis ebook here.
Getting the Best from Both Worlds.
The
Good and Bad News
During
a panel event at Phoenix comic con this past June, the presentation for the
book was very well received. Everyone really enjoyed the concepts &
techniques used to generate great ideas quickly. I realized afterward however
that there probably should have been a chapter for nonfiction writers as well.
Fiction
Fiction
is imagined stories featuring characters, situations, and locations for the
purpose of dramatic impact and entertainment. If done right, we live
vicariously through these characters to experience the thrill and the joyride
of the journey.
Genres add more to the experience by adding specific elements to the story in terms of
form, style, and subject matter to appeal to a certain audience.
Fans
have certain expectations that must be met when reading fantasy, romance,
sci-fi, humor, or horror. The primary thing the writer must do is create
interesting characters and situations leading to conflict and unique
resolutions. Using 3 act structure can help pace your story and keep forward
momentum.
Nonfiction
Nonfiction
takes a completely different approach. The style of the writing is done to
point out the truth and facts of a given example or situation. The reader is
expecting to gain knowledge, inspiration, critical thing skills, and wisdom
based on what you reveal.
Does
nonfiction have genres too? Why yes it does. History, philosophy, biographies,
self-help, science, and business are a few of the notables.
Some
things to consider with nonfiction would be the usefulness of the
material and the authenticity of the writing. If you are not touching on
solutions to problems people are experiencing, real-world life lessons, ways to
inspire, or knowledge/ tips to benefit the reader emotionally or financially
you may not have much luck. Drawing from your own experiences is key to
authenticity.
Best
of Both Worlds
The
advantage of fiction is that it doesn’t have to be based on reality, and you
can build to climatic situations with the correct structure. Is this possible
with nonfiction? Can you apply elements of storytelling in your work? You sure
can.
Though
you are dealing with facts, there is no reason not to think beginning, middle,
and end, building to a climatic revelation or inspirational moment. How about
writing your nonfiction with genre trappings like a mystery, action/adventure
or humor? The readers are following you on your journey and hopefully, your
trip is worth the ride
Some
techniques that work well with nonfiction are meaningful questioning, being the
devil’s advocate, listicles, do’s and don’ts, and instructional steps to
achieve an objective or overcome problems. Alternately, some of these
techniques when applied to fiction could help you generate more situations and
scenarios for your characters.
Lessons
Learned
If
you are truly creative enough you can use the best of both worlds to help in
whatever type of writing or genre you attempt to tackle.
Want
to generate ideas quickly with your writing? Get the Ideas Genesis ebook here.
Davis began his career in comics on an English fanzine. His
first professional work was a strip called The Crusader for a revamped Marvel
UK line.
Davis's big break was drawing the revamped Captain Britain story in Marvel Superheroes. He considered drawing as a hobby until Alan Moore (later to create The Watchman) took over writing duties on Captain Britain. Davis and Moore formed a close working partnership as creators working on 2000AD (home of Judge Dread).
Arthur Suydam is an American comic book artist known for his work
on Marvel Zombies, Deadpool, and Black Panther. He has done
artwork for magazines including Heavy Metal, Epic Illustrated and National
Lampoon, while his comic book work includes Batman, Conan, Tarzan, Predator,
Aliens, Death Dealer, and Marvel Zombies.
In high school, Suydam discovered a collection of workbooks from the Famous Artist Correspondance Course from which he discovered Albert Dorne, and Norman Rockwell. Some of his other influences are the classic illustrators Franklin Booth, Henrich Kley, and the amazing Frank Frazetta (also take a look at galleries 2-3). Frazetta's bio is here
- Include all fees talent and expenses in your ask
- Have biweekly offerings after the initial crowdfund
- Don't have simultaneous campaigns running
- Make sure bonus items are no bigger in size than the initial offer - Seduce fans with your vision
- Know your costs, ask for less, and hope for more
Check out Kickstarter here.
Started in 1976, The Joe Kubert School is still in business. Joe Kubert was best known for his DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman. He is also known for his own creations, such as Tor, Son of Sinbad, and the Viking Prince, and the comic strip Tales of the Green Beret. Starting professional at age twelve he has had a 70-plus year run in the comic business
The highly regarded school offers online classes, correspondence courses, and on-premise learning if you happen to be in the N.J. area. Click here for more info.
Check out Kubert's awesome art here and Kubert's videos here
More to come. Stay tuned.
Triple A Dude is now on Facebook. Check it out here.
I will be showcasing my new book, Idea Genesis, as well as the Cartoon Production Resource Guide and the Audio Production Resource Guide.
