Welcome to my life, my independent life. Now I noticed something about a lot of film makers that made it in the industry, a lot of them documented their travels and adventures. Something that I’d love to do down the road is take a look back at what I did and did not do.
I’m a big fan of blogs like Coffee and Celluloid (The Bottom), The Thinking Writer (The middle) and John August (The Top). Now there’s a view from the bottom looking in… an independent producer-director with no film school under my belt.
While I’ve thought about it, film school would be nice but I’ve already produced my first short film on a budget, and I’m producing my second. Why go through the hassle of film school when I can already act as a knowledgeable producer-director?
I’m going to be experimenting with various forms of blogging, everything from just a wrap up of my day to an hourly assessment of my day to just anything on my mind. If you like a specific one, let me know in the comments!
I’m also available to answer any questions. How do you get your short film financed? Where do you find a director of photography? How many production assistants do you need? How do you get three Arri Lights (300, 650 and 1000W, with 15 Scrims, 3 Stands a Chimera and some Gels), A sound Kid (Boom Mic, Boom Pole, High Quality Recorder and 25 Feet of cables) and a High Definition Camera (WIth a 35mm lens) all for $350? This is the place to find out!
So, without further ado, I give you: The Independent Life of Tyler Leisher, Day 1.
12:00 PM
Slept in, it’s rare in my line of work but so delicious when you get the chance. I had been freaking out over the fact that I let one of my lead actresses (Jessica Montanez) walk off set without having her sign a Talent Release form. I had been calling her off and on for the past two weeks trying to get her to fax one over to me, I got a wake up call to the fax coming over! I can breathe easily, it’s going to be a great day.
12:30 PM
My next project is being written by Ryan McLeod, a great up-and-coming writer who recently made the move to LA. Last night Ryan sent me an email with three log lines to look over, I chose one and sent him an email back but after sleeping on it I’m rethinking the other two ideas, I’m really leaning towards one of the other ones.
12:45 PM
I finally cave and send Ryan an email, asking him to write a synopsis for both the ideas. If he would rather just write one, that’s fine by me, I love both ideas and would love to make either happen.
1:30 PM
Filmaka.com released the other films for last months contest, I began to watch them and find the ones that I’d like to vote for.
2:30 PM
Voting for Dare has opened up, I’ll spend the next few hours watching the other entries and promoting my film.
4:45 PM
Finally finished promoting it, everyone I possibly know (and some people I don’t) now know about the film, and hopefully will be voting on it. The only thing that really matters is the Jury, they are the ones who ultimately decide if my film earns me the right to the $1,000 and the chance to make a second film. I’ve spent a little while looking over what I could get for that $1,000, I shot Dare for around $300 and that extra $700 could go a long way. I’d be less skimpy with the money when I’m spending OPM (Other Peoples Money).
5:15 PM
My friend Ricky sends me a text message asking about some audio project he has going, I’ll probably just refer him to Stephen (My sound engineer).
7:30 PM
After talking with a friend of mine, whom I worked with a few weeks ago, to find out when I’ll be paid for that work. Looks like I have to wait til the 15th or this month. After racking up all that debt on the Dare, and a ton of other debt (Including rent, and more!) I’m really anxious regarding my money. I’m one that hates having a lot of debt, I never like to owe people.. but right now I owe a lot… Hopefully this check can bring me out of the red!
9:00 PM
Ryan sent me a text message, asking which one I want to make. I would love to make the Science Fiction film that he proposed last night, but I’m curious how effects heavy it is going to be. After a ten minute phone call with Ryan, we decided on the Science Fiction style story. It should be really interesting, and pretty tough at the same time, a great challenge!