* Find that special someone who rocks your boat!
* Platonic Membership option available for networking
only
Universal Film
www.ufmag.biz
42
Marina Louisa
Actress, Writer and Director “Creatives Dating is a fab idea as it is great to meet others with so much in common, unlike other sites where that connection is rare. You know where you are on the site, and so it’s easy to connect and get to know people who are creative, fun and friendly!”
Sarah Dorsett Actress and Singer “Films and theatre have always been my passion, and meeting fellow creatives are a match made in heaven when it comes to passion! .I have always enjoyed being a part of great productions! Creatives Dating combines all those ele- ments...watch this space!”
Rob Ho - Actor & Martial Arts Expert. “Not only is it great to network on, but it is the only site I know of that is safe for high profile people to join. Also people understand if I can’t answer because I’m working Alfred Möller - Filmmaker and
Steadicam Operator - “I am pas- sionate about my work, which leaves me with little spare time. Creatives Dating is perfect for meeting girls who understand my work commitments and also, networking with other industry professionals on the site, has led to me collaborating with a producer on a shoot in Peru!”
Angela Bull Actress & Producer
“In the short time that “Creative Dating” has launched, it has
already proved to be a valuable source of networking for its
members. Being able to use the site on a platonic basis is unique & has opened up a whole new
branch of social media.”
Matt Elesmore Freelance ASM, Actor & Event Manager “I use Creatives Dating to meet people who are like- minded to myself, in a Pro way, that all the other sites out there lack. People on the site understand what I do on a daily basis for work and accommodate that.
Clare McKenna Actress and Director “I love Creatives Dating. The people I have connected with have been unpretentious and inspiring. It feels safe. Like everyone has a tacit under- standing not to gossip! Just creative people connecting and maybe finding something more…”
Brigitte Millar - Actress - Repre - sented by APM Associates. “I like the website as it’s user friendly and makes it easy to con
- nect with industry professionals. It’s always interesting to hear from actors and other industry people and I enjoy using the site.”
Alexandra Vlcek Hair and Make-up Artist’ “I am hoping to meet someone who understands the demands of running their own business in the arts and who has similar in- terests...so far, so good!”
Dale Sumner Film Composer
“Creatives Dating is a great place to network
and meet new people. I only recently joined but already I have made
new contacts and I have found this site is perfect
for this.”
Neil Buchan-Grant Photographer “I do a lot of last minute travelling and crazy hours so dating can be problem- atic to say the least! I’ve met some truly inspiring and talented women on this site...I think the future looks bright!”
Ian Ralph Actor ’. “My work as a character actor often consumes my time vora- ciously, but I know that fellow creatives on the site understand this - so membership is a no- brainer for me!
Emma Taylor Artistic Director of Canal Cafe Theatre. ‘NewsRevue’ producer, director, per- former, writer, presenter. “I love that Atalanta had the vision to create a unique environment for creatives to mix and mingle romanti- cally and/or platonically.
Issue 10 - 2013
Universal Film
Geraint Rhys Benney film & TV actor “I’m too busy to really date at the moment, but I still like looking!
I find that the site is secure and
friendly, and networking on it is fun and not a Nic Penrake
Writer/Director “The nice thing about this site is the dating angle adds a certain warmth to the sometimes wearisome imperative about the importance of networking. Even if no exceptional date comes your way, you can still get creative with your networking!”
Nina Field Versatile Actress & Director“ I find the website great for making new friends with creative interests, and for making industry connections. I feel safe in the knowledge that the site is secure as everyone on here is a professional creative.”
Vicki Stitt Choreographer “I travel a lot with my work, and so my time is precious. I like that the site is secure and the people I meet on it understand my world. Wha
t a unique creative site - I love it!”
Garry Vaux
Writer/Photographer/Videographer “Creatives Dating is very good for networking with like-minded, individuals within the industry which helps to widen your perspective. It is also a great place to showcase your work, plus possibly find that next budding star.”
self-sacrificing voodoo doll, Somali pirates, and the plight of the cholera epidemic in Haiti in-
troduced the Underexposed Film Festival YC, a 2-day short film festival held in Rock Hill, SC, supported by the Arts Council of York County, to the world.
During its 2012, inaugural season, UFFYC delighted its audience with a regional film competition, and 4 blocks of non-competitive films that intrigued, enter- tained and challenged with diverse and topical films donated for screening by directors from festivals in- cluding Sundance, Tribeca and the Festival de Cannes. From cutting edge experimental films such as Stacey Steers 4000-collage masterpiece, Night Hunter, to Cut- ter Hodierne’s Somali pirate film, Fishing Without Nets, to a Depression-era circus that teaches a severely disa- bled man his own self-worth in The Butterfly Circus, viewers experienced thought provoking, independent films that would never have come to the area multi- plex. As the festival closed, Arts Council Executive Di- rector Debra Heintz mused, “We have set the bar very high, how will we top this?”
Faced with this challenge for 2013, Festival Direc- tor Karen Collins deemed the festival must go global, marking the beginning of UFFYC’s partnership with Withoutabox. “We are very excited to be exposing our audience to an international film experience. Film is a great uniter. It’s visual, emotional, and crosses lan- guage barriers in a way that nothing else can. We owe it to those directors who gave us their films last year to keep our standards high by continuing to intro- duce new ideas, introducing them to new issues and cultures and, challenging their imaginations,” says Collins. The UFFYC invites films in the narrative, ani- mation, experimental and documentary categories to compete for our 6 cash prizes, including 2 new catego- ries - Best Female Director and Best Student film. For more information on submitting to UFFYC, visit Under- exposedFilmFestivalYC.org
A
FULL EXPOSURE:
UNDEREXPOSED
FILM FESTIVAL YC
BECOMES A GLOBAL
COMPETITION
83 Miles, 16 Days, 1 Dream: From a wet and windy West Yorkshire all the way to the world’s most glamorous film festival in an attempt to raise funds for their first feature film. Last May one film company at- tempted the impossible - from Brighouse To Cannes, Le Tour De Tan.
NorthernWood Films took a remarkable world-first step last year, cycling almost 800 miles from the heartland of their film (Brighouse, Yorkshire, in the north of England) all the way to Cannes. The company were the first ever to do finish this, raising money for the team’s fictional film Orange Fever project.
Orange Fever The Movie is a true lad comedy, similar in tone to The Inbetweeners. It tells the true-life story of two likely lads on a mission to find love; they try salsa dancing, karaoke and even fake-tanning before discover- ing romance and redemption in the most unlikely of plac- es. The team have finished their script, have locations, a soundtrack, merchandise and a fantastically funny story- world in place – now they just need to complete the fun- draising to make their film.
In 2013 NorthernWood Films are cycling to Amsterdam on their next cycling and comedy adventure - cycling from trendy East London all the way to Amsterdam. Dalston To The Dam: The Hipster’s Unexpected Journey, NorthernWood Films are producing a structured-reality comedy documentary about this journey, which will climax at the world’s biggest celebration of the colour Orange. The Queen’s Day Festival: http://northernwood- films.tumblr.com/
7
Universal Film
44
www.ufmag.biz
Issue 10 - 2013
$1,000,000 for a film and only $5,000 for another. These offers are predicated upon what a company can make off of your film. So many avenues for distribution have disappeared. With Home Video, one could get for US (in the beginning) $250,000 for a film made under $100,000 just for US video. I did. Then the majors came in and cleverly approached all those Mom and Pop Home video stores and said, “Well, if you want our hit, you need to buy 10 ten pack”. Those Mom and Pop home video stores only had a budget for 100 copies a month so sud- denly indies fell to the back burner and dropped down to deals around $15,000. Majors started selling millions of copies while the indies sold thousands. It didn’t help to see tie-ins with eve-
ry fast food restaurant either. Also, HBO and your pay cable stations were paying big money for smaller films for “Premieres” at one point. They became smart and started making their own product so those avenues for revenues shrunk.
I would find a project with a reasonable budget right now (if one didn’t have names or an amazing concept) that would motivate a distributor to want to pick it up. If you want a company to distribute your film and take it to Cannes or AFM, you must consider what needs to be spent upfront to market your film for publicity which ultimately will come out of your recoupment. First, your distributor must pay for an office that can run from $10,000 to $50,000. Screenings can cost from $1,500 up. You have posters, flyers, trailers, rent- al equipment for the office i.e., a monitor to show your trailer, the costs go one and on. At the bigger markets there are daily trade papers. Daily ads can cost $3,000 for a page so for a dis- tributor to pick up your film. He or she needs to feel that any costs they extend will be recouped as those avenues shrink. Keep in mind, this cost will be amortized amongst the films that the company is bringing and it is your job to make sure that the company proceeds in that direction but these costs are “hard costs”. Would you like a poster of your film up in Cannes? Con- sider this, the poster must be designed. The cost for renting the space can run from $10,000 minimum to $150,000. Even if you have a design, the poster must be physically produced, shipped and you must then pay someone to put the poster up which can cost around $1,500. A company must consider all these costs before picking up your film so before you make that film, make sure you are making the right film.
Next: Exploring more genres that sell.
W
ith the ever mercurial distribution market, as changed by companies such as Netflix, Redbox and the advent of VOD, SVOD, how does an in- die producer approach making a film that will recoup, pay back its investors without compro- mising their own creativity? Well, this has been the age old question since famous painters, like Delacroix, humbled themselves to paint portraits of dowagers for income while really wanting to create grand epic scenes like Liberty Leading The People. A producer and director have to be smart these days when beginning because the key to success is to license your film so it can recoup investment. Where, however, do you start?Certain genres clearly sell better than other more niche or low budget films. For example, comedies al- most always benefit from a high profile cast. Very few low-budget comedies manage to get distribution or ‘break big’ at the box office. , Traditionally, independ- ent comedies have a harder time selling abroad due to variations and nuances in regional humour. Years ago, I was in Japan having lunch with a company that was releasing major comedy with Billy Crystal and they were very concerned that the film was a comedy and it was the first time they had released a film with subtitles. They weren’t sure if their audience would accept hearing the ac- tor’s voices since the norm had leaned more toward dubbing. It all worked out as the film was a success there.
Most producers need to understand that the business of dis- tribution is really a “business”. Buyers walk into offices at AFM and Cannes with their laundry list of films to license. They may simply say three action films, one documentary and a blockbuster. I have had buyers come up to me on the street in Cannes and simply ask, “Do you have any low budget action”. I say, “Yes” and they return with, ”Save them.” This may mor- tify a producer who has poured their heart and soul into their film. However, I have licensed their films and made it possible for their movies to be distributed on DVD,. Just to clarify: a distributor licenses your film for a period of time, for a fee, for a specific territory and a defined language.
The disparity in Minimum Guarantees for recouping budgets has become extreme as buyers are more then happy to offer millions for a blockbuster while that same company may only offer $10,000 for smaller films. Your Minimum Guarantee is a terms for the minimum that you would get for your film based on the fact that you have percentages in place for say DVD, etc. Having been on both sides of the fence, I have offered