I have been asked by my old Film Maker pal, Chris Jones, author of the Guerilla Film Maker's Handbook, to be a guest on his weekly internet chat show TONIGHT (29/4/10). It's a live internet TV show broadcast on-line from 7.30pm.
Well, in reality I sold around 600 units, so doing the maths, this was around £6000 I walked away with. Not bad for a months work, I guess. But nowhere near what I was hoping to make, which was around 4-5000 units, which would have pretty well got things rolling on my new film, The Final Reel. But alas, this wasn’t to be. Yet…
But it’s not all doom, gloom and despair, for one, Discover Warwickshire, has had some incredible feedback. People really do love it, and I’m not just saying that. The local press have been extremely supportive, including the BBC local news. This coverage has opened a huge amount of doors, and in the next two weeks, I will be getting a load more local press which should help sales immensely.
The internet sales have been pretty good too. Since December, we have sold 52 copies on-line. Up until now, I haven’t really spent that much time pushing the on-line side, so I am fairly happy with this. I hope to bring in a lot more from this over the next few months.
As I mentioned in my last entry, Warwick Castle, are now selling the film for us, as well as the Shakespeare Birthplace Museum (In Stratford upon Avon), seven of the counties leading Tourist Information Centers have it, ten Libraries have it, Stratford Butterfly Farm have it and the Nuneaton and Coventry branches of Waterstones Bookshop have it.
Each of these are actively pushing the film for us,
some of them have the trailer running with the video (including Waterstones, who have a very impressive display with the video running right in the entrance of their store.) We are also talking to some other big shops about stocking the film locally.
So, in the longer term, I think Discover Warwickshire could be fairly lucrative. And I hope it will drip feed cash into the company, taking the pressure of the business each
month and allowing a little more freedom to raise cash for my films. Once the weather warms up (we’re inches deep in snow here), I will continue selling the film at the local markets, not quite as full on as I have done, but maybe 1 or 2 days a week, depending on my production work.
So, still some way to go yet, but loads of very exciting things in the pipeline. As regards, bringing in the big bucks to get Kaleidoscope Man moving, well, I have plans, big plans and will do everything to get it up and running this year.
To quote Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars – Revenge of the Sith:
Happy New Year!
Well, there's no turning back now as I have just booked up to sell the DVD of my new film, Discover Warwickshire, at none less than 15 Christmas markets around the county. I will be combining this with a massive local press campaign, which hopefully will send people to my market stall or to the website (www.discoverwarwickshire.com). If this works and I can sell plenty of copies - filming of "Final Reel" begins in the new year!
Since putting the opening sequence of Kaleidoscope Man on the blog I've been surprised by the amount of hits I've been receiving and the fantastic comments and emails. Thank you all for your ongoing encouragement.
Last night was the world premier of the film I edited and shot 2nd Unit on, Charles Dickens's England. It was screened at the NFT on the London Southbank, on the biggest screen I have ever seen - and it looked sensational!!!
The feature documentary I edited and shot 2nd Unit on is about to go on theatrical release. This will be mainly in London and then in some places around the UK. The DVD release will follow on soon after. I'm delighted with it!
This is a brief synopsis of my new film, Final Reel, written by Simon Bovey. We're planning to shoot in October and I'm sure we'll be looking for people to help us. I will let you know nearer the time how you can be a part of it. In the meantime, we still need funding help, so do please buy some of our memrobilia - every little bit helps! Many thanks.
Final Reel - Story Synopsis
Nick Foley was once a hot shot film editor but he’s now consigned to a life of corporates and wedding videos. Three weeks before Christmas, one of his biggest clients drops him and he stares bankruptcy in the face.
We also chatted about how on earth we are going to get our next feature, Final Reel, up and running. Simon's big concern is how to keep the quality up on a micro budget and if I will really have the space to do the story justice. As ever, it comes down to time and money. I'm still optimistic about my fundraising ideas, but won't know for a while if I'm being realistic or not, but my feelings are that if we're having the conversations and people know what we're trying to achieve, they will start to come on board.
Well, I have just received 3000 replicated DVD disks of Written
in Blood from the duplicators. My plan is to sell as many as possible in as short a possible time to finance my new film, The Final Reel.
I will be doing a massive email send out to film makers, film companies and people I've met along the way in the hope that they can help. As you will see from the column on the right of the blog, I am now starting to sell all sorts of stuff, Written in Blood DVD's and memorabilia and Kaleidoscope Man artwork. I am aiming to raise around £105K. If I can do this, I'll apply to Screen West Midlands to try and get their media fund, which could bring in another £35K.
I know it's a long shot, idealistic and possibly naive to think that people will automatically buy my film, but I am determined to get Final Reel shot this year. If anyone has any fundraising ideas, however crazy, please do get in touch.
Many thanks.
Well, I've been working through the Final Reel script and at the moment its still fairly big budget. Simon Bovey and I are about to re-draft and find the best way to bring down the cost without compromising the story. Thankfully, Simon has always kept this in mind that its a lower budget movie so there are no "herds of Wilder beast galloping across the open plain" shots to film.
A lot of people have asked me how they can get a copy of my first feature film, Written in Blood. Up until now, I've only ever sold it at the various Memorabilia shows I've attended around the country. So I'm delighted to be able to sell it today...
Who's in it?
Grant Masters, Sharon Small, Gary Beadle, Francis Magee, Doug Bradley, Patrick Robinson & Ben Shockley.
The story
A century ago a series of horrific murders rocked the city. Now, as the end of the millennium approaches, a copycat killer stalks seven victims, praying on the unwary - repaying a pact with the devil which will plunge the world into chaos.
Martin Harris, a best selling horror fiction writer, stands between the forces of damnation and hope for redemption. A man who suspects that his own dark fantasies have conjured the spirit of ancient evil back to renewed life, and deep below the city he learns to his horror, that death is not the end... Written in Blood is a modern film-noir thriller with the accent of mystery and suspense, Alpha Star Films presents a roller coaster ride into a dark world of paranoia and suspicion, in which the supernatural intrudes into a world spiraling towards the end of the century and into the encroaching darkness.
Duration 96 Minutes
Special Features
1.Commentary by Simon Cox
2. An interview with Simon Cox commissioned by The Horror Channel.
3. Deleted Scenes
4. 2 Short psychological Thrillers by Simon Cox
5. The Original Pilot used to get the funding.
6. Every copy is signed by the Director
7. When you have watched the film, fill in the form inside it, send it back and we'll invite you to be an extra in Kaleidoscope Man (when we finally get the film funded)
Ken and I have been busy getting the business plan into new potential funding areas.
I am in touch with a local group of Business Angels who I’m hoping may be interested in the tax breaks and the opportunity to be involved with our movie. To register with this group we do have to pay a fee, so I will be doing some serious research into the real feasibility of getting funded before we part with any cash.
From the research I've already done it does seem that Business Angel Networks do require cash up from as well as a percentage of the sum raised.
I’m still busy on the Charles Dickens Documentary. I delivered a rough cut just before Christmas and start on the fine cut with Julian (the Director) on Tuesday. We should have the fine cut by the end of the month.
This weekends Memorabilia show at the NEC in
As a Film Maker, I feel its really important to have a presence at these kind of events as the people who attend, love genre films, and will be the ones going to the cinemas to watch Kaleidoscope Man when it comes out.
I premiered the new trailer and everyone seemed to love it! I also sold quite a few copies of my last feature film, Written in Blood, on DVD.
Star Wars and
K-Man at Memrobilia Nov 2008 from Simon Cox on Vimeo.
Many thanks to Lucia Landino and Chris Jones for their help with this video.
Ken has returned from the American Film Market with some very positive news about
I have been in touch with Screen West Midlands asking for support to help with a large funding event we're running in
This weekend is the Sci-Fi and Horror Memorabilia show at the Birmingham NEC where I will be selling signed copies of my first feature film, Written in Blood. I'll also be showing the Kaleidoscope Man trailer and asking film fans to give me their opinions on camera. This will be going into a nifty little documentary I'm putting together for the funding event in January - a chance to be on the big screen! If any of you would like to come and be in it, its a great (and very geeky event) and it would be fantastic to meet you.
For more info go to: http://www.memorabilia.co.uk
I'm still busy shooting 2nd Unit on this Charles Dickens Documentary I mentioned in my last entry. I've been shooting on the Panasonic Varicam camera and with the lens we've got this is one heavy beast of a camera and I've found muscles I didn't know I had!! The quality of the images however are truly staggering.
I've started to get feed back from some of the potential Investors who've received the business plan. They all seem impressed with the film and the DVD, and I get the sense that there are people out there who would genuinely like to help.
On the other hand, there is grave concern about the current financial shenanigans kicking off around the globe. A lot of investors are seeing their fortunes disappear and investing in a movie seems to be the last thing on their minds right now.
I'm just finishing this colossus of a corporate video, so from next week I'll be able to get back to seriously marketing the plan. I really can't wait. I know there are people out there who will help us. I just need to find them...
After a week of taking notes, hearing opinions and listening to a bunch of screenwriting CD's, the new draft of the script has begun. I went through the first 20 pages on Saturday, ruthlessly hacking and slashing and re-ordering scenes, and I have to say I'm delighted with the progress so far. I've ironed out the main issues with the beginning being a little slow and confusing. There’s now plenty of action and conflict and it certainly doesn’t stand still. Just another 70 pages to go!
An Investor called me on Thursday and said that he would discuss the business plan with some other film investor contacts. Watch this space for more news.
I'm staying in
I got up at 6.00am this morning and sat in Costa Coffee working on the re-draft of
I haven't heard anything back from the business plans I sent out to Investors yet, fingers crossed we'll here something soon.
Watch this space…!
Well, a huge chunk of business plans have gone out to potential Investors. The flyers I mentioned in my last entry have arrived and look great. They'll be hitting the floors of Lawyers and Accountants in the city early next week. And I've had the first few conversations about the budget. All exciting stuff...
But, something has been nagging me for the last few months; the big ugly monster waiting for me in the corner, the thing that, if I don't sort out now, will haunt me for the rest of my life. Yep, you've got it, THE SCRIPT!!!
Now, there's nothing actually wrong with the script, it certainly works, and is a very powerful piece of narrative. But is it really as good as it can be???
Some close friends have read it recently and although they've been complimentary, the same issues come to light. They've found some areas confusing and in places it's hard to follow. The problem seems to be due to the high level of visual set pieces in the film. There is a lot of description about alien things that are hard to visualize. In my heart, I'm sure that when an audience SEES what I have in mind they will have no problem following it, but it's vital that the script works in my favor (as investors are bound to read it) so this must be addressed.
Over the last year, I've been busy on business plans, making pilots and generally working hard to pay the mortgage and get to this stage. The thought of going back to the script scares the life out of me. It's a bit like ripping your back bone out and then trying to stand. The whole thing could collapses around me. But, I have to be grown up and embrace this demon, because this has to be sensational and world class.
When I set out to make this movie, I intended to make it "one of the greatest British sci-fi movies of all time". Which is easy to say, and gets even easier the more you say it. And the more you say it, the more you start to believe it. And the thing is, I genuinely DO believe it will be "one of the greatest British sci-fi movies of all time". But, delivering on this, well, that's a different story!
So, from here on, its head down and get on with it. The new draft starts over the weekend (GULP!). Wish me luck.....
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So, having thought it through, I’ve decided a slightly different approach. Instead of writing a letter, I‘ve designed a small flyer that I will send out to the Lawyers and Accountants instead. This way I don’t have to write individual letters and the artwork and website will hopefully hook them in. Printing.com have a fabulous deal on at the moment. 2000 high gloss
double sided flyers for only £76 – A bargain!! The flyer will also act as a sort of business card telling people about the movie. These should be ready by early next week.
Here is the first batch of business plans that will go out later this week. I have a nice little list of potential investors they’re going to and the plans look great – really glossy, I really don’t think they could look any better.
By the way, I’m getting loads of hits on my blog at the moment. Thank you all for your support. Here's a rather nice email I received earlier this week:
I came across your blog through Chris Jones’ blog and just wanted to say that everything you discuss on your blog is extremely interesting and useful to someone like myself, just starting out in the industry. The 'making of' video entries are FANTASTIC! I want to learn as much as I can about the business, I want to see things being made, people physically using the camera, watching the editing process, directing the actors etc etc. So, THANK YOU , and I do hope you add more 'behind the scenes' video on your blog page!
Also, may I wish you every success with your latest project!!
Danny Lacey