FESTIVALS

Some of the smaller festivals are still a good place to expose your movies. The big ones like CANNES are dominated by the majors now. If you have an artistic movie, avoid the over-exploited big festivals. They've sold their soul to the majors. All they care about is money and being seen with movie stars. The films themselves are secondary. And when you've done the big film festival trip, you'll feel used. After a while they leave a sour taste on your tongue. According to the subject of your movie, seek out those festivals that suit you. There are a lot of festivals in countries that have not yet been discovered by the majors. Look everywhere and take advantage of what they have to offer before the majors do.

Table of Contents

Part I.
The Screenplay.
Story Construction.
Script Formats.
Story-Boarding.

Part II.
Pre-Production.
Script Breakdown.

Budgeting.
Financing.
Casting.
Crew Selection.
Production Manager.
Cinematographer.
Operator/ Focus Puller/Loader/Slate.
Sound Recordist.
Boom.
Continuity Person.
Art Director.
Costume Designer.
Gaffer.
Key Grip.
Prop Person.
Make-Up & Hair.
Production Assistant.
Editor.
Equipment.
Studio & Location Scouting.
Lab Procedures.
Catering.
Insurance.

Part III.
Production.
Producer.
Director.
Hierarchy of Command.
Setting Up the First Shot. 
Procedure for Shooting a Scene. 
Language of Film. 
Long Shot. 
Medium Shot. 
Close-up. 
Aesthetics. 
Coverage.
Sticking to Schedule. 
Sticking to Budget. 
Directing Actors. 
Controlling Technicals. 
Special Effects. 
Special Processes and Genres. 
Finishing Principle Photography. 
Pick-Ups. 

Part IV.
Post-Production. 
Editing. 

Dialogue Cutting. 
Cutting Action. 
Techniques. 
Artistic Considerations. 
Equipment. 
The Editor. 
Editing Music. 
Sound Effects Editing.
ADR & Dubbing. 
The Mix. 
Negative Cutting. 
Printing the Film. 
The Answer Print. 
Release Prints. 

Part V.
Distribution. 
Finding a Distributor. 
Majors' Distribution. 
Mini-Majors. 
Independent Distributors. 
Distributing Your Own Film. 
The Foreign Market. 
Domestic Distribution. 
Festivals. 
Four-Walling. 
Video, TV & Ancillary Markets. 
Building Your Library of Films. 
Business Options. 
Corporations. 
Limited Partnerships. 
Public Offerings. 
Conclusions.