FOUR-WALLING

Four-walling means that you rent the theater. The theater keeps the concessions. They make more money with popcorn and drinks than they do with the movie tickets, you knew that, right? They do. You can rent a theater for $100 to $300 per day just about anywhere. Some theaters cost more. You should study the theater location and prospective audience demo-graphics very carefully before you make a deal.

It's really not that hard to rent theaters. But try to negotiate very carefully. Sometimes you'll find a theater owner who likes your movie and is willing to go fifty-fifty with you. Other times you make a deal where you pay for the advertising and the theater owner gets a smaller percentage of the "door." There are all kinds of deals you can make, but remember your first concern should be the screening you give your movie, because you can take those exhibition figures, facts and receipts and get yourself a better theatrical distribution deal later, after you've proven the box office potential of your movie.

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.