This post is part of a series of posts that covered our first FilmShop Lab, a hands-on all-day event where FilmShop members and partners came together for practical and engaging workshops and case studies in media production.

The Documentary Case Studies focused on two feature length documentaries that were workshopped in FilmShop and focused on the process of seeking funding, obtaining distribution and strategizing for the festival circuit and screening strategies.  Both members took unique approaches to releasing their documentaries from traditional models – and found it to be more rewarding and that they strongly engaged with their viewer base in the process.  Both of these documentaries were made by FilmShop members, and used the FilmShop to build and shape their documentaries to their final products.

[Read more]

The first ever New York Film Festival Convergence Program concluded last weekend with plenty of transmedia panels, demos and story-hacks.  For filmmakers who couldn’t make it, but are transmedia-curious or looking to use it for your next project, here are five take-aways that you’ll find useful.

1. Give ‘em something to remember you by.

Try to incorporate unique, real-world items into a transmedia project that the audience will keep.  These items keep the audience remembering the experience, long after it is over. Items can be monetized as well.  Try to keep the items small.  Scented items are a bonus, since smell has the strongest memory recall effect out of all senses.

2. You have a new palette of emotions to paint.

As a filmmaker, you may not realize that you have a whole new batch of emotions to toy with your audience in transmedia – interactive emotions.

You can have an audience feel guilty for accidentally sending a beloved character to die.  They can fall in love with a flirty character.  They can trust someone – then be betrayed.  These types of interactive emotions are a whole new space to creatively explore.  Because the audience is interacting with the characters, these emotions can have a more substantial punch to them as well. Here’s a first person account of a death of a beloved character in Perplex City to give you an idea of how this is a whole different world of emotions.

3. UX, baby.

User experience (UX) has only been in the world of engineers and software designers – until now.  Filmmakers creating transmedia will have to create a frictionless user experience by understanding how the audience will be interacting with their story.  Game design is also a whole new world to us and we should at least have a basic understanding of it, even if we’re going to be collaborating with programmers who will be doing the grunt work in this area.

John Sear from Wall Four, creators of the incredibly fun game (and intriguing social experiment) Renga, personally recommends Jesse Schell‘s Art of Game Design – A Book of Lenses. And here’s nine quick tips for UX.  There’s plenty of other resources for game design and UX – but go Google it yourself – we’re preaching interaction here.

4. Audiences are more committed if they work for it.

People want to watch something they discover, not something they’ve been told to watch.  As a storybuilder, you will need to create easy to access “rabbit holes” or portals that your audience will discover in various places of interest.  They don’t have to be much – a simple QR code, website, one minute video or even text message.  But these “rabbit holes” need to set off an easy to explore chain reaction that rewards the audience for interacting and discovering more of your storyworld. These types of entry points, compared to traditional advertising, will lead to more committed and active audience members.

5. Know the Tools

As with any new type of storytelling, the best thing to do is familiarize yourself with the tools for creation and successful projects.

A starting point to build a foundation on is Andrea Phillips‘ book “A Creator’s Guide to Transmedia.” The book defines the different types of transmedia storytelling, practical tools, pitfalls to avoid and case studies.

Many transmedia tools are free or very cheap to implement.  There are obvious ones like Twitter and Tumblr, but here are some that are lesser known :

Twilio – For utilizing customized, responsive phone calls and text messages into a logic system or website.
Popcorn.js – An open HTML5 framework for interactive videos on a webpage.
Moveable Feast – Blend maps and multimedia for rich, in-person experiences.
IFTTT – Allows you to create triggers and actions for most types of social media and other popular internet services.  Allows for automation of some types of interaction.

Know of any other excellent tools?  Share them in the comments below!

By Theresa Loong

My first documentary as a director, Every Day Is a Holiday, is on television right now.  I feel a quiet sense of accomplishment.  I’m happy, yet still apprehensive, because I know my journey is only beginning.  The film still has to make its way into the world, and with the new world of distribution, there’s a long way to go.  Here are my reflections on the process, including how I received support from organizations such as The FilmShop.

[Read more]

Hey fellow filmmakers,

The FilmShop is looking for new members to join our collective. We are gearing up for our Summer 2012 Season and applications are now available: CLICK HERE!

Our season will begin the the second week of June for Tuesday and Thursday chapters and run weekly for four months. Member dues for the season are $60.

Hurry up! Deadline for applications is Friday, June 8!

By Ben Donnellon

I re-nested.  After about three years living in the different boroughs of New York City, I moved back in with my folks.  Why, you might ask?  Was it because I spent my six months living in Bushwick, Brooklyn sharing a small room with a friend from college…a room that we couldn’t walk across without bumping into each other?  Was it because our landlord across the hall dealt drugs to high school kids?   And that those kids would often sit on the hallway stairs, feet away from our door, waiting for the man. And sometimes after coming home late from a days work I’d see a high schooler, still wearing his backpack, passed out on the steps. Perhaps he was drug crazed, in need of his next fix, or maybe he was getting tutored by the man, I really don’t know, but he was there, right outside of our apartment, resting. Upon arrival, I’d open my door quietly so not to wake him.

I should mention that we lived in a railroad apartment with a married couple, so to use the bathroom we had to exit our room and cross the hall to other side of the apartment, unlocking and locking both doors along the way.  So on occasion, I would spend nights in bed holding in my bladder, fearful of being jumped by a high school druggie as I voyaged across the apartment hallway to use my own bathroom and hoping I could hold it in until morning.  Is this why I left the big city?

[Read more]

By Kate Bryant

It only took my whole life to get here, but I’m making a movie! It’s true. Half the time I stare at the computer wondering, “What the hell am I doing?” The other half I spend taking deep breaths into a paper bag telling myself, “Yes, you CAN do this; and gosh darnit, you WILL do this.”

I just have to finish designing the website, write these 50 grant proposals, launch the Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, find an editor, hold a casting call, hire some interns, write the ad to hire the interns, remember to eat, remember to walk the dog, hold down the side biz that’s also not making money, and somehow keep my sanity intact.

What I learned from my first business endeavor is, it’s hard going it alone. Finding people with expertise is absolutely what’s making this film possible. I brought on a producer — someone who is also learning-by-doing, but it doesn’t hurt to have someone else on board for the feedback and support alone. And in turn, he brought along the DP.

My movie is a new kind of animal: the multi-pronged one that’s just the nascent inklings of an entire movement. Because, well, that’s how you make a doc these days…if you want it to result in social action.

Creating the website, the outreach, the distribution plan — these are all running in parallel with the research, production, and cash-raising. And guess what I’m doing next? That’s right, bringing on people with experience in those fields.

So what is the movie I’m making? It is called The Pay Gap (working title) and it’s about pay equity. Women still just earn 77 cents to a man’s dollar, and it’s high time we closed that gap. If you haven’t already, please check out the Facebook page  and hit the Like button.

Sure I’m still faking it for now, but with a supportive audience like you and some talented collaborators, it won’t be long before I can finally say I made it.

The Pay Gap Trailer from kate wave on Vimeo

By Alex Gaylon

I’ve been told that it has never been easy to raise money and make a documentary film. Now with this recession, it’s even more difficult, but we’re creative people and we figure out ways to raise money, work hard, and get by. I have been working on a feature-length documentary about the National Gay Flag Football League for the past year and a half or so. While we have a lot of excitement over at our film’s Facebook page (which I hope you’ll “like” if you haven’t already) and we raised some funds via kickstarter.com to get a computer and hard drives, we haven’t had much luck winning grants that would enable us to spend more time converting, watching, and finally editing the hundreds of hours of footage we’ve acquired. However, we’ve recently put together a new 5 minute trailer that we hope will help our quest for grants and fundraising.

In order to keep the ball rolling, everyone involved in the project has other jobs. I freelance as a videojournalist and have started my own small production company called Karmalize Productions. My passion is live music, so I’m doing what I can to break into the world of filming live performances. Luckily, my roommate is Head Creaghead at Creaghead & Company and she produces wonderful live events. The last video I uploaded was filmed at Heart Of Darkness, my favorite show in NYC, and features Shonali Bhowmik of Tigers and Monkeys performing with HOD’s house band, The Forgiveness . Another fun cameo appearance at HOD was Fred Armisen covering Devo with The Forgiveness.

If I’m not logging Flag Football The Movie footage, editing silly humanitarian news magazine stories, or filming live music, I’m probably blogging about live music at allthingslive.tumblr.com. I post and discuss live music videos that inspire me as well as live music videos that I’ve produced myself. There’s something for everybody, no particular genre; it’s just all live.

Thanks for reading! Now you don’t have to ask me what I’ve been up to!

By Graham Meriwether

My name is Graham Meriwether and I’m a proud member of the FilmShop. I’ve been on the road since July with our documentary, American Meat, a solutions-oriented film surveying the current state of the U.S. meat industry. The following is a piece I wrote after a special screening of our doc in Washington D.C. last week:

Tonight we all learned that there’s hope for the 2012 farm bill.

After the super-committee failed to reach consensus last week, the doors were reopened for a national conversation about agriculture…which is good news for everybody.

Why’s that? Because people like Susan Prolman who runs the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) will be able to share common-sense solutions to our nation’s agricultural challenges. How? Through initiatives like the Beginning Farmer Bill which helps provide funding to new farmers, and the Local Food Bill which- yep- helps support local farms in every which way- through supporting farmers markets, helping farmers to produce food for local markets, and educating us everyday folks about how, why and where we can get this local food.

What can you do?
Contact your state and federal elected officials and let them know that you support the Local Food Bill & the Beginning Farmer Bill. Right after you’ve done that- join the pulse of agricultural knowledge at Food Democracy Now! where our good friends Dave and Lisa will let you know about the precise moments when to take action about food topics that matter.

[Read more]

A night of eye-popping short films, live music and an epic dance party

The FilmShop brings something irresistibly sweet to a silver screen near you with its Eye Candy event at The Knitting Factory Brooklyn on August 11^th. It’s a night of short films; live music performances by Project Jenny, Project Jan and Analog Fire; and grooves by DJ Russ (of Flavorpill and soldoutmusic.com) and Bande à Part. A chicken in every pot, a little Eye Candy in every iPad—come have your visual cherry popped.

Doors open: 8:00 p.m.

Admission: $10
Address: 361 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY

Featuring:

“Eye Candy” Videos by FilmShop Members

Music by:

PROJECT JENNY, PROJECT JAN

Billboard magazine described Project Jenny, Project Jan’s latest album, Home Sweet Home, as a “shockingly dynamic, danceable affair.” That’s not all the critics are saying about singer Jeremy Haines and programmer/keyboardist Sammy Rubin. CMJ raves “their ability to write catchy songs is just undeniable”—it also named their previous album one of the Top 25 Albums of the Year. Project Jenny, Project Jan’s quirky yet sophisticated electronic sound draws influences from bands such as Aphex Twin, Basement Jaxx, and Gorillaz. No strangers to film, the Brooklyn-based duo was featured on the silver screen playing their song “Negative” in the 2008 movie Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.

ANALOG FIRE

Producers Eno Freedman Brodmann and Greg Louisy, the phantasmal pair at the core of Analog Fire, consummate the unholy marriage of a budget laptop and a loop pedal to birth a synth-heavy sound blending pop and house. Their second album, Refill Remixes, featured remixes by Grammy-nominated Genji Siraisi, of Groove Collective, and Elan Wright of, Superfire and Danger Radio. Analog Fire sit on the fringes, constantly experimenting, collaborating and searching—faithfully committed to pulses, shakes, pounds and soul that keeps the crowd moving.

Grooves by:

DJ RUSS

Social media manager for the listings site Flavorpill by day, deejay and the music blogger behind soldoutmusic.com at all other times, Brooklyn-based DJ Russ knows how to throw down grooves that survivors describe as “face meltingly hot.”

BANDE Á PART

Bande à Part is a DJ duo from Brooklyn who spin rare French 60s pop, yé-yé, garage rock and 80s electro—all accompanied by new wave, experimental and obscure French films.

Vegucated is a guerrilla-style documentary that follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers from different backgrounds who, for six weeks, adopt a vegan diet and a whole new way of thinking about food.

Watch the Film

Vegucated is a guerrilla-style documentary that follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers from different backgrounds who, for six weeks, adopt a vegan diet and a whole new way of thinking about food.

Principal Crew:

• Marisa Miller Wolfson – Writer, Director, Co-producer, Co-editor
• Frank Mataska – Producer
• Demetrius Bagley – Producer
• Mary Max – Executive Editor
• Sara Leavitt – Editor
• John Pierce – Director of Photography

Principal Actors:

• Marisa Miller Wolfson
• Tesla Lobo
• Ellen Mausner
• Brian Flegel

IMDB

GetVegucated.com

The truth hurts, but the heart is hard to burn…

Through the looking glass….

Directed by Adam Walter

Seven vignettes for Henrietta…

 

 

A volatile relationship in seven pieces.

Directed by Adam Waltner

A series of mashups between Lady Gaga and The Social Network soundtrack.

Grammy award-winning recording artist Lady Gaga meets Academy award-winning soundtrack to The Social Network in POKER FACEBOOK, a mashup album.  Using regular YouTube annotations, the album is easily navigable.

Principal Crew:

• Lady Gaga
• Trent Reznor
• Atticus Ross
• Greg Dunbar

Link to official site: http://pokerfacebook.tumblr.com/

Watch the Film

The world’s leading guitar makers hope to save the life of the acoustic guitar.

If the overlogging of the world’s forests continues, countless species face extinction and our carbon emissions will skyrocket. But there is about to be another casualty of our diminishing forests…the acoustic guitar. If things don’t change, in less than 10 years the guitar as we know it will be no more…

Principal Crew

• Produced and Directed by: Maxine Trump
• Produced and Edited by: Josh Granger
• Director of Photography: Curt Wallin)

musicwoodthefilm.com