If you want to make something edgy and contemporary, and especially if you need to overcome writer’s block, scroll down the list below and see if there is anything there that helps. I wrote this out in a frenzy the other night. I sent it to Damjan Bogdanovich, a Raindance original since 1998. Damjan has worked with me on website, festival programming and occasional Stella consumption tests. He knows exactly how making it huge in movies works.Here is his response, and then my list:
“Elliot, I realize that the point about being wanky needs to be clarified, and so do the points about using graphics etc because they can sometimes appear wanky if used for the sake of just doing it.”
“It is also worth noting that dialogue (including even the occasional monologue) can be exciting and surprising too. Think Todd Solondz, if you want an extreme example. It needs to be pruned so that it’s not saying ‘its always good to do this, never good to do that…”
And I would have to agree.
And remember, this is just My List. Why don’t you send me your list, or your response to this list to me personally, at elliot@raindance.co.uk
Here are the main points for making it huge and winning awards.
1. Find a hook
Be vague, ie: Arty
2. Make it three cornered
Love triangles titillate and become festival darlings. Read our Director of Programming’s article on “How To Fake Being An Indie Auteur” for more tips
3. Deal somehow with sexual confusion/identity
The more troubled, sexually, your main characters are the more likely you will be considered deep and important.
4. Get some named actors in your film
When you do, get them to do something they have never done before on screen i.e. get killed somehow like they have never had before. it will help attract them to your project.
5. Get a fabulous press kit
The tried and true way to get noticed is to get lots of pictures of you directing, of your actors doing things that are very extreme, and moving ie: no still life (there is already an indietip on press kits on this website. But I am not going to spoonfeed the link to you, other than to say its under the producers section).
6. Shoot it in an unique way
Tarantino used lots of ECU’s coupled with wide shots. Or how about Christopher Doyle’s work on 2046, Happy Together and Dumpling. (Now remember, if you run across a name that doesn’t ring the proverbial bell, then you need to go to http://imdb.com and punch the persons name in!)
Find your own filmmaking and storytelling style. Remember always: Its not the story, it’s the telling of the story!
7. Develop a festival strategy
Try and get it into the majors. This means you are going to have to do some heavy networking with the programmers.
8. Develop a website that tracks the making of the movie
In the old days they’d have called this the DVD extras. Now you need a website with all the bits and pieces.
9. Use lots of aftereffects shots
Create ambiance and enhance production values with these shots. Prepare a notebook with all your sketches and details notes, a bit like an architect might use when jotting down ideas for a major skyscraper. When asked questions about the mood and atmosphere of your film you will have something to refer to.
10. Use some animation
All your new films should contain an element of animation even if it is drawing on the screen ie: dotted lines in Old Boy
11. Never be wanky
Self-indulgence is a killer. Yes I know, this is contradictory. But hey! I have to try! Remember what they say in Hollywood: Joggers Jog, Wankers Wank, Doers Do. If any of you can find out how you can get paid for jogging and wanking, let me know. I will be very rich!
12. Get some great artwork for the poster/onesheet/dvd cover
A great campaign image goes a long way to selling your film. The Blair Witch Project had fantastic art work, no matter how inconsequential you found the film.
13. Terrific sound is a must
Enough said.
14. Get an amazing musical score
It doesnt need to be songs – consider sound track to the Blair Witch – it was a heartbeat – barely audible.
15.Compensate for so-called improvisational scripts
Improvised scripts are the bane of the industry and of most film festivals. if you don’t write a traditional script, then write a detailed shot list, plan for the scene, the shoot etc. Mike Figgis wrote Timecode on musical score staves.
16. Be as visual as possible
Words – talking heads – are the curse of independent film. Try and say it without words. A picture, a moving picture, has got to be worth a thousand words.
17. Move the camera around
Beware static shots. Check out the Raindance Basic Hands-On cinematography class
Fade Out
Want to get noticed by a filmmaker? Just say, with conviction: “I really loved your work.” And be prepared to follow up with specific scenes and references which will demonstrate you have seen and studied their film.
You will have a friend for life.
Hey. And I’m still learning.
Happy Filmmaking.
Did You Know?
- Raindance Film Festival is considered one of the top fifteen film festivals in the world?
- Raindance has a Higher Education programme offering HND, BA and MA in Filmmaking and Screenwriting?
- Raindance members support indie film, and enjoy a range of benefits
Photo Credit: Bertie Watson
I founded Raindance Film Festival in 1993 because the British film industry was closed, polite, and congratulating itself while shutting new filmmakers out.
I co-founded the British Independent Film Awards in 1998 because British indie film deserved more than a shrug, a pat on the head, and a Tuesday night screening.
Raindance didn’t start as a brand. It started as a rebellion: film training without gatekeepers, a festival without permission, and a community built by filmmakers who weren’t waiting to be invited in.
Later, we took it global: Toronto, Vancouver, New York, LA, Berlin, and Brussels, because independent film doesn’t belong to one city, one class, or one accent.
I’ve produced 700+ short films and seven features, including Deadly Virtues (2014) and ALICE, which won the SXSW Grand Jury Prize (2019) not because someone “discovered” us, but because the work earned its place.
I’ve written three books used by filmmakers worldwide because too many courses taught compliance instead of survival.
In 2009, I was awarded a PhD for services to film education, ironic, given that most of my career has been about tearing down the rules that education insisted you follow.
I don’t believe in waiting for permission.I believe in making work, building systems, and forcing the industry to catch up.
Specialties: Independent Film (the real kind) · Producing · Writing · Film Education · Festivals · Breaking Broken Systems
Check out my new Substack for in depth Free Articles:
