Film Business Production

Whether a novice curious about the cartoon production process, a visual arts student who has not yet experienced that big break, or a seasoned professional looking for valuable insight, Animation Development is the go-to guide for creating the perfect pitch.

When did documentaries get glamorous? Documentary Superstars looks at the history of documentaries and traces their transition from hands-off to in your face. Exclusive interviews with Michael Moore, Morgan Spurlock, Errol Morris, George Clooney, Sacha Baron Cohen, Morgan Freeman, Al Gore, and more of the biggest names in the field show the impact of the documentary style on mainstream movies and on our society.

Down and Dirty Pictures chronicles the rise of independent filmmakers and of the twin engines - the Sundance Film Festival and Miramax Films - that have powered them. Peter Biskind profiles the people who took the independent movement from obscurity to the Oscars, most notably Sundance founder Robert Redford and Harvey Weinstein, who with his brother, Bob, made Miramax an indie powerhouse.

It’s harder today than ever before for independent filmmakers to make money with their films. From predatory film distributors ripping them off to huckster film aggregators who prey upon them, the odds are stacked against the indie filmmaker. The old distribution model for making money with your film is broken, and there needs to be a change.

Howard Hughes was one of the most amazing, intriguing, and controversial figures of the 20th century. He was the billionaire head of a giant corporation, a genius inventor, an ace pilot, a matinee-idol-handsome playboy, a major movie-maker who bedded a long list of Hollywood glamour queens, a sexual sultan with a harem of teenage consorts, a political influencer with intimate ties to Watergate, a Las Vegas kingpin, and, ultimately, a bizarre recluse.

Veteran Hollywood writer David Rensin travels behind the scenes and through 65 years of show business history to tell the real stories of the marvelous careers that began - and in some cases ended - in the mailroom. Based on more than 200 interviews, Rensin unfolds the never-before-told history of an American institution - in the voices of the people who lived it. Through seven decades of glamour and humiliation, you'll go where the trainees go, do what they must do to get ahead, and hear the best insider stories from the Hollywood everyone knows about but no one really knows.

Indie Film Hustle presents I Made a Short Film Now WTF Do I Do with It, written by award-winning filmmaker Clarissa Jacobson. This indie film gem is jam-packed with hard-earned knowledge, tips, and secrets on how to enter film festivals, promote your movie; and succeed! I Made a Short Film Now WTF Do I Do with It covers everything from what festivals to submit to, how to maximize your money, secure an international presence, deal with rejection, gain publicity, harness the power of social media, what a sales rep does, and much more.

The definitive biography of movie executive and philanthropist Sherry Lansing traces her groundbreaking journey to become the first female head of a major motion picture studio, shares behind-the-scenes tales from movie sets and Hollywood boardrooms, and explains what inspired her to walk away from it all to start the Sherry Lansing Foundation.

Barry Avrich - a self-made, Montreal-born film producer-director, flamboyant advertising executive, and legendary biographer and connector of moguls and stars. For over three decades, he has relentlessly produced films on some of the most notorious show-business titans and also found the time to market and promote feature films, concerts, and the biggest shows on Broadway.

Michael E. Uslan, executive producer of the Batman movie franchise, offers an insider’s look at Hollywood and the process of how movies and television shows go from the drawing board to your screens. Continuing the delightful tale of his adventures begun in The Boy Who Loved Batman, Uslan draws on both his successful and less successful attempts to bring ideas to the screen, offering a helpful, honest, and breezily told guide to producing films.

10 Keys to Making a Low-Cost Documentary Feature describes a low-cost approach for producing a feature-length documentary with a budget under $50,000. It features an approach I have used that combines interviews with interviewees and experts along with B-roll shots of activities to use with voice-overs from the interviews. It also suggests ways to find interviewees, obtain funding for the film, and more.The book is formatted like a journal, so readers can write down their ideas for what to do after reading each tip.

It’s not enough to have a great reel and be nice to deal with, if the value of the product you are selling or the service you are delivering is not clearly explained to the client. You have to be able to present the prices of your service offerings in a professional manner and overcome clients’ objections ahead of time. The issue of presenting your prices has raised a healthy argument.

10 Tips for Promoting a Local Screening of Your Film describes some ways to promote a local screening. It suggests different promotional strategies for putting on your own event or helping an organization promote your screening. Then, the audiobook focuses on how to use Eventbrite and Meetup to sign-up attendees and receive advance payments. The audiobook is formatted like a journal, so listeners can write down their ideas for what to do after reading each tip.

10 Tips for Making a Final to Do List for Distributing Your Film summarizes the key tasks to do to successfully distribute your film. It features key marketing and promotion tasks, such as creating a poster, trailer, and press materials, setting up a website or page on your website for the film, making arrangements with a website, and more. The book is part of a series of short books, in which each book features tips and techniques for becoming more successful in the film industry.

Survivor on Set: The Aftermath of Sexual Abuse Book 1: Survivors Have Special Needs: On Set is a brief but detailed non-fiction manual to help Film & TV producers, cast & crew get a better understanding of what its like to be a sexual abuse survivor on set & provides helpful tips & suggestions on things you can do to help create a more supportive safe space for your actors who may struggle with what we call survivor moments when everyone else is okay. We have quotes from anonymous, anonymous actress & anonymous actor speaking from real life experience.

10 Legal Basics for Producing a Feature Film or Documentary describes the major legal documentaries you need to produce a feature-length film or documentary. It covers the basics of getting a fictitious name, filing for a copyright, obtaining E&O and other types of insurance, creating release forms for actors, interviewees, crew members, and other film participants, and much more.