Frequent collaborator and friend from way back David Boostrom just finished his holiday cartoon for FOX’s Aniboom contest. We’ll have more on the making of “Party From ‘83: Turkey Day” including a step-by-step on the process, and a few more comments from Mr. Boostrom about his experiences creating a cartoon essentially solo.

I made a 4 minute short cartoon for the Fox/Aniboom Holiday animation challenge! And YOU can help me win it…

It is the best thing you have ever seen in your entire life. Or, if not, it will only last 4 minutes long. PLEASE WATCH THE WHOLE THING AND RATE THE ANIMATION – 1 of the 5 finalists is selected based on number of views (along with the ratings -and- comments). By all means, feel free to give me a perfect 5-star rating if you like!

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For those interested…

• this project took about 180 hours over the last 3 months
• the cartoon is from an original script I wrote
• I used three voice actors, one of which is a top ten song writer and record producer (”Pac Man Fever,” “Theme to WKRP in Cincinnati”), one who is a veteran of voiceover work (QVC, Kraft, PetSmart, Cash America, etc), and one who is an independent filmmaker and personal friend.
• The 5 finalists in the competition get $5,000.
• The grand prize winner gets another $10,000 plus a “development deal” with Fox television. A development deal may be as little as a short conversation with some Fox studio execs or as much as a chance to make a television pilot for broadcast.
• I won’t know if I’ve won a finalist position until about November 3rd

Fox and Aniboom will select the Grand Prize Winner based on the following criteria:

• 25% of their rating will be based on originality
• 50% will be based on how funny it is
• 25% will be based on how much it’s in the same brand of edgy humor as other Fox cartoons (such as The Simpsons, Family Guy and King of the Hill)

I was terribly restricted in what I could do…

• Had to be between 2-4 minutes long
• Could not use any copyrighted material (including video, pictures, songs or even mention song lyrics)
• Could not use names or the likenesses of famous people, fictional or otherwise
• Could not use profanity or other potentially offensive content (not that I was itching to do so…)

If you’ve ever watched a Fox cartoon, you will find most of these restrictions rather ironic. One might even wonder what would be left of Family Guy or The Simpsons if these same restrictions were imposed on them.

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THANKS TO EVERYONE IN ADVANCE FOR WATCHING AND VOTING — I SINCERELY APPRECIATE YOU

- David Boostrom

I love Craigslist. From a filmmaker’s standpoint it’s a great place to find people, buy and sell gear, and keep yourself in the know about local productions. However, being a free service it’s become overrun with moochers looking for free labor, skilled crew positions and even their gear. This has begun spilling over into the larger industry job boards (such as Mandy.com) and is simply put poisoning the well of jobs for recent graduates and low-level professionals.

Look, I understand that there isn’t a lot of money in indie shorts these days. I also understand that you, the creator, don’t have a budget to properly shoot your vision, much less adequately compensate your crew.

The point is this: once you approach someone hat-in-hand looking for help, you lose ownership of the project. I’m not talking about ‘points’ or ‘deferred payment’ – because everyone knows that money doesn’t exist. I mean creative ownership. As Marion Ravenwood said, ‘you’re getting more than you bargained for. I’m your goddamn partner!’

... but the whole film was my idea!

So you’re looking for free labor, but what you should be looking for are collaborators. You’re a director with a script and you’ve done most of the legwork, planning out the shoot, arranging your friends so they each get the role you wrote for them, but that is unfortunately 0% of the work. Not saying it isn’t the most important part of making a good movie, but planning is not labor. It’s not gear, and it doesn’t cost money. No, what you need is an angel to descend from Heaven riding a white steadicam and wielding a fiery RED One. Here is how you get one:

1. Explain what the film is about. Sell the project.

Be upfront and excited about your movie. Tell us what it’s about, the genre, logline, even a paragraph or two to build up the story. You could even leave us hanging on the end. Maybe we’re that much more likely to contact you, and just reading the rest of the script becomes an interesting proposition. If your movie is worth making, we’d be happy to help out, but you have to sell us on it upfront. Go far enough to explain why this is an exciting opportunity for each specific crew position, and what your influences are. What will you be doing that will let a crew member experiment, be challenged, and shine?

2. Explain what your budget is, and where it is being spent.

Filmmaking costs money. It just does. If you’re not willing to pay for the thousands of dollars of gear you’re requiring crew to donate, what ARE you paying for? Does it make sense for the director to contribute 6 subs (cut in half) for the cast/crew each day for 4 days while the ‘Camera Assistant’ brings his $300/day HDcam, or the ‘Editing Assistant’ spends a week tying up her time on her own $5000 computer?

People who make material contributions to your film should be compensated for it. It’s that simple. Everyone buys their lunch, but throw the DP some money toward a new lens, and it’s a guarantee the money will end up on the screen. Pay-what-you-can models have been working for awhile now, and even if it’s very little, like $40/day, it’s still something and shows you understand the value of the gear and the skill to use it.

3. Explain what you’re going to do with the film after it’s made.

Everyone is going to work their tail off, and for what? “Festival run” doesn’t mean a lot if you’ve never had a festival run before. You definitely need a game plan, a marketing plan including a budget for submitting, prepping the press kit and a strategy for submitting. Start with smaller festivals and work up to the big ones? Who is in charge of making sure the submission package is in order? Who will make sure the film is on imdb? These are balls that too often get dropped, resulting in a finished film lost to history, or worse, one that’s never completed in the first place.

4. Show your track record and put a reel in the post.

If you’ve done this work before, have examples of your other films or a director’s reel handy. Link it in the crew call you put up on Craigslist. Make certain that people know you’re for real, and that you’ve actually completed projects in the past. If you haven’t directed before, surely you know someone with a short under their belt who will help out on the crew. Latch onto them, as “with the DP of X” looks better than nothing.

If you’ve got no filmmaking experience, and don’t know anyone who does, I would suggest that you take a long look at your blind jump into production, but definitely be upfront about it in the post. Say “I am inexperienced, but am looking forward to working with someone who can interpret and gently guide me to make this film a success” – people like to be the experts, so maybe you’ll get lucky and find a great partner. Just don’t expect anyone to deal with much of an attitude on the set.

"Assistant Camera Operator needed. Must have own Canon 5D Mark ii and lenses. Unpaid."

5. Make sure the person providing the gear is given total responsibility over the gear provided.

This means I could just as easily drop it off and go home. In fact, I’m sure the ad writer would prefer that, unless you want me there specifically to show you how to use it. Is it my camera? Then I am nobody’s assistant, and am a full-on Camera Operator or even Director of Photography. Otherwise, nobody else touches the gear, since it likely cost more than your shoot.

"...will make great industry contacts."

6. Don’t bother offering ‘contacts’ – Friends do favors, everyone else gets taken advantage of

No. Industry players would pay people involved in their productions. I would be meeting more starving artist types (admittedly, like myself) and just become a number to call when they need hundreds or even thousands of dollars worth of labor, free. There are plenty of organizations out there to meet great industry types; while on the set I’ll be working. If I hand a business card to the gaffer during a shot, you can fire me.

7. Have a clear, set-in-stone schedule

Tell me exactly when you’re shooting. Even if you took time off from work for the shoot, the odds are very good that your free crew did not. How many weekends will you be shooting? How long is the day? Don’t keep free labor any longer than necessary. Ever. In fact, try to get out early every day, bring out a case of beer and hang around, making a point to thank each and every person, mentioning something they did during the day that ‘made the shoot’

8. Don’t try to invent ‘payment’ in the form of credits or a copy of the film, or certainly ‘reel material’

Credits, copies, and reel clips do not represent a ‘reward’ and should not be sold as one. Instead they reflect the work put in by the entire crew and are everyone’s property, not yours to dole out on the barrel-head at the end of the shoot. Be upfront about what someone is getting in return. If it’s nothing, being clear on these other 9 points will help you convince them that working with you (not for you) is worth their time and gear.

"... but I really just direct. I wouldn't have anything else to offer in exchange. I could mow your lawn?"

9. Offer Barter!

Okay, so a guy is about to cancel two weekends to pack up his mics and come boom your short film with no expectation of compensation. What can you do for him? If you have the scheduling down, you’ll know when you will be free. Offer to help him with a project, either crew, production (since you’ll have experience putting a team together!) or in any other capacity.

Return the favor of free labor. Don’t make him ask, either. Offer it up willingly, even going so far as to encourage him to make his own short.

10. Don’t expect menial labor.

Offer everyone working that’s for free a position at least one, possibly two steps above what they would do for money. This means that Assistant Editors become Editors, that Camera Assistants become Operators and DPs, and PAs get to Grip or help run the lights/sound.
If you ask for someone whose job will be to get you coffee, or to hand water to the cast, they’d better either be related to you, or owe you a favor from something else. In fact, I would suggest that a great way to build camaraderie on the set is for you, the director, to start each shooting day by getting the coffee for your crew. We always keep a box available on shoots, and gopher is not in anyone’s job description.

Are you a business? Then none of this applies to you.

Either you don’t need the crew, or they are adding value to the project and should be paid accordingly. Doesn’t matter if it’s spec, or a podcast, or whatever. If you aim to receive money for the work, or ’someday turn it into more’ then you are making an investment and nobody working with you should be forced to assume your risk.

Are you crew? Looking for work?

Don’t sell yourself short for a project you don’t believe in. Remember that what you don’t get in money, you need to get in happiness and a positive shoot experience! Roughly speaking, this is what you are worth to the production each day:

PA                 $100-$150
Grip               $125-$175
*Script Supervisor $200-$250
Gaffer             $200-$250
Hair/Make-Up       $150-$200 (plus kit)
Camera Assistant   $150-$200
Camera Operator    $200-$250
Sound Technician   $175-$250
DP                 $300-$400
*Assistant Editor  $200-$250
Editor             $400-$500

*Try to make a point to pay this person SOMETHING, as their brains will melt from the amount of concentration and effort they put into doing this job well.

Providing gear? Divide the cost of your gear by about 20 to determine what it is worth as a rental. That’s sometimes a low estimate, and you’re better off looking up local rental houses to see real prices of your exact equipment (then knock about 25% off for their ’special rates’)

Consider what you’re worth when you’re asked to work for free, and you’ll be much more well-armed toward working good, professional projects that further your career.

Our newest short, made for the 48 Hour Film Project (New York).

With a crew of two (David and Kim), new gear, and a new editing system (to accommodate the new gear) we chugged through a weekend of filming.

We first drew Musical or Western and didn’t really have the cast, props, crew, song writing ability for either of those, so we re-drew and got Martial Arts or Stoner film.  Another really difficult/weird choice!

We came up with a really goofy Martial Arts film, and had fun making it. Not our most polished piece, but a good time was had by all.

Kyle Walters (Kyle Walters) is a lazy, watchin’ tv kinda guy. Benjamin Grimes (Alan MacDougall) has an epic past of trial and triumph in the world of Martial Arts. Today, Grimes uses his training and concentration from his years in the martial arts as a Professional Organizer, and pays a visit to Kyle’s messy apartment.
Also starring Brian Morvant (Bringing up Bobby) and Vince Ortega (Mamma Mia! on Broadway).

Elements:
Character: Benjamin Grimes, Professional Organizer
Prop: Set of keys
Line: “You’re not going to believe what I just heard”

Since Danny Jelinek has posted high-quality versions of his show for Channel101:LA on Youtube, I am pleased to be able to post it here. It’s one of the better creations for the format in some time. It’s fun to watch, awesomely trippy, and has a great soundtrack. If you like them, make sure to support Danny by rating, subscribing, and letting him know!