Tag long island

This week’s guest on the Imperfect Podcast is Director, Fran Strine who created the music documentary Hired Gun now available on Netflix. Fran captures the stories of the music industries elite musicians who are only “20 feet from stardom” yet rarely receive credit for their work. Featured in the documentary are Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, Liberty DeVitto (Billy Joel), Ray Parker Jr. (Ghostbusters), Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot), Jason Newsted (Metallica) and dozens more.

Fran Strine talks with us about his passion for music and why telling this story was important. As a touring music photographer for bands like Staind, Nickelback, Shinedown & Seether he lived alongside some of the greatest musicians in the world. From finding investors to shooting 2 years of footage to having the music produced at Skywalker Ranch this interview is both inspiring and educational for filmmakers looking to break into the documentary world.

Hired Gun worked so well as a documentary because someone like Fran was so passionate and dedicated to the story and seeing the vision through to completion. There is no substitute for hard work when it comes to making a documentary of this magnitude and with the caliber of talent that was involved on and off screen.

Watch Hired Gun

Fran Strine Interview Highlights

The Motivation for Filming Hired Gun

• Fran Strine was a touring music photographer for years
• After being on the road for 20 years and ready to take a break, Five Finger Death Punch made him an offer he couldn’t refuse
• When the tour wrapped, Fran was about to turn 50 years old and he decided to take his chances and make a film
• He had no formal training as a photographer or videographer, just a lot of hard work and dedication

Getting started in Film

• Fran was the photographer for the Tattoo the Earth tour in 2000 with a bunch of metal bands
• He happened to bring a video camera with him and started shooting the bands live
• While in Atlanta with Sevendust the head of A&R approached him about doing a Bonus DVD for the making of the album
• Fran took the upfront money they gave him, bought a camera, a Mac and Final Cut for Dummies which is how he launched his film career
• That led to more music videos

Battlefield of the Mind

• In 2012 Fran filmed Battlefield of the Mind
• A documentary focusing on homeless Veterans that suffer from PTSD.
• How can this happen in the wealthiest country in the world?
• What can we do as citizens?
• That’s what this film explores.

Hired Gun: Concept to Production

• Fran had seen 20 feet from stardom and it really touched him
• He knew there was another story there and was aware of the “hired gun” from touring with musicians for 2 decades
• After making a sizzle reel, he found an investor who was a good friend he met through Battlefield of the Mind
• The budget was less than $1 Million
• Production on Hired Gun lasted 2 years while waiting for musicians to come off the road

How Do You Tell A Cohesive Story With So Much Footage

• Fran’s goal was to get the best stories from everyone involved
• The first musician he reached out to was Liberty Devitto because he couldn’t believe his story as Billy Joel’s drummer was real
• After interviewing Rudy Sarzo Fran knew he’d be a big part of the documentary
• In total, 65 musicians were interviewed to make Hired Gun
• Gavin Fisher was the editor on almost 90% of the film

Music Licensing for Hired Gun

• Julie Glaze Houlihan was the music supervisor responsible for clearing the music
• There are two sides to licensing a song
  • Publishing rights that belong to the song writer
  • Master recording that belongs to the record label
• Donald Fagan and Walter Becker gave us permission to use a Steely Dan song however the record label denied us
• Jay Gradon was brought in to re-record the guitar solo from Peg just for the documentary on the same guitar and amps used on the original recording

Assembling the Ultimate Jam Band

• Everyone in the band was interviewed for Hired Gun
• All of the musicians happened to be in town for NAMM that weekend
• One day of rehearsals and 3 days at the studio
• It was a nightmare to assemble but there were no egos and watching it live gave Fran chills

Distributing a Music Documentary

• We didn’t have a distributor going into the world premiere at SXSW
• Vision Films setup Hired Gun a screening at over 300 theaters nationwide
• In August of 2017 we launched on VOD and then received worldwide distribution working with Sony
• The Netflix deal came early on after a screening at the SOHO House

Mixing Audio at Skywalker Ranch

• Spending two weeks in Los Angeles to mix the film was not appealing
• On a whim, Fran sent an unsolicited email to Skywalker Ranch with the sizzle reel and synopsis
• The response from Skywalker Ranch was “Can we submit a bid?” which shows how much they believed in the project

For Fran Strine, he accomplished everything he had hoped for Hired Gun elevating his career to the next level. We wish Fran much success in his future endeavors. Have more questions for Fran? Leave them in the comments and we’ll make sure answers them.

Talking to Brimstone, you can see how important his personal brand has been to his success and what it takes to make it as a diverse entertainer. Brimstone is an actor, pro wrestler and Long Island radio personality that has been responsible for his own success as an entertainer for over three decades. He’s been called a Renaissance man by many, but is more accurately described as a well-seasoned entertainer and entertainment entrepreneur. We had some laughs discussing his roots dating back to an appearance on Sesame Street and relived some memories as a musician right here on Long Island.

Brimstone is the co-founder, President, and CEO of Hound Comics, Inc. (Hound Entertainment Group), that launched a comic book series, Brimstone and The Borderhounds that went worldwide via Barnes & Noble, B.Dalton, BN.com, and Amazon.

You can listen to Brimstone on The Grindhouse Radio, a pop culture talk-based podcast and series that is currently syndicated on eighteen digital & terrestrial radio networks (including iHeartRadio & Google Play Radio) with a listenership of between 3.5 – 4 million weekly worldwide.

Keep up with Brimstone on Twitter @entrancetohell and look for him as Hagar in our upcoming web series Seymour the Unfortunate Vampire.

Brimstone Interview Highlights:

The Long Island Music Scene (2m55s)

• Quote: “You have to be in the industry touring for a couple of years. After a couple of years you know if you really have the heart to be in entertainment. Even though you need the money, you know its not about the money.”

Little Brim Lands on Sesame Street (7m )

• Brimstone discusses his appearance on Sesame Street and his personal story about being traumatized by Big Bird and Snuffleupagus.

Family Entertainment (10m)

• We debate whether there is entertainment worth watching as a family anymore.
• Brimstone recommends iCarly.

Brimstone the Wrestler (12m50s)

• His love of beating the drums may have had something to do with his career as a wrestler.
• While working for the Long Island Voice, Brimstone meets the Iron Sheik and Bret the Hitman Heart and the rest is history
• Quote: “It doesn’t matter how many people you’re getting up in front of, you’re always going to have those butterflies.”

Radio Personality on Grindhouse Radio (20m30s)

• It was always something I wanted to do but wasn’t sure how I was going to do it.
• Catch Grindhouse Radio on iHeartRadio every Thursday night at 7pm EST.
• Brimstone talks about how his audience crossed over from his days in music, wrestling and more
• Quote: “I’m not into people that disrespect others. I’m an open book, I wear my heart on my sleeve, I’m a good guy and I help people. If you can’t help yourself and don’t want to help yourself, I don’t have time for you.”

Sales, Marketing, Personal Branding & Entrepreneurship (28m20s)

• Brim talks about how growing up in not so great neighborhood on Long Island motivated him to be successful.
• Quote: “Back then you had to sell yourself because you didn’t have the internet to sell you.”
• Check out his mobile game Forza Infernis on iOS & Android

 Catch up with Brimstone: 2017 – Appearances

David LaRosa is an actor, director, producer and writer as well as the president of Feenix Films, an independent film production company. He was born and raised in Lincoln Park, New Jersey. David received a Gold Remi Award from the 2016 Worldfest Houston International Film Festival in the Crime/Drama category for his latest release, “Clandestine.” He also received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Special Agent Thomas Mackenrowe.

In this episode of the Imperfect Podcast we discuss the business of indie film making.  Unfortunately man filmmakers don’t understand the business and one of two things happen. They don’t have a plan for making money with their film or they get taken advantage of by a distribution company that doesn’t have the filmmakers best interests in mind.

Keep up with Filmmaker David LaRosa

Feenixfilms.com

Twitter: @davefeenix

Davids LaRosa IMDB http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1390287/

Clandestine IMDB http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3325098/

Watch Clandestine

Local Police and Federal Officials join together to unravel a sinister meth crisis in a small suburban town. Faced with the prospects of life changing events, the team struggles to balance their personal fears with their professional duties. Starring: Nick DeMatteo, David LaRosa, Janine Laino.

David LaRosa Interview Highlights

How did you catch the film bug?

It’s hard to say exactly, but many years ago I found out that my cousin, who I never met, starred in a 70’s sitcom. He was actually my favorite character on the show. I think the fact that I could watch someone related to me perform on TV sparked my interest in the field.  Also growing up in the 70’s and watching a movie like Star Wars, made my head explode with possibilities.

I eventually got involved with my High School plays, but when I went to college, I didn’t want anything to do with acting, so I majored in Political Science until I realized that field was actually acting as well. I eventually dropped out and took acting classes, where I met my wife and business partner. We started a theater company in 2006 and then decided to do our own thing, so we created a web-series. A couple years later in 2008, we formed Feenix Films.

It’s an LLC. I am the president, Janine Laino is the treasurer, Nick DeMatteo is the Vice President, and Kate McGrath is the Business director.

Making movies is a business. You do all this creative stuff, but you need to have this super structure underneath that allows you to do the creative fun stuff.  We developed a strategic plan, which consisted of two phases. Phase 1 was to create and learn from our mistakes. This meant to evaluate what skills we had and what skills we didn’t have in house. The skills we didn’t possess, we went outside and hired professionals, which were our DP and a sound person.  “Clandestine” is the culmination of Phase 1.  Phase 2 is: we use what we learned from the film and build up. Now we have several scripts, which we will use to attract investors.

Where did the idea for Clandestine come from?

Kate McGrath, the screenwriter, was influenced by her father’s stories of life as a Long Island police officer. She never forgot this disturbing incident that scared her as a child. This film brought that image to life.  There is a form of meth in Long Island that is coming up from Mexico. Also no one has explored the use of meth in this particular area yet. It makes the war on drugs a little fresher. The film is an analogy of the entire war on drugs and what people and towns go through.

How important is the relationship between the DP and the Director?

That’s the most important relationship there is. We interviewed many DP’s. We received over 300-400 resumes and reels. I went through all of them before deciding on Brad Rego. He quickly understood the feel and type of images I wanted and why.

Where does your business acumen come from?

I went back to school and changed my major to psychology and minored in political science, then got my masters in social work. I completed my studies with a dual concentration in administrative and therapy. I used this to develop the business aspect.

Also, my partners and I work together using our composite knowledge and a bit of common sense.

We realized that Feenix Films’s focus is the story and our ability to relate to our audience.

When you made this film did you have a distribution plan or did that come after the fact?

Right from the start, we placed a lot of the money toward PR. Chris Ryan, who played Billman in Clandestine, said, “Twitter is a huge room where everyone is yelling at the exact same volume level.” So how do you get above the volume level? You need to pay for a spotlight or a megaphone, which translates into, “pay for PR.”

The Indie film market has changed. In the 90’s the question was, “how many theaters are showing your film or what city is your premier? Now the question is, “how many platforms and which ones is your film showing on?” With the help of our sales agent, Circus Road Films, and our distributors, Candy Factory Distribution, our film Clandestine, is on multiple platforms with more on the way.

Do you find directing yourself as an actor in the film difficult?

I keep waiting for the big problem, but it didn’t come. I love it. Maybe taking some of those psych classes helped me to compartmentalize. My whole acting approach is to think like the character, step into those thoughts and you’re there, you’re done.

It’s like when you’re a kid, you’re not thinking, you’re playing.

What gear did you use to shoot this film?

We shot the entire film on the Cannon 5D, DSLR. It came in handy because some larger cameras would be unable to capture some of the shots due to space restrictions. We edited the film using Final Cut 7, because I can’t stand Final Cut X. I guess it is what you get used to working with.

Have you done any crowd funding?

We have but it didn’t go so well until we learned several strategies that helped. You have to work at it.  There are pros and cons to it.

What did you learn from making Clandestine that you can apply to your next feature film?

 The most important thing for me is to make sure you spend the time necessary to put together a team of people you can rely on.