In this episode, Wayne asks the all important question: Do you think people like the X-men could exist in real life? Wayne thinks he can set things on fire with his mind if he concentrates hard enough and Dan dares him to prove it.
Pyrotechnics and fire are always a serious matter on set. Joe explains how to start a fire with a battery and matches which is a useful technique for indie filmmakers to be able to start a fire off camera, from a distance. With some household supplies, this DIY practical movie effect can be effective and looks better than any CGI fire effects you would otherwise have to use as a frugal filmmaker.
Keep in mind, anytime you’re working with fire, safety is important and we recommend supervision while attempting this practical fire effect at home.
Materials To Start a Fire For Your Movie
Matches
Plywood
Copper Wire
Speaker Wire
Lighter Fluid
Battery Powered Drill
Duct tape
How To Start a Fire with a Battery
Start by drilling a hole in the plywood and laying it over a hole in the table you’re using.
Strip the copper wire and leave the metal exposed.
Strip the ends of the speaker wire leaving the ends exposed.
Tape several matches together.
Wind the copper wire like a spring. You can use a match stick as a guide.
Wrap the wire around the heads of the matches leaving room on each end.
Wrap one end of the speaker wire to the copper and secure with tape. Repeat on the other end.
Using your drill battery touch the end of the speaker wires to the leads on the battery.
This will light the matches from a distance.
Snake the wire through the hole and place the matches heads up in the hole.
Center your prop over the hole that you’re going to light on fire.
Douse in lighter fluid!
What is Hollywood Know How
Hollywood Know How is a resource for the frugal filmmaker to make cheap and easy to use practical effects for their indie films. If you’ve used one of our effects in your indie film, leave us a link to your work and we’ll share it!
Want us to figure out how to make an effect you’re struggling with? Tell us in the comments and we’ll get it done!
Gavin Michael Booth is a producer, editor and director who’s known for his indie horror film The Scarehouse. “The Scarehouse” was distributed by NBC/Universal (USA) and D Films (Canada) in early 2015 with international releasing starting August 2015. The Scarehouse was funded in part by Telefilm Canada and the film won Best Feature at the New York City Horror Film Festival in 2014.
Booth has worked with some of the top entertainers in the music industry including Music Videos and documentary projects for Eminem’s D-12, Third Eye Blind, The Tea Party, Our Lady Peace, Vanessa Carlton and The Afters.
In our interview Gavin talks about his extensive career and how he used to sneak into concerts that led to a career in music videos, feature films and more. He’s insightful, creative and has a ton of experience. Future filmmakers won’t want to miss this interview.
Born and raised in Ontario near the border of Detroit Michigan
Joe throws Gavin a curve ball when he asks about a childhood film “Indiana Jones & The Lost Remote Control”
Gavin talks about delivering newspapers to save up for his first camera so he can shoot movies with his friends
All of us reminisce over old school gear like Gavin’s first Fisher Price camera
Although he wanted to attend film school he couldn’t afford to come to the United States and ended up at WalMart to save up
After getting a hernia on the job, he started doing wedding videos and commercial work which took off and never looked back
Learning from Your First Film
“Leaving Town” was co-written and co-directed by Gavin with another amateur filmmaker
“Your first film might not be the best thing, it might not even be a watchable thing but it’s a thing you finished.”
He learned how to work with the different personalities and crew on set, what it means to be a director and be a producer.
After that first film you realize if you want to be a filmmaker or if you want to just dream about being a filmmaker.
“There are people that want to make films and there are people that want to be filmmakers.”
Check out Gavin’s recommended video called “I made a movie. It stunk.” by filmmaker Austin Mcconnell.
Making Music Videos Was His Big Break
Gavin has an intimate history with bands like Third Eye Blind
Living on the border of Detroit, they had all the good rock concerts
He’d make a fake media card and say he was part of the local media
Sometimes he’d be allowed to film the first three songs and sometimes he’d work up the courage to ask for an interview
That started the trend of breaking into more performances
Third Eye Blind never found out until years later but they loved his work nonetheless which led to more opportunities in the music business
Gavin produced the documentary for Vanessa Carlton on the making of her latest album
[bctt tweet=”If you’re not really breaking the law, if you’re not really causing anybody trouble the worst they can do is say no.” username=”hecklerkaneinc”]
Gavin’s latest music video, Where’s My Love for Syml has almost 8 million views!!
Shooting the World’s First Live Movie
Anyone with a cell phone can be their own broadcast network
Gavin had an idea for a found footage live event using Periscope and never tell the audience its fake
Fifteen is about a serial killer who is using Periscope video streaming app to film his grizzly murders live
The idea was to do something fun that was never done before
We are back from the American Film Market in sunny Santa Monica, California where we spent three days learning, pitching and meeting the film industries biggest players from around the world. The American Film Market hosts one of the industries biggest events for film makers, screenwriters and distributors. We also interviewed 8 film industry heavy hitters.
Our #1 tip for success at the American Film Market is preparation. Setup your meetings in advance, don’t wait for the last minute to schedule them because the likelihood of getting into a meeting without an appointment is very low. Even if you have an appointment the odds of it being on time may dwindle the later you wait to make that meeting. Not only do you have to prepared to schedule meetings with buyers and distributors, you have to be prepared with your pitch. You need to be professional and have a plan and understand why your film may be saleable and even more importantly what aspects of your film may not be saleable.
Tip #2 for success at the American Film Market is having a completed project. Nobody wants to hear about your concept or idea. Everyone has ideas. Distributors won’t even touch you if you don’t have a completed production. Screenwriters need completed scripts. Networking and building relationships take time. If you’re a first time filmmaker, nobody is going to hand you a check after a 15 minute pitch meeting. If they do, we’d love to hear about it on our podcast!
Interviews at the American Film Market
Pilar Alessandra
Creator of On The Page Script Consultation Company. Pilar is the director of the screenwriting and TV writing program On the Page®, host of the popular On the Page Podcast and author of the top-selling book “The Coffee Break Screenwriter. She was at AFM as the moderator of the Pitch Conference for the 2nd year in a row. The Pitch Conference at AFM was eye opening to us. If you’re a screenwriter her podcast is invaluable.
We submitted our pitch for Seymour the Unfortunate Vampire and while we weren’t selected to pitch live, we learned how to craft and deliver a pitch for the meetings we were about to take.
Alex Ferrari
Filmmaker and Creator of Indie Film Hustle. Alex shares what he’s learned over the years as a writer, director, producer and post production/VFX supervisor. We were excited to finally meet Alex in person after having him as a guest on our podcast. Alex was more than generous with his time and shared a ton of insights with us. Look for his interview with AFM Director Jonathan Wolf on Indie Film Hustle.
Jason is a Los Angeles based movie distribution executive specializing in direct to consumer distribution strategies. He is the Vice President of Worldwide Sales at Distribber. Jason is also the founder of Filmmaking Stuff, a professional resource for independent filmmakers and provides tips on screenwriting, producing, crowdfunding, directing, movie marketing and film distribution.
Branscombe Richmond
A Native American actor, stuntman and singer most known for his role in Renegade with Lorenzo Lamas. Branscombe stands at 6′ 3″ and has been on the receiving end of the fists of Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando (1985), gotten pummeled by Carl Weathers in Action Jackson (1988) and tangled with Steven Seagal in Hard to Kill (1990). At the American Film Market we saw a different while he was there to represent the Southern Kentucky Film Commission.
The most fun about meeting Branscombe is that he is long time friends with Marshall Teague who was on our show as well. Check out our Interview with Marshall Teague.
Susan Yang
General Manager of Shanghai Pusheng Translation Co. Susan was there as a translator helping a producer navigate the film market.
Paul Ayre
Paul has been writing and creating comedy for 15 years now and has worked with some of the biggest names in comedy – including Jeff Goldblum, SketchShe and toured with The Umbilical Brothers through Germany, Denmark, Austria, Slovenia and Sweden. He won the biggest prize in webseries history: $70,000 for The Justice Lease in which he acted, wrote and produced. We caught up with Paul at the pitch conference where he delivered one of the most animated pitches at the AFM. Check out his work at http://severecomedy.com
Sean Crayne
Sean was another dynamic presenter at the AFM Pitch Conference where he asked the audience “Would you kill for fame?” For more on Sean and his film Twisted check out https://www.twistedthefilm.com/home. Sean also organized an indie horror filmmaker meetup on Saturday night which was a great place to meet other like minded filmmakers.
Mike Lippert
Michael Lippert is an Ontario-based Writer/Director/Producer. He was at the AFM shopping his debut feature film called Expecting. Mike had a great story to share about how managed to get Lloyd Kaufman to do a cameo in his film.
Mark Belasco
Mark is the Vice President of Sales & Acquisition at Adler & Associates Entertainment. They pride themselves on being a true indie company, one with a risk-taking spirit and an unbiased eye for new talent from around the globe. If you’re an indie filmmaker looking for distribution and a true partner we recommend a conversation with Adler & Associates Entertainment.
Share Your American Film Market Experiences
If you’ve attended the American Film Market and want to share your story, tell us in the comments. If you have questions about AFM and whether or not its right for you give us a shout on Twitter or Facebook and we will answer anything you want to know!
Have a question for our guests on this episode of the Imperfect Podcast? Leave it in the comments and we’ll make sure they answer it for you.
This week’s guest on the Imperfect Podcast is opera singer and actor Derrick Davis. Derrick is currently starring in The North American Tour of The Phantom of the Opera as The Phantom. The grueling pace of a touring Broadway actor is no joke. Derrick shared his journey with us including the intense audition process it takes to land a role on Broadway. Having been hand selected by Andew Lloyd Weber himself Derrick remains humble to his roots and is so thankful for the wonderful fans that have supported him along the way.
Other roles for Derrick Davis include the Broadway production of Disney’s The Lion King understudying the roles of Mufasa and Scar as well playing Mufasa in the National Touring company of The Lion King and the Las Vegas production. Derrick has 2 albums available online, “A Christmas Journey” featuring holiday favorites and his all original project “Life Music.”
Derrick’s parents were born in Panama and he was born in New York.
Family, God, school and sleep were the norm for his childhood.
Joe and Derrick reminisce about auditioning together at CW Post College.
After college he struggled with deciding whether to work in musical theater or opera or do something else completely.
Landing The Role of Mufasa in The Lion King
Quote: “Nothing in this industry is straight forward.”
Auditioning is grueling but the more he does it the more he understands the necessity of it.
The producers need to make sure they have people with stamina, drive and determination to get over all the hurdles the industry presents you.
By the time Derrick auditioned for the Las Vegas production it had become wildly popular and a much bigger production.
Derrick had 8 call backs and interviews before landing the role and each call back was between 5-10 days.
He recounts almost giving it all up before getting the call that he landed the role of Mufasa.
Auditioning for a Broadway Role
For Lion King there were 100s of people you’re competing against.
You get a sense of how you feel you did when you leave the audition but you never what they’re getting on their side of the table.
Derrick has learned that rejection may not be them rejecting you but rejecting the scenario.
Height, race and other factors all play into whether or not you may get a role.
“Part of the responsibility of our job is to audition. Whether you get it or not you’re going to continue to audition anyway.”
A low point for Derrick
Out of college Derrick auditioned feverishly but he never knew auditioning itself was a craft.
In a show you have 2 hours and if you make a mistake you have time to fix it.
In an audition you have 30 seconds to get in and out of the room and convince them you can do 2 hours.
“I wasn’t good at auditioning, I was good at performing.”
The rejection got to Derrick and he stopped auditioning for over 5 years. He took days jobs as a bank teller and real estate agent.
“When I realized that there was nothing else I wanted to do I had to accept rejection was going to be part of that.”
Favorite Roles
Mufasa because it was his first major role.
Scar because at the time it was so difficult and against his own character.
Phantom is a dream come true. It was the first musical his parents took him to.
“It’s a complete full circle to be able to stand on a stage and do for other generations what was done for me.”
“Phantom of the Opera is a beast”
Phantom of the opera is international unlike Lion King that started on Broadway.
The audition process was instantly intense. He had his first audition and his first call back was that night.
After days of auditions he walked into the audition center and there was a full camera crew with three cameras and lighting. They had to record it to send it back to Andrew Lloyd Weber.
“They were looking for something so specific and it was in those moments where I had to figure out what it was and create in my body instantly to prove not only could I perform the role but I was malleable.”
Life on the road
The ensemble is incredibly tight because they spend a lot of time together on and off stage.
The phantom is a very lonely track and he was warned about it from the beginning.
His dressing room is away from everybody.
He has to arrive 45 minutes earlier than everyone else because of the makeup process.
Everyone has left while he’s still taking his makeup off.
Being on the road has been a challenge but also find himself again.
The Fans
Derrick loves his fans. He’s had fans get on a plane to give him a gift.
Like people that love The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the fans of Phantom come dressed to shows.
The Applause
The only socially appropriate reaction to tell someone you appreciate their performance is applause.
“I don’t do it for the applause or for that instant gratification but I do like it because it’s the dynamic of live theater. I couldn’t do it without a live audience.”
Derrick the Song Writer
Derrick says he’ll never stop writing songs.
His music is very personally and he gets shy even talking about it.
His style is very eclectic but his next project will be a bit more cohesive.
