The Reel Truth

Everything You Didn't Know You Need to Know About Making an Independent Film

Reed Martin

• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN:
  9780571211036
• eBook ISBN:
  9781429953719
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Film Direction & Production

Did you know that most of the biggest indie filmmakers, screenwriters, and producers working today each made the same avoidable mistakes early on in their careers?
The Reel Truth details the pitfalls, snares, and roadblocks that aspiring filmmakers encounter. Reed Martin interviewed more than one hundred luminaries from the independent film world to discuss the near misses that almost derailed their first and second films and identify the close shaves that could have cut their careers short. Other books may tell you the best way to make your independent film or online short, but no other book describes so candidly how to spot and avoid such issues and obstacles as equipment problems, shooting-day snafus, postproduction myths, theatrical distribution deal breakers, and dozens of other commonly made missteps, including the top fifty mistakes every filmmaker makes.
From personal experience and his years as a freelance reporter covering independent film for USA Today and Filmmaker magazine, Martin uncovers the truth about the risks and potential rewards that go with chasing celluloid glory. Whether you're writing a screenplay, looking for financing, about to start shooting, or thinking about investing time and money (or someone else's money) in an independent film, The Reel Truth is a must-read.

Table of contents

• Cover
• About The Author
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 - Many Famous Directors Struggled Famously
• Chapter 2 - Writing MBA-Style Business Plans … Or Not
• Chapter 3 - First You Get the Money: Financing Woes
• Chapter 4 - Seeking Legal Advice: Cheaper than your Life
• Chapter 5 - Casting Up and Cashing In: Landing Big Names
• Chapter 6 - The Nightmare of Story and Screenplay Theft
• Chapter 7 - Phones Off!: Common Production-Day Mistakes
• Chapter 8 - That Music in Your Head …: Is too Expensive
• Chapter 9 - Guess What … It Can’t Be Fixed in Post
• Chapter 10 - Your New Best Friend: The Producer Rep!
• Chapter 11 - All or Nothing: Distribution Deal Breakers
• Chapter 12 - Getting Your Film Seen: Smarter Marketing
• Chapter 13 - What’s Next?: Career Strategies for Making It
• Chapter 14 - Documentary: Following in Herzog’s Footsteps
• Chapter 15 - Out of the Theater: Bittorrent, Netflix, and Amazon
• Appendix I - Independent-Film Budgets
• Appendix II - Sample Formal Agent/Screenwriter Representation Contract
• Acknowledgments
• Index