Well written, Hudson. Congratulations on your new film, I’ll check them out. I’ve been a DP for many decades and direct my own films when I can. It’s about long term survival and finding unconventional ways to get creative work out in the world. I’ve been enjoying Substack as a great way to find more filmmakers and artists. Keep up the good work!
Congrats, that's great about the Queens screening, if I'm in town I'll make it! I'm waiting to hear about a travel project. Good luck with your rollout. How many cities or venues are you showing at? Have you started with a set number or planning to build as you go?
Funny, after asking you, I just saw your post with your 6 city tour! ha ha. Smart to do it with a stand up comedy act, gotta give people extra reasons to show up these days!
Yeah, we wanted to do something so it felt like more than "just" a movie. Six dates are announced for May, another seven or so are booked or in talks for June... the goal is to get to 20! 🤞
Great read Hudson. Yes, it’s using what you have and not trying to compete in established systems. As a DP with well over a decade invested at this point, filmmaking feels like a war of attrition- if you can just last you can figure out new and unique paths.
I have thought about this Moneyball / Indie Film analogy many times, but you really laid it out so clearly and I loved reading your thoughtful and thorough breakdown - it is really so true. Independents are truly playing a totally different game. Will try to catch the Queens screening!
Fantastic piece of writing! Been struggling with the balance of working a day job with filmmaking pursuits and this is exactly the thing I needed to read. 📖
Hey Adam, glad you found some inspiration in it. I'm still right there with you with the day job. It's funny, I think about my favorite bands I looked up to when I was a kid, and in hindsight, they all must've had day jobs. Yet, from my perspective, they were living the dream (and they were, it just looked different than I thought). Excited to see what you do next!
Stop calling A24 and Neon indies. If they can spend $18 million on an Oscar campaign, they're not indie. And unless you have family money, you can't tour the country with your indie film. Paying theaters upfront to 4 wall them to play your film. There isn't a true indie/Arthouse theater community anymore in Ametiva. The ones that tout themselves as being that, really aren't.
Thanks for the comment Mark. I'll dive deeper into how we pulled this tour off in a future post, but 90% of the locations we're playing did a door split, so we don't pay anything up front. We also aren't only playing arthouse theaters, but unique venues like comedy clubs, community spaces, and blackbox theaters. As for travel expenses, we included a small amount to cover this in the budget of the film (we are also driving and sleeping on couches for many locations!). It's also important to note that, while we don't have money, we do have a lot of relationships built up over the last decade from attending film festivals around the country, many of whom have made stops in their cities possible. It definitely hasn't been easy but it is doable!
So well put! Thank you!!
Well written, Hudson. Congratulations on your new film, I’ll check them out. I’ve been a DP for many decades and direct my own films when I can. It’s about long term survival and finding unconventional ways to get creative work out in the world. I’ve been enjoying Substack as a great way to find more filmmakers and artists. Keep up the good work!
Thanks so much Alan! Look forward to staying in touch and following along with your journey. Are you in NYC? We'll be screening in Queens May 29!
Congrats, that's great about the Queens screening, if I'm in town I'll make it! I'm waiting to hear about a travel project. Good luck with your rollout. How many cities or venues are you showing at? Have you started with a set number or planning to build as you go?
Funny, after asking you, I just saw your post with your 6 city tour! ha ha. Smart to do it with a stand up comedy act, gotta give people extra reasons to show up these days!
Yeah, we wanted to do something so it felt like more than "just" a movie. Six dates are announced for May, another seven or so are booked or in talks for June... the goal is to get to 20! 🤞
Great read Hudson. Yes, it’s using what you have and not trying to compete in established systems. As a DP with well over a decade invested at this point, filmmaking feels like a war of attrition- if you can just last you can figure out new and unique paths.
This was excellent, thank you!
Thanks Thomas!
I have thought about this Moneyball / Indie Film analogy many times, but you really laid it out so clearly and I loved reading your thoughtful and thorough breakdown - it is really so true. Independents are truly playing a totally different game. Will try to catch the Queens screening!
Would love to see you there! And thank you, I love how many filmmakers are like "yeah I use that analogy all the time!"
good elaboration of a comparison i’ve often drawn for my sporty non-art friends and my artsy non-sports friends
haha Moneyball bringing the world together
Fantastic piece of writing! Been struggling with the balance of working a day job with filmmaking pursuits and this is exactly the thing I needed to read. 📖
Hey Adam, glad you found some inspiration in it. I'm still right there with you with the day job. It's funny, I think about my favorite bands I looked up to when I was a kid, and in hindsight, they all must've had day jobs. Yet, from my perspective, they were living the dream (and they were, it just looked different than I thought). Excited to see what you do next!
Ha, I had the same immediate reaction as Katie Madonna Lee. I read it and wanted to write "Right On!". Still am. Right on! Thanks Hudson.
Thanks so much, Ted! That means the world.
Right on
Stop calling A24 and Neon indies. If they can spend $18 million on an Oscar campaign, they're not indie. And unless you have family money, you can't tour the country with your indie film. Paying theaters upfront to 4 wall them to play your film. There isn't a true indie/Arthouse theater community anymore in Ametiva. The ones that tout themselves as being that, really aren't.
Thanks for the comment Mark. I'll dive deeper into how we pulled this tour off in a future post, but 90% of the locations we're playing did a door split, so we don't pay anything up front. We also aren't only playing arthouse theaters, but unique venues like comedy clubs, community spaces, and blackbox theaters. As for travel expenses, we included a small amount to cover this in the budget of the film (we are also driving and sleeping on couches for many locations!). It's also important to note that, while we don't have money, we do have a lot of relationships built up over the last decade from attending film festivals around the country, many of whom have made stops in their cities possible. It definitely hasn't been easy but it is doable!