by Voyage | Mar 24, 2015 | Entertainment Business, Screenwriting Tips
Getting Lucky in Hollywood Los Angeles is the entertainment industry mecca, and while it’s helpful to live in the city to gain traction and success, it is not entirely necessary. Our team has compiled 7 tips and strategies to help you stay relevant in the eyes of Hollywood producers, especially if you don’t live in LA. 1. Create A Social Media Presence For Yourself Social media is the simplest, most inexpensive, and accessible way to build a brand for yourself. Make it known to your followers/friends who you are and what makes you tick. Develop your unique voice, and build an audience with it! Having the ability to market yourself is becoming about as important as your project itself – if you don’t sell it, who will? Creating an online presence using sites like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook is a great way to connect with an audience, engage with like-minded people and stay up to date with the goings on in the Industry. Another viable option is to create a blog! You never know who may stumble across your personalized site and like what they see… Take Diablo Cody, for instance. She started out putting her thoughts and ideas on a blog, which ended up catching the eye of Hollywood producers. She later went on to write the screenplay JUNO, which won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 2008. Twitter is another great forum to showcase your creative ideas and get noticed. The hit TV show “$h*! My Dad Says” began as the Twitter feed of a semi-employed comedy writer, Justin Halpern, who moved back in with his... read more
by Voyage | Feb 24, 2015 | Book to Film
Unless you’ve been hiding your head under a rock, then you know how hot Book Trailers are… All the major publishers use them to promote their books – Penguin, Random House, Harper Collins, and others… And self-published authors now follow suit, with trailers of their own. Book trailers simply make sense when it comes to book promotion… People are much more likely to buy a product when they see a video about it Trailers are visually exciting and entice readers more easily than text They can be used effectively on all the social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, Twitter, Instagram, etc. They act as a great centerpiece to an author website Unlike paid ads, they live forever, garnering more and more organic views over time As an art form, book trailers are just beginning, but already it’s easy to see what separates the great ones from the lackluster. A great book trailer is cinematic. They are filmed and edited by talented professionals – often with original footage, talented actors, professional voiceover, and exceptional filmmaking. A great book trailer piques a reader’s interest and makes them want to see more! Even celebrities and Hollywood heavyweights have taken notice of this new art form and its power to attract an audience… Check out this trailer for Neil Patrick Harris’ Choose Your Own Autobiography, starring none other than NPH himself. Or this trailer for One More Thing by B.J. Novak, starring B.J. Novak (“The Office”) and Mindy Kaling (“The Office”, “The Mindy Project”). And then there’s some cinematic book trailers that rival those of big-budget movies, shot using 4K... read more
by Voyage | Feb 11, 2015 | The Expert Network
Whether you love to do it or not, marketing your work is a necessity if you want it to reach people. So you’ve got all your marketing materials together, a logline, a treatment, a clever synopsis. Your pitch is ready to go, but you’ve forgotten one vital thing – visuals. We live in a primarily visual age. One where Instagram has overtaken Facebook as the premiere social media platform to be on, and one where Facebook has reinvented itself to showcase user photos in an effort to keep up. Twitter has shown that moreover, people digest text in smaller and smaller bites. They say a picture speaks a thousand words, and if you’re in it to win a shot at seeing your film on-screen, that has never been more true than right now. Why is visual marketing so important? Rouse an emotion. People make choices on feeling – capture a producer’s emotions, and you’ll have a better chance of capturing his signature on an option agreement Complement your worded materials in a way that: A. tells a story and then B. shows a story – this is a winning combo that works! Visuals tell a story in microseconds (a picture speaks a thousand words – multiple pictures can speak millions) Click Here to see examples of visual from our film project marketing Consider the film GRAVITY, directed by Alfonso Cuaron and starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. GRAVITY’s tagline is simple enough: “Don’t Let Go.” It communicates a simple message, and may or may not capture attention on its own. But then let’s take that tagline, and pair it... read more
by Voyage | Jan 23, 2015 | Book to Film
What do “Hunger Games,” “Harry Potter,” “Jurassic Park,” “The Godfather,” and “Gone with the Wind” all have in common? Obviously, they’re all major big-screen successes, but did you know that every one of these film properties is based on a novel? Would it surprise you to learn that many of the most commercially and critically successful movies of all time started on the pages of a book? Seven of the top ten highest-grossing movies of all time (when adjusting for inflation) are book adaptations, and in 2015 alone, nearly half of the Oscar nominees for Best Picture are book adaptations (including The Theory of Everything, The Imitation Game, and American Sniper). So why aren’t you adapting a book for the screen yet? Here are 4 reasons why your next screenplay should be based on a book: 1) “True Stories” are hot right now! Audiences love movies based on real life events, and the pile of autobiographies and provocative life stories just waiting to be adapted is infinite. Just watch the dollar signs appear in the eyes of development executives as you pitch your project – they’ll perk up faster than you can utter the words, “based on a true story.” 2) Adaptations carry more weight than original screenplays in Hollywood A book provides an established concept with solid characters, which saves both time and money. Bottom line: from a buyer’s perspective, an adaptation will be taken much more seriously than an original screenplay. Regardless of how popular the source book actually is, an adaptation implies that an audience already exists for the story and that it is marketable. 3)... read more
by Voyage | Jan 21, 2015 | Blog post, Uncategorized
It’s been a big year at Voyage and I wanted to take a moment and thank you for being a part of our growing family of creators! Without you, none of what we accomplished would have been possible. We set some big goals in 2014 – we wanted to get some films made and we wanted to expand our ability to make a real difference to creators (and their projects) around the world. Toward that end, one of our successes was officially launching our “Originals” program, specifically designed to partner with select creators to bring their projects to market and arrange for packaging, financing and distribution. We took on 14 new film and television projects in the program this year, all of which are now partially packaged or financed and in various stages of development. A couple standouts include producing and releasing our award-winning and highly profitable film, VALLEY UPRISING, and bringing the scripted TV series, UNBRIDLED to market and securing the participation of 2 well-known and respected showrunners. You can read more about our Success Stories here. We’re also proud of our partnership with Amplify Releasing/GoDigital, which enabled us to guarantee distribution to some of the film projects in our Originals Program as well as for several clients who took advantage of our new distribution business plan / strategy service, “Distribution Deep Dive”. Our Professionals Program is in its 3rd year and took a surprising and unplanned twist. Not only does the program continue to serve as the incubator for projects that enter our Originals Program, but it also now acts as a crucible for nurturing and identifying... read more
by Voyage | Jan 14, 2015 | Uncategorized
TOM CARTIER ON METHOD WRITING These days treatments and presentations can’t be run of the mill considering what’s at stake. They need ideas that haven’t been seen before. The toolkit used to tell stories is getting refreshed almost daily but it all still starts on a blank piece of paper. It’s going to take bold, imaginative thinking to stand out. What’s more, this creativity has to be applied to the new medium of the Internet where anything goes. Being a writer, faced with these daunting thoughts, I always rely on my creative process, which applies a salad of different philosophies to the challenge of coming up with big, new ideas. One school of thought believes the best, most original thoughts, especially when writing images for the screen, come from the subconscious. James Cameron once said he had a nightmare about an invincible robot hitman sent from the future to kill him. Hence, The Terminator. I too subscribe to this theory and diligently write down any visions I’ve had while sleeping. Although at times it’s difficult to remember what I’ve dreamt, I find it a vital process. As we enter an age where graphic photo-realism can be applied to almost any concept, where there are 10-second horror film banner ads, no avenue to original ideas can be overlooked. But I also like to have a grounding sense of the reality of a concept. I like to dig into the most granular, un-thought-of details about a subject before execution. And I’m a firm believer that reference like clips, films, books and photography is just the start. As much as possible, I’ll... read more
by Voyage | Dec 30, 2014 | Uncategorized
This has been a very busy year for us here at Voyage Media! Our clients are making huge strides in getting their projects made and manifesting their careers as successful Hollywood writers and filmmakers. So, as the end of the year approaches, we would like to take this opportunity to reflect on the year and showcase some of our esteemed clients and their wonderful project successes! VALLEY UPRISING Creators: Nick Rosen & Pete Mortimer Nick and Pete came to us with a rough cut of their documentary. They joined our Professional’s Program to solve some core creative problems with their storyline and ended up creating an amazing, award-winning documentary. Voyage ended up executive producing the documentary with narration by Peter Sarsgaard. The film has won the GRAND PRIZE in all five festivals in which it has competed. Valley Uprising is also available on Blu-ray, DVD, or digitally through the Sender Films website. UNBRIDLED Creator: Marilu Norden Rising through the ranks of our Book-to-Screen program, Marilu had one of our producers and screenwriters adapt her award winning book and true story into a one-hour TV drama. We also worked with Marilu to create a stunning visual pitch lookbook, which helped the project picked up by two successful showrunners!. The project is now being shopped around to TV networks as a Voyage Original. STRANGER Creator: Shaun Cunningham Shaun signed up for an Insider Strategy Session for his film project, Stranger. The script read great so we decided to set the project up in our Originals program, together with co-producer, John Crye.. What started as a seed turned into a... read more
by Voyage | Dec 12, 2014 | Audience, Entertainment Business
One of the most frequent requests that we get here at Voyage Media is, can you give me some names and contact information? Or, how do I get contact information for producers so I can send them my material? Getting contact information is actually quite easy. I can tell you right now exactly how to do it. You get an IMDB Pro account and research contacts yourself. You can find their production company contact info, their representation info, and info for their agents, lawyers, managers, and so forth. Pay a small subscription fee and you can have it all right there at your fingertips. But there’s nothing special about getting that information. Why “Contacts” Are a Dead End The problem is that it’s not the contact information that matters. Even if you have some incredible pitch prepared, that contact is not going to take your call in the first place. And even if they did take your call, odds are, they’re not going to accept your script or whatever it is you’re trying to send them. There are simply too many people out there with books or screenplays or projects in development, trying to get something to happen for their project. There are so many people out there doing this that if you don’t have some form of credibility and you haven’t been vetted by someone trustworthy, there’s no reason why they would spend any time with you. These agents, managers, and producers have 30 other projects on their desk that have been vetted by the industry in some way and have proven their credibility…. How Do You Gain... read more
by Voyage | Oct 2, 2014 | Entertainment Business, Pitching, Producer Interviews, Screenwriting Tips
Get the real scoop on the world of television writing from an accomplished writer and producer [video_player type=”embed” width=”560″ height=”315″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″][/video_player] In this video, Nat Mundel sits down with writer Chris Levinson, whose résumé includes shows like Party of Five, Dawson’s Creek, and Law & Order. In the big world of entertainment, you can’t just rely on luck to get your script sold—you have to be prepared with a pitch at any time when opportunity knocks. Levinson discusses all this and more, including the ins and outs of how a real writer’s room works and what it takes to get into one. If you missed this video before, now’s the time to make sure you have all the information you need to succeed! Archives December 2024 (2) November 2024 (2) October 2024 (3) September 2024 (2) April 2023 (1) January 2023 (1) December 2022 (1) October 2022 (1) June 2020 (1) April 2020 (1) February 2020 (1) January 2020 (1) October 2019 (1) August 2019 (1) June 2019 (1) January 2019 (1) April 2018 (1) March 2018 (1) February 2018 (1) January 2018 (1) December 2017 (1) November 2017 (1) October 2017 (2) July 2017 (4) April 2017 (1) February 2017 (1) January 2017 (1) December 2016 (1) November 2016 (1) October 2016 (1) September 2016 (2) June 2016 (1) May 2016 (1) April 2016 (1) February 2016 (3) January 2016 (1) December 2015 (2) November 2015 (1) October 2015 (2) September 2015 (2) August 2015 (2) July 2015 (1) June 2015 (1) April 2015 (1) March 2015 (1) February 2015 (2) January 2015 (3) December 2014 (2) October 2014 (1) September 2014 (3) August 2014 (3) June 2014 (2) May 2014 (5) April 2014 (3) February 2014 (1) January 2014 (1) December 2013 (1) April 2013 (1) December 2012 (1) July 2012 (1) April 2012 (2) March 2012 (2) December 2011 (1) November 2011 (3) October 2011 (4) September 2011 (5) August 2011 (3) May 2011 (2) April 2011 (1) March 2011 (2) November 2010 (2) August... read more
by Voyage | Sep 25, 2014 | Entertainment Business
A special shout out to Voyage Professionals Program client Catherine Arne for securing an option on her feature script IMMANENT. Catherine participated in one of our Professionals Programs with what started out as a “good” script and became a “great” one. During her program, Catherine executed a market-based rewrite and also developed a clear go-to-market pitch and packaging strategy. As the program came to a close, it was clear that this script was a winner so we picked it up and then set up a coproduction with producer John Crye (MEMENTO, DONNIE DARKO). Congrats, Catherine. Can’t wait to see your next project! Archives December 2024 (2) November 2024 (2) October 2024 (3) September 2024 (2) April 2023 (1) January 2023 (1) December 2022 (1) October 2022 (1) June 2020 (1) April 2020 (1) February 2020 (1) January 2020 (1) October 2019 (1) August 2019 (1) June 2019 (1) January 2019 (1) April 2018 (1) March 2018 (1) February 2018 (1) January 2018 (1) December 2017 (1) November 2017 (1) October 2017 (2) July 2017 (4) April 2017 (1) February 2017 (1) January 2017 (1) December 2016 (1) November 2016 (1) October 2016 (1) September 2016 (2) June 2016 (1) May 2016 (1) April 2016 (1) February 2016 (3) January 2016 (1) December 2015 (2) November 2015 (1) October 2015 (2) September 2015 (2) August 2015 (2) July 2015 (1) June 2015 (1) April 2015 (1) March 2015 (1) February 2015 (2) January 2015 (3) December 2014 (2) October 2014 (1) September 2014 (3) August 2014 (3) June 2014 (2) May 2014 (5) April 2014 (3) February 2014 (1) January 2014 (1) December 2013 (1) April 2013 (1) December 2012 (1) July 2012 (1) April 2012 (2) March 2012 (2) December 2011 (1) November 2011 (3) October 2011 (4) September 2011 (5) August 2011 (3) May 2011 (2) April 2011 (1) March 2011 (2) November 2010 (2) August 2010 (1) June 2010 (1) March 2010 (1) October 2009 (1) September 2009 (2) CategoriesCategories Select Category Audience (25) Blog post (38) Book to Film (20) Entertainment Business (48) Font Page (7) Pitching (13)... read more
