by Voyage | May 7, 2014 | Entertainment Business
The entertainment industry is a strange, complex, and absolutely unique sector of business. As such, the people who participate in it on the ground level are prone to misconceptions about how things actually get done behind closed doors. The primary assumption that gets made is that the industry is first and foremost interested in artistic form and expression. While that’s not entirely false, the truth is that the entertainment business is, well, a business. Whenever you’re asking for other people’s money or other institutions money to help you make something, you’re participating in a market, not just artistic expression. At first glance, the role of a writer looks similar to that of a painter: the screen is a blank canvas, and your ideas are the paint that you use to communicate to others a fully-formed artistic expression. If your form of expression resonates with somebody, great! You can sell or show your painting and attract the attention that your artwork deserves. In the world of the average painter, the sort of distance between themselves and a customer is very short. But this doesn’t quite hold true for the film world. In film, the distance between the writer and the audience is much larger. Even in an independent film, the writer must understand the larger context of satisfying the needs of actors, directors, and collaborators–all of which require money. You’re in the business of satisfying the needs of all the organizations that finance the realization of your work. The point is, you’re really entering a significant marketplace world in which there are a lot of people making efforts to express... read more
by Voyage | May 2, 2014 | Audience, Entertainment Business
Know Your Market We always recommend starting at the end of the game. The end of the game is when you have audiences watching your content. Ultimately they are the buyers of the material and everyone else between you and them is basically trying to interpret and predict their needs, so you too will be well served to understand who your audience is and then develop the right product that they will want to “consume”. If you don’t know who your audience is, then you really don’t know what market you’re operating within. When I say market, I mean like are you operating as a studio, like a studio project. Is this a cable television project? Is it a network television project? Is it a meaning maker project? Is it an indie film? Is it a digital web series? What is the market that you’re operating within? In turn if you don’t know what market you’re in, then you won’t know how to potentially do two things: 1. Budget: You won’t know how to write the right material, meaning you won’t be creating the type of material that’s needed for that kind of market at the right price, meaning you can’t make $150 million web series, but you can make $150 million studio movie. That’s just a broad example of how the market’s going to dictate the budget. 2. Tone: You won’t know how to write your screenplay to hit a specific budget or you won’t know what budget you need to target and then you won’t know the correct tone. For example, a made for TV movie has... read more
by Voyage | Apr 30, 2014 | Pitching
We just talked last week about this notion of idea plus execution for getting a producer to come to YOU for your project. In order to give your project a fighting chance, you’ve got to take action! This week, I want to dive in on what makes a project marketable. What makes an idea strong? What makes an idea ‘good’ (or appealing to buyers and producers)? – – A Good Idea is a Marketable Idea Ultimately, what it comes down to is whether an audience wants to consume it (or watch it). That’s when you have an idea that’s marketable. Pretty simple, right? Not quite that simple, unfortunately. If you keep up with our posts, you probably know by now that there is a vast amount of different markets within entertainment, so it’s definitely not a one size fits all business. It gets very niche and specific. What makes a good tent pole movie is totally different than an equally good indie drama… A great micro budget horror film is nothing like an edgy romantic comedy… What about a scripted drama for CBS? And this is just the beginning. How the Hook Comes Into Play The one element that comes into play in every market is really the notion of a hook. Presenting something with an extremely unique point of view can be a hook – but the hook doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the content. For instance, in terms of subject matter, maybe your story is about polar bears in the North Pole. That’s the subject matter. It’s not a hook. Here’s the hook: the bear was... read more
by Voyage | Apr 23, 2014 | Uncategorized
Filmmakers are always trying to convince somebody to read their work, when they should really be striving to create work that people (and producers) actually want to read. If you can do that, then the path to success will become much clearer and you greatly increase your chances of achieving a positive outcome for your project (i.e. financing, production, distribution). So here’s the million-dollar question: How do you get a producer to come after you? And just as importantly, how do you create material that people will line up to read? This end goal must be broken down into a series of questions you should constantly be asking yourself as a writer or filmmaker in Hollywood. So let’s jump right in… Question # 1: What’s My Market? The best way to begin this process is to gain a thorough understanding of how the various markets in Hollywood work, and then really explore what the buyer for a specific market (your market) needs to fill their project pipeline. What are their agendas and objectives that must be fulfilled in order to successfully do their job and elevate their own stature and career? This is where we start getting into the needs of the producer, which is extremely important for you to understand as someone who wants to get their project noticed… Producers, like the rest of us, want to be successful. They are always looking for that next great project that is going to make money, elevate their career, or make them look good in front of their peers. They’re looking for a project that is going to... read more
by Voyage | Apr 18, 2014 | Uncategorized
How do I get my materials to a Producer? This is a question I often get asked. It’s a great question. In fact, it’s the primary reason that people get in touch with Voyage Media to begin with. The funny thing about it is that they’re usually thinking in terms of how do I get the contact information for a certain person? Or how do I get my material in front of somebody? And the reality is that the answer is very different from what they think they need, because they’re asking the wrong question. If you have a film or television project you want to sell, the key question you should be asking is: How do I get a producer to chase me for my project? I’m going to break this question down into different components and give you the answer to each one. Why Voyage Media Doesn’t Give the Easy Answer Our entire business is built around answering this question—meaning everything we do at Voyage, whether it’s a service or we do it for our own projects—everything we do is about getting your material in front of actual buyers. But it has nothing to do with, or very little to do with getting someone’s contact information. I could teach you how to find contact information through a page resource called IMDB.pro. And I can certainly teach you how to research names and find buyers and get their contact information. That’s easy. I could even give you the names and phone numbers of 6,000 producers. But it would be difficult for you to use that information in... read more
by Voyage | Feb 10, 2014 | Uncategorized
In the interest of sorting out the seemingly endless debacle that is indie film distribution, I sat down with our CEO, Nat Mundel to talk about distribution. After all, every filmmaker needs to find an audience, and there are ever-new strategies for getting your work seen, heard, and talked about. Click the PLAY button below to listen to the interview now! [audio_player style=”5″ url=”http://www.voyagemedia.com/Audio/Nat_Distribution_Interview_SB0214.mp3″ auto_play=”N”] – Nat is our CEO here at Voyage Media, but what you may not know is that he also runs a company called TodPix – a company that specializes in distribution and distribution strategy. With that in mind, it seemed like a no-brainer to ask Nat some important questions about how the next wave of filmmakers can break down the iron doors of Hollywood. 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... read more
by Voyage | Jan 10, 2014 | Uncategorized
It’s the time of year to reflect on what we’ve done, what we’ve learned, and most importantly how our work has impacted our clients. This was a banner year for Voyage’s Professionals Program and Book-to-Screen programs. Here are just a few highlights from an incredible 2013… — Susannah Farrow & Dale Trott This extraordinary writing team has so far completed two Professionals Programs on two of their projects with us (they’re currently on their 3rd) and both projects were optioned by producers right out of the gate! One is now being set up with financing. Susannah & Dale are now also getting paid writing assignments, helping adapt novels into treatments and screenplays in our book program. Congrats, you two! —– Joe Downey Out of an in-depth Professionals Program, Joe optioned his first TV pilot to a well-known production company and the series is currently being considered by Gossip Girl showrunner Stephanie Savage. —– Rose Cole Rose was a well-known Internet personality and holistic healer. She came to us with a desire to go mainstream and get her own TV show. We helped her by developing an entire personal brand strategy, new website, reality format, treatment and sizzle reel – now her series has been optioned by producers, has a showrunner attached, and is currently being shopped to networks. ——— —- —– —— Javier Ortiz You may remember Javier from last year’s success stories. This year he’s gone even further. Not only did we get his first screenplay optioned by producers, we’ve now helped him get a Sundance Grand Jury-nominated director... read more
by Voyage | Dec 4, 2013 | Uncategorized
Sometimes the hardest part of making a film is coming up with that inception of something great. We’ve previously introduced you to our VALT publication, and what gets us excited about VALT is that it provides the easy access you need to great books, impactful projects, and original storylines that you’ll want to get behind. VALT introduces you to available titles, but beyond that it also includes loglines, coverage, pitch ideas, lookbooks, and screenplays that are suddenly accessible and now you’ve got a story idea and pitch materials at your fingertips. This makes the sales process easier, and allows you to enter into an often times exclusive market with some very valuable collateral. Others have seen the benefit – in just the past few months, we’ve optioned five titles. They’re included in the most recent publication so that you can see what projects other filmmakers have gotten excited about. Self-published content is hot right now in entertainment, for a number of reasons: Self-published books are less expensive to option and have a less complex chain of title to sift through than Bestsellers – you won’t have to go on a months-long search to acquire rights, and you won’t be paying 6 (or even 7) figures for the rights! In most cases you can even option a title for free! Self-published content has the thrill of undiscovered territory – you’ll be the first to bring to light a hot new story and potential franchise! If you are responsible for bringing a heretofore undiscovered great idea to market, you instantly become a power player. Popular directors are already taking... read more
by Voyage | Apr 30, 2013 | Uncategorized
How (and why) to Qualify Your Film as an Official Chinese Co-production By Robert Cain If you’re not making films in China already, it’s time to take a serious look at doing so. Just as China has become a dominant international player in many other industries, it has also captured a steadily increasing share of the global theatrical revenue pie, mainly through the brisk growth of its domestic box office. Assuming current trends continue, and chances are very good that they will, China will soon overtake the U.S. and become an increasingly influential force in the global film business. Because China’s stringent import quotas and its rules regarding box office splits limit the share of the domestic pie that goes to foreign-made films, it is growing more and more economically attractive to work with Chinese partners and make films that can meaningfully participate in that market’s domestic revenues. The best way for a non-Chinese producer to do so is produce movies that qualify as official co-productions. Co-productions are the only type of film foreign producers can participate in that are not subject to import quotas and that return to the foreigner a “fair” share—that is, around 40 percent—of the box office receipts. Co-productions are also the primary vehicle in which most Chinese investors wish to participate with foreign partners. Whereas there are few Chinese financiers who will even consider funding a wholly foreign production, many will gladly invest as much as 50 percent of the budget of a co-production. There exists a common misperception in America that because so few U.S.-China co-production films have been made, that it must... read more
by Voyage | Dec 6, 2012 | Uncategorized
…(THIS COULD BE YOU IN 2013!) It’s a new world of media opportunity out there, and talent is coming from every which way. We’re extremely grateful to have met and worked with so many talented people over the course of this amazing year. We especially want to congratulate a few stand-outs who offered up their hope, talent, and unique experiences to form the basis of winning entertainment properties, and who made all the right moves in 2012! Carolina Sullivan and Chris Balsamo are enjoying new-found TV stardom with the debut of their hot new show “Flipping Miami.” When we met these two newlyweds who had left the stresses of Wall Street for a “funner” life flipping houses in Florida, they had no experience in entertainment—just enthusiasm, open minds, and great personality. We quickly realized they belonged in front of the camera, so we had them work closely with our Reality TV Producer (and expert show-seller) Aisha Corpas-Wynn, and voila–just a few short months later they had a deal with noted Reality producer John Kroll and their pilot just aired on A&E! Javier Ortiz grew up in Bushwick, New York and had a hankering to write. He had no experience in the industry. His first great move was to come to Voyage with a few ideas for edgy, socially conscious, indie screenplays. Wethought he had talent—and that one of his film ideas could meet the growing 2012 market demand for projects with appeal to the Hispanic/Latino audience, and possibly other niches as well. Javier mounted a kick-starter campaign to raise money to fund his own project development—that was his second great... read more
