The Long Road Main Theme.

Heres the main theme from The Long Road as as played by David Ryder Prangley and Christopher Nettleton. 

The Long Road Production update April 2019

Hey Roadsters

I hope you’re all well. Time for a quick but long update on the film.  Sorry there’s a lot to tell so bear with me. 

Some of you might have already noticed that I’ve started a new IndieGoGo crowdfunding campaign. igg.me/at/TheLongRoad. If you could share the link with all your friends and social media that would be AMAZING. 

We’ve been running about 5 days and are already 61% funded. That’s incredible and it makes it the most successful first week of any crowdfunder I’ve been involved in. But with your help I know we can smash it. All the funds from this will pay for a marketing guru to promote the film’s release and get the film to festival. That means reviews and screenings. 

The reason I have done this is because the last couple of weeks I’ve been dealing with an LA distribution company who were after the film. As we were negotiating it became clear that although not a scam they were notorious for not paying any of their filmmakers any money and charging huge marketing fees on top. This means that their filmmakers never get paid and in fact end up in debt to the company who essentially then take the film from them. This practices is not illegal and happens more than you would think even with the big studios. 

In fact I have a producer friend who made a well known film back in the 1990’s who this happened to when he was dealing with a big studio who you would all know the name of. 

For legal reason ( namely I don’t want to get sued by their rather expensive lawyers) I can’t mention any names but the moral of the story is don’t go Swimming with Sharks. 

Talking to a few industry friends of mine I have been told to steer clear of this company as they don’t have a good reputation - which as you can imagine is what I’ve done by politely declining their offer. 

I have been through this situation a few times now on a couple of my projects so luckily I can spot the warning signs. 

The last thing I want to do is sign away everybody’s support and hard work and faith in me to some rubbish deal for several years and world wide rights without any MG’s (Minimum guarantees ie monies upfront before sales). That would just be silly. 

Again this experience just confirms what I’ve been feeling for a long time now, which is, I’m better off Self Distributing (SelfD) through Amazon and negotiating non exclusive deals where I can. I wrote a bit about it here: http://workshopcraig.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-joy-of-self-d.html?m=1

It’s a lot more work for me but it means that the film is going to get more of a chance. 

With that in mind I have now hired a marketing guru called Susie Tullett who has a wealth of industry experience. Here’s her IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0876371/

Susie and I are now starting to put together a plan for the film and once that’s in place we’ll start making things happen with the aim to release the film on BluRay, DVD and VOD at the end of the summer. We are also looking at the possibility of a small cinema release through Our Screen if it’s worth while. 

So lots happening. In the meantime if you want to help please could you share our IndieGoGo campaign? It really would be a MASSIVE  help. 

Until the next time

May the road rise with you. 

Craig

igg.me/at/TheLongRoad

THE LONG ROAD Production Update 4th Nov 2018

Hi Roadsters

I hope you’re all well. Here we are again with an update. 

I’ve been continuing to research alternative distribution methods as I plan for the film’s release next year. 

I recently attended a really interesting seminar at the Satisfied Eye Film Festival (http://seiff.shp.media)

about self distributing. 

One of the sessions was with filmmaker Howard Webster (https://m.imdb.com/name/nm3609140/)

who is developing a potentially brilliant process for self-D that could help film makers like me get their films out to a decent sized audience. This is a growing audience that at this point is pretty untapped by the industry. 

I’m not allowed to talk about much at this stage (out of courtesy to the filmmaker really) and of course like all new ways of doing something it might not pan out but the potential is definitely there. 

The thing is it shows that there are many different ways to release your film and that the industry is changing massively and it’s the smart film makers who are looking for alternative routes.

The old days of waiting on someone to pick up your film on a bad or even worse indifferent deal are over and it really is down to the film maker to build an audience and get their film seen. 

To me this has always made sense. I started making films when my parents bought me a super8 camera as a kid. I had several paper rounds and I would save my wages up until I could buy a Super8 cartridge of film. This would last about 4 mins so I would have to really plan out my films so that I could make a film per cartridge. I didn’t have access to editing back then. This was the early 80’s and a very long time before home editing software. 

Once the film was shot, which usually involved my friends and I running around Leckwith Hill in ski masks or hanging off Cogan quarry, I’d send it away by post and about two-three weeks later get the film spool back. I’d then invite my school friends over to my house for the premier and then charge them 5p for the privilege. 

So for me Howard’s way is a natural continuation of this and if all works out I can’t wait to try it out. If it doesn’t, never mind, at least  he tried and on to the next mad plan. 

To further support the idea that I’m doing the right thing I have been offered another deal on my horror film Through The Looking Glass (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B009CZWGHO/ref=tmm_aiv_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1346785061&sr=8-23)

that will see it released on even more VOD platforms in the US. Not bad for a film first released 11 years ago. 

It has just become clear to me that as an indie film maker a bog standard sales distribution deal is probably not worth the paper it’s written on. It really feels like we’re at a brave new world stage for indie film makers but that no one has fully formulated what that brave new world is yet. I find it an incredibly exciting time to be an indie and although it’s much more work and harder, the opportunities are potentially greater than ever before. 

Until next time

May the road rise with you. 

Craig

The Long Road Production Update Oct 2018

LR UPDATE 1st Oct

Hey Roadsters

Hope you’re all well. So as promised here’s my monthly update on the film. That’s two months in a row now. 

Having talked to a couple more sale’s agents this month I have decided that self distributing the film is definitely the way forward. 

The overall feeling is from the sales agents that given the current climate there isn’t enough interest in this kind of film and the offers I’ve got will basically kill the film after a few months. We’ve all put in too much time and effort into this film for it to be shelved after 6 months. 

From the experience I’ve had on Through The Looking Glass I know that I can get more from the film by putting it out myself. As I said last month I’m still signing deals on that film even though I released it 11 years ago. That’s a great shelf life for any film. I know Long Road will do the same. 

I am now putting plans together for a limited cinema release through Our Screen for next year as well as VOD, Blu Ray and DVD on Amazon to follow. 

Our Screen is a new process for me and I’m excited to see how it’ll work. Basically you book cinema screenings and if you sell a certain number of tickets the screening goes ahead. 

This is great as it then it becomes about marketing the film. 

Of course we have to sell the tickets in the first place but that’s when you can all play a part. If when the time is right, between us all we can share and share and share the release on social media then we can drum up enough ticket sales to make it a reasonable cinema release. 

When that happens I can then get the reviews to screenings and hopefully get some great reviews. 

If we can do this we can get the film noticed and pick up some reviews then more screenings will follow. 

I will also be sending the film to the festivals and hope to pick up some screenings and who knows maybe an award or two. 

There’s still a lot of work to do but I’m more up for it now than I’ve ever been. It’s a great film and the film world is changing so there are more opportunities for this kind of film than there used to be. 

Until next month May the road rise with you. 

Cheers

Craig

The Long Road Production Update Sept 2018.

Hi Roadsters

I hope you’re all well. Here we are again with an update. 

Not much to report this time but I did promised I’d be updating more regularly. 

I am currently putting a release schedule together and I am planning to put the film out through Amazon as I did with Through The Looking Glass. 

I found that putting the film out this way meant that the film had a more considered release and a longer shelf life as a result. It meant we could build reviews and audience as opposed to needing to have a big weekend release which realistically the film wouldn’t have got. It’s such a competitive market and if you don’t have the full might of an advertising campaign that a traditional distributor offers then you’ve no chance. This way we have been able to build word of mouth. 

If I’d put the film out through traditional distribution routes then it would’ve been a small release and the film would have played for a few weeks and then disappeared. 

Having done it the way I’ve done it I’ve retained rights and have just finalised a release deal with a new distributor - 11 years after I first released the film. That is an amazing life for a film. However the down side is I have had to work harder, there had been less of a publicity push than a larger distributor would have provided and the money doesn’t come as regularly as it might. 

I have found this method suits the way I work and I fully intend to build on this for the release of The Long Road. 

I am looking to release the film early in the new year and will be chasing up deals for VOD and TV releases through other distributors later in the year. 

At some point I will also be organising a screening and will let you know closer to the time. It would be amazing to see you there. 

Until next time

May the road rise with you. 

Craig

WorkshopCraig: INDIE FILM TIP - Is your Location Limiting you?

WorkshopCraig: INDIE FILM TIP - Is your Location Limiting you?: As an indie film maker it is a fair bet that you will not have the money to hire a studio such as Pinewood or Shepperton and build that pe...

INDIE FILM TIP - Is your Location Limiting you?

As an indie film maker it is a fair bet that you will not have the money to hire a studio such as Pinewood or Shepperton and build that perfect set where your characters can play out that perfect script you’ve written.

As a poor indie the truth is you will have to use real actual places to make your film and most likely as a result you will be limited to what you can beg, borrow or steal to create the world of your film.

Now sometimes this can feel like a hindrance but really it’s nothing of the sort. Like everything else about film making it really is only a matter of compromise and adaptation. And actually sometimes these perceived limitations can actually lead to creating a much more truthful world than a studio ever would have.

On my first film THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS for example I needed an attic room to double as an artist’s studio and living space. Although we were shooting the whole film in one location, a massive stately home called Compton House in Dorset, ironically all of the attic rooms were far too small (being servant rooms) to accommodate everything that we needed in the film space. This created something of a dilemma; should we make do and settle for a smaller space or should we try and find a different location? However, we didn’t have the money for another location so we were stuck with our small cramped attic room and that was that.

After much head scratching there was an alternative to trying to fit everything in one small cramped attic room – why not fit it all into 3 small cramped attic rooms and pretend it was one big space.

By filming in 3 different rooms, one as the art studio area, one as the bedroom area and one as the kitchen area we managed to convincingly portray a single space and yet never show an establishing shot of the entire space and the funny thing is you never ever miss that shot. Because of the way the film is edited by our amazing editor Claire Pringle the audience are encouraged to feel a sense of claustrophobia and disorientation. This is a great example of not being constricted by your location but actually enhancing the film thanks to the location limitations.

Now admittedly we were helped by the style of the film here as we were creating a sense of disorientation in the audience by never having big establishing shots of the place so that you couldn’t quite get a grip on the location. This was to unsettle the audience by taking away one of the things that we grab hold of while watching a film, namely a sense of place. By denying this the audience would feel disorientated, on edge and that is just what we wanted them to feel.

Due to the nature of the shoot we had many shots where The Artist would walk out of shot in one room and then walk into shot in another room and it still meant to be the same space. Logistically this meant a lot more thought had to go into each shot and how this part of the room would fit together with that part of the room. We even had one room that needed to be completely flopped in post so that the layout felt right but all of this was planned so there were no problems.

We had to think about where the camera would need to be so we didn’t cross the line from room to room, how to keep consistency of lighting, movement, wallpaper and a myriad of things to help make the space convincing. We even had a painting hanging on the wall creeping into shot in separate rooms, on different sides of the camera frame to help make it seem the same room. Everything was storyboarded and rehearsed beforehand and all the shots worked out on a camcorder before the shoot. It also meant a lot of moving furniture from one room to another which at 3 o’clock in the morning you can probably do without but those are the joys on indie film making on a budget. It is the attention to small details like having the end of the bed creeping into shot even though you’re in another room that helps tie the space together and ‘sell’ that it’s all one big room.

Using multiple location to convincingly seem like one space is not a new trick but it is a great one to have in your back pocket if you don’t have the money to build a set. You will often see it used with exteriors of buildings being shot at different locations to the interiors. The principle is the same but you are just using several rooms to create one.  It allows you to lose bits of a location that do not look good while keeping the bits that look great and helps you create the sense of a place that looks fantastic within your film world.

I hope this helps you with your film. Let me know.

Cheers

Craig