Breaking into America

High Q rating

2008-06-19T19:22:00.001-07:00

RIGHT ON Q

2008-06-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

BREAKTHROUGH BRITS IN LOS ANGELES

2008-06-11T07:36:00.000-07:00

Q and celebrity hair and make-up artist Valerie Noble at Breakthrough Brits party in Los Angeles.

David Kimbrough(far left) head of marketing for Image Entertainment and Brett Dismuke, (far right) Vice President of Acquisitions & Urban Programming for Image Entertainment with Q wearing a purple Ozwald Boateng suit at the Breakthrough Brits reception.

Q with film score composer Carl Sondrol and Ryan Sands (from the hit US show THE WIRE)at a party in LA.

DAVID BANNER GIVES HIS SUPPORT TO UK FILMMAKER Q!

2008-05-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

Q, David Banner, and Executive Producer Richie P, partying and doing business in LA.

FAB 5 FREDDY YO! MTV RAPS CONGRATULATES DEADMEAT!

2008-05-18T23:06:00.001-07:00

Congrats! The trailer looks cool and I'm ready to munch popcorn while it plays on the big screen.

FFF

Q says check out Fab 5 Freddy's new social networking site the Place2B on this link: http://www.zude.com

SIDRA SMITH - FILM PRODUCER

2008-05-14T17:20:00.000-07:00

"Go check out Deadmeat. The storyline is GREAT and I commend Q (The director, producer, writer) for doing such a great job on his first film! This guy is going places!!!!!"

Sidra Smith

Q versus FAB 5 FREDDY and YO! MTV RAPS

2008-05-13T15:01:00.000-07:00

Back in the days, Fab 5 Freddy the host of YO! MTV RAPS came to London and I was introduced to him by a friend of mine Richard Pascoe, in a night-club.

Fab saw me selling my books in the club, and was like that is really cool and he was shooting Yo! MTV Raps in London and invited me onto the show.

Fab filmed me outside Brixton underground station selling my books.

After the show aired, it was like I was recognised everywhere, even American people on holiday in London remembered me from the show, that was the power of Yo! MTV Raps and everyone in the UK was like -"Q, you gotta to go to the States, you gotta to take your book over there, they will really like it."

I told them it wasn't time yet.

I had to do the film.

Now it's time.

Listen to Q's interview with SPIKE SPILLBERG live from the Director's chair.

Shooting a short? How to get $700,000 of equipment for a minimal fee.

2008-05-13T04:32:00.000-07:00

EXT. LONDON STREET DAY

Q is walking down the street talking to CAMERA.

Q: I kept talking to the film executives for three years and then one day, they gave me money to shoot a pilot. They were like; “Shoot one scene, or four minutes to give us a feel of this interactive idea you are talking about.”

At the time the funding body I had been talking to was called BRITISH SCREEN and the government felt it was time to shut them down and re-brand as THE UK FILM COUNCIL and hire some fresh executives. My pilot was in the last batch of films they were going to green light before they closed. Well, I got the picture. It was like I was being given money but if I wanted to take the project further as a feature I would have to go the UK FILM COUNCIL that was the deal. I took the money, it was a small amount but it was still money. I’ll tell you how much later. Before I left the offices, one of the executives gave me a business card; it was for a woman from the MOVING PICTURE COMPANY.

The executive said, “She came in yesterday looking to work on interactive film projects, projects to do with the web, cell phones and digital platforms, she was talking the same way as you about how technology is going to impact the film world, I think you should give her a call, she could help you.” I took the card.

Now here is the thing...it took me three years to get that card but it was worth it. If I had been bitter because I had not been shown any love over the three years, then my attitude would have been wrong. The next email address, business card you get or telephone call you make could be the one that changes the game in your favour, so don’t give up or worry about how long it takes, it is the result that is important.

As soon as I stepped out of the executives office I called Eddie Collins, we’d worked together on MR. JOHNSON a movie directed by Bruce Beresford. Eddie was the camera operator on that movie and he had a good track record he’d operated the camera on big movies and he was looking for break as a cinematographer. However, he told me upfront that he would only do my project if we shot on 35mm he was not into shooting on tape.

I said yes that is what we would do. I didn’t have the budget for it, but I wanted Eddie, his camera work was slick.

So by getting Eddie on the project, it meant that the production values would be high and also more importantly, he would bring his crew and these guys were movie guys, that was all they knew.

By getting Eddie it meant I was able to hire the cameras from Panavision. Why? Because the boss of Panavision UK, told me right up front, “Q we want to help you but if you want our cameras you have to get a good director of photography, that way we know our equipment is being looked after. Now if you are saying you have got Eddie Collins then that is fine, we know him and we want to help him break as a DP.” So, that was it.

The next thing was to phone the lady from the moving picture company. I met with her and her boss, and they got everything I was talking about in terms of the web and technology and said that they would work on the project.

Now you may be wondering why I am telling you all this...it is because I want to show you how a little money can go a long way, I was given £15,000 that is about $30,000.

Now, at the time British Screen had been giving filmmakers budgets of £50,000 to £80,000 pounds to shoot shorts. Yes, shorts, I know what you are thinking, if you had £80,000 pounds or $160,000 you wouldn’t be shooting a short, but that was the climate in the UK at the time and like I said the government had money to give to funding bodies to support these types of artistic endeavours, they still do.

I was thinking how the hell was I going to do anything worthwhile on a budget of £15,000? I felt as if I had been given the money so that I could fail, and then I would disappear and leave the executives alone. But they underestimated me and ability to network.

Eddie didn’t want to shot on tape which was a much cheaper format, it had to 35mm cameras and he wanted anamorphic lenses, the cost of one anamorphic lens could be as high as £15,000, which was my totally budget.

The lesson from this is this, if you are making your first short or feature, GET THE BEST TALENT YOU CAN!!!

You will be surprised who will do your movie for little or no money, but the key is you have to ask yourself, “What is in it for them?” because I will put money on it, when you phone them and ask them to do your job they are going to say, “Yeah, it is great that you have got some money, and I love your passion and drive but what is in it for me? I don’t need to do your movie. I got a couple commercials coming up between movies and they pay, hey, I will give you a number of someone you can try.”

So, either get a great camera operator who wants to be a DP or the best DP you can for the money or the value of your movie. By this I mean if you come to a DP with a new vision, a new way of doing things, a new screenplay with a different take on things, they might just see the value and take a shot, but your job as a producer or director is to make them see that value in the screenplay and it has to be on the page.

You do this and you get a major part of your camera crew. The DP will help you to sort a lot of that out; he or she will get his guys on board. He or she has people they like to work with and will find out if they are available.

Now here is the thing with the cameras be they HD, 16mm or 35mm. companies like Panavision have executives who deal with commercials, music videos and shorts. If you can and you have got the balls try and get in contact with the most senior person you can, if that means waiting outside the company and speaking to him or her as they come out of the building then do it.

I don’t know what the people will be like in your country, but in the UK, the boss of Panavision liked the fact that I had the balls to call him, get past his PA, and even show up in the parking lot to meet him. Now, this approach might not work for everybody; get a feel about the person at the top before you go steaming in. But, the fact of the matter is they will know you are serious, but be charming, it is a very competitive market and your future depends on it.

I have found that one of the keys to success is always to go for the person right at the top of the tree. You will be surprised that the person at the top of the tree is nine out of ten times the most helpful. Why? Because they have THE POWER TO SAY YES!

Now this is very important.

ALL WAYS SPEAK TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE POWER TO SAY YES.

Even if they pass you onto the person in the shorts department, it means the top dog has said "yes" and put in a call for you, or told you to call. It also means you are forming a relationship with the company and building up your network. Down the line, if things are not going the way you want, you can pick up the phone and call them or email them, they will know who you are and will action a solution. This worked for me, but like I said, it may not work for everyone.

One day the boss of Panavision said to me, "Q do you know why we help you? You've got talent, but apart from that, you are not an asshole, you are charming so we make time for you. There are so many assholes out there, who phone us up everyday trying to get gear from us and they haven't done their homework, they don't know what they are doing."

This is another thing I learnt about the film business - it is a people business, based on relationships.

You want to work with a team of people to make your movie to make your dream happen. Because that is what it is, your dream your vision, but do people want to work with you?

Are you the kind of person people want to spend time with on a film set? For one day, two weeks two months?

Are you a professional? On time on set? Ready to work?

How do you react under pressure?

Are you an asshole?

You have heard if from the horse's mouth if you are an asshole no one is going to have time for you, even if you have a lot of talent, they won't go the extra mile for you.

Also if you are going to get the top guy to help you, you have to come to the table with something and that doesn't have to be money.

My pitch was, “Hey, I'm a young filmmaker and I have got a top camera operator to lens my first project, do you know Eddie Collins?”

By getting Eddie Collins to shoot my movie, I got over £300,000 pounds of camera gear and lens from Panavision for a minimal fee. Also I got over £50,000 pound worth of lighting equipment from Lee lighting, because they knew Eddie.

The main thing about these companies is that:

1. They are interested in your career... you may be the next big thing and they want to form a lasting relationship with you. That is what is in it for them, plus if they don’t have a new crop of directors and producers coming through their doors there will be no film business. Plus if they don’t help you, you might go to a competitor like Arri, so it is in their interest to nurture your career.

2. You will get more gear from them if you have a good DP.

3. As long as you insure the equipment for the right sum before it leaves the lot, they are happy. They can afford to invest in your career and let you hire it on a low fee, especially if YOU ARE SHOOTING ON A WEEKEND.

They would rather their gear is being used on a Sunday rather than being stuck on a shelf in their warehouse.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Hollywood Black Film Festival WINS IN CYBERSPACE

2008-05-12T03:05:00.000-07:00

http://www.deadmeat.com/

INT. Q’S BEDROOM DAY NIGHT 2008

Q is writing on his Laptop. He turns and talks to CAMERA.

Q: The future is digital....the Hollywood Black Film Festival, http://www.blogtalkradio.com/insideurbanhollywood and www.bside.com have proved that I am not this crazy, black, British, eccentric, filmmaker who wears wooden glasses...but I am visionary. Hey, America is the land of self promotion, so I allow, no, I declare myself the right to call myself a visionary. I have thrown my British reserve into cyberspace and will soon set my feet on fertile American soil. Oscar Wilde the great poet and novelist was once crossing international borders and was alleged stopped by customs officers and asked if he had anything TO DECLARE in the baggage that he was carrying, his reply was, "I have nothing to declare but my genius.” http://www.hbff.org/,
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/insideurbanhollywood , http://www.bside.com/ also have nothing to declare but their genius, why you may ask? Bear with me, I have to rewind...

CUT TO:

INT. BRITISH FILM EXECUTIVE'S OFFICE DAY 1997

Q is sitting in a room of film executives, trying to get government backed funding to adapt his self- published novel, Deadmeat into a feature film.

CUT TO:

INT. Q'S BEDROOM DAY 2008

Q’s fingers tap dance across the keys of the laptop. He types and talks to CAMERA.

Q: One thing I have to say about the British funding system which differs enormously from the American system... correct me if I am wrong... is that in the UK, filmmakers can get a huge slice of their budget from government backed schemes that are administered by bodies such as the UK FILM COUNCIL...they fund films by using income generated from the national lottery funds, this is generally called "soft money." Private Investors are a much harder proposition.

CUT TO:

INT. BRITISH FILM EXECUTIVE'S OFFICE DAY 1997

Q pitches to the executives.

Q (V.O.): So, I am sitting there trying to get this soft money...telling these executives that the future is going to be digital...that imagery from websites and feature films will be married and that a new type of writing or relationship would be required. That the moviegoer’s experience of the film or "the event" would start months, even years ahead online, and then this would continue into the theatres and the story lines and the interaction of moviegoers with the film would take place in cyberspace, on the web, on telephones and digital platforms before, during and after, the movie is shown in theatre.

The film executives look at Q with blank expressions. They don’t get it.

CUT TO:

INT. OFFICE INSIDE URBAN HOLLYWOOD BLOGTALKRADIO EVENING 2008

Monday, 8pm. TANYA KERSEY is in cyberspace speaking to a high powered executive on blogtalkradio.

INT. Q’S BEDROOM NIGHT 2008

Q listens to the show on his wireless lap top.

An email pops up in his INBOX , it catches his attention...

This year the Hollywood Black Film Festival has partnered with B-Side Entertainment to create an interactive program guide and screening schedule where audience members can create customized calendars, rate and review the films they see, and learn more about movies they might want to see.

For Q...the audience online...the other filmmakers and the moviegoer's that will be attending the HOLLYWOOD BLACK FILM FESTIVAL...the festival has already begun online... five weeks before the opening movie...check it out for yourself...

http://www.hbff.org/

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/insideurbanhollywood

And now...

http://www.bside.com/

Blog to be continued...

WATCH THE DEADMEAT MOVIE TRAILER NOW!