Making your own indie films

True,and what would you say allowed them to get their foot in the door to begin with?

Making a good film :D. Ultimately, what'll get you noticed is the quality of your work. Plympton's been around for years, and continually builds on his reputation and doesn't take his success for granted. Smith's a comparative newcomer, but his work is top notch. Don Hertzfeld's work is primitive, visually speaking, but he has a strong point of view and a wicked sense of humor.

Where could i get more imformation on this topic?

Start with the app you're using; figure out how to export the frames you need, how to set resolutions, etc. Then check out web sites with discussion boards specifically targeted at your app of choice and start digging or asking questions. There's loads of information on outputting to video and film out there.

You have been very helpful, thanks.

My pleasure.

-Art[/quote]

Just a couple of questions that I'm interested in having perspective on:

For those that have made either short or feature length animated films, how did you get most of your funding?

I've done three independent shorts, all of which have been shown in festivals and touring shows. My funding came out of my pocket for actual costs (paper, film - back in the day, editing, etc). I did the work in my spare time, so there was no salary involved. I've made enough back on each of them so that I'm a tiny bit in the black.

Did you set up a group people to help you or did you work with just one other person?

Depends on the needs of the project and how much you can do yourself. I'm a pretty versatile guy, so my needs were modest. I hooked up with a composer who needed some graphics work done, and we trade favors back and forth. Right now, she owes me a killer soundtrack :D

Have you entered your film into festivals and how important are these venues in getting your film spotted by a major distributor?

Festivals are a crapshoot, unless you have a famous name attached to your film (either a big studio or a recognized independent). Even then, some festivals pass on fantastic films for their own reasons. A few years ago the short that won the Oscar was turned down by one of the major festivals (I want to say Ottawa, but I'm not sure). There are all kinds of routes to distribution, including being in the right place at the right time. I got one of my films into Spike and Mike because it was ready when Mike came to talk to our class about independent animation.

Did you make your film using all traditional methods, or digital program or both?

I've been doing this long enough that using all traditional methods was the only option when I started. I've done both, and love the digital tools at our disposal today. Wouldn't return to traditional ink and paint, filming, or editing unless I absolutely had to.

2008 Call for Entries

Submissions Open: July 9th, 2007

Deadlines:
Early: Friday, October 26th, 2007
Regular: Friday, December 1st, 2007
Late: Friday, December 7th, 2007

Awards:
Target Filmaker Award for Best Narrative: $25,000
Target Filmaker Award for Best Documentary: $25,000
HDNet Award for Best Hi Def Film: $10,000
Best Short
Tex Avery Animation Award
Best Texas Film
Best Student Film

For more information and to submit your film,
visit afidallas.com/submit2008.php

Hello.

Here are some other thoughts.

Folks that are driven to create "indie" films have a passion to make their films...that tends to be the overriding factor in their lives.

Look at some of the "indie" animators out there and you will find your model and can learn from their "indie" journeys.

Bill Plympton and Patrick Smith are good examples.

I've seen (and envied) Bill over the years...he has created a niche for himself. He used to... and still does bring drawings to sell for 5 bucks a piece...now he sells DVD's. But his rise has been very grassroots. He has dedicated himself to his films and now has a body of work. The point is if you stay at it and your films are halfway decent then you have a chance.

And....the motivation has to be a passion to make your films and that is the overriding factor in your life...everything else will come after that...

Others do commercial work or work in a studio as their "day job" and then do their films on the side. I can tell you that iprocess is much more difficult.
It can take 5 or 6 years to do an animated short. Then the challenge becomes can you stick with it that long.

Obviously, other elements like a family can make it more difficult, also... then it depends on the type of relationship you have, etc.

It is hard to eat paper- and paper wilts in the rain...so you have to figure out how you will live until money comes in....

But if you have a passion, a real passion then go for it!

Where did this revenue come from? Awards? Selling your film?

Licensing for various venues - video, touring shows, etc.

You refer to somebody "famous" doing voice overs, or sound or anything specifically? And have you tried contacting recognized filmmakers that are or started off doing indie?

Actually, I didn't refer to voiceovers at all. The "famous names" I alluded to was in reference to established filmmakers like Plympton, Don Hertzfeld, or Pat Smith. Those filmmakers generally don't have to stand in line with the rest of us regarding festival submissions at this point in their careers, although early on they did.

Are you refering to the Danish Poet film? Do you know how it got "discovered" and nominated?

I wasn't, but since you asked... ;) "The Danish Poet" was a National Film Board of Canada project, and as such had that organization behind it.

How helpful have festivals been in making connections to you?

Hit and miss. I will say that frequently the connections come from quarters that you wouldn't expect going in, so try to talk with as many people as you can (if you're attending, that is).

Do you have difficulties turning your film from a digital program (eg. Flash) into a format suitable for the big screen?

Not yet :D. The key to transferring anything to a projectable format is to export a sequence of individual images, not a QT or AVI file. You also need to be certain you're exporting at a resolution that will work for your target medium. 72 dpi is fine for video and web, but you'll need a much higher resolution if you plan on going out to film.