Sean Baker: 'Tangerine' How to Shoot a Sundance Hit on Your iPhone I've recently been looking and studying alternative shoot methods to shoot a feature film. One name that keeps coming up is Sean Baker. His ground-breaking film Tangerine made more noise at the Sundance Film Festival than the winner that year. The film was also produced by the indie film legends, Jay and Mark Duplass. Tangerine was shot completely on an iPhone. Yes, an iPhone. The great thing was that after his Sundance...

Directing Actors & How to Become an Actor’s Director with Per Holmes Directing actors can be one of the most difficult parts of wearing the director's hat. Actors speak a language that a director must understand if they are to pull and nurture an amazing performance. Unfortunately film schools do not teach this must need "foreign language" course. I've worked with every kind of actor there is. From Oscar® Nominated to fresh out of acting class. Pulling a good performance can be tough and...

From Dusk Till Dawn to Nickelodeon with Director Joe Menendez This week on the show we have the very talented director Joe Menendez. Joe is an award-winning filmmaker of both a successful feature film director and a prolific television director/producer as well -- having moved seamlessly between both mediums his entire career. Joe Menendez has directed over 95 hours of television (both single and multi-camera), written a handful of teleplays, produced several TV series and films, and has...

Life After Winning Sundance with Diane Bell I always talk about not counting on the "lottery ticket" mentality that so many filmmakers today count on. Winning Sundance is not a distribution plan. Well I was involved in a project, written and directed by Diane Bell, that did just that. It won not one but two awards at Sundance. She didn't count on winning, hell she didn't think in her wildest dreams that she would even be accepted. Here's the story. In 2010, 16 feature films were selected out...

I'm truly PISSED OFF guys and am tired of seeing my fellow indie filmmakers and artist struggle to make a living doing what they love. I decided to put together a lists of steps that every indie filmmaker needs to do in order to thrive in the film business. Since this website is call INDIE FILM HUSTLE the terminology I'll be using will be aimed at filmmaking or screenwriting but all of these concepts can be applied to any art form. PLEASE NOTE: If you were to ever listen to a podcast of...

What is this guy talking about? No money = better filmmaker? He must be nuts. We'll I'll have to disagree with you. As I am going through my adventure on the making of my first feature film THIS IS MEG, I have discovered that is the truth. Having less resources has made me a better filmmaker. When you have no money and limited resources you discover new and creative ways to solve problems. The creative ways end up on the screen and that is where innovation comes from. Doing something...

Why You Don't Need a Screenplay to Make an Amazing Film As indie filmmakers we throw a lot of obstacles on our own path to creating a feature or short film. No obstacle is larger then the almighty screenplay. How many screenwriters and filmmakers do you know that have been working on the movie script for 3, 5, or 7 years? They keep chipping at it in hopes of cracking that nut or it gives them an excuse for not actually making a feature film. I was no different. One of the biggest things...

How Filmmakers & Artists Should Deal with Haters! Haters, a problem that artists, filmmakers or anybody who puts themselves out there have to deal with. I know of many filmmakers who are crippled by what other people think or say about them. The fact is that you are going to create anything; a poem, writer a novel, make a movie, write a song, cook a meal or build a house, there will be people who have opinions.  Now opinions are fine. As they say ever has an opinion and the internet has...

From Micro Budget to Million Dollar Budget Films with Christian Sesma Many indie filmmakers dream of going from micro budget to million dollar budget films. Well my friends on this weeks episode I've got a guy who not only did exactly that but also had fun doing it. Christian Sesma is a indie film writer/director based in Palm Spring, CA. I've know Christian for probably over 10 years now and I've watched him grow from a small $15,000 horror film (On Bloody Sunday) to his latest action blood...

Follow Your Passion, No Matter What! This is a special episode of the podcast guys. I recently had a good friend of mine pass, Allan Wertheim. He was a legendary First Assistant Director and Unit Production Manager. Allan and I worked together almost 20 years ago on one of my first directing gigs.  This is by far the most difficult project I have ever worked on and Allan was kind enough to mentor me and protect me from the siutation. He passed a few days ago at the age of 72 and my friend...

Acting & the Art of Being Yourself with Adrian Martinez Being yourself in any situation in life is hard for many people. Actors do make a living playing other people but the art of being comfortable in your own skin is a lesson we can all learn. I invited on the show Adrian Martinez, a actor, writer, producer, and soon-to-be-director, with nearly 100 film and TV credits. Adrian's career began as a high school track star on NBC's "Unsolved Mysteries". Some in casting have called Adrian,...

Every once in a while I get sent a story that blows my mind. They story is a 17 year old 1st time director shoot and sells her first feature film (that was shot on 16mm) right out of the gate. How that hell does that happen? Well may I introduce you to Kansas Bowling, the director of the feature film B.C. Butcher. Inspired by the likes of Russ Meyer, Annette Funicello, and Roger Corman, Kansas and her friend Kenzie began writing a script in high school about a tribe of cavewomen being stalked...

OK, I wanted to start off the new year on the right foot. Over the course of my career I've seen so many filmmakers obsess over film gear, to a paralyzing end. They focused so much on gear that they never make actual films. No one is saying you shouldn't keep up to date on the latest film gear. You need gear, without it you can't make films but cameras, lenses, drones, and grip equipment are just tools. Do you think Chris Nolan, Martin Scorsese, or Quentin Tarantino obsessed about film gear?...

Have you been confused and frustrated when directing actors? I think every director and actor has been frustrated with each other at one or more points in there career but don't worry Nina Foch is here to help. I'll get to who she is in a moment. For a filmmaker, directing actors can be a daunting task. Actors seem to have a language of their own which us directors have a very hard time understanding. For those masters like Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, and Martin Scorsese, directing...

Have you always wonder what happens to indie filmmakers  who win HUGE film festivals like the SXSW Film Festival? Well wonder no more. I've invited one of my oldest friends onto the show, Brant Sersen, the writer and director of the SXSW Audience Award winning film "Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story" staring Rob Corddry. Some other films he's directed are Release, Splinterheads, and Sanatorium. Over the years I've heard Brant tell me all sorts of stories about his misadventures in Hollywood....

I'm always looking for indie filmmaking models to study. I like to analyze how other filmmakers make successful indie films while doing through a new DIY method, self distributing their film or achieving critical and fan respect for their work. Well I found a film that checks all the boxes, For Lovers Only create by the Polish Brothers, Michael and Mark Polish (more on that film later). These filmmakers have been making films, on their terms, for over a decade now. Since premiering...

So you want to make music videos. Want to follow in the foot steps of David Fincher, Mark Romanek and Spike Jonez? It's not a bad plan at all. Many filmmakers start off in music videos. It's a great place to get experience, learn the tools and experiment. I've directed a few music videos in my day and have worked in some capacity on hundreds over the years. I wanted to do an episode where I breakdown my process for making a music video. The music video in question is for the band Ozomatli and...

Making scary independent horror films in the current marketplace is difficult to say the least. Today’s sophisticated audiences are getting harder and harder to scare every day When many filmmakers start out they make a film in the horror genre. It worked for famed filmmakers like Guillermo del Toro, Sam Raimi, George Romero, James Wan, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Roman Polanski, David Cronenberg and Alfred Hitchcock just to name a few. In this week’s episode, I’m joined by the aficionado...

Is Film School Really Worth the Cost? Let me start by saying that I’m a big believer in education and constant learning throughout life. I believe that the only way to truly experience the amazing things the world has to offer is by educating yourself as much as humanly possible. With that said, people who go to film schools to educate themselves about the basics of filmmaking are fools. Now full disclosure, I was one of those fools. A little about me, I’ve been in the film industry for...

I know that everyone reading this has had a moment in time where someone did not believe in them for one reason of another. It is a part of life and a REAL BIG PART of the film industry. So many times in my career I was told that: "You nuts! That'll never work." or "That's never been done before." Well I love hearing that. I has taken time for me to enjoy when people say "it can't be done." I truly use it as fuel. You must first believe in yourself before anyone will believe in you. Now you...

Do You Need a Movie Star to Sell Your Indie Film? Being in post production for over 20 years, many films have walked through my doors. Some with huge movie stars that go nowhere and other with no stars that win Sundance. The question is do you really need a movie star in your independent film to be able to sell it? The answer is yes...and no. I layout specifics on when and if you need star power in your film and I discuss what the new definition of star power is today. The times they are a...

How to Blaze Your Own Path in the Film Industry Have you been banging your head against the wall trying to figure out what you need to do to break into the film industry? Me too. This episode  is dedicated to all the indie filmmakers out there trying to make a living as a filmmaker.  After studying so many success stories of directors, writers, producers, and actors who finally broke through and made it into the exclusive party I found one common denominator among every single one of...

We have a very special episode of the Indie Film Hustle podcast today. Our amazing guest is Qasim Basir, co-writer, and director of the Sundance 2018 hit film A Boy. A Girl. A Dream. The film stars Power‘s Omari Hardwick and Meagan Good is the story of two people who meet in Los Angeles on the night Donald Trump is elected President of the United States. The film was just picked up by Samual Goldwyn Company for a theatrical release. Check out a few clips below.   Qasim Basir wrote and...

On today's episode, I go over my top ten books that ROCKED my world! I get asked all the time what are a few books I could recommend. So I decided to just put a list together of these books. The books on the list have transformed me into the person I am today.  They have opened my mind, showed me new ideas, changed the way I thought about life and most importantly shook the foundations of my existence. Enjoy and may you find value in this list, my friends. Now get to reading!