When I write a novel or screenplay I write alone. I should be more accurate. I’m only working on writing my first novel. I love reading a good novel, so now I’m going to see if I can write a novel that doesn’t suck. Authors are rock stars in my eyes.

I’ve never had a writing partner to work with for any of the screenplays I’ve written. I usually have Slice of Americana Films Co-Producer Tim “Timbo” Beachum, my pops and a couple of friends read my first drafts.

They never hold back and are brutally honest if I wrote crap. Notes from people are a great help when writing. You might not always like the feedback, but it helps the entire creative process. Timbo’s notes are excellent because he’s a film editor and is already thinking of the cuts when I write a screenplay.

I’m not a musician, but writing for me reminds of “I Drink Alone – George Thorogood…

I drink alone, yeah

With nobody else

I drink alone, yeah

With nobody else

You know when I drink alone

I prefer to be by myself.”

Writing a novel is a brand spanking new creative adventure. I’m not starting with a clean story slate. Instead I’m turning a screenplay I wrote titled “Crazy Love Story” into a novel. Film financing has fallen through twice, once during preproduction – creative heartbreak.

I’m tired of the film financing dance for “Crazy Love Story” and no longer want to wait to share the story with people, so a novel doesn’t take film funding, only my time and desire to entertain readers. The upside is with a novel I don’t have to write with a film budget in mind.

I have a nasty habit of writing screenplays with budgets in mind because I don’t plan on trying to pitch a script to a studio or well-connected producer with deep pockets. I approach film investors outside of the entertainment business or write screenplays we can produce with in-house money. We fall into a strict film budget range as indie movie producers.

Writing a novel feels so free. I don’t feel like anyone is looking over my shoulder or I have to tame the story to fit a movie budget. I’m just alone writing and sharing a story I hope will entertain readers and leave them feeling they got their time and money’s worth.

Writing a novel is not easy. It’s a transition from screenwriting because in novels you have to describe every detail. In a screenplay you know movie viewers will see what actors, locations and action on screen will look like.

The novel format has my creative writing mind somewhat twisted right now, but two novel authors from Twitter shared great advice with me that made me feel I could really do this. Follow them. They’re George Pappas @GPWriter and Everett Powers @EvPowers

Before making movies or racy reality videos I fell in love with short story writing when I was in my wild younger days. It was a great release for me to write short stories despite whatever life situations I was dealing with. I never did anything with the short stories, but they did help me pursue screenwriting, filmmaking and now novel writing.

I’m glad there is the finished “Crazy Love Story” screenplay to help go off of while turning into a novel. One challenge is the screenplay was written as a shooting script and is only 58 pages long. There was going to be a lot of physical fight action, wild gun play, and sexy love scenes in the movie that didn’t require lots of dialogue.

Turning it into a novel is going to take much more description. Right now I’m taking the advice of authors George Pappas (MONOGAMY SUCKS and DEAR HEF) and Everett Powers (THE MIGHTY T and CANALS).

I’m not going to over think the format or editing at this first stage of novel writing. That will come later during serious story editing. Right now it’s about getting a very rough draft of the entire novel done. I’ve been working a good pace on “Crazy Love Story” novel. I’m trying to avoid going back as much as possible to rewrite what I’ve done the night before.

I’m letting words hit the page. At the end I’ll go back to rewrite, then edit. I work the same with screenplays pretty much. Except I do go back to look at what I wrote the night before when working on a screenplay, do a quick rewrite then move forward.

I honestly can’t say what will happen with this novel writing journey. I am enjoying the newness of novel writing. When “Crazy Love Story” novel is done I’m going to really hope that some of the filmmaking talent I’ve been lucky enough to work with Tim Beachum and U.K. filmmaker Wayne Daniells (LiarDice Films) can help with the artwork and book trailer in between indie film projects.

When the novel is done I want to market it like an indie film to get readers attention. Attention grabbing artwork and a book trailer. The cool creative dream would be that a studio bought the rights to adapt a novel based on an indie screenplay into a Hollywood script. This is indie filmmaker Sid Kali typing FADE OUT

I’ve learned through making movies the wonderful world of indie film production can be either creative hell or creative heaven. It is cliché, but it is really all in a person’s outlook on indie film production which it will be. Being unrealistic about what type of indie film you can make with a limited movie budget sets an aspiring filmmaker up for creative hell.

The Wonderful World of Indie Film Production

I casually know one high strung filmmaker I run into once in a blue moon at a certain bar. The story never changes. They are producing this indie film that is going to be a sweeping epic with a small army of a production crew and short list of up and coming hot actors for the lead. I believe in going after your filmmaking dreams, but you also to be realistic.

The reality of their situation is they have a $50,000 budget, a 120 page script, the story is set in the 1940s during WWII and there is lots of on camera gun play. I ran into them a couple of weeks ago and they were in a shitty depressed mood.

They felt like a movie making failure because they couldn’t make their indie film production happen. I tried my best to give them some positive words and tried to lift their spirits one indie filmmaker to another, but they were really in the dumps. What I was saying must have sounded like, “blah blah blah.”

It wasn’t my place to tell them trying to produce a 1940s period set in Italy during WWII on a $50,000 budget had indie film production let down written all over it. They were in creative hell torturing themselves for not being able to make their movie. There was no point adding more negative gasoline to burning fire by telling them they way over shot their film budget creatively and the film really had no chance of being made.

Having too lofty goals for a film production you’re movie budget can’t handle is a bad spot for any filmmaker to be in. Misery loves company. In a last ditch effort to show compassion to a fellow filmmaker I told them about my worst indie film production mistakes and let downs.

The terrible time in my own filmmaking life when I totally let stress and worry dominate me during post-production of my first feature film. I had created a creative hell for myself.

Knowing that other people have fallen short of their creative mark did make them feel a little bit better. After talking they told me they were going to make a smaller film with a tighter script shot in the present day. I hope it works out for them.

I personally believe that many of us indie filmmakers sometimes create our own creative hells without knowing it. Making movies is stressful, personality conflicts on sets happen and technical problems are always lurking.

We don’t need to let the negative things consume us so much that we fly off the handle over small film production problems, become rude assholes to other people on set or become paralyzed with self-doubt and fear. When you’re in creative hell during indie film production the movie will suffer at all levels.

When stress, anger, egos and unrealistic expectations of things being perfect are left to run unchecked many filmmakers lose control of their creative sharpness. Being stressed out, being an asshole or being unable to adapt to solve production problems have never helped a movie get done.

Sometimes during rough spots during indie film production it’s better to take a few minutes to pause and collect yourself before reacting to the situation. There’s a lot to be said for the benefits of taking deep breaths and not letting anger or fear dictate your filmmaking decisions.

Being a miserable rude bastard on set playing ruler of the set can work in the Hollywood studio system because people are being lots more than anyone on an indie film production is to take shit, there are people that even work for free on indie films.

People look the other way when A-List actors, directors and producers piss on their below-the-line people because the jobs pay good money and studios make billions from blockbuster hits. Egos and celebrity attitudes are not a good fit for smaller budget indie films.

The wonderful world of indie film production is still truly driven by a feeling of community amongst cast and crew. There is no celebrity politics to play like who has the biggest Hollywood honeywagon and most personal assistants on set.

Mentally beating yourself up during an indie film production does no good and puts you in creative hell where you’re not enjoying making a movie. Don’t get me wrong.

Making movies is tough business where problems happen and you have to fight through them to finish your film, being able to keep control of your own personal attitude will greatly help you overcome indie film production problems that are a constant when making a movie.

Being a pissed off movie maker throwing a temper tantrum never fixes a problem, it sometimes only makes it worse. No filmmaker is a Buddha that can be calm through everything. We all get pissed off sometimes on set, but the faster you let that anger pass you can get to figuring a workable solution. Calmer heads always prevail.

Relax and deeply breathe as much as you can when you feel anger, fear or stress that is clouding your creative judgment. Even 5 minutes of relaxing guided meditation can help you see the big picture and help you make indie film production calls that save the shooting day or fix a post-production problem. Pissed off never helps any situation.

Creative hell is when you’re not enjoying making your movie and you feel like your failing, losing control of the project or are in an angry nasty surly mood all the time. Avoid being that filmmaker. Negativity is bile that will build up inside you doing damage to those around and to yourself.

Creative heaven is when you’re able to go with the flow during every stage of production. It doesn’t mean you’re a push over that doesn’t call shots, keep cast and crew on task and move the project forward.

When you’re in charge during indie film production try your best to be open minded and flexible when script rewrites have to be done, filming of shots changed and technical problems happen. We’ve gone through this with Psoro a dark mental horror and bloody gore indie film produced by LiarDice Films, Slice of Americana Films and Graphic Delusions.We’re going for raw hard-hitting uncensored filmmaking for movie viewers that are bored with typical studio formula films.

There is no such thing as a perfect indie film production. There will always be problems to deal with on and off set. When you’re in a good state of mind not clouded by anger, fear or reckless ego you’ll be amazed how much easier it is to find solutions to production problems that sometimes even make the movie better at the end.

The wonderful world of indie film production is a creative rush that is exciting because the freedom you have to share your story with movie viewers without studio producers hanging over your shoulder second-guessing every call you make.

Sure, most indie filmmakers, me included, would hope to break into the Hollywood studio system and make big budget movies. That’s the filmmaking dream, but for now indie cinema is a creative playground where you can take risks and push the envelope by making movies that show hard-hitting uncensored content studios aren’t known for showing.

Embrace the wonderful world of indie film production with a positive and realistic view of what you can accomplish as indie filmmaker working with a limited budget to get your movie done. Filmmaking heaven is when you’re enjoying what you’re doing and even when problems arise you don’t lose control of yourself and let anger, fear and stress dominate you. This is indie filmmaker Sid Kali typing FADE OUT

Understanding movie distribution agreements is a real pain in the ass, but it’s all part of making movies. I’ve read simple straightforward movie distribution agreements that were short and others that you had to read like a short story of legalese. Signing away the rights to a movie you sweated to make is tough.

Self-distribution keeps getting more financially attractive with streamlined digital distribution filmmaker’s can control (the money and units moved). DVD is not a dead format yet. CreateSpace.com offers a simple service to get your movie sold via Amazon.com on DVD and you can sell directly from your own movie website. I still watch movies on DVD.

The downside to movie self-distribution is that most filmmakers are not seasoned at movie distribution to connect with a large audience of potential viewers and make money from their work. I wouldn’t even know how to get a movie sold overseas to a distributor or get it into different sales outlets.

All I’ve been able to learn having sold different entertainment to movie distributors is that most retailers won’t deal with a filmmaker that doesn’t have a film catalog. They view is it’s a waste of time to hassle with one filmmaker that has one movie. And movie distribution agreements need to be read word by word or you’ll lose money.

Movie distributors have large catalogs of films they represent and movie retailers like that very much. It makes film buying easier on their end to deal with one source. At AFM (American Film Market) one year I saw the uncensored side of movie distribution. Slice of Americana Films already sold the rights to a movie, but I went to see what happens at film markets.

Unless you’re flipping the bill as filmmaker you will not get a full size movie poster displayed. Movie distributors only pay for full size movie posters with releases that have a name actor or known celebrity in it. I was in the lobby of a hotel at the bar drinking a Miller Lite bottle and ended up talking to a film buyer from Japan over a few drinks. Bars are where many movie distribution talks happen at film markets and film festivals where movies are bought.

He shot straight about his take on movie distribution. The Japanese movie distribution company he worked for only dealt with US movie distributors with a film catalog because their paperwork was always solid and they didn’t have to negotiate deal by deal. Movie distributors package films together. An indie filmmaker with one movie has nothing to package. Overseas film buyers don’t want to spend the time going indie release by indie release.

Understanding movie distribution contracts should be left to film sales reps and entertainment lawyers. This is indie filmmaker Sid Kali typing FADE OUT

The open sharing of information on making movies is outstanding. The indie film community online have different experiences making movies; this keeps the information fresh for all kinds of different perspectives. I’ve fired off more than a few DMs and emails to other indie filmmakers asking questions if they solved a production problem I had as well. I also try to reply when I’m asked a question on an area of indie film production.

We’re all in the creative battle to make movies on limited budgets outside of the studio system. It’s nice to know you can get free practical filmmaking advice and words of encouragement when your movie making fire needs to be stoked a little. There’s no shame in asking another indie filmmaker a question if you don’t have the answer or information you need.

I’m also just a movie fan, so when I see an indie movie project that looks cool I try to follow it. The trailers for some of these movies really show what a motivated indie filmmaker can do on a limited budget outside of Hollywood. Two of the first creative people I started following on Twitter are filmmaker Oklahoma Ward and actor, singer, songwriter Nikki Alonso. I like their style. They’re working on the feature film CRAWL.

From that online filmmaking connection I saw they hooked up on a project with a filmmaker from Scotland named David Baker who is making a movie called SCREEN. I think the project and trailer look entertaining and it was cool that an indie filmmaker from Scotland could throw in with US filmmaker Oklahoma Ward and talented Nikki Alonso. I’m pulling for both of these indie driven films to be successful.

Through the power of Twitter Slice of Americana Films was able to connect with U.K. based indie filmmaker Wayne Daniells (LiarDice Films) and SFX artist Paul While (Graphic Delusions) to produce PSORO that is currently in post-production. You never know where creative opportunity will happen from connecting with the indie film community online.

I like learning new things about making movies. But I especially enjoy hearing other indie filmmakers share their uncensored experiences dealing with screenwriting, directing, producing, editing and eventually movie distribution.

One site I visit is ReelGrok.Com “Where Filmmakers Get It” started by seasoned producer Norman C. Berns. He has more experience and production success than I do, so I learn what I can from him on the business end of making movies. He’s got sage advice on taking a project from idea to being distributed.

I’m also trying to learn more about branding and product placement in indie produced movies. On Twitter I’ve made contact with Kristin R. Thomas aka @indiefilmgirl who specializes in product placement for indie films. PSORO budget was a little too tight to hire flat out, but hopefully on next project that will change. Indie filmmakers that try to do everything on their film usually screw up someplace.

Another big upside to being part of indie film community online is bloggers that support and give a platform for indie filmmakers. I’m not on Facebook, so here’s a Twitter list of bloggers and people I see supporting indie cinema big time:

@karenworden @filmcourage @CuttingRoomMRB @drunkonvhs @JerryD70 @VerbaVitae @ShadowDogProd @RexSikeMovieBT and Albanian George Loco aka @Gjergj_Cicani (associate producer on PSORO).

There are many other people part of the indie film community online that inspire and motivate me to push on, but I read somewhere that people don’t like to read posts that run too long. This is indie filmmaker Sid Kali typing FADE OUT

PSORO

There are going to be areas of post-production where LiarDice Films, Graphic Delusions and Slice of Americana Films will have to farm out some of the work, but mostly Psoro will be edited in-house in a flat in the U.K.

I imagine there will be an occasional scotch and restless nights for Wayne. The editing of Psoro the movie has already taken an unforeseen twist. The LiarDice Films editing suite was good, but not completely up to snuff to handle the dark mental horror and bloody gore of Psoro the movie.

We had already pretty much spent our entire Psoro movie budget. We had a few Pounds and Pesos left for post-production expenses we knew we would need to pay for to finish the film to meet movie distribution deliverables. But the movie editing suite in the U.K. was slower than we anticipated.

After the first Psoro teaser trailer was edited it was clear the editing suite was going to make post-production more time consuming that it needed to be. Psoro is an indie produced movie, so cash is always an issue. The question was in front of our faces. Do we dip into post-production funds that we had saved for areas of editing and film deliverables?

The editing of Psoro the movie became a question of time. My personal opinion as an indie filmmaker is there is not the luxury to take a year or longer to get a movie edited and released. The indie film scene is very different than the studio budget arena. Indie produced movies normally have an extremely short movie distribution life.

Once you start marketing your movie the clock starts ticking on how long movie viewers will wait for you to finish it. Without any big name stars or an A-List director of a hugely popular studio franchise release typical movie viewers won’t wait a year for your indie movie to come out. Taking too long to edit an indie produced movie is usually a kiss of a death.

The clock on Psoro is ticking and we know this as indie filmmakers. Still we refused to dip into post-production funds that we knew we would need to finish the movie. It’s funny sometimes how minds work when they’re pressed to think of ways to make fast money.

Wayne and I priced out what it what cost to have an editing suite built that could make Psoro post-production more streamlined. Wayne created a movie editing beast online and then saw the Pounds price tag when he was done. Even if I chipped in some USD and Pesos this was going to be a little bit expensive for us to cover.

Slice of Americana Films coproducer Tim “Timbo” Beachum had a new slick editing suite built about 2 years ago for our post-production needs. I told Wayne we could help handle more of post-production using our editing suite. Like a solid indie filmmaker Wayne wanted to get his own hands dirty in post-production with Psoro.

I knew where he was coming from. When it’s time for Slice of Americana Films to edit I fly to Virginia Beach and work with Timbo. Sure, we do party a little bit and edit a lot. I know he gets tired of me sitting in the studio changing my mind on cuts. If weren’t good friends I think he might want to go fist city with me sometimes during post-production.

Psoro is Wayne’s film baby, so I got that he wanted to do as much as the movie editing he could. I’m a gambler by nature for good or bad. Taking risks has been in my blood since I knew what taking real risks were. I know how much we’re short on buying a new editing suite to finish Psoro.

I know in my mind that Slice of Americana Films, LiarDice Films and Graphic Delusions are going to work together on future projects in all areas of entertainment.

I decide I’m going to take a risk gambling some money I had been saving for a trip to U.K. and Albania to party with Psoro associate producer Albanian George Loco @Gjergj_Cicani  I would like to experience life like badass Anthony Bourdain.

I take this loot to Pechanga Resort and Casino operated by the band of Luiseño Indians. Really nice place all the way around. I’m not there to screw around though. I’m there hoping to cover half the cost of new editing suite for Psoro. Indie movie producers are gamblers.

Long story short. I lose the gambling money I brought playing blackjack and double downing too much. I’m not one to chase gambling loses and exit the place in a yellow limo. The world is an interesting place. I tell Wayne let’s just stick with the current editing suite he has to edit Psoro.

We let it go at that. Wayne must be a born risk taker too. We’re on Skype taking about Psoro post-production when he tells me ordered the editing suite we had priced out and it will be delivered by January 27^th. My mind is thinking he either had to beg, borrow or steal the money. We’re indie filmmakers without trust funds or rich uncles.

I never ask questions about where money comes from. It’s not my business. There’s an awkward pause on Skype. Wayne must have read my mind. He opens without me asking and tells me a cool story how the new Psoro editing suite was paid for.

Wayne heads to the pub to think about Psoro post-production. A few pints and good scotch with his mates has him thinking maybe he can win the money gambling. This was funny to me because I already told him I lost gambling. Most people have a secret stash of cash for something. I had one for my U.K. and Albania vacation.

Wayne had a stash of cash to bid on some rare ThunderCats and some other stuff like that. He’s some kind of collector of that stuff I have no idea about. The money he has saved is not enough to cover the cost of the editing suite.

He takes the plunge. He goes directly from the pub to a casino in a taxi. He takes a spot at a roulette table. The scotch must have kicked in. Because as a gambler I’ve always said I would go all in on one bet to start the day, but never have. Wayne puts all his money on black and it hits. He lets it ride and black hits again.

Long story short. Black hits 5 times in a row and Wayne walks out of the casino walking taller. Now Psoro has a new editing suite being delivered January 27^th. By no means do I suggest gambling to help fund an indie movie, but it beats stealing. Lady Luck left me high and dry at Pechanga, but at least she showed in the U.K. for Wayne. This is indie filmmaker Sid Kali typing FADE TO BLACK

Recently writer’s block has derailed my personal screenwriting train. In the past I’ve read insightful books from working screenwriters and scriptwriting teachers that share a great bit of advice on dealing with writer’s block – keep writing. Force yourself to write every day, even if what you’re writing is crap.

I respect that and think it is great advice for any screenwriter being paid serious money by major studios or an aspiring screenwriter writing a spec script for free. At the end without a finished screenplay it’s damn hard to be able to schedule, budget and produce a movie.

Through living life I’ve also learned like many other people have that not everything works for everybody. The same goes for screenwriting. I don’t know about you, but I have my own comfortable way of working on screenplays. I’ve never been able to write myself out of writer’s block.

The creative process that has let me finish screenplays is a simple routine. I never liked to write in the mornings unless I have been up all night writing. I tried to force myself to get scenes and dialogue down in the mornings on a regular schedule as suggested by a screenwriting book, but it was a waste of time for me.

I sat in front of a blank screen not feeling it letting life tick by hour by hour. When I work on a screenplay I’m the type of writer that has to feel it flow. I’m not gifted as other screenwriters that can will it to happen and force their creative self to write through their block.

When I can’t write I flat out just can’t write no matter if I sit in front of a laptop willing the words to flow. I learned over time to stop resisting who I was as a screenwriter. When I don’t feel the screenwriting mojo I don’t sit in front of my laptop forcing myself to follow a writing schedule or force myself to write “x amount” of hours a day.

As long as you meet your screenplay deadline for production you’re golden. There are times I don’t write anything for a week and other times when I’m in a screenwriting groove I can bang away for 10 hours a day for many days losing track of time. The key to finishing a screenplay is making progress with it.

I realize I’m a spurt screenwriter. I don’t write every single day unless I’m feeling it. I prefer to write fast and furious to get a first draft done without looking back. Screenplays always go through rewrites, so I rarely go back to see what I wrote the night before. I just keep going until the rough first draft is done.

When writer’s block knocks my writing mind on its ass with an overhand right I give it a break to enjoy something else. It could be a walk around the neighborhood, beers with friends or whatever has nothing to do with screenwriting. When I come back to the screenplay I feel like I have fresh eyes and thoughts to move forward with the story.

Sometimes I leave a screenplay untouched for a week if I’m not feeling it. Not every screenwriter is the same. That’s what makes screenwriting personal and exciting. Every screenwriter figures out their own way of getting a movie idea into a shootable script.

There are screenwriters that listen to music, watch TV, drink scotch, talk to themselves reciting dialogue, write during a set block of time or different things when they are working on screenplay. How do you work on your screenplay?

I’ve never felt there is a wrong way to work on a screenplay. There are many different roads to take to get to the end of a screenplay. A friend of mine is writing their first screenplay. They have a full-time day job, wife and young children at home.

They are not being paid to write a screenplay, so they have found their own way to make progress on their script. Instead of taking lunch with coworkers they use that time to work on their script most days. It’s only an hour, but it’s a productive writing hour for them when the office is quiet. When they get home they take an hour or two before going to bed to work on what they wrote at lunch.

The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel connected with me the other day. I’ve had this one movie idea that I’ve never even wrote one piece of dialogue or scene for that I’ve carried in my mind for a year now. The farthest progress on it has been a short handwritten synopsis on notebook paper.

I’ve been working on post-production for Psoro with director Wayne Daniells, stretching a shooting budget with coproducer Tim “Timbo” Beachum on an untitled indie feature filming in West Virginia, pitching “Killing the Azul’s” to film investors and putting together the pieces to shoot another erotic film follow-up to Fantasy Striptease Private Shows.

The name of the game to survive in the indie produced entertainment business is to build a catalog of releases. I’ve been frustrated as hell pitching “Killing the Azul’s” formerly titled “Stash Spot” because film financing has fell through once before. I’m worried it’s going to be an unproduced script that dies.

Writing has always been my passion. I started with short stories as a youngster before screenplays. I was sitting in front of my laptop not feeling a rewrite of a scene I was working on for the West Virginia project. I was forcing it and it wasn’t working at all.

I knew I was thinking too much about how I could trim the West Virginia screenplay to save money to roll into an erotic film we could shoot using some of those in-house film funds. I want to produce both back to back, but we might not have enough cash to do it. This was on my mind as I was rewriting a scene.

Writer’s block had me. I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood to people living life and somebody is playing The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel pretty loud on their upstairs balcony. I know the song from a great scene in “Old School” with Frank the Tank.

When I got home I went on YouTube to listen to it. It got me thinking about the movie idea I had already scribbled in hand a synopsis for. I always feel good when I take a step back from the business part of producing indie cinema and return to purity of just writing.

I ended up writing most of the night working on this untitled screenplay. It felt right and it felt rewarding. I wasn’t writing with a movie budget in mind or anything. I was just writing a screenplay for the love it without any expectations. Do what feels good to you when working on screenplay. This is indie filmmaker Sid Kali typing FADE OUT

That is a hard pill for an indie movie producer and director to swallow. I network with many talented indie filmmakers via social media and ones I know personally. I’m always asking about their different approaches to dealing with post-production ups and downs.

I share what I’m going through in post-production and listen to what they’re going through. Sometimes a solid bit of advice can keep your movie on track during post-production.

A common thread many indie filmmakers with limited film funds share is they plan for post-production before they start filming.

I know one indie filmmaker that always has a detailed post-production budget as soon as the shooting script is locked. They also always put at least 10% contingency film funds of their whole budget aside just for post-production.

Their rule is to never touch any of the post-production funds during filming no matter what.

They told me it forces them to come up with creative solutions that don’t cost any money to solve production problems during filming. They’ve seen too many indie films shoot their money load during filming and end up with not enough money left to finish post-production.

It’s a hard money scramble to either go back to film investors for more money than you told them you could make the movie for or to secure film finishing funds from other sources.

Post-production can be very humbling for indie producers and directors once they see every take and scene bared completely naked on a timeline.

There is no hiding flaws or mistakes made during filming from the watchful eye of a film editor. A film editor’s job is to point out these mistakes to producers and directors, so they can hopefully fix the problems in post-production.

Have you hugged your film editor today? If you’re editing your own movie be sure to give yourself a hug.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for film editors, sound engineers and other post-production creatives. They work in the shadows outside of the spotlight to get a movie done.

Tim “Timbo” Beachum handles most of Slice of Americana Films post-production needs. But we still have to farm out and pay for certain post-production stuff.

When you’re paying for any part of post-production that pay clock ticks loud – real loud. Every hour is costing money. That’s why indie produced films are more likely to die in post-production. You simply run out of cash to feed the beast if you neglect to budget for post-production.

There is never the choice of throwing money at post-production to fix problems when producing an indie film.

The scariest thing I heard from a first-time indie filmmaker was, “I’ll worry about post-production after I get my movie shot.” They’ve been trying to raise film finishing funds going on a few years.

Every month that goes by not being in post-production is a nail in a movie’s coffin.

Film distributors don’t buy unfinished films and movie viewers don’t watch unfinished films. In my opinion even the worst finished indie film released is more successful than a collection of great looking dailies of an unfinished film that nobody sees. This is indie filmmaker Sid Kali typing fade out.

My heart just wasn’t into it as much as it needed to be in 2011. Filmmaking is my wife and novel writing was going to be my mistress, but I couldn’t cheat yet. I shelved the idea of finishing a novel to focus on Slice of Americana Films.

We wrapped a co-production to end 2011 with a bang. Psoro is a dark mental horror movie that is collaboration between U.K. based LiarDice Films, Graphic Delusions and U.S. based Slice of Americana Films. We’re glad to be in post-production because it means we finished shooting a movie as a team.

I’m really excited about we were able to film on an indie in-house movie budget that stretched from the U.K. to Albania and the U.S. Film distribution is getting even more competitive because so many different platforms are available to connect with movie viewers.

Psoro is relying on social media to spread the word that this is a movie for viewers that enjoy dark mental horror and real FX that pay homage to 80s and 90s films in the same genre. With Psoro in full swing from shooting, post-production and marketing I put the novel I planned on writing on the back burner.

Fellow filmmakers know how time consuming post-production and film marketing is. Psoro director Wayne Daniells is leading the way on editing. Visual FX artist Paul While, U.K. DOP Adam Mann, Tim “Timbo” Beachum and me are pitching in on post where we can help.

As the lead screenwriter on Psoro director Wayne Daniells and I spend lots of time on Skype going over post-production together. I’ve been through the grind of taking a movie from post-production to movie distribution, so it works out good for both of us.

We share detailed notes to hash out the best film cut possible with what we’ve shot. Too many chiefs in the kitchen can ruin the film soup, so all of us know our roles. Psoro is Wayne’s film baby, but we’re raising it like a film tribe pulling together when needed.

That’s the cool part about indie cinema. People are not driven by ego or greed yet. People are making movies because they want to entertain people with their creative visions. Studio produced movies are very rigid like a Roman army was. Clear order and set rules to play by.

In indie cinema the production assistant can freely talk to an actor or director and end up being the editor. I’ve read stories online where A-List actors don’t even want a production assistant to look or speak to them. That’s insanity of ego.

I realize when you make it in the entertainment business that it has to be crazy with paparazzi and fans on you all the time. I don’t blame famous actors when they finally snap in public. What I don’t get is the us and them or above-the-line and below-the-line mentality that happens on movie sets. I’m more amazed when it happens on an indie film set.

I’ll save that topic for another post. With Psoro we haven’t had any of that. We’re a group of indie filmmakers that decided to pull together money and creative sweat equity to make a movie that we hope is a badass watch for viewers.

This is the most all over Slice of Americana Films blog post I’ve written. I lost my train of thought thinking about what projects besides Psoro we have to get shot and released in 2012 to stay active. This is indie filmmaker Sid Kali typing FADE OUT

Visual SFX Artist Paul While (Graphic Delusions) sums it by saying “Our aim was to bring back adult B-movie horror and push boundaries using real special effects (make-up & prosthetics) with no or little CGI.

PSORO 80s Video Nasty Poster

In 1979 a sickness is brought to the surface. Many people die after crossing its path. Its journey travels decades and continents without any remorse.

Ever had an ITCH you just couldn’t stop scratching? Remember this word….PSORO.

I thought it would be interesting to share the real life origins of the movie idea for Psoro from director Wayne Daniells (LiarDice Films) in his own straightforward words.

“Psoro (Itch) is the new horror film I have currently directed and right at this point is in postproduction. A very simple, one worded title, yet an immensely deep, complex and meaningful title to me.

PRP or Pityriasis Rubra Pilaris is a rare and chronic skin disorder. And my father was diagnosed with it this year. The symptoms include reddish orange discolouration scaling, severe flaking of the skin but above all uncontrollable itching and scratching.  At this point in time there is no cure and limited knowledge for its treatment.

I would sit there watching my dad scratching and clawing at his skin, like a crazed mad man, the persistent and aggressive itching not helping or going away only causing his skin to redden and get very sore and very painful. A truly upsetting thing to watch when it’s someone so dear to your heart and the person who’s extreme love of cinema was the original reason I had always yearned to make movies.

I had wanted to make a movie in the horror genre for a long time.  So closing my eyes and listening to my dad’s dry nails scraping and scratching at his also dry skin had got my mind thinking.  What if I could put myself in his shoes? Could I possibly imagine the living hell he must be going through everyday not being able to make the itching and writhing under the skin stop.

The truthful answer was, no, I couldn’t possibly imagine that feeling to the extent he was, but I could get an idea, as a visual artist, the horror I could unleash on film with that single seed planted in my head.

Psoro (simply ‘Itch’) was soon born.  An idea that would journey down a few paths, thanks to help from makeup and visual FX artist Paul While and eventually come to a fully fleshed out story thanks to Producer and filmmaker Sid Kali.” – Wayne Daniells

My role with Psoro as a screenwriter, producer and directing some California filmed scenes has been one interesting creative ride I’ll never forget. Psoro is a dark twisted story that highlights dark mental horror and bloody gore.

We really want to prey on the fears and phobias of movie viewers. Right now we are in post-production with Psoro. We decided to unleash a small itch of Psoro with this teaser trailer to give viewers a glimpse of the story U.K. filmmaker Wayne Daniells wants to share to entertain viewers.

This is indie filmmaker Sid Kali typing SMASH CUT

The indie movie producers I know are always on the money hunt to make movies. It’s mentally frustrating and emotionally thrilling at the same time. Pitching to film investors gives you a shot of anxious excitement. You believe in the movie and now your job is to get other people to believe in it too. Enough that they put money up to finance your movie based on your pitch and passion to see your creative idea bared to viewers.

The money hunt to make movies will bring you in contact with all sorts of colorful characters from different backgrounds. I once had to pitch to a film investor in an Inland Empire strip club. Pitching with music playing, DJ’s booming voice announcing the next exotic dancer named Heaven or Star and my potential film investor getting VIP room dances was interesting.

Another time I was in a real estate developer’s plush office in Newport Beach with their attorney and it was me sitting across from them in a stuffy conference room. These were two entirely different pitch meetings all together. It was funny to me because I was pitching the exact same entertainment project to two completely different characters.

The film investor I pitched at the strip club passed on the project, but the night was his treat and gave me some cool memories. The real estate developer cut a check to finance part of the total budget and put in me contact with a few other people he thought might be interested. I’ve learned people with money usually like to split risks on entertainment business investments.

I ended up with a few film investors splitting the risk on this reality video venture. This had been my very first money hunt to make movies. I had been shot down by a dozen other movie investors I pitched to. That sense of failure faded when the check cleared and the funds were made available to start production. That’s a producer’s rush. Now I knew this was going to be the first of many money hunts to make movies.

Slice of Americana Films has wrapped Psoro with U.K. based LiarDice Films and Graphic Delusions. Psoro is currently in post-production under the creative eye of director Wayne Daniells. This transcontinental indie film venture has been an amazing experience for me.

Not just the part of making a movie with some talented U.K. creative souls, but filmmaker Wayne Danielles and I have forged a new friendship that will have us working on projects in the U.K. and here in the U.S.

Psoro also brought me in contact with Albanian Loco Gjergji Cicani who oversaw filming of a scene in Albania for the production. If Slice of Americana Films has a project shooting in the summer of 2012 “ALGC” has a job on the production crew when he visits the Southern California.

Now Slice of Americana Films coproducer and business partner Tim “Timbo” Beachum and I are shifting money around to finance our next indie movie. This is one of the rare times as indie filmmakers we’re not the money hunt to make movies. Through the kindness of the universe we have money in-house to fund our next project without outside film investors.

Making movies and producing entertainment is highly addictive. It’s a big gamble when it comes to spending money to make money off the creative sweat you have to put in from script to post-production.

Slice of Americana Films has a locked script and secured locations for our next feature film that will be shot in West Virginia. The movie budget is very lean like most indie produced projects. Timbo has family and friends that will make each production dollar spend bigger.

The only hiccup is I want to take part of the movie budget to make an erotic cinema title. The reason being is financially the turn around on seeing money from a movie is slower than say a reality video or erotic title.

Reality series America’s Wildest Bachelor Parties was filmed in a few days and Fantasy Striptease Private Shows was filmed in two days. They both made real money relatively fast once we got out of post-production that did take a few weeks.

I’m telling Timbo I think we shoot an erotic cinema title first, sell it and add the profit to the movie budget for the West Virginia shoot.

Getting feedback from other indie film producers nowadays movie distributors want a name attached to a movie. I’m thinking with added erotica film cash infusion we hire an actor with some kind of name that movie distributors that release indie cinema like.

Time for a little bit of hair of the dog. V8 Juice, Miller Lite and lemon juice to bite back what bit me last night on my travels.

On the last two features Slice of Americana Films shot in the Inland Empire we had great grassroots support from Ruben “Smiles” Navarro, who is like a brother to me, and Big Mike Guerrero, Oscar “KEO” Vargas, Liquid Smoke, Shilo Sutton and other really good friends that helped save production money by lending a hand for free and opening up locations.

One of the key producers of Consignment and In with Thieves is Steve Rusich who runs Triple Crown Fighter and is part owner of Valley Auto Center with his brothers. Steve has been a big supporter of the Inland Empire film scene (funny as it sounds to LA based filmmakers, there is one growing out here). Slice of Americana Films greatly appreciated him stepping up to help us.

His house was used as the production office and provided a great location with a killer view overlooking the Inland Empire. Opening up your home to a film crew is never easy, but Steve smiled and let us get the movie done without a complaint.

What is Triple Crown Fighter?

Fight Management and Contract Negotiations

TCF aggressively seeks to keep its athletes busy fighting. Utilizing relationships with MMA and Kickboxing promoters from all around the world TCF constantly books its fighters in top promotions from US, Canada, Europe and Asia.

Upon securing a fight, TCF will take care of all aspects of negotiations and finalize contract to our athlete’s acceptance.

TCF is with our athletes along the way from travel arrangements, to medical requirements to licensing and other logistics TCF will take care of all fight related tasks to make sure that our athletes can concentrate on nothing but fighting.

Marketing & Endorsements

TCF has developed great relationships with companies interested in sponsoring MMA athletes. TCF will work diligently to maximize our athlete’s sponsorship revenues.

Media & Public Relations

TCF not only advises our athletes on Media and PR strategies but also creates many Media and PR opportunities for its athletes through national interviews as well as appearances and signings.

Seminars

TCF has great connections with marital arts schools and studios all around the world. We have organized training seminars for many of our athletes further maximizing their income potential in non-fight related affairs.

Whenever you can shoot where you have close friends and family you’re production dollars will stretch. This is indie filmmaker Sid Kali typing FADE OUT