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	<title>Make Film Teach Film</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.chrisjonesblog.com</link>
	<description>Get a Camera, Get Some Actors, Go Shoot a Movie...</description>
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		<title>Final Call for the London Documentary Summit this weekend</title>
		<link>http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/05/final-call-for-the-london-documentary-summit-this-weekend.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/05/final-call-for-the-london-documentary-summit-this-weekend.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2013 13:14:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Documentary]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/?p=8129</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Doc Summit is back this weekend and there are a handful of passes left. The Documentary Summit is a two day professional filmmaker conference with seminars from expert speakers and networking, it offers a unique opportunity to connect, share and collaborate. Join the movement now. Above is a session from the last Doc Summit [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/38046400?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" frameborder="0" width="640" height="360"></iframe></p>
<p><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/image1.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-8130" title="image" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/image1.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="200" /></a>The Doc Summit is back this weekend and there are a handful of passes left. The Documentary Summit is a two day professional filmmaker conference with seminars from expert speakers and networking, it offers a unique opportunity to connect, share and collaborate. Join the movement now.</p>
<p>Above is a session from the last Doc Summit in London, with <strong>Geoffrey Smith, director of ethical doc, <em>The English Surgeon</em></strong>. It’s well worth a watch.</p>
<p><em>‘One of the most uplifting, productive and inspiring weekends I have ever had!&#8217;</em><br />
<strong> Hanna Wise, Filmmaker and Underwater camera OP</strong><br />
<strong> www.ChinaCakeProductions.com</strong></p>
<p><strong>DATE:</strong> May 18th / 19th<br />
(Saturday/Sunday, 9.00am to 6.00pm)<br />
<strong>VENUE:</strong> Regents College, Regents Park (<a href="http://www7.jimdo.com/app/sac021d7bed920728/p0f691c05ce1e620a/">Directions here</a>)<br />
<strong>PRICE: </strong>£139 (use code CHRISJONES to get £50 off)</p>
<p>There is a full schedule here…<a title="http://www.documentarysummit.com/docsummit-2013-london/schedule/" href="http://www.documentarysummit.com/docsummit-2013-london/schedule/"></p>
<p>http://www.documentarysummit.com/docsummit-2013-london/schedule/</a></p>
<p>And speakers here…<br />
<a href="http://www.documentarysummit.com/docsummit-2013-london/">http://www.documentarysummit.com/docsummit-2013-london</a></p>
<p>You can follow on Twitter with the hashtag <strong>#DocSummit</strong>.</p>
<p>You can get your pass on the site <a href="http://www.documentarysummit.com/docsummit-2013-londonhttp://">here</a>, or by using the widget below.</p>
<div style="width: 100%; text-align: left;"><iframe src="http://www.eventbrite.com/tickets-external?eid=3357613713&amp;ref=etckt" frameborder="0" marginwidth="5" marginheight="5" scrolling="auto" width="100%" height="220"></iframe></div>
<p><strong>Onwards and upwards!</strong></p>
<p><strong>Chris Jones</strong><br />
<strong>My movies <a href="http://www.LivingSpiritGroup.com">www.LivingSpiritGroup.com</a></strong><br />
<strong>My Facebook <a href="http://www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker">www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker<br />
</a>My Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/livingspiritpix">@LivingSpiritPix</a></strong></p>
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		<title>&#8217;50 Kisses&#8217; Promo Released&#8230; what do you think?</title>
		<link>http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/05/50-kisses-promo-released-what-do-you-think.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/05/50-kisses-promo-released-what-do-you-think.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 May 2013 12:08:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[50 Kisses]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/?p=8125</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We are delighted to release the 50 Kisses promo today. Please share with everyone you know on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest – everywhere! Embed on your site and get it out there for the world to see. Short Tweet link here… bit.ly/Nne8cV Use video embed code here… &#60;iframe src=&#8221;http://player.vimeo.com/video/65914231?byline=0&#38;amp;color=e00206&#8243; width=&#8221;640&#8243; height=&#8221;360&#8243; frameborder=&#8221;0&#8243;&#62;&#60;/iframe&#62; It is worth [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_Qmqx9tWdrw?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/word-cloud.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-8126" title="word cloud" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/word-cloud-300x164.jpg" alt="" width="229" height="125" /></a>We are delighted to release the 50 Kisses promo today. Please share with everyone you know on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest – everywhere! Embed on your site and get it out there for the world to see.</p>
<p>Short Tweet link here… <strong><a href="http://bit.ly/Nne8cV" target="_blank">bit.ly/Nne8cV</a></strong></p>
<p>Use video embed code here…<br />
<strong>&lt;iframe src=&#8221;http://player.vimeo.com/video/65914231?byline=0&amp;amp;color=e00206&#8243; width=&#8221;640&#8243; height=&#8221;360&#8243; frameborder=&#8221;0&#8243;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</strong></p>
<p>It is worth just noting what a promo reel is intended to do – to generate interest in both the film and the initiative (as the Create50 initiative is much more newsworthy than the film in of itself). In the case of 50 Kisses, it’s showing the different styles, shots, talent and interpretations of the scripts. What it is not, is an indication of the films that made it into the final film. We’ll be announcing who made the final cut soon – but in the meantime, sit back relax and enjoy.</p>
<p>Thank you to Ricky Milling, Paula Hughes and Simon Reglar for their work on editing the promo. Thank you also to Tess Tyler for her stunning music Stunt Poetry which is featured in the promo.<br />
<strong></strong></p>
<p><strong>Onwards and upwards!</strong></p>
<p><strong>Chris Jones</strong><br />
<strong>My movies <a href="http://www.LivingSpiritGroup.com">www.LivingSpiritGroup.com</a></strong><br />
<strong>My Facebook <a href="http://www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker">www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker<br />
</a>My Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/livingspiritpix">@LivingSpiritPix</a></strong></p>
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		<title>Space Oddity: It&#8217;s cool on SO many levels!</title>
		<link>http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/05/space-oddity-its-cool-on-so-many-levels.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/05/space-oddity-its-cool-on-so-many-levels.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2013 15:18:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rocketboy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/?p=8120</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I just wanted to mark this day on my blog by posting the Space Oddity video, recorded by Commander Chris Hadfield on board the International Space Station. For me, it&#8217;s cool on so many levels. Cool that he did it where he did it. Cool that he chose that track. Cool that he takes it [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KaOC9danxNo" frameborder="0" width="640" height="360"></iframe></p>
<p><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/chris_hadfield.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-8121" title="Space Oddity_2" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/chris_hadfield-300x168.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="168" /></a>I just wanted to mark this day on my blog by posting the Space Oddity video, recorded by Commander Chris Hadfield on board the International Space Station. For me, it&#8217;s cool on so many levels.</p>
<p>Cool that he did it where he did it. Cool that he chose that track. Cool that he takes it seriously. Cool that it&#8217;s edited so well. Cool that he&#8217;s using tech we can all get, aside from the space station of course. Cool that he sports that tache.Cool that he is who he is, and he STILL did it with such style. Cool that he even has JJ Abrams style lens flares.</p>
<p>But most of all it&#8217;s cool becuase it inspires a curiosity in science via art.</p>
<p>It reminds me of when we forst went to the moon. It&#8217;s simply fabulous.</p>
<p>We have seen these kind of shots in so many sci-fi movies, it&#8217;s easy to forget that this is real. Awesome.</p>
<p>What is cool about it for you?</p>
<p><strong>Onwards and upwards!</strong></p>
<p><strong>Chris Jones</strong><br />
<strong>My movies <a href="http://www.LivingSpiritGroup.com">www.LivingSpiritGroup.com</a></strong><br />
<strong>My Facebook <a href="http://www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker">www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker<br />
</a>My Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/livingspiritpix">@LivingSpiritPix</a></strong></p>
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		<title>Notes for emerging composers… how to get noticed by producers</title>
		<link>http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/05/notes-for-emerging-composers%e2%80%a6-how-to-get-noticed-by-producers.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/05/notes-for-emerging-composers%e2%80%a6-how-to-get-noticed-by-producers.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 May 2013 20:59:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Music]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/?p=8111</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We are in the process of launching a new channel for screenwriting training called www.RadioLSF.com and we invited composers to submit tracks – if selected they would be featured on the channel. Consequently, I have just listened to around 1,000 tracks from emerging composers and have learned a great deal about new musical talent in [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/piano.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-8112" title="piano" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/piano-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>We are in the process of launching a new channel for screenwriting training called <a href="http://www.radiolsf.com/">www.RadioLSF.com</a> and we invited composers to <a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/04/calling-all-composers-%E2%80%93-get-your-music-on-our-screenwriting-radio-station.html">submit tracks</a> – if selected they would be featured on the channel. Consequently, I have just listened to around 1,000 tracks from emerging composers and have learned a great deal about new musical talent in the process. I thought I would share what I have experienced.</p>
<p>I have included one of my favourite submissions here, to help illustrate some of my points, but mainly because I think it’s just a stunning piece of work – it’s called<strong> Corpus 6 (Part 5) by<a href="https://soundcloud.com/kirispirou"> Kiriakos Spirou</a></strong>and is set to autoplay.</p>
<p><iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F92038940&amp;color=cd0000&amp;auto_play=true&amp;show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" width="100%" height="166"></iframe></p>
<p>I hasten to add, I am no musician or composer, but I do listen to huge amounts of movie soundtracks. Does this make me an expert? Certainly not. But I am an expert in my own aesthetics, and I do think I spot something good when I hear it.</p>
<p>And this blog is all about the music and submission process, let’s assume you have a great website and social media engagement footprint. So here goes, top eleven musician submission tips.</p>
<p><strong>1. Submit what was requested</strong><br />
We were pretty clear, we needed MP3 files with the name in a specific but simple naming format. What we got sent to us was links to playlists, WAV files, MIDI files and all manner of other weird stuff. Emails saying <em>‘hey brother, check out the tunes on my soundcloud…’ </em>Really? Do I really have time to go do that? The bottom line is this, when submitting your work, make sure you actually submit what is asked for. Failure to do so means you simply won’t be considered. It’s brutal, but it’s true. We had way more submissions than we needed so why would we work hard to accommodate people who could not even follow the most basic instructions? It blows my mind people can go to great lengths to create amazing work but fail at the last and simplest of hurdles. It reminded me of a quote from Jon Reiss when we ran his distribution masterclass and he said ‘50% of submissions fail at the first hurdle because people cannot read and follow the instructions’. True.</p>
<p><strong>2. Don’t try and sound like a 140 piece orchestra</strong><br />
We had a number of tracks that were attempting to sound like the London Philharmonic. But they weren’t. Sadly, these tracks often sounded just like synths trying very hard to sound like live musicians. Even the ones with better samples and sound mixing just felt like they were trying too hard. I understand why some people would feel the need to go there, but I would recommend against it.</p>
<p><strong>3. Too much going on</strong><br />
Many tracks were too busy, which ended up highlighting the lack of a professional mixer. Like fonts on a webpage, don’t use too many different ones, it ends up being messy. The same is true with music. Keep it simple. Too many different instrument voices just end up with a kind of acoustic mush.</p>
<p><strong>4. Love the synths</strong><br />
If you are going electronic, and there is no reason why not to, really go electronic. The good synth tracks we received (like chunks of the score for ‘Tron’ by Daft Punk) didn’t try to sound like anything but synthesisers. The tracks that embraced the synth sound were mostly successful because they tended to know exactly what they were. Of course, synths are not to everyone’s taste.</p>
<p><strong>5. Love the piano</strong><br />
Often I felt that music (composition) was being let down by the performance and recording. Don’t be afraid if stripping back your work to just a (real) piano and perhaps a few other musical voices. Again, the track on this page is a good example of this.</p>
<p><strong>6. Build to a moment</strong><br />
Many tracks kind of started at a certain pitch (not musical pitch but energy pitch) and just stayed there. Up, down or somewhere inbetween – but always at the same pitch. I wanted to be taken on a journey, not down the M6 at the same speed! Let the music have a moment. Something that we really want to click on and play again and say <em>‘wow, that bit was awesome…</em>’ Below is a great example that was sent in by Michele Chiavarini called &#8216;Beholder&#8217;. Love it! (needs to be played very loud to do it justice)</p>
<p><object width="100%" height="18" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="src" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F92060821&amp;color=ff6600&amp;auto_play=false&amp;player_type=tiny" /><embed width="100%" height="18" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F92060821&amp;color=ff6600&amp;auto_play=false&amp;player_type=tiny" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" /></object></p>
<p><strong>7. Less is more</strong><br />
Send only your best tracks and as few as possible. Impress with a single track, create a relationship, and THEN get a request for more music. Better to do this than to bombard with a sea of your mediocre work with a single killer track lost in the middle.</p>
<p><strong>8. Tag your MP3 files</strong><br />
I was amazed at how few people tagged their files with track details, artwork and contact details. That’s like sending a script out without your name on the cover.</p>
<p><strong>9. Get the mix right</strong><br />
A few tracks were clearly performed by live instruments but were so poorly mixed and so hard to listen to. Now I appreciate that we don’t all have access to an expert sound mixer, but often it felt like everything was just pushed up to ten and recorded in a room with no natural reverb &#8211; every note felt very hard on the ear. At the least, pull it back, let it ebb and flow, and add a small amount of reverb.</p>
<p><strong>10. Talent shines&#8230; but&#8230;</strong><br />
It’s true, it literally leaps out at you when listening. So what if you aren’t in that top 1%? Well to my ear, there was also a really good 30% of damn fine stuff &#8211; I would have definitely wanted to know more about those composers. I would say that the people in that top 30% were more confident in their work and not trying so hard to impress with bells and whistles.</p>
<p><strong>11. Don’t show your range, spotlight where you excel</strong><br />
Some composers sent lots of tracks in all manner of different styles and genres. I got no sense of the artist in these cases, more the feeling of a musical factory that could churn out great stuff that might, just might, lack a little authorship and soul. I understand why people do this, I myself am a creative with many different faces. But when it really comes down to it, I suspect I have two or three genuine strengths – and I should build there. As a composer, you will have a few key strengths too. Play to them and shine. Even if your supplied music is not appropriate, it WILL get noticed and filed for future possibilities. We don’t want a musical Jacks of all trades, we are looking for a genuine voice.</p>
<p>I hope this blog post helps and I am genuinely grateful for all the music submitted to us for <a href="http://www.radiolsf.com/">www.RadioLSF.com</a>.</p>
<p>Remember, I am no composer or musician, but I am the kind of person your music may end up being heard and judged by.</p>
<p>Good luck, keep composing and sending your stuff out. You can only grow as an artist.</p>
<hr />
<p><strong>Mark Lo kindly added to the list, and we should listen to Mark, here’s who he is… </strong>Mark was a composer agent for the Air-Edel group from 1999 to 2012. Last year he became an Exec Music Producer for The Cutting Edge Group, where he manages a film music investment fund and advises on score solutions for feature films and TV.</p>
<p><strong>Mark says… FIND YOUR VOICE</strong><br />
That’s what we look for every time. From all the submissions for representation I get, my “Ones to Watch” folder has only 4 composers in it and they’re in there because they are talented INDIVIDUALS. Having your own voice is absolutely vital to being successful as a composer. While it&#8217;s important to have the skills to be able to adapt and meet the brief of the project your working on, it&#8217;s YOU that the production should be is hiring and there should only be ONE of you in the market place.</p>
<p><strong>Mark says… THEME’S AND MOTIFS</strong><br />
Something we find again and again is that people write very elaborate soundscapes both orchestral and electronic and fail to write anything close to a theme. While there are exceptions to every rule (Cliff Martinez’s brilliant electronic score to Drive) the composers that are in demand around the world are the ones who know how to write themes. Writing themes is where a composer can develop a score and bring the viewer closer to the emotional core of the characters and the story. It’s why the scores of John Williams, Alexandre Desplat, Lalo Schifrin, Dario Marianelli, Bernard Hermann, Patrick Doyle or Vangelis (to name but a few) have survived the test of time and continue to enthrall and move listeners outside of the film itself.</p>
<p>Thanks Mark, great stuff!</p>
<p><strong>Onwards and upwards!</strong></p>
<p><strong>Chris Jones</strong><br />
<strong>My movies <a href="http://www.LivingSpiritGroup.com">www.LivingSpiritGroup.com</a></strong><br />
<strong>My Facebook <a href="http://www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker">www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker<br />
</a>My Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/livingspiritpix">@LivingSpiritPix</a></strong></p>
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		<title>Trust is the only currency in an untrustworthy business&#8230; stunning presentation from Producer with more credits than most DVD collections!</title>
		<link>http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/05/trust-is-the-only-currency-in-an-untrustworthy-business-stunning-presentation-from-producer-with-more-credits-than-most-dvd-collections.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/05/trust-is-the-only-currency-in-an-untrustworthy-business-stunning-presentation-from-producer-with-more-credits-than-most-dvd-collections.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 May 2013 07:19:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Breakfast Club]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Production]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/?p=8095</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last week we recorded and extraordinary session at the London Breakfast Club with producer Iain Smith – it was just crammed with wisdom and bite sized gems for filmmakers, writers and of course producers. My personal favourite anecdote? If audiences like your production after a year, it&#8217;s a movie. If they like it after a [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><iframe src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F90842570&amp;color=d10000&amp;auto_play=false&amp;show_artwork=true" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" width="100%" height="166"></iframe></p>
<p><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/image.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-8096" title="image" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/image-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="180" height="180" /></a>Last week we recorded and extraordinary session at the <a href="http://www.londonbreakfastclub.com/">London Breakfast Club</a> with producer Iain Smith – it was just crammed with wisdom and bite sized gems for filmmakers, writers and of course producers. My personal favourite anecdote?<em> If audiences like your production after a year, it&#8217;s a movie. If they like it after a decade, it&#8217;s a film. And if they still like it after fifty years, it&#8217;s cinema&#8230; but until we can make a movie, we have no chance of making cinema!</em> True that.</p>
<p>If you want more information on the <a href="http://www.londonbreakfastclub.com">Breakfast Club</a>, emails when new podcasts like this go live, or to come to the next event, sign up below…</p>
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<p>And I asked screenwriter Tom Keravan to share his insights from the audience…</p>
<hr />
<p><strong><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/tom-copy.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-8097" title="tom copy" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/tom-copy-300x266.jpg" alt="" width="179" height="158" /></a>Where to start?!</strong></p>
<p>Having stepped into the breach at the last minute, and with the Breakfast Club now the Pimms O’Clock Club, I didn’t know what to expect from Iain Smith. All we knew was that his IMDB page reads like your average DVD collection.</p>
<p><strong>What followed was an absolute pummeling of sound bite after sound bite of film-making wisdom from an uplifting Scottish soul.</strong></p>
<p>His advice, whilst specific to America, carried with it a weight that transcended geography. Such was the vast scope of pearls thrown our way, it’s going to be a bit tricky to get it all into one short blog. I’ll do my best!</p>
<p>It’s important to remember that Iain grew up in Glasgow, knew no one in the industry and had no access to any kind of money to make films. The more he spoke, the more we realised the reason he’s been so successful is because he embodies the advice he gives.</p>
<p><strong>“You’ve made a lot of films”</strong></p>
<p><strong>“You should see the ones I didn’t make.”</strong></p>
<p>In one year Iain received 207 scripts, 6 of which he was interested in, none of which were made. Why? Because a script must have <strong>added value</strong> – something more than your desire to see it made. Scripts must be <strong>owned</strong>, not in a legal sense, but in a collaborative way. Everyone has to feel that the story belongs to them; Iain looks for this opportunity that money can give.</p>
<p>He went on to say that generally speaking he’ll try to read everything he’s sent, or at least the first few pages. Encouraging.</p>
<p><strong>“The audience feed off innocence.”</strong></p>
<p>Don’t be cynical. Cynicism in film-making kills the soul, and the audience don’t like it. Audiences feed off innocence. Not naivety, but innocence. Iain tosses aside any script/idea that is cynical. “Few are; many are misguided though.”</p>
<p><strong>“An argument is an act of friendship.” (<em>Glaswegian ‘proverb’</em>)</strong></p>
<p>Film-making is a journey of discovery and the writing goes on through the whole process. It’s about understanding the <strong>value of the moment</strong>, then protecting and carrying that value. Part of this means not being afraid to have an argument in order to test it. As with your script, conflict is a good thing.</p>
<p><strong>“The shortest distance between two points is a circle.”</strong></p>
<p>Nothing in Hollywood happens just like that &#8211; you have be prepared to go through the process again and again. For example, <em>Seven Years in Tibet</em> took 14 years to get to principle photography. A project needs to be sent round the houses so it gets into the ether. Eventually, hopefully, it will get some traction. In other words, there is no such thing as a ‘fresh’ script. This is good though, because there’s something very right about rejection. “If you’re not being rejected, you’re in trouble.”</p>
<p><strong>“Work backwards.”</strong></p>
<p>Amateurs begin at the beginning; pros begin at the end.</p>
<p><strong>“The Americans have the energy of a circus.”</strong></p>
<p>The difference between American and British writer/film-makers, and why some British writers struggle out there, is that the Americans are natural self-dramatists, whereas we play everything down; we flatten things. They have an incredible energy that we might do well to learn from. It will help you survive.</p>
<p><strong>“Trust is the only currency in an untrustworthy business.”</strong></p>
<p>So how not to get fired? Firstly, you won’t get fired, you’ll just be made irrelevant. Nice.</p>
<p>But on top of the two standard ‘keys to success’, hard work and luck, Iain added two more that are not often talked about:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Reduction of the ego</strong> so that you are no longer contributing to the problem. Put the idea out there without being the soldier for the idea. Just allow it to exist, and be still.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>Trust &amp; integrity</strong>. People will want to work with you if they trust you’ll do what you say you’ll do. The director must be trusted that he/she is passionate enough about the project to make the best film they’ve ever made; the producer must be trusted that he/she can achieve this <em>within budget.</em> Working on <em>The Fountain</em> with Darren Aronofsky, their budget was cut in half, but Iain knew he could still deliver the film. The financiers trusted him, Darren trusted him. At the end of the shoot, Darren said that he got the film he wanted to make, and Iain had delivered it within budget. That level of trust is priceless.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>“Write it good.”</strong></p>
<p>For writers, he advised to find that spark, the added value, but also stressed the importance of not trusting the facts, but the why. Why are you writing this? It’s not about the ‘how’ or the ‘what’, it’s about the ‘why’. Learn why.</p>
<p><strong>“Know your weaknesses.”</strong></p>
<p>For producers, he advised to learn what kind of producer you are and know your weaknesses. Are you good at finding the money? Or sales? Or protecting the idea and the added value? Or are you good in the battlefield of Hollywood? If you know who you are, what you’re doing and where you’re weaknesses lie, then people will trust you, which, to reiterate, is the only currency in this untrustworthy business.</p>
<p><strong>“Be active; be humble.”</strong></p>
<p>Finally, when asked if we should go to LA, his answer was simple. “Yes, if only to come away shaken.”</p>
<p>This really wasn’t the half of it, but I’ve rambled on for long enough.</p>
<p>To end on a prime example of his influence though, as mentioned, Iain was the man who believed enough in Darren Aronofsky to produce <em>The Fountain,</em> which happens to be the film that finally spurred me into action. What I saw in that film an uncompromising vision from a unique director. <strong>That vision could never have been achieved without Iain protecting the idea, protecting the value of the moment, allowing Darren to make the film he wanted to make.</strong></p>
<p>We all started the afternoon wanting Iain to be our producer because of his impressive credit list. We left wanting Iain to be our producer because, regardless of how many films he’s made, he genuinely cares about telling great stories. He seems to understand the creative process from all angles, and pours himself into every project.</p>
<p>Tom Kerevan is a London-based screenwriter of films, TV and virals. His feature film <em>Cannibal</em> is shooting summer 2014.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.tomkerevan.com/">www.tomkerevan.com</a><br />
Twitter: @TomKerevan</p>
<hr />
<p>Thanks Tom, great stuff!</p>
<p><strong>Onwards and upwards!</strong></p>
<p><strong>Chris Jones</strong><br />
<strong>My movies <a href="http://www.LivingSpiritGroup.com">www.LivingSpiritGroup.com</a></strong><br />
<strong>My Facebook <a href="http://www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker">www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker<br />
</a>My Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/livingspiritpix">@LivingSpiritPix</a></strong></p>
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		<title>Advanced Producing with Richard Holmes, what delegates said</title>
		<link>http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/05/advanced-producing-with-richard-holmes-what-delegates-said.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/05/advanced-producing-with-richard-holmes-what-delegates-said.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 May 2013 07:27:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Guerilla Film Makers Masterclass]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/?p=8075</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This weekend gone, Richard Holmes ran his Advanced Producing workshop which was a resounding success. It was crammed with hard won lessons, delivered with charm and wit and spectacularly open an authentic. If you would like info on when we run this event again, sign up below. ‘Sage advice from a prolific producer’ Mike Mindel, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/Richard-Holmes-Group1.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8080" title="Richard Holmes Group" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/Richard-Holmes-Group1.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="293" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/richard-1.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-8078" title="richard 1" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/richard-1.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="250" /></a>This weekend gone, Richard Holmes ran his Advanced Producing workshop which was a resounding success. It was crammed with hard won lessons, delivered with charm</p>
<p>and wit and spectacularly open an authentic. If you would like info on when we run this event again, sign up below.</p>
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<hr />
<p><em>‘Sage advice from a prolific producer’</em><br />
<strong>Mike Mindel, Writer / Producer</strong><strong><br />
<a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2012/02/rocket-fuel-for-the-soul-feedback-from-the-guerilla-film-makers-masterclass-2012.html/stars" rel="attachment wp-att-5373"><img title="stars" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2012/02/stars.jpg" alt="" width="88" height="19" /></a></strong></p>
<p><em>‘It’s like a 2 year MA in one day!’</em><br />
<strong>Cera Rose Pickering, Writer</strong><strong><br />
<a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2012/02/rocket-fuel-for-the-soul-feedback-from-the-guerilla-film-makers-masterclass-2012.html/stars" rel="attachment wp-att-5373"><img title="stars" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2012/02/stars.jpg" alt="" width="88" height="19" /></a></strong></p>
<p><em>‘The blood, the guts, the depth, the detail, the fury, the humour… of film production – epic masterclass’</em><br />
<strong>Jade Syed-Bokhari, Filmmaker</strong><strong><br />
<a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2012/02/rocket-fuel-for-the-soul-feedback-from-the-guerilla-film-makers-masterclass-2012.html/stars" rel="attachment wp-att-5373"><img title="stars" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2012/02/stars.jpg" alt="" width="88" height="19" /></a></strong></p>
<p><em>‘I learned more ‘real world’ and applicable information in one day than I did in three years at film school’</em><br />
<strong>Darren Bender, Producer</strong><strong><br />
<a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2012/02/rocket-fuel-for-the-soul-feedback-from-the-guerilla-film-makers-masterclass-2012.html/stars" rel="attachment wp-att-5373"><img title="stars" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2012/02/stars.jpg" alt="" width="88" height="19" /></a></strong></p>
<p><em>‘I was continually and thoroughly engaged. Richard was as hilarious as a professional comedian, whilst educating us on deeply complex themes. His first hand experience was as rewarding as it was terrifying. Truly brilliant and inspiring.’</em><br />
<strong>Joel Mishon, TV producer</strong><strong><br />
<a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2012/02/rocket-fuel-for-the-soul-feedback-from-the-guerilla-film-makers-masterclass-2012.html/stars" rel="attachment wp-att-5373"><img title="stars" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2012/02/stars.jpg" alt="" width="88" height="19" /></a></strong></p>
<p><em>‘The amount of detail and real life examples and documents provided is unheard of in any other filmmaking class’</em><br />
<strong>Asim Apobasi, Filmmaker</strong><strong><br />
<a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2012/02/rocket-fuel-for-the-soul-feedback-from-the-guerilla-film-makers-masterclass-2012.html/stars" rel="attachment wp-att-5373"><img title="stars" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2012/02/stars.jpg" alt="" width="88" height="19" /></a></strong></p>
<p><em>‘It is wonderful to be in such a positive and energising environment’</em><br />
<strong>Clare Cahil, Filmmaker</strong><strong><br />
<a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2012/02/rocket-fuel-for-the-soul-feedback-from-the-guerilla-film-makers-masterclass-2012.html/stars" rel="attachment wp-att-5373"><img title="stars" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2012/02/stars.jpg" alt="" width="88" height="19" /></a></strong></p>
<p><em>‘Such a relief to get someone actually doing what they are teaching, and being transparent and honest about it too. Thoroughly recommended’</em><br />
<strong>David Sigston, Writer / Director</strong><strong><br />
<a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2012/02/rocket-fuel-for-the-soul-feedback-from-the-guerilla-film-makers-masterclass-2012.html/stars" rel="attachment wp-att-5373"><img title="stars" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2012/02/stars.jpg" alt="" width="88" height="19" /></a></strong></p>
<p><em>‘The level of detail was intense but necessary’</em><br />
<strong>Mark Knight, Filmmaker</strong><strong><br />
<a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2012/02/rocket-fuel-for-the-soul-feedback-from-the-guerilla-film-makers-masterclass-2012.html/stars" rel="attachment wp-att-5373"><img title="stars" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2012/02/stars.jpg" alt="" width="88" height="19" /></a></strong></p>
<p><em>‘Couldn’t recommend more highly’</em><br />
<strong>Gez Medinger, Producer/Director</strong><strong><br />
<a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2012/02/rocket-fuel-for-the-soul-feedback-from-the-guerilla-film-makers-masterclass-2012.html/stars" rel="attachment wp-att-5373"><img title="stars" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2012/02/stars.jpg" alt="" width="88" height="19" /></a></strong></p>
<p><em>‘The wealth of information and its value was just staggering’</em><br />
<strong>Remo Piri, Producer</strong><strong><br />
<a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2012/02/rocket-fuel-for-the-soul-feedback-from-the-guerilla-film-makers-masterclass-2012.html/stars" rel="attachment wp-att-5373"><img title="stars" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2012/02/stars.jpg" alt="" width="88" height="19" /></a></strong></p>
<p><em>‘Direct, funny and truly inspiring’</em><br />
<strong>Riccardo Sai, Director</strong><strong><br />
<a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2012/02/rocket-fuel-for-the-soul-feedback-from-the-guerilla-film-makers-masterclass-2012.html/stars" rel="attachment wp-att-5373"><img title="stars" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2012/02/stars.jpg" alt="" width="88" height="19" /></a></strong></p>
<p><em>‘Great energy and energising’</em><br />
<strong>Casandra Prerost, Filmmaker</strong><strong><br />
<a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2012/02/rocket-fuel-for-the-soul-feedback-from-the-guerilla-film-makers-masterclass-2012.html/stars" rel="attachment wp-att-5373"><img title="stars" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2012/02/stars.jpg" alt="" width="88" height="19" /></a></strong></p>
<p><em>‘Informative, well structured and engaging – even the dry bits’</em><br />
<strong>Paul Anderton, Producer</strong><strong><br />
<a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2012/02/rocket-fuel-for-the-soul-feedback-from-the-guerilla-film-makers-masterclass-2012.html/stars" rel="attachment wp-att-5373"><img title="stars" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2012/02/stars.jpg" alt="" width="88" height="19" /></a></strong></p>
<p><em>‘They never go into this much real world detail in film school – amazingly insightful’</em><br />
<strong>Joel Pitcher, Filmmaker</strong><strong><br />
<a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2012/02/rocket-fuel-for-the-soul-feedback-from-the-guerilla-film-makers-masterclass-2012.html/stars" rel="attachment wp-att-5373"><img title="stars" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2012/02/stars.jpg" alt="" width="88" height="19" /></a></strong></p>
<p><em>‘Worth every penny. Invaluable’</em><strong><br />
Giles Alderson, Filmmaker</strong><strong><br />
<a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2012/02/rocket-fuel-for-the-soul-feedback-from-the-guerilla-film-makers-masterclass-2012.html/stars" rel="attachment wp-att-5373"><img title="stars" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2012/02/stars.jpg" alt="" width="88" height="19" /></a></strong></p>
<p><em>‘Great resource, all you need in one day’</em><br />
<strong>Dave Verheyen, Producer</strong><strong><br />
<a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2012/02/rocket-fuel-for-the-soul-feedback-from-the-guerilla-film-makers-masterclass-2012.html/stars" rel="attachment wp-att-5373"><img title="stars" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2012/02/stars.jpg" alt="" width="88" height="19" /></a></strong></p>
<p><em>‘Well organised, well planned, very informative, real and practical. Better than going to university’</em><br />
<strong>Jantal Banerjee, Composer</strong><strong><br />
<a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2012/02/rocket-fuel-for-the-soul-feedback-from-the-guerilla-film-makers-masterclass-2012.html/stars" rel="attachment wp-att-5373"><img title="stars" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2012/02/stars.jpg" alt="" width="88" height="19" /></a></strong></p>
<p><em>‘The truth, the raw truth…’</em><br />
<strong>Shayan Scott, Producer</strong><strong><br />
<a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2012/02/rocket-fuel-for-the-soul-feedback-from-the-guerilla-film-makers-masterclass-2012.html/stars" rel="attachment wp-att-5373"><img title="stars" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2012/02/stars.jpg" alt="" width="88" height="19" /></a></strong></p>
<p><em>‘Richard’s energy and honesty was fantastic, imparting important info gained over years of experience’</em><br />
<strong>Paul Sukhija, Filmmaker</strong><strong><br />
<a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2012/02/rocket-fuel-for-the-soul-feedback-from-the-guerilla-film-makers-masterclass-2012.html/stars" rel="attachment wp-att-5373"><img title="stars" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2012/02/stars.jpg" alt="" width="88" height="19" /></a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Onwards and upwards!</strong></p>
<p><strong>Chris Jones</strong><br />
<strong>My movies <a href="http://www.LivingSpiritGroup.com">www.LivingSpiritGroup.com</a></strong><br />
<strong>My Facebook <a href="http://www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker">www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker<br />
</a>My Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/livingspiritpix">@LivingSpiritPix</a></strong></p>
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		<title>Ray Harryhausen died today&#8230; do you remember your first stop motion movie on Saturday TV?</title>
		<link>http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/05/ray-harryhausen-died-today-do-you-remember-your-first-stop-motion-movie-on-saturday-tv.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/05/ray-harryhausen-died-today-do-you-remember-your-first-stop-motion-movie-on-saturday-tv.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2013 19:15:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/?p=8070</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Ray Harryhausen died today. When I think about the movies, I think of magic and great magicians. My own love of the ‘illusion’ was what first drew to me filmmaking. Cinema history has enjoyed several landmark visual effects moments – ‘King Kong’ and Willis O’Brien, ‘The Thing’ and Rob Bottin, ‘Star War’s and that Star [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IXmRuJByoVs?rel=0" frameborder="0" width="640" height="360"></iframe></p>
<p><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/photo.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-8071" title="photo" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/photo-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="235" height="235" /></a>Ray Harryhausen died today.</p>
<p>When I think about the movies, I think of magic and great magicians.</p>
<p>My own love of the ‘illusion’ was what first drew to me filmmaking. Cinema history has enjoyed several landmark visual effects moments – ‘King Kong’ and Willis O’Brien, ‘The Thing’ and Rob Bottin, ‘Star War’s and that Star Destoyer passing overhead, ‘The Exorcist’ and Dick Smith, and of course Spielberg and ‘Jurassic Park’.</p>
<p>But I suspect for my generation of filmmaker, Ray Harryhausen is the grand daddy.</p>
<p>I can vividly remember watching Jason and the Argonauts on TV, simply astonished at what I was seeing.</p>
<p>And when I found out how it was done, I just wanted to do that myself. I was inspired to create my own imagination.</p>
<p>I couldn’t get enough of the Sinbad movies, ‘Valley of Of The Gwangi’ and the Hammer Dinosaur movies. My living room wall has a poster for ‘When Dinosaures Ruled The Earth’ (stop motion by one of Ray’s protégés Jim Danforth). And this photo is from a gathering of the skeletons I have on my writing desk at home, to remind me that cinema is (for me at least) first and foremost about the fantastical.</p>
<p>I hope that Ray knew how many filmmakers he had influenced, and through his work, invited us all into the imaginarium of our own minds.</p>
<p>A sad, sad day.<br />
<strong>Onwards and upwards!</strong></p>
<p><strong>Chris Jones</strong><br />
<strong>My movies <a href="http://www.LivingSpiritGroup.com">www.LivingSpiritGroup.com</a></strong><br />
<strong>My Facebook <a href="http://www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker">www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker<br />
</a>My Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/livingspiritpix">@LivingSpiritPix</a></strong></p>
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		<title>How to kill your film dead Part 2: Top 5 DIY Filmmaking Mistakes You Might Be Making</title>
		<link>http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/05/how-to-kill-your-film-dead-part-2-top-5-diy-filmmaking-mistakes-you-are-making-right-now.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/05/how-to-kill-your-film-dead-part-2-top-5-diy-filmmaking-mistakes-you-are-making-right-now.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 May 2013 09:31:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[legal]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/?p=8060</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A week or two back, Filmmaker Jordan Clarke shared some of his personal nightmares on his own film regarding chain of title and how it nearly killed the production dead &#8211; you can read that post here. I asked hi to expand into a bullet list and here it is&#8230; Top 5 DIY Filmmaking Mistakes [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/chain_title.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-8065" title="chain_title" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/chain_title-300x218.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="218" /></a>A week or two back, Filmmaker Jordan Clarke shared some of his personal nightmares on his own film regarding chain of title and how it nearly killed the production dead &#8211; you can read that post <a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/04/how-to-kill-your-film-dead-terrifying-case-study-and-free-resource.html">here</a>. I asked hi to expand into a bullet list and here it is&#8230;</p>
<h2>Top 5 DIY Filmmaking Mistakes You Might Be Making</h2>
<p>We all know that you can&#8217;t have your main character wearing an Adidas tracksuit.  We&#8217;ve been taught that we must secure the script, actors and music licenses before we can exhibit our film.  Unfortunately, CHAIN OF TITLE runs much deeper than that if a filmmaker ever hopes to have their film distributed or broadcast.  I&#8217;ve outlined the top 5 mistakes that I see almost every DIY filmmaker make.  To keep the list short, I will assume you are making your feature film under a limited company with production insurance  to protect yourself, the cast, the crew, equipment and footage.  You are doing that right?  Or did I just turn this &#8216;Top 5&#8242; into a &#8216;Top 7&#8242;?</p>
<p><strong>First, what is &#8216;CHAIN OF TITLE&#8217; ? </strong><br />
As part of your deliverables to an interested distributor, broadcaster, or purchaser,  you will need to acquire Errors and Omissions Insurance.  In order to do this, you must have a clean CHAIN OF TITLE for your film.  There are hundreds of copyrights being created on a film set.  The cinematographer, actors, director, make-up, FX and wardrobe are all creating individual copyrights.  It would be a laborious process to get permission from all of them every time the film was exhibited, distributed, or sold.  This is why everyone on your film must sign an agreement that assigns the copyright to the production company.  It also requires you to secure permission to show any trademarked logos or brands.</p>
<p><strong>1. LOCATION:</strong><br />
Congratulations, you secured the dive bar that you always knew would be perfect for your shoot.  Unfortunately, all those neon signs that make it so perfect can&#8217;t be used.  Although you secured the right to use the location, you still need to secure the rights for all the trademarked logos and brands in the background.  Why?  Because you are creating a fictional story and those brands should be given the choice as to whether they want to be a part of it or not.   Unless you have the $ to hire a lawyer, I&#8217;d recommend not treading into &#8216;fair use&#8217;.  You have two options: First, talk to the legal department of those companies and ask for permissions (you&#8217;d be surprised how many say yes when provided the context).  Or, create your own &#8216;fake&#8217; logos and signs.</p>
<p><strong>2.  CAR LOGO:</strong><br />
You own your car, so you should be able to use it for whatever you want right?  Wrong.  Again, you are creating a fictional story and &#8216;Hyundai&#8217; should be given the choice as to whether they want to be the brand of choice for drug addled killers.  Fictional is the key part here &#8211; if you were shooting a documentary and a drug addled killer actually <em>did</em> drive that car, you&#8217;d have a better argument.  Again, get permission (I know filmmakers who have been given permission after providing the script).  CAR LOGO part duex:  Get permission from the legal department at the company headquarters,  not your local car lot.</p>
<p><strong>3. BUSINESS NAMES:</strong><br />
So you are doing everything by the book &#8211; you have production insurance and you&#8217;ve negotiated a permit to shoot on a city block.  While the permit gives you the right to shoot on that block, it does not give you permission to film all the businesses that are on that block.  It is prudent to speak to the businesses first and ask them for permission to include their signs in your scene.  It  is generally not a problem when dealing with local businesses, so select a block that isn&#8217;t littered with &#8216;Pizza Hut&#8217; and &#8216;Starbucks&#8217;.  There is a difference between  shooting without permission in middle of nowhere  and shooting on a city block in the most litigious country in the world (USA).</p>
<p><strong>4.  MORAL RIGHTS:</strong><br />
While most contract templates found on the internet assign the copyright of any work produced to the production company, very few deal with &#8216;waiving&#8217; the moral rights.  Copyright deals with the ownership of the work, while &#8216;moral rights&#8217; deal with how the use affects the integrity of the artist&#8217;s work.  Why is this important?  I saw , first hand, a director (who refused to waive his moral rights in his contract) stop distribution of a 2.5 million dollar film because he felt the edit affected the integrity of his work and his reputation. There could be arguments made either way, but the issue was settled out of court and the film shelved, never to be seen.  It is important that everyone on your film waives their moral rights to enable the distributor to edit for time, modify it for exhibition on flights, or to meet censor regulations in foreign territories.</p>
<p><strong>5. TITLE CLEARANCE:</strong><br />
You have 5000 Facebook fans, 10,000 followers on Twitter and your Tumblr posts are being re-blogged by the dozens.  You get into a film festival and a distributor is interested but requires a title clearance report  as part of the deliverables .  You are cool with that because you already searched IMDb and Google and can safely say there is no other film called &#8220;WordPress&#8221;. While this example is extreme, there are hundreds of companies who would be willing to file a law suit claiming your title could cause &#8216;consumer confusion&#8217;.  Again, the idea is avoidance of issues, not winning or losing. A title clearance should be performed before you go into production.</p>
<p><strong>What can the Independent and DIY filmmaker do?</strong><br />
Educate yourself.  Why limit the possibility of your film reaching  its maximum potential audience?  I know there is a gaping hole in accessibility to easy-to-understand information about CHAIN OF TITLE. To fill this,  I plan on  launching a free filmmaking resource,  chainoftitle.ca,  which will provide the information needed to secure, assign, maintain and protect the copyrights in an independent film &#8211; whether you are the one securing or the one assigning. We will include animations with explanations by independent filmmakers and entertainment/ copyright lawyers.</p>
<p>Our lndiegogo campaign runs from  APRIL 15th &#8211; June 01, 2013 to raise the funds to do this.</p>
<p>The resource will launch in NOVEMBER 2013.</p>
<p>Help spread the word:</p>
<p>INDIEGOGO: <a href="http://igg.me/at/chainoftitle/x/122306">http://igg.me/at/chainoftitle/x/122306</a><br />
<strong></strong></p>
<p>___________________</p>
<p>Great stuff Jordan, thanks for sharing.</p>
<p><strong>Onwards and upwards!</strong></p>
<p><strong>Chris Jones</strong><br />
<strong>My movies <a href="http://www.LivingSpiritGroup.com">www.LivingSpiritGroup.com</a></strong><br />
<strong>My Facebook <a href="http://www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker">www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker<br />
</a>My Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/livingspiritpix">@LivingSpiritPix</a></strong></p>
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		<title>Richard Holmes Advanced Producing Tweets&#8230; what an awesome day!</title>
		<link>http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/05/richard-holmes-advanced-producing-tweets.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/05/richard-holmes-advanced-producing-tweets.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 05 May 2013 16:43:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Guerilla Film Makers Masterclass]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/?p=8032</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yesterdays Advanced Producing masterclass with Richard Holmes was a HUGE success. I thought I would share some of the Twitter love with you. You can follow Richard on Twitter at @BigRichFilms. garethidavies: Hats off to @BigRichFilms &#38; @livingspiritpix for an EXCEPTIONAL 1 day, info-tastic deconstruction in how to produce a £1M+ Movie! jamestovell: 58 pages [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><iframe src="http://visibletweets.com/#query=%23gfilm&amp;animation=2" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="400"></iframe></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/richard-holmes.jpg"><img class="alignright" title="richard-holmes" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/richard-holmes.jpg" alt="" width="138" height="120" /></a></strong>Yesterdays Advanced Producing masterclass with Richard Holmes was a HUGE success.</p>
<p>I thought I would share some of the Twitter love with you.</p>
<p>You can follow Richard on Twitter at @BigRichFilms.</p>
<ul class="blocks">
<li><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/148ab44fb107bc2c8325a6a1f95a4667_normal.jpeg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-8035" title="148ab44fb107bc2c8325a6a1f95a4667_normal" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/148ab44fb107bc2c8325a6a1f95a4667_normal.jpeg" alt="" width="48" height="48" /></a> <a href="http://twitter.com/garethidavies">garethidavies</a>: Hats off to @<a href="http://twitter.com/BigRichFilms" rel="nofollow">BigRichFilms</a> &amp; @<a href="http://twitter.com/livingspiritpix" rel="nofollow">livingspiritpix</a> for an EXCEPTIONAL 1 day, info-tastic deconstruction in how to produce a £1M+ Movie!</li>
<li><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/709ac0a9587d0a2026b1477ec014d7bf_normal.png"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-8048" title="709ac0a9587d0a2026b1477ec014d7bf_normal" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/709ac0a9587d0a2026b1477ec014d7bf_normal.png" alt="" width="48" height="48" /></a>
<div><a href="http://twitter.com/jamestovell">jamestovell</a>: 58 pages of really useful notes and my brain throbbing more than my hand. Great course. £65 well worth it. <a title="#advancedproducing" href="http://tweetreach.com/reach?q=%23advancedproducing" rel="nofollow">#advancedproducing</a> <a title="#gfilm" href="http://tweetreach.com/reach?q=%23gfilm" rel="nofollow">#gfilm</a></div>
</li>
<li><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/3ca083f60963cf185a7673f022d9ffc1_normal.jpeg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-8038" title="3ca083f60963cf185a7673f022d9ffc1_normal" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/3ca083f60963cf185a7673f022d9ffc1_normal.jpeg" alt="" width="48" height="48" /></a> <a href="http://twitter.com/SachaMoore70">SachaMoore70</a>: Producing Masterclass with Richard Holmes today. Brilliant. Learnt a great deal about getting a great deal.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/Crew_3_normal.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-8039" title="Crew_3_normal" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/Crew_3_normal.jpg" alt="" width="48" height="48" /></a><a href="http://twitter.com/FloodwaterFilms">FloodwaterFilms</a>: Annnnd collapse! Great day at the AdvancedProducing class! Thank u to @<a href="http://twitter.com/livingspiritpix" rel="nofollow">livingspiritpix</a> &amp; Richard Holmes for taking the time to teach!</li>
<li><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/2011_Dubai_Desert_-_Version_2_normal.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-8040" title="2011_Dubai_Desert_-_Version_2_normal" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/2011_Dubai_Desert_-_Version_2_normal.jpg" alt="" width="48" height="48" /></a>
<div><a href="http://twitter.com/rhubarbfilms">rhubarbfilms</a>: Great day with Richard Holmes at his Advanced Producing course run by @<a href="http://twitter.com/livingspiritpix" rel="nofollow">livingspiritpix</a>. Highly recommended</div>
</li>
<li><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/a8b65f7a31dcb43f644c6e9682473831_normal.jpeg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-8041" title="a8b65f7a31dcb43f644c6e9682473831_normal" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/a8b65f7a31dcb43f644c6e9682473831_normal.jpeg" alt="" width="48" height="48" /></a>
<div><a href="http://twitter.com/CloudElevenMedi">CloudElevenMedi</a>: Great day at advanced producing, thank you guys, worth the 5.45 am start! I&#8217;m still laughing at some of Richards tales <img src='http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/site/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' />  <a title="#gfilm" href="http://tweetreach.com/reach?q=%23gfilm" rel="nofollow">#gfilm</a></div>
</li>
<li>
<div><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/1d089c5384df3e571bff9f5f27929d6f_normal.jpeg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-8042" title="1d089c5384df3e571bff9f5f27929d6f_normal" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/1d089c5384df3e571bff9f5f27929d6f_normal.jpeg" alt="" width="48" height="48" /></a><a href="http://twitter.com/scriptdev">scriptdev</a>: @<a href="http://twitter.com/BigRichFilms" rel="nofollow">BigRichFilms</a> SUPERB. And very entertaining too (always helps).</div>
</li>
<li><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/66f1b2f9cc3a361454c26845471cbb60_normal.png"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-8043" title="66f1b2f9cc3a361454c26845471cbb60_normal" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/66f1b2f9cc3a361454c26845471cbb60_normal.png" alt="" width="48" height="48" /></a><a href="http://twitter.com/321Productions1">321Productions1</a>: Amazing day <a title="#gfilm" href="http://tweetreach.com/reach?q=%23gfilm" rel="nofollow">#gfilm</a> 2day another session that hit the spot! Thanks to Richard Holmes Back up 2 <a title="#yorkshire" href="http://tweetreach.com/reach?q=%23yorkshire" rel="nofollow">#yorkshire</a> now 2continue 2 work on cargomovie</li>
<li><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/9a059ba1740ffc2cf8555701fbf8d6aa_normal.jpeg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-8044" title="9a059ba1740ffc2cf8555701fbf8d6aa_normal" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/9a059ba1740ffc2cf8555701fbf8d6aa_normal.jpeg" alt="" width="48" height="48" /></a><a href="http://twitter.com/JerzyBondov">JerzyBondov</a>: Excellent day with Richard Holmes &amp;his Advanced Producing (£1m film) course. Highly recommended for 1st, 2nd or 3rd time filmmakers <a title="#Gfilm" href="http://tweetreach.com/reach?q=%23Gfilm" rel="nofollow">#Gfilm</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/07898206aee79d3a656e2505708cedcc_normal.jpeg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-8045" title="07898206aee79d3a656e2505708cedcc_normal" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/07898206aee79d3a656e2505708cedcc_normal.jpeg" alt="" width="48" height="48" /></a><a href="http://twitter.com/GullfilmsUK">GullfilmsUK</a>: A great day at Advanced Producing at Regents Park College London. Inspirational <a title="#GFilm" href="http://tweetreach.com/reach?q=%23GFilm" rel="nofollow">#GFilm</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/clumsypictureslogo_normal.png"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-8046" title="clumsypictureslogo_normal" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/clumsypictureslogo_normal.png" alt="" width="48" height="48" /></a><a href="http://twitter.com/ClumsyPictures">ClumsyPictures</a>: Fantastic day at <a title="#Gfilm" href="http://tweetreach.com/reach?q=%23Gfilm" rel="nofollow">#Gfilm</a> with Richard Holmes. Now looking forward to implementing his insights!</li>
<li><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/StewartClegg_normal.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-8047" title="StewartClegg_normal" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/StewartClegg_normal.jpg" alt="" width="48" height="48" /></a><a href="http://twitter.com/StewClegg">StewClegg</a>: Inspiring day at Advanced Producing Workshop, big thanks to @<a href="http://twitter.com/livingspiritpix" rel="nofollow">livingspiritpix</a> and @<a href="http://twitter.com/BigRichFilms" rel="nofollow">BigRichFilms</a></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Onwards and upwards!</strong></p>
<p><strong>Chris Jones</strong><br />
<strong>My movies <a href="http://www.LivingSpiritGroup.com">www.LivingSpiritGroup.com</a></strong><br />
<strong>My Facebook <a href="http://www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker">www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker<br />
</a>My Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/livingspiritpix">@LivingSpiritPix</a></strong></p>
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		<title>Steven Soderbergh: The State of Cinema&#8230; was this his Jerry Maguire moment?</title>
		<link>http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/05/steven-soderbergh-the-state-of-cinema-was-this-his-jerry-maguire-moment.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/2013/05/steven-soderbergh-the-state-of-cinema-was-this-his-jerry-maguire-moment.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2013 19:18:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Chris</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/?p=8017</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you haven&#8217;t seen it yet, watch it now&#8230; Onwards and upwards! Chris Jones My movies www.LivingSpiritGroup.com My Facebook www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker My Twitter @LivingSpiritPix Sign up to my mailing list for updates on events, books and free film making tools]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/65060864?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0" frameborder="0" width="640" height="360"></iframe></p>
<p><a href="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/ss.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-8020" title="ss" src="http://www.chrisjonesblog.com/images/2013/05/ss-300x210.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="210" /></a>If you haven&#8217;t seen it yet, watch it now&#8230;</p>
<p><strong>Onwards and upwards!</strong></p>
<p><strong>Chris Jones</strong><br />
<strong>My movies <a href="http://www.LivingSpiritGroup.com">www.LivingSpiritGroup.com</a></strong><br />
<strong>My Facebook <a href="http://www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker">www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker<br />
</a>My Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/livingspiritpix">@LivingSpiritPix</a></strong></p>
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