DIY Filmmaking Sucks

Don't be an indie film bullshit emitter

Ryan Coseboom from the darkly delicious new band Stripmall Architecture had some insightful feedback on my last post (Royalty-free music for indie films).

Ryan felt it was disingenuous for DIY filmmakers to promise "exposure" to indie bands in exchange for using their music. Better to just say, in his words, "I'm no more successful than you are, which is why I can't pay you for this."

For him, that honesty was more likely to enlist his support.

He's right about that and I stand corrected. And there's a larger point to be made about hyping your project too much.

It's a common belief that we're giving bands a wide audience through our films, but let's face the truth of it: the audience numbers are small for most DIY films and really -- how many people who see the film will ask for the name of the band from scene 36?

Spouting a bullshit fountain of ersatz sunshine about a project is one of my big pet peeves. Indie filmmakers carrying buckets of steam for their vaporware films are some of the worst offenders. It's why I have such distaste for the Standard Indiewood Procedure of talking up a film like it's the next Big Thing.

Let's not fall into that trap.

Be honest. No need to hype up something that isn't there or isn't likely for your DIY film. More often than not, you'll look like a fool and to some, a genuine liar.

Just call it what it is -- by making a feature film you're already doing the impossible. The 500 screen opening weekend is less likely than getting hit by lightening. Just stay with what is real (the film itself, as-is) and you'd be surprised how many people will step up.

There's a quiet confidence in honest humility.

As DIY filmmakers unencumbered by the suits and sharks, we have an authenticity and artistic freedom that Hollywood "creatives" only dream about. That's attractive enough for other indie artists to contribute -- be them musicians, graphic designers, actors, DPs, set designers, or anyone else -- who all deserve respect for the work they provide.

In short, we're all in it together, so there's there's no need to talk like you're handing out ponies and rainbows.

Royalty-free music for indie films

Looking for royalty-free music for your film? Don't do it.

A friend asked me for suggestions for websites that have good royalty-free music for a friend's short doc and I thought the reply I gave (slightly edited) may be helpful to anyone considering using royalty-free music in their indie film projects.

(When I'm talking about royalty-free music, I'm talking about music that is marketed as "royalty-free" -- as opposed to getting music for free for your project, which I definitely endorse as you can see, if you read on.)

The filmmaker in question had a short film which had been named after a classic big-band song.

Here's my take on royalty-free music and what I suggested she do:

I'm not a big fan of royalty-free music. It generally sounds cheap and like musak.

I'd suggest she find a local swing band that has their own songs (Lavay Smith and the Red Hot Skillet Lickers?) and see if they would let her use some music. Smaller local acts are often totally open to that, particularly if it's a cool flick with no commercial potential (which the short sounds like).

Real songs by real people are so much more engaging than canned royalty-free music.

You'd need to get a formal licensing agreement, but you can get for very very low rates from Brooke Wentz of the Rights Workshop. Maybe a couple hundred dollars for the contract?

If you have about $1000 (yeah right -- who has that?), they can actually find and clear a song for you -- doing all the legwork. I think that's their rate; you should contact them to confirm. Might even get an actual rendition of your dream song that's in the title of the short. Their website:

http://rightsworkshop.com/

Have you tried to find out if you can clear the song yourself? Who knows? Might not be that expensive for a small short film that's only going to be shown at festivals.

On the other hand, it's more likely to be way too expensive for you. And finding a local band would be the smart choice.

One other approach would be to create a tune using Apple's Soundtrack or Garage Band software. They have samples that you can build into a song or soundtrack. That would be royalty free, but still might sound a bit canned.

Lastly, you might want to consider changing the title of the film, since you're obviously invoking the song (a great tune, by the way).

There might be rights issues with using that title. I *THINK* you're in the clear since I recall that titles cannot be copyrighted -- but then I remember Spike Lee talking about having problems with that on one of his films (so I read).

So, bottom line: I can't help you find royalty-free music (other than suggesting a google search), but I do recommend finding a local band who would let you use their music, in return for helping expose a new audience to their music via the film.

UPDATE

My pals Ryan and Rebecca Coseboom of the deliriously-good band Stripmall Architecture had some important feedback on this post from a musician's perspective.

Ryan felt it was disingenuous for an indie filmmaker to offer exposure to indie bands in return for using their music. He's right. This inspired a wider rant from me about indie filmmakers that spout endless bullshit about their projects (read it here: Don't be an indie film bullshit emitter)

Rebecca also had some great feedback for DIY filmmakers looking for music for their films: "You might also consider music released under a creative commons license which is slightly different from strict 'royalty free.'"