Collection Resurrection: Our New Podcast!

Hey Filmmaking Sucks fans! This week, we are giving you the first episode of our new podcast, Collection Resurrection on the feed!
Filmmaking Sucks is mostly done for now, but we are keeping the feed open for whenever we do interviews, panels, or anything else we think you all may be interested in hearing. So, stay subscribed and we promise there will be new content coming eventually.

In the meantime, Manny & Lindsay have gone back to their love of horror and cult cinema, and we have started a new podcast called Collection Resurrection, where we watch films form our own personal home media collection which we have not yet unsealed, and discuss the film through a series of pre-determined questions.

We will drop the first few episodes on this feed weekly just to give you a taste of whats to come, but the show does have it’s own standalone RSS feed, and you can find it on any podcast host that you were able to get Filmmaking Sucks from. Join us on over there for our new venture, and bask in the cult cinema glory!

The first movie up on the show is one we have both seen in the past, and thought it was also partially relevant considering the current quarantines happening: The Seventh Sign starring Demi Moore, Jurgen Prochnow, and Michael Beihn.

Could we have chosen a more fitting movie? Sure, but this was on our minds, so we started here.
The questions!

1- What did we watch?
2- What is the plot?
3- First Impressions?
4- What did/didn’t we like about the film?
5- How long since we bought this?
6- Where did we buy this?
7- Why did we buy this?
8- When was the first time we saw this?
9- Did we enjoy it?
10- Would we watch it again?

Horror Film Festivals w/Dr. Michelle Conty

Being horror filmmakers, we like to have guests who can specifically help other horror filmmakers. Well here she is, the Events Manager and Assistant Director of the Horrorhound Film Festival, Dr. Michelle Conty!

Michelle was recently in NYC to shoot interviews for her upcoming educational series, Professor Of Horror, where she will speak to numerous horror filmmakers in order to get advice, tips, and tricks on how to help you to improve your own horror film productions!

Specifically this week, we discussed with her the process of submitting to Horrorhound, and how to improve your festival experience once you have been selected. How to communicate with the festival, how to promote your film at the festival, as well as some tips on what festivals are looking for, and reasons why your film may not have been selected.

This coming weekend is a big one for us! We will be attending the Scares That Care Charity Film Festival in Virginia, and our new short MissUnderstood Monster will be screening Friday night there, and we will also be running their 5K Charity Run on Saturday Morning!

Also this weekend, we unfortunately will not be in attendance, but Matryoshka will be screening at Midsummer Scream in LA on Saturday, and both MissUnderstood and Matryoshka will be at the Brightside Tavern Short Film Fest in Jersey City, NJ on Saturday Night as well! So, if you’re in the area, hit up one of these fests and #SupportIndieHorror!

Get info on all the events here:

https://scaresthatcareweekend.com/
https://midsummerscream.org/
http://www.brightsidetavernfilmfestival.com/

Watch our first feature film, Blood Slaughter Massacre, on Amazon Prime now! https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Slaughter-Massacre-Manny-Serrano/dp/B07M5ZKKGN/ref=tmm_aiv_swatch_1?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Check out our film inside of BSM, The Attack Of The Brain People, on Vimeo On Demand! https://vimeo.com/ondemand/attackofthebrainpeople

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at filmmakingsucks@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.

You can also now follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
#FilmmakingSucks

Join the Indie Filmmaker Community on Facebook: facebook.com/groups/1798997870171718/

Listen to the HorrorHappens Radio show for current news and interviews from the genre film festivals and conventions you should have on your radar: horrorhappens.com and join his Horror Genre Film Festival Billboard Facebook group!

Sign up for ProductionNext via beta.productionnext.com/filmmakingsucks

Ego and Desire with Alex Ferrari

This week, we talk with Filmmaker and Podcaster Alex Ferrari, again!

After a self-described brutal film festival run with his latest feature, On The Corner Of Ego And Desire, Alex talks with us about the hardships he endured, staying focused, overcoming his own personal disappointments, and how to keep moving forward in the face of adversity.

On The Corner Of Ego And Desire is a narrative film, which Alex shot at the Sundance Film Festival, about a group of (fictional) filmmakers trying to sell their film to a producer at Sundance. Alex gets very personal explaining how he felt the film would be a shoe-in for most festivals, but experienced a lot of pushback from other festivals in regards to making a film about filmmakers attending Sundance.

We also discuss Alex’s new subscription-based Video service, Indie Film Hustle TV.

Our discussing ran so long, we decided to break it up into two parts, so this episode is part 1 of our conversation, where we talk about the film and festivals. Look for part 2 soon.

Sign up for IFHTV here: https://www.indiefilmhustle.tv/

Check out Alex’s Podcast Indie Film Hustle here: http://indiefilmhustle.com

Watch our first feature film, Blood Slaughter Massacre, on Amazon Prime now! https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Slaughter-Massacre-Manny-Serrano/dp/B07M5ZKKGN/ref=tmm_aiv_swatch_1?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Check out our film inside of BSM, The Attack Of The Brain People, on Vimeo On Demand! https://vimeo.com/ondemand/attackofthebrainpeople

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at filmmakingsucks@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.

You can also now follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
#FilmmakingSucks

Join the Indie Filmmaker Community on Facebook: facebook.com/groups/1798997870171718/

Listen to the HorrorHappens Radio show for current news and interviews from the genre film festivals and conventions you should have on your radar: horrorhappens.com and join his Horror Genre Film Festival Billboard Facebook group!

Sign up for ProductionNext via beta.productionnext.com/filmmakingsucks

Using SAG On A No-Budget Film

This week, we are leaving all the description to the episode, as it speaks for itself: How to use SAG on a No Budget film!

On Mannys newest short film, Matryoshka, we decided to go use SAG in order to work with two actors we have wanted to work with for a long time. In this episode, we will run down the entire process we went through, and walk you through each step, what emails and paperwork we received, we break down what the forms say, and the possibilities of what to expect. This may be the most clinical of episodes we’ve ever done as we literally read all the forms and emails we have received so you know EXACTLY what you’ll be getting. So if you like, take notes!

And, on a bit of a side research tangent, we talk about who on your set qualifies as Above The Line and Below The Line, where they belong in your budget, and why.

This Saturday, March 13th we will be at Grindhouse Days at Roxy & Dukes Roadhouse in Dunellen, NJ for the screening of our short film, I Waited For You. Doors open at 12:30, films and performances all day long, our film screens at 6pm, and all film blocks are followed by Q&A’s.

Here is the link to the Preliminary Information Sheets, choose which one your project falls under: https://www.sagaftra.org/preliminary-information-forms

Day Out Of Days Sample:
https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/day-out-of-days-reports-explained/

Watch our first feature film, Blood Slaughter Massacre, on Amazon Prime now! https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Slaughter-Massacre-Manny-Serrano/dp/B07M5ZKKGN/ref=tmm_aiv_swatch_1?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Check out our film inside of BSM, The Attack Of The Brain People, on Vimeo On Demand! https://vimeo.com/ondemand/attackofthebrainpeople

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at filmmakingsucks@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.

You can also now follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
#FilmmakingSucks

Join the Indie Filmmaker Community on Facebook: facebook.com/groups/1798997870171718/

Listen to the HorrorHappens Radio show for current news and interviews from the genre film festivals and conventions you should have on your radar: horrorhappens.com and join his Horror Genre Film Festival Billboard Facebook group!

Sign up for ProductionNext via beta.productionnext.com/filmmakingsucks

“There is this perception in the independent film community that working with SAG-AFTRA is either too expensive or there is too much paperwork. I believe that once a filmmaker takes the time to speak with us about their project and signs one of our Agreements for the first time – they find that neither of those bits of information are true”

— Kathy Byrne, Director of TV/Theatrical, SAG-AFTRA Chicago Local

Producing 'Dogged' with Matthew Davies

In October of 2017, we had the pleasure of screening our last feature film, Theta States, at the Shawna Shea Film Festival. While there, we met UK Writer/Producers Matthew Davies and Lee Wignall of Ash Mountain Films, who were there premiering their first feature, the incredible folk-horror film Dogged. Since then, we’ve become pretty close with them and in December, Matthew happened to be in NYC, so we sat down with him to discuss the writing, crowdfunding, production, and release of Dogged, as well as their second feature, the home-invasion flick Nefarious.

Ash Mountain Films successfully crowdfunded both features, and Matthew walks us through their process of hard work, dedication, and (occasionally) sheer blind luck, to get to completion. Set stories from the fun, the scary, the nightmarish, and the struggle to finish both films.

You can follow Ash Mountain Films and their work here:

https://twitter.com/ashmountainfilm
https://www.facebook.com/doggedhorrormovie
https://www.facebook.com/NefariousFilm/

Join us on Thursday, February 21st at the Stone Creek Bar & Lounge for The Big Bloody Apple: NYC Women in Horror Month Event, organized by Lindsay and CongestedCats’ Christina Raia.

Films! Trivia! Candy! It's a decade of Women in Horror Month and we're throwing a WiHM celebration as only NYC can! Join us for film screenings from local horror female filmmakers, women in horror trivia from Nicole Solomon of 4MileCircus, and a lecture by the one and only Heather Buckley! Plus yes, candy!

Check out the event invite at our events page, or directly here: https://www.facebook.com/events/408432156565429/

Watch our first feature film, Blood Slaughter Massacre, on Amazon Prime now! https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Slaughter-Massacre-Manny-Serrano/dp/B07M5ZKKGN/ref=tmm_aiv_swatch_1?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Check out our film inside of BSM, The Attack Of The Brain People, on Vimeo On Demand! https://vimeo.com/ondemand/attackofthebrainpeople

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at filmmakingsucks@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.

You can also now follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
#FilmmakingSucks

Join the Indie Filmmaker Community on Facebook: facebook.com/groups/1798997870171718/

Listen to the HorrorHappens Radio show for current news and interviews from the genre film festivals and conventions you should have on your radar: horrorhappens.com and join his Horror Genre Film Festival Billboard Facebook group!

Sign up for ProductionNext via beta.productionnext.com/filmmakingsucks

2018 Recap and 2019 Goals!

Well, we have returned, and we are calling this the first episode of season 3! This week, we start off a little slow, explain our sorta-new format and our new “Seasons” experiment.

So, going back to our New Years episode from 2018, we review what our goals for the year were, how many of them we accomplished, and set our new goals for 2019. That’s mostly the conversation for this episode, just trying to get back into the swing of things.

Along the way we discuss a bit of shooting Father of Lies, the success of Beneath, and the progress on our new short films Miss Understood Monster and Matryoshka!

Join us on Thursday, February 21st at the Stone Creek Bar & Lounge for The Big Bloody Apple: NYC Women in Horror Month Event, organized by Lindsay and CongestedCats’ Christina Raia.

Films! Trivia! Candy! It's a decade of Women in Horror Month and we're throwing a WiHM celebration as only NYC can! Join us for film screenings from local horror female filmmakers, women in horror trivia from Nicole Solomon of 4MileCircus, and a lecture by the one and only Heather Buckley! Plus yes, candy!

Check out the event invite at our events page, or directly here: https://www.facebook.com/events/408432156565429/

Watch our first feature film, Blood Slaughter Massacre, on Amazon Prime now! https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Slaughter-Massacre-Manny-Serrano/dp/B07M5ZKKGN/ref=tmm_aiv_swatch_1?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Check out our film inside of BSM, The Attack Of The Brain People, on Vimeo On Demand! https://vimeo.com/ondemand/attackofthebrainpeople

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at filmmakingsucks@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.

You can also now follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
#FilmmakingSucks

Join the Indie Filmmaker Community on Facebook: facebook.com/groups/1798997870171718/

Listen to the HorrorHappens Radio show for current news and interviews from the genre film festivals and conventions you should have on your radar: horrorhappens.com and join his Horror Genre Film Festival Billboard Facebook group!

Sign up for ProductionNext via beta.productionnext.com/filmmakingsucks

Manny and Lindsay on set with their demons!

Meet Dude!

“My three P’s: Passion, Patience, and Perseverance. You have to do this if you’ve got to be a filmmaker.”

— Robert Wise

Be Your Own Filmmaker

In a conversation that many of our listeners have heard bit and pieces of over the last few episodes, we discuss what it means to us to be our own style of filmmaker.

As artists, we all struggle with the push and pull of being creative and following our instincts, and wanting to sell our art and be successful. These two things are not mutually exclusive, but they certainly feel like they are, a lot of the time. So, we discuss the types of filmmakers we want to be, and talk out the struggle over time that it took to come to these realizations.

There’s not much more to describe for this episode, so listen in and maybe you’ll hear something you were trying to discover in yourself as well. Being a filmmaker is still an art, and your art has to reflect a part of you, or it is simply a product to sell, not a creation to marvel at.

See Beneath this weekend at Sick Chick Flicks film Festival in Cary, NC, Sunday, Sept 30th, where Lindsay will also be on the Adventures In Filmmaking panel.
Tickets are available at: https://www.sickchickflicksfilmfestival.com/tickets

See the premiere of our newest short, I Waited For You, alongside Beneath on Saturday, Oct 6th at the Shawna Shea Film Festival, as part of the Horror Shorts Block. The short film Father of Lies, and feature film Good Day, will also screen at the festival on Thursday, Oct. 4th. Last year our feature film, Theta States, won Best Director and Best Of Fest at Shawna Shea!
Tickets are available here: https://filmfreeway.com/TheShawnaSheaFilmFestival/tickets

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at filmmakingsucks@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.

You can also now follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
#FilmmakingSucks

Join the Indie Filmmaker Community on Facebook: facebook.com/groups/1798997870171718/

Listen to the HorrorHappens Radio show for current news and interviews from the genre film festivals and conventions you should have on your radar: horrorhappens.com and join his Horror Genre Film Festival Billboard Facebook group!

Sign up for ProductionNext via beta.productionnext.com/filmmakingsucks

Premiering at the Shawna Shea FF - Oct 6th, Southbridge, MA

Manny, Lindsay, and Angie Hansen

Manny running sound on set of Paul Laudicano’s “The Straight Man”

Developing Promos For Your Film

This week on Filmmaking Sucks, we discuss different ways how you can prepare your film for future marketing, while you are in pre and production.

In the past, we have generally kept much of our production process quiet while in production; hiding fx, hiding sets and locations, etc. Making horror films, we don’t want to give anything much away. Now, moving into a comedy, the spoilers are within the scenes themselves, so making photos on set public help to get people excited in your film.

Starting in pre-preduction at your films title and the script, everything you do makes a difference towards how you promote your film. Decisions made now will affect the audience you are cultivating, and the image they have of your film before they see it.

Be prepared to start taking photos on set, while casting your actors or location scouting, making behind the scenes videos, and showing the world what it is you are doing to make your film. Here we discuss a few of the things you can do to improve your promotions, and get your film seen.

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at filmmakingsucks@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.

You can also now follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
#FilmmakingSucks

Join the Indie Filmmaker Community on Facebook: facebook.com/groups/1798997870171718/

Listen to the HorrorHappens Radio show for current news and interviews from the genre film festivals and conventions you should have on your radar: horrorhappens.com and join his Horror Genre Film Festival Billboard Facebook group!

Sign up for ProductionNext via beta.productionnext.com/filmmakingsucks

A few promos we have created in the past…

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it”

— Simon Sinek

Producing on a Low Budget w/Alex Ferrari

This week, we talk to the host of the Indie Film Hustle Podcast, Alex Ferrari!

Alex has created one of the most well known and helpful resources for indie filmmakers with his podcast and brand of Indie Film Hustle. Having over 20 years of experience in the industry, he has finally begun making his own feature films. Using his podcast and website to bring you along on his journey, he tells his story with a transparency that many do not have in the film business. 

After releasing his first low-budget feature, This Is Meg, in 2017 to Hulu, unbeknownst to his listeners, he shot a feature film, guerrilla style, at the Sundance Film Festival called On The Corner Of Ego And Desire. 

We discuss his experiences in the industry, his inspirations on why he started IFH, and when he decided it was time to just get up and make his films, his way. 

You can find Alex, his network, and podcasts at IndieFilmHustle.com. 

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at filmmakingsucks@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.

You can also now follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
#FilmmakingSucks

Join the Indie Filmmaker Community on Facebook: facebook.com/groups/1798997870171718/

Listen to the HorrorHappens Radio show for current news and interviews from the genre film festivals and conventions you should have on your radar: horrorhappens.com and join his Horror Genre Film Festival Billboard Facebook group!

Sign up for ProductionNext via beta.productionnext.com/filmmakingsucks

“Keep Hustling.”

— Alex Ferrari

Making Your Second Film

Now that we are officially wrapped and in post-production, this week we discuss the making of Lindsays new short film, Miss Understood Monster! 

From Pre to Post, we account the whole process of developing the visuals, writing the script, casting, getting the locations, shooting with a mostly female crew, and prepping for post-production.

Along the way, Lindsay talks about where the idea for the script came from, her inspirations for the characters while writing, and watching it all come to life on set. 

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at filmmakingsucks@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.

You can also now follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
#FilmmakingSucks

Join the Indie Filmmaker Community on Facebook: facebook.com/groups/1798997870171718/

Listen to the HorrorHappens Radio show for current news and interviews from the genre film festivals and conventions you should have on your radar: horrorhappens.com and join his Horror Genre Film Festival Billboard Facebook group!

Sign up for ProductionNext via beta.productionnext.com/filmmakingsucks

Trisha Grzywna, Heather Buckley, Lindsay Serrano, Heather Drew, Phil Kral, Manny Serrano on set of Miss Understood Monster

Heather Buckley as the monster

“A movie is written three times: once, in the script, a second time on set, and a third in the editing room.”

Heather Buckley, Lindsay Serrano, Heather Drew; Women In Horror

The Return! Filmmaking Still Sucks

We're back! Our first episode in a few months, and we get right down to it. We discuss what they've been up to, all the festivals, the panels, the screenings and shoots we've had.

From the Severed Film Night and Grindhouse at Roxy & Dukes, to Tampa, Florida and Prospect Park, we've had a busy few months, and are happy to be back. 

Let us catch you up with all of our goings-on and few of the lessons we learned along the way. Two of the main topics are the shoot with Rogue Chimera Films that Manny was hired to shoot in Florida, and WAVE Productions who premiered a 25 year old film at the Severed Film Night.

WAVE Productions is a mail-order horror/monster movie production company who are known for shooting 2-3 feature films in a single weekend! Wrap your head around that!

Full disclosure, we recorded this episode in early July, and we ended up so deep in pre-production on Miss Understood Monster, that it was never posted. So, a few of the events we discuss, have already passed. But, here it is anyway, and here are links to some of the things we discussed on the episode!

Cut Throat Women
WAVE Films
The JT & Big O Podcast

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at filmmakingsucks@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.

You can also now follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
#FilmmakingSucks

Join the Indie Filmmaker Community on Facebook: facebook.com/groups/1798997870171718/

Listen to the HorrorHappens Radio show for current news and interviews from the genre film festivals and conventions you should have on your radar: horrorhappens.com and join his Horror Genre Film Festival Billboard Facebook group!

Sign up for ProductionNext via beta.productionnext.com/filmmakingsucks

David Chai, Manny Serrano, Lindsay Serrano at LIIFE

Manny Serrano, Angie Hansen, Lindsay Serrano, Phil Kral, Heather Drew at Brightside Tavern Short Film Festival

Brian Neris, Phil Kral, Angie Hansen, Manny Serrano on the set of "I Waited For You"

“Being an artist means not having to avert one’s eyes.”

— Akira Kurosawa

ProductionNext w/Jim Miller & Ben Yennie

Production management software is popping up all over, from the veterans like MovieMagic to newb's like Celtx, it's hard to decide which one is best for your needs. This week, we talk to Jim Miller & Ben Yennie, creators of ProductionNext, which is a Cloud-based all-in-one platform, working to meet all of your production management needs. 

Discussing with them the uses of the program, we get deep into how it can help your productions, be they 4-8 member crews with limited budgets like ours, or 100 crews with 6 figure+ budgets. Keep track of your crews inventory, create srotyboards, write and maintain a budget amongst crew members, schedule your shoot days, and keep everyone up-to-speed on the progress of the film from pre-production all the way through post.

If you sign up for ProductionNext, use the link beta.productionnext.com/filmmakingsucks to get three free months added to your service. 

Ben Yennie was VP of Sales for Taal, a mobile video interview platform for the hospitality industry. He is the founder of Producer Foundry, a center for workshops, networking, and entrepreneurial training for film and video producers.

Jim Miller brings a deep understanding of user experience, interaction design and development, and Internet communities from a career spent at Apple, HP Labs, Gateway, and, most recently, as an independent design and development consultant. 

As always, subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at filmmakingsucks@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.

You can also now follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
#FilmmakingSucks

Join the Indie Filmmaker Community on Facebook: facebook.com/groups/1798997870171718/

Listen to the HorrorHappens Radio show for current news and interviews from the genre film festivals and conventions you should have on your radar: horrorhappens.com

Sign up for ProductionNext via beta.productionnext.com/filmmakingsucks

“Have you ever noticed some people are able to stay organized while getting a massive quantity of work accomplished, while others appear to be busy but never actually produce results? Time management is the key to becoming a successful entrepreneur.”

— Clay Clark

Latino Filmmaker Panel from Macabre Faire Film Festival

This week, we bring you the Latino Filmmaker panel from the Macabre Faire Film Festival. Hosted by Manny Serrano, and featuring filmmakers Edwin Pagan and Christian Moran, horror super-fan and actress Ines Peek also joined us for the talk. 
UPDATE: there was a minute or two of overlapping audio on the original upload, it has been fixed, so if you want, you can re-download the fixed audio version.

While much of Hollywood is currently fighting for equality of female and black filmmakers, one of the most marginalized groups in American film today are Latino and Hispanic filmmakers. Making up less than 4% of characters in films in Hollywood, the Hispanic perspective on life is one that is not told very often, and is generally overlooked. 

In an eye-opening panel, we discuss the hardships Latinos face growing up in America, and not seeing themselves and their identities portrayed truthfully in American cinema. 

Edwin Pagan tells about how he started the website LatinHorror.com and how it has become a central hub for a community that he, and many others, did not the extent to which it existed before the website came to be. Christian Moran talks about his career, from writing faux-sequels to films when he was young and filming them with his siblings, to his new Proxies Of Fear film series which strives to give a platform to Latino and other minority filmmakers in New Jersey.

Bringing in more of a viewers perspective, Ines Peek lends her thoughts on her experiences watching horror films as a child and a teenager, and how it has fueled her love for the genre and film festivals today. She also describes how the lack of representation in films may bottle-necked the opportunities for her to follow her aspirations of becoming an actress, via the lack of roles available to audition for, to very minimal support from friends and family telling her that it was possible.

You can find Edwin Pagan and follow him at LatinHorror.com.

Follow Christian Moran on Facebook here: facebook.com/cmoran29/ and his new film Lets Play Dead Girl here: facebook.com/letsplaydeadgirl/

You can find Ines Peek on Facebook here: www.facebook.com/ines.kirchenko

As always, subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at filmmakingsucks@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.

You can also now follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
#FilmmakingSucks

photos by David Ryzman of MoonriseMedia.com

“I became an actor to change the way I grew up. The way I grew up, I never saw myself on screen. I would look at the screen and think, ‘Well, there’s no way I can do it, because I’m not there.’ And it’s like as soon as you follow your dreams, you give other people the allowance to follow theirs. And for me, to look on younger girls and to say, ‘Well, Gina’s like me, maybe not necessarily the same skin color, maybe not necessarily the same background, but like that’s me. I’m not alone. I can do it too.’ ”

— Gina Rodriguez

Writing and Scheduling A Shoot (6-week goal updates!)

Happy Valentines Day everyone! We all know that just because it's a holiday (sort of) that doesn't mean the hustle ends, so here we are with some updates! At the beginning of the year, we set some 6-week goals for ourselves, and today is our progress report! Meager they may have been, the tasks of writing a script and scheduling a shoot (respectively) came with their own woes, and we're gonna confess them to you. 

Over the last six weeks, we've had two major hurdles. One being compatible screenwriting software, and how do you prep for a shoot when you've never seen the location? So, we talk about the obstacles we've been dealing with lately, and then decide on what our next 6-week goal will be, and brush on what we want to do in the long term as filmmakers, and the next few months for the podcast.

We also briefly discuss LUTs in this episode a bit, and we talk about in-camera LUTs, which was just used as a comparison to the in-camera color profiles. Camera profiles are not LUTs, but they are a similar concept. For a more in-depth explanation of what a LUT is, check out this article at NoFilmSchool: https://nofilmschool.com/2011/05/what-is-a-look-up-table-lut-anyway

As always, subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at filmmakingsucks@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.

You can also now follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
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Producing an $8000 Feature Film w/Joe Badon

Producing a low-budget feature can easily be one of the most daunting undertakings you will ever experience, but also the most rewarding. The crash-course in filmmaking you receive will be unlike any other. This week on the show we talk with Writer/Producer/Director Joe Badon about his upcoming feature film "The God Inside My Ear."

With a budget of $8000, and not a penny more, Joe wrote his script, assembled a cast & crew, and over the course of a few weeks, shot his first feature film. Starting out with how he got into filmmaking and working as a storyboard artist, into where he found his actors, his crew, locations, and finally onto how in the hell he managed to keep the budget so damn low! 

You can find Joe Badon on Facebook, and find the film here: https://www.facebook.com/thegodinsidemyear/ where you can watch the trailer and follow its progress. God Inside My Ear will be hitting festivals this year, so look out for it! 

As always, subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at filmmakingsucks@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.
You can also now follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
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““When I meet with recent film school graduates, I remind them that whatever happens next in the industry won’t be something my generation does. It will happen among the 20-somethings, the narrative entrepreneurs who figure out how to make the next great thing. Rather than seeking permission to work in the existing industry, they’ll make their own.””

— John August

Cinematography w/ Jill Poisson & Phil Kral

Filmmaking is a visual medium, obviously. So it goes without saying that choosing the right cinematographer is essential in telling your story properly. 

At the Macabre Faire Film Festival, Manny was lucky enough to have hosted multiple panels, one of which was The Art Of Cinematography, with two extremely talented D.P's in Phil Kral and Jill Poisson. Discussing a range of topics starting with how they became cinematographers to defining a "film look," working with multiple directors, and how to create a visual style over the span of a career. 

You can find work by Phil Kral at www.philipkral.com and Jill Poisson at www.jpoisson.com. Be sure to check them out and follow them on social media!

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at filmmakingsucks@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.
You can also now follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
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“I like movies where you can come back and re-watch them and admire the cinematography 25 years later. ”

— Rob Zombie

BONUS: Ancillary Content with 4Mile Circus at Ax Wound Film Festival

At the Ax Wound film Festival, Lindsay sat in on a live Podcast recording for 4Mile Circus, who are not only an awesome podcast you should all check out, but they are also a production team based out of Brooklyn, NY! 

On this panel, hosted by Nicole Solomon and Sean Mannion, Lindsay, Monika Estrella Negra and Christina Raia discuss how to use ancillary content to promote your film, be it through podcasts, behind the scenes interviews, on-set tutorials of how you accomplished certain scenes, or just by simply using social media as often as possible while on set. 

Listen in and let us know what you think, and subscribe to the 4Mile Circus Podcast at 4milecircus.com, which we were guests on last week! Big thanks to Nicole and Sean for letting us include this on our feed! 

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at filmmakingsucks@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.
You can also now follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
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How To Build A Following w/4MileCircus

Social Media! That ever elusive combination lock that we all struggle to get right. How to get followers, how to get shares, how to get likes, how to get people to pay attention to you and your film! Well, this week, we sit down with Sean Mannion and Nicole Solomon at 4MileCircus and discuss exactly that.

4MileCircus is a media company who offer their services in video production, social media management, teaching workshops, training seminars and more, all to help you create better content. They share a few of their methods on how to create a social media following for your first film. 

Don't forget to listen to the 4MileCircus podcast for this week as well, which feature Manny and Lindsay discussing making their first film, and a few other choice subjects which harp on why, sometimes, Filmmaking Sucks.

And a huge thanks to Sean and Nicole for usage of their equipment for this episode! Check them out at 4milecircus.com and see how they can help you make good films!

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at filmmakingsucks@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.
You can also now follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
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“The first rule of social media is that everything changes all the time. What won’t change is the community’s desire to network.”

— Kami Huyse

Staying Motivated and Creating Goals

Happy New Year everyone! Today marks the one-year anniversary of the first episode of Filmmaking Sucks AND the first episode of the new year, so we decided to do a bit of a year end wrap-up.

A huge part of this struggle is keeping yourself motivated in the face of so much rejection and, plain and simple, a lack of time. Between working to pay the bills, and shooting your films on weekends, how do you find the time to actually promote yourself at events? You lose sleep, you lose a social life and essentially free time as a whole. The road to getting noticed is definitely a long-game. It takes 20 years to become an overnight success, so you have to plan to put the time in, and try to not focus on doing too much at once. 

This week we will talk about some of our personal goals and how we budget some of our time in order to always keep ourselves working towards our long-term goals. 

You can catch us next weekend, Jan 12th-14th at the Macabre Faire Film Festival, where Lindsays film "Beneath" will be screening on Saturday and Sunday. Lindsay will also be part of the Women In Horror Panel, and Manny will be hosting the Cinematography Panel, featuring Jill Poisson and Phil Kral. Go to MacabreFaireFilmFest.com to buy tickets!

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at filmmakingsucks@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.
You can also now follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
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“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.”

— Neil Gaiman

Ax Wound Film Festival Filmmakers Panel

The 3rd annual Ax Wound Film Festival is a celebration of Women in Horror, and Lindsay's new film Beneath was selected to be part of the festival.

Hosted by Jay Kay of Horror Happens Radio, the panel includes Lindsay Serrano, Julia K. Berkey (Gemmas Monster), Aislinn Clarke (Childer), Stee McMorris (Strange Harvest), England Simpson (Prelude: A Love Story), Kathryn McManus (Knock Knock II), Jennifer Bonior & Dycee Wildman (Inside The House), Marinah Janello (Entropia), Nicole Solomon (Mare), Monika Estrella Negra (Flesh), and Christina Raia (Enough).

The panel discusses what it's like to be a woman working in media, and especially the horror industry. Their thoughts on the Ax Wound Film Festival and other female-centric festivals, as well as working with practical effects, the importance of being subversive towards the mainstream, and guerrilla filmmaking.

You can check out the Ax Wound Film Festival at the Women In Horror Month Website. Submissions for the 2018 fest open in a few months. Whether you are accepted or not, whether you are a male or female filmmaker, we advise you all to strongly consider making the trip out to Vermont to be part of the festival. 

Subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, Google Play, or your favorite podcatching app. And don't forget to rate and review us! Email us at filmmakingsucks@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or subjects you'd like to hear us discuss.
You can also now follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmakingpodcast!
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“I don’t go up to another film director and say, Boy, you are a great male film director.’ So what’s curious to me is why it’s so gender specific with me. I get a lot of questions about ‘How could you make a film with this kind of subject matter?’ How could you do this as a woman and a mother?’ My answer: women can be terrible! Have you ever been to high school? Girls have as much love in them as they have viciousness because they’re human beings. Violence and horror films are not gender specific.”

— Jennifer Lynch