EP1: WRITE THIS MOVIE

In this first episode of Make This Movie, Chris begins the filmmaking process with the script for Counterintelligence. He traces the story from the initial seed of an idea, through his screenwriting practices, reverse-engineering his script to be made at a low budget, and to his “braintrust”—the close confidants he takes script notes from to polish up the final draft!

In the last half of the episode, Chris is accompanied by his two friends, Rachel and Marc who serve as his close braintrust and share the notes they gave him on various drafts, helping to polish off Counterintelligence’s shooting script.

The episode covers the entire writing process and takes us all the way to the moment of truth: when funding enters the picture in Episode 2: Budget This Movie.

EPISODE OUTLINE

The initial idea

The nine-day first draft

How to revise

Bringing in the braintrust

How to take input and notes efficiently

Parsing what to take and what not to take

EP2: BUDGET THIS MOVIE

In Episode 2 of Make This Movie, Chris introduces accomplished producer and ShoHawk co-founder Michael Hall to break down the importance of budget attention and accuracy in independent filmmaking, some common mistakes at every level of the production game, and how to cover a production for unforeseen expenses.

Then, Chris dives deep into his own budgeting process for Counterintelligence, including the sheets he used, how he broke down the script, and how he managed to build a budget and a rough schedule at the same time!

The emphasis of the episode is on the importance of detailed budgeting, especially on a microbudget film. Detailed budgeting saves surprises, which microbudget filmmakers cannot afford to have.

It can be intimidating to break a script apart and budget it, and many available tools are build for larger films, so this episode and the associated tools should help deconstruct the process for smaller productions, make it approachable, and give other filmmakers what they need to follow the same path!

EPISODE OUTLINE

The importance of detailed budgeting

Number one budgeting mistake

How to estimate correctly

Budgeting for post and release

Breaking down the Counterintelligence script

The budget and rough schedule

The missing money—overlooked items

This episode leads us all the way up to Counterintelligence’s funding. Once the budget was in hand, Chris knew what he needed to make it happen. And where he went will be covered in Episode 3: Fund This Movie.

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Right click here to download Episode 1.

Right click here to download Episode 2.

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