Filmmaker's Journey

Happy last day of April! Today's post will be fairly short as I have other work to finish, but I'd like to leave you with a helpful resource. The other day I was fooling around on Twitter and found a website that gives out a lot of useful film making information. Their YouTube channel holds a lot of tutorials for filmmakers. If you are interested in learning a few things, scroll through a few of their videos. I left the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/nakedfilmmaker

What resources do you use to learn new film making tricks? Leave them in the comments below. My name is Alex Van Thong and this is my Filmmaker's Journey...

A very cheesy title for today's post, but a true statement in the independent film world. Everyday will be a struggle for an independent filmmaker. We have little budget, little time, and a hard time finding good exposure for our work. With all this said, a large majority of filmmakers will quit after not receiving enough attention for their hard work, but this is wrong! Don't stop believing! The only way to achieve a goal is to keep trying until you've achieved that goal. Giving up just means giving up on a dream, which is giving into the notion that independent filmmakers are not important in this world, but we are! If you ever feel like giving up on your work, sit and look at older works you have created and witness how far you've come since that point. You have no idea how many times I've re watched older productions and thought to myself "what the hell was I thinking?!" Well chances are that in a year, I'll be looking back at the work I am doing now and think the same thing. Film making is a tedious process that takes a long time to master, never give up on it. I'd like to leave you all with a quote by talk show host Steve Katsos:

"The time has come for you to take the steps towards what you really want to be doing. The world is waiting for you. Follow your dreams..."


What quotes help you follow your dream? Leave them in the comments below. My name is Alex Van Thong and this is my Filmmaker's Journey...

One big issue that YouTubers have is how they tag their videos. Instead of being smart about how they tag, they just put as many words and phrases that they can. Although this seems like it can get a lot of views, it will actually get little. Instead of using all the words you can, choose words and phrases carefully. Check other videos that are similar to yours (ones with the most views) and see how they tagged their videos. Think about phrases or words that may be misspelled and tag those as well. Spending more than 10 minutes with your tags may surprise you and get you a few more views.

One of the most important aspects of any production is the preparation that goes into it. This time of preparation is called pre-production. Strong pre-production creates a strong production. A lot of the pre-production process goes into writing a solid screenplay. In my opinion, it is the most important part of creating a video/film. You could create amazing special FX and have amazing cinematography, but if your story is lacking then your production will fall apart. Writing one can be a little difficult as an independent producer with a small budget. There is an easy solution to this: online research on the format of a screenplay and the use of the program Celtx. Finding out the format is as easy as googling how to write one. As for Celtx, this is a free program that you can download online on your PC or Mac. Once you have your idea, know how to write a screenplay, and have obtained your free software, go ahead and write your awesome ideas down! Below I posted the link to the free download of Celtx:

https://www.celtx.com/

An example of a screenplay

Are you a screenwriter? Leave your advice for new writers in the comments below! My name is Alex Van Thong and this is my Filmmaker's Journey...

Obviously I am not the only one giving tips out there on how to improve your video content. Aside from myself, there are a bunch of YouTubers who post regular tip videos on how to set yourself aside from other producers on the web. Two of my favorites are Partners Project and ReelSEO. They post new videos every week and have been a big help to us in the past. If you would like to see their content and maybe learn new things about producing quality video on the web then check out their links below:

http://www.youtube.com/user/partnersproject
http://www.youtube.com/user/reelseo?ob=0

So you now have a production team, you've created a couple quality productions and posted them on YouTube, but is that enough for you? Maybe you want some more connections directly involved in the field? Here's my piece of advice for producers to jump to the next level, get a great amount of opinions on your work, and meet a lot of new connections:

Poster for this years festival

FILM FESTIVALS! Yes, it sounds bold and an unrealistic goal for a new production team, but in reality it is not. There are thousands of festivals out there looking for new producers to submit their awesome films! Submitting your work to festivals is a great way to get a lot of great exposure and quality discussions about your work and what you could possibly do better in the future. The safer route is to aim for festivals that are local and new. Festivals who just recently started are more likely to accept a wider variety of films from new producers.

In October of 2011, one of our films, "Notes of Life," was accepted into the international film festival in our town. It was one of the first productions we had ever produced and it won an award. Our production hit the local newspapers and brought a lot of discussion from those who were already in the field. Trust me! It is worth it to submit! You never know, getting into a local festival may bring your production group to the next level of recognition.

Lead actor, AJ Niakaros (left), Director, Alex Van Thong (middle), Lead actress, Jamie Lee Janko (right)

Being a part of that festival was a wonderful experience for Wild Goose Chase Productions and we will definitely continue to submit to other festivals in the years to come!

Do you have a film festival story? Share it in the comments below! My name in Alex Van Thong and this is my Filmmaker's Journey...

In yesterdays post I talked about new production groups and how a lot of the time they have trouble finding exposure for their work. Recently I finally decided to click on a YouTube ad about Google Adwords. A lot of upcoming filmmakers will not want to pay for advertising, so they shy away from this service. As a student in college myself, I agree with keeping a low budget on productions, but Google is currently giving away up to $100 for free in advertising. I took this offer and ads have been running for one of Wild Goose Chase's Productions for about a month now and it is running out tomorrow. That month of free advertising gave us a great amount of exposure to new viewers, some of whom even subscribed to our channel! It's a great service because you can choose how much you'd like to pay each day for advertising and who will be seeing the ads. If you want to get some more views and new subscribers, take the free offer from Google while it still lasts. If you don't want to keep paying after the free advertising runs out, make sure you set your options to manual payments so it does not charge you!!

In yesterdays post, I talked about starting up your own production team. Now the number one problem that a new production team has is exposure. Countless times a team will create great content, post it on YouTube, and call it a day. 9/10 times, posting it to YouTube and leaving it will get you nothing. If you want others to see the great work you've created, you need to utilize this generations tools of networking. Facebook, Twitter, forums, even Tumblr should be your best friends when it comes to exposure. The first views you will get will be your friends and followers. If they enjoy your content, they are more likely to take that link and send it to some of their other friends who may also spread the link. Not only that, but properly tagging your content may make some new connections!

Over a year ago, a few friends and I decided to start a production group called Wild Goose Chase Productions. We started off as a group of 4 people, we now have a crew of over 20 people. Working on those productions has been some of the most fun I have had in a long time. Since then, we have gotten the attention of Google as well as other companies that are now paying us from advertisements.

If you have a camera, a couple friends, and an idea for a video, go out and shoot it! Any ideas for videos that come to mind should be produced at some point. The point of starting out in the field is finding your niche, and there's no better way to do that than to just keep shooting content. If you have trouble finding people to help out then just spread the word about your group. You'd be surprised what hidden talents your friends may have that could be of huge benefit to your crew. Once you have a stable crew, producing the content will become routine and great films will be the result.

If you are a reader already in the field and would like to share your story then please post it in the comments. If you would like to check out Wild Goose Chase's content, links are below!

www.youtube.com/TheWGCProductions
www.twitter.com/WGCProductions
www.facebook.com/WGCProductions

My name is Alex Van Thong and this is my Filmmaker's Journey...

Every journey has a beginning, so I'm going to take you all back a few years and tell you the story of how I began. Lets skip the family vacation movies and terrible attempts of making videos as a child  and go to my Sophomore year of high school. During this time, I joined as a member of the local access television studio in my town. Here is my first piece of advice to young production oriented students:

If you really want to get into the film or television field, become a COMMITTED member at the local access studio in your town. These studios are required to 1. allow you to produce your own content using their equipment, 2. train you on their equipment, and 3. allow you to take out their equipment and use it to produce content. This is an environment you want to become a part of as a student. You will learn SO MUCH and meet so many great people that can connect you to others in the industry.

This is a photo of me on set in the local access studio of my town. After two years of directing, producing, editing, cam oping, and assisting the staff, I was asked to cam op for an international television show that was produced in the studio. I was now in the industry.

My story shows that great things come out of local access that not many people know about. Before joining, I had no idea that an international show was being produced in my town, let alone that I could become a part of it!

Again, if you are looking to get some experience and great connections, start with local access. It is an amazing outlet to show off your talent to others!

If you are already part of the film or television industry, please feel free to share your story in the comments. If you have any questions for me, please feel free to contact me. My name is Alex Van Thong and this is my Filmmaker's Journey...

Hello and welcome to Filmmaker's Journey. For as long as I can remember I have been interested in creating video and sharing it with the world. One day I hope to become a famous director, but to do so I need your help. A director is nothing without the help of the attention of his or her viewers. On this blog I will share with you my journey, my accomplishments, and my advice to other young filmmaker's looking to expose their work to the world. I will begin by sharing with you a link to my YouTube channel which has my most recent work.

www.youtube.com/TheWGCProductions

In the next few weeks, I will describe all of the major events that have gotten me to where I am today as well as the projects I am currently working on. Please feel free to connect with me as I continue my journey as a filmmaker and maybe share some of your stories as well. My name is Alex Van Thong and this is my Filmmaker's Journey...