Month: March 2015

The Importance of Character Development

Posted on by Rita

An important element in scriptwriting is to develop your character(s) as a whole person(s).  Not just for the plot of the movie, but as a whole human being.  Your character should have a backstory and not just for the hell of it, but because everyone has a backstory.  Everyone has a past.  And for your character to be believable and for the actor to make the character three dimensional, they need a backstory.  This will give you, the director, and the actor an understanding of how the character will react to different situations.  How they will feel about certain people and certain situations.  The director and the actor will probably have better communication on set because they both have a detail understanding of the character’s personality.

So that is just one thing to think about when writing your script.  Give your character(s) a past and a present and the future will play out on the screen.

Thanks for checking out my blog.  Check the archive for past blog posts. Be sure to “Like” and “Share”.

A Landing Page: An Important Part of a Marketing Strategy

Posted on by Rita

Usually I write my blog post down on a piece of paper, so that I can focus my thoughts on the topic I am gonna writing about. That way I can make sure all my ideas and points are made before I actually post it. But I really wanted to go ahead and put this out because I actually have a little bit of free time right now.

So this post is about landing pages. I, personally, had never even heard of a landing page before. I had obviously encountered them before, numerous times, but I wasn’t aware that they had a particular name or the importance behind their use.

So with any business, be it commerce business or just bloggers, you really want and need a way to reach out to your buyers, fans, supporters, or potential supporters. The most effective way is through email. This way you can update them on upcoming blogs, discount offers, webinars, meetings, campaigns etc. And a landing page is a very effective way of doing that.

A landing page is basically or usually a one-page website that tells the visitor a little about you, your company, or blog (or whatever it is that you do) and allows them to sign up to get updates. You can google ‘Landing Pages’ and find out more, because I am nowhere near an expert on this topic, but I do understand the importance of it. And usually you offer some type of incentive for signing up.

I just completed the landing page for my upcoming indie film, Once We Leave the Garden. I am giving visitors a free copy of the eBook Once We Leave the Garden: Inside the Minds of the Banished for signing up. My thought behind this decision was that I wanted to give the visitors an insight into the early life and mindset of the two lead characters and I’m hoping that it will inspire them to want to see the movie. I didn’t just give the characters backstories for the sake of making this ebook. As I was writing the script, their backstory would just pop into my head. It was one of the most interest things about writing this script. It just really gave depth to the characters and the plot. And I needed to offer the visitor something for signing up and I thought that it would be a great opportunity to offer a look inside and hopefully intrigue the reader to want to see the film.

And by collecting emails, it shows that this person is interested in learning more about the film and may be a potential backer for the kickstarter campaign.

So I just wanted to let you know about the importance of landing pages. Be sure to do further research and find out how one can work for you. Also if you already have a domain name, your hosting site probably offers subdomains. It’s usually an extra cost but not very much.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and don’t forget to ‘Like’ and ‘Share’.

The Video Audition

Posted on by Rita

As usual, I have been very busy. And for the most part, things are moving in a very positive direction. One major drawback is that the more hats I put on, i.e. writer, director, producer, location scout, casting director, etc, the less time I seem to have in my day. With a full time job the task isn’t easy. I’ve gotten a few subscribers on my youtube page, which is great. I’ve found a great illustrator to draw up pictures for the new website. I finally figured out how to effectively use Adobe Illustrator and I was able to design the logo image for the website, poster and t-shirt. The image isn’t fully ready for the poster, because I’m going to be adding background detail, but that’s just an additional step. I had been fiddling with that software and that logo for weeks and at times it became very frustrating, but I didn’t give up, and everything ended up working out. And I decided to go ahead and start holding auditions for the film…via video audition.

The thought behind it was that I want to get as much as possible done before the campaign launch. And the actors who are cast can also help to get the word out about the upcoming campaign. I also know that its very frustrating to drive all the way out to a location, just to find out that you aren’t the right fit for a character. And from an indie producer standpoint, it just seems like a more cost effective solution. I do the first round audition via video call from the comfort of my own home and it costs me nothing but time. I can decide if the character has the potential and look to play the character. If I feel that they can bring something to the character, I will be inviting them to the physical location in downtown Chicago, to really show what they can bring. I also plan to partner them up. So someone who is auditioning for Alexandria, will be paired up with someone who is auditioning for Derek, and so on and so forth. This will allow me to see how the actors work with others and their ability to really become the character, in the particular situation of the scene. I am not the first person to do video audition, but I don’t know why more people aren’t doing them, at least for the first round. It just seems more cost effective, from every angle.

And I am also working on the website, which is going to take a few weeks to get up because the illustrator has to do the pictures and I am also creating a landing page. I have so much to do, but honestly I am enjoying every second of it because I am working towards a goal and each step gets me closer to completing it, which is very exciting.

Thanks for checking out my blog and don’t forget to “LIKE” and “SHARE”.