I just wanted to give a sincere and heartfelt ‘THANK YOU’ to ALL of the filmmakers that have submitted their blood, sweat and tears to this year’s festival. I truly know how difficult it can be to make an independent movie – short or feature length, and then to put it out for everyone to see. That is why I can appreciate them all for many different reasons. Thank you all so very much for allowing us the honor of taking part in the life of your movies.

As this is the first year in constructing an international film festival from the ground up, we are very pleased to see the amount of entries and interest we’ve received in just several days of opening up submissions. Worldwide entries from award-winning films have been submitted and many movies from Guam and the Pacific Asia region are slated to make their festival debut as well. Here’s more info on the upcoming festival:

The Guam International Film Festival (GIFF) is proud to announce its first annual event in September 2011 and has just opened up its Call For Entries for feature films and shorts in the following categories:

• Narrative
• Documentary
• Animation
• Made in the Marianas
• Student Under 18
• Music Videos
• Mobile Short

The festival will take place from Sep 30 thru Oct 2nd, 2011.

The Guam International Film Festival is breaking new ground in its inaugural year. With an abundance of creative talent and worldwide recognition emerging from Asia, Pacific Asia and the Western Pacific, GIFF aims to unify, celebrate and showcase to the region and the world, the collective experience through the universal medium of film.

Only a few hours away from major international metropolitan cities such as Sydney, Manila, Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, and Hong Kong, Guam has always served as the global gateway to an eclectic mix of professionals from the US, Asia and Pacific rim offering a platform to exchange opportunities in business and entertainment.

GIFF strives to capture the passion and spirit of independent filmmakers and their films as we showcase them to the Pacific Asia region.

For more information, please visit: http://www.guamfilmfestival.org

The following is an excerpt from the free DIY filmmaking guide “The Quick and Dirty Guide to DIY Moviemaking”. You can download the complete book for free by clicking here: “The Quick and Dirty Guide to DIY Moviemaking”. For more behind the scenes info, view the SHIRO’S HEAD DIRECTORS’ COMMENTARY

SHOTLIST & SCHEDULING
Get ready to juggle your cast’s work/school schedules in order to maximize your shotlist efficiently. This means that you’ll be shooting your movie out of sequential order to keep everything productive with little down time. This is where continuity comes in to play. Make sure that you keep track of the actors’ wardrobe, blocking (the movement of actors), props, etc.

Shiro’s Head Fact: The baseball field scene in Shiro’s Head was a result of five whole nights of shooting due to our continuity screw-ups.

REHEARSING AND BLOCKING
Non-actors always feel awkward when delivering lines and movement in front of a camera. Take the edge off a bit by taping their rehearsals and playing it back for them.

Shiro’s Head Fact: The performance of our non-actor Matt Ladmirault improved greatly after watching himself on the screen during playback for the first time in one of our test scenes.

DIRECTING NON-ACTORS
Treat them with respect and don’t waste their time. Keep it simple and to the point. Just break it down to the basics by figuring out each of your cast members’ strengths and direct it accordingly to each scene. Focus more on facial expressions and subtleties.

Shiro’s Head Fact: Don would coach the non-actors by acting out the scene first and giving them an idea of what we needed for the scene.

B-ROLL and DETAIL SHOTS
Random B-roll and detail shots will really save you when it comes time for editing. They can save your scene’s fluidity and help the transition of scenes greatly. Skies, trees, surroundings, tight shots of actions, etc.

Shiro’s Head Fact: When we couldn’t shoot any scenes due to conflicting cast schedules, we went out and shot random island scenery that ended up making the final cut of the movie.

LOCATION AUDIO
One thing audiences won’t forgive is bad audio. When recording scenes on location, always get at least 30 seconds of ambient audio at each location. Be sure that when you do record this, everyone must keep completely quiet. This will help smooth out your editing if you need to intercut the audio from multiple shots or do ADR in post. You may also want to record the sound of each action that takes place during the scene (car door opening/closing, beer bottle opening, etc.). This will give you the freedom to manipulate them in post as needed.

Shiro’s Head Fact: We couldn’t afford to hire a boom operator, so we decided to shoot the movie without any location audio and replaced every single sound, including dialogue, in post production. Over 5,000 unique sounds!

ACTORS’ DIALOGUE
Use a boom pole for close ups. Use lavaliere mics for wide shots. Or just use a shotgun mic placed on your camera.

Shiro’s Head Fact: Because we couldn’t afford a boom operator, we were forced to bring the entire cast back to record their voices during post production (ADR).

NATURAL LIGHTING
Nothing beats the sun. Use it to your advantage by shooting interior scenes near large windows. The window serves as a minor diffuser. And it’s free.

Shiro’s Head Fact: Most of the movie was shot using just natural sunlight.

The following is an excerpt from the free DIY filmmaking guide “The Quick and Dirty Guide to DIY Moviemaking”. You can download the complete book for free by clicking here: “The Quick and Dirty Guide to DIY Moviemaking”. For more behind the scenes info, view the SHIRO’S HEAD DIRECTORS’ COMMENTARY

PRODUCTION VALUE – FIGURE OUT YOUR RESOURCES
You could write the biggest blockbuster hit, but if you don’t have the budget to back it up, you’re only option is to write around your resources.

Shiro’s Head Fact: We were able to maximize our production value with things we already had. This applied to our equipment and gear as well. We couldn’t afford to buy new cameras, so we used our old standard definition wedding video cameras. We couldn’t afford real dolly tracks, fig rigs or jibs – so we made our own from PVC pipes and aluminum tubing found at a local hardware store. Sure, it all looked pretty ghetto when you saw it in person, but when you see the results on the big screen, you’d think we’d spent a million bucks. And that’s all that matters.

WRITE YOUR SCRIPT
From Star Wars to Twilight, the structure of a story is this: Act One introduces the main character(s) as well as the hook that sets the rest of the movie in motion. Act Two is the complication of the story in which the main character has reached the point of no return and must resolve the issue at hand. Act Three is the resolution of your story.

A good rule of thumb in scriptwriting is that one physical page of written script equals roughly one minute of screen time.

Shiro’s Head Fact: We knew that we were going to work with non-actors, so we kept the dialogue to a minimum and instead, focused on the visuals and the audience intellect to drive it home. It worked out well because most people at our festival screenings couldn’t believe that our cast was made up of non-actors

STORYBOARDING
Use this only as a template and don’t rely on it. With DIY productions, you can’t count on secured locations or even secured talent which leads to tons of things changing on the fly. If you do decide to put a storyboard together and don’t have access to actors/stand-ins, use Barbie dolls and a digital camera to get your shot composition down.

Shiro’s Head Fact: We did this and ended up changing about 99% of it during the actual production. Also, if you’re not sure where to put the camera, just watch similar movies and study their camera placements.

FIND YOUR CAST
Hold a casting call. Get the word out on Facebook, MySpace, local colleges, etc. Pin up fliers, call up friends or do what you need to do to get people interested in auditioning for the roles in your flick. If you try it and still don’t have a big pool of potential cast members for your movie, then take it upon yourself to go out and look for them.

Shiro’s Head Fact: we literally just went out and scouted for people that we thought looked great for the part. Yes, people thought we were nuts and yes, we were a bit embarrassed and yes people flat out turned us down on the spot ‘cause they thought we were joking. But we kept at it. We went to clubs, coffee shops,
bar-b-q’s, etc. and it paid off.

LOCATION SCOUTING
Public places are always the best locations for DIY location shoots. Just be sure you leave the place in the same if not better condition than when you got there. Is it in the middle of a flight path? Is there construction nearby? Loud traffic or neighborhood dogs? Where does the sun rise and set? Take note of such things when scouting for a potential location. Also, remember to keep things safe.

Shiro’s Head Fact: We spent about a week scouting locations and for the ones that weren’t public, we just asked permission. Be sure to ask nicely and approach them professionally.

So you’ve just received your first acceptance letter as an official selection and you don’t know where to start? No worries. Here’s a simple checklist of things that we’ve learned along the way to have a successful, efficient and effective film festival experience. Congratulations and good luck!

Let Everyone Know!
Get the word out to as many people as you can! Friends, family, people you know in the festival’s city or town. Spread the news on your movie’s Official Site/Facebook Page, and even write a press release for your local press. The more people that attend, the more your movie will make an impact with the festival.

Your Film’s Official Site
This is everything. REMEMBER  TO INCLUDE YOUR FILM’S OFFICIAL SITE ON ALL PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL! Movie posters, lobby cards, business cards, EVERYTHING!

Movie Posters
Film festival organizers will dress up their theaters and venues with an array of movie posters from their official selections. The legit size you want to make your poster is 26″x39″. It fits in theater poster showcases and makes for great exposure for your movie for festival goers, so make sure you have at least a couple to spare. This should be done professionally by a printing house/promotional items company like AKTIV8 PROMOTIONALS.

Lobby Cards/Post Cards
These are 4″x6″ post cards that festival organizers keep on display throughout their different venues for festival goers. They’re printed on heavy card stock (just like real post cards). On the front is your movie’s main image (it’s usually the same as your movie poster). Make sure your film’s info and showtimes/theater info are located on the reverse side. Print at least 60 to cover different venues at the festival. These are pretty cheap at most printing shops.

Business Cards
You never know who you’ll be meeting, so always keep these handy with you. It should have your name, your film’s name, all of your contact info – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, email address, Official Site URL, etc. They don’t have to be the most awesome business cards ever – just complete with your contact info. Print ‘em at home.

DVD Screeners
Film critics, journalists from well-known publications, and other film festival directors always cover film festivals. Some journalists may want to do a write-up on your film but missed your showing, or festival directors from other fests may consider your movie for their film festival, so keep these handy and pass them out when needed. You can have a ‘Screener’ text watermark displayed during the movie or not, it’s up to you.

Pens/Sharpie
Some folks may be moved after watching your film and may sometimes ask for an autograph. Always keep a Sharpie handy.

Trailer/Teaser/Clips on Digital Files and DVD
Always have a few copies of your film’s trailer and teaser along with :30 and :60 clips of your movie on digital file or on a DVD-R. This may come in handy for the press/news coverage that may be covering the festival as well as the festival venues when they promote your film’s showings.

Digital Photos: Production Stills/Directors’ Photos/Movie Stills on CD
Always have some hi-res digital photos on hand for the press. Publications will ask for them, so it would save them a lot of time and get your story out faster!

Your Pitch/Production Notes/Email version
Be prepared to speak about your film at the festival. Prepare for a Q&A session with your film’s audience at the festival with all of the behind-the-scenes info, tech info, and basically just your production notes (how long it took you to make the movie, how you funded the production, questions about the characters in the movie, etc). Also, you’ll be meeting a lot of people in passing, and they’ll all ask about your movie. Be prepared to give them your pitch (two sentences at the most). Have your movie’s production notes on standby as an email draft ready to send in case a journalist requests it by email.

Your Next Project
Be prepared to talk about your next project. This means at least have your pitch down for your next project in case you land a meeting with a distributor, a possible financier or someone that shows interest in working with you on your next project.

Camera/flip cam, etc.
Take some footage of your film festival experience because when it’s all over it’ll be like you just stepped out of a tornado! It will all move so fast and you’ll forget the experience, so come prepared to document your time at the festival. It makes a great archive for your movie that you can add onto the DVD release later.

Throw a Party
If your funds allow, throw a party for your movie audience. A nearby bar, restaurant or a friend’s house will give a great opportunity for you to build more relationships and show your appreciation for your fan base.

Attire
Dress for the weather and be sure to bring something suitable for dinner parties, luncheons, etc.

Get to Know Your Point of Contact
All festivals have coordinators, assistant programmers, filmmaker liaison, etc. that will be your point of contact. Get to know these people. They are your insight to the inner workings of the festival, press coverage and programming. They are usually very busy people during fest time, but see if you can take them out for a drink or something and spend some time with them outside of the festival.

Mingle, See Movies, Have Fun
Although attending a festival as an official selection is work, remember to have fun. Take time to attend the filmmaker parties, workshops, see some movies, meet other filmmakers and just have a great time. Not many filmmakers get the opportunity of attending a festival as an official selection, so make the most of it and remember, most importantly, to just relax, be yourself and have fun.