Nicky Mondellini's Lounge Discussions

Hey Kerry, I'm in Sugar Land, it would be great to connect with you and see if we can collaborate! nicky@nickymondellini.com

Hi Kerry, I've work in development and production, and also on set as a PA and Script Supervisor. Let me know if we can collaborate!

www.catarinacesar.weebly.com

Awesome!

That's awesome, Congratulations.

Congrats!

Thank you everyone!! Your support means the world to me.

That's amazing, congratulations Danielle!

That's wonderful Augusto!

Congrats

Oh heyyyyyy... Congrats!

Congratulations!

Congratulations! This is a big step.

I try to record at least four auditions per week, If a client contacts me for a rush job I tend to oblige and I have certain clients that call me once or twice a year. I also get jobs from my agent. I work in my home studio or at different studios around town.I just re-edited my demo with my latest jobs , I was a little late in doing that but my old demo worked very well for me. I am in the process of re-branding myself so I can target specific clients as a documentary narrator. The time I spend in my studio depends on the type of job,anywhere from 1 to 3 hours. I record the longer projects at studios around Houston.

You have to face the reality, that if you want financial success you need marketable product. Forget about making a good film. If you're good the film will be good regardless. You have to concentrate on "marketable" to attract the money (distributors and producers with experience and success). That also means you need name actors for key roles. You need a marketable genre, like thriller, action, maybe horror, maybe comedy, maybe doc, and probably not romcom or drama. And you need a budget in the $1M to $3M range. Lower will not be attractive and you can't afford talent. Higher and you are too inexperienced and no one will want to invest. By the way, the production budget without talent would be in the $500K - $1M range. But you need to have a talented experienced crew (with a success record) that you pay; not just your friends. Free doesn't work. You need to put a "package" together that includes bankable names, tax credits from your location state or country, and some equity (direct investment - usually of around 10% - 29%). Having said all this, realize that even the most experienced producers are looking to fund projects just as you are. They face the same problems. Currently, I am developing a romantic thriller called LOST LOVE ( http://lostlovemovie.com ), and I am seeking a co-producer/production company willing to consider looking at my script to determine what kind of budget and tax credits I might have in their location state or country.

Many times the ultimate decision as to whether or not your work gets bought is the executive deciding whether or not they want to hang out with you for the next year while making the movie. Translation? A-list actors and directors are allowed to be high maintenance prima-donnas, you aren't. Just relax and be yourself. Show you have a good head for the business, you are collaborative, and you can take feedback and use that to help make the film better. Be yourself also means just that. Don't try to fit your resume into each conversation. Don't mention times on obscure Indie sets you worked on in an obvious attempt to show you worked on a movie set. Don't mention obscure pieces of equipment you worked with just to show you did. I write and I direct, that's what I do. I don't care about sound floors on specific microphones as they pertain to editing software X during the render process. Tell me a joke instead and make my day more enjoyable. Show me that you're cool to hang out with, then I will decide if I want to ask you about your skills.

Orson Welles had to take his pants off to poop, just like you. One guy will give you an autograph because he's a nice guy the other only if he is paid. If they won't answer the phone for your call THEY are the one losing out. You do not NEED anyONE for your project to be a success, if you believe you do you wrote something for them not for the sake of the story. A project will attract the level of talent it deserves.

I think you have to decide what exactly you want to do and then the answer is different depending. Start going for those grunt jobs and see the roles of the folks at levels above you and see if it looks fun to YOU. It is a highly personal question. If one of those roles looks fun ask how they got to where they are and ask several because some may not want to share. I think there are some huge jerks and you have to avoid taking their advice. If none of the roles look fun for you to make a living and work your way up, find an alternate route-do a day job you can tolerate or like and make your films, do your writing on the side. Some can meld to the Industry and some can't. And no one can tell you what you should do-you need to follow your heart and gut.

There is a vast and excellent array of responses to my topic and it really gives all of us food for thought. Thank you for sharing!!