Matt Morrison's Lounge Discussions

Well said MATT thanks for the add! Im still trying to get used to this site as it is not like youtube or facebook! how is the Film/TV industry in New york been treating ya??

Many distributors and networks want finished video in Pro-Res 4:2:2 or Pro-Res HQ. In which case only a Mac can encode it properly.

I use Both mac and PC. I use Mac for 80 percent of my editor jobs and PC for Digital Fusion compositing and Vegas Pro if needed. To be marketable, You need to have good working knowledge on both platforms. Having some Linux knowledge is just gravy.

there are a few ways to encode QT PRORES on PCs. For example: http://www.miraizon.com/products/codecsoverview.html http://www.fallenempiredigital.com/blog/2012/06/06/encoding-apple-prores... http://www.cinemartin.com/cinec/

There is also a ProRes converter app that only runs on PC called cliptoolz converter. The web site is www.cliptoolz.com

Thanks for the invitation, Omar. Great to meet you at Stage 32! :)

Hey Rob, I currently develop television concepts for network pitches for an established production company. I've done one network pitch myseld with a pretty big cable network and have done a bunch of proposals that have been presented by other production company EPs. The caveat is that most of the stuff is docu/reality so we don't really submit series bibles, but rather treatments for the concepts with episode format outlines and samples of certain show components. I will say it's a bitch to get a show picked up and it takes time. We're currently about to start production on a network show that got "green-lit" 3 months ago. If you don't have a track record, they will pair you with an established production company, so be agreeable to that if they bring it up. Try to go in realizing that you'll do a ton of projects and pitches in your career, so don't go too crazy thinking that if you blow it, you're blacklisted or something. Don't sabotage it, but if they don't like the idea or it doesn't work for them or you don't blow them away, it's not a failure by any means. The development people at these networks see tons of shit all the time and lot of it is very similar. I've talked to execs with ideas I thought were so fresh and they're like "heard that a million times" Also, they want to look good to their bosses, so they won't support a project unless they think their boss is going to be stoked about it. They have to really see the whole picture very, very clearly. Keep it really simple and "re-pitchable." They have to go tell their boss what you just told them. Try to be out in 20 minutes; don't take too much of their time. Last thing I would say is to make sure you really understand the networks audience demos and their programming slate. It's a good idea to breakdown a couple of the networks shows, compare your show to them and see if it gels well. Every show creator wants to focus on the art, but these networks deliver audiences to advertisers under a very cohesive brand identity, so your show has to line up with that. Hope that helps.

Thanks Matt. That is good insight and consistent with what I have been reading about the process. We have a great demo, 18-35, strong written material and some great art to show for ourselves but being green makes the whole thing daunting.

Terry, Aren't you just a sweetheart! Thank you for your kind and encouraging words. I like it when folks don't take things sooooo seriously. Laugh often, Love much and Live well and always keep it on the positive tip. ;-)

I record my voice on a small recorder then I upload it to my computer and clean it up with a recording program. I save as mp3 or wav and it sounds great. I use to always sound funny with my mic connected to my computer. So.....its solved.

You can easily do as Heather suggested on an iPhone (probably an Android phone as well).

be careful though, using VO such as you are describing as an ACTUAL finished production piece using a recorder or I-pod and then transferring it ! the quality will tend to suffer and MAY not be usable for any commercial work!! The right way to do that would be through Pro software, the most affordable ones are Adobe Soundbooth or Audition. You should... If you want to alter your voice upon recording ) on the in-take get a VST plugging or compressor module that is hardware. If not recording you voice on a GOOD mic would also allow you to alter the voice post-recording through various VST effects in the software.. You should never record and re-record ... UNLESS you are trying to achieve the effect for a movie...of a very old vintage tape that has been found in the relics of a fire ...for example...then there are a multitude of ways a sound engineer can help as well. I hope this is not too forward and that I have captured the right gist of what the discussion was about, without putting my foot in my mouth!

Thanks for the great advise from you all, Heather love the profile pic!

no. put a plan together, call ahead, go visit and get a view from the street. Find someone out there who you can visit with. Save money and/or land a job there prior to going. Get real and don't end up yet another "filmmaker" on the street or working at starbucks....

Don't do it on a wing and a prayer. You really need to make some connections, set up appointments, meetings and have a clear goal with some kind of timeline to measure how you're going. Also make sure you have a back up and enough money so you don't get real desperate too fast. It's a tough and wonderful town.

Check into the UCLA extension programs. They're expensive but worth taking as a way to make connections.

It usually isn't, but sometimes you have to follow your heart.

Here's an awesome article about moving out there I found: http://thecastingpitt.com/article/1428334709

Typical Tv distribution fees are 30-35% - this is standard. TV distribution is not easy and the reason you pay commission to a TV distributor is because they have the contacts to place it with international TV stations. These TV stations don't buy from anyone - they buy from familiar faces who they already have relationships with. Production companies who sell directly to international TV stations usually have their own dedicated sales agents working in house and are producing a ton of hours every year. If you are not in that position then I would go back to one of these companies and continue to the conversation.

Elisar is right on. It is very difficult to self-distribute, especially if you only have one or two programs. Program directors look at a calendar and see a 13-week block to fill, not a one-shot deal. 35% is not that great a cost for what they do - but it is 35% plus expenses. Many distributors who work with small producers take it all by charging back bogus fees, over charging on services, and cross-collateralization of projects. To some extent, the producers open the door for these vampires by not having a finished script, a dialogue script, tons of production photos, and other tools the distributor needs to market the film. And there is so much more to say after in the trenches...

Thank-you all for your comments and suggestions. They have been much appreciated. We are thrilled to announce that we have found and signed with a distribution company - based in London. As it turns out.... we ended up with 5 companies wanting our show to add to their catalog so we are very grateful for all the interest. I wish each of you success an again thank-you for stepping in with suggestions and thoughts. sincere thanks Lee

i was curious about how your project is going?

Hi Lee, Kaleigh Group Entertainment is now accepting films for distribution. We have traditional and Out of the Box distribution channels. We get paid commission, so there are NO up front fees. I would like to discuss this with you. Contact me if you are interested.

I know a few people who have writing gigs on big shows and it seems the best way to become a successful writer, in any medium, is to write a ton of stuff and get as much of it produced as possible. Rik is absolutely right that producing what you have now locally is the way to go. After a lot of projects will you start to hit a stride and some barriers will come down. Hope that helps.

I appreciate both of your comments. Thank you for taking the time and it really helps to have a little wind in the sails.

So when do you shoot your first episode?

Nothing is impossible just keep swimming (Nemo).

Thanks for boost. I do have a gut feeling that all is going along as it should which currently lacks all pieces at this time to schedule a first shoot. For this project I do not expect to have anything tangible going til next summer. Live ducks do not stay in their rows.

Thanks Michael. Best wishes to you as well in this very competitive industry!

Congrats, Mark! NYC is awesome, just avoid times square : )

Thanks, Matt. I see you are a line producer for the Onion. I went to UW/Madison when the Onion was an 8 page ad rag and I was doing cartooning. I know all those guys, Todd Hanson, John Krewson. Great to see you're with a fun bunch of folks.

Fantastic! They're an amazing group of people...it's too bad all those vets left in the last year.

Hi Stanley, I don't have a synopsis on-line, only my logline. If you haven't read the logline, it is under my profile. Looking forward to NYC. Are you going to the Moondance Film Festival at Tribeca?

Side By Side was shown at the Sydney Film Festival in June. Great doco - thoroughly recommend it! http://sidebysidethemovie.com/

Yea, Side by Side is the best source for this comparison. It's truly incredible that you can still project film shot 100 years ago, but VHS is basically worthless.

VHS is basically only a storage and distro format, film is a shooting material. big difference. also beta is still in use by professionals and the only reason VHS has won over v2000 and beta was the porn industry - or rather because sony did not allow the porn industry to use their betamax format for their smut. But since smut is on all our minds, VHS sold. There are many recording and storage formated gone, even if some of them were actually really good and still would be today. And some are still in use, even if they are obsolete. Vinyl is a good example, where style still trumps quality, as the organic sound of the vinyl is part of the experience. The current trend obviously goes into displaced and cloud storage for all of us. But I guess some revolution is just waiting around the corner...

You're right about VHS and maybe that wasn't the best example, but my point is that tech is always changing in the "video" space and in a lot of cases the tech becomes more or less obsolete in a relatively short number of years. For instance, I never even see cameras or tape stock I used to shoot on 10 years ago. But film from 100 years ago can still be viewed using basically the same tech as it was then (a projector), which is awesome.

Futurists see movies giving way to total immersion experience where the viewer no longer sits passively watching the action; they will smell, taste, and touch it as well as live it visually in 3 dimensions and eventually interact with the movie and determine its outcome. And not just for entertainment, this will be how we go to school, train for work, get counseling, and probably how courts will conduct hearings. I wish I could live 100 more years just to see it.