Mark Tapio Kines was the first person to employ online crowdfunding to finance a film; in 1998, he raised $150,000 in finishing funds for his debut feature "Foreign Correspondents." More than 15 years later, he ran a Kickstarter campaign for his third feature "Dial 9 to Get Out," but failed to reach his $120,000 goal. Below he details what he learned through his failed campaign: I was the first filmmaker to crowdfund a feature online (way back in 1998), but that was no guarantee for repeat success: last month I attempted to raise $120,000 on Kickstarter for my third feature "Dial 9 to Get Out," and only scraped up about $42,000. A fair amount, but obviously not enough. Regardless, I learned some useful information that doesn't usually pop up in the various crowdfunding articles you see on the Internet. If you're planning to crowdfund your next film, I hope these tips will save you time and money, or at...
- 5/1/2014
- by Mark Tapio Kines
- Indiewire
Mark Tapio Kines is the first person to employ online crowdfunding to finance a film; in 1998, he raised $150,000 in finishing funds for his debut feature "Foreign Correspondents." More than 15 years later, he is currently running a campaign for his third feature "Dial 9 to Get Out." 1997 was a heady time for both Hollywood and the Internet. With studio blockbusters incorporating more and more digital technology and distributors like Miramax making independent filmmakers all the rage, and with online giants like Amazon and Yahoo! becoming major corporate players, pundits began throwing around the term "convergence" – referring to the potential merger of the film world and the "dot-com" world – as if it were a self-fulfilling prophecy. I was in the middle of all this, as both a writer/director shooting my first indie feature and as a full-time Web designer who had made sites for a number of studio releases, from "12 Monkeys" to "Happy Gilmore.
- 3/7/2014
- by Mark Tapio Kines
- Indiewire
Mark Tapio Kines is the author of Screenwriting Fundamentals, an online course on Lynda.com. He has written and directed two features, and is the first filmmaker to ever use crowdfunding to finance his work. Mark can be reached at his production company's site, http://www.cassavafilms.com. I've read a lot of spec screenplays over the years. Often, after I've finished reading, I'll ask the writer, "Did this story actually happen to you?" Their eyes will light up, impressed by my apparent powers of perception, and they will excitedly say, "Why, yes, it did!" Then I tell them that it's usually not a good thing to hear this question. Here's why: A lot of writers, whether they're first-timers or seasoned veterans, fall into the same traps when dramatizing their own personal experiences. In many cases, they will wind up sacrificing a good dramatic narrative in honor of What Really Happened,...
- 2/5/2014
- by Mark Tapio Kines
- Indiewire
Mark Tapio Kines is the author of Screenwriting Fundamentals, an online course on Lynda.com. He has written and directed two features, and is the first filmmaker to ever use crowdfunding to finance his work. Check out his online courses here. As the saying goes, 95% of directing is casting. Speaking from personal experience, I can confirm that a well-chosen actor not only brings a character to life, but can also make your shoot more enjoyable and relaxed. A hastily-chosen actor, on the other hand, can turn it into a nightmare.Still, casting is an under-discussed aspect of the filmmaking process, and I think new directors could benefit from some advice on what to expect, what to look for, and how to behave. These tips are drawn from my own adventures in casting two features.If you’ve never cast a film before, here’s the skinny on what you need...
- 11/21/2013
- by Mark Tapio Kines
- Indiewire
Mark Tapio Kines is the author of Screenwriting Fundamentals, an online course on Lynda.com. He has written and directed two features, and is the first filmmaker to ever use crowdfunding to finance his work. Mark can be reached at his production company's site, http://www.cassavafilms.com. It took me several years, two feature films, and a number of shorts before I truly came to a better understanding of how actors work. Like a lot of filmmakers, I have control freak tendencies, so I was convinced for a long time that my cast was just there to channel my ideas and characters. Once I finally accepted actors as genuine creative collaborators, it not only mellowed me as a director, it also improved my screenwriting. If you’ve ever been frustrated by the disconnect between what you put on the page and what an actor does with it, I hope...
- 10/28/2013
- by Mark Tapio Kines
- Indiewire
Mark Tapio Kines is the author of Screenwriting Fundamentals, an online course on Lynda.com. He has written and directed two features, and is the first filmmaker to ever use crowdfunding to finance his work. Mark can be reached at his production company's site, http://www.cassavafilms.com. In my Lynda course, I bring up the word “suspense” all the time. Yet it seems that most people still think of it only as a genre. If I say a film is suspenseful, you might assume that I’m talking about a thriller. But “suspense” isn’t a genre any more than “originality” or “unpredictability” are genres. It is, instead, a quality of good storytelling. All well-written dramatic narrative films – and this includes romantic comedies, family dramas, science fiction, you name it – are fundamentally suspenseful. I say this because this is how I define suspense: It’s the state of mind...
- 9/23/2013
- by Mark Tapio Kines
- Indiewire
If you haven't seen The Other Guys, this may actually be better. The closing credits, while related to the crime sub-plot of the movie, are completely separate from the film. They'll probably be up for some kind of award, if that exists.
Because the criminal in The Other Guys is bilking the public out if its money, director Adam McKay went to William Lebeda and Picture Mill to develop something really unique for the end of the movie. It's not funny, it doesn't look or feel like The Other Guys - more like I.O.U.S.A. - and it makes you think.
Lebeda was contacted by Moviefone, who said, "We did a little bit of research. To get specific numbers, we hired a copywriter, Mark Tapio Kines. He found all the numbers through different online sources."
"Sony had to vet everything to confirm we weren't making up facts,...
Because the criminal in The Other Guys is bilking the public out if its money, director Adam McKay went to William Lebeda and Picture Mill to develop something really unique for the end of the movie. It's not funny, it doesn't look or feel like The Other Guys - more like I.O.U.S.A. - and it makes you think.
Lebeda was contacted by Moviefone, who said, "We did a little bit of research. To get specific numbers, we hired a copywriter, Mark Tapio Kines. He found all the numbers through different online sources."
"Sony had to vet everything to confirm we weren't making up facts,...
- 8/12/2010
- by Colin Boyd
- GetTheBigPicture.net
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