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Irish filmmaker and now a fastlane student

Bert B

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Hello everyone,
My name is Bertie, and I am an Irish filmmaker, and I have been entirely inspired by MJ's youtube channels and immediately ordered a hardcopy of UNSCRIPTED and while I am waiting, I am listening to THE MILLIONAIRE FASTLANE on audible.
I have slogged it out in the film industry for quite some time, and soon I am creating my label or production company to finance my next crop of films. But, my wealth goals I believe will come from my education ideas, such as books and an online indie film school. I have already written a small filmmakers ebook but took it off the market as I felt it was too small and I didn't feel comfortable.
Now, I am a student of Fastlane and wanting to take my ideas and create them with the principles of Fastlane in mind. So, if there is anyone on here with some experience who can offer any words of wisdom, I would be most grateful.
Thanking you,
Bertie
 
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loop101

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Making films that you can license out is a good fastlane business, why not just do that?
 

Xolorr

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Hey Bert!

I'm a passionate filmmaker myself, although by no means a professional.
I think that education is HUGE in this niche, especially with the current trend of "Content Creators".
(Just search Sam Kolder on YouTube)

I was in a webinar the other day by Parker Walbeck for his "Fulltime Filmmaker" course. His sales funnel is INCREDIBLE, and he sells the course for around $1500. Something similar would do really well, sharing your INSIDERS knowledge in the film industry. The thing is I think you have to put out a bunch of free content to get known, especially in the YouTube community, as this consists of a lot of amateur filmmakers who can put together "flashy" edits, and not much else.
 

Solrac

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The thing is I think you have to put out a bunch of free content to get known, especially in the YouTube community, as this consists of a lot of amateur filmmakers who can put together "flashy" edits, and not much else.
Ugh, my problem. I love learning new editing tricks. I think a base layer education of modern film (I think of youtubers as the modern filmmakers) might be a good course to try and sell. I had to teach myself everything (as most do) and it was a bit confusing. Not knowing what to teach yourself first can be a debbie downer, so I bet there is a solution that could be had there in just making that whole process easier.
 
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Bert B

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Making films that you can license out is a good fastlane business, why not just do that?
Yes, it is, and I have been making a minimal amount of passive income from my micro-budget films. Not enough to live on in the slightest. To truly make a living off royalties and licensing, you need massive budgets first to create high-quality commercial films and TV Shows which is a complicated thing to achieve with such an oversaturation in the marketplace of budding writers, filmmakers, and studios churning out films, etc at a considerable rate.
I have big ideas and potentially huge projects that I have been developing for quite awhile... maybe I can use the Fastlane principles solely for those projects?
Do you think it's a good idea to have the backup business like I have mentioned already also to finance the foundations of living, etc.?
 

Bert B

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Hey Bert!

I'm a passionate filmmaker myself, although by no means a professional.
I think that education is HUGE in this niche, especially with the current trend of "Content Creators".
(Just search Sam Kolder on YouTube)

I was in a webinar the other day by Parker Walbeck for his "Fulltime Filmmaker" course. His sales funnel is INCREDIBLE, and he sells the course for around $1500. Something similar would do really well, sharing your INSIDERS knowledge in the film industry. The thing is I think you have to put out a bunch of free content to get known, especially in the YouTube community, as this consists of a lot of amateur filmmakers who can put together "flashy" edits, and not much else.

Hey, thanks so much for the advice. I will certainly look into the course. Sounds right up my street. 1,500 dollars is a lot of money but maybe the course is worth it compared to film school.
My hook for my online school would be to 'Film Producers & Directors' who want to get a portfolio together for very limited cash.
 

Bert B

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Jun 10, 2018
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Ugh, my problem. I love learning new editing tricks. I think a base layer education of modern film (I think of youtubers as the modern filmmakers) might be a good course to try and sell. I had to teach myself everything (as most do) and it was a bit confusing. Not knowing what to teach yourself first can be a debbie downer, so I bet there is a solution that could be had there in just making that whole process easier.

Hey, thanks for your comments. My niche would be for 'Film Producers & Directors' with little technical experience but who feel they have an entrepreneurial flair... people tend to get lost in the maze of technology and forget that someone needs to lead and manage the film production... to be the creative voice and have the overall vision. The 'Jack of all Trades' is excellent for videography or if you are Robert Rodriguez :) but for budding Directors and Producers, they have to let technicians achieve the vision that is stated to them by the leaders of the film and step in with the decision making, etc, etc.
 
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MJ DeMarco

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Welcome Bert! Great to have you! Hope you enjoy the books and find them integral to your future plans!
 

loop101

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Yes, it is, and I have been making a minimal amount of passive income from my micro-budget films. Not enough to live on in the slightest. To truly make a living off royalties and licensing, you need massive budgets first to create high-quality commercial films and TV Shows which is a complicated thing to achieve with such an oversaturation in the marketplace of budding writers, filmmakers, and studios churning out films, etc at a considerable rate.
I have big ideas and potentially huge projects that I have been developing for quite awhile... maybe I can use the Fastlane principles solely for those projects?
Do you think it's a good idea to have the backup business like I have mentioned already also to finance the foundations of living, etc.?

First, if you've ever made a movie, you know a million more times about film making than me, but here are my thoughts. I would question whether you really need a "massive budget", and even whether it really has to be "high-quality", in order to make non-trivial royalties. I took a college class in financing indie films, and getting your initial budget consisted of making a prospectus and making pitches to potential financiers. The deal was, the people who put money in first, got a higher potential return on their investment, and the people who took their money out last, got a higher potential return on their investment. Regardless, once the movie paid everyone back (if ever), then the producer got the royalties from then on. You can also legitimately sell screen credits up to "Executive Producer". If you don't know any financiers, as Robert Rodriguez said in "Rebel Without a Crew", "Dentists".

I think filmmaking is a fantastic business to be in. You are taking not only your creative content, but the creative output of your cast and crew, encoding it in to a medium that is easily mass produced and monetized, and you own it forever. You should definitely learn the "fastlane" fundamentals, and pursue all your projects in a way that is closely aligned with them.

(N)eed = People need information, and want to be entertained. Film/video is perfect for this.
(E)ntry = Not many people can make a real film, they lack skill, equipment, and budget.
(C)ontrol = You own it. You give up some early profits to reward investors, but you own it.
(S)cale = It's easy to make copies, the audience is the planet.
(T)ime = Once it is made, it works for you forever.

Avoid making films that violate these rules, like giving up Control to an investor. Or making a film that people would shun.
 

Bert B

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First, if you've ever made a movie, you know a million more times about filmmaking than me, but here are my thoughts. I would question whether you need a "massive budget", and even whether it has to be "high-quality", to make non-trivial royalties. I took a college class in financing indie films, and getting your initial budget consisted of making a prospectus and making pitches to potential financiers. The deal was, the people who put money in first, got a higher potential return on their investment, and the people who took their money out last, got a higher potential return on their investment. Regardless, once the movie paid everyone back (if ever), then the producer got the royalties from then on. You can also legitimately sell screen credits up to "Executive Producer". If you don't know any financiers, as Robert Rodriguez said in "Rebel Without a Crew", "Dentists".

I think filmmaking is a fantastic business to be in. You are taking not only your creative content, but the creative output of your cast and crew, encoding it into a medium that is easily mass produced and monetized, and you own it forever. You should definitely learn the "fastlane" fundamentals, and pursue all your projects in a way that is closely aligned with them.

(N)eed = People need information, and want to be entertained. Film/video is perfect for this.
(E)ntry = Not many people can make a real film, they lack skill, equipment, and budget.
(C)ontrol = You own it. You give up some early profits to reward investors, but you own it.
(S)cale = It's easy to make copies, the audience is the planet.
(T)ime = Once it is made, it works for you forever.

Avoid making films that violate these rules, like giving up Control to an investor. Or making a film that people would shun.

I hear everything you are saying, and I have been there and done it with small indie short and feature films. I will continue with my pursuit of storytelling through film and tv, but it will have to be at a larger scale than before. I am focused on education right now in adequately financing films through governments, broadcasters, and other arts-driven authorities. I have been successful in obtaining small grants so far; I am aiming for larger ones.

My point in creating an education platform based on what I have achieved is down to some factors. I enjoy imparting my views about making high-quality indie film to others; it will be very cheap to do so, once built I have full ownership, it can be quickly distributed once right system is in place, it can be scaled indefinitely because more and more budding filmmakers are coming through. Plus, the education can be updated and expanded upon year after year. I feel I need to continue with this project plus the one major transmedia film project that I am working on also.

Thanks so much for your advice.
 

Bert B

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Jun 10, 2018
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Hey Bert!

I'm a passionate filmmaker myself, although by no means a professional.
I think that education is HUGE in this niche, especially with the current trend of "Content Creators".
(Just search Sam Kolder on YouTube)

I was in a webinar the other day by Parker Walbeck for his "Fulltime Filmmaker" course. His sales funnel is INCREDIBLE, and he sells the course for around $1500. Something similar would do really well, sharing your INSIDERS knowledge in the film industry. The thing is I think you have to put out a bunch of free content to get known, especially in the YouTube community, as this consists of a lot of amateur filmmakers who can put together "flashy" edits, and not much else.

Hey, I checked out the "fulltime filmmaker" and right off the bat, this guy although very cool, obviously successful and talented - he represents everything I feel is being lost on real filmmakers as artists. Maybe I am just an idealist here, but his main focus is "Brands", "Millions of Views", "Technology" so what filmmaking has become is another corporate tool for the sheep. MJ has talked about this in-depth in his first book about how we follow along with the herd. I know excellent technicians in filmmaking who do nothing but corporate work now and have forgotten about their roots. It's unfortunate to see it... yes, the money is fantastic, but I believe you can make a ton of money and hold your artistic ideals if you focused on creating film after film without getting sucked into the corporate machine of advertising. It's regrettable to see. My education would be a lot different and would focus on the creation of actual "Film" projects in digital. Not branding videos. That's where we differ. But, right now, all I have is an ebook. And, I need to focus on what I can offer really. The closest thing I would say is like the "Masterclasses" with the different directors except I would use my films and analyse each one and show exactly how we achieved each project.
 

Caroleen M

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Making films that you can license out is a good fastlane business, why not just do that?
If I may, I have just joined and am also a filmmaker. For me, it is a matter of creating more than one revenue channel and also being cognizant of the fact that films take large outputs of money to be created. There's also the fact that a film has a shelf life. Meaning, nowadays, your film his more than likely old news after a couple years. Moreover, online pirating tends to put a dent in our revenue. I even spoke to the executive at my distro company and he let me know that there's little they can do because the technology isn't advanced enough to "kill" pirating activities on torrent sites. So... in my case, if I could develop a business that is immune to pirating and yet delivers consistent cash flow regardless of the time of year and can turn into a "productocracy", then you know you have your safety net!
 

Fox

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Hey Bert!

I'm a passionate filmmaker myself, although by no means a professional.
I think that education is HUGE in this niche, especially with the current trend of "Content Creators".
(Just search Sam Kolder on YouTube)

I was in a webinar the other day by Parker Walbeck for his "Fulltime Filmmaker" course. His sales funnel is INCREDIBLE, and he sells the course for around $1500. Something similar would do really well, sharing your INSIDERS knowledge in the film industry. The thing is I think you have to put out a bunch of free content to get known, especially in the YouTube community, as this consists of a lot of amateur filmmakers who can put together "flashy" edits, and not much else.

His course is currently at $799 and his FB group (Full Time Filmmaker Members) says 351 members in the last 30 days.

The maths on that works out at $280,000 in a month.

Fastlane for sure.
 

Caroleen M

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Hey, I checked out the "fulltime filmmaker" and right off the bat, this guy although very cool, obviously successful and talented - he represents everything I feel is being lost on real filmmakers as artists. Maybe I am just an idealist here, but his main focus is "Brands", "Millions of Views", "Technology" so what filmmaking has become is another corporate tool for the sheep. MJ has talked about this in-depth in his first book about how we follow along with the herd. I know excellent technicians in filmmaking who do nothing but corporate work now and have forgotten about their roots. It's unfortunate to see it... yes, the money is fantastic, but I believe you can make a ton of money and hold your artistic ideals if you focused on creating film after film without getting sucked into the corporate machine of advertising. It's regrettable to see. My education would be a lot different and would focus on the creation of actual "Film" projects in digital. Not branding videos. That's where we differ. But, right now, all I have is an ebook. And, I need to focus on what I can offer really. The closest thing I would say is like the "Masterclasses" with the different directors except I would use my films and analyse each one and show exactly how we achieved each project.

Thanks for that great observation, Bert.

What you have described is exactly what I do: staying true to myself and my artistic endeavours.

I tell you, it is not always easy to do so with the pull of successful YouTubers making a racket on the platform whilst growing huge followings. But whilst enticing, I always keep in mind that a) short form videos can only communicate so much–not much story there, just a bunch of flashy editing for the most part, b) you are still a slave to your channel and audience with "the beast" needing to be fed every few days to keep growing, c) in terms of legacy, one clip alone isn't enough to create a long-lasting legacy... unless it goes viral but those are rare. The beauty of filmmaking is that one good film and you have something that will outlast you for as long as the internet exists!

I'm in the process of producing my second feature docu now... and betting on myself (ie put in thousands upon thousands of my F@#k You money into them) so that it too can become a success and that after that point, producing more work will be easier in terms of cash flow and freedom. Back to editing! ;)
 
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Xolorr

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His course is currently at $799 and his FB group (Full Time Filmmaker Members) says 351 members in the last 30 days.

The maths on that works out at $280,000 in a month.

Fastlane for sure.

Yeah, sorry I got the price wrong.

FB group was created 2 years ago, and has 3651 members currently. That's $2,9 Million in two years, with very little cost involved.

I'd be interested to know if you watched any of his stuff @Fox ? And if so, what did you think? I think his content quality and his marketing is amazing.
 

Fox

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Yeah, sorry I got the price wrong.

FB group was created 2 years ago, and has 3651 members currently. That's $2,9 Million in two years, with very little cost involved.

I'd be interested to know if you watched any of his stuff @Fox ? And if so, what did you think? I think his content quality and his marketing is amazing.

Ya a few. His funnel seems very well put together and he definitely sells it well.

What is quite surprising is how few videos he has...

Parker Walbeck

55 is not a lot. Very impressive set up.
 

Bert B

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Thanks for that great observation, Bert.

What you have described is exactly what I do: staying true to myself and my artistic endeavours.

I tell you, it is not always easy to do so with the pull of successful YouTubers making a racket on the platform whilst growing huge followings. But whilst enticing, I always keep in mind that a) short form videos can only communicate so much–not much story there, just a bunch of flashy editing for the most part, b) you are still a slave to your channel and audience with "the beast" needing to be fed every few days to keep growing, c) in terms of legacy, one clip alone isn't enough to create a long-lasting legacy... unless it goes viral but those are rare. The beauty of filmmaking is that one good film and you have something that will outlast you for as long as the internet exists!

I'm in the process of producing my second feature docu now... and betting on myself (ie put in thousands upon thousands of my F@#k You money into them) so that it too can become a success and that after that point, producing more work will be easier in terms of cash flow and freedom. Back to editing! ;)

Send me your details so I can see some of your work! :) Social Media?
 
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Bert B

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Yeah, sorry I got the price wrong.

FB group was created 2 years ago, and has 3651 members currently. That's $2,9 Million in two years, with very little cost involved.

I'd be interested to know if you watched any of his stuff @Fox ? And if so, what did you think? I think his content quality and his marketing is amazing.

Very impressive numbers and yes it's fastlane!
 

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