Ask the Genius: John Estrada

See this movie.

After a bit of a layoff, I'm proud to announce the return of "Ask the Genius." The idea of ATG is to ask people in the know about stuff they know.  Today's edition is with John Estrada.  John shares his thoughts on producing his first feature film, the
sci-fi thriller GB2525.

For more information about buying the movie, check out the website www.gb2525.com or email gb2525@earthlink.net.  A copy of the trailer is at the end of the post.


DID YOU ATTEMPT TO TAKE IT TO STUDIOS OR WERE YOU ALWAYS PLANNING ON MAKING THIS YOURSELF?
Initially this film was part of a slate of projects I pitched to several studios/financiers/production companies with the “hook” being these films would target the growing Hispanic movie going audience.  It was a "pass" from all whom we approached, primarily because we were unproven filmmakers with no track record of commercial success and none of our film projects had any recognizable cast attachments (e.g., Olmos, Smits, Leguizamo).  Finally, after getting a pass from Roger Corman’s company, we decided to stop searching and make it ourselves.


HOW DID YOU SECURE FINANCING FOR THE PROJECT?
We decided to self-finance this film. Financing was jumpstarted by one of the creative players, the film's co-director.  An actor already committed to star in the movie also offered to invest some money too and later earned a co-producer credit by taking on some additional duties.  In the end, all three creative players responsible for making this film each contributed money to fund the making of this film.


HOW LONG DID EACH PHASES OF THE PROCESS TAKE?
Script development took about one year from the first time I heard the idea, to shaping a storyline and to creating characters that we really liked.  Once we decided we were going to make this film ourselves, casting took about two months.  Staffing fell into a similar time frame, though it was much more difficult getting reliable crew since we had no money to pay them.  Shooting the film took about two years, spread out over many weekends (since all of us had full-time jobs).


WHAT WAS ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES OF MAKING AN INDIE MOVIE?
One of the biggest challenges was the scheduling and organizing of the production schedule.  In combination with that was securing locations that provided production value at an inexpensive rate.  Both situations worked hand in hand because not having a location to shoot meant our schedule would be extended by one to three weeks.  This in turn affected availability of actors and crew, but this came as no surprise.


WHAT WERE YOUR BIGGEST TAKE AWAYS FROM MAKING THE MOVIE?
There were two major take aways:

1. Have a clear understanding of who the market/audience is for the film.  
2. Create and maintain a shared vision by the key creative players of what the film is and what it can be. 

TALK ABOUT YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY. 
We are currently targeting the “friends and family” network to drive sales.  Simultaneously, we are utilizing the power of social networking to create fans of the film, and drive visits to the website.  Our core audience is Hispanics, so we are compiling websites and portals where we can generate buzz, including focusing our efforts in California, Arizona and Texas, where the biggest demographics reside. Since we are a sci-fi film as well, we are researching sites and venues that can play a role in building awareness.  The objective is to keep things simple, build awareness, and drive sales.


WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP FOR THE MOVIE?
As of today, we are fully exploiting our film via DIY Distribution utilizing Create Space via Amazon.com – both DVD and VOD.  We have just completed our website that features our newest trailer and has direct links to both options for folks who want to purchase our film (via DVD or VOD).


ANY FINAL THOUGHTS?
Working with the people I did in making GB2525 was one of the greatest experiences in my life.  I believe we made the best film to our capabilities, considering the severe lack of resources and money. All of the lessons I learned while making this picture, great and small, were incredibly valuable to me, and serve as a personal archive for me to review for future projects.  Creativity, vision, passion, persistence, and salesmanship are the required fundamentals for independent filmmakers.