Greenlighting Yourself

Several years ago, after speaking to different groups, I figured out that a majority of the questions asked by filmmakers and beginning filmmakers had to do with getting started—greenlighting their own film themselves.

In this do-it-yourself society, I think this is great. It’s the path I’ve taken. When I was getting started, I knew that it would be easier to make the movie myself than to get a Hollywood studio to not only greenlight, but keep me at the helm. Just wasn’t going to happen. So Greenlight Yourself was born.

Since then, I have written/produced/directed four feature films with varying degrees of success (and I’ve written/directed a fifth that other producers hired me for). I’ve learned a ton of things—pitfalls to avoid, shortcuts, helpful hints and factors that can minimize risk while giving you the best chance to succeed.

I played around with the idea of doing a seminar after my second film way back when, but decided to wait. Now, I have a lot more info to share. I’ve done the first class back in December and had some people tell me they wanted to come but couldn’t make that particular Saturday. So I’m going to offer the class again, Saturday January 30, 9am in Fort Worth at Serendipitous Films. Cost will be the same-- $99 for the day, which includes a workbook containing samples of budgets, breakdowns, and business plans, plus much more.

Here’s what students said the first time around:

"Well organized, loved the workbook."
"I would absolutely recommend this seminar to any aspiring, first time filmmaker who's looking to kickstart their career."
"Excellent. Very informative and detailed."
“Loved the small size of the group, great to see other people’s models.”
“Dan gives a complete picture of filmmaking.”

To register, go to www.s-films.com/pov. We need a minimum of 8 for the class to make. If we don’t get that, you’ll get a full refund.

We’ll cover setting up the legal entities, fundraising, business plans, the script, the 6 phases of filmmaking, distribution and deliverables, plus a whole lot more.