2009 September | CounterCulture Independent Filmmakers' Resource

Posted on: September 30th, 2009

Scary Halloween makeup techniques! Learn about using horror movie makeup for Halloween special effects in this free video instruction.

John Mays is a professional special effect makeup artist. He began working in the haunted house industry in Central Texas, which led to the world of independent films. With his resume continually growing and creating inventive ways to create the illusion of makeup disasters for film, Mays has developed his own style and ability, making him one of the most in demand makeup artist for independent films in the state of Texas.

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EHow

Posted on: September 30th, 2009 How to Make a Horror Movie With Low Budget Special Effects

When making horror movies on a low budget, remember to make the fake blood darker than one might think. Find out how to make cheap special effects for horror movies with filmmaking tips from a director and filmmaker in this free video on making movies.

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EHow

Posted on: September 30th, 2009 Top 10 Independent Horror Movies for Halloween

Horror movies have always fascinated me. Norman Bates running across the staircase with a knife. Jack Nicholson screaming “Here’s Johnny!” through a hole he axed through the bathroom door. Reagan’s head turning around 360 degrees after she vomited on the priest. Damien’s maid hanging herself at his birthday party. These are the pivotal moments of my childhood, the films and scenes that developed my interest in the horror film, and that eventually led me to pursue a career in writing and film.

While none of these was an independent horror film, I have developed a deep appreciation over the years for slashfests made outside of Hollywood, for small, unknown studios, by people with more energy and ideas than money and equipment—movies by and for movie lovers that don’t conform to the Hollywood blockbuster formula. In the horror genre especially, indie directors tend to make films that are too extreme or controversial for the general public to handle, films that mix humor and pathos, and don’t trade on celebrity.

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Independent Magazine

Posted on: September 30th, 2009 How to Make a Horror Film

When making a horror movie, get a uniquely frightening script, hire a creative crew and good actors, create a truly scary villain and then shoot the script. Put together a horror movie in editing that creates tension with advice from a filmmaker in this free video on making horror movies.

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Expert Village

Posted on: September 30th, 2009 Doug Jones’ List of Lesser Known but Still Terrifying Halloween Flicks

It’s October, and that means that lists are popping up all over withmovies to get you in the Halloween spirit. I’m going to leave it tothose other lists to point you towards the classics—the Halloweens, the Evil Deads, the The Hauntings and Old Dark Houses. Instead here are 13 lesser-known films that can be found lurking in the shadows, just waiting to be discovered.

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< a href=”http://www.filmindependent.org/filmmaker-blogs/474″>Film Independent

Curse of the Werewolf — Directed by Terence Fisher. England, 1961

England’s Hammer Studios produced countless vampire and Frankensteinfilms, but this marks their only foray into lycanthropy. Oliver Reedstars as Leon, a young man cursed from birth to transform under thesilvery light of the full moon or whenever he gives into his baserinstincts. (And this being a Hammer film, there are plenty of ampleyoung women in peasant blouses to tempt him.) Curse of the Werewolfis, like many other Hammer films, a slow burn, but once it gets goingand Reed starts sweating and gnashing his teeth, stand back.

Posted on: September 30th, 2009 Keep the script bank full: Watch out for the No-Man’s Land!

Every filmmaker considers all his own films as supremely important but the first one is extra special. It is even beyond the preciousness that a first salary or the first child or the first kiss etc commands because unlike all of the above which we think off only after a certain stage and that too on and off, the first film is something that a filmmaker thinks off from the moment he realizes that he is a filmmaker. In fact I am not sure whether it is the film maker who thinks of the first film or the thought of the first film makes an individual – a filmmaker.

As such a large amount of time is spent between the filmmaker’s first film idea and the filmmaker. Long hours of dreaming and criticizing and agonizing pass before the filmmaker himself accepts the idea fully. It is a time when along with the freshness of mind there is abundant unexplored energy and passion which is eager to convince the world about the strength of the script.

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Filmmaking.net

Posted on: September 30th, 2009 Halloween Music Video Contest $500

Halloween Video Contest $500
30-Sep-2009 to 31-Oct-2009
Other : Albany NY, Global
Halloween Music Video Contest
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Cash prize for best YouTUBE music video.
Vampire Kiss will post the winning video on their site and give $500 to the creator of the best video for their song “Spooky House.” Song download, and more details, can be found at www.myvampirekiss.com Contest deadline is Oct 31, 2009.

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Filmmaking.net

Posted on: September 30th, 2009 Using the Halloween Season to Your Filmmaking Advantage

So the Halloween season is upon us, and the superstores have opened their doors. This is perhaps my favorite holiday of the year, because I love gore, scariness, and of course candy, but it is also the time that I stock up on the prosthetics and fog juice that I use for my random movies throughout the year ahead. It is the one time of the year that makes it a breeze for horror and action movie film making aficionados to get the stuff they need to make some cool on set special effects.

We are going to look at just a few different items that you can grab while the stores are in town that you might be able to just stock up for, just in case you need it. Yeah, you can look online and order this stuff off the internet, but its always easier to have it on hand when you need it right? Not everyone has a buddy that is a special effects makeup artist, and a lot of us don’t have the money to hire one, especially on little to no budget productions. Having these items in your toolbox will be a nice, handy little addition, and could potentially save your ass down the road.

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Inside the Hive

Posted on: September 29th, 2009 Money Issues: Funding an Independent Film

Long before filmmakers begin production, they face the daunting task of scraping together enough money to get their film off the ground. Choosing the right method of funding relies on many factors, including the type and subject of the film and the experience behind the cast and crew involved in the project.

Funding can come in many forms fromnational grants to family and friends. The Independent takes a look at three filmmakers and how they got the funding they needed to get their films off the page and on the screen.

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The Independent

Posted on: September 26th, 2009 About – Media Lab – IFC.com

Media Lab Studios, an independent film studio focusing on web and on-air content development and financing, is offering development deals to the brightest and best filmmakers out there.

Media Lab Studios development executives will periodically call for pitches — in the form of either video submissions and/or written descriptions — in any number of genres, topics, and themes. The mission is to identify and finance great content by great new filmmakers, such as yourself.

Media Lab Studios also offers a multi-platform distribution network, leveraging the IFC channel, IFC.com, Media Lab, IFC Free (On Demand) and a host of TV network and web affiliates.

via About – Media Lab – IFC.com.

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