“It’s October, and that means Halloween. And Halloween means horror films. One of the most innovative and spooky horror movies I’ve seen in a long, long time is indie flick Paranormal Activity. I’m a bit of a connoisseur of horror movies, and I caught the ultra-low budget PA when it was making the film festival rounds last year. I was immediately struck by the movie’s Blair Witch verite style and slow-creep pacing. It tells the story of a young couple’s descent into suburban terror by combining the best of “new,” meta film-making technique with the best of old-school horror craftsmanship. Seriously: Big ups to Paranormal Activity.

What I’m saying is I like this movie a lot. And I think you should see it. I was worried that when Paramount bought the rights to it, the plan was to re-make the movie with a “name” cast, throw in a bunch of CGI and a “Hollywood approved” backstory and release it, while ignoring the source material because it’s too “rough.”  But Paramount has instead decided to put out Paranormal Activity in its original DIY glory, but only if there’s enough demand. That’s where you come in…”

Read this article by G4TV.

The Ten Commandments of Filmmaking
How to Work (and Survive) in the
Film and Television Industry
by Peter D. Marshall

Read this article from John Reis.

“So you’ve authored your DVD and perhaps even replicated it. You’ve found a fulfillment company that you are happy with. Now, how to get people to buy it?

In the last installment of this series, which appeared in the Winter 2009 issue of Filmmaker, I outlined how to maximize your DVD release strategy and before that in the Fall 2008 issue I discussed ways in which filmmakers can get their movies distributed through DIY self-distribution methods and hybrid strategies, all of which are based on my own experience self-distributing my graffiti doc, Bomb It.

For filmmakers who are extending this DIY thinking to DVD retail by selling their own discs through a Web site or online store, this article will explore some of the ways you can cost-effectively publicize these releases, draw in potential customers and create revenue for your film.”