Putting Out Your First Feature with James Insalaco

Putting Out Your First Feature with James Insalaco

On the show today I’m talking with James Insalaco, who made his first feature, a comedy entitled Will Reading [https://willreadingmovie.com/], on a shoestring budget over eighteen months. This is one of those DIY stories of a filmmaker putting together a self-funded project with available resources and friends as cast and crew. I think this is a great way to approach a first feature, recognizing that filmmaking is hard and it takes time to develop your voice and your skills. James discusses his festival experiences, his release on Amazon Prime, and his ultimate landing on YouTube. Most importantly, James took the experience gleaned from the release of his first movie to heart, and is carrying it into the making of his next feature. Which is what it’s all about, really. Saylaco Films [https://www.youtube.com/@saylacofilms] Will Reading [https://willreadingmovie.com/]

Distributing a Horror Anthology and More with Jason Ragosta

Today I’m talking with Jason Ragosta [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4054708], who’s been working on a variety of projects at both an independent and industry level for over two decades. Most recently Jason contributed a short to Sinphony: A Clubhouse Horror Anthology [https://www.amazon.com/Sinphony-Clubhouse-Anthology-Haley-Bishop/dp/B0B75JTSW2]. We touch on a lot of stuff here covering Jason’s rich and accomplished history, focused on his team’s experience promoting and distributing the horror anthology through film festivals and streaming platforms.  Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/jason.ragosta] Twitter [https://x.com/JasonRagosta] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/jasonragosta/]

Carrying Distribution Lessons from Feature to Feature, with Chris de Pretis

Today I’m talking to Chris de Pretis [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4148346/], an East Bay filmmaker who made his first feature, Death Blood 4 [https://www.amazon.com/Death-Blood-4-Tess-Pretis/dp/B08D5WYW1T], on a shoestring budget, and is on the cusp of releasing his second. Chris’ approach was to use production of his first feature as a learning experience, as opposed to a bigger budget production with equity financing or crowdfunding tying him down to larger concerns. I love this approach to filmmaking as a way to build towards a sustainable career, keeping the stakes low while pushing forward with the long game. Chris brings great enthusiasm and transparency to his story here, we talk some real numbers, and get into some nice details about his promotional efforts, including an honest assessment of mistakes made and lessons learned. This is just one of those great, wide-ranging filmmaker conversations that I love on this show. Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/chrisdepretis/]

Releasing “Wrath of Gods” with Jon Gustafsson

In this interview, Jon Gustafsson [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0349030/] tells the story of filming and releasing his documentary, Wrath of Gods [https://wrathofgods.com/]. The film follows Icelandic/Canadian director Sturla Gunnarsson [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0348274/] through the production of his ambitious historical adventure story, Beowulf & Grendel [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0402057/]. Plagued by tempestuous Icelandic weather and unpredictable financing, the production survives by the skin of its teeth. Hired as an extra on the film, Jon was in prime position to document the struggles of the cast and crew, and especially a stoic and stalwart Gunnarsson, in the face of challenge after challenge. Then, what began as a BTS supplement to Beowulf & Grendel, gained a life of its own as a documentary in its own right in the spirit of Burden of Dreams or Lost in La Mancha. Jon takes us through the journey of making and distributing the film, with insight into the filmmaking process on many levels. Wrath of Gods [https://wrathofgods.com/] Artio Films [https://artiofilms.com/] Iceland Gone Wild [https://icelandgonewild.com/] jongustafsson.com [https://jongustafsson.com/]

Self-Releasing Micro-Budget Horror with Richard Mansfield

UK-based filmmaker Richard Mansfield [https://imdb.com/name/nm3796926/] has been making micro-budget horror features for some two decades. After a few early experiences with more or less traditional distribution, Richard turned to self-distribution for the rest of his movies. He’s now up to 14 of them, and still going strong. Richard’s experience is a case study in ultra low budget filmmaking, with self-financed budgets at a level that present very little personal risk, and yet allow him to continue making these films indefinitely. Although this isn’t the way I’ve chosen to go about it with my narrative feature, I absolutely love and admire this way of making movies. Richard’s passion for what he does with these films shines through in this interview. YouTube - Mansfield Dark Horror [https://www.youtube.com/@MansfieldDark] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mansfielddark/] Tubi [https://tubitv.com/search/richard%20mansfield]