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SCREEN on INSTAGRAM

Screen is a small horror flick I made a few years back.

I never had a burning passion to make it, I just wanted to make something to learn to make films. I started off with an industry budget for my first film, then quickly realised I should have took the Rodriguez route of making films for nothing to learn my craft first.

I left filmmaking for a few years, and restarted with this diy approach. I restarted with a film called Mission X, then this horror film SCREEN. I wrote, produced, directed it. Most of it was made without a crew in Oklahoma. I had a camera and a sound device. Most of it was shot like a little road movie with the two actresses in a Firebird. 

I stayed with a couple of filmmaker friends, Oklahoma Ward & Nicole Alonso from CRAWL OR DIE I also appeared in their film as “Sniper” Nicole also stars in SCREEN & CRAWL OR DIE. 

I lived with them for three months. They kindly provided the infrastructure, and helped me find locations. I could never have shot the film for around $5000 without their help. Another $3000 helped me get based there for three months. Via crowdfunding. 

Once I was making the film, and got back to the UK, I realised it was not really me. I’m more into character driven stories. However, I made it, so I wanted to finish it. I edited it over a few months and released it online. It was not a waist of my time or money, because all these small films I make are my apprenticeship.

I learned how to shoot the film myself, edit, and it got me out of my comfort zone at the time. It wasn’t easy to go from Scotland to Oklahoma and pull a no budget film together. 

These experiences stay with you, make you tougher. Any time I think a scene is tough, I think back to scenes in Screen, or in tough shoots in Vegas, LA, or gun battle scenes in Glasgow here. Nothing seems impossible after each experience where you have a lot of problems to solve. 

The reality is, it does not really matter if I’m making a genre film or an art film. All these technical, logistically, and problem solving challenges are invaluable experiences. Whatever type of film or budget level you want to make. 

We can all make films for no budgets today, but films also cost a LOT if you are trying to sell them to sales agents. Many other costs come in.  A conventional release was not really my goal with SCREEN. 

In fact, I have never wanted a conventional release for ANY of my films yet. The budgets are all too small, and they were made to experiment. Not to be classed as proper professional products for big releases.

However, I have had about 15 offers from sales agents to sell SCREEN around the world. I did not have the money or will to deliver it to them. Again, it was not my dream film, even though I’m proud of what I done for no money.

I also loved what my two female leads brought to the film. So I have more affection for this little flick, than I did my first £300,000 film. Despite it’s many flaws. However, once I’m done with a film, It’s really yesterdays news to me. But I know you still have to exploit past work where you can.

I would never have seen a penny from Screen if I took a deal. I’m not naive, I know how this biz works. I didn’t care about that, but all the sales agents wanted to own the global rights. 

They wanted me to sign away rights for remakes, sequels. You name it. That’s why I also held on to it. Holding the rights can be the real value for the future. Especially in a film that has a fairly original pitch to it.  

This year, I’m off to the AFM film market. To pitch some offer bigger budget projects. The industry film I made in the past got funded from markets like AFM. But for the last few years, I have just practised with DIY. I wasn’t ready, and did not have the right scripts until now. 

My point is. It’s little films like SCREEN that really help now. They’re part of your portfolio to get other films made, and potential remake deals can be done. Although it’s unlikely I would be interested in remaking it. But films like this are my CV. They can get you in the door to pitch to stars and funders. 

I have also enjoyed the freedom to experiment with VOD releases when I like. With this and other DIY films. I would not have had this same freedom if I had sales agents on board. Or had to satisfy investors. 

So making films for fun, learning your craft, or even just learning how to shoot, is all part of the long term apprenticeship. In a way, the pressure to make money right away can be a killer in many ways. This is a game of passion and patience. I would rather make good films in the last few years of my life, than a lifetime of shit. 

I wouldn’t make any more DIY films to try and make a living. I could make more money selling cowshit or dildos on a website! I personally could not make a living this way with diy films. Some filmmakers will do it, I won’t! It can take years to make money from a single DIY film. I don’t have the interest or stamina for that. 

I do have budget projects that have some interest, and potential freelance gigs as a director. That is where I try and make my living now. And a sponsored story telling content biz I’m working on at the moment. 

I’ll still do small diy films too, but they will either be funded by my own paid work, sponsors, or other future routes like crowdfunding. These would be the type of personal films that would have no target market. Purely made because I want to make them, or experiment.

This is why I can also chop a film up like SCREEN into 60 second parts for an INSTAGRAM RELEASE. I would not be able to do this if I had spent a lot of money on the film, and had to make investors money back. 

This freedom has it’s upsides. I can play around to see what works and what doesn’t. 

SCREEN is also available via Vimeo On Demand. And is being released daily via my Instagram account 

Thanks for reading!

David 

https://twitter.com/DavidWilde49

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Andy at work!

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Everywhere I see.......

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CHANGES!

Changing and evolving with the times never scares me. In fact, I always embrace it. The filmmaking world changes, fine, evolve with it, or die. If you try to fight the tide of change, it will swallow you up.  

Were here for a short visit on this planet, so although I take my what I do very seriously, I don’t take “myself” serious. I’m not that precious about anything. I create, I move, and hopefully I can make a living from this too in the near future. Even if a humble living. I had to make another change last week...My name! 

I started off in acting, but I mainly drifted to filmmaking over the last few years. Although filmmaking will always be my thing, I’m taking acting a lot more serious now. I wasn’t even ready for it in the past, or that interested, but I am now. For many reasons. Which I will do video diaries about as I move with it. Share my experiences with it.  

I have been getting interest from agents, TV-Film casting directors, so I eventually think that’s where I can making a living. Many of my past filmmaking heroes earned from their acting, while using this to help fund the films they wanted to make. It’s nothing new. Juggling! Play ball more with the acting to earn the cash, so you can do what the fuck you please online with the filmmaking. 

After my first feature film that I made and acted in, the producers gave me paid contracts. And I got a few other paid gigs. I never even listed most of them. So I could have joined equity. (Actors Union) And Spotlight (Top UK Casting platform) But I never continued with acting, so I never joined them. Although I acted in some of my small films, I only really did it because I could rely on myself turning up. Acting was not at the top of my list. I did it for fun.

To cut a long story short, if I want to get taken seriously as an actor, I knew I would have to make changes. Most of the UK industry casting for films and TV are done via “Spotlight Casting” But even for US casting, there’s already a few David Bakers out there. This is why lots of actors have changed their name over the years. 

I would have made this change years ago if I was ready for acting back then, but I wasn’t, so I never bothered. Now If I was delusional, I would be very precious about keeping my surname. Especially in this new web age. “Ohh, my name has been out there for years, I’m known!..I’m a big noise!” Ha! Yeah right! I’m not!! I’m a grain of sand on a beach! 

I have about 100 people that follow what I do, and visa versa. They’re all great. Friends, supporters, potential collaborators.  (11,000 twitter followers do not equate REAL followers) Outside that, I’m invisible to most of the public and certainly to the industry. That’s why I’m making Crime Lord. Building my own series online over years. That’s how to get an audience. Grow over years by making stuff! 

If I had a million youtube subscribers, that’s different. I keep my name. I might have numbers like that one day, but that would only happen after like 50 Episodes of Crime Lord over the next five years. Or if I make a name for myself in the acting world too. Reality is, my name is already unknown to most of the planet, so I made the change this week. 

Damm, it’s tough coming up with a new surname. Because no matter what you pick, it feels weird. Ohh, I’ll go with Marvin, after Lee Marvin! I don’t think so! I’ll do what Michael Caine did, and take his surname from “The Caine Mutiny” film. Ok I like “Taxi Driver” David Driver! Ehh, no! 

Ok, I’ll pick a movie sounding name! Until you think about it, most actors don’t really have names that sound like movies stars. Daniel Craig, Tom Hanks. Just sound like regular blokes!....David Tarantino!...Ehhhh, no! 

I finally broke it down to 50 names, then 25, then typed them into Spotlight casting to see if they were already taken. Most were. 5 names on the list were not taken. I stabbed a pen down on the last five with my eyes shut. I picked that one!....David Wilde!....I emailed them the name within the hour. Done!

I’m still David Baker in my life, but for the acting, filmmaking, it changes over the next few days. Hey, who gives a fuck! Didn’t mean this post to be so long, but for all the people that know me, support me, just want you folks to know when you see the changes over the next few days. I have not flipped! I’m just trying to make a few bucks with the acting now, so I can potentially self fund my own filmmaking work too. 

It’s not just the potential earning motivation. I like to work a lot, so the thought of working on many projects as an actor, working with other people, and being able to walk away from them after a few days, weeks, is very attractive too.  I don’t want to be just to totally self absorbed with my own work. I can’t grow that way. However, nothing changes with Crime Lord. That’s my online build. 

Thanks for reading. Back to short posts after this. 

PS. Hustling as always! Just made and sent out Crime Lord posters with my David Baker name all over them. They were Limited Editions. (100) of them. Now these really are limited unique editons, because my real name will never be on any acting or filmmaking material ever again! I have 50 left with my old name. 

If you want a VERY limited edition poster, go get one now!  https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/crime-lord-series-funding#/story