Here are my thoughts on this subject , Enjoy :)
Yes we made that movie on almost no money other then what we raised in ground funding and roughly $500 dollars of my own money, so because we had no money for things so therefore my film doesn't count as an "indie film" ? How dumb does that sound ?
I got a cast together we worked countless hours over the spring and early summer of 2015 to film the movie and because we had no budget it doesn't count as an indie film ? what do you call it then ? Where would I go in the store to find it ? The last time I checked there wasn't a section at Wal-Mart for no budget films, is there ?
My movie is on sale at Bull Moose Music Stores across Maine in the horror section of the store NOT the No Budget movie section, so can ANYONE tell me how it's not an "indie film" ?
I didn't and still don't have major studio like Fox, Universal, Dimension etc behind me giving me tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to make a movie (I wish) hell I created Wicked Carnival Productions just so we would have a "Production company" behind us .
I fully 100 % admit that the Sins of Man trilogy is a "passion project" because I believe in it and it's MY passion that drives the project forward but I rely on my cast members to carry some of that passion along with me, if you aren't passionate about the movie you're working on then why are you working on it ? footage for your reel ? IMDB Credit ? to jump start your acting career ? I'm okay with you being on a project for those reasons hell I started making movies for the passion of making movies and creating things and because I want to leave something here for my kids :) Money has NEVER been my biggest motivator am I naive to have that attitude ? Maybe maybe not .. Who knows for sure ... Money will come when we make a name for ourselves in the film world, right ? Right now I'm building a brand with Wicked Carnival Productions and a franchise with Sins of Man .
I started Wicked Carnival Productions from the ground up and I'm building it brick by brick and I'm not afraid of hard work not at all . I do all the promotional work here in the office I'm on social media all day and night working to get the WCP brand out there .
When I decided to make Sins of Man : Rise of Mortis I had no friends in the industry to help me figure things out I gained a few friends early on after I started promoting Wicked Carnival Productions and Rise of Mortis . I didn't know how to go about seeking Investors the only clue I was given was to "try crowdfunding" So I did .. I failed 4 times to create a successful campaign .
This is apparently around the time I was supposed to throw in the towel and quit well I have never quit at anything and I'm sure as hell not gonna start now so I pushed on with the little amount we raised from the campaigns and what I could gather of my own money and worked my ass off to get the movie shot and dealt with chaos, having no clue how to direct actors I learned that quickly and we were off to the races .. on Halloween 2015 Wicked Carnival Productions released Sins of Maine Rise of Mortis on DVD .
I have heard from so many indie film actors that I have something very important going for me and that's that I FINISH projects and release them and that's something that folks making "Indie films" with money to spend fail to do on a frequent basis which makes me step back and say to myself "these people have money and can't finish a movie but I had next to nothing and I not only finished shooting the movie but released it on DVD on time ?? How is this possible if I'm not an indie film maker ?
When I was fist told I wasn't an "Indie film maker" I was sure weather to be offended or laugh because I didn't know if this person was serious in their comment . I will tell you now with 100% confidence that I'm an indie filmmaker not only that but I'm damn proud of it ! I know I have been through hell to make this dream a reality and release Sins of Man : Rise of Mortis and there's plenty more hell to go through before I reach the promised land of "success" and I will walk every single step through that hell with a smile on my face because there are many people who don't dare do what I'm doing weather it's out of a fear of rejection or a fear of failure they refuse to take the leap of faith where I refuse to fail
STAY HUMBLE, STAY HUNGRY MY FRIENDS :)