Gerard Elmore is an award-winning director/actor/producer, whose feature film “All for Melissa” was distributed nationally through traditional distribution methods and new emerging DIY methods… without a budget. Gerard will share his knowledge in our final segment of Elements of Film/Video Production on Tuesday, August 14.
Gerard is a University of Hawaii graduate and currently works at Shooters Film Productions as a Commercial Director.
His short film “Amasian: The Amazing Asian” was a fan favorite at the 2004 Hawaii International Film Festival and “Valtor the Great vs the Universe” won the Honolulu Magazine Best Short Film Award at the 2005 Hawaii International Film Festival.
– You wear many hats in the production process. What’s your favorite?
Yes, I’ve done just about every position there is on set and my favorite has always been directing. I love problem solving and telling a story. Every director has a different style but I love collaborating with a crew, cracking the story, and looking at all the possible angles. When the story or production clicks into place, there’s no better feeling.
What are some pros and cons of crowd funding?
Pros of crowd source funding
It’s easier to do now than it has ever been.
It opens up the chance for any filmmaker to raise money for their projects.
It helps build your audience for your movie by building a mailing list and followers.
You retain creative control.
Cons
If you don’t raise the full amount with kickstarter, you don’t get anything. Indiegogo allows you to keep what you raise but if you raise less than what you need, the project may go unmade and you may have angry investors who want a product.
It’s an extra step in the process. You’ll have to find time to deliver the rewards. If don’t do it in a timely manner, people may grow impatient.
What’s your assessment of Hawaii’s current independent filmmaking scene? What needs to be done to support it?
The indie scene has made big strides. It’s on the cusp of a breakthrough in my opinion. There’s a lot more groups working together with other groups to develop and produce stories. Resources are being pooled together and the passion to make movies has grown. To support it and grow it, we need to change the way we think. We go to the state capitol year after year looking for tax incentives but anything significant is slow moving. We talk about a need for some sort of fund or for bigger productions awarded tax incentives to give back to the local film industry. So, if the bigger film projects succeed, so will local projects. Some sort of film fund to support local projects have been talked about but never realized. Maybe the future is looking at a realistic approach to making it happen instead of wishing for it to happen. For example, using local venues/theaters/film festivals to show local films and putting the profit into a fund. You can either wait to be funded to make something or you can run out and make a movie with what you have. Personally, I’ve always believe that filmmaking is like a sport, the more you train, the better you get at it. If we create environment that promotes experimentation, collaboration, and risk-taking, I think big time results will come.
What’s your favorite movie?
I have a lot but the one that is at the top is Being There. I’m a big Peter Sellers fan but the movie is perfect. Not a lot of dialogue, simple composition but a powerful message that I think about all the time.