THE FILMMAKER’S BOOK OF THE DEAD 01-FM-K81206.indd i 10/21/09 2:51:58 PM Popcorn Artwork by Dave Lange, Darkmatter Studios 01-FM-K81206.indd ii 10/21/09 2:52:04 PM THE FILMMAKER’S BOOK OF THE DEAD HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN HEART-RACING HORROR MOVIE Danny Draven AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON NEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier 01-FM-K81206.indd iii 10/21/09 2:52:11 PM Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier 30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK © 2010 ELSEVIER Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Details on how to seek permission, further information about the Publisher’s permissions policies and our arrangements with organizations such as the Copyright Clearance Center and the Copyright Licensing Agency, can be found at our website: www.elsevier.com/permissions. This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher (other than as may be noted herein). Notices Knowledge and best practice in this fi eld are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary. Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility. To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Draven, Danny. The fi lmmaker’s book of the dead/Danny Draven. p. cm. 1. Horror fi lms--Production and direction. I. Title. PN1995.9.H6D73 2010 791.43’6164--dc22 2009029535 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: 978-0-240-81206-9 For information on all Focal Press publications visit our website at www.elsevierdirect.com 09 10 11 12 13 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America Typeset by: diacriTech, Chennai, India Cover Artwork & Design by : Dave Lange Darkmatter Studios 01-FM-K81206.indd iii 10/21/09 2:55:08 PM FOR MY MUSES JOSEPHINE & LUCAS 03-Dedication-K81206.indd02 -Dedication-K81206.indd v 10/21/09 2:55:23 PM 03-Dedication-K81206.indd02 -Dedication-K81206.indd vi 10/21/09 2:55:23 PM TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD by Charles Band xi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xiii PART ONE • THE HORROR GENRE Chapter 1 THE MECHANICS OF MONSTERS 3 PART TWO • PREPRODUCTION Chapter 2 GETTING STARTED 27 Chapter 3 CASTING A HORROR FILM 53 Chapter 4 THE HORROR FILM CREW 73 Chapter 5 PREPRODUCTION TIPS & TRICKS 85 PART THREE • PRODUCTION Chapter 6 PRODUCING A HORROR FILM 99 Chapter 7 DIRECTING A HORROR FILM 115 Chapter 8 CINEMATOGRAPHY OF A HORROR FILM 133 Chapter 9 WAR STORIES & ADVICE FROM THE TRENCHES 141 PART FOUR • POSTPRODUCTION Chapter 10 EDITING HORROR FILMS 157 Chapter 11 THE SOUND OF HORROR FILMS 171 Chapter 12 THE MUSIC OF HORROR FILMS 183 Chapter 13 CGI 199 Chapter 14 THE PITFALLS OF POSTPRODUCTION 209 03-Contents-K81206.indd vii 10/22/09 1:55:31 AM viii TABLE OF CONTENTS PART five • DISTRIBUTION and MARKETING Chapter 15 DISTRIBUTION FOR HORROR FILMS 223 Chapter 16 GENERAL DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS 251 Chapter 17 HORROR FILM FESTIVALS 265 Chapter 18 SELF-PROMOTION & MARKETING 277 Chapter 19 THE FUTURE OF HORROR 289 INDEX 295 Website contents for draven’s filmmaker’s book of the dead Website Extras Chapter 2 Website Extras: Cryptz schedule Darkwalker shooting schedule Deathbed shooting schedule Ghost Month Production Schedule Production Agreement Sample Chapter 3 Website Extras: Sample of non-union talent agreement Chapter 7 Website Extras: Sample of non-union director’s contract Chapter 15 Website Extras: Listing of horror distributors Chapter 16 Website Extras: As produced sample Comprehensive CCSL Sample Comprehensive combined continuity sample Comprehensive dialogue list sample Comprehensive spotting list sample Simple CCSL sample 03-Contents-K81206.indd viii 10/22/09 1:55:43 AM TABLE OF CONTENTS ix Simple combined continuity sample Simple dialogue list sample Time as produced sample Music cue sheet sample Chapter 17 Website Extras: Listing of horror fi lm festivals Chapter 18 Website Extras: Listing of horror conventions Listing of horror magazines Video Behind-the-Scenes Footage: Blood Dolls Castle Freak Cryptz Darkwalker Dead Hate the Living Demonic Toys Evil Bong Ghost Month Ghost Month: Origins Gingerdead Man Hell Asylum Lurking Fear Puppetmaster Horror Movie Trailers: BioSlime Cryptz Dangerous Worry Dolls Darkwalker Deathbed Demonic Toys 03-Contents-K81206.indd ix 10/22/09 1:55:43 AM x TABLE OF CONTENTS Dollman Ghost Month Gingerdead Man 2 Hell Asylum Intruder Invisible Lurking Fear Oblivion Pit and the Pendulum Puppetmaster 2 Puppetmaster 3 Robot Wars Shrunken Heads Skullheads Trancers 2 Trancers 3 To access this content, visit the companion website at http://booksite.focalpress.com/ companion/Draven. Use access code DRA8HL98FR53 to log in. 03-Contents-K81206.indd x 10/22/09 1:55:43 AM FOREWORD By Charles Band Charles Band (2009). Photo Credit: Courtesy of Full Moon Features. Danny Draven is the renaissance fi lm dude! From the moment he joined us at Full Moon Pictures almost 10 years ago (at the ridiculously young age of 21!) his love and dedication to the genre along with his uncanny ability to adapt to the never-ending new technologies put him into a unique and very valuable category. Although Danny left Full Moon a few years later to pursue his many independent dreams, we have been associated ever since. Independent fi lmmakers are certainly in a new world today where practically anyone can create, produce, and market a fi lm almost single-handedly, and the cost to produce a feature that way is practically zero. Back when I started out in this intoxicating business, you had to have at least $40,000–$50,000 to make a fi lm, you had to shoot 04-Foreword-K81206.indd xi 10/22/09 2:42:12 AM xii FOREWORD it on 35mm, you had to have an expensive answer print to screen it, and ultimately you had to have some form of theatrical distribution to exploit it. Then, you just prayed that your distributor would be at least partially honest and send you a report with some pennies. You were part of an expensive food chain and there were few shortcuts. Today, you can shoot your show on your camcorder in HD, edit and post it on your computer, spit out DVDs, create your own packaging, and start selling your fi lm on the Internet. You may not make a dime, but you can do it all yourself! And if you actually have some talent, then you have a real chance of being discovered, and off you go! That brings me back to Danny Draven. Danny can do it all and he is super talented! He can craft a fi lm for very few dollars and make it look like the budget was 10 times what was actually spent. It’s not because he is extremely technically profi cient (which he is)—it’s because the love for his craft shines through and he is truly gifted. This book is a terrifi c practical guide to fi lmmaking from someone who doesn’t just write about it, but lives it every day. CHARLES BAND Full Moon President May 19, 2009 Hollywood, California 04-Foreword-K81206.indd xii 10/22/09 2:42:27 AM ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Every writer is a frustrated actor who recites his lines in the hidden audito- “rium of his skull. ” —ROD SERLING A VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO MIKE & MARLENE BROWN Elinor Actipis Jane Dashevsky Amanda Guest Melinda Rankin Jeanne Hansen Jojo Draven & Lucas Pebbles Mami & Papi Takim Albert “Koko” & Siane Soegijopranoto Stefan Soegiarto Loui & Ika Sugiyanto Jason Rouch Sheena & Shawn Rolsen Helene Hill Stuart Gordon Rick & Angie Irvin Dave & Sandra Lange Darkmatter Studios David DeCoteau Charles Band, Full Moon Features 05-Acknowledgements-K81206.indd xiii 10/22/09 1:57:06 AM xiv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Shirley To Marina Resa Tom Savini Lloyd Kaufman, Troma Entertainment John D. LeMay Robert Kurtzman Chuck Williams Buddy Barnett Kathe Duba-Barnett Steven M. Blasini BenniQue Blasini Robert Englund Nancy Booth Reggie Bannister Gigi Fast Elk Bannister Mbencekno, Inc. Fangoria Magazine Michael Gingold Tony Timpone Debbie Rochon James Wan Patricia Dziekan Michael King Mac Ahlberg John Strysik Herschell Gordon Lewis Andrea Beesley-Brown Ryan Brookhart J. R. Bookwalter, Tempe Entertainment Del & Sue Howison Dark Delicasies, Burbank, California ( www.darkdel.com ) Jon Sagud, RED Digital Cinema North American Motion Pictures Brett Lauter, Pan Global Entertainment Arrifl ex Sound Indeas, Inc., Elliott Zimmerman Regent Releasing, Jonathon Aubry 05-Acknowledgements-K81206.indd xiv 10/22/09 1:57:08 AM ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xv Ryan Mantione, Full Moon Features Draven Lovell Marc Pilvinsky Todd Debreceni Producers Guild of America Nancy Naglin, Videoscope Magazine Dean Boor, GoreZone Magazine Rue Morgue Magazine Karoline Brandt Nathan Barr Jim Dooley Matthew Sakevitz Kwok Ching Gold Wheel Abbot Lee Mok-sau Yeung Gor Chow Bak-tung Script Sample Creation for Chapter 22 Line 21 Media Services Ltd.