The Honest Filmmaker
Are you about to leave Uni with a filmmaking degree? Or want to change careers and work in a creative industry? We want to give you the tools you need to enter the real world of production or freelancing. Honest and open career advice from people in the business.
We also talk to those in other creative industries to discuss their careers, the potential cross over with film production and practical tips for a successful and fulfilling career.
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The Honest Filmmaker
How to make a Profitable Low Budget Movies on Tubi with Justin Milton
#tubi #filmmaker #lowbudget
Today I’m talking to Producer and Director Justin Milton
Justin has produced a bunch of low budget thrillers and dramas that have done very well on online streaming platforms and have begun to earn him significant profit.
In this chat I talked to Justin about how he got into the business, he gave me his tips for creating a film thats going to end up on Tubi, how to make the most money out of it, excellent tips for things to do and not to do in that film to help your film do well on the platform and we also talked about the advantages of making a thriller.
Check out Justin's book "Turning Six Thousand into Six Figures in Six Month"
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/turning-six-thousand-into-six-figures-in-six-months-justin-milton/1146059422?fbclid=IwY2xjawEU8jVleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHXDlshJeXJPIXixxpq7LCg86TlJ_S3wLyIXFkBcf2QEssHTpXwyhDT9WMA_aem_IiQ9zQDOLP73YLGDbvQ2ag
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HONEST, OPEN ADVICE ABOUT YOUR FILMMAKING CAREER
Are you about to leave Uni with a filmmaking degree? Or want to change careers and work in a creative industry? We want to give you the tools you need to enter the real world of production or freelancing. Honest and open career advice from people in the business.
We also talk to those in other creative industries to discuss their careers, the potential cross over with film production and practical tips for a successful and fulfilling career.
Join the community: http://www.thehonestfilmmaker.co.uk
[Music] hi Jim here and you're listening to the honest filmmaker podcast career advice from people in the business this week I'm speaking to filmmaker Justin Milton Justin's made a bunch of movies he's made three short films and nine feature films which have done very well on online streaming platforms and actually begun to earn him a significant profit in this chat I talked to Justin about how he got into the business also he gave me his tips for if you're creating a film that's going to end up on 2B how to make the most money out of it excellent tips on things to do and not to do in that film that going to help your film and he also talked to me about the advantages of making a thriller enjoy so tell me a little bit about your route into film making I started about uh 10 years ago into uh film I um uh joined a um student film group at a college and um I was like 30 years old at the time and and uh um I decided to learn from these uh kids I was like 18 years old you know the the uh president of the um the um film group um invited me to to join a group so so I did so so from there I learn how to do film you know learn how to produce learn how to do sound um and the very thing I learned first was to feed the the uh casting crew you know um on set so um so learn how to do that for like few years they finished school I I I I moved uh back to Houston you know learning how to uh do film you know what I'm saying so did my first short film did like um three short film then my my first feature film my brother uh called the for strange student so those Mohamed begins right there you're learning film through um through from uh um 18y olds 18y olds yeah well they've got the energy haven't they the 18y olds um so uh talk to me about the films you made so I looked on IMDb you've got a ton of features and short films you made so now I think the count I've got is nine feature films um first off the first thing any filmmaker is going to want to know is what are the budgets of those what sort of budget level are you working at and how do you raise that money um my very first film I started um was about 15,000 I kind of like uh I save from like overtime my job overtime and you know um save and take out the money you know um tax returns you know so there some some some my budget is usually about 15,000 I mean at first now it's double like 30 to 50 Grand now you know so I I um usually just save my money uh through doing overtime and then I film that way but now that I have like nine films I don't have to do that anymore so now all I do is do um film full-time now because I have like you know resis rules from my for my uh past films so uh I I don't need to wait anymore to for overtime I just wait for my R to come in if it's you know 30 grand 50 Grand that that uh uh come from visuals I um shoot their way you know that's oh brilliant so that's so it's it's all your own money um which again can be a risky strategy to start with but it seems to be paying off for you um so that's an interesting one because I've noticed you're a writer director producer so how is it hard with those three roles who do you listen to on set when you know it's your money it's your script uh and obviously as a DOR ctor you want to get certain things out of your actors and you want to make sure you stretch the time who are you listening to and how do you balance those voices in your head well I typically listen to my DP um Alvin G Morris you know call him call him Gerald so he's my DP and he's one of the guys that help me that when when he was like 20 years old he's one of those film students that brought me in that I learned from you know so so now that I do my films now I uh hire him to do all my pretty much my my editing my DP you know my advice for for everything so he's my DP producer for all my movies I won't I won't do a movie unless he's uh free you know what I'm saying because I because I because I went to a u a series of of DPS that totally wasn't qualified you know I'm saying to be a DP so I um he did a short film that he was really really good at that uh was his first uh work as a DP because because he does sound usually but he tried to um out as a DP and he was really good at it so I decided to to hire him for all my work as a DP and so now like he's he he's great in uh in in investment so I listen to him for all my advice you know what I'm saying for his my work yeah yeah and that's what you hit on there is that dop director relationship super important and sometimes it doesn't work sometimes that chemistry is off but when you get it right plain sailing um so also looking at your films I've noticed you've used uh some of some actors uh a few times in a few different projects um talk to me about your casting process because also the other thing I noticed is a lot of the actors you've used seem to have got uh a lot of TV credits so they've done stuff they've not just come to this you know you're not working with first timers so talk to me about uh casting so so um early so early in doing films I was always do U casting calls so now that I got a a good feel on the actors in Houston and Austin I don't really I don't really need to do anymore cing C got got got a feel for you know who's good in Houston area so so I'll call people that I know that that know that are are good reliable uh you know on Time Professional because because because some people are actually good but they're not professional so I always pay attention on who's good and professional and I and I always call around to like I would call for like you know references if I see a film from a um local filmmaker and and um I don't know that that uh actor I will call the um filmmaker and and ask about them you know um are they they good on S or they um professional or not and they would say yes or no so from there I would you know cast them or not but but I I I usually hide the same people because it's very important to be efficient on set so they on time if they're professional ready to go camera ready they they uh another Alliance then I use these same actors unless it's unless you know it's a Time issue issue or you know or if it's the age issue whatever but I try to use the same actors for all my movies because I want um credible actors I and the thing is you you gotta be efficient on set you you can't waste time for um people being late you know what I'm saying so you want people that's you know um affordable on time ready to go so that's how I go for it yeah absolutely agree um and especially when you're working on a low budget doing that homework and making sure you've got those actors who are uh like you say learn your lines on time that just saves you so much hassle when you come in to put the film together um and Texas talk there about actors around Houston Texas I don't know anything about Texas have not been is it a big film making place I mean is there a community of filmmakers there there are a there is a film Community here in uh um and is growing uh it's not a film Place per se like like Atlant or LA but but it's growing to be one so um I'm one of the first filmmakers here in in Houston Texas to to you know grow the the um Community but there is several now of a growing Community here in Houston so it's definitely a a hub for film making here in Houston for for actors to come because it's it's a very large city City so is is a very diverse it's great for locations also to film because you can find something that's like you know in poor poor area or a rich area or you want to get a a train you you know what I'm saying it's a it's a very diverse you Houston or whatever in the um Houston area so you can pretty much find what you're looking for as far as actors and um locations here in Houston because there's a a a thriving theater um industry here in uh Houston so I'll take so at times I take some actors from theater and um put them in the film also yeah awesome um and the other thing I was going to say was you're working on a low budget and the thing that I found not strange about what you're doing but a surprise was you're working on Thrillers romances suspense movies now I myself I'm into horror and that's part of that is with a low budget or micro budget you can kind of hide some stuff for horror because a lot of it's set at night and it's you know you can hide a few things when you're doing the stuff I've seen if you look at your trailers it's a lot of it's daylight a lot of it's in Real Environment so how are you um keeping how are you making it look so high quality on so little money high quality on little money that's a secret right there uh you know Jim that's a that's a secret man you know you got you gotta um basically you got a high professional you know crew professional actors and you gotta um use the sunlight for like lighting like I am right now you know uh you you use uh your your own house your your uh parents house your friends's house you know you use free locations you use um people that are willing to work with you on your uh you know budget so um because there's not a a lot of films going on in Houston you know there there are sever you know a t like like it is Atlanta or La they're they're willing to um work with you uh on you know payment so I always pay actors uh sag rates and I pay uh the crew also you know good rates also so um you so so I keep the uh I keep the cause down by shooting fast being efficient I may use three takes and um keep it going I uh my uh scripts are usually around 60 pages I don't write I used to write pages that that are like longer than that like 90 Pages you know and and longer but not any more I just make sure that that that um my films are um entertaining they're they're um my dog uh they're they're entertaining they're they're efficient you know um and I learned that Thrillers for me are the key money makers so with the Thriller I learned with the uh elements of of what they you don't need to have a ton of you know um nighttime shots you know for this thriller I may a few but it's really about pacing so I try to film all the nighttime shots in like one or two days and because nighttime shots or or or um more lights you know need to be you know used right but in the um daytime is is is very is very little you know that's needed you know what I'm saying so I shooted my house my mom's house you know um outside parks I don't use anything that cost a um a lot of money you know what I'm saying so I could possibly shoot the same movie that shooting now for cheaper like with like fewer lights and fewer you know um you know crew but it wouldn't but but it wouldn't look as good so um I have a um a um a following here in the Houston in Texas really you know so I gotta keep my um quality of films up you know what I'm saying so um yeah I save I save money by having very few you know um cast I can spend money on crew yeah but but but I like to work with no more than three actors per scene if it's two actors is even better because I can just keep it going like that but I try to keep it around three or four three or four um CS per scene because the more cast members you have on set in a scene it's more angles it's more money it's more time you know just you gota be be creative when you're um on a Lo in a movie or or film you gotta be creative you got to be efficient and you just gota be entertaining yeah Amen to that I'm smiling because I've just shot a film with set in one room with 10 actors so I've B that right up shouldn't have done it should have done it with two um so uh what I was going to say was your uh how are you handling sales and distribution are you are you using a sales agent are you uploading yourself what how how do you deal with that side of it I usually go through uh maveri entertainment with my films um I went through two other um companies that didn't do well for me so I usually go through Maverick um I'm open to other ons like like filmhub or whatever but you know um you have to keep on like looking for uh you know the uh best deal the best quality for you so so me and Mary have a good you know relationship so you know they put me on Tu they put me on Amazon peacock and several other platforms too so you know it's it's very very good you know for me my uh films um so um yeah so but I keep my my my my um eyes open for you know all you know um Avenues yeah and uh just to just so I can clear that so is is Maverick uh the like a sales agent or are they distributor or what's their sort of deal mavi entertainment is a Distribution Company they're one of the largest African-American uh movie um companies in the in the US right gotcha okay so so they know how to Market those films to get people to watch them yes they do they they're they have uh 100% afri American films they have so they they've been in a game for almost 27 years um I believe so they know what they're doing they're around for for a uh long time you know so know what uh um how to market the film they know how what um what um platforms to put you know the um film in yeah and talking of that so you for listeners at home you're African-American um do you ever or when you started were you navigating any kind of expectations as far as stereotypical what a black movie should be or did that just not occur you at all do you know exactly what you wanted to do or does that at all play into it for the commercial side when I uh first started um a lot of Distributors they wanted me to do a typical a typical black movie which means a hood crime Thriller drug selling that's not what I do I don't I don't know I don't know anything about drug dealing or crime or anything like that um I'm from the suburbs so uh um I I go by you know um Imagination you know what I'm saying so my first feature film was called the foreign exchange student my mom had a foreign strange student from um Africa and my brother wrote it because he was like What if our foreign strange student was like crazy or you know I mean uh she was very pretty but what if she was crazy so we made a um a film about uh you know about her uh um she was if if she was a killer you know what I'm saying so yeah that film did did very very well uh so I use so we usually write uh films that center around a a pretty crazy girl that kills people you know what I'm saying it's similar to hor you know that's s our thing you know you know uh I write comedy I write comedy you know for me because I like because I'm very you know uh I can see that but I know that the money maker is with Thrillers so I may do a film for me that's like a drama or a comedy something that I want to see so I try to do like three to one ratio you know you know you know um know three for the uh money um and one for me you know what I'm saying so I kind of do like that you know what I'm saying to uh to even things out yeah that's an interesting sub genre that is the crazy uh attractive woman either neighbor SL exchange student um so yeah sounds like that was a profitable one um oh yeah very much what about do you yeah do you um do you do film festivals have you had much experience with them I do not do film festivals um not that I wouldn't I tried I tried before to do festivals um I never got into any of them I wasted a lot of money um I put a lot of money and time into my audience to uh you know to be hones you know so I produce what they want to see they want to um they email me or they uh DM me about my movies all the time about how they you know enjoyed it or whatever so I don't spend a lot of time at um festivals they're good I don't have a problem doing it it's just that I wish I wish LPE of money you know you know you know going there I mean I'll go to network I don't necessarily need to put in a film to go to a uh a festival go there probably to like Network you know um in the future you know what I mean but for me my is peacock it's tuby um want to need to I may go like I may you know do a high quality film to get more um high quality actors that you kind of know then I may go to to the um festival with that movie in the future but right now I don't need really need to uh to to to do that right now you know what I'm saying I don't have really a need for I just um just fee audience you know um uh that's the key right there to being successful because a festival is to me for Hollywood to know who you are to maybe um Finance your next project I don't really need that I mean it's too much red taped in U Hollywood it's too long of a process to get my my baby onto their screen and they're going to tell me who to cast what I crew to get and it's it's it's too long for a process says I got too much uh I have too many stories to uh tell to wait years and years for them to you know um approve me you know I mean the days where the filmmaker Waits Waits on Hollywood is over totally over you know I don't need Hollywood you know I can make a good living doing what I do you know long as there is peacock long as is tuby or Source like um you know uh Amazon I don't need Hollywood I can you know make a good films and with a with with a high quality write down you know good for filmmakers to hear I think that they don't need to wait for that call um so talking about um oh one other thing I was going to ask you was what so you're now nine films in three short films nine feach films what do you wish you'd known before you started making films oh man um I never knew how to get to the money I never knew how to get funding I never knew how to get funding I never knew I I didn't not I didn't know how to get cash I didn't know how to get crew I didn't know how to get um funding for my films I it it was all a um a learning experience so until I learned how to I got I learned how to get you know casting crew by I'm a an introvert so I didn't never have Facebook I never did so I joined I joined Facebook then I joined the Facebook group to have film in it and um and um actors in it so I would I would only friend uh actors that had the title as an actor in their uh job uh assignment so if you have actor or actress under your name I didn't friend you you know saying so I just uh friended everybody that had actor on there wrote a script or whatever put out a casting call I watch other I watch other people put out put put out a um um casting call so that's how I did it you know kind um what they did and I put you know um non-paid you know I give you acting credits and food you know for your uh conversation but um so uh that's what I did you know I cop what other folks did and just did F you know and I kind of um got a following through my short films and then my uh feature film and then I was happy to pay people when I started getting you know residuals you know I started paying $100 a day I mean $100 a film to $200 a day you know what I'm saying was it's a big difference you know so so so so whatever I got you know I share you know I give points you know you know at times to my DP or whatever and now um I also you know get points to um My Writers at times you know what I'm saying not all the time but maybe uh sometime so so I I I uh um hire out uh writers you know and I you know pretty much employ a i employ a um lot of U people you know when to do my films so um yeah so I didn't know how to do any of that so people kept shooting me Ms about about how do I get you know cash and crew and that's why I um wrote a book called uh you know um turning 6,000 into six figures in six months you know so so so s wrote a book you know what I'm saying you know you can um get that on my website Justin m.com you know you can see you my book and then you can see my uh films also you know on that uh website perfect so so you've not only given me a tip you've given me a book I can go and buy and then I can copy what you've done and make the six figures that sounds good to me you were talking about 2B and nudity so explain it to me uh yes so tub does not like nudity in your films if you want to make money off your films have no nudity and you have somebody in uh in the bra in pennies or whatever or or the back to like not not not showing no frontal at all uh because as a filmmaker you get paid off of um commercial ads so McDonald's or Ford or Chevy don't want to do a commercial with your boob shots all in the movie they wna you know a wholesome wholesome uh not a wholesome but they wanted a pg3 movie to be have the commercials on so more new I mean you may think that you want to see nudity in your in your brain when you writing writing the uh the movie but got think about business you gotta think about business you don't want to have new in your films um what else um and you got to know what films make money I learned very quickly that romantic comedies do not make a lot of money if there's no names in the films it's fun it's it's cheap it's it's cool or political dramas I wrote a movie called Don't Shoot when when you know black men were getting shot up all you know in America or whatever and it didn't do all that great it's still not doing that great gota find out what genre makes money for me it's Thrillers you know you got be um if you want to make money in this game you got to know what the audience wants to see they want to Escape you know what I'm saying they don't want in reality you know I'm saying they want to escape so so you got to know your audience very very key know the audience what they gonna see put your movie on tuby I don't give a care what anybody tell you put your money on tuby and then Mark it I go to tub uh Facebook ads I mean I go to tub Facebook groups all the time and I post my uh trailer on there have key M have a great poster nobody gonna pick nobody's gonna click on your movie if your poster look like trash so you know go to Fiverr and have them um make you a nice poster have a nice trailer also nice trailer nice poster and then uh Mark your films send your links to your uh to your get a YouTube and have your have your trailer on YouTube and send it to all your family and friends it's free to watch free is the opper word free and entertaining free and entertaining filmmakers that's how you Canon make your money so send all your uh trailers to all your your family and friends put it on tuby if if if they don't have time to watch it tell them to turn it on and go to sleep tell them that and go to sleep I don't care just put it put it out there and it just make sure you got a entertaining trailer so yeah your movie could be a d but if the trailer is a a if post is a a you'll get some uh looks you'll get some likes and I was shocked that my movie hero I mean to me I mean the movie to me was good but because because it was so low budget I figured that it wasn't going to make no money but it made more than my higher budget you know movies you know what I'm saying so you know no nudity don't do it and know your audience and you'll be good hope you enjoyed that episode if you'd like to hear from more industry professionals how they got into the business and how you can do the same or you just want to listen to some cool stories from movie sets around the world then please do subscribe to the honest filmmaker podcast[Music]
