Welcome to the ask Mark Pirro page. We should change this to the SAG financial core page, since it seems that lately 80% of all questions are relating to union issues. Feel free to leave any question or comment you like, even if it's NOT about going SAG financial core ---------- Mark Pirro himself will respond. ---------- Or, if you'd rather not leave a message right now, just click here to go back to our Home Page. Messages are listed from the newest to the oldest. After you've left your message, check back soon. Mark usually replies within 24 hours.. There are now 333 messages in our guestbook. <<< 1 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 >>> Viewing messages 291 to 300. Your name (required) Your message (required) Where in the world? Mark Alan Effinger | www.richcontent.com Hi Mark, OK, so we're on the same page in regards to most PR FIrms being a rip-off. The PRWeb.com gig is a self-service online engine that you use to broadcast your message for between FREE, and a few shekels (we're getting optimum results for roughly $80 per release). Anyhow, looking at your many movies, I see that BROADcasting is one of your areas of expertise...;-). For one product I've so far driven 65,000 web links to the site (meaning people have made a link from their site to my site I listed in the press release). By adding images and PDF/Word files to the release, we're also seeing Google eat-up the content, often providing first-page search results for our release titles (they feed your release to Google and Yahoo News). I'm not sure if direct marketing of movies is the right approach, but I've heard typical distribution is often a losing proposition... Stay creative, and I look forward to your next flick... you have something planned for this year? best of success... ME --------------------------------------- MARK PIRRO'S RESPONSE: I will definitely check it out. As for what we have going on this year, it's on the front page of this site, "Jesus Christ Conquers the Martians." 19 January 2006 - Portland, Oregon tony how do i get intouch with a porn star for a movie? --------------------------------------- MARK PIRRO'S RESPONSE: Anyone specific? Maybe I'm dating her. 19 January 2006 - canada Mark Alan Effinger | www.richcontent.com Hi Mark -- First, this is both amazing AND excellent that you will take the time to manage and respond to this forum. Didn't your mama teach you to be a bit elitist? OK, here's the Q: What are your favorite software programs for writing and creating storyboards (do you use storyboards), and... Have you ever used a service like PRWeb (www.prweb.com) to drive your market? I ask because we're using it as a way to drive sales of niche products (we put out 4-8 releases per month and it drives radical traffic, and a few interviews from the media our way... and they seem to pull for a long time... since 2003 for some of our stuff). Just curious. And thanks for sharing both your views, and your wonderful talent with us through your works. Your bootstrap mentality is such a refreshing and valuable asset in this day and age of Big-Budget Boredom. ------------------------------------- MARK PIRRO'S RESPONSE: Mama never took the time to teach me to be an elitist. She was more concerned about me undressing and molesting my sister's Barbie dolls. To answer your questions, I don't use a storyboarding program as I don't have a need for storyboards. Regarding the PR company. I used a PR firm once (for Rectuma) and although they were quick to cash my check, they did nothing to promote the movie. The things that the cast and I did on our own were 1000 times more successful than what the PR firm... did. It kind of made me gunshy about hiring a PR firm again. I suppose one day I'll consider it again. Maybe I'll start by checking out the one you suggested. 19 January 2006 - Portland, Oregon JACK SERGIO | SKULL298@AOL.COM HELLO MR. PIRRO, IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE WE LAST SAW ONE ANOTHER, SAY ABOUT 20 YRS AGO. I HOPE YOU ARE DOING GREAT WITH YOUR FILM CAREER AND HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON AND MAYBE HAVE LUNCH. I WAS A GREAT FRIEND OF JIM CLARK FROM UNIVERSAL, GOD REST HIS SOUL, AND YOU AND I ARE GOOD FRIENDS AS WELL. I WORKED WITH YOU ON YOUR MOVIE A POLISH VAMPIRE FROM BURBANK. I WAS YOUR RAT WRANGLER. TAKE CARE MARK AND HOPE TO HEAR AND SEE YOU SOON --------------------------------------- MARK PIRRO'S RESPONSE: Wasn't your maiden name Jack Robinson? Nice to hear from you again. I think you owe my mother $25 for an ceramic E.T. bank that she made you in 1982. 15 January 2006 - LOS ANGELES,CA W.H. I recently heard that I should have "distribution in place" before I make my movie. Can you tell me what that is and how to get it? Thanks Mark. -------------------------------------- MARK PIRRO'S RESPONSE: Distribution in place means that you have pre-sold your film to a distributor based on the strength of the package, (i.e. high concept, director, the stars attached, etc.) For example, you go to Image Entertainment and say that you have a project ready to go and Ben Stiller is attached to it. Based on Ben Stiller starring, Image says we will license the film for North American distribution. It's pretty much guaranteed that it will get a theatrical release, therefore it takes a bit of the risk out of the investment. The truth however is that many small time filmmakers who work to get a distribution agreement before they start their film, never start the film. They spend all their time and energy chasing after the elusive distribution deal. How do you get it? Well, not with a script alone. You need to somehow package it with a name actor or director. Something needs to be there to make it appealing to the distributor. Not all of our movies have been blessed by the Goddess of Distribution, but today through direct sales and internet marketing, you have the power to reach an audience yourself. Personally, I say make your film as inexpensively as possible and let the distribution cards fall where they may. 13 January 2006 - La .Ca. Thomas A. Bowe | tompepsi4@netscape.net I am directing Mark E. Rogers "The Dead".Of course the biggest problem is FUNDING!Any wisdom or sources for funding?Anything you'd be interested in? _______________________________________ MARK PIRRO'S RESPONSE: If your biggest problem is funding, then you need to rethink your approach. There are thousands of filmmakers out there where financing is not the problem, because we work without budgets. Romancing investors has never been something I embraced. One winds up spending more time raising funds than making movies. Since most of my films' budgets are what the average American spends on utilities for a few months, I fund all my films myself. Thousands do too. You can too. Technology available today makes filmmaking easier and more inexpensive than it ever was. Stop thinking about conventional studio filmmaking. Get a camcorder, computer, editing software, an external hard drive or two and just start creating. For less than a couple thousand dollars, you can be a filmmaker. 31 December 2005 - Erie,Pa. W.H. What kind of sound equipment do you use on set and also for adr? What types/brands of recorders, microphones, software etc. Thanks Mark. --------------------------------------- MARK PIRRO'S RESPONSE: What we use varies from film to film, budget to budget, and old technology to new technology. We've used Nagra recorders, DAT recorders, and even Fullcoat Magnetic Recorders in the past. As it's extremely difficult to get clean location sound, our last two films were entirely looped in post. Whatever on set sound we got was used only as a reference track. We'd match up cleanly recorded dialog later under more controlled studio conditions. For post audio work, we've used "Cool Edit Pro" and "Sound Forge." Even Premiere Pro, our editing software, has some nice sound related tools. 22 December 2005 - La .Ca. Mark Speaking of your Jesus project, have you seen the six part series, "Jesus Christ, Supercop", on undergroundfilm.org? It's obscenely funny. ----------------------------------- MARK PIRRO'S RESPONSE: No, I haven't seen it, but I'll make it a point to check it out. UPDATED RESPONSE: I just saw them. Quite funny, and has the feel of what I'm trying to do with my script. These guys are very clever. Pity I don't have budgets for screenplays or I'd give them a job. 12 December 2005 - Bainbridge pat rogers where can you buy a copy of the deathrow game show ______________________________________ MARK PIRRO'S RESPONSE: We've spotted it on Amazon.com. Copies also tend to pop up now and then on Ebay. 6 December 2005 - usa Tim I was looking at the credits for Rectuma. Was the music composed by the same Andrew Gold who did pop hits back in the 70's ("Thank You For Being a Friend", "Lonely Boy", etc.) Just wondering. ------------------------------------- MARK PIRRO'S RESPONSE: One and the same. 5 December 2005 <<< 1 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 >>>