Entrepreneurs Take Filmmaking to the Next Level

In the age of digital convergence and emerging long-tail economies, Bootstrap filmmakers have a greater opportunity to produce innovative content, find their own audiences, discover alternative distribution, and clear profits on their own terms. Nowhere is that more promising than in Austin, Texas. In 2008, MovieMaker magazine ranked Austin as the #1 city to live and make a movie. "As a hot spot for innovation and film, Austin is an incubator for the future of film. Creative talent and technological vision converge with entrepreneurial drive to explore new ways for independent filmmakers to succeed." - Brandy Rainey Amstel, Writer/Director and Chair of the Bootstrap Film Group.

Entrepreneurs forging paths in the film industry are celebrated at the Bootstrap Film Fest. This innovative film festival is on Thursday, June 26, 2008, 6-10:15 PM at Regal Arbor Cinema, Austin, Texas. Taking inspiration from innovation icons, like Apple's Steve Jobs, Virgin's Richard Branson, and Whole Food's John Mackey, Bootstrappers use ingenuity to bypass the constraints of the establishment. The featured bootstrap films, Q&A with bootstrap filmmakers Nils Juul-Hansen, Brandy Rainey Amstel, and Jason Howell, and a bootstrap workshop including Bootstrap Network's founder, Bijoy Goswami, will give the audience a deep understanding of bootstrapping techniques that they can use on their film projects, start-ups, and existing companies.

"Bootstrap offers a fresh perspective to the constraints of traditional models. As a serial entrepreneur, I was able to take the bootstrapping concepts I learned from my start-up and apply them to film making. The Bootstrap workshop that follows the film programming, will truly empower the audience with greater possibilities." - Jason Howell, filmmaker.

To step beyond the bootstrapping buzz and discover your own hero's journey, purchase tickets and view trailers at Bootstrap Film Fest.

Viscera 2007 - Snake Pit

I am so excited that Snake Pit was an official selection for the 2007 Viscera Film Festival and just today they announce the Viscera 2007 DVD is available. It is a compilation DVD of 9 short films made by women filmmakers in the horror genre. The pack is led by Fangoria's own spokesmodel, Shannon Lark.

Over an hour of short films with Special Features including: Full length bios of all Filmmakers, Sponsor information, Slideshow featuring Sponsors and Filmmakers, First VISCERA Film added-"Go Ask Alice", and information on VISCERA and the Chainsaw Mafia.

Check out the trailer below and pick up your copy of the Viscera 2007 DVD today.



I will keep you posted on more exciting news about Snake Pit.

Bootstrap Filmmaker Leveraging the latest in Web 2.0 Technology

Technology just keeps providing more and more opportunities for filmmakers. I am still learning new stuff everyday about how to use the internet to expand my thinking around traditional ways of doing business. Today I added a Donation button to my website requesting that people interested in inspirational content in the world contribute to my next film project, Ten Thousand (working title).

This came out of several brainstorming sessions that I recently have had with some fellow bootstrappers from Bootstap Austin. I have found that it is always a good idea to surround yourself with super smart, creative entrepreneurs and to always keep an open mind to what others have to say. Great things can come from someone with a fresh perspective.

Many of the bloggers out there today have added Donation buttons to their site to generate a little money to cover expenses. Not everyone is fortunate enough to get the advertising dollars like the big blog sites. They feel that if the people are getting value by continually coming to the site, then there shouldn’t be anything wrong with requesting people make a donation. After all, it is only a request.

I agree. I think ultimately it is all about producing value and getting paid for it. The people that believe this way are the people that actually click the donation button and make a contribution to something that they believe in or that they got value from.

Now… how can I apply that to what I am up to?

Well, I know that there are a lot of people that are tired of the mainstream films that are coming out today. More and more people are turning to REAL independent films to wet their thirst for thought-provoking, moving content. They want films that make them laugh or that make them cry. Often those are hard to come by though and many just give up watching movies altogether and turn to reality tv shows. Crap. Crap and more crap. They buy in that they can’t make a difference and that is all there is.

I actually believe that people should be given the opportunity to contribute to the types of content that they want to see. Maybe a donation button is just the thing to have people feel like they do have a say in the types of content that are created and they can feel good knowing that they contributed to something that would actually be worth watching.

I would like to encourage you to come find out more about bootstrapping your film at the 1st Bootstrap Film Fest on June 26, 2008. We will continue to explore how constraints cause innovation and who knows maybe with a fresh perspective you will create something even better.

Bootstrap Film Fest gets listed in BD Tech Daily

I am very proud to announce the 1st Bootstrap Film Fest. It will be held this month on June 26 at the Arbor Cinema.

You might ask yourself, "What is Bootstrap?", which is a great question to have. At the Bootstrap Film Festival we will be screening several short films created by Bootstrap filmmakers and we will also be having an entrepreneurial workshop where we delve into that exact question of "What is Bootstrap?" as well as explaining how bootstrapping applies to film and how you can use these ideas to move your project to the next level.

The announcement just came out on BD Tech Daily from the Business District Magazine and in
Tech Bytes from the Austin Chamber of Commerce. Seems like an unlikely place to find an announcement about a film festival; however, in the press release below you will discover why this innovative festival is encompassing a larger audience than the traditional film festival.

Here is the press release:

Awaken the entrepreneur within you at Bootstrap Austin's first Bootstrap Film Fest. Step beyond the bootstrapping buzz and discover your own 'hero's journey'.
“As a hot spot for innovation and film, Austin is the incubator for the future of film. Creative talent and technological vision converge with entrepreneurial drive to explore new ways for independent filmmakers to succeed.” – Brandy Rainey Amstel, writer/director. Brandy is the leader of the Bootstrap Austin Film Subgroup, where participants delve into this conversation.


Entrepreneurs forging paths in the film industry are celebrated at this innovative film festival on Thursday, June 26, 2008, 6-10:15 PM at Regal Arbor Cinema, Austin, Texas. Taking inspiration from innovation icons, like Apple's Steve Jobs, Virgin's Richard Branson, and Whole Food's John Mackey, Bootstrappers use ingenuity to bypass the constraints of the establishment. The featured bootstrap films, Q&A with bootstrap filmmakers Nils Juul-Hansen, Brandy Rainey Amstel, and Jason Howell, and a bootstrap workshop including Bootstrap Network's founder, Bijoy Goswami, will give the audience a deep understanding of bootstrapping techniques that they can use on their film projects, start-ups, and existing companies.

“Bootstrap offers a fresh perspective to the constraints of traditional models. As a serial entrepreneur, I was able to take the bootstrapping concepts I learned from my start-up and apply them to filmmaking. The Bootstrap workshop that follows the film programming, will truly empower the audience with greater possibilities.” – Jason Howell, filmmaker.

To step beyond the bootstrapping buzz and discover your own hero’s journey, purchase tickets and view trailers at bootstrap.bside.com/2008.

Caught in the Act Magazine

Check out what Caught in the Act Magazine had to say about the Strapped Entertainment Launch Party. We were very excited that Adam and Courtney were able to join us for the evening. And thank you Adam for the very generous blog. We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing your new website.