Still from Wall To Wall
Tal Haring was one of our first filmmakers to have his Web TV featured on our homepage and make money with it. The $500 he made in one week helped him produce his next short film, Wall To Wall, which was recently screened in festivals. You can already see the trailer that Tal just uploaded. We asked him a few questions about his work and how he promotes it, what are the advantages of being on Film Annex, and how he sees the future of film. Here are his answers:
Film Annex: When did you join our platform and what or who brought you to us?
Tal Haring: I first heard about Film Annex after finishing my first year final project in my film school in Israel. I was eager to find a platform where people could see my work and where I could receive feedback from them in order to learn and get better. I found Film Annex very quickly and from was contacted personally by the site's staff who encouraged me to upload all of my films. Since then, I have uploaded 15 short films and music videos and I am completely grateful for the opportunity to expose my work.
FA: You directed films, commercials and music videos. What do you prefer to work on and why?
TH: Well, I love directing in general in all kind of media, but I love films the most. I love writing stories and ideas and turning them into a visual experience. Directing commercials and music videos is fun, but directing scripted film and actors gives you a real opportunity to dive deeper into human psychology and motives and understand a bit more why we do what we do.
FA: How would you describe your creative process? What inspires you?
TH: I'm still trying to find my way and my interests in this field. I enjoy exploring new directors, reading about their work and trying to understand what makes films interesting and innovative. I try to learn as much as I can and to explore my own personal life. What motivates me? What conflicts me? How do I interact with people, society, my family, and why? Turning those ideas into an inherent and entertaining story is still my biggest concern right now.
FA: Your Web TV was featured on the homepage for one week in August 2011. How much money did you earn during this period and how did you use this money?
TH: Yes, my Web TV was featured on the 4th of August, 2011, for a whole week. I think the reason I was picked might be because, as a student filmmaker, I try as many genres and styles of film I can possibly make (including drama, horror, documentary, music videos) in order to learn this art form from all aspects. Also, I created a large quantity of works during my studies which give the viewers a wide and diverse short films collection to choose from and enjoy. I made around 500$ during my featured time. This is money that helped me greatly when I was producing my new short film called Wall To Wall, which was recently screened at the Montreal World Film Festival and many others. This new short was extremely expensive for me and had a large production value. Any help, like the one from Film Annex, made it possible. The short is about 30 minutes. I've uploaded some stills from it on my Web TV.
FA: How do you use the Internet and social media to promote your work? How important do you think it is in promoting and distributing your movies?
TH: I think the Internet, including social media, blogs and content sites have become one of the most important tools for a filmmaker to distribute his work. It gives equal opportunity to people from everywhere to get an audience. So the question of whether you can actually grow as a filmmaker depends on your skills and not on who you know or where you come from. I try to use any means I can to expose my films - entering contests, sending out my films to online distribution companies and of course placing them online wherever I can. Because of film festivals' rules against having your films posted online before you submit them, I have 3 short films that are sadly not currently online, but will be in the future!
FA: Can you describe Film Annex to other filmmakers?
TH: Film Annex is an amazing place to watch independent & emerging filmmakers from around the world, get inspiration and have an idea of what is innovative and interesting today. As a creator, I get an easy and attractive page for free where I can upload all of my work, design the page to my liking, publish photos from my new productions and even keep a blog - things that attract lots of viewers. But most importantly, the opportunity to get featured on the site's homepage, which sky rockets the amount of views that my work receive, is the greatest aspect of Film Annex. I can actually make money with my short films online!
FA: Where do you see the future of film? Do you think people will still go to the movie theaters or do you believe in online-only films?
TH: I believe people will definitely be watching films more and more online, and that commercial TVs will be connected directly to series and films websites. The "film watching" experiences would be done online, alone or with close people. On the other note, people also love going out. Watching a new and exciting film in theaters, with many strangers around you, is still an experience people would like to keep. I think films are scarier or funnier when you watch them with a bunch of other people!
FA: What are your next or current projects?
TH: I am currently working on a script for my graduation film. It will be a psychological thriller about two brothers who meet after years living apart. Their relationship has always been about the older brother abusing his younger brother. When the latest suddenly appears in his life, the older one becomes suspicious of his motives, which seem to be innocent but slowly reveal themselves as a manipulative plot to get rid of who he calls "a bully who tries to ruin his life". It's still at work, but I believe it will be much longer than my other shorts. I'm a step closer to writing my first feature film which I plan to focus on afterwards.
More about Tal Haring: Tal is a film student from Israel with experience in films, TV commercial and music videos. He describes his work as "versatile, visual, and humane," as you can see in his short films With No One In The World and Next. His advice for all filmmakers: "Keep creating! Never stop if this is your true passion."
