Full to the Brim with Fizz, Ginger, and Fierce Determination

Book excerpt: Want to learn valuable secrets about making your own low-budget films? This book is at once Tori and Matthew Butler-Hart’s personal account of their ten-year adventure running their own film production company and a manual loaded with tips on how to survive—and thrive—in the modern independent movie business. Since founding Fizz and Ginger Films in 2009, the Butler-Harts have spent the past decade writing, producing, directing, line producing, and promoting both their own and other people’s films. In Full to the Brim with Fizz, Ginger and Fierce Determination, the duo looks back and takes stock of what they've learned in their sometimes turbulent creative journey. Rather than a step-by-step guide of how-tos, Tori and Matthew offer real-life lessons in making independent feature films, including useful tips and pitfalls to avoid. From the very first stages of writing a screenplay to securing financing, producing and shooting the movie, post-production and distribution—each area is explored and explained through anecdotes and interviews with other professionals involved in the industry, including Sir Ian McKellen, Stephen Fry, and legendary producer Margaret Matheson. Full to the Brim with Fizz, Ginger and Fierce Determination is a must-read for young actors, writers, directors, producers, or all of the above, hoping to tell their own stories through the magical art of moving pictures.