About the Book
The Angry Filmmaker's Survival Guide Part One: Making the Extreme No Budget Film "When it comes to independent filmmaking Kelley Baker is the real thing. His experience, observations and practical advice reveals the raw truth about an important art form that has been hijacked, over-romanticized and betrayed by everyone from the mainstream media to its very own champions. This book is about real filmmaking. If you are thinking about making an independent film, you must read this book." Brian Johnson, author, screenwriter, and director "Angry or not, Kelley Baker knows his stuff, and he tells it all in this book that's part indie film war story, part instructional manual for true independents, and part furious rant. It's always entertaining, and it might just tick you off, but - most important - the advice contained within these pages will help you get your film made. Anyone reading this book can tell Baker truly wants to help passionate wannabe filmmakers realize their creative visions without going bankrupt or making the kinds of mistakes they can't afford to make." Chris Hansen, Writer/Director The Proper Care and Feeding of an American Messiah. & Endings. Kelley Baker is the Angry Filmmaker. But his independent films are not angry, they're honest. He's angry at the state of independent film. For Baker, it's about telling the story, not what actors are starring in it. From making award winning short films to the trials and tribulations of making three independent features with tiny budgets and no financial backing. Kelley lays it all out. Dealing with the "Independent Film World" and the lies they tell. His films have been seen all over the world and no one has ever guessed his budgets or the struggles of making them look as good as they do. This book takes you step by step through making films on very little money, interspersed with tales of how the business really operates and the frustrations of being a Real Independent Filmmaker. Like any good survivalist, Kelley Baker doesn't beat around the bush - he gets right down to the nitty-gritty heart of the matter right way. His 12 chapter Survival Guide is a compact, no-holds-barred 12-step program to creating what Baker calls "The Extreme No-Budget Film." Baker is on fire about making films. You will be too after reading this brutally honest compilation of personal stories and practical advice from the front lines of independent filmmaking. Morrie Warshawski, Consultant and Author (Shaking the Money Tree: The Art of Getting Grants and Donations for Film and Video - 3rd Edition) Read this book and you will not only SURVIVE but you will SUCCEED. One of the best books on making your way through the independent filmmaking jungle with justifiably-angry filmmaker Kelley Baker as your top-notch guide: Funny, profane and committed to telling the unblemished truth. Don't make your next movie until you've read this terrific book. John Gaspard, Author, Digital Filmmaking 101, Fast, Cheap and Under Control, and Fast, Cheap and Written That Way. This is a killer book. It tells you what your teachers can't, because they haven't done it. It tells you what your friends can't, for the same reason. Jammed with tons of useful advice, Baker's book is an invaluable "think before you shoot" guide for beginning filmmakers, as well as people who've been around the block, but need a refresher course. William M. Akers, author of Your Screenplay Sucks! 100 Ways To Make It Great Finally, a film resource that tells it like it is! As a film festival director, I watch hundreds (if not thousands) of films a year - some good, many flawed. I wish I could afford to send copies of "Survival Guide: Part 1" to every director I encounter, to help them identify and correct potential issues before they roll the camera. Jon Gann, Director, DC Shorts Film Festival Here, with all his attitude, is the wisdom of an Angry Filmmaker, gained the hard way, through experience.
About the Author: Kelley Baker has lived "The New Model of Independent Filmmaking" for many years. He has found funding for his no-budget films and successfully self distributed them all over the US and Canada. Kelley has written and directed three full length features (Birddog, The Gas Café, & Kicking Bird), eight short films and a few documentaries. Kelley films have aired on PBS, The Learning Channel, and Canadian and Australian television and have been shown at Film Festivals including London, Sydney, Annecy, Sao Paulo, Chicago, Aspen, Mill Valley and Edinburgh. Kelley Baker is well known for working with other people. He was the sound designer on six of Gus Van Sant's feature films including, My Own Private Idaho, Good Will Hunting, and Finding Forrester. He designed the sound on Todd Haynes feature film, Far From Heaven, with Dennis Quaid and Julianne Moore. He was the picture editor/sound designer on Will Vinton's The Adventure's of Mark Twain, and Meet The Raisins for CBS. Kelley is producing and directing DANGEROUS: KAY BOYLE, a feature documentary chronicling the life of "the most dangerous woman in America" (S.I. Hiyakawa, 1967). And, The American Dream: A Work in Progress. Kelley attended the University of Southern California. He received a BA (1980) and an MFA (1982) in Film Production, and did post graduate work at the American Film Institute (1989). Kelley has received a Western States Media Arts Fellowship, and grants from the SOROS Fund, Pioneer Fund for Emerging Documentary Filmmakers, The Collins Foundation, Oregon Arts Commission, The Jackson Foundation, Rose E. Tucker Charitable Trust, and The Maurie Clark Foundation. He has done documentaries for the National Endowment for the Arts, and The Juvenile Justice Office of the Department of Justice. The Stirling Art Centre at Macrobert University (Stirling, Scotland), had a retrospective of Kelley's work in 2006. The Pacific Film Archives and The Northwest Film Center have hosted a retrospective of Kelley's short films. Kelley has spent years touring the US, Canada and the UK, teaching his subversive brand of filmmaking at workshops and showing his films to audiences at Art House Theaters, Colleges, Universities and Media Art Centers. Kelley has appeared in over 300 cities and 400 venues. For more information check out www.angryfilmmaker.com
