Paranormal Activity On The Internet

I wanted to mention the new movie “Paranormal Activity” for a couple of reasons. After getting it released to lots of theatres just before Halloween, it skyrocketed up to number one in the US. It was also filmed in San Diego in a community called Rancho Penasquitos. What most people don’t know is that it only cost $15,000 to make. That’s FIFTEEN THOUSAND, not $15 million. I’m sure by now the producers have recouped that $15,000 and have made a good profit.

The reason I mention this is because after I retire from making my millions from the Internet and real estate, I’d like to start my own production company. When I read that this movie had been made for less than most cars cost today, I was shocked. Until lately if you wanted to get seriously involved in producing a movie you had to have millions at your disposal. A few things have changed that. The groundbreaking movie “The Blair Witch Project” brought two new factors to the table:

1. They used the Internet to create a viral word-of-mouth buzz for the movie months before it opened &

2. They used a new technique of combining handheld video shots with regular film for a new realism.

Another new development has been the satellite feed of movies to theaters. Before one of the big costs involved with moviemaking was the duplication and actual distribution of the film to all the different theaters across the country. Now a movie can be broadcast to theaters instead saving millions of dollars. This means an aspiring filmmaker (like me) could produce a film on shoestring budget and then just convince a distributor to broadcast the film to see if it gets a good audience reaction. With a clever Internet campaign I could create a viral following and the rest is packing for that trip to Cannes.