All posts filed under: Blog

The Bad and The Ugly of Learning From The Grown-Ups

Published by Magda Olchawska

A lot of the scientists, teachers and influential voices in the education sector tell us that children learn from observing and imitating the grown-ups in their lives. I believe this to be true and have often seen Little M. doing stupid stuff, which his dad or I have done. I know that our family is not an exception for teaching the younger generation the bad and ugly habits, which we, the grown-ups, cherish with such a devotion. Children are smart and very observant, and whatever we do, they will imitate. For instance, if you spend a lot of time on your phone or tablet, your child will want to do that too and if you decide to limit your child’s access to electric devices they will ask tons of questions and will want to know why you can be on your phone all the time and they can’t (by default kids are very much justice and equality driven). If you work all the time and never have any quality time for your children and your …

Ask Yourself If You Need a Sales Agent

Published by Magda Olchawska

You worked incredibly hard to complete your film; you spent years editing and begging people for favours, especially when your project had no budget for anything; the years of hard work have finally paid off and now your film is finished. You believe in your project and your talent, and deep down in your heart, you know that your film is going to be the toast of countless film festivals, which will make finding a sales agent to represent your film much easier. Well, in the old days of gatekeepers and pre-Internet days that was surely the way to “make it” in our industry and to be noticed as a talented filmmaker. But since the Internet revolution, a lot has changed for everyone in the industry. And having an agent to represent your film is not a must any longer. However, some filmmakers still would like to find a sales agent to represent their perfect work. Before you embark on your research, read my short text below: Patience. It takes a long time to find …

7 Steps That Will Help You Market Your Film

Published by Magda Olchawska

As filmmakers, we work hard and put a lot of energy into developing, shooting and completing our projects. The whole process of putting a film together is so intense that it often leaves us with very little energy and shrinking financial resources to properly market and promote our film. Every time I finish a film, I hope that merely by the touch of a magic wand it will become huge, massive, gigantic, and successful. Unfortunately, it is just wishful thinking and has nothing to do with reality and often keeps us stuck in the same spot, year after year. I have decided to put together a short list that could help you get started on the journey of putting yourself and your projects proudly out and feeling no shame for what you have created.   Start building the brand awareness for your film while you are still developing the project. There is no shame in showing your audience how the inspiration for this project came your way or how you are progressing with your project. …

YouTube Resources for Homeschoolers

Published by Magda Olchawska

As homeschoolers, we are very lucky to be able to use a variety of resources to teach our children, and as science already tells us, we all learn differently. Some kids are very good at picking up academic knowledge the way it is being taught at schools, and others need much more to learn that just a teacher and a blackboard. My son, a dyslexic, loves watching educational videos and listening to songs. Ever since we started homeschooling a year ago, I have been using videos and songs to teach him. That way of learning allows him to retain information and with consistent and steady revision he can remember the lessons we are learning. I’ve decided that sharing some of our YouTube finds with other homeschooling families would be an excellent way to kick off 2019: Peekaboo Kidz – Little M. loves this channel and Dr Binocs. Easy to follow animations and Dr Binocs’ calm voice is what attracts him to this channel making my homeschooling job so much easier. TED-Ed – of course not …

Anything Can Happen

Published by Magda Olchawska

I realise that this romantic notion of a suffering and starving filmmaker is still firmly imprinted on a lot my fellow filmmakers’ minds. But unfortunately, in our global, on steroids, changing market place, this idea only can harm filmmakers, not bring anything positive to their long-term careers.  In reality, it doesn’t matter how great your project is, how much time you spend making your film or show, and how much it cost you (my guess is that with an indie production your funding will be pretty limited). If you have no way of showing and screening your film to the audience, you are screwed. You need an audience, and it doesn’t matter if you made your film for the cinema release, film festivals, or online platforms. You want and need eyeballs to watch your work. However, marketing, promotion and getting your film in front of the audience is not an easy task and throughout the world young filmmakers are being taught that this job should be done by the marketing and promotional departments. Of course, …