Dustin Weible

Filmmaker. Writer. Storyteller

[Dustin Weible @DustinWeible]

@underthepink7 @SupriyaGanesh Not on Indie films. It’s actually incredibly common to receive a small fee up front and defer payment until certain milestones are reached to allow production to have funds to complete the project. Literally hundreds of other filmmakers I personally know do this.

[Dustin Weible @DustinWeible]

@avasofiamattox @SupriyaGanesh Neither of us know, do we?

[Dustin Weible @DustinWeible]

@aeneashemphill Honestly we need to talk about how predatory entertainment lawyers are for contract negotiations too. They take all your money before you make anything.

[Dustin Weible @DustinWeible]

@aeneashemphill I don’t think anyone is defending the distributors or the financiers. But the filmmakers are getting thrown under the bus for doing everything they can to get the film made for the budget they were given. It’s not about low wages. It’s about bad contracts.

[Dustin Weible @DustinWeible]

@zakfilm Who’s saying she doesn’t have any backend points per her contract? Initially payment of $20,000 + production points or a percentage of net profits. Thats usually how it works on smaller films.

[Dustin Weible @DustinWeible]

@TrungTPhan Truth is we know nothing about the contracts put forth, who owns what, what percentage of what goes to who, receipts on how much people were paid, etc. It’s all just conjecture. But Mark owned Iron Lung outright & distributed to theaters himself. It’s very different when you sell

[Dustin Weible @DustinWeible]

@Culture3ase I love how comments are split between people who have put their financial future on the line to make a film and people who have no idea how detailed indie budgets are because there is NOT enough money to get it done in the first place but goddammit you’re gonna try.

[Dustin Weible @DustinWeible]

@vulturetrades I’d love to give it a try

[Dustin Weible @DustinWeible]

@GwenLovesMovies People with no artistic skill are using AI to “create.” It’s only fair for us as artists use AI for administrative tasks that it’s actually good at. Help me make schedules and do all the monotonous tasks so I have more time for my art.

[Dustin Weible @DustinWeible]

@justnyxs I loved Zero Dawn. I really liked Forbidden West but it was a step back story-wise and it was just so big but felt pretty empty. Took me months to beat because I kept falling out of it.

[Dustin Weible @DustinWeible]

@DougTenNapel Out of curiosity, have you started implementing AI processes into your workflow? I know several storyboard artists who have to stay ahead of the curb.

[Dustin Weible @DustinWeible]

@Bean31435025 @ecto_fun As someone who has worked in the film and entertainment business for the last 18 years, I’m speaking from knowledge and experience. We aren’t going anywhere. But unfortunately, AI isn’t either. Artists are learning how to harness it so your nightmare scenario doesn’t come true.

[Dustin Weible @DustinWeible]

@Bean31435025 @ecto_fun It won’t be a replacement. They’ll try, and quickly learn it can’t do anything but administrative work decently. But that means the people running the show would be out of the job, so they’ll keep quiet about it.

[Dustin Weible @DustinWeible]

@Bean31435025 @ecto_fun To integrate into their workflows so they can adapt, figure out solutions and keep their creative vision intact with the increasing workload that’s expected from them. It’s alot. Not saying it’s great. Time will tell.

[Dustin Weible @DustinWeible]

@Bean31435025 @ecto_fun Not obsolete, but it allows them to do more work faster. Which allows them to work on more projects in a shorter amount of time. Which makes them more money. I agree about storyboard artists, that’s where it gets tough. The ones I know have smartly started to learn AI —

[Dustin Weible @DustinWeible]

@Bean31435025 @ecto_fun As much as I hate the AI wave, it will be a big help in moving processes along faster, reducing burnout on departments such as VFX, and helping indie artists achieve much more than they can by themselves. It’s a tool. Not a replacement.

[Dustin Weible @DustinWeible]

@Bean31435025 @ecto_fun And if you want to get into who might lose jobs to Marty’s generative AI use, it’s storyboard artists. But even many of them have started to use AI workflows to speed up their process or turn their 2D drawings into 3D moving images to better show the DP and crew the vision.