“FilmFellas” get together for industry talks

Zacuto USA founder Steve Weiss is happy to find himself back in the director’s chair after a seven-year hiatus as co-producer/director on a series of up-close-and personal discussions on the practical business side of independent filmmaking.

Shot with multiple cameras, the webshow, “FilmFellas,” appears on the social network site Vimeo the first and 15th of the month.

Weiss said the purpose of the show is to go beyond the cash- and-carry trade and to give Zacuto’s customers personalized insights into the complex world of indie filmmaking.

“We feel we can’t just sell this equipment constantly and not offer solutions of how to make money with it on the flip side,” Weiss said.

“We want people to understand that you need to look at this as a business. You need to find a way to make a sustainable living with your gear.”

Before he founded Zacuto, Weiss was always on the lookout for “gathering spaces,” such as department stores or hotels, where he could showcase his video work.

Weiss sees the Internet a major “gathering space,” and is excited by the opportunity to produce informative and entertaining content for an international audience.

Each webisode features highlights from a roundtable discussion with a variety of independent filmmakers who share their secrets of success.

While the first four webisodes cover the basics of film production and distribution, the next four focus on the independent film movement itself.

The first quartet of speakers, with Weiss hosting, are British cinematographer Philip Bloom (UK’s “The Insider” series), who maintains a dialog with young filmmakers on his blog, Flashpoint Academy film chair Peter Hawley (writer/director of the all-star family program “Rainbow Soup”) and Flashpoint film student Steven Dadouche, who owns a RED camera.