Steak Tastes. A Hamburger Budget. The STORYSMART® Way - June 2026
Published about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Filmmaking for ALL™ Lesson 1 - Making Steak on a Hamburger Budget
Hi Reader,
The older I get, the more I appreciate resourcefulness.
This month's newsletter is dedicated to that spirit.
It's about making steak on a hamburger budget, thinking differently about the economics of true stories, and continuing to build something meaningful even when the path forward isn't perfectly clear.
Thank you for being part of our STORYSMART® community.
Ron
1. Feature Article
Making Steak on a Hamburger Budget
St. Louis, MO May 30, 2026 - A few weeks ago, I sat in a full theater in St. Louis watching our documentary film,Steak Guerrillas, play on the big screen for the first time as part of a private audience screening.
I found myself getting emotional. Not because the film was finished. It isn’t. It is still a work-in-progress.
ut for the first time, after more than a year of producing, directing, writing, chasing paperwork, digitizing archives, reviewing animation, rewriting scenes, solving problems, and trying to will this thing into existence, I could finally see what the film might become.
Who Gets to Profit from a True Story? Exploring the Ethical Tensions of Investment & Profit-Sharing in Documentary Filmmaking
St. Louis, MO – May 24, 2026 - In 2024, I traveled to the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival Filmmakers Forum because I wanted to learn.
I had committed myself to building a new independent filmmaking model through STORYSMART®, and I believed one of the best things I could do was listen to people who had spent decades inside the documentary industry.
I spoke with independent filmmakers, producers, public television representatives, and people connected to PBS affiliates and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
I asked questions about financing, ethics, rights, distribution, and what the future of documentary filmmaking might look like in an era increasingly shaped by creators, direct audiences, and owned media.
What surprised me most was not the disagreement about technology, distribution, or streaming. It was the intensity of the ethical discussions surrounding documentary participants themselves.
6. Want to Learn More about the STORYSMART® Framework?
Hollywood Insiders Know the Playbook. Now You Can Too.
7. Archive of Newsletters
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About Our STORYSMART® Perspective
We approach storytelling and filmmaking as a long-term, rights-first business rather than a project-by-project creative exercise. Our focus is on understanding how stories create value over time through ownership, disciplined development, and thoughtful risk management.
The ideas shared here are intended to contribute to a broader conversation about sustainable, independent media, not to promote specific projects or investment opportunities.
