HALO 8 titles are distributed by Ryko Distribution and are available on DVD through a variety of one-stops and specialty distributors including AEC, ATM Distributing / Arrow, Baker & Taylor, Galaxy Music Distributors, Ingram Entertainment, Super D / Phantom Distribution, VPD, WaxWorks / VideoWorks, Ad Noiseam Records, Revelation Records, Interpunk, and more. If you are interested in buying wholesale and you are not currently an account of Warner-Elektra-Atlantic, all our DVDs are available wholesale through Merch Lackey
Investor Information [click here]
Submission Policies:
- For Independent Films Seeking Distribution [click here]
- For Band or Score Composer Demos, Director / DP Reels, Crew Resumes, Photographer / Illustrator / Designer Portfolios [click here]
- For Screenwriters [click here]
- For Actors, Actresses, Models, Comics, Personalities [click here]
Job Opportunities [click here]
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FULL BIO
HALO 8 Entertainment, Inc. is an independent film studio specializing
in iconoclastic and music-driven cult movies and their related
soundtracks. It was founded in 2005 by award-winning filmmaker
Matt Pizzolo.
Pizzolo had previously founded Kings Mob Productions
with partner Katie Nisa, formed DiY-Fest,
the not-for-profit touring carnival of Do-it-Yourself mediamaking,
and served as writer-director of the iconoclastic indie movie
“Threat.”
HALO 8’s formation began with “Threat,” which
was produced by the team of fledgling filmmakers known as Kings
Mob. Pizzolo ranked as the eldest crewmember at 22 years old.
He'd just dropped out of NYU's screenwriting department and
was living out of a backpack in NYC’s Lower East Side.
When we say he was the eldest, we mean there were absolutely
no executive producers, associate producers, line producers,
or even mentors showing the Mobsters the ropes. They got free
equipment by interning at a local film co-op, bought 16mm short
ends discarded by TV shows, tapped into streetlights for electricity,
and jury-rigged their way through the process of feature filmmaking.
Upon finishing a rough cut, the Mobsters piled into a van, drove
to the Sundance Film Festival, and were stunned to discover
that you have to be invited to participate... so instead they
found a Doc Marten's shoe store on Main Street and convinced
the owners to let them use the shop as a makeshift movie theater.
They utilized Wal-Mart's 30-days-no-questions-asked return policy
to build a TV installation, and went on to sell out all four
showings and earn themselves international press including a
4-page feature in London's Daily Telegraph Saturday Magazine.
The press attention enabled them to launch a tour across the
US and Europe, where they played the rough cut to packed crowds
at skateparks, record stores, and live music venues.
The independent ethic that drove Kings Mob to produce in such
an unconventional way did not stop there. It occurred to Pizzolo
that a film is not truly “independent” if it is
produced independently and then sold to a Hollywood distributor,
who will often re-cut and alter a film before its release. Pizzolo
grew fiercely determined to form an independent film studio,
rather than to simply sell “Threat” to a Hollywood
distributor and start over again from scratch.
In late 2005, Pizzolo formed the DVD & soundtrack label
HALO 8 Entertainment and signed an output deal with
Sony-BMG’s RED Distribution. By partnering HALO 8 with
Kings Mob Productions as well as independent producers including
UnitShifter Films and 456 Productions, Pizzolo built the groundwork
for an independent film studio which currently has numerous
projects in various stages of development and production. In 2007, HALO 8 left RED and signed with Ryko Distribution, the leading distributor of independently produced home video.
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INVESTOR INFORMATION
Thank you for your interest in HALO 8 investment opportunities.
Please contact Todd [todd (at) halo8 (dot) tv]
to request general information and business plans for the numerous
projects we currently have in development.
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Independent Films Seeking Distribution
Hey, thanks for your interest in having us distribute your film. We enjoy watching all the movie screeners we get, so please do not hesitate to send something. Even if the film is not a perfect fit for us, we will try our best to help you on your quest to get it out there.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- We prefer DVD rather than VHS.
- Please do NOT email us video files.
- You may however email us the LINK to a trailer you have posted online.
- Please package your DVD solidly before shipping. We can’t watch a broken DVD and we probably won’t have time to contact you for a new one.
- Do NOT contact us asking if we got the DVD or if we watched it. Either it’s just not right for us and we don’t have any advice for you or we are just too busy to take on new projects, nothing personal.
- Sending us extra stuff besides the DVD is a great idea: especially press clippings, reviews, press kits, bios, etc.
- Please make sure the following information is either on the DVD itself or on the DVD case: film title, director’s name, contact name, phone number, email address, website, and street address. The DVD will probably be separated from your cover letter before we have a chance to watch it, so make sure we know how to get in touch with you after we watch your film.
- A slick looking package is important. If it looks like you spent 2 seconds putting your package together, we’ll assume that 2 seconds is all the time you think your film is worth. We are looking for the kind of hard-working filmmakers who realize the real work begins when the film is done.
- Yes, we will consider films from overseas. If it is not in English but it is subtitled, then please let us know if there is an M&E track available. If it is not in English and it is NOT subtitled, then only send us a trailer and a synopsis because we will probably not understand it (British accents are kinda pushing it for us).
- We will consider films from all genres, but keep in mind that we are not looking for low-budget versions of Hollywood movies. In your cover letter, make sure to tell us what makes your film unique… you may consider it a spoiler to give away the film’s unique elements, but it is those traits that will motivate us to watch your movie before we watch someone else’s.
- We are looking for HARD WORKING filmmakers, and we don’t just mean that you work hard writing and shooting your films. Many many more people are making independent films today than ever before, so it is harder than ever for an independent film to stand out. Marketing for your film begins the day you come up with the title… since there will be a big gap between that day and the day when we first see your DVD, we’ll be judging how hard you work by how much buzz you’ve built in the interim. If we’re going to work together, you need to be working just as hard as us—if not harder—and we are ALWAYS working.
PLEASE SEND ALL FILM SUBMISSIONS TO:
HALO 8 Inc.
7336 Santa Monica Blvd #10
LA CA 90046
Attn: Acquisitions
We look forward to watching your film. Thanks.
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Submission Policies:
Band or Score Composer Demos, Director / DP Reels, Crew Resumes, Photographer / Illustrator / Designer Portfolios
Hey, thanks for your interest in working with us. We are always looking for new soldiers and collaborators. You might not realize this, but we have actually hired people who contacted us out of the blue and many of those people have become our longterm co-conspirators.
MAIL RESUMES AND COVER LETTERS TO:
HALO 8 Inc.
7336 Santa Monica Blvd #10
LA CA 90046
Attn: Crew Submissions
Here are a few tips for contacting us:
COVER LETTER
Please do not send us a form letter. We are a very unique company, so we need to know why you are contacting us and what makes you think that we’re right for each other. Being on the same page as us is more important than having tons of experience. Make sure to tell us what your goals are in as specific terms as possible.BANDS
- We prefer you send us a CD rather than a cassette or vinyl.- Do NOT email MP3s.
- Do not send us the URL of a website where we can download your songs.
- Please include press clippings, reviews, press kits, bios, lists of bands you’ve played with, etc.
- Do NOT contact us asking if we got the CD or if we listened to it. Either it’s just not right for us and we don’t have any advice for you or we are just too busy to take on bands, nothing personal. Just because it doesn’t work out the first time doesn’t mean it will never work out, though, so please continue to send us future recordings.
SCORE COMPOSERS
- Please do NOT send us a CD of atmospheric music tracks.- Do NOT email MP3s.
- Do not send us the URL of a website where we can download your songs.
- Do not send us a feature-length movie DVD unless you scored the entire movie.
- Ideally, please send us a DVD-reel with a selection of scenes you scored.
- If you have never scored a movie before (or if your reel does not show the proper tone for HALO 8), a great demo is to take an existing film, mute out the audio and compose a new score for it. It’s a real bonus if you send us a DVD-R that has your score on one audio track and the original sound on another audio track—that way we can toggle back and forth to really get a sense of what you’ve done.
- Do NOT contact us asking if we got the demo or if we listened to it. Either it’s just not right for us and we don’t have any advice for you or we are just too busy to take on new composers, nothing personal. We will keep your submission on file, and please continue to send us updates as you continue to develop your demo.
DIRECTOR / DP REELS
- We prefer DVD rather than VHS.- Please do NOT email us video files.
- Please do NOT email us the link to a reel you have posted online. Streaming video files are just too small and lossy for us to get a sense of your technique.
- Please package your DVD solidly before shipping. We can’t watch a broken DVD and we probably won’t have time to contact you for a new one.
- Do NOT contact us asking if we got the reel or if we watched it. Either it’s just not right for us and we don’t have any advice for you or we are just too busy to take on new directors or DPs, nothing personal. We will keep your submission on file, and please continue to send us updates as you continue to develop your reel.
- Definitely let us know if your work has appeared in or will soon be appearing in any festivals or other showcases. If you have any reviews or press clippings, definitely send those along.
- Please make sure the following information is either on the DVD itself or on the DVD case: director’s name, contact name, phone number, email address, website, and street address. The DVD will probably be separated from your cover letter before we have a chance to watch it, so make sure we know how to get in touch with you if all we have is the DVD.
- A slick looking package is important. If it looks like you spent 2 seconds putting your package together, we’ll assume that 2 seconds is all the time you think your submission is worth.
CREW RESUMES
- Make sure to let us know what you’ve done, not just what you’ve worked on. If you had a certain position on a project but you did more work than that title expresses, let us know.- Be sure to let us know what equipment (hardware, software, etc) you’ve worked with in the past and what you feel you have an affinity for.
- Let us know (a) what you’ve done in the past, (b) what type of work you are currently doing, (c) what type of work you aspire to do in the future.
- Let us know why you think HALO 8 is the right place for you… we sure ain’t the right place for everybody.
PHOTOGRAPHER / ILLUSTRATOR / DESIGNER PORTFOLIOS
- Please feel free to e-mail us 1-3 low-resolution samples.
- Please feel free to send us a link to your online portfolio.
- Let us know (a) what you’ve done in the past, (b) what
type of work you are currently doing, (c) what type of work
you aspire to do in the future.
- Let us know why you think HALO 8 is the right place for you…
we sure ain’t the right place for everybody.
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Screenwriters
- Don’t send us your scripts. Don’t mail them, don’t e-mail them, don’t hand deliver them, don’t translate them into smoke signals. There are legal issues with sending around unsolicited screenplays and we won’t read them.
- You may email us a simple logline describing the project. Please include any unique attributes that you think might make it a great project for HALO 8.
- DO NOT SEND US A LOGLINE IF THE SCREENPLAY IS NOT COMPLETE AND PERFECT.
- If you are not shopping us a spec script, but would rather work on HALO 8 projects we are currently developing, email us a cover letter with information on what you’ve written and how you’ve studied the craft of screenwriting.
Contact: writers (at) halo8 (dot) tv
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Submission Policies:
Actors, Actresses, Models, Comics, Personalities
Casting for HALO 8 productions is handled through Young & Infamous.
Submit pics and bio to: younginfamous (at) halo8 (dot) tv
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Job Opportunities
INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE
Thank you for your interest and desire to intern at HALO 8 Entertainment.
Requirements:
- PASSIONATE about independent films, cult movies, and general “outsider media.”
- KNOWLEDGEABLE about HALO 8 releases and the filmmakers, actors, musicians, artists, and companies we work with.
- Self-starter, motivated, determined, detail oriented.
- Strong work ethic.
- Consistent access to high-speed internet.
- Computer savvy.
- Fun, outgoing, not a bummer to hang out with.
* We will work with your college to help you earn credits for your internship.
* Internships are available in LA & NYC. In some cases you may be able to telecommute from elsewhere.
Send us a cover letter and resume.
In your cover letter:
- Let us know (a) what you’ve done in the past, (b) what you are currently doing, (c) what type of work you aspire to do in the future.
- Let us know why you think HALO 8 is the right place for you… we sure ain’t the right place for everybody.
- Let us know what department you are interested in learning more about and working in: marketing, sales, booking, acquisitions, development, production, post-production.
MAIL RESUMES AND COVER LETTERS TO:
HALO 8 Inc.
7336 Santa Monica Blvd #10
LA CA 90046
Attn: Internship Program
Please do NOT call us, we will review all resumes that we receive. We will contact you and/or keep your resume on file if we think you would make a great fit. We look forward to reading your resume. Thanks!
