Posted on February 1, 2012 in Directing, Pre-production | No Comments
As a filmmaker, be it as a producer or director or both, you are like a captain of a ship. Once the production day starts and the ship has left port, everyone will be looking to you for guidance and direction. Nothing will sink your project faster than indecision – an issue that can be mitigated with proper pre-production work.
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Posted on January 23, 2012 in Financing | No Comments
Though designed for an independent game design project, Gary Sarli provides a thorough and detailed break down of how to approach Kickstarter in a strategic manner.
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Posted on January 12, 2012 in Financing, Marketing | No Comments
Victoria Westcott shares the five simple lessons from her childhood and how they apply crowdfunding, including raising $20k for her first feature film “Locked in a Garage Band”
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Posted on January 4, 2012 in Casting Directors | No Comments
Carolyn Pickman has over 50 feature films to her credit. New England Film profiles her work and tries to figure out what she looks for in actors.
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Posted on December 22, 2011 in Producing | No Comments
John August and Craig Mazin discuss what the job of a producer is (or should be). John looks at the four different roles a producer can take on: The general, The diplomat, The creative or The bulldozer.
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Posted on November 22, 2011 in Producing | No Comments
Producers Guild of America East presents: A panel of female producers and film academics including Jane Startz, Amy Robinson, Jane Gaines, and moderator Julie Buck, discuss the history of women in film and recent changes in the production process during a free Amphitheater forum at the 49th New York Film Festival.
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Posted on November 16, 2011 in Storyboarding | 2 Comments
Our friends at Celtx have created a new app, Celtx Shots, to capture your next great idea. It is the first app with both storyboarding and set blocking built-in allowing you to create storyboards and block scenes in the field, on the set, or anytime inspiration strikes.
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Posted on November 9, 2011 in Filmmaking 360, Financing, Marketing | 1 Comment
In Script Notes, John August and Craig Mason talk about how the money flows in a Hollywood Studio and how a theoretical movie studio can make money even if the last 20 pictures it releases looses money.
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Posted on October 21, 2011 in Contracts and Law, Legal & Copyright | 1 Comment
James Erwin is a fledgling author who posted a series of short stories in Reddit’s forums about what would happen if U.S. Marines traveled back in time to fight the Roman Empire. Warner Bros. took notice and moved to buy the movie rights. But Reddit’s user agreement may turn his dream into a intellectual property nightmare.
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Posted on October 18, 2011 in Casting Directors | 2 Comments
AFI Alum Rodrigo García talks to current AFI Fellows about working with ensemble casts like that in his upcoming film ALBERT NOBBS.
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Posted on September 19, 2011 in General Screenwriting, Producing | No Comments
If you are like me you can’t figure out how Michael Bay comes up with such thought provoking, emotionally powerful scripts time and time again. Now thanks to Mark Riffee with Wired we know his secret… the CIA is his writing partner.
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Posted on September 14, 2011 in Financing | No Comments
Crowd funding sites like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo are littered with the carcasses of failed projects. Though not a guarantee of success, there’s probably a good chance the unsuccessful pitch may have ignored one or more of these tips…
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Posted on September 13, 2011 in Contracts and Law | No Comments
We have all seen those government warnings on DVDs. You may have even seen some “indie” films include the warning before their little epic either to look “professional” or because of an irrational fear someone may steal their Zombie Space Opera.
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Posted on September 1, 2011 in Casting Directors | 1 Comment
David M. Reynolds, director of the ambitious independent short film “Underwater Realm”, takes us through an audition session held at the bottom of a pool.
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Posted on August 31, 2011 in Casting Directors | No Comments
In this 1983 thank you note Steven Spielberg writes to the editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland, Forrest Ackerman. He mentions the “insane” casting process on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom while recalling the simpler days of film school.
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