by
admin
on
May 9, 2013 • Simply put there’s nothing more important in your production than the look of your film. Of course a number of elements contribute to that look. Cinematography, Art Direction, Wardrobe and Casting are the chief elements. While a lot of attention gets paid to lighting and acting (as it should!) the other two elements often get...
by
admin
on
May 6, 2013 • You’re a filmmaker, of course, and that brings with it a certain amount of ego and willfulness, mixed with a dash of self-deprecation and occasional bouts of torpor. This potent and unusual mix makes you creative, self-starting and more than a little manic. You’re good at starting things, or at sustaining them, or even really...
by
admin
on
May 3, 2013 • Everyone loves a good sequel. Hollywood, moreover, is in love with them. Television is little better, yet to say the medium is one of imitation is to state a law of the universe. Even with IPTV and other web deliveries, budgets for film and television remain inflated to the point of bursting. In such an...
by
admin
on
Apr 30, 2013 • Character and setting are the most approachable part of film writing and filmmaking in general. We identify quickly with seeing part of ourselves in a work of fiction or in seeing a place that feels familiar where familiar things are done. Even when the sights and sounds are fantastical or outrageous, if that spark of...
by
admin
on
Apr 27, 2013 • Now that everybody with a Kindle gleam in their eye knows IPTV isn’t a fad, a bubble or a trend, it’s useful to do periodic assessments of the industry. Count me one who believes that, just like cable and satellite, IPTV will quickly be seen as just plain ‘television’. With Netflix acting more and more...
by
admin
on
Apr 24, 2013 • Theme. Emotion. What you take away from a film when its over. When you think about it later. It’s brought out by a central feeling, by a unifying attitude that infuses every word and phrase you write in a script. Theme is described in words, but it is felt through the entire experience. A well-crafted...
by
admin
on
Apr 21, 2013 • Film is a director’s medium and television is a producer’s medium. Those were the clichés for years, as the moving image industry grew and matured. While no art form ever ‘grows up’, it’s safe to say those distinctions and divisions carry less weight today. In a time of IPTV and Youtube the consolidation of industry...
by
admin
on
Apr 18, 2013 • Let’s zoom in on production for a minute. In particular, let’s look at the set itself and how what happens there translates into the creation of a film. One person has the vision and the focus to keep all the parts in view during a production. That person is, of course, the director. That’s who...
by
admin
on
Apr 15, 2013 • The following of how writing dialogue can really shape a film. For any film, whether dramatic, documentary or some hybrid, the script requires dialogue. Focusing on the dramatic variety you find that dialogue is one of the most important elements of a screenplay. Characters converse with each other, often with the audience (via monologue and voice...
by
admin
on
Apr 12, 2013 • In a previous post we talked about planning for your production. One of the obvious requirements for any production is to establish a working budget, secure money and stick to your budgeted costs. Failing to budget properly is one of the greatest mistakes of low-budget productions. In particular small budget filmmakers tend not to remember...
by
admin
on
Apr 9, 2013 • In some ways writing is writing. No matter what the format it requires the same discipline, and benefits from equal parts inspiration and talent. While writing a script it occurs to many authors to translate their story into other forms. The late Bill Gunn once remarked how he used his scripts as outlines to write...
by
admin
on
Apr 6, 2013 • After all the corrections, tricks and hard work, editing is where the final film comes into being. The best edit systems are the ones that give you the tools, and then get out of the way. We’ll talk here about the professional systems, the ones capable of completing anything from a Youtube video to a...
