5 Ways to Get Electrified Performances from Your Actors

Photo by Natalie Parham. natalieparhamcreative.squarespace.com | Follow on Instagram @natalieparham 5 Ways to Get Electrified Performances from Your Actors Follow These Important Tips Written by Paul Cram (1.) Cast an Actor that Barely Needs to Act. If an actor’s persona is already 80 percent of the character, you need only to rely on the other … Continue reading “5 Ways to Get Electrified Performances from Your Actors”

How to Avoid 6 Major Blunders and Elevate Your Screenplay Now

How to Avoid 6 Major Blunders and Elevate Your Screenplay Now Don’t Let Your Ideas Fall by the Wayside Written by Paula Brancato In my career as producer and script developer, I have read over 5,000 screenplays. So many promising concepts fall by the wayside because of errors that a knowledgeable screenwriter can easily avoid. … Continue reading “How to Avoid 6 Major Blunders and Elevate Your Screenplay Now”

Create Realistic Dialogue Now: 17 Fast Tips

Photo by William Bayreuther. Filmmaker and Photographer from Montreal, CAD. Instagram @Bayreuther.w Create Realistic Dialogue Now: 17 Fast Tips Get Your Conversations Rolling   Written by Sherri Sheridan Keep the audience hungry for dialogue, using it only when you absolutely cannot show something visually. The more dialogue you use in your film, the less impact … Continue reading “Create Realistic Dialogue Now: 17 Fast Tips”

Organization and Naming Your Shots

Photo by Aleks Marinkovic. www.aleksmarinkovic.com Organization and Naming Your Shots Shot Lists from Pre-Production through Post-Production Written By Peter John Ross Like so many of us with a desire to eventually work on bigger movies for a living, I like to view my DSLR shorts as a training ground. Even when making a 5-minute short, … Continue reading “Organization and Naming Your Shots”

7 Ways to Maintain Sharp Focus Filming Documentary Action

Photo by Jakob Rosen. Instagram: @jakobnoahrosen 7 Ways to Maintain Sharp Focus Filming Documentary Action Written By Courtney Hermann Is it just me, or do you routinely find yourself stumbling through a muddy field strewn with debris and fallen logs, struggling to find focus on a surprisingly speedy documentary subject? Just me? No matter. All … Continue reading “7 Ways to Maintain Sharp Focus Filming Documentary Action”

Production Stills Photo Contest 2021

Photo by Brock DuPont. www.brockdupont.com Production Stills Photo Contest 2021 Call for Entries Production Stills are a valuable part of a filmmaker’s story. They capture moments behind the scenes that become great memories over the years, while the public can see the atmosphere and context in which the crew worked hard to create a great … Continue reading “Production Stills Photo Contest 2021”

Directing Your Actors After the Cameras Have Stopped Rolling

Wild West: John Cusack and director John Badham on the set of “Jack the Bull,” the story of Wyoming ranchers whose clash has far-reaching results. Photo by Joe Lederer. Courtesy of HBO/Cinemax. Directing Your Actors After the Cameras Have Stopped Rolling How the Last Shot is Only the Beginning Written by John Badham Congratulations! You’ve … Continue reading “Directing Your Actors After the Cameras Have Stopped Rolling”

Result Directing: Working with Your Actors

Photo by Joe Muniz. Follow on Instagram @infraredla @hjoelmuniz_   Written by Gleb Osatinski I always thought thinking about the final result in directing with actors is the most important thing on the set. How it works – I know exactly what I want the actors to look like and how they should sound like, … Continue reading “Result Directing: Working with Your Actors”

Limitations | “The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees oneself.”

Photo by Raymond Lee | www.raymondleemedia.com Written by David K. Irving How to make films during a pandemic. Filmmaking is a handmade business that requires collaboration among an army of artisans. One silver lining on this dark lockdown cloud is that it is necessary that the show must go on, and as we all know, … Continue reading “Limitations | “The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees oneself.””

Film & Video Music Composer: Calin Joseph McCarthy

Calin Joseph McCarthy was born in Cleveland, OH. Growing up modestly in the suburbs, Calin lived his early years in Avon Lake, OH with his parents and two siblings. An avid enthusiast for sports, film, technology and education cultivated a strong understanding of concepts, primarily in the arts. Having completed high school in 2004, and … Continue reading “Film & Video Music Composer: Calin Joseph McCarthy”

“The Joy of Summer” Photography Contest 2021

Photo by Katerina Kerdi. | Follow Instagram @katekerdi   “Summer is the season that can bring many reasons to smile. Photographers from all over the world find great inspiration for their work during this joyful time. With this occasion, Student Filmmakers Magazine challenges you to capture and show us the Joy of Summer!” ~ From … Continue reading ““The Joy of Summer” Photography Contest 2021″

Location, Location, Location!

Written by Dean Goldberg “Location, Location, Location.” This timeless real-estate phrase was coined in 1944 by Harold Samuels, the man who founded Land Securities, one of the United Kingdom’s largest property companies. It’s also been my mantra for as long as I’ve been in film production. Another phrase that may be familiar to new film … Continue reading “Location, Location, Location!”