Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
by Jack Anderson You’ll be reading the script, and you will notice pretty quickly whether your film will involve kids or animals. No matter how well-behaved they are, kids and animals mean that it will take more time to shoot. What will affect your photography is the way you have to work around them…. …
Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
by Dean Goldberg When Apple introduced Final Cut X (now how do you say that?) filmmakers, editors, fathers, mothers and even their babies, were all left in a state one can only describe as shock. Okay, I may be exaggerating a bit about the babies, but let’s face it—after the initial rollout of Final … Continue reading “Who’s Driving the Bus? | The Filmmaker as Inventor”
Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
by Jack Anderson You’ve got a chance at a job and you’re just reading the script—maybe for the second or third time. You’re preparing yourself for the crucial meeting with the director and maybe the producer. Now might be a good time to bring up a piece of vital advice: Never Say No. I… …
Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
by Scott Spears So you’ve scraped together a few extra dollars to shoot film, but you’re still a bit tight on cash and somebody says, “Buy short ends!” Now, you’ve heard about them but aren’t sure you want to buy somebody else’s leftovers. Well, here’s the scoop on short ends: it’s film that was… …
Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
By David Worth Hopefully you will never take the amazing technology that you have at your fingertips today for granted. The reason that you, today’s filmmakers can capture on the RED or the ALEXA or DSLRs and routinely shoot at ASA 800, 2000 or 6400 and beyond, is because of all of the outstanding… …
Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
by Pamela Jaye Smith Your audience wants to find out how people and things go bad. Here are some ways to send your characters down the left-hand path. Sleeping with the Enemy Since Adam took a bite from the apple Eve offered, humans have done all sorts of bad things because of love, lust, … Continue reading “The Lure of the Dark Side: 5 Ways to Send Your Characters Down the Left-Hand Path”
Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
by William Donaruma and John Klein NightLights is an independent, Chicago-based film production, which depicts the poigniant story of a young woman, Erin Logan (Shawna Waldron), as she strives to care for her twin brother, Jacob (Stephen Louis Grush), who is severely affected by autism. When the possibilities of love and friendship open up… …
Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
by Peter Kiwitt While it has been said that 80% of performance is casting, the last 20% is still crucial. Although you should always be open to change, with relatively little rehearsal time, working with actors should generally be a time of exploration for them, not you. To be effective, and build trust and … Continue reading “After Casting: How to be effective, and build trust and respect”
Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
by Stacey Parks Myth #1: Build It, and They Will Come There are a lot of myths about what gets and doesn’t get distribution. One of the biggest is that it’s either all about the art or all about selling-out and going commercial. If you believe that ‘build it, and they will come’ is … Continue reading “5 Big Distribution Myths: What Gets and What Doesn’t Get Distribution?”
Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
by Bryant Falk So there I was off to Vegas as a hired gun to help fix and create audio/video for a multitude of purposes. I thought I had everything! My laptop complete with all the software I could ever need. A cornucopia of software and a couple of fire wire hard drives. So … Continue reading “An Itemized Audio/Video Production List: Have All Your Angles Covered”
Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
by Myrl Schreibman The reality in the professional film directing world in which ‘budget, bottom lines, timelines and Murphy’s Law’ bump into ‘creativity, character and story’ is what the production period is all about. Narrative films are made in pre-production. They are executed in production; but made in pre-production. There is no substitution for … Continue reading “Creating On-the-Fly Solutions On Location: But There is No Substitution for Pre-Production”
Written by StudentFilmmakers Magazine
by Christina DeHaven There are many different ways to fund a film, and not necessarily out of your own pocket. You have to start by preparing yourself for an effective fundraising campaign. Arm yourself with a few basic tools: 1. A strong business proposal, complete with references and samples of your previous work. 2. … Continue reading “Getting Financing for Your Independent Film: Ensuring Distribution and Choosing Scripts”
