Looking at your idea and really asking yourself, how can I present this in a way that has not been overdone? Really look at every angle and put your personal stamp on it. I also think that often times contest submissions for young filmmakers will excel in one of two areas: Production Value or Story. I see a lot of films, including my own, that excel in one but not the other. You could have the most amazing production value, but if the story falls flat, you won’t get far. For me, the story comes first.
Barry Teitelbaum
Member Profile: BarryT315
Job: Filmmaker/Writer
Location: United States
networking.studentfilmmakers.com/BarryT315
A Meal To Die For, shot with a Canon 60D and Carl Zeiss lenses (35mm/2.0, an 18mm/3.5, and a 50mm/1.4), is a short film that won three awards. A Meal To Die For is the story of a young Chef, Matt Moreland, whose career and quest to be a star has been derailed by several people in the industry. He has decided to exact revenge on two of them, a Restauranteur Pierre Strass, and a renowned local Food Critic, Sally Kendall. He has hatched a plan using his wife as bait to kidnap these two and coerce them to sign amended endorsements of his talents otherwise they face death at the hands of Nutmeg poisoning.
BARRY SHARES CONTEST TIPS:
“…Looking at your idea and really asking yourself, how can I present this in a way that has not been overdone? Really look at every angle and put your personal stamp on it. I also think that often times contest submissions for young filmmakers will excel in one of two areas: Production Value or Story. I see a lot of films, including my own, that excel in one but not the other. You could have the most amazing production value, but if the story falls flat, you won’t get far. For me, the story comes first.
As far as film racing goes, the best advice I can give is to make sure you have a tight crew with the right attitude and be sure to delegate. Whenever I try to do too much, it always backfires. And it really is okay if you don’t have a big crew, as long as the crew you have is committed to the project. I would rather go out and shoot with five people with little or no experience but are focused and excited to be part of the film then to go out with 10 extremely talented crew members who didn’t care about the project and couldn’t wait to get out of there.
Finally anyone familiar with the exquisite hell that is film racing, knows how insane it is to try and make a movie in 48 hours. It really is the antithesis of how you would normally go about doing things, but one of the greatest takeaways is that you really don’t have any time to over analyze things.”
Photo courtesy of Barry Teitelbaum.
Sign Up for Free! (click here)
Join the studentfilmmakers.com Network today.
- Members have an opportunity to be featured in StudentFilmmakers Magazine and StudentFilmmakers.com.
- Connect with Filmmakers, Crew and Talent around the world.
- Find people to work with in your area, and be found by people looking for crew.
- Share your production stills and production blogs.
- See what others in the creative communities are working on and achieving.
- Broadcast your Reels and post your videos in the video showcase.
Click here to create your FREE network profile and start networking online now. See you in the Network!
