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1 like = 1 aspect of filmmaking that’s easier than you’d think (and why)
Lets do this
Lets do this
SECURING A LOCATION
Only on big films is this a big to do (mostly due to the size of the footprint—trucks, trailers, you name it). Small films, I've rented airbnbs to shoot in, used friends places, etc. Write to locations you ALREADY or DEFINITELY CAN have access to!
Only on big films is this a big to do (mostly due to the size of the footprint—trucks, trailers, you name it). Small films, I've rented airbnbs to shoot in, used friends places, etc. Write to locations you ALREADY or DEFINITELY CAN have access to!
SECURING A LOCATION PART 2
When people sit down to your movie they're not gonna be all "hey, there's no airplane hanger" unless you write a scene thats supposed to take place in a friggin aiplane hanger!!! Writing your own movies is 99% just not shooting Future You in the foot
When people sit down to your movie they're not gonna be all "hey, there's no airplane hanger" unless you write a scene thats supposed to take place in a friggin aiplane hanger!!! Writing your own movies is 99% just not shooting Future You in the foot
TAMMY AND THE T REX exists because somebody had access to an animatronic T Rex fo a few weeks and was like 'hey, i could make a movie with this'. That's the only reason. No that? No movie. Take that approach to everything. Use what you have. Grandma-y apartment? RAMEKIN.
CASTING
Easy, use Backstage and do the 'hard part' yourself—sorting through peeps. Dont do a cattle call. Go through hundreds of faces/reels YOURSELF, contact people ONLY if you think they could do the part in their sleep. If they're a yes, bam, you cast a part!
Easy, use Backstage and do the 'hard part' yourself—sorting through peeps. Dont do a cattle call. Go through hundreds of faces/reels YOURSELF, contact people ONLY if you think they could do the part in their sleep. If they're a yes, bam, you cast a part!
CASTING, PART 2
99% of actors just want to work on something they know won't sit on a hard drive forever unfinished or unwatched. Most of the projects they work on, that's what happens. So, if you can demonstrate you COMPLETE and RELEASE, they will be happy to work with you.
99% of actors just want to work on something they know won't sit on a hard drive forever unfinished or unwatched. Most of the projects they work on, that's what happens. So, if you can demonstrate you COMPLETE and RELEASE, they will be happy to work with you.
SHOOTING OUTSIDE IN DAYTIME
If you look at the ground and you can't see much shadow at all, the light is good. Overcast weather is your best friend. Overcast usually means f2.8 / 160 ISO, sometimes f4. White balance with expodisc pointed at where sun is behind clouds. Easy peasy
If you look at the ground and you can't see much shadow at all, the light is good. Overcast weather is your best friend. Overcast usually means f2.8 / 160 ISO, sometimes f4. White balance with expodisc pointed at where sun is behind clouds. Easy peasy
SHOOTING INDOOR DAY SCENE AT NIGHT
This was shot at night. Daylight CFL in kitchen pointing in where window is, simulating daylight coming in. Two daylight CFL white umbrellas in room. Turn off incandescent lights. White balance with expodisc pointed at main CFL umbrella. Easy
This was shot at night. Daylight CFL in kitchen pointing in where window is, simulating daylight coming in. Two daylight CFL white umbrellas in room. Turn off incandescent lights. White balance with expodisc pointed at main CFL umbrella. Easy
GETTING NATURAL PERFORMANCES OUT OF PEOPLE
Cast people that can do the part in their sleep by way of being visually/aurally exactly what you want for role. On set, they will think they are doing 'nothing'. They are right and wrong. They are everything!
Cast people that can do the part in their sleep by way of being visually/aurally exactly what you want for role. On set, they will think they are doing 'nothing'. They are right and wrong. They are everything!
GETTING NATURAL PERFORMANCES PART 2
'Acting = being able to play someone totally different from yourself' is some BS that acting teachers came up with, not filmmakers. Its impressive, but impractical, and it's not something we should EXPECT from actors, or judge their worth on.
'Acting = being able to play someone totally different from yourself' is some BS that acting teachers came up with, not filmmakers. Its impressive, but impractical, and it's not something we should EXPECT from actors, or judge their worth on.
NATURAL PERFORMANCES PART 3
Daniel Day Lewis will ALWAYS be wrong for Jonah Hill's part in Superbad. Always. No amount of training or whatever will change that. Yet, actors get grifted regularly into thinking they aren't progressing unless they can chameleon themselves. Its sick
Daniel Day Lewis will ALWAYS be wrong for Jonah Hill's part in Superbad. Always. No amount of training or whatever will change that. Yet, actors get grifted regularly into thinking they aren't progressing unless they can chameleon themselves. Its sick
NATURAL PART 4
Genuine is always more compelling than fake. People fall in love with the characters in my movies because someone genuine is delivering the lines. That happened bc of casting. They just have to hit mark, say lines, the magic happens. TRUE AND FALSE by Mamet shit!
Genuine is always more compelling than fake. People fall in love with the characters in my movies because someone genuine is delivering the lines. That happened bc of casting. They just have to hit mark, say lines, the magic happens. TRUE AND FALSE by Mamet shit!
WRITING GOOD DIALOGUE
If YOU cant memorize your shit, nobody else will be able to. (Try it and see!) Lose anything youre forgetting—it's probably not important. Lose extraneous words. You can include some to help actors understand the rhythm you want, but pare down. Underwrite.
If YOU cant memorize your shit, nobody else will be able to. (Try it and see!) Lose anything youre forgetting—it's probably not important. Lose extraneous words. You can include some to help actors understand the rhythm you want, but pare down. Underwrite.
WRITING GOOD DIALOGUE 2
For good dialogue, each character needs to be someone YOU THE WRITER can relate to in some way. If you don't relate to a character, it's not there yet. Write an angry character like YOU when you're angry. A funny character like YOU when you're funny. Etc.
For good dialogue, each character needs to be someone YOU THE WRITER can relate to in some way. If you don't relate to a character, it's not there yet. Write an angry character like YOU when you're angry. A funny character like YOU when you're funny. Etc.
WRITING GOOD DIALOGUE 3
If a line isn't a NATURAL RESPONSE to what was just said, it'll be hard for an actor to remember what the line is during the course of the scene, or emote it correctly on the spot. Choose your non-sequitirs, your flow-killing lines wisely
If a line isn't a NATURAL RESPONSE to what was just said, it'll be hard for an actor to remember what the line is during the course of the scene, or emote it correctly on the spot. Choose your non-sequitirs, your flow-killing lines wisely
WRITING GOOD DIALOGUE 4
Remember choosing dialogue responses in video games? A B C all plausible, D as a wildcard answer? Don't write a shit ton of D's. A lot of people do that to try to be witty/quirky writers—it stilts everything, makes shit virtually unactable
Remember choosing dialogue responses in video games? A B C all plausible, D as a wildcard answer? Don't write a shit ton of D's. A lot of people do that to try to be witty/quirky writers—it stilts everything, makes shit virtually unactable
WRITING GOOD DIALOGUE 5
The truth is MOST dialogue in any given scene writes itself by way of being completely plausible and natural responses to what was said directly before. The river flows naturally. If it's not, it's OUR fault, we injected something that killed it.
The truth is MOST dialogue in any given scene writes itself by way of being completely plausible and natural responses to what was said directly before. The river flows naturally. If it's not, it's OUR fault, we injected something that killed it.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
180 degree rule. LEARN IT. DONT FUCKING BREAK IT. Hollywood movies can get away with being morons and breaking it by accident—we can't! Anything we fuck up on is glaringly obvious because people look to FIND shit we fucked up on, cause we're low budget.
180 degree rule. LEARN IT. DONT FUCKING BREAK IT. Hollywood movies can get away with being morons and breaking it by accident—we can't! Anything we fuck up on is glaringly obvious because people look to FIND shit we fucked up on, cause we're low budget.
If youre gonna have a blurry back of someones head talking to someone who is in focus, make sure the mouth on the blurry person isnt visible. This gives you more leeway in editing. Hollywood movies fuck this up all the time, leading to blatantly out of sync audio on blurry person
