Degree In Film + Hustle = Success
Andy Landen
Andy Landen still hasn't finished his degree in film, an MFA from USC's School of Cinematic Arts, but he's already well on his way. A product of his times he has a string of web hits already including Do Whatever for Subway with half a million views on My Damn Cannel and After School Club. He's even collaborated on a feature film, Carried in the Whale. Read more...
Film School’s Failure to Produce Filmmakers – Dirty Film School Secrets
Industrial Revolution Factory
An issue that has long troubled me is the well-known fact (at least within the film industry) that film school graduates rarely become successes in the film industry. Although film schools pump out thousands of graduates each year one of the dirty film school secrets is that less than 1% of them will ever make a feature film much less see any significant financial or career success in their chosen field.
The root cause is the basic nature of how filmmaking is taught within the university systems. Modern educational institutions are very good at teaching facts but very bad at nurturing creativity, personal initiative and entrepreneurship. To understand the reasons for this we have to back to the founding of public education in the early 1800s Read more...
Is Film School Worth It in 2011?
Filed under: Filmmaking Questions, Getting Started, Learn Filmmaking
This is a guest post from filmmaker Seth Hymes who runs the site Film School Secrets. He is particularly qualified to discuss the pros and cons of film school as he is a graduate and former instructor at NYU Film School.
Film schools are a wonderful opportunity to acquire basic filmmaking techniques and mingle with others interested in making movies. They allow a chance to experiment and study in a very structured and thorough way.
But, sad to say, I’ve gotten to know so many USC and NYU film school graduates who find themselves deeply in debt, without a job, and having no clue how they can make a living working in the film industry. At the same time I’ve gotten to know many more independently minded individuals who are thriving in the film industry but never got a traditional film school degree.
Today there are more and more lower-cost alternatives to traditional film schools and my goal in this post is to explore the pros and cons of investing in a traditional degree school versus the many other options available.
Indie Filmmaking Trends – Part 2
- Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Filmmaking Trend 3: Micro Niche Marketing - Social Networking
This filmmaking trend follows in the footsteps of an entire underground industry that has grown up in the last 15 years of individuals or very small companies creating websites dedicated to small specific niches where the right targeted advertising can create substantial income for them. The methods used by these little companies are just beginning to be understood by other industries.
The use of social networking sites to promote niche interests is getting to be pretty well understood by the studios but most indie producers are just getting started. Read more...
Indie Filmmaking Trends – Part 1
- Image via Wikipedia
Filmmaking Trend 1: Self Distribution and the Future of DRM
Once upon a time movies were shown in theaters that were owned by movie studios. End of story. That began to die in the 1950s and the filmmaking trend toward alternative methods of distribution accelerates every year. Read more...
Chicken Powered Camera Stabilizer
Image via Wikipedia
Search for the Perfect Camera Stabilizer
Filmmakers are often trying to simulate what a walking or running person sees without much success. The human visual system has the ability to fixate for a moment on important objects in order to understand them before jumping to the next item. Everything around the important object is actually somewhat out-of-focus.
Chickens have highly refined visual systems that are able to maintain very constant attention on one point even as the body is wildly moving in all directions. What about using a chicken as a camera stabilizer? Sound crazy? Read more...
Screenplay Story Ideas Source – Family Reunions
Image via Wikipedia
A lot of great movies, especially comedies, are based on family reunions: Thanksgiving and Christmas are the most common.
I'm Surrounded by Screenplay Story Ideas
I haven't been posting lately because I'm at a family get together in the Boston area and I'm realizing what a rich source of screenplay story ideas these evens can be. This is my wife's family and it isn't any more dysfunctional than the average family but there are still a ton of possible screenplay story ideas here. Read more...
Your Film Needs A Dolly Shot
Dolly Shot - photo credit: Reinis Traidas
A Dolly Shot Can Make Your Film Look Pro
One of the biggest differences between your film and a big Hollywood production is the lack of a dolly shot. Most low-budget films use static tripod or shaky hand-held shots whereas most big-budget films include some real smooth dolly shots.
A Dolly Shot Alternative To The Wheelchair
You've probably heard people suggest renting a wheelchair as a cheap dolly alternative. But what about if you want to do a really smooth 360 degree shot around a central object or actors? Read more...
Special-FX – Gross Body Fluids
Special FX - make your own puke, snot, blood and poo.
Those fun guys & gals over at IndyMogul have a great video on how to make really disgusting body fluids for you next indie spectacular.
Want to see? Then keep reading ... Read more...
Make The Worst Movie Ever
Image via Wikipedia
Seems I'm always seeing someone's opinion of the best movie ever filmed but what about the worst movie?
Many people will tell you that Troll 2 from 1989 is their choice as the worst movie ever made. Why should you care?
Well it turns out you can do quite well by making a terrible movie. Troll 2 combined some of the worst acting and filmmaking technique ever seen with incomprehensible storytelling. When it was first released it quickly disappeared from theaters and reviewers mentions and everyone involved seem determined to forget it like you might want to forget having passed gas in a crowded room.
Then something strange happened. Read more...
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Filmmaking Stuff From Amazon
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| FILMMAKING 101: Ten Essential Lessons for the Noob Filmmaker (Film School Online 101 Series) |
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