Every now and then you run across a piece of filmmaking that inspires, and stuns, and leaves you saying “holy crap.”
Thunder Road – Jim Cummings
No-budget visual tricks for indie filmmakers
Indie filmmaker? Limited resources?
Don’t forget that what’s outside the frame doesn’t matter. Particularly with tightly framed shots, and shallow depth of field.
Being an art director for no-budget shoots, I’ve had to get creative with zero money, and with zero time, more times that I like to remember. But there’s nothing like solving a problem, and seeing the result on the screen… knowing just what kind of shoestring magic is happening outside the frame.
This set of images might just inspire you to get a little creative with your framing and your atmosphere… they’re for still photographers, but no reason you can’t steal the ideas for your movie.
Movie Loglines: 5 Steps To Plot-driven Storytelling for Screenwriters and Marketers
Why Filmmakers and Marketers Both Need To Study Loglines
Continue reading Movie Loglines: 5 Steps To Plot-driven Storytelling for Screenwriters and Marketers
Screenplay Polish Goes Wildly Right
I don’t generally dedicate a whole post to a single testimonial. But this project has been special.
I love rewriting as much (more?) than I love writing… working off someone’s existing story, troubleshooting and refining and improving, that’s just so satisfying for me.
This latest project turned out especially great, and the writer was so kind and generous with his feedback that I just had to share.
Kong: Skull Island – How A Professional Translator Brought The Novelization To Japan
Translators work hard to protect the cinematic vision of the director, and the Literary vision of the author, when bringing film-based novels to international audiences.
Like anyone who loves giant monkeys and scary dinosaurs peppered with humor and buttloads of action, I’m super excited about the upcoming Kong: Skull Island release tomorrow (March 10 2017.) In fact, I’ve been telling everyone I can that the last trailer released for this film (below) is possibly one of the best edited and sound designed trailers EVAR.
Film Shots & Classic Artworks – Inspiration or Homage?
Surely you’ve seen these videos floating around the social sphere lately.
In most cases, I have no doubt the artworks directly inspired the shots. Continue reading Film Shots & Classic Artworks – Inspiration or Homage?
Why Adapt Your Finished Screenplay To A New Form?
Why Adapt Your Finished Screenplay To A New Form?
Because he who has the best IP wins. Continue reading Why Adapt Your Finished Screenplay To A New Form?
Give This Shriekfest Alum Horror Movie Some Lovin’
I read an early version of the screenplay for this film around 2011 or so, when I was a judge for Shriekfest Screenplay Competition… in my opinion, it was one of the top 3 or 4 screenplays I ever read for them. Continue reading Give This Shriekfest Alum Horror Movie Some Lovin’
Cast and Crew pic from the final day of “Fat Rose and Squeaky”
Wayback machine time…
What you have here is the Cast and Crew pic from the final day of “Fat Rose and Squeaky”.
This was the very first film I art directed, thanks to an opportunity from my very good friend and production designer extraordinaire Brian Sharp, who hired me to be his eyes and ears on set.
You’ll see Louise Fletcher, Cicely Tyson, Lea DeLaria, Julie Brown, Jo Anderson, our intrepid director Sam Irvin, along with my awesome props guy and set dresser Billy Hayes, my boss Brian Sharp, and a lot of other super talented people.
Oh, and me. 🙂
If you can find this little movie available somewhere, please give it a watch.
Supernatural Bridges Short Film Poster
A whole bunch of years ago I worked on one of those 1-Day Film Challenge thingies. Continue reading Supernatural Bridges Short Film Poster