Werner Herzog famously stole a camera he’d officially won in a film competition in order to make his first few films, feeling that it was destined to be his. With his admonition that in the age of digital cameras, anyone could make a film if they chose to do so, a few friends and I…
From the outside looking in, a movie is just a collection of scenes that are tied together. So what separates the great films—the ones that are embedded in our collective consciousness—from the forgettable ones? Several things elevate a movie into being memorable: a great concept, a great cast, and ultimately, a great screenplay. As a writer, you…
The RED Epic-M, originally announced to be $40K, is now up to $58K. Addmittedly, it does more than the RED ONE, which cost only $17K, but does it do 3 1/2 times more? And also, don’t camera’s always come out every few years that do more and stay the same price? For instance, a top…
After deciding to do “In the mixx: Dj’s doing the work” one of the first things I had to remove from my mind was the thought that I could do everything on my own. I always felt like I had a very diverse skill set. My background is in journalism and have written everything from…
Well, it’s been slightly longer in the making than we’d hoped, but that’s ancient history now. The filmmaking.net Links Directory has launched! Founded in 1994, filmmaking.net is one of the oldest sites for new and independent filmmakers on the web. The Links Directory is currently available as a fully-functional beta and accepting submissions right now. Over time, the directory will grow become a…
Almost three years ago, our son came home from a summer filmmaking program and wrote a script for a musical video he called “School for Boy.” He was 14. Jeff had plenty of motivation and energy at first. He wrote the script, about a girl whose father was headmaster of a private boys’ school, in what seemed…
As a general rule, we don’t do coverage of film festival calls for entry as there are just too many festivals out there, but in the case of The Trailer Festival, we’re going to make an exception as there is a great filmmaking upside to this event. The first Trailer Festival took place in June 2010 and…
It’s a common question of amateur filmmakers. “How do I make my video footage look like film?” and also “What camera to buy?” As a low budget amateur filmmaker myself I had even a more pertinent question; “How can I even afford a high end camcorder if I’m broke?” After much research and frustrated head-bangs,…
As a screenwriter, the ability to craft dramatic suspense can turn your script from a basic, by the numbers story into something memorable, and the basis of a movie that people will remember. Film is a visceral art, and a thousand things have to go right in the execution of a story to make it…
As a screenwriter, there are a few ways to get your script sold and -possibly – made into a movie. Screenwriting contests have emerged as a way for unknown writers to get their name out there, but this requires either winning the contest or placing very high, and more than likely having to do it…
