With the number of re-makes coming out these days, you’d think every original film idea had been used a dozen times. Not to say that it hasn’t (the black-white “buddy cop” film has practically become its own genre. Examples: Showtime (2002), Blue Streak (1999), The Man (2005), Money Train (1995) and Lethal Weapon (1987)). The reason Hollywood films are often pushed…
In most industry professionals’ list of top tips for new and independent filmmakers you would find “great stills” near the top of the list. Getting decent stills for your film while you are on set is essential as the best shots to use in your marketing and publicity materials may not necessarily be sourced from a…
Last year saw Microsoft attempt to re-invent itself through advertising, while Apple continued to invest millions of dollars in its consumer-focused campaigns. Now it’s time for Linux to step up into the spotlight, the best way open source knows how – by tapping the collective expertise of the community. The Linux Foundation is hosting a contest to find the best Linux ad….
Shooting People, the UK-based filmmaker community (with a New York offshoot), made a name for itself in the film book publishing world a few years back with the excellent UK Film Finance Handbook. This time around the Shooting People team have taken aim at the world of short filmmaking. Shorts have of course been the career…
FestBomb.com offers filmmakers the ability to submit to five or ten premium festivals of their choice with the click of a button. We require no sign-up or login from our users, making the process just a few short minutes. From start to finish, the filmmaker selects their choice of festivals, specifies which submission category for each festival, enters…
The first question to fall off of every film student or self taught filmmakers’ lips when they reach the point of no return and decide to actually try to make a film is, “How the hell am I going to pay for this?” Over the years I’ve done a lot of research on this subject,…
Miramax, Sony, Mandalay, Warner Brothers and other major studios now have instant access to more new film projects than ever before. Why? Film Festival Academy.org recently launched a brand new website featuring 4 virtual film festivals a year giving film executives access to view thousands of trailers from their office, laptop or cell phone, making it convenient to…
The following list is based on one created by Tisch School of the Arts (NYU) Professor Maureen Ryan. 1. Feed your crew every 6 hours. 2. Never assume anything. 3. Always hire the best crew you can afford. 4. Everone wants to be a part of something. This is often more important than money to…
Making a film is one thing, but making a film with no money is something else. When making a film the most noticeable mistakes new filmmakers make are the actors, the locations, and the wardrobe. Now I’m not saying that no other mistakes are made because most of the mistakes filmmakers make the audience never…
On Oscar Night did you rush back from the day job to spend your “after hours” watching the stars on the red carpet, wishing it could be you? Or maybe your “after hours” are spent editing your latest short film, wishing that you could just get it out there? If you are a talented filmmaker with a…
