Category Archives: Training and Networking

How to come up with movie ideas

Posted on by
Reply

Ever get writer’s block, or need a movie idea quick?

Script Reader Pro suggests 5 proven ways to unlock original movie ideas.

1. Turn off your phone and get outside. (Let your mind wander. Cue “Fixing a Hole.”)

2. Study other writers’ loglines. (My favourite: “Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first person she meets and then teams up with three strangers to kill again.“)

3. Plunder real life. (Omg, that weird thing that happened to you or your relative might be the genesis of a great story!)

4. Focus on what moves you. (Your expertise will make your protagonist interesting.)

5. Forget “what if?” and relax. (Not sure about this one. “What if?” is one of my favourite questions.)

My take: lol! I only come up with one killer idea once every 1,000 days!

Spreadsheets you must befriend

Posted on by
Reply

Rick Castañeda guest posts on No Film School, revealing The 73 Spreadsheets You’ll Need to Finish Your Feature Film.

He kindly shares:

“If you’re thinking about making your own feature film, I’m hoping this gives you an abridged, table-of-contents-style sketch of all the different parts of filmmaking. So many articles and interviews are all about writing, working with actors, camera choice, and the other creative aspects of the film, I thought it might be useful to get into the actual nuts and bolts. We absolutely loved making our film. All these spreadsheets helped us to get there.”

He discusses each one from the perspective of his second feature “All Sorts,” and includes some examples.

I like his advice for Credits:

“Just for keeping track of all the lovely folks who participated on the film. I know you’re thinking this should be in the post-production section, but start this on day one and just add people as they start to come into the life of the film. It’s easier than sitting with a blank slate all the way at the end of the film.”

Here are the titles of most of the spreadsheets Rick used:

Pre-Production Spreadsheets

  • Budget spreadsheets
  • Team spreadsheets (possible producers)
  • Location spreadsheets
  • Contact spreadsheets
  • Casting spreadsheets
    • Background
    • Auditions
    • Confirmed Cast
  • Scheduling spreadsheets
  • Art/props spreadsheets
    • June’s Diego vs Anthony spreadsheet
    • Calendar spreadsheet
    • “Go June” signs spreadsheet
  • Costume spreadsheets
  • Investor Spreadsheets

Production Spreadsheets

  • Call sheets

Post Spreadsheets

  • Footage spreadsheets
  • Editing spreadsheets
  • VFX spreadsheets
  • Credits spreadsheet
  • Master Rights Grid
  • Music Cue Sheet
  • QC Notes/Fixes

Crowdfunding Spreadsheets

  • Targets/contacts
  • Reward lists

Distribution Spreadsheets

  • Distributors
  • Deliverables spreadsheets
  • Screening invitees/attendees

PR/Marketing Spreadsheets

  • Social Media
  • Marketing
  • Email lists
  • Film Festivals
  • Published Articles

My take: Wow, that’s a lot of spreadsheets! What this actually reveals are the myriad jobs indie filmmakers routinely take on. With more money, each of these activities might be accomplished by a specialist in that one field. When you’re truly indie, you just do it all yourself. No wonder Rick resorted to these spreadsheets to track everything. You should too.

Screenwriter Jeffrey Alan Schechter loves the number 4

Posted on by
Reply

The excellent Film Courage interviews Jeffrey Alan Schechter who claims Every Great Story Has A Main Character That Goes Through 4 Archetypes.

He explains the six Jungian archtypes:

“The most concise and well constructed version of this came from the book “Hero Within” by a person named Carol S. Pearson…. She was a psychologist who wrote a self-help book with the idea, and the hero within I think it’s like six archetypes we live by. Her idea was that you can define yourself by one of these six archetypes which was like warrior, wanderer, orphan, martyr, innocent, magician, there we go I actually got them all.”

Jeffrey is big on the number four. To him, every film answers four questions, in four acts:

He reviews movies on his website, mystorycanbeatupyourstory.com, and illustrates the four questions and four archetypes well. Just click on any film you know to see what I mean.

The four questions:

  1. Who is your main character?
  2. What are they trying to accomplish?
  3. Who is trying to stop them?
  4. What happens if they fail?

The protagonist will move through four of these six archetypes, one state in each of the four acts:

  1. Orphan
  2. Wanderer
  3. Warrior
  4. Martyr
  5. Magician
  6. Innocent

Jeffrey’s book, “My Story Can Beat Up Your Story: Ten Ways to Toughen Up Your Screenplay from Opening Hook to Knockout Punch”, is available on Amazon.

My take: fascinating! As someone very curious about storytelling, I love all the various theories on structure and the various rules and edits around screenwriting. Oh yeah, he also says there should be 44 plot points.

 

Please do feed the film crew

Posted on by
Reply

According to the adage, an army travels on its stomach. And it’s no different for an indie film production.

Feeding a film crew? A few suggestions, and an idea on how to do it for free:

Sophia Harvey writes Food on Set: Do’s and Don’ts for Feeding Your Crew on No Film School and expounds on these topics:

  1. Don’t be stingy.
  2. Aim for variety.
  3. Keep it caloric, but healthy.
  4. Pay attention to dietary restrictions.
  5. Keep it hot and punctual.
  6. Crafty: no mess, no mayo.
  7. Coffee and water, always and forever.
  8. Choose bulk catering.
  9. Special touches matter.

AJ Unitas lists 8 Essential Tips for Prepping an Awesome Craft Services Table on StudioBinder that include:

  1. Keep caterers away from the craft services table.
  2. Buy supplies in bulk from wholesale markets.
  3. Account for allergies and diets.
  4. Fill your craft table with healthy options.
  5. But don’t get too crazy.
  6. Get brands specifically asked for.
  7. Turn cheese sticks into two.
  8. Keep your Production going.

How to afford what could be your biggest expense on a low-budget short?

Lacee Kloze suggests 9 Ways to Feed A Hungry Film Crew For Free on Creative Live. Her bold strategy?

  1. Create a flashy one-sheet about your project.
  2. Write a form letter.
  3. Send your form letter and one sheet combo EVERYWHERE!
  4. Don’t be afraid to ask for something small — snacks, drinks or desserts — instead of a full meal.
  5. Don’t forget to ask for staples like bagels and coffee.
  6. Hit the grocery stores, natural food markets and co-ops.
  7. Start early.
  8. Team up with a non-profit.
  9. When the yeses start coming back, follow through with your promises.

Three great blog posts to get you thinking!

My take: I like French Hours that keep your work day to 10 hours, with no meal break.

The School of Indie Filmmaking

Posted on by
1

What to do if you can’t get into film school? Follow in Christopher Nolan‘s footsteps and invest in your own education by making your own movie.

In this video, Christopher Nolan describes how he made his first film, a 70 minute neo-noir called “Following.”

Rather than ask all his friends to make themselves available for a continuous stretch of time, he decided to shoot on Saturdays only for a whole year:

“It was a no-budget film and in the true sense. We spent about $6,000 on the entire movie so it was all myself and Emma and a group of our friends getting together each Saturday to shoot about 15 minutes worth of footage. We did that for about a year and put the thing together that way. It was a very good learning experience to be able to spread it out over that time. A lot of no budget filmmakers take exactly the opposite approach and are really fast and furious to get these people together and say okay you have to just do this for three weeks. I wasn’t able to do that because we all had to work full time during the week and couldn’t really take much time off.”

Other takeaways:

  1. Corporate video work taught Nolan how to light and shoot quickly.
  2. He cast stage actors because they can learn lines.
  3. They rehearsed for six months.
  4. They found amazing locations that would be expensive to recreate.
  5. He shot the 16mm film handheld.
  6. Black and white means you can create a more distinctive look.
  7. Shoot singles on each actor and then only limited master shot coverage.
  8. Do sound-only takes on set first to warm up the actors and to capture great location audio.
  9. Because not all your crew will turn up each day, you will learn to do every job on set.

The key to ultra-low budget filmmaking?

“One of the keys to getting an ultra low budget film actually finished is definitely to have in mind what kind of film you can make with the resources available to you.”

See Following on Youtube.

My take: lol, I did both. My suggestion is to join a film co-operative and invest your money in your own film projects. You can learn everything you need to from fellow filmmakers, and Google.

Netflix-BANFF Diversity of Voices Initiative needs you to apply

Posted on by
Reply

Calling all Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour creators and producers of any gender from across Canada! Time is running out to apply to the 2022 edition of the Netflix-BANFF Diversity of Voices Initiative. Attend the 2022 Banff World Media Festival and benefit from an exclusive professional development program designed to help projects and careers move forward.

The deadline to apply is January 7, 2022 at 3:00 pm EST.

There are 100 spots available and the successful applicants will receive:

  • A full access pass to the 2022 Banff World Media Festival, a leading international conference and marketplace that provides a platform for the evolving media industry to develop its creative and business objectives.
  • A customized professional development program.
  • Networking opportunities with senior media industry executives.
  • Access to and visibility within the Canadian and international media industry.

But wait, there’s more!

Twenty-five participants will also invited to pitch their projects and will also receive:

  • A $1500 CAD travel stipend to attend the 2022 Banff World Media Festival (on the condition of an in-person Festival).
  • Mentorship from an industry advisor expertly positioned to provide actionable feedback on project and career development.
  • Private networking or pitching opportunities with Canadian and international executives.

See the eligibility requirements and the entry guidelines.

See the 2021 participants.

My take: BIPOC creators, go for this!

The Dutch Angle, explained

Posted on by
1

Marie Cascione explains on Vox — why movies tilt the camera. Watch now:

She writes:

“The Dutch angle (aka Dutch tilt, canted angle, or oblique angle) is a filmmaking technique that involves setting the camera at an angle and tilting the entire scene. You see it everywhere, from blockbuster movies to soap commercials. It’s used to emphasize when something is a little off, or just to make a shot look more interesting. The thing is… it’s not actually Dutch. And it didn’t start with filmmakers. It was pioneered by German directors during World War I, when outside films were blocked from being shown in Germany. While Hollywood was serving up largely glamorous, rollicking films, the German film industry joined the expressionist movement in art and literature, which was focused on processing the chaos of world war. Its themes touched on betrayal, suicide, psychosis, and terror. And expressionist films conveyed that darkness not just through their plotlines, but through their set designs, costumes — and unusual camera shots.”

My take: all of this reminds me of my short film Largo. Because it’s a psychological portrait, I invoked elements of German Expressionism to illustrate the Captain’s mental state, particularly canted camera angles, skewed sets and long shadows. Not bad for 72 hours and $10!

Women: Apply to Banff SPARK now

Posted on by
3

There are less than two weeks left to apply to the BANFF Spark Accelerator for Women in the Business of Media.

This program is designed to address the systemic gap in gender equality and representation by providing essential opportunities and resources to help increase the number of Canadian women-owned businesses in the media industry.

Up to 100 spots are available and include:

  • A full-access pass to the 2022 Banff World Media Festival.
  • A $1500 CAD travel stipend to attend (on the condition of an in-person Festival).
  • A suite of tailored virtual workshops between February to April 2022.
  • Mentorship from an industry advisor.
  • Access to and visibility within the Canadian and global media industry.

BANFF Spark is open to candidates who are established in the media industry and those that are starting out. Content production businesses as well as those that offer services within the screen-based industry are eligible.

The application deadline is Monday, November 15, 2021 at Noon PST.

See the previous cohorts.

My take: very worthy and highly recommended.

Crazy8s deadline coming soon

Posted on by
1

This Monday, October 25, 2021, at 11:59 pm, is the deadline to apply to Crazy8s on Film Freeway.

Since 1999, Vancouver’s Crazy8s has produced 127 short films. The Crazy8s Film Society exists to provide funding and support to emerging filmmakers to help them produce short films and to train crew and cast.

Each Writer, Directer and Producer team submits a 3-minute video pitch. Forty semi-finalists will be contacted by November 15 to schedule a time to pitch in-person to a jury of industry professionals on either November 20 or 21, 2021.

Next, twelve semi-finalists go into a story editing phase and work with a professional Script Editor.

Then the Top 6 Teams receive almost $50,000-worth of camera, lighting and grip packages, $1000 cash, and mentorship throughout the duration of their 8-day production and delivery of their final films.

The process culminates with a Gala Screening and AfterParty slated for April 9, 2022, in Vancouver.

My take: I’ve seen a number of Crazy8s films over the years and have always been impressed with their professionalism. Highly recommended.

NSI Series Incubator deadline approaches

Posted on by
5

The NSI (National Screen Institute) is currently accepting applications for their new NSI Series Incubator program. Note: the deadline is October 14, 2021.

Four writer/producer teams with an idea and treatment for a live-action fictional series will receive workshops, mentorships and hands-on training, over eight months to develop their idea and create a $28,000 proof-of-concept film by July 2022.

Applications are welcomed from people who identify as (one or more):

  • Black
  • Indigenous
  • People of Colour
  • Women
  • Lesbian
  • Gay
  • Bisexual
  • Transgender
  • Queer or questioning and two-spirit (LGBTQ2S+)
  • People with disabilities
  • Those outside large urban centres (Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver)
  • People from regional and remote areas and various religious groups

In addition, applicants must:

  1. Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident living in Canada, aged 18 or over
  2. Have an idea and preliminary treatment for a series
  3. Have demonstrated experience in a writer or producer role
  4. Maintain creative and financial control over the project as well as technical ownership.
  5. Not be a participant in any other training program that would conflict with your ability to commit to the NSI Series Incubator program
  6. Have production or craft experience, or business affairs/legal experience, or marketing/distribution experience, or some combination of these
  7. Demonstrate storytelling ability with past works (i.e.: short film, short story, journalism or another creative writing endeavour)
  8. Commit the necessary time to complete this multiphase training

Your application must include one file that contains:

  1. Project name; format; genre; time frame; setting/location; synopsis (one to two pages); source of series
  2. Producer CV clearly stating production experience: include your role on the production and the following information about each project: the writer/producer; genre; if it was a student film; final running time; any broadcasts/theatrical release/festivals played; is it in development, production, post or completed?
  3. Writer CV demonstrating your storytelling experience: include short film, short story, journalism or another creative writing endeavour.
  4. Producer letter of reference AND writer letter of reference: these letters should help identify why the person providing the reference feels you are ready to develop a series.
  5. Producer letter of expectation AND writer letter of expectation: both the producer and writer should provide a paragraph explaining what they hope to gain by participating in NSI Series Incubator.
  6. Additional letter (if applicable): required for applicants who need to demonstrate their suitability to participate in the program because they don’t meet eligibility criteria.
  7. Series proposal: including: overall concept, seasonal arc, lead character descriptions (maximum of four) and target audience.
  8. Writing sample: (no more than 10 pages) from the writer.

Note: there is a $100 non-refundable application fee per project and $500 tuition per successful participant.

My take: full disclosure: I have never been successful with any of my applications to the NSI. However, I have heard from participants that they highly value the training they received. Although this application is quite lengthy, the $10,000 cash injected into your proof-of-concept short is well worth it, in addition to the training and mentorships. I highly recommend this program to my friends who identify as: Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning and two-spirit (LGBTQ2S+), people with disabilities, those outside large urban centres (Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal), and/or people from regional and remote areas and various religious groups.