Students
I know this is very late to be talking about this, but the newest Terminator Salvation trailer was released and it made me think about Christian Bale and his outburst on that guy on his set. I’m not sure exactly what the guy did because I only HEARD the altercation, but does anyone deserve that kind of public humiliation? Anyway, just thinking out loud here. Check out the new Terminator Salvation trailer:
I received a comment on the blog today from a gentleman by the name of Garrett. Garrett is wondering where he should go for film school. I figured I would post my answer to Garrett on the blog for the benefit of everyone else reading. Hopefully this gives some insight for others.
Hey Garrett,
The type of program you should do really depends on what your goals are. Different programs have different advantages/disadvantages.
If you go to a shorter program like NYFA of LAFS you will be finished in a year and you can get out there and start working or putting together your own projects right away. You can (hopefully) start making money sooner, and you don’t have to spend money on tuition/expenses over the course of a full degree program. These types of programs will get you the technical skills and practical experience so you know how to use the different equipment, but they are pretty light on the theoretical stuff.
If you go to an actual college or university to do a film degree you will have to wait a while before you finish, and it will be a while before you start actually using any equipment. They will give you a much more intensive theoretical background on film theory, story structure, literature etc. An advantage here is that there are lots of alumni connections available compared to shorter more technically oriented programs. Costs are a major concern with this type of program, and the duration will keep you out of the workforce for quite some time.
You need to be clear with yourself what you want to achieve in film, and whether this is really something you want to do because unless it’s something you are really passionate about, there are other professions with more security, better pay, and a lot less stress. If you’re in it for the money, quite frankly you have a better chance of becoming rich studying business and entrepreneurship. If you’re not deterred by the ridiculously rigorous work you will inevitably have to do for little to no money at times, then you’ll want to look at these places as options (I have listed just a few, there are of course many many more):
Shorter, more technical schools:
-NYFA (New York Film Academy)
-LAFS (Los Angeles Film School)Longer, degree programs:
-NYU
-Columbia
-USC
-UCLA
-UofT (Texas)
-FSU (Florida State University)Another option of course is to just teach yourself by doing it, pick up Robert Rodriguez’s book “Rebel Without a Crew” for inspiration.
There is no easy answer to this unfortunately. This business more than almost any other actually, is about grinding it out if you want to be a success. If you are willing to stick it out longer than the other guy, and continually improve yourself, you have a good shot.
All the best,
Emmet Gibney
FilmSchoolStudent.com
It’s important for people in the independent film world to support each other, and especially so when they are your friends! Well my friends the Daws Brothers have released their first feature film Dangerous Calling on DVD and I have already ordered my copy.
I haven’t seen the movie yet so I can’t give you my opinion yet, but from the conversations I have had with Josh and Jeremiah I can tell they know their stuff, and one of the biggest things I have noticed from my conversations with them is that they get the fact that you aren’t just born good at this stuff, you need to put in lots of time. They told me how they have shot so many bad shorts, and written so many bad scripts before they started to get better.
I think that attitude is going to take these guys places, because if you have the full understanding that you need to grind it out to make it in this business, I’m convinced you can make it. I’m actually really excited to see where their careers head, I think they could end up making some waves in Hollywood someday, and if you buy their first DVD then you’ll have helped them do it! So buy their DVD now : )
I was introduced to an interesting new website recently called Howcast. The website is similar to YouTube and other online video sites in that the content is uploaded by a community of users, however the twist is that Howcast specializes in “How-To” videos. They want people to upload all sorts of videos instructing people how to do different things and they also have some funny videos like “How To Compete With Your Boyfriend’s Video Games” if you’re interested in something more entertaining.
Howcast has a program for filmmakers called “Howcast Emerging Filmmakers Program” where you can basically look for assignments to shoot, edit and upload. If you’re lucky and your video gets a lot of views, they’ll share the revenue from the advertising with you. I haven’t had much time to look into this program in much depth, but if you’re a starving artist it might not be such a bad way to get some cash and have some opportunities to work on your reel.
It was almost a year ago that we did this interview actually, and while it is quite brief it has a cool perspective on the industry that a lot of people don’t really consider as a way to get into the industry, having a trade. Dave Gauthier has worked on the X-Files television series and movies, Elektra starring Jennifer Garner and many more projects as well. He has been in the business for a long time and currently works in Vancouver, Canada as a mechanical special effects supervisor. Here is an HD video of the interview:
Interview with Mechanical Special Effects Supervisor from Emmet Gibney on Vimeo.
Every actor wants to be a working actor but it can be frustrating to be in limbo waiting for the next gig to come along. I think it is important to stay creative and try to do as much for yourself as you can. An actor’s career always seems to be in the hands of someone else but why not choose to create your own projects and opportunities!
Every film starts out as an idea in someone’s head and it just takes a bit of hard work to have that idea materialize. There is no shortage of people wanting to work on an independent film project, from film school students to aspiring actors and directors of photography. You can even start with a crew of your friends if you feel so inclined. By creating your own project you can learn so much about yourself and about the industry even if it is on a small scale with a tiny budget. It is about quality of work and one project will lead to another and to another. By taking creative control you can even decide what characters you would like to play.
I recently had a wonderful experience working with my dear friend Mike Villiani on his short film Dear John that he wrote, produced, directed and starred in. He has always been very proactive and I am so proud of the fact that he doesn’t just hope and dream, he just does it. Mike is brilliant when it comes to writing. He will write himself into every film because he can. He has the ability to cast himself or he can hold auditions until he finds an actor perfect for the role he has in mind. He can choose the crew he feels he will work best with. He finds the editor and chooses the soundtrack. He also has to raise the money in order to be able to pay for the production costs. He makes every decision so in the end the film is his baby. He will look back on it, probably with slight disgust because he is always trying to improve on what he has done. He can investigate his performance as an actor and decide how to grow for future projects. If I had the ability to wear all of Mike’s hats I would but I am not quite that talented. I was just lucky he cast me in the film to play opposite him.
I cannot tell you how easy it was to act with a friend. We had so many laughs and we could decide which lines were working and which weren’t. There was no rush so we learnt constantly along the way. The entire project went swimmingly but I had no idea how the movie would turn out. I have faith in Mike so I know whatever he creates will be interesting to say the least. He is going to enter Dear John into as many festivals as he can, cross his fingers and hope for the best! It was an amazing experience not to mention a ridiculous amount of work but in the end it feels so good to say I just did it! So don’t be scared, get off the couch, call up your industry friends and decide to own your career. JUST DO IT!!!
It appears that even when you’re Spielberg you struggle for autonomy from the big bad studios in Hollywood. After years working under Paramount, Spielberg is taking Dreamworks, along with some hefty Indian indie financing, out on his own again. David Geffen will be leaving Dreamworks and Jeffrey Katzenberg will still be involved with Dreamworks Animation and Paramount.
Skip to the 23second mark of this video for a report on this story:
Red Digital Cinema has announced they are changing everything about the Epic and Scarlet cameras.
“Just like Scarlet, Epic has changed completely. Throw out everything you thought before. We’ll reset the deck at the same time we announce about Scarlet.”
I’m very curious to see what they are intending to do now with these cameras, and specifically where the price points are going to be. I doubt I’ll be in the market for the Epic, but if the Scarlet is anywhere near where they originally said it would be in terms of what it can do and what it will cost, then I may want one : ) Does anyone have any thoughts as to what they might be doing?
This article was written by Jeremiah Daws from Daws Brothers Studios
One of the most important things a filmmaker needs to do is interact with people doing what they want to be doing. For years I said I wanted to direct but until I got on a real set, spoke with a real director, and watched him work I didn’t really know what it meant. My brother and I have been fortunate enough to meet some really cool people in the industry, both directors and writers. This helps to make the whole thing real. If they can do it, so can you. (And it’s also a really good idea to expand your network.)
My brother and I recently returned from LA. We were out there for a filmmaker’s workshop. There were several accomplished producers, directors, and screenwriters who spoke on various panels. It was a wonderful time to hear from people who actually work in the industry about how the industry works and how they do what they do.
My favorite panel was about TV writing. There were two writers on the panel. Daisy Gardner is a screenwriter who has won an Emmy for her work on 30 Rock. She has written for South Park and now writes for Californication.
Tim Minear was the show runner on Firefly (one of my favorite shows) as well as Angel. He has written for several other shows including X-Files and Lois and Clark. He also directs TV.
The biggest thing that struck me about these two writers is that they were normal people. They were helpful and encouraging. The panel was great. My brother and I dominated the session with questions about the writing process in television.
We were excited to hear that shows LOVE to hire writing partners. They get two people for one paycheck. Not such good news for us but still, being writing partners does not disqualify us from writing for TV and may actually help our chances.
The question of breaking in to the industry came up. Their best advice is to write spec scripts from shows that you either want to write for or are similar to the shows you want to write for. Then send those out to everyone you know in the industry and hope one lands in a show runner’s office. It seems like that might be easier than getting people to read your big-budget action script.
After the Q and A, we approached Mr. Minear and asked him a few more questions regarding directing. The first “How do we break into directing for TV?” His answer was to write for TV. He said it is so easy to transition from writing a show to directing a few episodes here and there.
The next question I asked – What is your advice for working with actors? He just shrugged and said, “It’s intuitive.” I take that to mean, “Don’t overcomplicate it” (Which sounds very much like advice David Mamet would give.)
The last question I asked him – What advice do you have for directing a scene? His advice was to spend time in the editing room. Listen to the editors cursing the director for not getting a certain shot that they really needed and make sure to get that shot. He said it’s nice to do fancy shots but at the end of the day, just cover it. Get the wide, the 2-shot, and the close-ups.
As a director, I always compare myself to Steven Spielberg and come up short. But here was a working director in the business with TONS of experience and he seems to be saying keep it simple.
Check out Tim and Daisy’s IMDB.com pages
I stumbled across some comments from someone suggesting that the Toronto International Film Festival wasn’t international enough. They criticize the festival for placing the majority of their emphasis on the Canadian, American and British films. Honestly, I don’t think it matters where the films are from, as long as the best ones are getting the most attention as opposed to the ones that just have the biggest marketing budgets.
It’s an interesting topic though, film festivals were originally meant to be a way for smaller independent productions to get noticed. Now they’re hot spots on the calendars of celebrities and socialites. Either they’ve sold out, or they’ve just become so successful at doing what they were meant to do, I’ll go with the former. Right now I’m watching a Canadian celebrity show “E-Talk”, they are covering the festival and the emphasis is definitely on the fashion and Brad and Jen being in the same city, and Ryan Gosling being back with Rachel McAdams.
What do you think? Are film festivals too pimped out now? What’s the best way for independents to get noticed now if film festivals are just for the mini-majors?
