The Fincher way - A Week of Technique and Stylisation

  Even a bad David Fincher film is an education, and more often than not, it's always a good idea to watch and re-watch the works of certain directors. David Fincher is one of those directors, from his early work directing music videos to having Alien 3 dumped in his lap, he was quickly able to write his own ticket...

Tony Zhou video essay: 

David Fincher - And the other way is wrong

Filmography:

 2014 Gone Girl 
 2013 House of Cards (TV Series)
 2011 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
 2010 The Social Network
 2008 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
 2007 Zodiac
 2002 Panic Room
 1999 Fight Club
 1997 The Game
 1995 Se7en
 1992 Alien³


Links:
David Fincher - IMDB
Tony Zhou
Bhushan Mahadani - Article

Noir Noir Noir - A Week of Technique and Stylisation

   Tom Antos has been at it again, a while back, he released a short tutorial video on no budget lighting for Noir filming for the No Film School website.

Check out the video here:

 Read the No Film School page here:

Exclusive Tutorial: How to Create Stunning Film Noir Style with Very Little Money

  But what is film Noir?, well originally it was a Black and White filming style used heavily in American crime dramas, and as more and more of these films were released they all became a watered down parody of themselves; to the point of being "hand coloured" with heavy blacks and not much else (EG: Bugsy Malone). But the Black and White stylistic Noir went out of fashion, though the film content remains to this day (EG: Gangster Squad, although a better example would be Sam Mendes' Road to Perdition). A perfect book, which is essentially Noir, would be Charles Bukowski's Pulp, which is screaming for a film adaptation.

  Although the Noir look can be done very poorly/badly, it's now a little used effect which, when done well, can really make your low budget pop... provided the material is suitable of course. 

  Films like the adaptations of Sin City and it's Sequel, have made good use of the Noir look, although in a heavy green screen environment which is classed as Neo-Noir, it's just a pity they never quite lived up to expectations or the Frank Miller source material.

Links:

No Film School

No Film School - Tutorial

Tom Antos

Sin City - Graphic Novels

Noir - Wikipedia

Neo-Noir - Wikipedia

Lists! Always with the lists!

 Often we stumble, haphazardly, across a byline on some social media sites which seem interesting, but more often than not, they are lists. Most of the time these lists are not even click worthy, other times they aren't as informative as they suggest, but once in a while there are some little gems/nuggets.

  In the last week The Beat (Premium Beat), who often post "lists", have posted a few, one which is a little misleading and mis-informative, and another which is quite informative and good.

 Let's start with the misleading list.

8 Killer Filmmaking Cameras Under $1,000

  Now, you've either clicked the link and you're no longer reading, or you're patiently awaiting my explanation as to why this list is... Well, a bit rubbish.

•   The prices are in American dollars, this should be referenced in the heading, it's not hard to add (USD or US) to the title. It's clearly going to be viewed by International audiences since they (these links) often appear on social media, which has no global borders.
•   Most of the cameras are BARELY under $1000 (US), so you aren't necessarily getting the deal of the century.
•   Several of the cameras listed are the body only (the exception is the GoPro), so although you'll be paying under $1000 (US), you can't go out shooting immediately. You'll now need to find competitively priced lenses and or research the best/better lenses (bang for buck). In other words, you need to spend additional research time AND you're still going to need to spend more money before you have a functional camera.
•   The post is potentially sponsored as all prices are linked back to the B&H site. They are generally cheaper in some cases and will ship Internationally, but the referential tags in the links suggest The Beat get a modest referral fee, this isn't a bad thing, but it maybe to push up sales or push non or slow moving stock (but this is conjecture only).

  Don't get me wrong, there are some positive aspects to this list, they do include pros and cons for each of the 8 cameras and they also feature a couple of filmed examples. But of all the cameras listed, only two are ACTUALLY filming specific cameras, the others have it as a secondary feature to their primary function (of taking PHOTOGRAPHS!), this makes the prices reflective of the functionality. Granted most of the cameras have been adopted by countless filmmakers, but I'd rather see HD video specific cameras listed, at least the majority of those you can immediately hit the streets and shoot with.

  The next post is a little closer to getting you where you need to be, if you already have a camera (obviously) and you're looking to start filming something (watchable), the following might be a little more your speed:

10 Essential Filmmaking Tools Under $100

•   Number 4 in this list is a decent LED light, you should never rely on natural lighting as it's so changeable. A minimum of 3 lights will see you at least able to shoot interviews or MCU and CU shots for a short, just remember to defuse your lights if they're too bright or harsh. And also remember to have three lights offering the same light type (EG: Tungsten or Daylight). White balancing also helps!
•   Depending on your camera, item 6 on the list is also a worthy purchase. If you're filming guerrilla style and need to be in and out of an area (due to a lack of permission, restricted access, or private domain) a monopod is quickly and easily setup and doesn't need to be collapsed to be moved once setup. Just remember, a monopod is still a poor substitute for a Tripod.
•   The 7th item on the list is a good pair of headphones, but the main point here is to ensure you have over head headphones and preferably noise cancelling, this will ensure you can more easily hear your shot clearly and can pick up on that plane/car/screaming child/siren/etc, which will potentially ruin your sound or continuity in post production.
•   Clean sound is good sound, never rely on your DSLR cameras internal mic, they aren't great in most situations, 8 on the list is a nice basic Rode video mic and at a reasonable price. BUT before purchasing a microphone, always do some research and read the pros and the cons or reviews for each product. So much post production time can be lost trying to remove pops and burrs or just dirty feed from microphones and/or your filming environment. A good microphone with direction adjust-ability (for Shotgun, Omni/Directional positioning) is always of better benefit.

•   If you have the luxury of a sound person, the Tascam DR-05, positioned at number 9 on the list, is a good start. But for my money I would spent a LITTLE bit more and get the DR-40, it has much more functionality and versatility. Although Tascam would be my preferred brand, don't look past the Zoom recorders, a lot of people swear by them and they too are competitively priced.

•   Lastly on the list, a bag, this one is obvious especially if you are a crew of one, or just looking to shoot B-Roll. Never underestimate the need for bags and cases, and try and separate your production "departments" as best as possible (EG: A case for sound, a hard case for cameras, a briefcase style case for cables and so on). If it can all fit in your boot, you're ready to go out and shoot.

 Granted there are some very specific items on this list which aren't entirely necessary, the over the shoulder rig is nice, but you can achieve more with a Manfrotto Fig Rig as they are just a bit more versatile and less restrictive. 

  Other items listed are clearly brand specific, so if you don't own a canon camera, or a canon camera which is compatible, then these items are realistically wasting space here, space which could be used a little more expansively. Perhaps a boom pole, or directional lighting could have been included and replace the Canon specific items... Just a thought.

  There is a third (much older) list, which is a little comical, but it does list items often over looked.

12 Essential Filmmaking Tools Under $20

•   Items 2 (Sandbags), 3 (Clamps), 5 (Gaffer tape), and 12 (Notebook) should never be underestimated and ideally included in every field kit. Granted 5 (Gaffer tape) and 12 (Notebook) should ALWAYS be present, no exceptions!

   

  

•   The cable bag listed at number 7 is a good idea, but as previously mentioned, and the more cables you have, the more likely you should look to the better functionality of aluminum "briefcase" type cases. Many of these cases already have elastic looping/strapping in the lids which removes the need for individual cable ties and will go a long way to speed up your setup time.

 Happy Filming!

Simplified demystification... Blu-ray Vs. DVD

 I've previously mentioned the benefits of Blu-ray, and also the flaws where up-scaling is concerned (See previous blog post: *I guess I'll have to buy the White Album again... Part One), but I failed to simplify the differences between the two disc type mediums. Most people will understand these differences as mentioned in the below blog post (from Mighty Ape), but sometimes it's hard to explain to laypersons or parents, the lack of overt detail may just make the difference a little easier for you to explain.

 The chimps over at Might Ape have done just that in a nice, compact, compressed, concise, and demystifying way (yes, some of those weren't required, but you may have seen what I did there).

 Read their blog post here: DVD vs Blu-ray - which is better?

 Personally, I don't think I could have simplified it any better, however there are a few pros and cons they omit, but again I went WAY too in-depth in my aforementioned post.

Links:
Mighty Ape
Mighty Ape Blog
Wikipedia - Blu-ray
Wikipedia - DVD (Digital Video Disc)

Vimeo Find of the Month - April (The Leviathan - Ruairi Robinson)

  This months find, is actually a find from last month (and not an April fool). And has since been fast tracked closer to a greenlight to feature. The Leviathan by Ruairi Robinson

Watch the video here

Credits:

Created by Ruairi Robinson

Website me on ruairirobinson.com

Developed with the assistance of Bord Scannáin na hÉireann/ the Irish Film Board

And Jim Uhls

Creature design by Jordu Schell

Sound design by Brandon Jones

Article on The Verge - 

Neill Blomkamp is helping turn viral sci-fi short The Leviathan into a full movie

Logos and Trademarks... The bane of the Independent filmmaker.

  Most of us have experienced it, and at times have been blissfully unaware, but more often than not you're hindered by logos and trademarks in your footage. Whether interviewing someone who is wearing something with a trademark or a beautiful wide shot which is marred by a logo brandishing billboard we have all had to blur a section within a scene to avoid infringement or otherwise.

  I myself have experienced this where I filmed a band who had endorsements, but for the project their endorsements could not be shown (see above picture).

  This You Tube video (below) on the Film Courage channel, is both insightful and informative it's well worth the 6 minute and 30 second investment of time.

 What Filmmakers Should Know About Featuring Logos & Trademarks In An Independent Movie

Links;

Film Courage Channel

You Tube

Vimeo... Feature Film of the Month? (SUNDAYS)

 And so yesterdays Vimeo find of the month (for March) post proves that the online release of independent shorts and proof of concept trailers are garnering more and more studio attention. Where once "musical stars" were discovered through social media and You Tube, now too are directors and original concept films. 

 SUNDAYS has been greenlit with studio backing and will indeed become a full length feature film, after a studio bidding war which saw Warner Brothers win out.

Full article on Deadline

Follow up article on The Verge

  I can only hope that one day we will finally see a movie length feature film about the exploits of Maru.... We've all been thinking it, and it has more originality than the regular studio remakes, reboots and adaptations.

  We all dream of discovery, but it's nice to know it is actually happening for some people and judging by the work on display, rightly so.

Vimeo

SUNDAYS

Deadline

The Verge

Maru

Vimeo Find of the Month - March (SUNDAYS - Mischa Rozema)

  This months Vimeo find of the month is (just under the wire) a proof concept short film entitled SUNDAYS directed by Mischa Rozema.

 Watch the Video Here

 Details:

story & directed by MISCHA ROZEMA 

cast BRIAN PETSOS - SOFIA SISNIEGA 

score composed by BEN LUKAS BOYSEN

director of photography JON GAUTE ESPEVOLD

edited by MISCHA ROZEMA

vfx supervisor IVOR GOLDBERG

co-producer mexico STACY PERSKIE KANISS

production designer mexico ROBERTO BONELLI 

associate producer ANNEJES VAN LIEMPD

screenplay by KEVIN KOEHLER

sound designer JOCHEN MADER

producers ANIA MARKHAM - JULES TERVOORT

PostPanic Official

Continuing to move with the times - An experiment in film advertising

  In a semi continuation on my January 2nd post, it would seem there are more (less conventional) ways to now advertise upcoming films (or anything in general really).

  In Austin, Texas during the SXSW festival Tinder users were, realistically, duped by a woman named Ava. However Ava wasn't what she seemed, and in a marketing ploy to pray on the lonely, they were (eventually) baited into visiting the website for the (then) upcoming film Ex Machina.

Although a great marketing gimmick (See the full article linked below), I find it a little cold hearted and potentially detrimental to say the least. Being baited by a seemingly attractive woman on (what I now know is a) dating app and lead into a Q&A, which does seem a little obvious, is and could be a terrible way to market a film. In a time when studios want to get people in the cinema door many may find this scheme insulting or embarrassing, enough so it makes them anti the film or reluctant to see it at all. Advertising generally doesn't have much bearing on generating viewers/cinema patrons, in fact it's still the humble old trailer most people rely on to hype us into seeing a film; BUT more often than not all the best parts of the film are compiled into a short truncated attention grabber (for those short on attention). 

  Marketing companies seem to want to find more and more ways to get a film title under our noses to try and generate interest, on this occasion I think it might have been a little too far and in bad taste. I had to research what Tinder was before I wrote this, as I was under the impression it was some sort of sexual encounter app, but seeing it's a dating app makes me think it a little callous as a marketing ploy. What do you think?

Tinder Users at SXSW Are Falling for This Woman, but She's Not What She Appears (AdWeek)

Links/References:

Tinder

SXSW

Ex Machina

AdWeek

Alien.... 3? (2017)

  So I will start this with a segue... I bumped into director Vincent Ward the other day and we got to talking about his failed Alien 3 project. I say project, but he was actually the original director hired by the studio for the film. But it was many years ago and much of the publicised bad blood has been washed away (and strangely hard to find online to boot). Ward was replaced by none other than David Fincher (Se7en) and the film morphed into what we eventually saw on screen. But although the project changed hands and Fincher was heavily hampered and handicapped by the studio, the film was a good addition to the Alien franchise, but not great. But, there was always the question of what if, and that 'what if' was of Vincent Ward's failed vision/version and could it have been a better addition to the series?.
  There's a good investigation of Ward's version on Empire Online, and more again on his own website. However, it's what sparked this conversation, other than the chance meeting, which has so suddenly evolved...

  ... There was an internet buzz earlier this year as concept art for a possible Alien project was released on Neill (District 9) Blomkamp's Instagram (Images here), sadly these were posted with a woeful comment "Was working on this. Don't think I am anymore. Love it though".

  It was thought that was the end of that, but apparently not!

  Last week fans were greeted by an article on Variety stating that the project was indeed happening, although not until after the Prometheus sequel, so not until 2017 (at least).

 Then... Today... The following video fanned the flames and offers so very much promise...

 ... And we may well see the third installment, as fans, we originally hoped to see and expected all those years ago (ALMOST 23 in fact!).

Links:
Huffington Post - Instagram reveal
Huffington Post - Official
Variety.com
Oh No They Didn't - Video Post
Oh No They Didn't
Vincent Ward - Official
io9 - Compile

RIP - HR Giger

Vimeo Find of the Month - February (Unintentional Rebel - Siska)

  This month's Vimeo find is another music video. Unintentional Rebel by Siska - Written and Directed by Guillaume Panariello.

Watch the Video Here

Details:

The shortest shooting ever.

  This is a real video performance, a slow motion video, a sequence map with a traveling in front of 80 extras placed on 80 meters along a little road, lost in an industrial area. Filmed at 1000 frames/second with a Phantom flex 4k from a car driven at 50km/h, the shooting took 5 seconds for a 3'30 video: a living and dreamlike mural.

Written & directed by Guillaume Panariello

Cinematography by Thomas Rames

Visual effect by Benoit Maffone (La Planète Rouge)

Produced by VLB Recordings & La Planete Rouge : laplaneterouge.fr

Music by siska : facebook.com/siskasoundofficial

This is a real video performance, a slow motion video, a sequence map with a traveling in front of 80 extras placed on 80 meters along a little road, lost in an industrial area. Filmed at 1000 frames/second with a Phantom flex 4k from a car driven at 50km/h, the shooting took 5 seconds for a 3'30 video: a living and dreamlike mural.

A Photoshop Alternative?

  Adobe have been holding us to ransom for years with ever increasing prices, terrible user support (especially phone support), and now an impractical cloud based monthly subscription CS package. There have been many attempts by other software companies to compete, but Adobe have successfully cornered the market as an industry standard... But Affinity Software mean to change all that, or at least where Photoshop is concerned.

  Less than 48 hours ago Affinity offered up the BETA version of their new software for free. It's unclear what aspects or similarities it will share with Photoshop, but I'm really curious to try it.

Sign up for the BETA here

Creative Bloq - Blog entry

  Sorry PC users, this one is for Mac Users only, No idea whether there is any intention of releasing for PC. But if you miss out on the BETA the application will be available from the Mac APP Store for: £39.99/ €49.99/$49.99 - All updates for the first 2 years ill be free and there will be no on going subscription costs either.

Additional Links:

Creative Bloq - Site

Affinity - Official Site

The Force of Perspective

  In August of 2013 Vashi Nedomansky wrote a brilliant blog post on force perspective in regards to making a small budget seem much larger. I don't think I've seen a better or more concise explanation since
   As in the picture above, a small budget short film can look much grander in scale... Using scale. Looking at the picture above it's hard to believe the Humvee is a 1:18th scale model, but the behind the scenes picture below, it's proven that this is the case.

  It's not often you consider the viability or get the opportunity to use practical in camera effects, especially in a modern era of CGI effects and digital compositing, but sometimes these simple techniques are more cost effective AND time effective... Especially if you have a tight deadline and a heavily strapped budget.

Video of the Process

 Read the full Blog post here:

Visual Effects – Low Budget Filmmaking

Miniatures and Forced Perspective

Vashi Visuals - Blog

Vashi Visuals - Site

Droning on... And on...

Blade 350QX

  Let me point out immediately, I don't own a UAV, but I have flown one before (poorly).

  There is a seemingly sudden fear mongering about privacy due to "drones" which is nothing more than that, and seems to have appeared from out of nowhere. Original laws were implemented to control airspace in and around airports, or flight paths, these were wise, even if a little too late to come into law. It appeared there were no preemptive strikes to implement laws but a sudden scramble to get laws in place as UAV's became increasingly impressive exceeding expected heights distances and abilities. Removing the right to fly these devices due to breaching newly forming laws specifically being created to disallow the use of UAV's seemed like a bit of a catch 22 (and sounds like it too), and in some Countries rather draconian or totalitarian.
  Other than the obvious accessibility for filming, my concern is that the word drone is bandied about and has some seriously negative connotations, for the most part an affordable flying apparatus (which can support a camera),  is in fact a Quadcopter or UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles). Quadcopters offer the stability required to both film and photograph from an aerial perspective. Drones offer governmental spying and the ability to facilitate the delivery of an explosive payload. So, as I said, Drone implies negative connotations.

  In New Zealand laws now exist or are being implemented, but are seemingly far more lenient than those in the US and especially the UK.

 For information on the laws, perspective laws and news articles - view the following:
The Drone Law Journal (International/US)
Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (NZ Laws)
Drones to get new set of Rules (New Zealand Herald)
Federal Aviation Administration (US)
Drone Flight - Summary of UK legal requirements (UK)
RPATraining information (Australia)

  The art of aerial shots on a low or no budget are, for the time being, still possible. Average to good Quadcopters like the Blades are still readily available, affordable and have GoPro mounting included. Some have an on board camera, although some are not so great quality wise. Some copters even have safety features where they will hover at a particular height, which makes Bird's eye or God's eye view possible and affordable, or alternatively make jib arm shots possible without the need for a cumbersome jib arm rig. In fact, with the exception of the noise many of them make, most shots would be usable without a little ADR and Foley.

  How easy are they to fly? To be honest, not very, unless you get a model which has a safety mode or various flight modes (which keep the unit upright and stable so even a child can fly), it's advised you practise for a decent amount of time before arming a Quadcopter with a camera and trying to get those perfect shots, last thing you want is a damaged Quadcopter AND camera.

 I found these 10 tips and pointers on Chris Jones Blog which may be of help to get you started.
Shooting With Drones: Ten tips for filming astounding footage on a shoestring

Chris Jones Blog

Model Zone (NZ) - Blade Copters

You too can Tube

   More and more often it's becoming harder to find what you're actually looking for on You Tube, with sponsored videos and advertisements sometimes tags become a little skewed. A search that should yield the result you're after, suddenly, no longer does... Or finds more than you anticipated.

  For content searchers, more and more people are using disassociated tags to get more hits. What does this mean you ask? Well if you're searching for a specific video and you search a specific key phrase, sometimes or more often than sometimes, your search results won't be what you're looking for, or even close.

  For content posters, stop using erroneous key words to get more hits, you're not assisting the cause. It's petty hit gathering. (I'll put my soapbox away now).

  What can you do to get a better hit/view rate? Here are some simple steps.

TAGS:

   Use correct tagging, but also use full sentences and single words.

EG: The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog, Quick, Brown, Fox, Jumps, Over, Lazy, Dog, Quick Fox, Brown Fox, Lazy Dog.

  Also remember to include associative or descriptive words.

EG: Animals, Jumps, Jump, Jumping, Jumping Fox, Tired, K-9, K9, Pets Fast, Rapid, Story, Short Story, Alphabet, Foxes.

  DON'T use erroneous self serving words!

EG: Viral, Awesome Video, Must Watch, Nude Girls, Boobs, Nudity, Top Video, You Tube, Popular, Best. 

  This also includes NOT including any Actor names (who don't feature), the title of a movie (which has nothing in common), AND yes this also includes musical artists or bands that also have nothing to do with your video.

CONTENT:

  This one is obvious, make sure your content is worth watching, or at least has something of interest to people. There is no need to overly promote yourself, if people are interested, they will stumble upon it, whether it's original or otherwise (EG: Live band, Commercial/Advert, Spoof/skit). The attempt is to try and get the most accurate hits (with TAGGING) to ensure your content is worthy. Don't be discouraged, if one video picks up you will likely get additional hits on other videos by association.

DESCRIPTION:

  Ensure the description of your video is accurate. It doesn't have to be a tome, or explain the entire video verbatim, but it does need to entice people to watch. Why is the description important? Because if your video is located via Google search, your description will appear. Also, if your video doesn't auto start people will often scroll down before clicking play.

DURATION:

  This one is quite important, unless you've already managed to muster a huge following, most people won't endure a video over 5 minutes, in New Zealand (due to our pathetic broadband speeds) this is reduced to a maximum of 3 minutes. If you check your analytics you'll find that most of your videos won't be watched to their conclusion. Keep your content short, sweet and tight. Editing is key, especially if you are uploading original content.

ANALYTICS:

  Actually look at your analytics, they are there for a reason, and they're becoming more and more accurate. It's a good way to see or judge where you may wrong but also where you may be going right.

 Check this Beginner Basics Page on The Next Web site, after reading that, it would be wise to search for more information, although it may seem boring, analytics is sometimes the most interesting part of ALL of You Tube.

  Another thing to mention would be to take advantage of the Unlisted and Private settings on videos. If you want to temporarily take a video down, without deleting it, just change the setting and still retain the hits.

Private = Only you can watch the video, even a link sent to others will not allow them to view the video.

Unlisted = Video cannot be located by search, but you can share a link and others can video the video.

  If you're sitting there think, well yeah! Of course, you'd be amazed at the amount of people who don't actually realise this is possible and that this feature exist.

  Remember, it is about having fun, unless you're trying to make a business out of web based content, so by all means enjoy yourself. These are tips and pointers on how to accurately gauge response, and how to appropriately gain an audience without forcing it, faking it, or paying for it. You may not be the next viral sensation, but you'll get quality, and hopefully sticky, views.

 There are plenty of resources if you simply search the Google.

Links:

You Tube

The Next WebBeginner Basics - You Tube Analytics

Vimeo Find of the Month - January (The Gunfighter - Eric Kissack)

 This Month, although late, is Eric Kissack's The Gunfighter

 It's a brilliantly written and highly amusing Western with a difference. The story is driven and influenced by the Narrator... Whom all the characters can hear.

Watch it here

Details:

Just another period western meta comedy short film.

Featuring the mellifluous voice of Nick Offerman.

I hope you enjoy it!

WINNER Audience Award for Best Short Film - LA Film Fest

WINNER Audience Award for Best Short Film - Sidewalk Film Festival

WINNER Audience Award for Best Short Film - Napa Valley Film Festival

WINNER Jury Award for Best Comedy - LA Shorts

WINNER Jury Award and Audience Award for Best Short Film - Hell's Half Mile

WINNER Jury Award for Excellence in Short Filmmaking - South Dakota Film Festival

Best of the Fest Selection - Palm Springs Short Fest

Audience Favorite - DC Shorts

Honorable Mention for Best Short Films - Woods Hole Film Festival

Official Selection - Cleveland International Film Fest

Official Selection - Seattle International Film Fest

Official Selection - Traverse City Film Festival

Featured on Short of the Week - shortoftheweek.com/2014/06/23/the-gunfighter/

Go to facebook.com/thegunfighter for news about screenings in your area!

Directed by Eric Kissack (erickissack.com)

Written by Kevin Tenglin (kevintenglin.com/)

Produced by Sarah Platt

Shot by Jon Aguirresarobe (jonaguirresarobe.com/)

Costumes by Kate Mallor

Art Direction by Paul McConnell

Starring

Nick Offerman

Shawn Parsons

Scott Beehner

Eileen O'Connell

Timothy Brennen

Jordan Black

Brace Harris

Circus Szalewski

Travis Lincoln Cox

Schoen Hodges

Chet Nelson

Keith Biondi

Italian Subtitles by Emanuele Falleni

Russian Subtitles by Eugene Davydov

Portuguese Subtitles by Ana Rita Rocha

The Slump

 Being in a creative rut or slump is the worst feeling for creative or creatively minded people. The longer it stays with the you the less and less confident you feel about yourself and your abilities, jobs dry up and personal projects get mothballed indefinitely or ignored entirely. It's a fine line which can tip someone to breaking point and that day job to pay the bills becomes harder and harder to break free from; and so continues the rut.

  There is a medication for almost everything now, although potentially and probably placebos, but there doesn't seem to be anything for creative people which doesn't further stifle and impair what is suddenly not coming easily. I'm not saying medication is an answer, I'm merely following a mental process here.

  It first starts when you're out and about, your minds eye is fraught with activity and the ideas are pouring from you. You come up with and conceptualise great ideas or scenes or dialogue, or what have you. Then reality comes crashing in, you don't have a pen and paper handy to write it down, or you grab your phone and start writing notes and like a water through sift you can't keep up and start forgetting elements. Worst of all is when you're at that day job and you don't get the opportunity to put pen to paper, and as fast as those ideas entered your mind they've vanished into the ether.

  I don't have an answer for the blockage, I just know I'm in the oppressive throws of it. Even those random pop up thoughts are drying up, even to the point of many a potential blog post (for the 2 of you to read). I have old ideas, and I need to go back to them, I need to invest time and see if something can become of them, whether they can be enhanced or improved. I need to do something to get myself motivated again. I don't like this head space, it would be nice if people had realistic solutions or ideas on how to ease your way out of a slump.

This is not a cry for attention, nor a warning sign. It's merely a need to do something creative, even if it is just a venting blog post.

Exploring Filmmaking: From Script to Screen (National Film and Television School & BFI Film Academy)

The National Film and Television School (UK) and the BFI Film Academy have joined forces with Future Learn.com to offer a free online course starting February 2nd, and judging by the calibre of lecturers it's poised to be a very interesting 6 weeks.

Course component rundown:

1 - Introduction: how does a film get from script to screen?

Nik Powell, director of the NFTS and producer of more than 40 films, including The Crying Game, Mona Lisa and Company of Wolves.

2 - Storytelling: what’s the difference between plot and theme?

Destiny Ekaragha, director of Gone Too Far.

3 - Decisions: how to choose budget, schedule, location and kit?

Mike Figgis, director of Leaving Las Vegas, TimeCode and Internal Affairs.

4 - The scene: how does a director make choices on set? 

Corin Hardy, director of The Hallow and just announced to direct re-make of The Crow + has directed music videos for artists such as The Prodigy, Olly Murs and Devlin.

5 - Time and space: how does editing affect meaning?

Justine Wright, editor of Touching the Void, The Iron Lady and Locke.

6 - Sound and music: what is the impact of a film’s soundtrack?

Danny Hambrook, sound designer of Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Le Week-End, production sound mixer on Rush

 All in all, it's a vast field of talent offering some insight into Filmmaking from start to finish.

Sign up here, it's free! Exploring Filmmaking: From Script to Screen

Links:
The National Film and Television School - Official
Exploring Filmmaking: From Script to Screen - Course
Future Learn.com - Official
Nik Powell - NFTS
Destiny Ekararagha - Official
Mike Figgis - Official
Corin Hardy - Official

 What are you waiting for? Enrol now!