Director's Tips

Expert Advice put to Work

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:11:00 +0000

For the past year I have been working on a business plan related to the film industry called On It Productions. In the last post I mentioned Mark Cuban and Guy Kawasaki and their experience running and creating businesses. For this business plan I will take what Guy Kawasaki has said and put it to use. The central point of Guy’s advice was to use the 10/20/30 rule. What is the 10/20/30 rule?

To make a pitch in less than 10 slides

Take no more than 20 minutes, and

Use a font no smaller than 30 points.

In my opinion, this was very good advice since I began researching starting a business. It makes you become succinct in your ideas an in communicating them. The central point of my pitch is to Be On Target, On Point, and On Time. I am selling reliability, competence, and convenience. Everything else about my business is standard to the staff leasing industry. The specialization of On It Productions is that we cater exclusively to pre-production, production, and post production phases of the film industry providing crew staff. We utilize technology for a streamlined administrative and communication process. We promote using our website presence as the central portal of communication. Using a font no smaller than 30 points in ten slides.

Regarding Mark Cuban, he looks for new angles. Things that have not been tried before. On It Productions relies heavily on technology to manage, execute, and communicate with all levels of customers. Our primary corporate philosophy is one of customer service. We view our employees as customers, our clients as customers, and our contractors as customers. We strive to interact with them in real time utilizing text, mobile apps, telephone, email, social media, and ultimately in person. We use these forms of communication to enhance our one on one personal service. When we interact with customers at all levels, our focus is to instill our values and establish rapport so that future communications using electronic formats are associated with a positive experience. Our account executives have the resources to extend the company to maximize name recognition and further promote our brand.

Experts  Views on  Business  Plans

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 10:52:00 +0000

When it comes to creating a business plan there are a few experts who could give you insight on tips of a well thought out plan. Today I will be talking about two two successful and well known angel investors and entrepreneurs: Mark Cuban and Guy Kawasaki.

Mark Cuban was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to a middle class family. At the age of 12 he was selling garbage bags door to door. That entrepreneurial spirit lead him to founding HDNet, Broadcast.com and MicroSolutions. Mark has invested in numerous other start up companies such as Mahalo, JungleCents.com and Motionloft.com. In 2004 Mark purchased the Dallas Mavericks, the 2011 NBA World Champions. He currently co-owns Magnolia Pictures and Magnolia Home Video. According to Forbes (forbes.com) he has a net worth of $2.5 Billion.

Mark is a trend setter not a follower. With business concepts he looks at things that are new and different, an example is the movie Bubble, which he release across multiple platforms in 2005 including theatre, cable, satellite Internet and DVD. This was to give consumers a choice as to how they wanted to see the film. (imdb.com). Mark is a regular angel investor on the ABC Network television show Shark Tank, where upstart entrepreneurs get an opportunity to pitch their businesses before Mark and other millionaires for investment partnerships. Mark frequently looks for the odd man out, non-traditional ideas that have the potential to make an impact on the world while at the same time, make him money.

Guy Kawasaki was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in the 1950s. He is the co-founder of Alltop.com and a former Chief Evangelist of Apple Computers.

Guy Kawasaki has tips for help with a business plan. He has a 10/20/30 Rule for a business plan PowerPoint Presentation.First, the presentation should be no longer than 10 slides. These slides should address his 10 different points which include “Problem, Your solution, Business model, Underlying magic/technology,Marketing and sales, Competition, Team, Projections and milestones, Status and timeline, Summary and call to action.” Second, the length of the presentation should be no longer than 20 minutes. Finally, the font size should be no smaller than 30 points. blog.guykawasaki.com
These key considerations because they are to the point, Short, and they demonstrate that the person presenting is well informed of their subject matter.Mr. Kawasaki has invested millions using these rules.

Other resources used in this blog
www.biography.com
abc.com
www.forbes.com
www.imdb.com
www.guykawasaki.com

MTV’s Social Media Presence

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 09:10:00 +0000

Most major companies have a Twitter, Facebook or some kind of social network account. Major entertainment industry companies are no exception. MTV Networks is one of them.

MTV Networks is a division of Viacom and some of their networks include MTV, VH1, CMT, and Nickelodeon. But for MTV network in particular they have a major social media presence. Some of the reasoning behind this can be attributed to their young target audience and the greater ability to reach them through social media. Their Facebook and Twitter page contains current updates about things on their network. These social media accounts, Facebook in particular allows for discussion boards and comments on various posts.

With more and more companies using social media it has morphed them into more customer friendly companies. With the ability for unhappy customers or viewers to freely air their frustrations, a lot more companies have become aware of that and try to correct their error if they can. For the viewer or customers it creates a sense of connection with the company that would not have happen without the use of social media.

For MTV their social media efforts have been successful. There is not much I would change about it. They add updated content on their pages regularly. Most of it relates to upcoming programming. They could use individual’s comments from twitter and Facebook and use that to integrate more into their programming. I think doing exclusive contests through the social network platform would help increase their social network presence.

Individual shows on MTV also made good use of social media. According to an article “MTV’s social media success story.” The show “Skins” was promoted differently than MTV’s other programming because they began promoting the show 3 months before it aired rather than after the premiere. MTV took advantage of several social media platforms including a Facebook fan page for the show, a twitter account for “Skins”, a tumbler page, 3 mobile apps and its own website. With the help of so much social media buzz the show “Skins” premiered with high ratings for a cable network.

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Story Arcs in Primetime Television

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 15:10:00 +0000

For all of the television fans this post will interest you. Today most scripted television shows have a storyline throughout the season called a story arc rather than a season of self-contained episodes. This could either keep viewers hooked throughout the season or make more viewers ready to give up on the show if they miss an episode. However, with the availability of many past episodes available online that may not be an issue either. Non-the less most shows use story arcs not just dramas like “Lost” but sitcoms like “Modern Family” as well. Just a few decades ago story arcs were used for soap opera shows. Story arcs also make syndication a bit tricky since the episodes would need to run in sequential order to make sense to a new viewer. There are shows that have story arcs as well as episodes that could be stand alone while barely grazing the arc, some might call those filler episodes. Shows with running storylines gives more dimension to the character and often involves a more darker and serious show.

This is why for the die-hard fanatics of a television series with story arcs that gets cancelled can be frustrating. Long running television shows usually get cancelled due to a slump in ratings at the end of the last season. However, this system is based on the model of self-contained episodes rather than story arcs. Therefore, unless the network and the producers have decided it previously, all of the story arcs are not resolved by the final episodes. One example of this is the show “Firefly”. It was cancelled after only airing 11 episodes afterwards there became such a fan base for the series that a movie was created called “Serenity” in which the story arcs were resolved. There should be a new model of canceling a series possibly allowing for a shortened new season in which the story arcs are resolved, earlier notification of the cancelation which gives enough time to resolve the story or what some shows like “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives” have done by agreeing on an end date for the series years in advanced.

Digital Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 08:35:00 +0000

In the last 20 years the world has seen technology change in ways unimagined prior. Technology including the wide spread use of the Internet has altered almost every industry. This includes the entertainment industry, film and television to be specific. With this huge convergence to the digital realm comes the prevalence of digital marketing. More and more ads are being put on the Internet compared to print or television. Companies are also creating viral ad campaigns to attract new customers in different ways. Most television shows not only show on air but online as well. Most of this has to do with people in society wanting things on demand. Now it is so easy to keep up with two different shows that air at the same time on different networks. Viewers have the option of recording them both on their DVR or watching them online at a later time. Movie trailers are now shown on the Internet. Ads are very prevalent on web sites with a lot of traffic. Major business model for many websites is to make it free to the subscribers and charge for advertising. For statistics on online advertising visit: http://www.grabstats.com/statmain.asp?StatID=342. This shows that digital marketing is very heavily relied on for many companies especially those that are trying to reach a younger audience. In addition to pop ups, ads on the side of the page or ads during a video there is email spam. It is the digital version of mass mailing people. And just like those flyers people throw them away, in this case they delete them or put them in spam folders. Companies try to get patrons to sign up for an email news letter or something similar that way the individual receiving it is more likely to view it. Expanding even more into the digital marketing realm is the world of social networks that consist of the major ones like Facebook and Twitter. Not only do you have companies paying to advertise on those sites you also have them creating accounts and creating a fan base to interact with. Creating yet another layer of digital marketing.

Informative Podcasts On Legal Issues

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 08:34:00 +0000

Recently I was listening to a few podcasts discussing entertainment law. I have listened to three podcasts including Entertainment Law Update Podcast premier episode, episode 018 and Episode 10. The first podcast was the Premier episode of Entertainment Law Update. You can find more information about the podcasts on the website http://www.entertainmentlawupdate.com. Gordon Fire Mark and Tamera Bennett discuss entertainment related legal issues. They both have experience with some areas of entertainment law and intellectual property. The podcast has interesting discussions. One of the issues they were talking about was in regards to a film called Push, later renamed Precious. Both Lionsgate and Weinstein Company wanted the exclusive rights to distribute the film in the US. Apparently the producers of the film agreed to a deal with Weinsten Company and then later agreed to one with Lionsgate. The question asked in the podcast was, “When is a deal a deal?” at the time of the podcast in 2009 all 3 parties were in litigation. Gordon’s view was that in this situation there should be plenty of terms outlined in the agreement sated clearly. Tamera’s question about this issues was that with the ability to sign contracts online with an e-signature how could that apply and effect copyright.

The second podcast I listened to was also part of the Entertainment Law Update series, episode 18. This was created more recently. One case they touched on briefly is the lawsuit between the creators of the film The Hurt Locker and an Iraq war veteran who was suing because he thought one of the characters in the movie depicted him in a defamatory manor. In the podcast Gordon says that the creators are responding with a claim of anti SLAPP(Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation) motion in the state of California which is a defense against a claim that restricts of free speech. The creators are seeking that the veteran pay all of their attorney’s fees.

The third podcast I will talk about is Episode 10 in the Entertainment Law Update series. A major film industry related topic it talks about is the film Avatar. Since it was a big award winning movie there have been several lawsuits filed for which individuals are claiming that they created the idea of the movie. Gordon asks the question what is protectable and what is not? Tamera explains that copyright does not protect an idea and there are always going to be similar ideas. I think there are only a finite amount of basic themes but many ways to express them. Gordon says that making the people blue and other little elements like that do not make a copyright by them selves but putting it together does.

Over all the podcasts in this series are very informative on legal issues not just for film related cases but all areas of entertainment. These podcasts are a great thing to listen to get opinions from entertainment attorneys about current entertainment cases.

More for more information on these podcast visit http://www.entertainmentlawupdate.com

Legal Ramifications

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:32:00 +0000

If you thought the film industry or anything related to the film industry was an almost lawsuit free industry, you thought wrong. There are many lawsuits a year in this industry dealing with defamation, rights and permission. One case is in regards to defamation of character. According to an article in the Aba Journal and on The Wrap website, in the film Hurt Locker the main character is supposed to be based on a general composite of men in the army. A man is suing the makers of that movie because he believes it show his life in an unflattering way. I think this impacts the film industry because it may limit filmmakers’ creativity. If the filmmakers think they can create a character and put them in a real life situation only then to be challenged by someone who says that they in fact did not create this character but that character already exists then that allows that basis for anybody whether the film is based on a true story or not. Another case involves publicity rights to use images or likeness. According to an article on Aba Journal, this extended so far to include a robot in a blond wig. Vanna White sued a VCR manufacturer in the 1990’s claiming to use her likeness in a commercial because of the Wheel of fortune wheel with a robot next to it, claiming that people would associate her next to the wheel of fortune wheel. The final case I will be discussing today is about permission; involving the use of actor Marlon Brando’s name on clothing retailer Joe’s Jeans’ products. According to an article on Bloomberg.com, Brando Enterprises, which house Marlon Brando’s estate, claims that Joe’s Jeans has used “The Brando” name in several of its marketing campaigns and at no time did Brando Enterprises give them permission.

James Cameron Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 08:16:00 +0000

I was recently reading an article about an interview with James Cameron on www.oregonlive.com. James Cameron has directed such major motion picture hits as “Titanic”, “Avatar” and “Aliens”. During the interview the interviewer said that Cameron’s major achievement in this film was that he had crossed the uncanny valley. The meaning of that term is explained in the article but it basically means that computer generated character are very close to looking real but are seen as artificial because the subtle eye movements that we see in living people are not present in these characters. Cameron said that first set of shots done with CG was bad but after weeks of tweaks they had the first scene finished. James Cameron was asked if the technology has changed since the film was complete and he answered by saying yes and that the technology was changing during the production as well. He said some of the little details that they had to put in are now automatic but also saying that there is not a huge advancement in technology. When asked about lessons he has brought from Cameron’s days of working for Roger Corman, Cameron mentions that the technical process of filmmaking has changed. Cameron said, “We don't shoot on film any more. We don't do any in-camera effects. We don't use opticals. The entire process has been fundamentally rewritten.” He does however say that the essence of film make is the same when it comes to the concept of conveying your story and gathering your cast.

This interview is very informative and talks a lot about Cameron’s perspective behind doing his movies. It gives an incite about how he sees some issues like the BP oil spill. In the interview it says that Cameron got a few scientists and officials to brainstorm ideas about solving the issue. They ignored the result until two months later. Cameron goes on to explain that this issue relates to “Avatar” because it is basically about how people see what humans do environmentally to be an improvement but that in reality it is just making it worse.

Helpful Website

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 12:44:00 +0000

Recently I found a film website for film news called Showbizdata.com. On this website it has the current box office numbers, market share of major distributers, synopsis of movie reviews and more. The website has numbers on top grossing directors, writers, producers and executive producers. It also has a section called the wire in which it directs you to current news articles. There is a wire page for film, TV, games, digital media, music, tech and gossip. This website has several packages with different advantages. The first membership package is free and that allows you to access the news and post your resume. The next member ship is called Job market and that is $9.95 per month. This member ship allows you access to the job listing and the employer’s contact information. The executive plan member ship is $34.95 a month and with that plan you get everything in the previous plan and access in the in development board, box office archive data, Info about major film marketed including major festivals. The final package is the premium financial plan this costs $69.95 per month and gives you access to everything including financial records for those who need them for analysis purposes. For the average person looking for news and information about upcoming movie projects you may only need one of the first two packages and could probably get some of this information elsewhere. You can use some of the information listed in the section regarding projects in development and look up the contact details elsewhere like IMDB Pro instead of using one of these paid memberships.

Showbizdata.com is a very good website for researching figures of how much a film is grossing or what money has been made based on an industry professional’s catalog of work for the previous year. If you are willing to have a paid member ship on this website then you could very well look for projects you may be interested to work on from this website.

Directing from a newbie and deal negotiations.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 05:59:00 +0000

Recently I interviewed Kyle Guajardo. He is part of a club called Production Monsters and has a production company called KEGujardo. Production Monsters is a club associated with the Art Institute of Pittsburg that provides entertainment materials including advertising, web design, video and other entertainment media to non-profit organizations at little to no cost. Kyle’s production company, KEGujardo Productions get’s a lot of its projects from ones that Production Monsters could not. Kyle himself has worked on several commercials and small documentaries. Some of the things he says that he has learned while doing these projects is that it is best to be organized and to have proper communication. That can be a major hindrance on set if there is not full communication because the people who need to know what is going on do not or may be misinformed. Kyle says that people need to check their ego at the door, meaning that everyone needs to be cooperative and listen even if they don’t agree with what is being said or asked. When it comes to finding out what the client wants you need to try to be as clear as possible and show your ideas in a very visual way with drawings and pictures to better help them understand your vision for the service.

In negotiations for paid productions you have to use objective criteria to base the rates off of. Seeing as how Kyle is new to the industry the rates would not be as high as someone with many years experience in the industry. In regards to Production Monsters their negotiations most likely include little, or no compensation because the people in the club us it as a way to gain experience. For each party involved a major need is met. For the client it is advertising at very little cost and for Monsters Production it is experience. Since none of these needs compete with one another there are probably more times when they can make a deal compared to when they cannot.

Relationship With The Crew

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 15:20:00 +0000

When you begin working on a film you will most likely work with some people you haven’t worked with before. Establishing a good relationship with the crew will reduce conflict allowing for, hopefully a smooth production. It is especially helpful to have a good relationship with the ones you will be working with the most. If you are the director that will be the actors, assistant directors, director of photography, camera crew, and editor in post production to name a few; if you are the production manager that would be the production key positions. Because of this reason some may choose to bring a colleague that they have worked with before and get along with. This may be different than a friend in the industry because working with a likeminded; dependable colleague is different than working with friends. However, you may not always be in the position to work with the ones you choose. A good way to start creating a positive relationship with the ones you have not worked with before is to introduce your self to them before you start shooting. Another way is to acknowledge their good work; by doing this it shows that you have confidence in their work and judgment. Trusting each other is what makes a good team and a good film. As a director dealing with talent some may be more demanding than others. You may want to speak with the actors before hand to see if they would rather be called by their real name or their character’s name on set, since some actors may have a preference. In addition you can find out what other preferences they may have and account for them before hand so that hopefully during production the actor is not late because of this. In conclusion establishing a positive relationship with everyone on a production is most desired when doing a film. It eliminates conflict and helps the production run smoother. Knowing that what you are doing is business and nothing personal helps keep a good relationship as well.

Tips for staying within budget

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:58:00 +0000

When you think of directors you think of the creative aspects of a film. The fact is that however creative the director may be they still need to stay on budget. Creatively, there are many circumstances, decisions and requests that could prevent this from occurring. As a director you usually want the film to convey the right message with the resources available. In this post I will be talking about ways to keep costs down without compromising the quality of the project.

Part of the reason for this next cost cutting measure could be circumstantial and other parts could be just having a great team of cast and crew. Being ahead of schedule can cut your costs in some cases. If you are ahead of schedule enough and end production a day or so early that is a day that the producers don not pay for crew equipment and so on.

You could use alternative equipment or use the same amount of equipment for a shorter amount of time. This could cut costs because many times directors help decide the shots with the cinematographer and that sometimes entails equipment rentals. If the director can cut a shot or replace it with one that does not require specific special equipment than that is less in the rental fees for that piece of equipment.

During production of a film there are several aspects of a film budget. The director may only be able to impact a few parts of it such as production and in some cases postproduction. If everyone in the production is on the same page with keeping costs low while still not compromising the quality of the rather than just one person such as the director than the production will most likely come within budget or below.

Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 20:19:00 +0000

I visited the Motion Picture Association of America web site today. That association is responsible for rating movies shown to the public. According to the website the movie ratings is a way for the film industry to self-regulate the rating system. It is an agreement between the films, movie theaters and productions to more freely express what the movie is about without censorship while also giving a guideline to whether individuals of a certain age should watch it. You can learn more about it by visiting their website.

On the website there is a section that talks about a public awareness camping they did in New York to get people to stop watching bootlegged DVDs. In some of the ads they show an iconic movie as it would be shown on a bootlegged DVD with bad picture quality, audiences noises and peoples heads in the way. At the end of the commercial there would be a screen that looks similar to the movie rating but it says something like Ripped Off, Stupid Purchase or something of that nature created just for this camping. The article says that in addition to the TV ads there are print ads placed on bus stops, movie theaters and taxis to name a few. With increased use of the Internet for these purposes as well the film industry does have a serious concern with gaining illegal access to films.

I am not really sure if this awareness camping helped or hurt the situation. It may have persuaded those who get illegal movie copies to stop but it may have also introduced some to the world of bootlegged movies. However, I think this campaign is one way to approach this problem facing the film industry. In addition to the MPAA there are other associations and companies trying to find ways to alleviate this problem.

Inspiring Speeches

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 17:18:00 +0000

I saw a speech with writer, director and producer J.J. Abrams about his show lost on Ted.com. He was taking about his mystery box that he bought as a kid. This mystery box is a metaphor for him of mystery in stories the basis for television and movies. He says that withholding information from the audience is much more compelling and goes on to use Jaws and The Graduate as examples. I think this is very true when creating a story. It helps make it entertaining for the audience. As with mystery in life the fear of the unknown can be very surprising.

This speech inspires me to try to be even more creative with the things I create and to look for in stories. Abrams uses a box he bought for 15 dollars almost as his form of inspiration. I think some of the things he creates is also used as inspiration for others.

I watched another speech on Ted.com, in a section called best of the web, it is not specify related to directing but I think it is one to help everyone’s self confidence in believing in them selves and others because in order to make anything a success you need to believe in it. The speaker’s name is Viktor Frankl. He begins by bringing up an example of a destination for a pilot which is directly east of the pilot but he then says that there is a cross wind so in order to compensate for that you have to head slightly north of your destination. Frankl applies this to people as well by saying that if you see them as they are they will be less than what they could be and if you look at them more than what they are they will perform to their potential. This inspires me to be self-confident in the things I do and who I am. This idea applies to everyone not just directors and aspiring filmmakers.

You can see their speeches here:

J.J. Abrams

Viktor Frankl

Editor of Lost

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 09:22:00 +0000

I went to here a presentation by Avid specifically, the editor Christopher Nelson talking about editing on AVID Media Composer. Chris has edited shows such as Six Feet Under, Lost and most recently Mad Men (click here to see his work). During the presentation he was talking about some of the scenes he has done for the show Lost. Someone asked how as a director would it be best to communicate an idea of a scene to an editor. In response Nelson said to start with the emotion you are trying to covey out of the scene you are cutting. If that doesn’t work than get more technical in describing what exactly you want. I think in the film postproduction business that could be considered execution because the editor is executing that part of postproduction.

In most projects the director discusses the editing with the editor. Some editors may transcribe the dialogue and order out the scene based on how the words are in a scene as a guide while some may find an out of the box way to cut a scene. In film decisions are made more with instincts and what feels right rather than protocol. Execution could happen many different ways in this case. I think good editors are this way because their main goal is to express emotion of the characters in the scene the best way they can. Editing is a good example of how planning plays an important but not always used role. When planning a scene in a movie or a show it could change so many times or be cut out entirely. They usually do this to help the story or cut it down for time. That could be applied to other areas of work. You could plan down to every little minute detail but if it doesn’t work you do not use it or you start over again. In conclusion editing can apply to both planning and execution.

Importance of a Team

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 09:46:00 +0000

During the process of making a film a director cannot make a film by them selves usually it is always a collaborative effort. The story is created by the writer then interpreted by the director and turned into a film by the entire team. A team is important with in the film industry because there would be no film without it. Part of the team includes those who fund the project as well. You have probably heard of projects that have fallen through or have been delayed because of funding. Financially speaking it is very important that you have investors on your tame.

If you ever did want to put together an independent project of your own, which isn’t really independent, you would need to put your team together once you have your script and funding in hand you would want to ask around to the people you know in the film area. Start by getting the head positions in every department then see if they know people to fill the positions below them. You don’t need every position filled in pre-production some positions are strictly during production however it is good to have that person identified before hand to help things move smoother.

As a producer or the driving force behind the project you would need to communicate with your team. Depending on which person or position in the team determines your method of communication. With financial backers and investors you would want to communicate through phone calls, emails, and meetings. You would also want to keep them updated on the process of the project so that they have an idea where their investment is going. As a director, communicating with the crew in all three stages of production is a little different. During pre-production they have a lot of meetings to plan things and send things back and forth through e-mail. During production it is usually about guiding the actor and talking to other departments about the project. There may be some meetings during this time however. During post-production the communication mainly consists of the editors, director and producer.

Like stated previously, a team is very important when it comes to making a film in some ways that is the only way a film gets made. Putting together a good team and maintaining good communication definitely helps make a production a success.

How to put together a film crew.

Directing through editing

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 19:00:00 +0000

In the process of film making the writer originally writes the story, the director re-writes it by deciding the visual details of the story and giving life to the characters, but the editor puts it together to make it flow and in a way is the final re-write of the story. The way a film is edited in some cases can make or break the film. The Director should have an understanding of editing to better help get their vision across in the editing room.

There is a website that is called “The Joy of Film Editing.” There are several parts of the website that you can use to your advantage. The blog section has information and experience from independent editors through news, posts and comments. Some of the posts are about the influence of certain movies in editing. The next section is recourses which have plenty of links to help answer a wide variety of editing questions you might have some things include technical things like DVD authoring. The cut of the month section is interesting because it takes a part of a movie, tells you the type of cut, definition and description. It changes every month so there are many to look at. Under the free tab there are forms and charts available to you to use or help you learn more about editing. The Film-glossary section is self-explanatory and has a lot of good terms you may or may not know. The books section has a few books they recommend and the buzz section has reviews on the books to see if you really want to invest in those books.

For those who don’t know much about editing but would like to know more, would be a good place to start. For those who know a great deal about editing this would also be a great website to check out because you can learn about other people’s projects and things they may have done. Check it out.

Ben Affleck’s experience as first time feature film Director

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 18:07:00 +0000

In an article about Ben Affleck’s debut as a director for the feature film Gone Baby Gone. He mentions several issues that directors may have when doing a project. Ben Affleck would not mind directing another film but could not see himself acting in it as well like several other have done for example, Spike Lee, Kevin Smith, Ben Stiller and Woody Allen. Affleck claims it would be very hard to do any job justice if he had both roles. However, since this interview he has starred and directed the film The Town so his attitude on that idea must have changed. Ben Affleck decided to cast his younger brother, Casey Affleck, in the movie. Ben thought he would need to do some convincing with the movie executives because Casey was someone who was not an established actor at the time, he also thought they might suspect nepotism. Ben Affleck really thought Casey was right for the role. But to Ben’s surprise that ended up not being an issue. Along with Casey Affleck he got Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman and Amy Ryan for the film. Ben says that he was able to cast for the film because of the actor best for the role and not because of their box office potential. In the article there is some mention about the decisions he made when doing the movie. The book the film was based on was heavily critical of the media as a negative and toxic thing but Ben Affleck made a creative decision not to show that side fearing people would interpret it as coming from Ben himself since he had been the target of paparazzi and media several years prior to that article. Directors have to make several critical decisions that can greatly impact the success and message of the film. When done correctly the film can be very good.

Source

An Introduction

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 23:15:00 +0000

I am very interested into directing film a TV. This blogs is about directors their techniques, point of view and advice.