NoFilmSchool

Michael Haneke on Movies: 'The Ideal Film Scene Should Force the Spectator to Look Away'

Joe Marine — Sun, 20 May 2012 23:10:51 +0000

Austrian director Michael Haneke is well known for “shocking” films like Funny Games (which he actually made twice in different languages), but there’s no question he also knows a thing or about creating a beautiful image, as can be seen in the gorgeous black and white Oscar-nominee The White Ribbon. One of Haneke’s greatest strengths is playing to audience expectations and showing, or not showing, pivotal mounts of his films on screen. In the interview embedded below, he talks about his views on violence in film, the extent to which it can be used, and his thoughts on the ideal film scene. (more…)

Ted Griffin, Callie Khouri and Jim Uhls Reveal their Screenwriting Processes and Inspirations

Christopher Boone — Sun, 20 May 2012 17:21:42 +0000

Ted Griffin had no idea his script for Ocean’s Eleven was really about a guy using an elaborate heist just to show his ex-wife he still loved her until he reached page 100 in his writing process. Callie Khouri actually would have killed a dirty old man who shouted obscenities at her from a car if she only had a gun at that moment, so instead she used it as inspiration for Thelma and Louise. Jim Uhls breaks the first rule of Fight Club: he talks about Fight Club. To hear each of these writers talk about their writing process in their own words, check out their videos from The Dialogue Series below: (more…)

Ken Burns on Storytelling: 'All Story is Manipulation'

Joe Marine — Sun, 20 May 2012 05:10:18 +0000

Speaking of making storytelling a priority over camera tests, Ken Burns is in a league of his own when it comes to filmmaking. His documentaries are widely known and his visual techniques have been adopted by countless productions, so much so that panning and zooming into a still image has been dubbed the “Ken Burns Effect.” For once, however, the lens is turned the other way, and filmmakers Sarah Klein and Tom Mason have produced a short documentary called Ken Burns: On Story. In the film embedded below, Burns talks about good storytelling and the ways in which we manipulate audiences. (more…)

Hear the Soothing Voice of Tom Waits in 'A Brief History of John Baldessari'

Joe Marine — Sat, 19 May 2012 22:14:42 +0000

Now for something completely different. From one end of the film spectrum to the other, here is a short documentary called A Brief History of John Baldessari, directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. You may or may not know their names, but you certainly have heard of the films they’ve directed, like Catfish and Paranormal Activity 3. While much of the film is graphics, photos, and text, it’s the voice-over that adds to the film’s larger than life personality. (more…)

If You Like Stories of Inspiration and Creativity, Go See 'Indie Game: The Movie'

Ryan Koo — Sat, 19 May 2012 17:34:42 +0000

The other day I saw an inspiring documentary about independent creativity, and even though it wasn’t about film, it couldn’t be more relevant to The Age In Which We Live. The landscape of video games is the same as the landscape of movies: it’s divided between multimillion-dollar blockbusters made by large corporations employing hundreds of salaried craftspeople, and tiny passion projects made by small teams working from sweat equity and fevered inspiration. After a successful festival run and road tour, Indie Game: The Movie finally opened theatrically this weekend, and if you’re in NY, LA, San Francisco, or Phoenix I can’t recommend it highly enough. (more…)

Three Steps For 21st-Century Independent Filmmaking Success

Guest Author — Fri, 18 May 2012 19:05:40 +0000

This is a guest post by Jason Brubaker, author of the new book Filmmaking Stuff: How to make, market and sell your movie without the middle-man.

Independent filmmaking has changed a lot in the decade since I started my career. It sounds silly now, but back when I started, there was this collective belief that if you made your movie, you would sell it at Sundance and live happily ever after. Perpetuated by sensational headlines touting the successes of Ed Burns, Kevin Smith and Robert Rodriguez, Sundance Fever became a full-blown epidemic resulting in maxed out credit cards, angry investors and film festival rejection.

Even if you were one of the few filmmakers fortunate enough to make a movie and have an amazing festival run, it soon became apparent that you were nobody unless you could reach the marketplace. And because there were thousands of poorly produced titles flooding the festival circuit, distribution became discriminatory, abusive and monopolistic. As a consequence, many filmmakers settled for crappy distribution deals. At least getting something felt better than nothing.
Or so we thought… (more…)

'Incident on Marmont Ave,' One of the First Canon 5D Mark III Shorts

Mar Belle — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:05:23 +0000

When a much anticipated camera such as the Canon 5D Mark III makes its way to market it’s inevitable that filmmakers will rush to be the first to shoot a fully formed story on it. While not officially the first, Barry Andersson’s ‘based on true events’ short Incident on Marmont Ave is certainly among the vanguard of Canon 5D Mark III shorts to hit the web. (more…)

5D Mark III/D800 Hands-On Part 5: Mark II vs. Mark III vs. D800 - Candlelight Revisited

Joe Marine — Fri, 18 May 2012 11:28:01 +0000

The candlelight test that got an enormous amount feedback has returned. After a bit of a delay between this one and the last one (thanks in part to the craziness that is NAB), I thought it would make sense to really level the playing field between the two cameras since the exposure for the D800 is slightly brighter at equivalent ISOs. I’ve also done a little bit of color correction and noise reduction, and the results are certainly interesting compared to the last video. The test is embedded below, but be sure to go to Vimeo and download it in 1080p for the highest possible quality. (more…)

Experience the Birth and Death of a Relationship in 'The Divison of Gravity'

Joe Marine — Thu, 17 May 2012 23:25:26 +0000

Speaking of watching films instead of camera tests, we’ve got another short curated by the wonderful people at Short of the Week. If you haven’t been following the site, one of the creators of Short of the Week, Andrew S Allen, was involved in the design of a beautiful iPad app called Paper that we reviewed here at NoFilmSchool. The Division of Gravity, embedded below, is a short film directed by Rob Chiu. With gorgeous cinematography and moving performances, we’re taken on the journey with the characters from the beginning of a relationship all the way to the bitter end. (more…)

So Many New Camera Tests it's Hard to Keep Track: Phantom Miro, RED SCARLET, Sony F3, and Canon C300

Ryan Koo — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:56:43 +0000

We’re trying to share more actual shorts and not just camera tests here, as a difference of one stop in dynamic range from one camera to the next is not going to make or break your narrative or doc. From DSLRs costing hundreds to 4K cameras costing tens of thousands, there is a great camera out there for your budget. Still, one question all filmmakers will be asked is, “what do you want to shoot on?” and so it’s still handy to keep tabs on what’s available. Here are several new tests of some of the latest large-sensor imagers: (more…)

NHK Has Finally Shrunk Their 8K Resolution Camera, but How Close Are We to Shooting in 8K?

Joe Marine — Wed, 16 May 2012 23:09:41 +0000

Weren’t we just saying that this year wasn’t the year of 4K? The Japanese company NHK is plugging away with their 8K technological breakthroughs, and they’ve finally brought their 8K monster down to the size of a standard broadcast 1080p camera. That’s big news in the advancement of camera technology, and it’s only a matter of time before we’re shooting 4K on our cell phones. But what does this really mean for the world of video? How far away are we from having 8K TVs in our homes and actually shooting in 8K? (more…)

Five Tests to See Whether a Character's Voice is Working (from John August & Craig Mazin)

Christopher Boone — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:16:56 +0000

As screenwriters, we spend a lot of time writing, re-writing, and obsessing over dialogue. Let’s face it — the audience won’t read the amazing writing of our action sequences, but they will certainly hear our pithy dialogue. But do each of our characters have a unique voice? Thanks to the ongoing generosity of John August and Craig Mazin, their most recent Scriptnotes podcast provides five tests to see whether a character’s voice is working. See the five tests from the podcast below and my personal take on each: (more…)

Getting Better Production Audio is Easier Than You Think

Joe Marine — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:24:39 +0000

Audio is the bane of every low-budget and independent filmmaker’s existence. It’s the one thing most filmmakers have the least amount of experience with, but also the least of amount of time to deal with properly. If you want the best possible audio on set, it takes just as much work as getting a good image. Since this is a visual medium, there’s no question the moving images should be the best they can be, but often the quality of the audio matters more than the quality of the video. For anyone starting out, here’s a quick video and then some simple tips about getting better production audio. (more…)

Just Starting Out with Creative Suite 6? Adobe Has a Bunch of Free Basic Training Videos For You

Justin Minich — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:43:41 +0000

So you bought a copy of Adobe Creative Suite 6 or downloaded it via Creative Cloud. Where do you start? Well, Adobe has a slew of videos on their website to introduce you to the changes in the Premiere Pro and After Effects interfaces, and to show you how the new features in CS6 work. Here are some of my favorites: (more…)

How Durable is Your Camera? A Canon 7D is Tested to the Extreme

Joe Marine — Tue, 15 May 2012 01:39:39 +0000

We’ve been testing cameras for performance in ideal conditions, and also in not-so-ideal conditions, but this is just ridiculous. Kai Wong and the guys over at DigitalRev were kindly donated a Canon 7D to see how much punishment that little camera could take. The 7D has a magnesium alloy body, so it’s much more capable of handling inclement weather — but what if it were frozen in a block of ice, or set on fire? Could it still take photos? Check out the video below to find out. (more…)

Austin Film Festival Screenplay & Teleplay Competition Deadlines Approach

Christopher Boone — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:54:01 +0000

Have you already submitted your polished script to the Nicholl Fellowship? Did you miss that May 1 deadline and wish you had a few more days and another chance? Then you should consider submitting to the Austin Film Festival Screenplay & Teleplay Competition. Screenplay awards for Drama and Comedy category each include $5,000 plus reimbursement for round-trip airfare (up to $500) and hotel (up to $500) for the conference and festival. Teleplay awards for Sitcom Spec, One-Hour Spec, Sitcom Pilot and One-Hour Pilot each include $1,000, plus reimbursement for round-trip airfare (up to $500) and hotel (up to $500) for the conference and festival. (more…)

A Beginner's Guide to Backing Up Footage and How 'Toy Story 2' Almost Disappeared Forever

Joe Marine — Sun, 13 May 2012 20:53:48 +0000

Ever lost important footage because your backups failed, or maybe you didn’t back up at all? Well how about losing an entire feature film and a year’s worth of work? While this isn’t a new story, as it was featured in the special features on the DVD, the tale of the failed Toy Story 2 backup is fascinating. It just proves that even when you’re spending millions of dollars, a few mistakes can be disastrous. (more…)

Looking for a REDucation? RED Offers Digital Cinema Training Course - for a Price

E.M. Taboada — Sat, 12 May 2012 22:15:33 +0000

Amid the hubbub of new product announcements this item has flown a bit under the radar — this Fall, RED will start offering a 16 week digital-cinema training course. It aims to take students from pre-production to production to post-production while developing their own projects with the guidance of working professionals. At first glance, it looks like a pretty interesting opportunity — you get to make projects on RED equipment, while learning the tools, craft and technique from experts. But what will it cost? And what are the pros and cons of this sort of program?: (more…)

Is It Smoky in Here? Shane Hurlbut Shows How to Use Smoke to Achieve Different Lighting Goals

Joe Marine — Sat, 12 May 2012 02:37:34 +0000

Say what you will about Shane Hurlbut, but there aren’t too many professional Directors of Photography who take the time out of their crazy schedules to try to give back to the community. Shane’s most recent work that we’ve covered here was the Canon-sponsored film “The Ticket,” shot in 4K on the Canon 1D C. While I saw that film at NAB (and wasn’t too crazy about the quality of the footage coming out of that camera), it doesn’t take away from the fact that he’s a professional DP who knows a thing or two about lighting. In his newest blog post, he gives a good run-down on how to use smoke to achieve different lighting goals. (more…)

Two Interview Lighting Tutorials That'll Kick Your Footage Up a Notch

E.M. Taboada — Fri, 11 May 2012 22:35:22 +0000

So you’re getting ready to interview that expert for your short documentary, and you want to review your interview lighting technique. Or maybe you’re just looking for an introduction to lighting in general — where do you look? Check out these two interview lighting tutorials — not only are they a great review of the basics, but they each do a great job of illustrating just how every light can help shape the subject and tone of your footage: (more…)