PRODUCTION JOURNAL: Monday Morning Mixer - 11.4.13

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November 4
Barack Obama became the first African-American president today in 2008. For many that was a new day of hope and, for others, the first step into hell. Well, whatever, I for one was happy.  But that's life, a heady mix of the good and the bad depending on your perspective.  And in the film & TV industry, today was both a happy one and a sad one too.   Happy for those born today, like...
1879 – Will Rogers, American actor (d. 1935)
1913 – Gig Young, American actor (d. 1978)
1918 – Art Carney, American actor (d. 2003)
1959 – Ken Kirzinger, Canadian actor and stuntman
1961 – Ralph Macchio, American actor
1961 – Jeff Probst, American television host and producer
1969 – Sean Combs, American rapper, producer, and actor
1969 – Matthew McConaughey, American actor

And sad for those who died today like...
1982 – Jacques Tati, French actor and director (b. 1907)
2011 – Andy Rooney, American radio and television host (b. 1919)
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And now, on to our filmmaking questions of the day...

WRITING: How did one of the greatest SNL skits of all time get written?

 PRODUCING: By comparing the two, Polone argues why studios should make movies like indies.

 FINANCING: How can you fund a documentary?

 DIRECTING: How did writer-director Gavin Hood navigate the stages of production for Ender's Game?

 SHOOTING: So when and how should you use camera movement?

 LIGHTING: How can you improve the background of your shoots by lighting with home-made cookies?


SOUND: What are 7 things to know for superior ADR (additional dialogue replacement)?

 STUNTS & FX: How do you shoot a fight scene?

 EDITING: How do you create a pleasing effect on your image by applying a contrast curve to the lightness channel on Premiere or After Effects?

 MARKETING: A problem with marketing a film occurs when there is no clear way to accurately describe a film so it fails to reach the right audience.  This isn't just a matter of money hungry distributors just focusing on the money makers since even the critics sometimes fail to understand what they're watching.  Case in point: Critics who don't understand documentaries.

 DISTRIBUTION: What are some interesting topics being explored in the self-distribution world?

 LEGAL: Why is California's Talent Agencies Act such a challenge for lawyers and managers alike?

 And here's a video with highlights from the classic Tati film, Trafic, to see why Jacques Tati was considered a filmmaking genius.


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