Film Strategy

Captain's Log. Star Date: 9.9.13 September 9, 1980 - The Third Generation opens "Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s terrorist comedy The Third Generation exploded when it opened in New York City in September 1980. In the New York Times , Vincent Canby raved, “There no longer can be any doubt about it: Rainer Werner Fassbinder is the most dazzling, talented, provocative, original, puzzling, prolific and exhilarating film maker of his generation. Anywhere.” Following on the heels of his international success The Marriage of Maria Braun , The Third Generation mock-heroically takes on the problem of domestic terrorism in Germany. Fassbinder explained the title’s relation to contemporary Germany politics in the following way: “The first generation was that of '68. Idealists, who wanted to change the world and imagined they could do that with words and demonstrations. The second, the Baader-Meinhof Group, went from legality to armed struggle and total ill

Captain's Log. Star Date: 9.4.13 Sep. 4, 1934 - Jan Švankmajer born In Jan Švankmajer’s film 2000 Little Otik , the titular character is a stump of wood who comes to life when treated like a baby; Švankmajer himself, though, arrived into the world in the traditional manner on September 4, 1934, in the Czechoslovakian capital, Prague. In the history of animation, few people have been more influential than Švankmajer, as his strikingly original perspective and painstaking eye for detail have led the way for figures such as Terry Gilliam, Tim Burton and the Quay Brothers. While mainstream animation tends to focus on happy, colorful antics, Švankmajer has presented a view of the world that is more sinister and macabre, filtered through a tradition of dark Eastern European fairy tales. Most famous for his stop motion work (which often has a slight jerkiness that adds to the viewers unease), Švankmajer came to prominence first in the 1960s with a series of sh

Cuz screenwriters can relate to this on the one hand... Captain's Log. Star Date - 9.2.13 Today is Labor Day and what better way to spend the day off then to spend it working on your script.  'Nuff said. What would Oscar-winning producer, Edward Saxon, advise his 18 year-old self ? How many feature length scripts should you write before you're 'ready' for Hollywood? What are 10 rules for writing the screenplay ? What are 7 rules for writing shorts ? How do you make a TV drama in the Twitter age ? What are some screenwriting tips from Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright and Nick Frost ? Who are some female screenwriters and screenwriters of color to inspire you? And why you shouldn't let rejection of your script/work/project get you down ? Bonus: Two podcasts for screenwriters and filmmakers: OnStory and ScriptNotes ...but also relate to this on the other hand.

Captain's Log. Star date: 8.28.13 Ready to jump right in and answer some good questions but first a moment of silence because 26 year ago today in 1987, "one of the great directors of all time, John Huston , died from emphysema in Middletown, Rhode Island. Like another Hollywood titan, Alfred Hitchcock (whose last movie was called Family Plot ), Huston’s final production was a harbinger of his mortality: an adaptation of James Joyce’s The Dead . The film was a nod to Huston’s Irish roots, and he very much conformed to the stereotype of a hard-living Irishman: Huston was a man’s man – the Hemingway of the cinema, if you like – a heavy drinker and shameless womanizer (he was married five times) who supposedly only took on The African Queen so he could go shoot an elephant (if White Hunter, Black Heart is to be believed, anyway). Bedridden for several years as a child, when Huston recovered his health he took on life with an insatiable hunger: he followed his fat

Captain's Log. Star date: 08.26.13 August 26, 1948 - Hitchcock's Rope released By 1948, Hitchcock was considered one of Hollywood’s most distinctive, if not finest, filmmakers. And Rope , being his first film from his own production company Transatlantic Pictures, was going to show audiences just what he could do free from studios and producers, like David O. Selznick. Hitchcock settled on dark (even for him) material. The film’s story is a loose retelling of the infamous 1924 Loeb and Leopold murder case in which two very bright, gay students murder a child to prove they can. Patrick Hamilton wrote the play which was adapted by actor Hume Cronyn and playwright  Arthur Laurents. The film ditched all the details of the original crime except the homosexuality and the homicide. In the film, the central couple (played by John Dall and Farley Granger) are two brilliant men who live together and, for all to surmise, are lovers. While the

Captain's Log. Stardate: 8.21.13 August 21 was a good day for rebels and innovators.  Today in 1932, Melvin Van Peebles, director of the politically and artistically radical film, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971), was born.  Also, today in 1939, Orson Welles signed a 63-page contract with RKO Pictures that allowed him to write, direct, produce and act in two movies for the studio with an unprecedented offer: complete creative control .  This led to the production of RKO 281 better known as the innovative and artistically daring film, Citizen Kane (1941). Now that your artistic appetite has been whetted, consider this: What are some sci-fi storytelling script tips ?  What lessons can networks (and aspiring producers pitching episodic concepts) learn from Breaking Bad ? What lessons can aspiring producers learn from David Simon's pitch for The Wire ? How do you light dark skin ?  Do you want an introduction to After Effects? Then here it is. What are th

He just had your lunch... dinner is next. Captain's Log. Star date: 8.19.13 Forty years ago today, on.. 19 August 1973 - The Dragon Released The opening night of the kung-fu action film Enter The Dragon was a bittersweet celebration. It was the first martial arts film to be made by a Hollywood studio. Unfortunately Bruce Lee, the brains and brawn behind the project, had died less than a month before the film’s release. Lee, who’d carved out a career as both kung fu master and movie star, turned to Hong Kong after Hollywood shut the door on him in the late 60s. Although he’d had moderate fame playing Kato in the TV series The Green Hornet , Lee felt he was brushed aside for the lead in the Warner Brothers show Kung Fu . In China, Lee’s career exploded with a series of wildly popular kung-fu films that culminated in Enter The Dragon , a co-production between Warner Brothers and the Hong Kong-based production company Golden Harvest. For Lee, this film would

Captain's Log. Star Date: 8.14.13 "On August 14, 1945, film director Wim Wenders was born in Düsseldorf. Well, almost. Wenders’ parents wanted to call him Wim, however – despite this being over three months after VE Day – the authorities did not consider this (Dutch) name acceptable for a German baby, so instead he was christened Ernst Wilhelm Wenders. (“Ernst” was the name of his godfather, and “Wilhelm” was the closest Teutonic name to “Wim.”) While his parents were forced to conform, it’s something that Wim himself resisted: in the mid 60s, he dropped out of university to become a painter. He moved to Paris to achieve his dream, and while his quest to get into art school floundered in the City of Lights, he found a home at the Cinemathèque Francaise, where he allegedly watched five movies a day and fell head over heels with film. Returning to Germany, he was accepted into Munich’s newly founded Hochschule für Fernsehen and Film (HFF), and graduated in 19

Captain's Log. Star date: 8.12.13 I just had breakfast.  I'm full.   So I'm keeping it light this morning. So... there are more new rules of screenwriting? How does the architecture in a movie influence the movie? How do you find a great composer for your film? Just for fun, what would you make after you learn how to create WebGL animations ? Why and how do you make a film that's a rebuke to commercial filmmaking ? This looks fun... designing the title sequence to Spring Breakers ?

Captain's log. Star date - 8.7.13. There's a saying in Spanish that says, " Hace el trabajo mal, lo haces dos veces ," which means "Do the job poorly, you'll do it twice."  Avoid having to correct a badly done job by doing as much to learn how to do it right the first time. And so, without further ado: Why are ridiculously long hours on a movie set the norm and what can we do to correct that? What can we learn about filmmaking from Alejandro Jodorowsky ? What are 7 no-budget post-production tools you can start using today? Why do you need to put together a winning team if you want investors to fund your film? What can you learn from a "Writer's Room" panel of Breaking Bad creators ? What can you learn from legendary producer, Randall Emmett? At least, 13 golden rules . What are 3 ways filmmakers can adapt to a changing media landscape?  Plus 5 (+1 tip I added in the comments section) to break into the film industry. And

Captain's Log. Star date: 8.5.13 Congress goes into recess in August but we in the film world never stop writing, reading, seeking funds, producing, directing, editing and screening.  But even though you're a busy artist-businessperson hybrid , take a moment to ponder the following: Will changes in the use of video in social media (like Twitter) have a large impact on entertainment and how it will be made? No one likes to think about this, but you're going to die one day and you should have a will to leave behind to distribute to your loved ones... things like the money in your account, your comic book collection, your library of intellectual property and any future residuals/royalties.  So don't be like these 5 celebrities ... Would you get this camera now that it's dropped to $2000? Compared to this 6K RED ? Or the 7D with Magic Lantern RAW Video? Now that you've probably moved on from FCP to Adobe Premiere Pro, want to know some shortcuts ? Ev

Captain's Log. Star Date - 7.31.2013 It's the midweek hump and you're almost to Friday.  Even though it's early I'm pretty sure you're having a better day than English writer Daniel Defoe did today in 1703 when he was placed in a pillory for seditious libel after publishing a pamphlet politically satirising the High Church Tories .  And unlike back in 1703, you have access to information and knowledge at the click of a link.  The 21st century, ya gotta love it. On Monday , we saw Spike Lee's essential film list. So, what was Stanley Kubrick's list of films ? What about those film festivals that aren't scams but are kinda sucky ? What is the language of cinema and what makes it so powerful and special? What are some tips to choreographing and shooting a fight scene? Can you really write your script committing 10 minutes a day? There's only one way to find out. Why do so many first-time directors fail to launch a career or ev

Captain's Log. Star Date - 7.29.2013 Start your day with tips, articles, interviews and a mindblowing video. Btw, here's a clue to the video... the "creators" were born today in 1958 when U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act into law, establishing a new federal non-military space agency known as NASA. What are 5 tips on script analysis directors should use? What's so good about Google Chromecast being cheap and dumb ? What are the movies on Spike Lee's "Essential Film List" ?  What does director James Wan have to say about the making of his movie, The Conjuring?  What are webfests and which are the best ones so far ? What are 5 keys to getting a distribution deal? What can you learn from the art and practices of 4 master sound designers? Alot . How effective and mindblowing can sound design be in creating a memorable experience? This effective and mindblowing.

Captain's Log.  Star Date 07.24.13 Lots to read and think about if you're a producer or a director, so let's just jump right into it. Variety's latest article makes me think of the following: In the aftermath of some horrible box office numbers for tentpole films, will the studios still prefer spending $250 million on a single movie and letting more quirky or personal films migrate to video-on-demand?  With big- budget event movies cannibalizing each other, will the overseas market grow fast enough to make up for the collateral damage?  Instead of throwing money at a film or an actor and hoping for the best, is there a better, more analytic way to determine beforehand if a film is worth making, and at what specific dollar value? According to Henry Selick , animation also seems to be infected with the condition of " big blockbuster bloatedness " too.  Are creative diversity and online streaming the answer? 6 Lessons from the new digital distribu

Captain's Log. Star Date 07.22.13 The cycle continues.  A new day begins a new week to learn more about producing, directing, lighting and editing, read about what Hollywood cares about nowadays (hint: s_perh_roes) or get inspired by the rules of a master and the vision of a photographer (who was himself inspired by early films).  You see the cycle continues... San Diego Comic Con 2013 news roundup on all the movies and tv shows discussed, mentioned, poured over, screamed for, drooled about, hollered at and high-fived. Ted Hope and Christine Vachon's FREE 4-hour filmmaking masterclass seminar. Did I mention it was FREE*. (hat tip to nofilmschool ) Wim Wenders' nifty 50 rules of filmmaking. (hat tip to Roger Duck ) Pulp Art Book : a multimedia project by Los Angeles based artist Neil Krug in a creative collaboration with Joni Harbeck, wherein his photography can be seen in limited edition prints, books and films. Check out some pieces from Pulp Art Book: Vol.

Captain's Log. Star Date 07.17.13 Atop the midweek hump, you will see in the distance, the following: An interview with Jamie Benning, on his unique documentaries about the making of Star Wars, Jaws and Indiana Jones (and while you're at it, watch Benning's Raiders of the Lost Ark making-of doc here ; A list of grant deadlines this summer (because crowdfunding's not the only way to raise money for your movie, right?) A chance to ask Nicolas Winding Refn important or dumb questions on Reddit at 11 AM ET/8 AM PT today; A funny list of " anti-narrative " film ideas; A list of 10 lessons picked up at the IFP narrative labs; A quick look at a robotic camera system that can allow one person to control multiple cameras in a live sporting event (hope it's not bad news for live event camera crews); A DIY film marketing tip that should've made the list on Monday but... oh well; and, Beautiful, enigmatic and haunting photos by one of my fa