Category: Tips

Photo by Till Krech

This quote from the Quotations Page’s Quote of the Day:

“The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder.”
– Alfred Hitchcock

Keep that in mind next time you’re debating whether to cut that extra scene.

Guerrilla Filmmaking is a subset of indie films closely related to low-to-no budget films that is characterized by the attitude of “shoot now, ask later”. Show up on location, with a small crew and light gear. Shoot quick and dirty, and if anyone questions you, run away. (NB: I am aware that this is an exaggeration. Hold off on the flame mail.)

I’m not sure this is the best way to make a film, but it certainly is one way. Guerrilla Filmmaking Tips and Tricks has several resources for ultra-low budget films including a couple Top Ten Lists like TopTenTips [sic] for Movie Production and Guerilla Filmmaking. Ask any editor, and they will tell you to pay particular attention to #10.

A similar list is Dan’s TopTenTips [sic] for Short Film Makers which includes some of the same rules. I like this checklist for a short film. I have been guilty of violating at least some of those rules, but if someone had told me this before I started I might have done things differently.

The title of this post could also be “Don’t take yourself too seriously.” If you’re having trouble seeing the humor in a situation or taking your own project too seriously, check out Movie-A-Minute (also helpful for dealing with pretentious film buffs). It features well-known movies condensed to often comical summaries, such as Citizen Cane:

Although simplification can lead to humor, it can also be useful in distilling the theme or purpose of your story. So try it out, you’ll likely benefit from taking a step back, and you might learn something in the process.

New Media Consortium‘s CTO Alan Levine (blog) has posted a list of more than 50 online tools that can be used for storytelling in various forms, from podcasts to slideshows, and even a couple of video editors. I have seen several of them before, but most are new to me. This would be a good starting point for exploring alternative styles of storytelling.

ScriptNotes blog has an interview with Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff about podcasting audio books, or Podiobooks. It’s a great reminder that there a number of media to tell your story in, including some you may never have considered.

Filmmaker.com has an interview with Mark Kennedy of Greyfirst Corporation about Celtx, an innovative new open-source pre-production tool. Based on the interview, it sounds like this tool might go a long way towards bringing the technological advances enjoyed by post-production teams to the pre-filming side of things.

Mike over at HD for Indies posted about free music from Moby for non-commercial/non-profit films. Looks like a pretty good deal. To be sure, this is not music released under Creative Commons; the license restrictions are much more stringent. When you request a license there is a list of statements to agree to:

You hereby confirm that by proceeding with this license, your film or solely for non-commercial uses i.e. explicitly for non-profit organizations.
You hereby confirm that this may not be made available for sale or public broadcasts (paid for). It may be used in film festivals and student (non-paying) venues.
You acknowledge that all songs remain the property of the artist, song writer and their record company and publisher and use hereof is limited only to your designated film.
You acknowledge that Moby has his own moral values and as such he stresses that any musical synchronisation (use) to acts of animal harm, acts of violence or any sexual acts are strictly prohibited.
Any license granted hereunder may be revoked at anytime at Moby or the copyright owners sole discretion in the event there has been any misuse or intentional misappropriaton of the terms and conditions contained herein.
Any inadvertant, illegal or blatant misuse of any music made available hereunder is a material breach of the terms and conditions and you will be vigorously pursued by the relevant copyright owner.

If you, your film, and your usage of the music meet these requirements, then go for it.

In a recent post, Jane Espenson talks about having your script read aloud by actors. This is something that I really support and I will definitely do with my own work… just as soon as I get a script written.

I recently discovered an intriguing online tool called Plotbot that facilitates collaboration between many users on scripts and screenplays. Has anyone used this before? Would anyone like to try? It looks pretty well designed, so I think I’ll try it out and report back.