| No Budget Film School This Weekend! |
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If you're like me--if you're like just about everyone--you've grown up watching the Oscars and dreaming that someday you'd be up there collecting your award. It must be some primal desire we all have, certainly when we're kids; and for some of us, it carries over into adulthood. Now, I'm going to be the last person to blow smoke up your ass and tell you that if you just try hard enough, an Oscar is yours for the taking. I've had the pleasure of working with Christopher Nolan and he hasn't even won an Oscar yet!
But I will tell you this: if you've been dreaming of making a film someday--maybe you're a writer/director, or a producer reading scripts, or a writer who can't get anyone to read your material, or an actor waiting for a call-back--I can promise you that my No Budget Film School will give you the knowledge, tools and confidence--the empowering ability--to make your film. NOW. I don't teach you how to spend years raising money; I teach you how to make something with whatever resources you have available to you right now.
And this formula works. Every class I teach I invite filmmakers who have worked this way to come in and share their secrets--how much they spent, what things cost, how they overcame adversity, etc. I'm proud that one of my former students is coming back as a guest speaker to demonstrate that it can work. And you'll be in a room with dozens of like-minded potential collaborators, sharing knowledge and resources.
Here's what a few of those folks have said about my class in the past: |
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"So many of my questions were answered, and I really feel like I can do this now. I never would have thought I'd learn that much in two days (I took upwards of 60 pages worth of notes,) but you really pulled it off, so again, thank you for offering such a great, fun course. It's already helped me out a lot." - Eddie Gurrola, Writer
"I am a former 1st AD finally making the full leap into directing. Loved your seminar. It was exactly the thing that liberated me and rewired my brain the way I needed. It's ironic - my film school was being on studio sets for over a decade and while I learned how to be a pro, I lost an indie part of me that was so necessary for me to direct my own stuff. To attend your seminar is a game changer for me." - Vince Duque, Director
"It is always tough to assess a class from just an internet description. It is not, however, difficult to assess your class after taking it. The Art of No Budget Filmmaking class on Saturday and the Science of No Budget Filmmaking class on Sunday were simply amazing. They were the perfect blend of the technical aspects of no budget filmmaking with the "tips of the trade" that you have learned from all of the years you have been in the business. I also really appreciated all of the guest speakers that you brought in to share their films and careers. It is truly inspiring to talk first-hand to all of you that have "made it" in the business. Thank you once again for a great class." - Steve Carson, Director
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"This past weekend was beyond amazing. I learned so much and completely shifted the I way I look at filmmaking. While I am not in feature-land yet, your principles will be used in making high quality shorts. Thanks again. I know this sounds a bit dramatic, but it was definitely a life-changing couple of days." - Dan Ferraro, Director
"Thanks for a great weekend & the awesome content, Mark! You rock! It was truly everything I expected and more! Connected with a lot of great folks (who actually pulled a new film idea out of a childhood experience I had) and learned a ton :) " - Sofie Khan, Writer
"WOW!!! I'm totally nerding out because I attended a phenomenal film workshop this past weekend taught by Mark Stolaroff--No Budget Film School. Blew me away by the thoroughness of the material provided. And the price of the workshop is not just the best deal in town, it's the best deal ever! Mark goes above & beyond to take care of the attendees - you will get MORE than your money's worth!! For those of you that say you're just a writer (i.e. not a “filmmaker”), I urge you to RUN to this workshop - it will blow up the way you think about the options you have for getting your projects into production. I've started drafting my next script (in class- I couldn't help myself) and already started developing the project." - Barbara Taylor, Writer/Producer
"Thanks for a wonderful seminar. This was my second time, and it was worth the update." - Chien-ei Yu |
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| | NO BUDGET FILM SCHOOL presents "The Art & Science of No-Budget Filmmaking" Saturday & Sunday, Feb. 28 & March 1, 2015 |
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Both Cinema Language instructor Tom Provost and myself were on the airwaves recently. Tom, besides being an accomplished writer and director, is an amazing editor, who has been working on the Avid for nearly 20 years. A year ago he wanted to create a video to help promote his class. The idea was to use clips from all the movies he discusses and shows in his Cinema Language seminar and edit them together in a fun, Chuck Workman-like montage. You can view the result HERE. Well, for the Academy Awards, NPR wanted to do a story on Chuck Workman, who is perhaps best-known for pretty much inventing that genre of montage, often shown in Oscar ceremonies over the years. Apparently, when the NPR producers searched for Chuck Workman videos on YouTube, Tom's video was one of the first to pop up, so they brought Tom in to interview him for their Chuck Workman piece. You can hear that interview HERE.
I was asked to be a guest on a great podcast called The Cinematography Podcast, hosted by two of my buddies, filmmaker Ben Rock and Hot Rod Camera owner Illya Friedman. Often their shows are two hours or more long, but they wanted to do a "mini" episode, so they thought a guest speaker would be a good idea. Little did they know how much of a big mouth I am! Still, our Sundance Rundown episode clocks in at under an hour. We had a lot of fun and covered a number of interesting filmmaking topics, with the through line being this year's Sundance Film Festival. You can take a listen HERE.
Of course, Tom's class is the weekend after my class. In addition to the 20% discount we offer for being a subscriber (use Promo Code SUBS), we also offer a substantial discount to folks who take both classes:
NO BUDGET FILM SCHOOL presents "Cinema Language: The Art of Storytelling" Saturday & Sunday, March 7 - 8, 2015 |
| | | | Learn How To Crowdfund Your Short Film |
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Former No Budget Film School student and short film expert Dawn Fields is teaching an evening seminar on crowdfunding in Los Angeles called Secrets To Funding Your Short Film on IndieGoGo. Dawn has raised over $100,000 on IndieGoGo for her projects, so she probably knows a thing or two about how to make it work for your project. It's this Thursday night and she's been kind enough to offer all of you a great discount--$10 off! Just head over to the special page she's created for No Budget Film School subscribers.
Looking forward to seeing you this weekend!! |
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