| There Is A Lot Going On This Month Besides Basketball
Ok, I'm as psyched as you probably are about March Madness, as I look forward to my Horns kicking Butler's, well, butt, and we see if there's any team out there who can beat Kentucky. But I wanted to tip you off to some other things going on this month that you might be interested in.
March is always a strong month in the independent filmmaking calendar as SXSW explodes all over Austin, Texas, (my old college stomping grounds). Films, music and panels/talks abound during the 10 days and maybe some of you read about and/or watched the keynote speech given by indie stalwart Mark Duplass. For those of you who missed it, (you can watch the whole thing here), Duplass gave an inspiring speech about making it happen for yourself. This is a message I know well--I've built my whole No Budget Film School around this principle.
Mark's brother Jay was a guest speaker of mine a few years ago and he echoed Mark's comments here--if you want to make movies, make them. Pick up a camera, grab some interesting friends, and shoot something. Don't spend any money and don't worry about what it looks like. The first things you create will likely suck, but you'll keep at it until you find what you uniquely have to offer the world. You don't know what your voice is until you use it.
Take advantage of the world we live in today. If you had wanted to do this back when I was in college at UT, you would have had to be accepted into the Film Production class (only 30 people per semester), spent hundreds of dollars on 16mm B&W reversal film, and waited until one of the battle-worthy, hand-wound Bell & Howell cameras was available to check out, before you could shoot something. And even then it wouldn't have had sound and you would have had to edit it on a complicated editing stand using a razor blade. That process is simpler today: just pull your cell phone out of your pocket and start shooting.
I caught another interesting story today about the SXSW narrative grand jury prize winner, Krisha. Shot in only 9 days in the filmmaker's parents' house and featuring his aunt, mother and grandmother in the cast, (along with other non-pros), Krisha is yet another example of how you don't need movie stars and money to capture the attention of the world at one of the most important film festivals in the US for American Independents. I'll have to get director Trey Edward Shults in my class so he can corroborate what I stress about working with available resources and not biting off more than you can chew. Something I'm sure the Duplass Brothers would agree with wholeheartedly!
To get your filmmaking juices flowing, I wanted to mention a number of classes and other opportunities going on this month...
|
| | | FREE WEBINAR: How To Make A Film With Pocket Changewith Mark Stolaroff, Presented by Moviola
April 7, 2015 • 11:30am PDT
Ok, first off, I realize this webinar is in APRIL! But I wanted to give you the heads up in March because this is the first time I've ever done a webinar and I'm excited to give this whole new-fangled technology a try. For those of you who've never taken one of my classes, this will be a good opportunity to catch what I consider to be one of the most important parts of my weekend seminar, in webinar form. And it's free, so you can't beat that.
In this one hour webinar I will cover: - Two crucial concepts for making a quality no-budget film
- How to turn production problems into opportunities
- The real lesson of Dogme 95 and how it applies to you
- The two lists that every no-budget filmmaker should have before writing their script
- The most important elements to the success of your no-budget film
- A detailed case study of Chris Nolan's $12,000 first feature Following
The webinar will be pre-recorded, but there is a live component where you'll be able to ask questions, in a chat format, I believe. Hope to "see" you there!
FREE |
| | | WEBINAR: Successful Crowdfunding for Filmmakers with Dawn Fields
March 21, 2015 • 10:00a - 1:00p PDT
Prolific award-winning filmmaker Dawn Fields is giving an empowering webinar presentation on Crowdfunding, and she should know what she's talking about--she has raised over $100,000 for her short films on IndieGoGo. In three hours, she will take you through the entire crowdfunding process, sharing her secrets to successfully budgeting, promoting and crowdfunding your project.
AND...she's offering all of you a special discount: $15 off! Just use the Promotional Code: FRIENDS01
Can't make this live webinar? No problem; it will be recorded and you'll have access to the recording.
|
| | | LIVE CLASSES: Production Coordinating Bootcamp (Los Angeles) Presented by Act One
Every Sat. thru April 11th • 8:45a - 1:15p
Act One is presenting a unique series of classes on production coordinating and production management. Normally you'd have to go to an expensive film school or intern on multiple projects to gain the kind of hands-on knowledge you'll get from these courses. The series has already started, but you can take each class a la carte. Visit the website to see what they're covering each weekend. If you've ever wanted to get inside a production office, these are the classes for you!
|
| | | FREE LIVE CLASSES: Screenwriting, Directing, Shooting, Editing (Los Angeles) Presented by Outfest Fusion Lab
March 17 - March 26 • Times Vary
Outfest's Fusion Lab is presenting a number of free classes on the filmmaking process, taught by Outfest alumni. Classes include Directing Actors, Editing with Final Cut Pro, Writing Workshop and more. Visit the site and click the yellow FUSION LAB tab for more information and to register.
FREE |
| | | | WRITERS & FILMMAKERS SHORT FILM COMPETITION
The idea for this is kinda brilliant. 500 filmmakers and 500 writers enter the competition. Writers judge the best filmmakers based on their work and filmmakers pick the top 10 best scripts. The winning filmmaker picks the best script out of the top 10 and Writers & Filmmakers funds the production to the tune of $25,000 and pays the writer for their script, (up to $10k).
|
| | BRIGHT IDEAS MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION OFFER
Bright Ideas is a new magazine published by the folks at crowdfunding/distribution platform Seed&Spark. The magazine is as much an art book as it is a distillery of in-depth, interesting articles about independent filmmaking. As they like to say, "Driven by bold design, narrative photography, incisive journalism, and experimental essays, Bright Ideas reports on the most forward-thinking contemporary moving pictures, and strives to shape the cultural conversation about truly independent film." No Budget Film School guest speaker Matt Sobel was on their most recent cover.
Bright Ideas is offering NBFS subscribers $20 off an annual subscription. Use the promo code nobudget (all lower case) when you visit their website, or just click this SUBSCRIBE LINK. |
| | | HOLLYSHORTS MONTHLY SCREENING (Los Angeles)
March 19, 2015 • 7p & 9:30p • TLC Chinese Theater
Hollyshorts, the premiere short film festival in Los Angeles, continues their monthly screening series with an evening of shorts on Thursday, March 19th at both 7pm and 9:30pm. Also be on the lookout for their next panel, which is March 26th, (details TBA).
As always, Hollyshorts offers my list a $4 discount on tickets to these events. Just use the promo code NOBUDGET when you purchase your tickets. Visit their website to see what's screening and to purchase tickets. |
| | 4 HEARTS STUDIOS DISCOUNTED RATE
4 Hearts Studios, a new, 6500 sq. ft. stage in Van Nuys that caters to indie filmmakers and students, is offering my list a special discount: 20% off their regular rates. Just mention No Budget Film School when you talk to Ci Ci Foster. Regular rates start at $50/hour.
4 Hearts Studios includes several pre-built sets, green screen, white cyc, full lighting grid, a makeup and wardrobe room, talent holding areas and more. Visit their website for more information and call Ci Ci to schedule a showing: (818) 605-2820. |
| | YOUTUBE VIDEO: The Legal Process for Independent Filmmakers
With Kathy Heller, Presented by the SAG Foundation
Dennis Baker, Program Director for the SAG Foundation and a student in my most recent class, alerted me to the educational programs that SAG is doing for filmmakers. This week they offered a free seminar about the legal process, but I wasn't able to get it into this newsletter in time. No worries, SAG posts these presentations on their YouTube channel, so you can view all of them at your leisure. I've met Kathy Heller, who is an entertainment law professor at Chapman University, and in this video she covers a variety of common legal issues that face filmmakers embarking on their independent projects, like chain of title questions, who owns your completed film, what you need permission to use, etc. I encourage you to check out their other videos, too. This is a great free resource. |
| |
Ok, that's it for now. May your teams make it to the Final Four and may your filmmaking pursuits prove to be a slam dunk!
|
|
|
