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After successfully completing my first two Zoom courses, I'm going all-in with Zoom! In addition to announcing another online class (below), I've created an all-new series of fun webinars called NO BUDGET CONFIDENTIAL. No Budget Confidential is a live, FREE Zoom show where I conduct off-the-record interviews with no-budget filmmakers who against all odds, willed their no-budget features into being. You'll get the inside scoop on how these micro-budget masterpieces were put together--what laws were broken, whose body parts were sold to science, which deals were made with the Devil--directly from the filmmakers themselves.
If you've taken my "Art & Science of No-Budget Filmmaking" class, this will feel pretty familiar. It's essentially what I've done for 15 years in my live classes--moderate a candid discussion with a successful micro-budget filmmaker, show clips and stills from their film that illustrate the ideas and techniques we cover, and then open it up for questions from those in attendance. The only difference is we'll be doing it online, (And it's free. And you can join us from anywhere in the world. In your sweatpants. Or no pants. I will have on pants, likely shorts). I'm thrilled to be bringing what is arguably the most popular part of my classes to the masses. And my first show is perfect for this...
Join me on Thursday, June 18th at 5pm PT (8pm ET) when I interview writer, director, producer, actor and voice-over talent Jeff Nimoy, as we discuss his new feature Fame-ish. You'll recall Fame-ish--I wrote about it extensively last year. It's origin story is miraculous and hilarious, and will surely be inspirational. Jeff came up with the idea for his $6,300 feature in my class, actually, during an exercise we do. While Jeff has had a successful career in Hollywood for over 25 years--especially in the world of Anime--Fame-ish was his feature debut, and a life-long dream. It was released last month by Random Media and is available on most cable and internet VOD platforms.
It's a great story, and we'll go through every inch of it, (even the less-than-legal parts), in this first edition of No Budget Confidential. Register now--it's free and space is somewhat limited, so it may sell out. Join us live to ask questions, but if you miss the live session, you'll get a link to a recording of the show, made available only to those who register. Feel free to spread the word to your friends who also might be interested.
And stay tuned for information on the second edition of No Budget Confidential, coming soon!
No Budget Film School presents NO BUDGET CONFIDENTIAL - EPISODE 1 Jeff Nimoy Discusses Fame-ish Thursday, June 18, 2020 • 5pm PT (8pm ET) Free - Live Via Zoom
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| | | | | | | Destin Cretton speaking at No Budget Film School in 2013 |
| In honor of No Budget Confidential, and the rich history of No Budget Film School's candid interviews with successful micro-budget filmmakers over the years, I wanted to recommend three new films now available online, two directed by former NBFS guest speakers, (and one directed by someone I always wanted to get!). Admittedly, I'm doing something I don't normally do--I'm recommending movies I haven't seen yet. BUT, these films are all well-reviewed and look terrific. All three of these filmmakers started out making tiny-budgeted features that caught peoples' attention, leading them to be able to make bigger films. This is what's possible... |
| | JUST MERCYNow Streaming for Free
Destin Cretton joined me in November 2013 and we mostly talked about his $60k first feature, I Am Not A Hipster, which premiered at Sundance in 2012. But that's not the film that put him on the map. Hipster allowed him to make Short Term 12, which was the feature-length version of an award-winning short he made in 2008. Short Term 12 has the distinction of featuring two young actors who went on to win Academy Awards for Best Actress and Actor--Brie Larson and Rami Malek, respectively. It also featured LaKeith Stanfield in one of his first acting jobs, (his first being the short version of the film). Just Mercy was released at the end of last year for Academy consideration, but kind of got lost in the shuffle. It also stars Larson and Jamie Foxx, as well as Michael B. Jordan, who plays the lead role of real-life civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson. It's based on Stevenson's 2014 best-selling non-fiction book of the same name, and recounts the young lawyer's attempt to overturn the murder conviction of an innocent black man in Alabama in 1988.
Because of what's happening on the streets all across the country, Warner Brothers decided to make the film available for free right now, saying “We believe in the power of story. Our film ‘Just Mercy,’ is one resource we can humbly offer to those who are interested in learning more about the systemic racism that plagues our society.” You can currently stream it for free on a number of platforms, including Amazon, iTunes, YouTube and Google Play. |
| | NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS
Now Available on VOD
Eliza Hittman was a guest speaker in the October 2013 class I taught in New York. Earlier in that year, she premiered her debut feature, the micro-budget It Felt Like Love, at Sundance. That film led to her next Sundance feature Beach Rats and some TV directing work, and then ultimately to the abortion drama Never Rarely Sometimes Always, which won prizes at both Sundance and Berlin earlier this year. Sadly, the film was released theatrically by Focus Features on March 13th, right as the country was shutting down for the pandemic.
Hittman has an amazing eye for detail and nuance, and excels in directing young non-actors, who give beautiful, subtle performances. As I've mentioned, with the new SAG contract making it much more expensive to use SAG actors, it might be worth seeing what you can do with a non-professional actor right about now... |
| | SHIRLEY
Now Available on VOD
Director Josephine Decker caught my attention back in 2014 when she premiered TWO micro-budget features in the prestigious Berlin Film Festival--Butter On The Latch and Thou Wast Mild And Lovely--at the same time! I saw the latter at AFI Fest later that year and spoke with her at length after the screening. It's worth mentioning that she wrote, directed, produced and edited both films. And both were beautifully shot by Ashley Conner on a Canon 5D. Those films led to Madeline's Madeline, which Oscilloscope released theatrically in 2018, after world premiering in Sundance. Shirley stars Elizabeth Moss as real-life horror writer Shirley Jackson, and from the trailer looks to be a sinister update on Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Neon released the film last weekend online, after it played both Sundance and Berlin, winning Decker a Special Jury Award at Sundance for Auteur Filmmaking. Sounds pretty interesting... |
| | | | CINEMA LANGUAGE
Tom Provost's Essential 2-Day Class Is Coming Soon to Zoom!
If you've been on my list for awhile, then you've heard of (or taken) my friend Tom Provost's amazing 2-day film studies class Cinema Language, offered as a second weekend to my "Art & Science of No-Budget Filmmaking" class. While my class is designed for producers (and writers, actors and directors who find themselves producing), and covers how to make a film for little-to-no money, Tom's class entertainingly shows you how to make the best movie possible, regardless of budget. Tom, an accomplished writer, director, editor and film professor (he teaches graduate screenwriting at Pepperdine), reveals the hidden language of cinema, teaching you the secrets that all our favorite directors use to draw us into their stories and get us to feel and react accordingly. This is one of those classes that will change the way you watch movies, as you'll now recognize what filmmakers are doing with all the tools at their disposal, including composition, color, sound, movement, story information, and more.
This will be a multi-day class taught over several weeks and starting July 11th. I should have all the information on Eventbrite in the next few days and will send out a dedicated email with more information about what you'll learn and how to register.
This is a super-fun class that will instantly improve your skills as a filmmaker and storyteller, (and film watcher). |
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