Enough talk about the gear. This weekend I want you to outline some concepts for TV spots or short films. Or even a full length feature, if you are so bold. Meanwhile for you I’ll post a few epic TV ads to get you pumped up. … Continue Reading
My mantra of 2010 for photographers moving into DSLR filmmaking has been story. Short 30 seconds stories to feature length stories, everything you shoot should have a beginning a middle and and end.
I can already see the crowd of torch bearing bohemians gathering on the hill with their what about art arguments. Pursuing story is not exclusionary to pursuing artistic film endeavors. It’s in addition to it. … Continue Reading
Since Michael and I did our seminar on creating a public service announcement (PSA) at the excellent Helms Creative Workshop, I’ve been getting emails asking how to get started. There is certainly no lack of motivation for wanting to a create a PSA, the stumbling block is what to shoot. If you don’t have a proclivity for writing and story development, don’t panic. There is a vast field of content out there just waiting to be realized on the screen. And seeking some of it out will have the added bonus of getting you some advertising agency connections. … Continue Reading
It’s long been spoken around Hollywood that the spec script market is dying. But a recent bidding war over Shawn Christensen’s script “Abduction,” followed by a hot, million-dollar sale to Lionsgate, has suggested that maybe things are ready to perk up again.
A script written “on spec” means that the writer has written it with no promise of compensation, as opposed to it being written on assignment (a company is paying the writer to write a specific idea or story). An agent, manager or other representative of the script will circulate it to buyers (in industry parlance is this known as “going out with the script”) in hopes of making a sale. The attachment of a high-wattage star, or an A-list director, will often sweeten the deal.
