Recently, and majorly the reason why I haven’t been on my own site much lately, I discovered that in order to make a movie, you need money. Money. Tis true the old adage that it’s “the root of all evil”. (And recently I discovered, thanks to some “richer people”, that only the poor say that.) […]
Sometimes people who don’t make movies don’t fully understand why people have a passion for making movies. And sometimes those same people will ask why we do it. It doesn’t come up often, but when it does, sometimes it catches people off-guard. So, in an effort to help many filmmakers, let’s look at why we […]
Many people I talk to have this thing about needing to go to Hollywood. You know the thing… The itch. They think that, just because they need to act/film that they’re going to find great success out on the left coast. Well, I’m here to tell them it’s complete and utter bullshit. I hate to […]
Some filmmakers come to me and ask questions like: How can I make my $300 budget short film look like thousands of dollars? The answer, depending on the story, comes in the form of three specific answers: Props Locations Being able to do something that does NOT look cheap And I am more than happy […]
When ANY filmmaker begins their journey, one of the big questions on their mind is formulated and looks something like this: If I am going to use a big-named star in my movie, which one should I use that will be worth the money? Here is the situation in that age-old question: If you select […]
Having worked on numerous sets, from big to small, I must admit that there seems to be some confusion when it comes to this question. In my upcoming book, you’ll learn about the differences with more clarity. But for now, let me explain what I’ve seen and where it should be. So, you arrive on […]
The Right Stuff. What does that mean? It means that you need to have the proper equipment to do what needs to be done. I am currently (now that I’ll be gainfully employed) re-upping the equipment that I’ll be using. In the process of buying all this stuff, one must keep a few things in […]
It’s the immortal question that all filmmakers must eventually consider when it comes to their equipment: BUY or RENT And depending on your budget, it might be a easy choice. But just the same, it could be a difficult one, as well. Let’s look at the concept pros and cons, shall we? PROS of BUYING: […]
For those of you that have some experience with raising money by doing a “crowd-funding” or fundraiser via sites like IndieGoGo or Kickstarter, you should really consider a few things about the process: Why do I need to use this? Will my campaign REALLY become more visible to people I don’t really know? What am […]
Did you ever notice that the people who speak the loudest THINK they have something to say, but very rarely have much to say at all? I’ve been privy (especially lately) to folks who are just that way. They bitch, gripe, and complain about things, but rarely ever offer anything as an incentive. And much […]