The Casting Director - I’m Back!
May 29, 2009
I have been on vacation for three weeks. I got back on Tuesday after a 20-hour journey from Damascus, Syria. Not an easy trip. I was in Israel, Turkey, Syria and Germany. My cell phone worked everywhere except for Syria, which was great because I didn’t think about work at all really, and I had a great time seeing, learning and experiencing new cultures. While in Israel I met up with a Casting Director there and we had dinner and talked about the industry in Israel and actors that she wanted me to know about. Lufthansa’s magazine had a great article on the hot young German actors and I watched eight films on the airplanes I was on! Traveling brings me a lot of perspective and opportunities, it opens my ideas up when casting, I get to see first hand what people really look like, feel and see the pulse of a new city, it all helps me when casting. I feel that this year has given me amazing opportunities to travel for work (Chicago, New York) & I truly feel after this trip that if someone said to me, I need an actor from the Middle East, I would be able to deliver.
On a side note, the trip was unique and fascinating. I loved Israel and everything it had to offer. Turkey & Syria were so different to anything that I had expected, especially Syria where the people where friendly and welcoming to such a high degree that it made me wonder if they knew that they were being accused of sponsoring terrorism around the world…something I forgot to ask our guide about.
I am still jet-lagged. I got to the office and opened piles of mail, bills to pay and jobs to figure out and organize. I have been casting a film called ONE KINE DAY and we are scheduled to start shooting in Oahu, Hawaii on July 6, and I am leaving June 15th to go do the local casting and oversee the acting and be a coach for some of the actors. I am very excited about the opportunity to cast there! At the same time I am casting VINYL with the same producer as whom I am going to Hawaii with. Before I left for my vacation I had five days to cast a short version of HALF-TRUTH which is part of the Netflix Find Your Voice Contest (http://www.netflixfindyourvoice.com/) go vote for it on June 5th!
I am also working on 5 other films and actively trying to attach cast to them. When I sat down at my desk on Wednesday, I had a minor meltdown, I am not the most organized person and between the phone calls to return and general office work, lists, etc…I felt a tiny bit overwhelmed. I just needed a good nights sleep. The nice part about work is, I am now sharing an office with some producers and another casting director. We are all getting along and it is nice to have people around me and not feel like I am in solitary confinement.
TGIF!
Tags: Movie, Filmmaking, Actor, Movie Blog, Film Industry
The Documentary Producer - Pat me on the Twitter back! Viral Docu campaign.
May 28, 2009
So today, I did it! I doubled my followers on Twitter. Fine, it was only from 17 to 36, but if I keep it up, I will be at 1M with PDiddy in no time.
In this process, there are a few articles that I have come across that are helping me figure out how to do this… again, not knowing if my hours a day tweeting would be better spent cleaning my house. Right now, I feel like that may be the case. But I have landed some interest from what appears to be some heavy hitters in our target audience - the Jewish and Art worlds.
So in an effort to not starve my family… I am going to sign off for the day and hope to reach 80 followers by this time tomorrow.
Cheers.
Tags: Movie Blog, Hollywood, Television, Film, Film Blog
The Production Manager - Temp-ting
May 28, 2009
So, I’ve not been working this week, which of course gives rise to some worry in this economy. Like everyone else I’m looking at what I can do to keep going through these lean times – which I imagine will be for the next 9-12 months at least. Fortunately I survived the aftermath of the dot com boom and continental relocation so I have no doubt that as long as I remember to leave my ego at the door I’ll be able to get through this one too.
I’m doing what a lot of people do, falling back on my other skills to make ends meet. My other skills include budgeting, helping people out with their smaller projects, in fact I’ve been working with a guy down in Virginia who wants to put together a reality show and somehow I’m moving into a development role trying to shape the idea into something that we can pitch to MTV. That would never have happened ordinarily. Fortunately my recent experience on the MTV reality show taught me quite a lot about how the networks like their shows packaged.
But my one big fall back skill is dare I admit it, temping. Yes the dreaded T word that no one in TV ever wants to do. It amazes me how many people prefer to live on the breadline, take shockingly badly paid work rather than be seen as a ‘temp’. But temping is a great opportunity, not only does it keep money flowing in, but I get the chance to dip into the ‘other world’ the world where people go to work at 9am and leave at 5pm not 10pm, or 2am. The world where office politics involves trying to work out who cooked broccoli in the communal kitchen, not who’s to blame when the show goes over budget. The world in which I walk out the door at the end of the day without having a head full of worry about the budget, schedule and shoot arrangements for the next five day.
Fine the pay isn’t as high but then when my usual work is broken down into an hourly rate I barely make minimum wage anyway. I get less money but more life; I can see people after work, go to the gym I can even take those evening classes I’ve been so keen to do (interactive digital media courses in case you were wondering). Sure I am the anonymous ‘temp’ and get given work to do that a donkey could do but so what? It’s a living and it can be really nice to remind myself what kind of other career I could have had and you’d be surprised what kind of new skills you can pick up. I remember once several years ago picking up an assignment at a construction company in their finance department which came in very handy when I started developing build budgets for our DIY show.
So that’s what I’m going to be doing to make ends meet between projects during these lean and slightly crazy times. What are you guys out there doing to get by?
I predict I’ll be temping just long enough that when the next big project finally does come in that eats up all my time, energy and headspace, I’ll welcome it with open arms.
Tags: Film, Movie Theatre, Movie, Actor, Hollywood
The Showrunner - Memo To Showrunners:
May 27, 2009
Yet another Reason to be Nice to Your Assistants
When Brooke, the talented young actress we cast on “South of Nowhere” (07) and showbizzle (08), asked if she could hire her young actress friend Brittany to help us promote our showbizzle college outreach this past winter, my attitude was …
Tags: Actor, Filmmaking, Hollywood, Movie, Movie Theatre
The Script Reader - long time no blog
May 27, 2009
I am aware that it’s been a while between blogs here. Just wanted to say that it’s going to be a little longer. I’m too busy with more pressing stuff. However, next month, when summer is in full swing, I may be able to come back and blog more frequently.
I …
Tags: Film, Movie, Movie Blog, Director, Filmmaking
The Documentary Producer - Viral Marketing on Indie Films - The Documentary
May 27, 2009
This is a test, this is only a test. Today we got the locked down date for the release of AS SEEN THROUGH THESE EYES of October 2nd. That gives us about 18 weeks to perfect a independent release. We are lucky enough to be released through a company called Menemsha Films… For those of you out there following small distribution companies, you will know that they did a great job on shortlisted film Rape of Europa.This prestigious film has had a long theatrical life and they are modeling that platform for our release.
Now the one thing they did not have that we do is Twitter. Is this really a good marketing tool for our world? Various articles I have read tell me different things. So I am going to go for it and see what happens. This is a ride all you indie filmmakers/distributors may want to go on with me.
In the next 18 weeks, I will blog about how this experience is going. What we are doing to make it happen for us. I will also do my best to get some great interviews along the way with filmmakers, distributors, theaters, etc. to talk about the use of the viral market.
Please feel free to ask questions and make suggestions. I would love to hear how it is working for you out there. And again, I will make sure you get all the information I have along the way.
Here is to a new form of distribution, from the underdogs.
Cheers!
Tags: Filmmaker, Director, Filmmaking, Television, Film Blog
The Music Supervisor - The Real Job of the Music Supervisor
May 26, 2009
I’m constantly reminded that many filmmakers (and the general public) have a misunderstanding of what the role of a music supervisor is. Many think that a music supervisor sits back and listens to CDs all day making musical selections for the films and TV shows they work on.
Some of the music supervisors on popular TV series such as Alexandra Patsavas (Chuck, Gossip girl, Grey’s Anatomy), PJ Bloom (Nip/Tuck, Glee, CSI Miami), Lindsay Wolfington (Ghost Whisperer, One Tree Hill, Smallville) and Madonna Wade-Reed (Castle, Smallville, One Tree Hill, Las Vegas) spend more time listening to music. Keep in mind though; they have a staff of one or more interns or assistants that help weed through a lot of the music they receive. They also help catalog the music in their libraries giving the music sups more time to deal with paperwork. Since they are ultimately responsible for the proper clearance of the songs the use, the have to put the administrative side first.
In an exclusive interview with Buddytv.com Alexandra Patsavas said, “When people wonder about music supervision, it’s not just about the creative choice, it’s also about responsible budgeting, clearance, you know, budgeting your time. It’s definitely, like, it’s not only a creative task, but a very business-oriented task as far as pulling the rest of it together. The business of music supervision is essential to its success.” Full Interview
I’ve heard so people say that they want to be a music supervisor because it would be a dream job to listen to music all day. These folks or wannabe music supervisors will have a rude awakening if they ever get the chance to work on a film or TV show. The filmmaker’s that feel they can do the job as a music supervisor are really doing themselves a disservice by not hiring someone with the skills, knowledge and experience to do the job right.
I’ve worked on close to 30 films. I’ve had the luxury to find the music on only seven films. On the other 23 films, the director had already picked all of the songs before I came on board. My role on these film were to clear the rights to the songs to include a ton of calls and e-mails to publishers, record labels, artist management, and songwriter and musicians, draft license agreements and/or reviewing those that are issued, negotiating licensing fees, reading scripts, creating cue sheets and any other administrative duties required. On several films it was my job to create the music budget.
Jacqueline Marmo, of Imprint Magazine, interview One Tree Hill music supervisor, Lindsay Wolfington. Lindsay talked about music in TV shows and what’s involved on the creative side. She went on to say, “It’s not only matching the song to a scene, it’s going to the labels and publishers and getting permission to use the song and keeping the episode at or under budget. It’s also knowing good unsigned artists who are easily clearable at an inexpensive price,” she said. “A typical day for me includes clearing songs for one episode, listening to cheaper alternatives to replace an expensive song in another episode, and reading a script and sending music for a third episode!” Full Interview
Building relationships is an important part of the music supervisor’s job. If you can’t talk intelligently about music clearance and licensing with publishers and record labels you’re not going to get the job done. After working with major and independent publishers and labels over the last five years, I have build great working relationships that have been very instrumental in negotiating licensing deals.
If you can’t do the administrative side of music supervision, don’t call yourself a music supervisor. To more accurately paint a picture of the workload, the creative side takes about 30% of the time and the administrative side takes about 70%.
I do get my share of CDs. I wish I had the time listen to them as they arrive. I have several CDs that have been sitting on the shelf for a few months. I’ll get to them, but not any time soon. The CDs that I listen to right away are the one’s that I request of if I heard the band play and really like their music.
The job of a music supervisor can be a dream job if you can handle all aspects of it. If can’t, it can be a nightmare job.
Tags: Actor, Television, Film, Film Blog, Filmmaking
The Independent Filmmaker - Why Student Films Suck
May 26, 2009
Alright, I did not write this, but I found it this week while I was tidying up my computer and I thought I’d share it. I wish I knew who did write it so I could attribute it, but I don’t so don’t sue me whoever you are. Anyway, it’s something I was given while I was at USC and while I don’t agree with all of it I found it funny/antagonizing/challenging.
I hope you enjoy it!
———————————————-
WHY STUDENT FILMS SUCK
“I’ve made it a point never to watch anyone’s student film. I usually tell people, ‘I’ll hire you–as long as I don’t have to watch your student film!’ Most student films feature two things–a not particularly attractive girl running towards the camera, and a suicide. If it’s a comedy, it features a not particularly attractive girl and a dog. I should know. I made one, and so did my son. But these kids are stealing jobs from me, so they must be doing something right.” -Chuck Workman
Chairman of the Director’s Guild of America’s Academic liaison subcommittee
(As quoted in Billy Frolick’s What I Really Want To Do Is Direct.)
How dare we?
- On the whole, student short films SUCK!
(This does not contain the usual advice you get in film school about the elements of good screenwriting. No no, rather, it is a very specific list of common mistakes and trends we’ve seen in crappy student films again and again at screening after screening.)
- Before you even think of making a student film, read this list .
- If you’re a genius, then go ahead - break these rules.
- But let’s face it, if you think you’re a genius, you’re not. So play it safe and spare your audiences the uneasy task of having to lie when you ask, “So- what did you think?”
Let the sucking begin… __________________________________
Dolly & Zoom
No question. This is the most egregious, blatantly non-creative, non-cool, total student film red flag. Sure, Hitchcock used it in Vertigo, Spielberg used it Jaws , but enough is enough. It’s cliched, overused, goofy, and overall a bad idea. By the way, what we’re talking about here is a simultaneous Dolly-in/Zoom-out or vice-versa which compresses the background while keeping the subject at a fixed size during the shot. A student film no-no. (The dolly/zoom is such a mark of a student film, it’s a joke in the opening of THE BIG PICTURE.)
The Tortured Artist Film
The story goes like this. A struggling artist (writer/painter/sculptor/musician — 90% of the time, it’s a writer) grapples with some sort of inner conflict, (a dead relative, writers deadline, religious confusion, etc). Our tormented soul encounters a muse (beautiful woman, endearing older character, magical artifact, etc) who helps the protagonist come to a sort of realization which ultimately opens the creative floodgates and allows the character to succeed (finish the novel, paint the painting, sculpt the likeness of the muse, or perform at the big recital). The Tortured Artist Film usually involves a so-called “man vs. himself” struggle which is guaranteed to put you to sleep in the first two minutes. Related to this is the “introspective shot” which usually features the main character staring into space for a good minute (usually smoking a cigarette). File this under “Pretentious as Shit.”
Dream Sequences & Flashbacks
If you don’t want your student film to look like a friggin’ episode of Kung Fu, then stay away from dream sequences and flashbacks, young grasshopper. A dream sequence generally says “I couldn’t think of a better way to reveal information about the character than this.” So-called “funny” dream sequences are usually not.
Time-Elapse Montage
You’ve got say, 15 minutes to get your point across in a short film. Every second of screen time should be treated like gold. A time-elapse montage not only demonstrates an inability to structure your film pacing-wise, it makes the audience wait unnecessarily. Try to find a simple and efficient way to indicate the passage of time without resorting to this too easy narrative device.
Bad Audio
You can have a great looking short film, but if the sound is bad, the film itself comes across as bad. Nothing gives away a student film like the soundtrack. Budgets are tight, sure, but many student directors simply don’t place any importance and give any thought to what their film sounds like. The result is often a beautiful picture with a badly mixed, distracting audio experience. In the same vein, if you’re making a 16mm film, be aware of how crappy the 16mm optical track is going to sound (which is REALLY bad) and try to prepare for it.
And now, free of charge, a canonical list of BAD musical soundtrack instruments:
- Synthesizer (the “porn” soundtrack)
- Your friend’s band (trust me, they suck)
- “the lone, slow piano”
- “the lone guitar” (flamenco esp.)
- The “impish” clarinet
- The cello dirge.
- The “spirited” piccolo.
- Any kind of wood blocks.
“Look at me, I’m a director!” shots
Examples include– the gratuitous “fishbowl in the foreground” shot, the “overhead for no reason ‘cept we’re shooting in a soundstage” shot, the “we think it’s cool slanted dutch angle shot” and perhaps most insidiously the “fridge POV shot”, otherwise known as the “put the camera inside the trashcan/toilet/mailbox shot”. Ok, maybe you need to get this stuff out of your system, but just be warned, it’s usually cheese.
Ultra-slow Dialogue
A film professor once told me that on a film set, one second of “real” time equals three seconds of film time. Something to remember: Watch a student film and notice how often there are long pauses between lines of dialogue. Why is this? I don’t know, but if you watch the average “real” film, you’ll see that the dialogue often occurs ultra fast. Maybe it’s because we can hear faster than people normally speak. Who knows? A side note– these pauses also extenuate bad lines of dialogue. A poorly written line is going to hang in the air like a fart if not closely followed by a fresh line to cleanse the air like a gentle breeze…
Blatant Miscasting
- The audience can tell when you cast your significant other as the romantic object of desire.
- Don’t try to pass off someone who is shall we say, “fugly”, as a supermodel.
- In the same vein, why do so many student films cast SAG boy wonders as the “computer nerd” who can’t get a date?
- Mismatched couples. Be honest: “Do you believe that SHE would go out with HIM?” Make sure the answer is “yes.” The audience can only suspend their disbelief so much.
- Don’t have your friends play “older characters.” The baby powder grey hair trick doesn’t work. Neither do the fake beards.
- And while we’re at it, don’t cast people just because they’re hot. This mainly applies to the young male director. Whether they want to admit it or not, they will cast a very attractive actress in a role just so they can be near a hot girl. The script will usually require the actress to be in a scantily clad outfit or a nude scene or whatever. This is the power trip of the young, horny director. It preys on the good faith of young actresses looking for work. It’s not about substance or story; rather it’s an excuse to get an actress naked under the guise of “art”. It is motivated by the director’s ego. This is filmmaking, not a bikini contest - create your film with higher purpose.
“Eyebrow acting”
It may work at the Golden Tugboat Dinner Theatre, but it doesn’t come off on film. What’s eyebrow acting? It’s an overly expressive use of facial muscles more suited to miming than screen acting. This acting technique is only acceptable in films where the characters have sex within the first four minutes.
The “Nothing Happens” short film
A very common bad student film. Usually consists of a main character who spends his or her time talking to people about nothing of consequence. Nothing happens for up to forty-five minutes. At the end, some contrived “climax” comes out of nowhere and tries to wrap everything up, but because there has been no conflict of any sort for so long, the audience is asleep and misses it. Common threads of these films include the “personal discovery/epiphanies that go inside the main character’s head” film, the “warm remembrances of my childhood that no one cares about” film, and the “Slice of Life that is more uninteresting than real life” and “funny people I know come to life on the big screen.” Nearly 50% of these films include an alcoholic single parent.
Note:Before you begin writing your screenplay, start with an outline. This allows you to see the problems and strengths in your idea before you invest countless hours of time and effort. An outline is your chance to confirm something interesting happens. If you begin by writing dialogue there is a good chance you’ll write a problematic story.
The Feature Film Masquerading as a Short Film
If you’ve ever sat through a student screening, you’ll notice that often the films best received are the shorter films. Now it could be argued that this is due to the simple fact that they suck and less sucking is better than more sucking. It could also be that the audience is sitting through many, many student films in one evening and appreciates the shorter ones because it means the whole thing will end sooner. In the short narrative film genre, every moment is precious. It’s to your advantage to make your film short but sweet– for one thing, shorter films cost less, take less time to edit, and allow you more time to focus on making your film as tight and well designed as possible. Ask yourself when writing (and editing) the film -is this scene necessary? Is this moment necessary? What does it do for the audience? We call this The “Get In And Get Out” principal. Don’t cram a full-length feature into the short film style. Do what your film needs to do and then get the hell out. Remember, longer isn’t necessarily better. Less is more.
The One Joke Film
A good short film has got to be a collection of good ideas, not one good idea stretched out for fifteen minutes. In any event, at least make an attempt to fill your time with stuff that’s actually interesting to someone other than yourself. I don’t know how many bad student films I’ve seen that are actually about the filmmaker’s uninteresting life or contain vignettes that go on and on and on. Before you shoot, make a list of all the “good ideas” in the script. You should have lots of them. How’s that for a generic tip?
The “Walk into the Camera” Transition & Other Lame Ideas
- This one is crazy. A character walks INTO THE CAMERA LENS! And then we fade to black, or more commonly, cut to the reverse– someone walking AWAY FROM THE CAMERA LENS! OOOooo! What a good idea…
- The zany “Slacker with a Gun” film
- You’re not Quentin Tarantino. Don’t bite his style. Be you.
- Overuse of bad video effects. In fact, just stay away from effects unless they help to tell your story. Just because somebody left you in front of the AVID and you figured out where the effects palette is doesn’t mean you should use it. The point is to tell a quality story. Gratuitous effects at the student level usually shout LAME STUDENT FILM! (except for cinelook or magic bullet - if you shot on DV then by all means please apply these “film looks” to your project)
- Keep dissolves to a minimum. They are not synonymous with cuts. Same goes for wipes, keys, etc. The 80’s are over. Video effects suck.
Note: As a general rule, make sure that every directorial choice you make is a motivated choice. Your choices should assist and complement your story. Don’t do anything just because it “looks cool”. Gratuitous cuts, transitions, shots, gimmicks, and effects will simply bog down your film. Attempting professional effects at the student level student level typically lacks the necessary quality. Remember to work within your means. If you have no budget, don’t attempt Lord of the Rings. Besides, quality and originality is what the audience and the industry is looking for; so go for something witty and interesting that doesn’t require elaborate effects.
The “Dramatic Cigarette”
A character is having a dramatic crisis: So what does he/she do? Whips out a smoke and puffs dramatically as if to say, “Look, this is so serious I’m smoking.” YES, people do smoke when they are nervous or excited, or under pressure. But there’s no excuse for using the long, boring “drag ‘n puff” scene as a lazy alternative to finding a more original way to express the same thing.
Ramblers: The “Quest for Truth”
There are several permutations of this theme.
#1. The Puzzled Scientist: The “story” deals with a puzzled reclusive scientist who learns to forgo cold, hard science for something warm, gushy and intangible, like love, god, morality, religion or free will. Films in this genre are usually condescending to the audience and set up bogus sounding explanations of scientific principals (look for glossed over references to Chaos Theory, Grand Unification Theory, Relativity, etc.) and far-fetched reconciliations of the two. Filmmakers, please: if you must write one of these and want to be taken seriously, at least do a little research so you don’t insult real scientists.
#2. The Venting film: Broke up with your boy/girlfriend? Please, don’t make a movie about it! It’s dangerous - These self-examinatory “why my ex dumped me” films that turn into long diatribes about the nature of love, the nature of mankind, etc. are rarely insightful and usually about as interesting as listening to a friend complaining about a relationship gone bad. In short, philosophical examinations of human existence and relationships, when discussed on an abstract level, will almost guarantee that the audience will become bored and/or confused.
Shooting into Mirrors
Now don’t get me wrong, shooting into a mirror can be used to great effect when used at the right time and for the right reasons. But like so many narrative devices abused by student filmmakers, the “reflective” shot has become a staple of the bad short film. “Cool! So she puts her hand mirror right there and then we can see her boyfriend yelling at her behind her and it’s all in one shot. Man, I’m a genius!” Or more recently, I have noticed a new crop of mirror scenes involving someone holding a razor blade, staring into the mirror, and contemplating suicide. (see: tortured artist films above)
Voiceover
A poor excuse for not using action to tell the story. This happens because students are too lazy to create an interesting scene that actually defines a character and the world of the movie, so they use the easy way out - voiceover. Ultimately, voiceover is cheap and boring. If you don’t want to use actions to illustrate your story then why are you in film school? Words are for books! Speeches are for theatre! Talking is for radio! Use voiceover sparingly.
Interminable Credit Sequences
We know you’re excited about your film and you have a lot of people to thank, but please consider the poor audience member who has to sit through ten films. We’ve seen credit sequences that last longer than the film itself! Here’re some things to think about: (1) Scroll fast. Real fast. (2) Small fonts are great. (3) Title cards are fast but not every crewmember needs one. (4) Must you really thank your entire family tree by name?
Excessive Gratuitous Profanity
Why? Because you saw Reservoir Dogs? Because gangsters are tough? Because you want to show them how “anti-establishment” you are? Come on.
Scene One: The protagonist wakes up.
There’s nothing INHERENTLY wrong with starting a film with the buzz of an alarm clock, a hand slapping the snooze button, eyes fluttering open, followed by a yawn or an “oh my god, I’m late!” - But why so much of this? We see it all the time. It’s as if the writer/director woke up one morning, looked around and said “Wow, This is cool!” Uh, yeah, just go back to sleep.
Nothing To Say.
Filmmaking begins in the heart. If you don’t have anything to say, why should the audience care about your film? Find your own voice, carefully define your ideas, and then work really hard to bring them to the screen. Just because every twenty-something around moved to LA and wants to be famous doesn’t mean they deserve to be recognized. Originality is highly valued - your own unique style is waiting to be honed.
Tired Plot Ideas:
Someone is gay (or is questioning their sexuality). Someone is dying, Someone is on drugs (nobody cares you were “brave enough” to show pot/coke/heroin in your film, unless they are injecting it into their eye). Someone’s mom is dying. Someone is stalking someone else. Young gangsters. Old gangsters. Sensitive guy likes girl who doesn’t like him. Someone has AIDs. The Disfigured hero (outcast boy has third arm protruding from his back eventually finds a girl who loves him and we find out she also has a third arm on her back). Somebody dies in a bathtub (how convenient for cleanup). Spoofs of old horror or kung-fu movies. Person walking around a city glumly looking at stuff. The streetwise prostitute finds man who wants to save her. Kids aren’t as innocent as they seem (yeah, we know). The bad marriage. The rape. The doppelganger film. Finally, the incredibly popular: Person contemplating suicide.
NUMBER ONE:
The number one reason student films suck is because the director doesn’t do the work necessary to make a high caliber film. You and your crew must take the project VERY seriously.
FINAL WORD:
Art has no rules! And yet Art does have rules! So there you have it, I leave you with a strange paradox. It’s true you are free to do whatever your heart desires; but keep in mind that attempting to produce “art” without knowledge of the craft often collapses into incomprehensibility and self-indulgence. (but then again, a lot of people love David Lynch)
Tags: Film, , Film Blog, Director, Television
The Manager - An Open Letter to the Men Who Run the Networks
May 25, 2009
Dear _____(insert Leslie, Rupert, Jeff, etc),
I’m not sure when you last checked your calendar (seeing that you have legions of assistants to do that for you) but we are in 2009. Almost 10 years into the 21st century. Crazy, I know.
We have creative people all over the world doing amazing stuff in science, medicine, technology and basically every field out there, and yet in entertainment we haven’t changed much since 1950.
In fact, while people are using the resources of the internet in ways never imagined, while you have 27-year-olds running billion dollar businesses (Mark Zuckerberg I am talking to you), whilen we have the first black president elected largely because he used the internet to harness the power of the people, you are still running your network like a king and we are all your subjects.
Think about this way:
You use an archaic system where you pay for dozens of pilots for new tv shows, have studios ruin these shows with their script notes, film only a handful of these pilots, and then pick up one or two new shows (not even mentioning that you often cancel the new show after only two airings).
Yet you do this with little to no input from the actual people who are going to be watching your shows. (And I am not counting your test audiences. We all know how useless they are — Seinfeld, CSI anyone?) You alone are the sole arbitrator of what ends up on the air.
So here’s my solution:
Put everything up on the internet. You heard me. Put all the filmed pilot shows online.
Let your audience vote, comment and participant in choosing what shows go to air. You like reality tv (since you put so much of it on the air), so just think of this tv development plan as the American Idol model.
In fact, let’s take it one step further and say hey, why don’t we put the pilot scripts online and let people vote on what pilots should be filmed? By having audience input in the process early on, you could save millions of dollars of wasted money on pilots that never see daylight.
Or think about it this way: you could have people invested in your show early on! Before the show even goes on air.
Think of all that marketing expense you can save! You’ll have legions of fans who feel that they have ownership of the show and they’ll do your marketing work for you. Crazy, I know.
But, maybe, just maybe, if you included the audience from the beginning of the development process, you too might get an American Idol-size audience for your new shows.
P.S. If you want to discuss this innovative strategy further, let me know. I’ll be happy to expound on the Rachel Miller Future of Television Plan.
Tags: Movie Blog, Movie, Film Industry, Movie Bloggers, Filmmaker
The Standby Painter - The Real Power of Acting
May 25, 2009
From the set on Wednesday, May 20, 2009. I am typing this on the upper floor of a large metropolitan newspaper. Nobody from the paper seems to be working here in the building, however. Is the paper still in business? We have spread out over the entire building, and encounter …
Tags: Movie Blog, Film, Filmmaker, Filmmaking, Film Industry






