Advice

Hey guys. Happy Sunday. Today, two more videos for you to enjoy with your morning java. First up, it's a look at how the Coen Brothers used very specific framing techniques to define character relationships in Fargo. I love this one...I think you will as well Next up, I have a brilliant look at editing in storytelling. This video is a piece of art unto itself that will no doubt invite repeat viewings. As always, all I ask in return is that you pay it forward and share this content through...

You know when you’re a filmmaker and you move to Los Angeles away from all of the resources you’ve worked tirelessly to secure? A fresh start? No? Oh... Me neither...   Just kidding.   Earlier this year, I moved to Los Angeles with my best friend and co-collaborator, Courtney Birk, from Baltimore, Maryland. A 2700 mile drive to further pursue my film career. Being in a brand new city, I was at a loss for cast, crew, and locations. After finally getting settled (beyond finding a survival...

One of the biggest challenges filmmakers and screenwriters face is to keep their creative energy fresh and high, while working on projects that ask years of endurance and at times don't feel creative. What often drove us toward filmmaking - the excitement of creating stories - can quickly become the thing we connect with the less as we work toward building our careers: handling deadlines, finding an agent, raising money, applying to festivals, answering casting calls and the 100 other tasks...

We want to give a huge shout out to Ron Newcomb for having our fearless leader, RB, as a guest on the Film Trooper podcast. This is an inspirational and motivating podcast filled with a ton of advice and information to help you as a creative. RB talks about how many filmmakers get wrapped up in how to "crowdfund". Most filmmakers are too focused on having people give them money to help make their movie. Most filmmakers don't stop and ask, "What can I give back to the people I'm asking money from...

"I'm not good enough to attend a film or television festival. I don't have shit. All I have is a half written screenplay and another stupid idea about intergalactic robots that survive on small children and peanut butter." That's what you're saying about your stuff right now, I just know it. You're thinking: 'I'm not good enough'. You believe what you have is crap. Therefore, because you think it's crap, you stay home and eat Cheetos. Or pizza. Or peanut butter. (Don't eat small children, p...

We're excited to announce that our fearless leader has been featured on The Huffington Post with an in-depth interview from journalist Yitzi Weiner. In the interview RB talks about his background in the industry, his recent book that has just been published, Crowdsourcing For Filmmakers: Indie Film and The Power Of the Crowd, building a brand and an audience, the Stage 32 platform, the importance of community for all creatives and best practices toward achieving your goals.  This is a heavy dose...

So here you are - on location for your first film you're about to direct. Day one of maybe twenty. You're holding four to eight pages of the script in your hand that must be successfully 'in the can' by the end of the day. You have ten hours to accomplish this AND you need to repeat this feat for the next 19 days or so.     Ready? Scary, huh, but it doesn't have to be. There is an opportunity to create greatness with your actors and crew today and every day of the production. Seriousl...

Beginning a new relationship can be both exciting and challenging. In the world of filmmaking, we directors initiate many relationships, the most vital and crucial being the ones we have with actors. Director/actor relationships are like none other in life. Their goal is to create believable characters that exist in a fictional world. These relationships are, by design, temporary and short-lived, lasting only for the span of the production. The curious thing is that these director/actor re...

If I hate networking, how could I give you advice? I now consider myself really good at networking but I didn't used to be. I used to really hate it. It made me nervous and uncomfortable to know that I was going to have to meet new people in a full room. I didn't know how to approach a stranger and start a conversation. I wasn't good at breaking the ice and keeping a conversation going. I wasn't sure that the other people in the room would want to talk to me. I dreaded it. It took me a while, ac...

Music has always been a part of me. When I was kid, I used to get in trouble at school for banging beats on the desk, or playing rudiments with my pencil instead of taking notes. I recited every line from Nas' Illmatic and soaked in all the RPG scores/themes. My love for writing came from Soap Operas, oddly enough. I would sit in my 7th grade Literature class and writing write scripts to improve different storylines and scenes. However, despite my love for music and screenwriting, it wasn't unti...