nofilmschool » directing

This 12-Year-Old Girl Can Kick Your Butt (At Directing Movies)

Oakley Anderson-Moore — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:00:13 +0000

Trinity Anderson is barely 12 years old and she makes me feel like I’m slacking: she knows how to operate a steadicam, has been animating for years, and just finished a successful kickstarter for her short called Me and Ewe. Seriously? I’m pretty sure at 12 years old all I did was play tetherball and draw really awful stick figure cartoons. (Come to think of it, not much has changed.) Trinity was ever-so-kind enough to sit down for a video interview with NFS to talk about anything from her Dragonframe stop-motion software, to her thoughts on gender equality in the movie biz. (more…)

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Director Haifaa Al-Mansour On Making the First Film Shot Entirely in Saudi Arabia

V Renée — Wed, 15 May 2013 06:12:42 +0000

Saudi Arabia is experiencing many firsts in terms of filmmaking, specifically with the film Wadjda, which follows an 11-year-old Saudi girl on her pursuit to obtain a bicycle. The movie is the first by director Haifaa al-Mansour, the first to ever be shot entirely in the country, and the first to ever be shot be shot entirely in the country by a woman. Her film premiered with standing ovations and rave reviews at the 2012 Venice Film Festival, and since then, al-Mansour has gone on record about what it’s like to be a filmmaker in a kingdom without cinemas. (more…)

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Why Are Female Directors Having (Relative) Success in Independent Film, but Not in Hollywood?

V Renée — Mon, 06 May 2013 18:58:58 +0000

Filmmaking has gone through many great evolutionary events in its over 130 years of existence. It has seen technological advances: from Edison’s Kinetograph, (arguably) the first motion picture camera to the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, from exhibiting films on a Kinetoscope, to exhibiting them on smartphones. However, one change that has yet to really be made in the film world is its presence of female directors. Fandor released an infographic that breaks down the distribution of women in both independent cinema and Hollywood, and the figures may surprise you. (more…)

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Ridley Scott Reflects on Beginnings, Breaking Into the Industry, and Using Too Much Smoke

Dave Kendricken — Sun, 05 May 2013 03:42:50 +0000

We are fortunate enough to live in a day and age in which the words of prolific and eclectic filmmaking talents come readily and often. We’ve already heard from working cinematographers such as Roger Deakins and Blue Valentine DP Andrij Parekh, as well as friends of nofilmschool Ryan E. Walters and Timur Civan. We’ve also heard from directors such as Steven Soderberg and Ridley Scott – and all of this is just to name a few. Now, we have a few more valuable words from Sir Ridley — this time discussing everything from his breakthrough into the industry, his experience in learning how to work with actors, and honing a highly sensitive visual eye. Click through to hear these words and more from “the director who uses too much smoke!” (more…)

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12 Tips for Working with Non-Professional Teenage Actors

Guest Author — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 03:57:26 +0000

This is a guest post by filmmaker Jeremy Engle.

Many filmmakers are weary of casting real teenagers, particularly non-professional ones, in their movies. And for good reason: You can’t shoot long hours, if you film during the school year, you need to get them tutors, and there’s tons of extra paperwork. And I haven’t even mentioned the parents. For many, teenage actors just add up to too many headaches. (more…)

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Rambling On With Directors, an Insightful Round Table With Today's Prominent Independents

Micah Van Hove — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:00:55 +0000

There seems to be an influx of great candid discussions with some of the most interesting working filmmakers today — one of the awesome benefits of having more people with cameras out in the wild. Produced by Shoebox Pictures and Filmmaker Magazine, moderator Russell Costanzo sits down with Craig Zobel, Alex Karpovsky, Ry Russo-Young and Antonio Campos to discuss some of the important questions that directors face, starting with the big one: “Why do you direct?” Watch the full piece after the jump: (more…)

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Director Harmony Korine Talks About His Newest Film 'Spring Breakers' and Being a 'Soldier of Cinema'

Micah Van Hove — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:26:07 +0000

Writer/Director Harmony Korine started out his filmmaking journey as a teenager, penning the screenplay for the 1995 breakout film Kids when he was just 19 years old. With his most recent release Spring Breakers, Korine continues to destroy expectations and come into his own as an innovative and radical filmmaker. In this short clip from Tumblr’s new editorial feature project Storyboard, Korine talks about his process and what it means for him to be a self-described ‘solider of cinema.’ Check it out after the jump. (more…)

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Talking Scumbag Financiers and Fighting for Your Creative Vision with Director Joe Carnahan

Joe Marine — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 01:48:58 +0000

A new web series called Hollywood Trenches from CineFix has been talking with director Joe Carnahan, and while we’ve already shared 2 videos from the conversation, the 7-part series has finally come to a close. In the refreshingly candid and honest interview, which features fellow director Jack Perez asking the questions, Carnahan talks about everything from creative control, to movie financing, and finally to his experience working on, and finally quitting, Mission Impossible III. Check out the videos embedded below. (more…)

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Director Edward Burns Looking to Twitter Followers for Feedback on Upcoming Film Project

V Renée — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 03:21:29 +0000

Edward Burns, director of Nice Guy Johnny, Newlyweds, and most recently The Fitzgerald Family Christmas, is utilizing social media not only to get in touch with his fan base about all sorts of topics related to filmmaking, but also get his films out to his audience without spending money on advertisement. He’s even trying to get input from his Twitter followers on his upcoming film project. Recently he sat down with Sheri Candler to talk about making and distributing films for little money outside of the studio system, and we’ve got the second part of that interview below: (more…)

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'Star Wars' Ep. 5 Director Irvin Kershner: 'If I Believe It While I'm Doing It, the Audience Tends to Believe It'

Joe Marine — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 00:17:51 +0000

While Hollywood is attempting to dive back into a franchise whose best movies were arguably over 30 years ago, the approach taken by The Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kershner can apply not just to future Star Wars films, but to anyone making anything that requires a suspension of disbelief. A French journalist named Michael Parbot had virtually limitless access to the production, and it’s only now that we have a more complete version of the documentary he produced in 1980. There are some fantastic and candid moments from some of the cast as well as the crew, and even if you are not a Star Wars fan, there are plenty of tidbits about storytelling and filmmaking that apply just as equally today. (more…)

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How to Shoot a Feature Film for $9,000 and Other Filmmaking Tips from Actor/Director Edward Burns

Joe Marine — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 22:34:53 +0000

Edward Burns, director of Nice Guy Johnny and Newlyweds (his newest is The Fitzgerald Family Christmas), has been around independent filmmaking for nearly 20 years, and he always seems to find new ways of reinventing himself and figuring out different ways to tell stories that matter to him. The great thing about the DSLR revolution is that it has put professional-looking images within reach of almost anyone. You can now spend a few hundred dollars on a camera and it will get you quite a bit of the way there, and let you focus on everything else to make the best movie possible. In an interview with Sheri Candler, and in the online Q&A session below, Edward Burns talks about his career, low-budget filmmaking, screenwriting, and how it’s possible to make movies cheaply. (more…)

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Director's Checklist: What Should You Do After a Take is Over?

Joe Marine — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 17:54:55 +0000

Directing is not easy work, especially if you’ve never done it before. It’s easy to say “action” and “cut,” but everything that happens after a take can be just as important as what happens during a take. So what should you be doing once a take is finished? Director Patrick Tucker, who has been at the helm for more than 400 broadcast TV episodes, recently gave some advice about what a director should do after saying “cut.” (more…)

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Director Joe Carnahan Talks Creative Control and Why Too Much Money Can Be Problematic

Joe Marine — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 18:41:44 +0000

You can always expect Joe Carnahan (Narc, The Grey) to tell it like it is, and he’s always very forthcoming about his life and his career. We’ve been lucky enough to see a sizzle reel for his Daredevil project that never got off the ground, as well as another for a film called Gemini Man. Carnahan sat down with Cinefix and Director Jack Perez (Some Guy Who Kills People, The Big Empty) to talk candidly about the role a director plays and some of his personal experiences in a new web series called “Hollywood Trenches.” Check out the first two episodes below. (more…)

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Steven Soderbergh Not Done Directing Just Yet? Plus His Advice to Filmmakers

Joe Marine — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 03:40:28 +0000

Steven Soderbergh has been getting a fair amount of attention lately as PR winds down on what could be his last theatrical feature film, Side Effects (he technically has one more movie left, a Liberace biopic starring Matt Damon which is heading to HBO). In a recent New York Magazine feature from Mary Kaye Schilling, which is now online at Vulture, the DIY-minded director talked about his career, what he plans to do next, whether he’s really retiring from directing, and what he’s been watching on TV lately, which happens to include Lena Dunham’s Girls (though he doesn’t actually say he loves the show as the title of the article would suggest). Click through to read all about it. (more…)

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So You Want to Be an Indie Auteur? Raindance Film Festival Wants to Teach You How to Fake It

Joe Marine — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 16:55:59 +0000

You’ve probably seen at least one of them if you’ve ever been to a film festival. Some of them are long, some are boring, some are downright brilliant, but one thing the biggest ones have in common is that they can launch an indie career. Suzanne Ballantyne, the Head of Programming over at the Raindance Film Festival, has put together some tips for budding amateurs from her experience watching over 500 potential festival feature films per year — and hopefully by the end you’ll have the knowledge to fake being an “Indie Auteur.” (more…)

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Writer/Director Kevin Smith on Filmmaking: You Must Have a 'Reasonable Amount of Unreasonability'

Joe Marine — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 22:51:00 +0000

Independent film would probably not have become what it is today without people like Kevin Smith. Whether they actually made things worse for the rest of us because of their success is up for debate, but there is no doubt Smith is one of those few filmmakers in Hollywood who makes exactly the kinds of movies he wants to make (not too dissimilar from Andrei Tarkovsky). In this interview below from Gavin Michael Booth’s How Many Days Project, Kevin Smith talks about what it takes to be a filmmaker, the current state of distribution, and what brought him to make Clerks. (more…)

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Andrei Tarkovsky on Directing: 'Sacrifice Yourself for Cinema.' Plus, Watch Two of His First Films

Joe Marine — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 20:03:59 +0000

If you’re not familiar with his name, there is a good chance that he’s influenced some of your favorite directors currently working today. Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky (Stalker, The Mirror, Solaris), who made most of his films during the Cold War era in the Soviet Union, has contributed quite a bit on the practical and theoretical aspects of cinema. In this clip below from Voyage in Time, Tarkovsky gives some advice to up-and-coming filmmakers, specifically about sacrificing yourself for cinema and being morally responsible about what you’re making. We’ve also got two of his earliest films below, which he made during his time at film school. (more…)

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Actor/Writer/Director and Digital Distribution Pioneer Edward Burns Talks Directing Actors

Joe Marine — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 17:27:44 +0000

You might have heard his name before as an actor, but Edward Burns is also an accomplished director in his own right. He’s been steadily making films for more than a decade now (his newest is The Fitzgerald Family Christmas), but it’s only been the last few years that he has tried to make films the DIY way, raising small amounts of money to make smaller movies that he can distribute digitally. If you needed any proof that digital distribution can work, look no further than his recent films. A little while back he sat down with Ghetto Film School in a Google Hangout to discuss directing and give some advice on how to work with actors. (more…)

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Director Roundtable: Van Sant, Tarantino, Lee, Hooper, Affleck, and Russell Discuss the Craft

Joe Marine — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 21:07:44 +0000

You may have seen their films in the past, and it’s certainly possible you’ve seen the films they’ve made this year (or will), but it’s a rare sight to have so many great directors together in one room talking about the craft and some of the real things that affect them not only as artists, but as human beings. The Hollywood Reporter got Gus Van Sant (Promised Land), Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained), Ang Lee (Life of Pi), Tom Hooper (Les Miserables), Ben Affleck (Argo), and David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook) together to discuss their roles as directors and how it affects their work and the people around them. There is plenty of practical info, so it’s certainly worth checking out the entire hour-long interview below. (more…)

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Filmmaking Tips and Thoughts on the Industry from Do-It-All Director Steven Soderbergh

Joe Marine — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 01:37:09 +0000

You may have heard his name before, and you may even have seen some of his films, but Academy Awarding winning director Steven Soderbergh is the real deal, and an auteur in his own way. He’s one of the few directors working at the highest level who also shoots and edits his own films, and he’s a huge supporter of RED, having shot every single film on their cameras since his Che double-feature. He said that he’s going to retire from filmmaking in the very near future, so before he does, click through for six tips from the workaholic director, and an audio interview that contains some candid thoughts about the current film industry. (more…)

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