nofilmschool » filmacting

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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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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Dave Foley on Acting and Working in the Entertainment Business: 'Don't Take Yourself Too Seriously'

Joe Marine — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 04:46:38 +0000

There aren’t too many acting posts on this site, but more often than not acting advice can be helpful for directors as well. In this case, Dave Foley, of Kids in the Hall fame, talks about how he stays sane between jobs and how being able to work at all in the industry is a complete fluke. Even if you’re not an actor, if filmmaking is (or becomes) your day job, you will most certainly go through periods of inactivity, so his advice can definitely apply to more than just actors. Check out the interview with Film Courage below. (more…)

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10 Lessons in Film Acting from Michael Caine

E.M. Taboada — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 19:10:18 +0000

How do you make sure you stay in frame and focus while performing? What is the best way to work with off-camera actors while performing a close-up? How can props like cigarettes become a major headache? Michael Caine answers these questions and more as part of a film acting workshop broadcast on the BBC. You can watch the hour-long special in its entirety after the jump, along with 10 film acting lessons pulled from it — highly recommended for actors and non-actors alike!: (more…)

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