nofilmschool » preproduction

Why Make a Short? Why Run a Kickstarter Campaign So Early? The MANCHILD Q&A

Ryan Koo — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 11:29:13 +0000

In the comments section of my more-contentious-than-I-expected post about making a short that ties into my forthcoming feature MANCHILD, there were a lot of questions about my project, as well as the overall wisdom of making a short in order to fundraise for a feature. Reading through the comments, I realized I could’ve delved deeper into the timeline of what’s happened since my Kickstarter campaign. So, to answer some of the questions posed in the comments — as well as to generally shoot the shit about filmmaking — I sat down (virtually) with NFS editor Joe Marine for an wide-ranging video chat. (more…)

1. Write the Feature. 2. Make a Short. 3. Get the Feature Made. (Coming Soon: a MANCHILD Short)

Ryan Koo — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 20:29:05 +0000

UPDATE: In response to some of the (heated! opinionated!) questions and comments on this post, we did a long video Q&A as well.

I wrote recently about finishing the screenplay for my feature MANCHILD (for now… ), but it’s been a while since I talked about what else is going on in the trenches of first-time feature filmmaking. The title of the post gives it away: we’re making a short. Why are we doing this? And why do I think this strategy makes a lot of sense for other first-time feature directors? Because there are millions of people with a screenplay, all trying to figure out how to get from here (words on a page) to there (actual finished movie). If your goal seems impossibly far off, that’s when it’s time to bite off a smaller chunk and show what you’re capable of. (more…)

Sylights is an Intuitive Lighting Diagram App for iOS Devices

Benjamin Dewhurst — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 05:04:55 +0000

Thoughtful, artistic lighting is necessary to set your film apart from the competition. Some great planning and pre-production on lighting design can make a $5,000 short film sell a $50,000 look. And the good news is there are many tools that can help you achieve your intended look on an indie budget, from a good book lighting setup to a bit of well-managed haze. As a new iPad owner, I recently stumbled upon Sylights, an app geared at photographers that (like many things DSLR) also has great digital filmmaking applications. Hit the jump for some screen caps and a brief rundown of this handy FREE app/website: (more…)

Fifteen Things to Prepare for when Making a Film

Ryan Koo — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 19:01:47 +0000

This is a guest post by filmmaker William Speruzzi.

1. Use SAG talent (if you can) – If the budget can take the hit, go for people who have experience and know how to conduct themselves on a set, rehearse, etc. It will save you time and aggravation in the end. The last thing you want to do is teach someone how to act while you’re making your film. If you can’t go this way, get non-union but make sure all the talent is non-union. If you have a cast of ten actors and one actor is SAG then you still have to become a SAG signatory. An audience can forgive a scene that’s shot a little too dark but they will never believe a film that has poor acting. (more…)