I am just helping a good friend of mine complete his fourth feature film, Summer Scars, shot on DVCProHD Vericam. It looks terrific and it’s now a very tight drama, but two things have resonated while working through these final technical stages. First, Julian, the director, has worked his way through three editors in order […]
Pitching is something I don’t fully enjoy, but when it goes well, I love it. I have been pitching my movie ‘Rocketboy’ around town this week and I have been using some new simple techniques I heard about from a professional negotiator. Here it is – ‘shut up’. I ask a question, ‘so tell me […]
Continuing on from yesterdays post, regarding the professional presentation of your film. I was recently involved in a short film evening for charity. The film makers had all sent DVD’s and to my eye, only one was really acceptable in appearance. Most had just scrawled the name of their film, only a few had relevant […]
Those of you who have been on my Guerilla Film Makers Masterclass recently will know of a short film that I edited for a good friend of mine, director Jonathan Newman. The film, FOSTER, is a charming tale of a boy who is fostered by kind new parents and how he comes to terms with […]
We just held our March Seminar on getting to Cannes, which was led by Ben Craig, author of a Virgins Guide To Cannes. It was an information packed evening, with heaps of tips about doing the Cannes Film Market on a budget, what to do, what not do, and how to get in. Some key […]
Being a filmmaker fills me with dread when a close friend tells me they are getting married. It usually means that at some point they are going to ask ‘will you do the video?’ I always think I will say ‘no’, but the problem is, if it’s a close friend, I want to make sure […]
Recently I was shocked to hear that an old friend of mine, and director of several indie feature films, Julian Richards, has become embroiled in some tragic events. Many of you will have heard of the double murder in the press recently, but what you might not have heard, unless you read the Mail or […]
I have just finished reading Joe Eszterhas’ book,‘The Devil’s Guide to Hollywood: The Screenwriter as God’ which I picked up in the USA and is now out in the UK in paperback. I have always respected Esterhas (most famous for ‘Basic Instinct’ and high profile script auctions) as an outspoken rebel against the Hollywood machine, […]
