6 Tips For Directing Actors: Everything A Director Should Know
What is directing actors? More specifically, how do you direct actors? In this article, I provide an overview of this art.The director is the person who has the final say in how a film or a stage production will turn out. A good director knows…
What Is A Synopsis? Definition & Examples
A synopsis is a brief overview of a book or story that may be used to market it. A literary agent or publisher may use a synopsis to decide whether they want to read the actual manuscript. If you are writing a novel, you might…
Indie Film Casting Pointers: From Casting Calls to Getting The Callback
Indie film casting is the process of finding actors and actresses to appear in a film that is independent, or not associated with one of the major film studios. This process can involve open casting calls or using an agency to secure talent. Both methods…
How To Shoot Dynamic Fight Scenes That Keep Your Audience’s Attention
Trying to film a believable fight scene can be frustratingly difficult but it doesn’t have to be! So here are some of the things that I’ve learned about how to film better fight scenes. Location is key. Your location is going to determine a lot…
How To Direct An Animated Movie: The Definitive Guide
What’s an animated movie? It’s a film with characters and action that aren’t real, such as cartoons and computer generated images (CGI). Animated movies are typically written and directed by a single person or a small team. How were animated movies made before computers? Animators…
Pre Production Hacks For A 2nd AD: Raising Your Game
Production Hacks is the essential guide to filmmaking, outlining time-saving tips that will make a huge difference between shooting smoothly and being behind schedule. The book deconstructs the art of filmmaking into bite-sized chunks. Pre Production Hacks For A 2nd Ad What Is A…
Mastering The Film Score According To John Williams
John Williams: Mastering The Film Score reveals a deep insight into the life of one of Hollywood’s greatest composers. Until now, his work was largely considered secondary to his peers such as Bernard Herrmann and John Barry before him, and some even viewed him as…
Best Practices For Distributing Call Sheets: The Definitive Guide
You may have seen some of the fancy-looking call sheets from major Hollywood productions floating around online, and wondered what the heck they are. A call sheet is the document that is sent out to all crew members at the end of each day, letting…
How To Secure Film Locations: Tips, Tricks & Templates
There are hundreds of free locations that you can use, some of them are parks, open fields, beaches, and even abandoned buildings. When looking for a location, you should have your scene in mind. What part of the scene will be shot at the location…
How To Sort Crew Parking When Filming On Location
Crew members sometimes drive to the set directly from work if they live in the vicinity, so they may already know about nearby parking options. The distance from the set depends on factors including budget and weather-related conditions such as snow, rain, or subzero temperatures…