Raindance.org: 10 Expenses film directors forget

27th Jul, 12

By Elliot Grove. For original blog post at Raindance.co.uk click here. We meet many debut film directors here at Raindance Film Festival HQ. Directing your first movie is always a fantastically challenging experience. The process of getting your first movie onto the big screen can end in tears if you fall foul of the producer

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Raindancecanada.com: 2 Cool Apps to Help Produce Your Film

24th Jul, 12

By Facundo Campos, originally posted at Raindance Canada.com What’s the most used (and therefore, wasted) resource on a set? Not counting cigarettes and coffee…it’s paper. You walk on set and 30 minutes later, you have 4 different shot lists, 2 call sheets and a shooting script with more scribbles on it than a lunatic’s cell

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How To Make It With A Short Film In Europe

6th Jun, 12

By Elliot Grove – for original article click here. Filmmakers in Britain have always considered short form narratives and documentaries as a viable step into filmmaking. The BBC and Channel 4 in particular have commissioned and purchased shorts for broadcast on terrestrial television, often as a way to test new talent before awarding the filmmakers

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10 Film Distribution Essentials (via Raindance)

28th Jan, 12

By Elliot Grove (Raindance.org) You have finished your short, feature or documentary and sent it to film festivals. After a festival screening, a sales rep comes snapping at your heels, and tries to feel you out to see what kind of filmmaker you really are: a talented amateur or a true professional. First thing they

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Rate the first 10 Pages of Your Script

5th May, 11

By James Burbidge, copied from Raindance.co.uk (read the original article here) You keep hearing everyone banging on about how important the first 10 pages of your script are. In those few minutes of reading, you are told, whoever is holding your script in their grubby paws will have already made up their mind. Now matter

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Writing Emotionally Layered Dialogue

3rd May, 11

By David S Freeman, copied from Raindance.co.uk (read the original article here) (Note: This article is not one that can be read breezily. I’m going to deconstruct a piece of great dialogue line by line, and label every technique that’s employed. There’s much to be learned by doing so, but it requires focus. Therefore, if

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Planning An Efficient Shooting Schedule

1st May, 11

By Ruba Nadda with Vanessa Tam, copied from Raindance.co.uk (read original article here) You might have heard some tricks of the trade, but you’d still be astonished by director and writer, Ruba Nadda, for shooting TIFF’s 2009 Best Canadian Feature Film, Cairo Time in only 25 days! Nadda and her crew set out to Cairo,

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The Zero Budget Software Suite

16th Jan, 11

By Christian Bell, copied from RAINDANCE.ORG Money is, by definition, always a difficult issue for the low budget filmmaker.  The challenge is in getting as much of your meagre budget up on the screen as possible.  With that being the case do you really have the money to throw around on overpriced software packages? Luckily,

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7 essential traits of successful filmmakers

14th Jan, 11

Copied from Raindance.org. By Elliot Grove Developing strong character traits is one of the basic principles of good storytelling and professional screenwriting. I learned this from David Freeman who talks in great depth about character traits in his class, Beyond Structure. I’ve been thinking about how one could learn from screenwriting and apply these powerful

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5 reasons filmmakers need to be entrepreneurs

13th Jan, 11

By Sean McConville, copied from Raindance.org 1. IT’S A BUSINESS! It’s called show business, not show art. The Moguls of Hollywood have known this from the very beginning of cinema. Hollywood is a financially successful and self-sustaining industry because they produce entertainment audiences want to see and they receive money in return, and … Holy

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Key Film Trends for 2011

9th Jan, 11

Wanna read the full article on Raindance.org? Click here! By Elliot Grove 1. Alternative Content in Cinema Digital and 3D screens are being installed in many British cinemas in a trend which will sweep the world. Digital screens allow cinemas to show alternative content. In the UK we are already able to watch sporting matches,

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10 Ways Filmmakers Manage Their Online Reputation

8th Jan, 11

By Elliot Grove, copied from RAINDANCE.ORG Filmmaking as a career is difficult enough without having to constantly be looking over your shoulder to see what others are saying about you on the internet. There is no escape from the internet and what people say about you. A filmmaker’s online reputation is fast becoming almost as

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5 Reasons Directors Need Editors

6th Jan, 11

By Christian Bell, copied from RAINDANCE.ORG With the ready availability of cheap, accessible editing solutions these days many new directors are encouraged to take a DIY approach to editing.  After all, all it takes is a cut here, a wipe there, credits and fade out.  Anyone can do it, right?  Sure.  Anyone CAN edit, in

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How often should a director read his/her script?

4th Jan, 11

By Patrick Tucker, copied from RAINDANCE.ORG How often should you read your script?  9 times, as the books recommend?   Actually, most of us just read the script ONCE. 1: Read the script. Take notes as you go, and at the end of the reading, write out your instant phrase that sums up what the script/episode

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At the end of a Take you shout “CUT!” – then what do you do?

2nd Jan, 11

By Patrick Tucker, copied from RAINDANCE.ORG 1:  Did you like the take? On balance, were all the major elements in place?  (framing; camera movement; lighting; design; properties; costumes; make-up; script; editing – will it cut to and from the surrounding shots; and DON’T FORGET TO THINK ABOUT THE ACTING.) 2: If you are not happy,

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