FEATURED POST
ADAPT TO THE VIBE: Craig Johnson on Shot Lists and Directing Successful Actors
About Craig Johnson Craig Johnson is an award-winning writer-director, best known for 2014’s The Skeletons Twins, starring Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig. His latest project, Alex Strangelove, is a Netflix original movie available now. Lunacy’s own Stu...
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RECENT POSTS
LUNACY PRODUCTIONS’ “KEEP YOUR DISTANCE” TO GET A SEVEN-HOUR SNYDER CUT
A few weeks ago, streaming service HBO MAX launched Zack Snyder’s Justice League, a four-hour director’s cut of the 2017 superhero film, which was met with mostly positive reviews. And now, after completing work on his lengthy superhero saga, director Zack Snyder...
KEEPING YOUR PRODUCTION SAFE DURING THE PANDEMIC
NOTE: Guidelines and restrictions may vary depending on your location. This article is meant for general precautions only. The nationwide lockdown of 2020 has left people hungrier than ever for entertainment, but with all the safety protocols and...
THE FORMULA: How Filmmaker Tamar Halpern Directs TV Movies in 12 Days
About Tamar Halpern Tamar Halpern is a writer and director with nine feature films behind her — all produced for less than $1.2 million. We previously discussed her ventures in documentary filmmaking, and this week we focus on her work in TV movies,...
TAX PREP FOR FREELANCE FILMMAKERS: What Are Deductions and How Do I Make the Most of Them?
DISCLAIMER: This article does not serve as legal advice. We highly recommend working with a tax advisor or certified public accountant (CPA) to best assess your personal situation. Another tax day has come and gone, and for many people it brought an unpleasant...
TAX PREP FOR FREELANCE FILMMAKERS: What Is a Loan-Out Company and Do I Need One?
DISCLAIMER: This article does not serve as legal advice. We highly recommend working with your CPA to figure out what is best for your situation. My name is Derek Sepe, and as a freelance production sound mixer, I have my own small business LLC or “Loan-Out” that I...
HAPPY ARBOR DAY! Lunacy Counts Down Our Favorite Trees
We at Lunacy love trees — so this Arbor Day we’re counting down our favorite talking trees in cinema history! HANGING TREE (The Nightmare Before Christmas) Type: Monster Strongest Asset: Singing Voice Biggest Weakness: Needlepoint, probably...
LUNACY INDEED! RUST CREEK SEQUEL IN THE WORKS!
In a world of prequels, remakes, and spinoffs, Kentucky-based independent film production company Lunacy Productions is getting in on the action by expanding what they hope is the start of their own cinematic universe. This morning, Lunacy announced that it...
LUNACY HELPS: Keeping In Touch Will Keep Us Together
In this time of global crisis, we’ve been trying to figure out some ways we at Lunacy Productions can lend a hand. We’re doing our best to keep our business working remotely, and the spirits of our contemporaries high. But we want to do more. With...
VIDEO CHATTING APPS: A Step by Step Guide for Installation & Use
Facebook Messenger, Zoom, Google Duo, and Viber are our recommended video chatting apps for communicating with your quarantined contacts. These four are all free, easy to use, can be used on either a phone or a computer, and can be used to make calls...
ACROSS GENERATIONS: Family Interview Tips and Guided Questions
We get it: social distancing is hard, and sheltering in place is a surefire recipe for cabin fever. And your older friends and relatives have it even harder than you do — they don’t even like bingeing The Office. Everyone’s feeling disconnected. But a...
KEEP CALM AND STREAM ON: Viewing Suggestions From Your Friends At Lunacy
Before we start this special, "pre-apocalyptic" edition of the Lunacy Blog to pleasantly distract you from the current chaos, let's be very clear about one thing: Right now, we all need to watch out for one another. Be calm, be nice, be rational, wash...
FINDING CREW ONLINE: How to Hire Filmmakers Off the Internet
We’ve previously written on characteristics to look for when hiring your crew, but here we’ll elaborate on where you can find these crew members. In the world of indie filmmaking, hiring usually happens through word-of-mouth and referrals, but don’t...
IS YOUR SCRIPT TOO EXPENSIVE? 5 Links for Low-Budget Screenwriters
Is your screenplay too expensive to produce? Sometimes, even the strongest scripts have a hard time selling because of the production costs they would incur. If your ultimate goal is to see your work on the big screen, you need to be able to write good...
GOOD AND CHEAP: Money Saving Tips for Your Low-Budget Feature
Who’s ready to make a movie? Who has everything they need but financing? Funding is often the number one obstacle that filmmakers face, but we are here to help you keep costs low. If you have a clear vision and simple story, you don’t need all that much...
THE ALCHEMY OF SOUND AND PICTURE: Midge Costin on Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, and Effects
Walter Murch estimates that about 98% of what you hear in a movie has been added by sound editors. Yet sound is one of the most underappreciated aspects of filmmaking — even USC professor and veteran sound editor Midge Costin dismissed it when she was...
FROM DAYS OF THUNDER TO MAKING WAVES: Midge Costin on the Story of Sound
Sound is 50% of the cinematic experience. It’s the cheapest way to raise the production value in a film. And it’s easily one of the least understood and most underappreciated disciplines in Hollywood. Veteran Hollywood sound editor and USC professor...
LOW-BUDGET FILMMAKING: How Much Does It Really Cost To Make Your First Feature?
Fellow indie filmmakers continue making micro-budget feature films. Glen Schultz (Red Trail 90) says he did it with $10,000. Mark Duplass (The Puffy Chair) suggests you only need $1,000. Those figures notwithstanding, keeping costs low can set you up to turn a...
FINDING THE STORY: How Narrative Filmmaker Tamar Halpern Directed Her First Documentary
About Tamar Halpern Tamar Halpern is a writer and director with 9 feature films behind her — all low-budget and produced for less than $1.2 million. She graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts with an MFA in 1998, the same year she started...
GREATEST HITS
Z-AXIS MOVEMENT: 5 camera techniques to help you raise stakes, create unease, and more
There are three directions you can move your camera: along the horizontal x-axis (pans and dollies), the vertical y-axis (tilts and booms), and the z-axis (moving forward or back). Used separately or in conjunction, these movements can serve utilitarian...
BETTER SLATE THAN NEVER: The Importance Of The Slate To An Assistant Editor
“Rushing Ramona” is a 2nd AC (camera assistant) working on a feature in Kentucky. Before each take she updates the slate (also called clapboard, clapperboard, or sound marker) with the appropriate scene and take. She announces the take, claps the...
