HAVE SOME CLASS: 5 Reasons An Acting Class Will Make You A Better Director
Sounds awful right? Standing in front of an audience and pretending you’re someone else. You’re a director after all – you’ve specifically chosen directing as a career because it keeps you behind the camera. But we’re not suggesting you should consider acting in your own films, going on auditions, or prepping headshots.
But trust us: Taking an acting class will make you a better director. Here are five reasons why.
MAKING THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT: An Interview with Kyle Patrick Alvarez
Kyle Patrick Alvarez is an independent filmmaker whose 2013 film C.O.G. was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize in drama at Sundance, and who recently directed two episodes of Netflix original series 13 Reasons Why. He also directed The Stanford Prison Experiment, which premiered at Sundance and won the prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Award. Here he sits down with us to talk about how, after decades, the film finally got made.
“THERE’S NO COFFEE?!!!”: 5 Tips to Help You Achieve Craft and Catering Success
Setting up production is hard! There’s so much to plan for and (usually) so little time. While the elements in front of the camera are an obvious concern, don’t overlook the well-being and morale of your cast and crew. One colleague recalled a production where they were served nothing but Panda Express for all 18 days of production. That’s a lot of Panda Express even for people who love Panda Express. The film, ahem, has yet to be released.
When resources are scarce, one of the best ways to incentivize your collaborators is through their taste buds and stomachs. Full crew, happy crew! Follow these quick guidelines to make sure your Craft Services (and Catering) serve to boost morale rather than bring it down.
PITCHING YOUR SHOW: An interview with television writer and producer Bruce Romans
Bruce Romans is a screenwriter, whose credits include Falling Skies (Steven Spielberg Executive Producer), the Emmy nominated Netflix series Marco Polo, and four seasons of the hit AMC period drama Hell on Wheels. He’s also served as Supervising Producer for Marvel’s The Punisher and is Co-Executive Producer for Messiah on Netflix. He took time away from his busy schedule to talk to us about working in television and what writer’s can do right in their pitch meetings.
THE SCREENPLAY PET PEEVES: Five mistakes that will make your readers want to put your script down
Whew! You took our advice and now you have a finished script! Maybe you’ve even done some rewrites. Finally, your work is ready to be seen by another set of eyes. Or is it? No matter how great your story is, how much talent and hard work you put into it, these five mistakes can kill your script before the reader even gets off the first page. Competition is stiff enough as it is, so don’t disqualify yourself from consideration by falling into one of these avoidable traps.
THE DOS AND DON’TS OF CASTING: Casting directors Meg Morman and Sunny Boling reveal their secrets
Meg Morman and Sunny Boling of Morman Boling Casting have more than 100 films to their credit. In this post, they offer some insights into the relationship between the casting director and filmmaker.