Screenwriting – Biblio Film School

I’ve had some requests to recommend some good film books, so I’m starting a series that’ll cover what I think are the best books for each area of filmmaking. And what better place to start than at the beginning with screenwriting. (I put together an...

Five Sprockets – Film Production Tools Online

Last month at TechCrunch 50 I was introduced to Five Sprockets. Their mission is to bring all the tools you’d need to write and manage a film online and for free. Good idea, yes, but I don’t think the execution is there yet. The main tools of the beta site...

Contests, Permits, Lego Vault, et al [Coffee Break]

Contests Cinema Prosprite – $35,000 in Prizes Awarded to Top Videos Profiling Entrepreneurs Riding on the waves of micro-loans, this short doc contest is for films profiling an entrepreneur (they don’t explicitly say, but it seems they want entrepreneurs...

From Presentation Zen to Filmmaking Zen

I like presentations. Let me correct that. I like good presentations. People seem to have finally woken up and realize that good presenting requires a good story (and no bullet points). Presentation Zen, both the book and blog, utilize the visual power...

Keeping the Outline in Scope

Thursday we had to read off outlines based on our pitches. The outlines are a bulleted list of important plot points you need your script to have. Most were within scope, at least time wise. It seems there will be a lot of guns and violence in the screenings next...