Louie, Louie, Louie, LOOOOUIE. Louis C.K. is a lot of things. Comedian, filmmaker, auteur, and expert marketer. Wait, what? Ohhh, marketer -- no, no Louis is NOT a marketer you're saying to yourself. Louis is a pure comedian who shoots from the hip. He is so anti-marketing, it's not even funny. Well, my friends, you're wrong. Louis has built a persona around not caring about marketing and just putting his stuff out to the internet. It's true, he does often post his stuff online without much fanfare. Most recently he created the much talked about show Horace and Pete, which he self financed and self-distributed through his website louisck.net. In 2011 he put out a stand up special directly on his website, and last year he did the same thing with Louis C.K.: Live at the Comedy Store. The Hollywood Reporter stated, "The special cost virtually nothing to make, was sold for $5 a pop and grossed a reported — and astounding — $4.5 million in the first two days after it was posted. … [Read more...]

Here are my favorite film industry and production articles + videos from around the internet from the last month. There is an awful lot of junk to sort through every month, so I’ve broken down my favorite articles and videos to help cut through the noise. VIDEOS Louis CK's Top 10 Rules For Success   Short ass Tutorials - extremely short editing tutorials that are straight to the point. Advanced Color Correction: Vectorscopes 4 Toy Lenses under 30$ you can use for weird effects How to End a Movie Actor Tom Hanks dedicates Tom Hanks Center for Motion Pictures ARTICLES David Fincher’s Custom RED Xenomorph for Netflix’s “Mindhunter”: Here's what David Fincher's custom RED looks like for his new NetFlix show. It has: RED Weapon Dragon 6K Sensor Technology 7.0″ LCD Touch Paralinx wireless video Extended WiFi/Foolcontrol antenna array RT Motion Lens Motor Control Zaxcom wireless audio and timecode Anton Bauer Gold Mount … [Read more...]

Production is a tough business to learn. Of course you can go to film school to learn film theory and camera techniques, but the nuts and bolts of running a shoot, it’s tough to find a teacher. Most people assume the only way you can learn is by being on set and watching how the machine runs. This is the way I learned, and this is the way everyone I know learned. A couple weeks ago I got the chance to hit up the AICP (THE ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT COMMERCIAL PRODUCERS) seminar, and I was blown away. Everything I had learned (and more) by years of being on set had been condensed into a two-day workshop. I had walked in with low expectations, hoping I would glean a few things here or there, but was floored by the two days. The two days consisted of five sections, outlining the production process. This seminar was technically for commercial specific productions, but nearly all of it can be transferred to indie filmmaking. PART 1: CREW AND LABOR UNIONS (AICP BUDGET) This … [Read more...]

Here are my favorite film industry and production articles + videos from around the internet from the last month. There is an awful lot of junk to sort through every month, so I’ve broken down my favorite articles and videos to help cut through the noise. VIDEOS He's an American filmmaker and actor. His films have garnered both critical and commercial success. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the film industry. He's Quentin Tarantino and here are his Top 10 Rules for Success. The Coen Brothers worked closely with Adobe to create their cutting edge post-production workflow around Premiere Pro CC & After Effects CC. Learn more about Adobe Creative Cloud pro video & audio tools This tutorial shows you how to create great incision effects using scar wax. Scar wax is a great material for low budget effects, but is often used incorrectly or not to it's full potential. One of the biggest issues is the cooler that it comes in, … [Read more...]

“My pictures are not yet good enough to compensate for the advantages I have enjoyed through you. But believe me, if one day they should be good enough, you will have been as much their creator as I, because the two of us are making them together.” — Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo “He was for long my only audience ... But for his interest and unceasing eagerness for more I should never have brought [The Lord of the Rings] to a conclusion.” — J. R. R. Tolkien on C. S. Lewis “We’ve got it. Everyone just stay the fuck away.” — Neal Brennan on working with his Chappelle’s Show co-creator, Dave Chappelle Creative collaborations are magic. Like Chewie and Han, Marty and Doc, or Woody and Buz - duos are better than one. Thankfully Christopher and I met early and started hashing out our goals at an early age. If you don't know our whole story, you should check it out here. :) We're lucky because we're on the same page. We've had the same goals and values from an early age … [Read more...]

Here are my favorite film industry and production articles + videos from around the internet from the last month. There is an awful lot of junk to sort through every month, so I’ve broken down my favorite articles and videos to help cut through the clutter. VIDEOS Director/Editor Joey Scoma is here to talk to you about something simple: cuts and transitions. Except... there are so many different kinds!! In this video essay, Joey lists and defines the different cuts and transitions available to you as an editor, with examples from classic and modern films. It's up to you to decide when and why you'd use them!   How do you film a conversation? Most likely, you’re going to block the actors, set up the camera, and do shot/reverse shot. But where do you put the camera? What lens do you use? And how do you cut back and forth? Today, I consider the Coen brothers — Joel & Ethan — and see how these choices lend a particular feel to their version of shot/reverse shot. We … [Read more...]

You’re a fraud. Those are the words I repeated to myself the first day of my new job. I had made the leap from working for a TV show to the studio at an ad agency. Though I was excited for my first day and week on the job, I couldn’t get over the fact that I felt like I didn’t belong. Over time I began being promoted within the company, but this feeling kept coming over me with each promotion. “You don’t deserve this. They’ll find out you’ve been faking this whole time. You’re a fraud. Wherever I’ve been in my career, whether it was my first internship, my first PA gig, my first time as a leader or a manager, I feel like I’m a phony. Like I don’t belong and that everyone can see right through me. Though I hustle and make sure I’m working as hard or harder than everyone around me, this feeling persists. The old adage for those starting out in their career is, “fake it til you make it.” But how do you balance projecting confidence in your job, with the feeling that … [Read more...]

When you think of production companies, there are few that match the consistent quality of Pixar. Why is this? The book Creativity Inc shows us why. Recently I wrote a post asking, what kind of films do you want to make? This was a question for Christopher and I as much as it was for you. If you are thinking of starting a production company, you’re probably more worried about how to handle logistics, rather than focusing on the type of movies you want to make. But the quality of your films will determine your legacy and the legacy of your production company. If you want to understand how to create an amazing creative culture and start producing amazing work, Creativity Inc. is the book you need to read. Creativity Inc. was written by Ed Catmull, the co-founder and president of Pixar. When I started it, I simply assumed it was a business book for creative companies, but found so much more. I walked away from reading Creativity Inc. feeling so much more prepared to put a … [Read more...]

Here are my favorite film industry and production articles + videos from around the internet from the last month. There is an awful lot of junk to sort through every month, so I’ve broken down my favorite articles and videos to help cut through the clutter. It looks like everyone is refreshed and energized after the New Year because there was some awesome stuff published this month! VIDEOS The behind the scenes of The Revenant "Inspired by true events, THE REVENANT is an immersive and visceral cinematic experience capturing one man’s epic adventure of survival and the extraordinary power of the human spirit. In an expedition of the uncharted American wilderness, legendary explorer Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is brutally attacked by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team. In a quest to survive, Glass endures unimaginable grief as well as the betrayal of his confidant John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy)." Every Frame A Painting "How do you emphasize to the … [Read more...]