Mise-en-scène 101 Mise en scene - I think you’ll agree with me when I say It’s REALLY hard to understand and why it's important to filmmaking. Or is it? Well, it turns out, you can dramatically increase your filmmaking skills by understanding these simple 15 principles... In today’s post (and infographic) I’m going to show you exactly what those principles are...and how you can easily incorporate them into your storytelling. How do you define mise en scene? The definition of mise en scene is the difference between authenticity and forced, cheap, or amateurish filmmaking because of the tone. In some cases, complexity of design sends the right message about mise en scene in film: Here, we see a busy space fraught with decrepit objects and potential threats. The primary threat is hiding in plain sight. The audience knows this, the protagonist does not, and therein lies the drama. Then, there’s simplicity: Simple as it gets: a room, a table, some … [Read more...]

Hey there, ShoHawk readers! We have some really exciting announcements, and a few changes you’ll see around here, but first let’s get some context. SHOHAWK TODAY ShoHawk is almost a year old, and we continue being blown away by the growing relationships we’ve made with all of you! Creating this site and throwing ourselves into creating online filmmaking resources has become a real passion; we’re excited to continue. Your readership and support is a gift and we’re excited to continue fostering that! SHOHAWK TOMORROW We’re really proud of the content we post and you’ve all given us great motivation to keep moving. And move ahead, we are. As our readership and subscribership grows, we continue scouring for what we can give you that you don’t already have. The internet is full of information. This upcoming second year is going to be a big one for ShoHawk, and all of you coming along for the ride. From the beginning, ShoHawk’s M.O. has been to make movies and careers, … [Read more...]

Read this if you are: • A director • A writer • An actor Mike introduced me to Podcasts many years back, and I didn’t glom onto them immediately. It wasn’t until he introduced me to WTF with Marc Maron in 2011-2012. I became completely addicted to it, marathoning episodes during post-production on my film Light. Slowly but surely, I began seeking out other podcasts, building a sizeable library of subscribed programming I liked. Many of these below are directly relevant to filmmaking, while others may not have a direct correlation, but can deliver valuable lessons that will positively impact a filmmaker’s artistic aspirations and/or career. We have some podcasts listed on our Resource page, here, but I wanted to do a deeper dive for all of you who love consuming information via audio, and this article will be linked there as well. None of these appear on that page. So, here are my top Podcasts for filmmakers to check out, in no particular order: 1) WTF WITH MARC … [Read more...]

Read this if you are: • An Independent Producer • A Freelance Videographer • A Director of Photography Exploding in popularity for everything from sports videography and recreational use, to ecommerce delivery, drones are becoming a fixture of modern life. In 2015, over $260 million in commercial drones were sold, and double that amount is forecasted for 2016. We can all expect to see more drones in the air and it’s safe to say they’ll become somewhat of a regularity in the sky as years press on. Drones, or remote controlled copters carrying cameras, are phasing out helicopter shots, relegating them to an expensive thing of the past, and opening up aerial videography to the masses. This unearths mounds of possibilities for filmmakers, both monetarily and artistically. Epic overhead footage is no longer reserved for Hollywood blockbusters. But with great privilege comes great responsibility. DRONES FOR FILMMAKERS Most filmmakers are aware of drone’s value … [Read more...]

Read this if you are: • A 1st time feature director • A 1st time feature producer • Working with either Maybe you’re aware of Quentin Tarantino’s first feature film, or Richard Linklater’s? No, not Reservoir Dogs or Slacker. Both Tarantino and Linklater made full feature films before their breakouts, which are commonly referred to as their first films. The thing is, little to no one ever saw those original movies. Conversely, Darren Aronofsky and Steven Soderbergh hit the ball out of the park with their first films, Pi and Sex, Lies, and a Videotape, respectively. These four filmmakers began within a few years of each other and made their first films on tight budgets. Two of those films disappeared forever and two became indie classics. Two are remembered and two can’t be. The common thread is each of these filmmakers learned every lesson they needed for future success and improvement on those first films. The films served their makers enormously, informing their … [Read more...]

Read this if you are: • A Documentarian • A Producer • A Videographer/DP This article chronicles the production of  my micro-budget feature documentary Light, in 2011. It marked a huge inflection point in my career and personal growth as a producer, director, editor, and DP. I was blind to all obstacles throughout the pre-production and production process. Shooting Light put me at the epicenter of a culture that could not be further from what I’m used to, while uniting me with my heritage. I also learned the power of invisibility as a DP, and much more. This post is meant to illuminate how producing (not post-producing or releasing) an international documentary on a micro-budget is entirely doable. Here are a few key points to know before diving in: My budget went mostly toward equipment and my time on the road in Lebanon. The remainder covered life expenses in my absence. I had a day job in retail before leaving the country to make Light. I’d been at that job … [Read more...]

Read this if you are: An Editor A Director A Writer We live in an era of binge-watching, and someone realized this when they put together The Godfather Epic. I was fairly young when my Mom showed me The Godfather. She simply prefaced my 11 year old eyes and ears with: “This is the best.” She was right. The Godfather Series (or at least Part I and Part II) represent that rare phenomena: movies hailed as some of the greatest cinematic achievements actually live up to the hype, through and through. They really are that good. Now, I’m dating myself, but I remember when AMC (before they had hit shows like Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and The Walking Dead) used to run what was called The Godfather Saga: the first two Godfather films, rearranged chronologically and combined together. So this is what I’d assumed I was getting into when I saw The Godfather Epic pop up on HBO GO. The Godfather Epic mashes together the first two films and rearranges them, beginning in 1902, … [Read more...]

Read this if you are: • Unable to get your film produced • Starting out as a filmmaker • A first-time feature filmmaker Since his 1995 breakout indie hit The Brothers McMullen, Edward Burns’ story has been the stuff of filmmaking legend: a twenty-something, moonlighting at Entertainment Tonight in NYC pulled together a feature film for $25,000 and struck gold. But it wasn’t always roses for Burns, as he outlines in Independent Ed: Inside a Career of Big Dreams, Little Movies, and The Twelve Best Days of My Life. His career took some serious downturns wherein he couldn’t get a movie made to save his life. He blossomed as a filmmaker when movies were few and costly, and, at 48, he’s progressed through the turn of the tide, films growing less expensive and more abundant. If you’re an independent filmmaker, I can’t recommend Burns’ book enough. Drawing from his 14 Directing credits, and 33 acting credits with collaborators like Steven Spielberg, Robert De Niro, and Dustin … [Read more...]

#OscarsSoWhite has swept the internet over the past few months and sparked very important conversations about racial and ethnic diversity in the film and television industries. Diverse shows like Master of None and films like Dope being the exception—not the rule—tells us quite a bit about the state of filmmaking in America, on a few levels: Filmmakers need to be aware of the stories they tell, who represents them, and why the system leans toward certain perspectives, while writing off others as “too niche.” Producers, Distributors, and Financiers still believe that Audiences aren’t interested in diverse perspectives. Filmmakers of all racial and ethnic backgrounds have stories to tell and are growing increasingly empowered to tell them. Diversity cuts two ways in contemporary American cinema: Audience diversity, and Filmmaker diversity. The sad fact is, in 2016 it is far more difficult to be a person of color in the United States’ film industry than it should … [Read more...]

Cinema is young. From Disney, to The French New Wave, and, up to Pixar, the amount of evolution sustained in just over 100 years is the beginning. Every step of this growth has met resistance—a resistance that makes one thing clear: we must have respect for the past, without running from the future. It’s as true in cinema as it is in every aspect of human history. On-screen storytelling has found new ways to entertain audiences, while exposing personal artistic complexity. Money and technology have only ever been obstacles until filmmakers learn they must adapt to their times. Not just for their own sakes, but for the audiences’. THE “BAND” ANALOGY I used to dream of the day when making films would be as (technically) accessible as starting a band, playing around, and recording finished pieces. Growing up in Portland, Oregon, I was surrounded by band culture. In college, I shared a house with 3 musicians. This not only immersed me into the nuances of another art … [Read more...]