Between The Frames: Pre-Production

Between the Frames is a set of sub-episodes wherein Chris probes far deeper into specific facets of each filmmaking stage covered thus far. He explores some important practices, disciplines, philosophies and skills that may have been previously glossed over, under discussed, or all together undiscussed.

In this inaugural Between The Frames, Chris discusses some specific pre-production topics including:

• Balancing Time and Money
• Organization
• Communication
• Negotiation
• Time Management
• Honesty

He covers their importance and some best practices to get the most out of each.

He also recommends a long list of tools and resources in the form of books, apps, and podcasts that serve the pre-production process, from organization to time management and communication. Here they are:

• Independent Ed, by Edward Burns – In this hugely inspiring chronicle, Burns recounts his rise to prominence as an independent filmmaker and actor, the career lull, and his resurgence when he discovered micro-budget filmmaking. It’s detailed and highly inspiring.
• Think Outside The Box Office, by Jon Reiss – Though aspects of this book are a bit dated (see below blog), Box Office is a 21st century distribution manual for the independent filmmaker, at it’ll help you budget appropriately for the best possible outcome.
• Jon Reiss’ blog – This is also a great resource containing a great deal of updated distribution information and resources to help you better plan ahead in prep.
• Creativity Inc., by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace – Pixar’s co-founder and CEO outlines the history of the great cinematic institution, and the many internal processes lending to their amazing track record.
• ShoHawk’s Creativity Inc. post – In this post, Mike synopsizes the important lessons he gleaned from the book.
• ShoHawk’s Pixar Braintrust post – In this post, Mike dives deep into the actual structure of Pixar’s braintrust and how to build and organize your own.
• The 4 Hour Work Week, by Tim Ferriss – This watershed book in productivity and professional efficiency has probably done more to shape the modern workforce than any other book, and it remains an exceptional tool for time management sharpening.
• Never Split The Difference, by Chris Voss – Former CIA hostage negotiator Voss deconstructs the art and science of successful negotiation, with the subtitle: “How to negotiate as though your life depended on it.”
• SCRUM Workflow – This is a task management philosophy commonly used in software and coding. It is meant to streamline allocation of time and break down large tasks into smaller, executable chunks.
• Trello – An excellent digital tool for breaking down tasks, organizing them, and visually managing the SCRUM workflow.
• Evernote – Chris’ “idea” organization tool of choice—the digital equivalent of carrying a backpack full of unlimited notebooks with unlimited pages.
• ShoHawk’s Evernote post – Chris outlines his specific process for organization using Evernote, including specific notebooks he’s created.
• Film Trooper – Scott McMahon’s extensive blog and podcast covering a host of filmmaking topics, including funding, prep, SAG (this is where our SAG segment with Michele Gibson originated), and more. Scott is also a fellow Portlander—Rip City baby!
• No Film School Podcast – Specifically, the First Feature AMATEUR podcast. It’s housed within the NFS podcast channel, so you kind of have to hunt around for it. But it’s a worthwhile look at the process of making a film, particularly from scripting to production.
• Filmmaker Freedom podcast – Rob Hardy has done a fantastic job of structuring an entire season around making a living as a filmmaker, including by reverse-engineering feature films around an audience, from the beginning.
• Show Don’t Tell podcast – Noam Kroll’s podcast gives you most everything you need to know about making a micro-budget feature, including thinking tactically about preparation.

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