Friday, December 18, 2009
1st Draft is Complete
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Making Money on YouTube
Thursday, December 10, 2009
3Questions: Rodney Taylor, ASC - Director of Photography
A cinematographer collaborates "with a director to tell his story with a camera. I think of myself as a storyteller first. I use light and lenses to create an emotional depth, which contributes to a story and makes the audience feel, live and breathe a story. You need to have a lot of technical knowledge to be a cinematographer, but I focus more on the story. I'm fully invested in the script, the director, and the performances. You need to master the technical aspects early in your development, so it becomes second nature. The crew I work with is absolutely critical in this. I say work with. They are not MY crew. They are most important for me. They allow me the freedom to concentrate on the story. They bring great ideas of their own to the film. The crew has to be highly skilled so you never think about the technical issues you are going to face. They can make anything happen."
HBAD: So, tell us, how did you get your start?
RT: My career is the long winding road. I loved movies when I was a kid, but I didn't know you could work on them. I came from a very small fishing village in North Carolina. Hollywood, are you kidding? I went to college at UNC-Chapel Hill. I was in an introductory television production class. Seemed like it could be fun. I looked into the viewfinder and that was IT. I knew I had to work with cameras. I still didn't think about films. I began my career as a live sports camera operator. ESPN was just beginning and in Chapel Hill there was a hot bed of sports operators. So I began pulling cable for them and worked my way up to shooting. I shot on the sidelines of every sport imaginable for about 6 years. Handheld. Finally, I had done every sport, and wanted to try film.
By then I had become aware of cinematography. I decided I wanted to do that and I felt it would be something I would be learning for the rest of my life. I learn something new every day. I have a new experience on every film I shoot. I left Chapel Hill and attended the workshops in Maine. There I met Levie Isaacks, ASC. He was an instructor there. He was going to move to Los Angeles and I told him I was going to be moving there too. I picked up the phone when I arrived and called Levie. He was beginning some tests at Roger Corman's studio. I began working at Corman's the very next day as a camera assistant. It was amazing. It was like film school.
HBAD: What are the most difficult challenges you've encountered on your career path?
RT: The most difficult challenge continues to be getting films to shoot. Particularly good films. It is very competitive. I've been very lucky with most of the films I've shot. That Evening Sun was the most recent.
Another very difficult challenge in this business is being part of your family. The hours are very long and you are often away on location. You have to find a way to balance that out and keep your family as the priority. I have two young daughters. It's a challenge and I think when you are beginning your career this is something you can't even begin to think about. But it will become very important.
HBAD: What advice would you have for someone just starting out in this business, looking to become a cinematographer?
RT: Just know that it is not going to be easy, but if you have the desire and passion to do it you can make it happen. I did it and you can too, but it takes an extraordinary amount of work and commitment. You have to do it yourself. No one is going to do it for you. I continue to work hard to get jobs and study my craft.
You can learn a lot about cinematography by shooting stills. It's a lot cheaper and it's a great way to learn composition, exposure and all the tools you'll need later. The skill set you'll want to know so well, you can forget about it and tell the story. I shot a lot of stills, and I continue shooting stills. It's another passion of mine.
Young filmmakers now are very fortunate. There is a lot of very cheap equipment out there that you can make a film with. Most people have a computer, editing software and a camera of some kind. Use it and learn. It can just be an exercise. Everything you do, doesn't have to go to Sundance. It's important to get the experience.
Learn to collaborate. Filmmaking is a very collaborative art form. If you don't want to collaborate I would recommend painting or other fine arts. At the same time I think it is important to find an art form or creative outlet you can call your own. Exercise your creativity between jobs.
Once you begin working on crews, grab every opportunity you can to shoot absolutely anything on your time off. Get the experience. There is nothing like doing it to learn. A lot of the film crew these days went to film school, and many of them want to make films. You may meet a young director who wants to shoot something over a weekend. No matter how tired you are from the film you are crewing on, just do it.
While you are working on a crew, pay attention to what the cinematographer is doing. You will find that shooting the image is just a small part of the job. The great thing about working on a crew is that you can see what all the other aspects of the job entail. This is something that is hard to learn in film school. The politics of the job. For me, the director absolutely comes first. I'm making their film. But you have to also pay attention to the producers and their needs for the budget. The actors have to be comfortable to make their performances. You work with the production designer and all the other departments so the look is consistent throughout the film. You work with post production and the editor. The list goes on for miles.
Find the most experienced crew you can to work with you. You have to be able to communicate with them. They can contribute so much if they know more than you do. Be comfortable with that.
Watch a lot of films. Study them. See what came before you. I'm surprised sometimes with the lack of film history young filmmakers have. I learned a lot about cinematography by watching films.
A cinematographer doesn't have a style. We shoot for a story and develop THE LOOK for each film.
Cinematographers do not shoot pretty images. We shoot the images that contribute to the story and contribute to the emotion in a film. You have to move the audience.
Meet everyone you can. Always treat everyone with respect. Be nice and personable. Your personality goes a long way in this business. The people you are working with become like a 2nd family. Also the PA on the job now, might be a director in 5 years. I was up for a job recently and my agent said, the director wants to work with you. He said you were really nice to him a few years ago when he drove you to a set.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Look Who's Winning the B.O. Battle of the Sexes
Monday, December 7, 2009
Finally...
So I did. I ordered a new MacBook Pro Friday night and it got here today. Now that it's all set up and WORKING you can expect to see somewhat normal posting resume...at least until the holidays...
Thursday, December 3, 2009
3Questions: Derek Rydall - Screenwriter, Author
As a professional screenwriter, he has sold or been hired to develop over 20 feature film screenplays and a dozen hours of TV (with studios such as Fox, Universal, Sony, MPCA, UA, Disney, Miramax, and indy producers). As an actor, Derek has starred in several films and TV shows.
HBAD: So, tell us, how did you get your start?
DR: I started out as an actor, starred in a handful of films, TV, etc. then moved into script consulting, which turned into script doctoring, and led to a screenwriting career. The pain of watching script deals fall apart over and over again led me to start writing books, so I would at least have something to show for my time after all was said and done!
HBAD: What are the most difficult challenges you've encountered on your career path?
DR: There are a lot of them, but one of the most difficult challenges is writing something -- a script -- which isn't a finished product in itself. If it doesn't become a movie, you can't self-publish it and experience a sense of completion. It's like being an architect and having nothing but blueprints to show for it. Even when you sell, option, or get hired to write scripts -- which I have done many times -- if they're not produced it's a painful thing to go through. Luckily I've had some stuff produced, but there are a lot of scripts sitting on my shelf. It can also be a lonely line of work, unless you have a writing partner, because you spend a lot of time in your cave. I think Starbucks has saved a lot of writers from going insane, because it gives them an excuse to get out of their t-shirt and underwear at get out in public.
HBAD: What advice would you have for someone just starting out in this business, looking to become a screenwriter?
DR: Read lots of scripts, watch lots of movies, read screenwriting books, take screenwriting classes, get together with other aspiring writers and analyze what you're reading and watching -- then write, rewrite, and write some more. A writer writes. If all you want to do is talk about movies, become a critic! Also, save your money and build up a nest egg so that you can work less and write more. I would also encourage you to get lots of feedback on your scripts -- from friends, family, colleagues, and professional consultants. Working with consultants is what took my writing to a level where it finally started selling. I still use them. I figure if the most successful professionals in almost every field turn to consultants to give them feedback and help them succeed, then there must be something to it!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
What does a Line Producer do?
There's an interesting article over at LineProducing.com, though I'm not sure where, as I found this posted on one of the many message boards I'm a member of. (In fact, I can't believe there actually is a LineProducing.com.)
Anyway, with so much confusion in Hollywood over what a producer actually does, I thought this might help explain what this particular type of producer, a line producer, does.
Enjoy!
_____________________
In a nutshell, Line Producers create a budget (usually several budgets) for a production - then are responsible for keeping to the budget during production. Line Producers are 'on the line' or 'responsible for each line' of the budget. They are involved with all aspects of the production and are directly in contact with the rest of the crew and the producers above. Line Producers typically hire the key crew (along side the director and producers) like the Director of Photography and Production Designer. Line Producers oversee the hiring and approve everyone else the UPM would like to bring onto the project.
A UPM, Unit Production Manager, on the other hand is the person who executes the plan and reports to the Line Producer. They are the person dealing with the daily approval of timecards, reviewing the production reports and approving call sheets. The Producer's Guild of America (PGA) counts many Line Producers among it's membership (but does not officially recognize them) - while the Director's Guild of America (DGA) officially covers the union status of UPM's.
It can be argued that a Line Producer is a non-union UPM, and vice-versa, but there are many shows which have both positions. However, these tend to be larger budget project. There is a fine line of grey which differentiates the two positions. Sometimes they are the same person.
For further clarification, the differences between a Unit Production Manager (UPM) and a Production Manager is nothing - except a little knowledge of Hollywood history. Back when studios had in house production departments, there was a production manager (today they are called production executives) and each project was completed by a 'unit' of crew and cast. Remember, the old studio system contracted talent (cast and crew) to work exclusively for the studio. These 'units' had their own Production Manager. As things evolved, these UPMs became freelance, but never lost the 'Unit' part of their title.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The Writing Process: Part 2

As many of you know, my computer was not very nice to me and decided to fail about two weeks ago. Fortunately, I have everything backed up. The computer can turn on by the hard drive is on its last legs and I need to replace it. Which I'm doing...tonight.