Welcome to our new feature that will be a huge part of our redesign: The Weekly Wesbite! Wouldn't it be awesome if instead of trekking across the vast expanse of the Internet looking for useful websites that can help you in your filmmaking goals, someone just did that for you? Someone did! We someone! That someone is we! Our grammar is good!
But even better than our grammar are the sites we'll be providing. And don't worry: you're not just going to get one site a week and that's it. We're not going to hold out on you. But on C-47 2.0, you're definitely going to want to bookmark our resources page so you can find stuff like this site:
http://www.findsounds.com/
You can lock someone in a specially-designed acoustic room and force him or her to make various noises you can later use when dubbing your film in post, but we wouldn't recommend it. Either you have to let them go, feed them, or explain that weird smell to you neighbors AND get a new foley artist. Better you just visit FindSounds which can take care of your Sound FX needs.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Film School in a Box
Film School is expensive. Like, thousands of dollars and stuff. And even trying to teach yourself filmmaking will probably cost hundreds of dollars on cameras and editing software (although there are programs that allow you to edit video online...more on this tomorrow). But for only tens of dollars, there are DVDs out there that not only have the films you know and love, but the special features are so robust that you can learn a lot without ever leaving the comfort of your sofa. And at most film schools, you usually have to sit at a desk in an uncomfortable chair rather than on a comfy sofa.
So without further ado, here are a few DVDs you may want to check out:
Pearl Harbor (Three-Disc Vista Series) [yes, I know the film is terrible but these special features are top-of-the-line]
The Alien Quadrilogy
Clerks X
Fight Club (Special Edition)
Brazil (The Criterion Collection)
Die Hard (Special Edition) [There's a feature on this disc that actually lets you edit a scene from the film your own way!]
Hellboy (The Three-Disc Director's Cut)
Hot Fuzz (Three-Disc Collectors Edition)
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Extended Editions)
Basically, there are a handful of directors you can count on to give you a robust special edition: Michael Bay (I know, I know), Terry Gilliam, David Fincher, Robert Rodriguez (his book Rebel Without a Crew is a must-read for any indie filmmaker) who actually has a "Ten-Minute Film School" extra on almost all of his films.
You don't have to buy all of these but these are features beyond fluff and you should break out your notepad if you want to learn some valuable lessons without having to pay for an application fee.
So without further ado, here are a few DVDs you may want to check out:
Pearl Harbor (Three-Disc Vista Series) [yes, I know the film is terrible but these special features are top-of-the-line]
The Alien Quadrilogy
Clerks X
Fight Club (Special Edition)
Brazil (The Criterion Collection)
Die Hard (Special Edition) [There's a feature on this disc that actually lets you edit a scene from the film your own way!]
Hellboy (The Three-Disc Director's Cut)
Hot Fuzz (Three-Disc Collectors Edition)
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Extended Editions)
Basically, there are a handful of directors you can count on to give you a robust special edition: Michael Bay (I know, I know), Terry Gilliam, David Fincher, Robert Rodriguez (his book Rebel Without a Crew is a must-read for any indie filmmaker) who actually has a "Ten-Minute Film School" extra on almost all of his films.
You don't have to buy all of these but these are features beyond fluff and you should break out your notepad if you want to learn some valuable lessons without having to pay for an application fee.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
The Weekly Buy - April 17th
As we continue to redesign our website, we want stay in touch with our readers and so we'll be providing weekly recommendations on what movies deserve your hard-earned cash. This week, there are two DVDs that deserve your attention and one film opening in theatres.
The first DVD you need to buy is Juno. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Juno was an indie smash at the box office, making over $140 million dollars. The film received almost universal acclaim, especially for its star, 21-year-old Ellen Page. Juno is whip-smart and if you can get past the first 15 minutes (which are good but uneven), you're not going to regret having this in your collection.
The other DVD that warrants your attention is Lars and the Real Girl. A premise that could have quickly been too quirky for its own good, Ryan Gosling and an excellent supporting cast create a heartwarming film about finding love in the most unconventional of ways. It's a funny, sweet, and lovely film and was one of my favorites of last year.
If you're heading out to the theater this weekend, you should catch Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Billed as a "Breakup Disaster Movie", Forgetting is like a lot of the other films from Lord Judd Apatow, who was also behind Knocked Up and Superbad. It's raunchy but honest and it's a date movie that guys will actually enjoy and so will their girlfriends if their girlfriends are cool. If she doesn't like Apatow's films, then she wasn't the one for you.
The first DVD you need to buy is Juno. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Juno was an indie smash at the box office, making over $140 million dollars. The film received almost universal acclaim, especially for its star, 21-year-old Ellen Page. Juno is whip-smart and if you can get past the first 15 minutes (which are good but uneven), you're not going to regret having this in your collection.
The other DVD that warrants your attention is Lars and the Real Girl. A premise that could have quickly been too quirky for its own good, Ryan Gosling and an excellent supporting cast create a heartwarming film about finding love in the most unconventional of ways. It's a funny, sweet, and lovely film and was one of my favorites of last year.
If you're heading out to the theater this weekend, you should catch Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Billed as a "Breakup Disaster Movie", Forgetting is like a lot of the other films from Lord Judd Apatow, who was also behind Knocked Up and Superbad. It's raunchy but honest and it's a date movie that guys will actually enjoy and so will their girlfriends if their girlfriends are cool. If she doesn't like Apatow's films, then she wasn't the one for you.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Three Must-See Films at the 2008 Atlanta Film Festival
Festivals can be tough on the wallet and on the clock. There's so much to see and not enough time and money to see it all. So if you're overwhelmed by the amount of choices, I recommend any of these three:
American Teen (Friday, April 11, 7:30 PM at Landmark Midtown Art)
Son of Rambow (Friday, April 18, 7:00 PM at Landmark Midtown Art)
Nerdcore Rising (Saturday, April 12, 10:30 PM at Landmark Midtown Art)
Of course, the beauty of a film festival is that there are so many fascinating films and it's your chance to be part of a select group of those in the know and in a way to be an investor in a film. Your word-of-mouth and support is invaluable to these filmmakers and in the good festivals, you'll find the movies that don't have ten-million-dollar marketing campaigns but rather a lot of heart and creativity. This isn't to bad-mouth Hollywood films nor is it to deify independent filmmaking. But film festivals provide a unique opportunity and I hope that you'll take a chance and try to see a film or two at this year's Atlanta Film Festival. And if you don't want to take a chance but still want to go to the festival, the three films I've listed above are the closest suggestions I can provide for a "sure thing".
American Teen (Friday, April 11, 7:30 PM at Landmark Midtown Art)
Son of Rambow (Friday, April 18, 7:00 PM at Landmark Midtown Art)
Nerdcore Rising (Saturday, April 12, 10:30 PM at Landmark Midtown Art)
Of course, the beauty of a film festival is that there are so many fascinating films and it's your chance to be part of a select group of those in the know and in a way to be an investor in a film. Your word-of-mouth and support is invaluable to these filmmakers and in the good festivals, you'll find the movies that don't have ten-million-dollar marketing campaigns but rather a lot of heart and creativity. This isn't to bad-mouth Hollywood films nor is it to deify independent filmmaking. But film festivals provide a unique opportunity and I hope that you'll take a chance and try to see a film or two at this year's Atlanta Film Festival. And if you don't want to take a chance but still want to go to the festival, the three films I've listed above are the closest suggestions I can provide for a "sure thing".
Thursday, April 3, 2008
SON OF RAMBOW Filmmakers Contest
Yesterday I saw Son of Rambow and I would be very surprised if the film wasn't in my Top 10 of 2008. It's funny, heartwarming, and honest. Just a really beautiful film that I can't wait to see again. It will be playing on Friday, April 18th at the Atlanta Film Festival and you definitely should check it out.
The directors "Hammer & Tongs", are holding a contest for filmmakers. To enter, you will need to submit an original short film about anything, literally anything! Submissions can be up to 5 minutes max. Films must be submitted in one of the following formats: AVI, QA, MOV,
MPG, MPG4, WMV
The Grand Prize winner will have their short film placed in the Special Features section of the Son of Rambow DVD. Three runner-ups will receive framed movie posters signed by the director and producer.
The deadline for submissions is May 12, 2008. Filmmakers must be 13 years of age or older to enter.
Check out http://sonoframbow.filmmakingfrenzy.com/ for more information and be sure to see Son of Rambow!
The directors "Hammer & Tongs", are holding a contest for filmmakers. To enter, you will need to submit an original short film about anything, literally anything! Submissions can be up to 5 minutes max. Films must be submitted in one of the following formats: AVI, QA, MOV,
MPG, MPG4, WMV
The Grand Prize winner will have their short film placed in the Special Features section of the Son of Rambow DVD. Three runner-ups will receive framed movie posters signed by the director and producer.
The deadline for submissions is May 12, 2008. Filmmakers must be 13 years of age or older to enter.
Check out http://sonoframbow.filmmakingfrenzy.com/ for more information and be sure to see Son of Rambow!
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