by Nicholas Johnson

Making a movie where each scene is the perfect length and contributes to the piece as a whole, leaving echoes of images that stay in the brain like aroma, is a colossal pain in the ass. I tried to make that movie once, and it was not only painful for myself but for my friends as well. I had a pool of about eight friends whom I begged mercilessly each week, trying to get at least three of them to show up to film. I thrust liquor at them to keep them patient while I futzed with my camera to assure perfect shots. Inevitably problems would arise: a wind would kick up and wobble the camera on its spindly tripod, a cloud would pass over and change the tone of the daylight, or I would fuck up the pan. I duplicated shots just to be safe, I took a thousand close-ups in case I needed them during editing, and few of the actors escaped without injury — in one case a knee injury requiring medical treatment, the result of quite unnecessary horseplay. (more…)

by siue

I’m not going to be writing from a professional’s point of view. Most of the time I couldn’t be bothered to go about things the “right” way and am more concerned with time management and the outcome than doing something that will make me a “master” of my “craft”. I like to do animation because it’s fun, it’s a cheap way of getting what’s in my mind onto film, and I seem to be halfway decent at it. Maybe you’re wondering why you should do animation and not live action? Well, here’s two reasons — money and control! Sure you could get your friends to act for free — but will they give you want you want? Also what about special effects, costumes, sets, make-up, lighting etc., etc… Working a miniature scale is not only incredibly cheap — you can hand craft characters, movement and things exactly the way you want.

(more…)

by Stacey DeWolfe

One day in early January, while reading a selection from the autobiography of famous porn star Harry Reems, I had an epiphany. Back in the seventies, Harry and his buddies were making these feature length films that they would shoot in one day on Super 8. They didn’t have much of a script, but they had the one thing that everyone was interested in…tons of sex. They called them one day wonders.

(more…)

by Jim Munroe

Having only written two feature-length screenplays with a partner, I’m not willing to pretend a general expertise in the area. As such, this article’s subheads are not What-You-Need but rather What-I-Found-Helpful-To-Have.

(more…)

by Jonathan Culp

First of all, there’s no such thing as a free movie. Every film costs either money or free time or probably both, and hence rests on the exploitation of some form of privilege — even if it’s somebody else’s privilege. So nyaah nyaah, bourgeois artistes…there, phew, that’s over with. Now on to the fun part: you CAN make movies cheap and easy. Here’s some examples of scrounged, found or otherwise desperation-induced filmmaking methods. (more…)

After a certain amount of obscuring time, most writers that have written a novel allow themselves to be convinced by the people who say they’ve done a semi-mystical thing. After all, who doesn’t want to be a semi-mystic? And with a shrug, they give in to the pressure and accept the adulation as if it’s deserved.

So before I cave in, I’m going to lay down how I went about it. It’s a process which has as much slog as sublimity, as much mundanity as marvellousness. If you are frightened of being irreparably influenced by my method, read no further — that’s my only disclaimer, the rest will be unabashed opinionatin’. (more…)