October 2009

So here is the first post of a series I’m going to do on DIY projects I’ve taken on that have helped me with film making or Image making. The first is a DIY steadycam that you can make for about $15 with parts from the hardware store. Professional Steadycams are very expensive and this option is pretty good if you are working on a budget. I’ve seen some variations that I’d like to try out but this one served me quite well while I was shooting Overcoming Going Under. The directions I followed were from Johnny Chung Lee, and…

Last time I talked a little about my process for keeping a writing notebook for ideas, and I mentioned that I eventually transfer these notes to notecards. I guess the majority of my writing training comes from high school term papers, because I reverted right to the notecard process and it felt very natural to me. I find that the majority of the work comes in the early stages, the idea stages, before the pen really hits the paper. I feel like if I have done my work right to that point the story will just flow out and it…

I was thinking about my post regarding script writing and I realized I left out some stuff I wanted to talk about – my process! I have found some neat ways to go about the early stages of writing along the way that work really well for me, and they might be helpful for you too. When I am about to dig into something new that I am not totally sure how to proceed I often find myself comforting my fear of the unknown with copious research. Whenever I think, “well, I’m not sure how to do that.” or “well,…

There are several computer programs that can help with script breakdowns, but I’ve never used them. They look pretty good but honestly I couldn’t justify the expense because it’s possible to do it the old fashion way with pen and paper. There are forms that are pretty standard for script breakdowns and I found a template online which I modified a little for my own purposes, but basically it is a form with boxes where you write down all the things and personnel you’ll need for each individual scene. Here is a link to my breakdown template in Excel format…