Social Media for Film & TV: Follow, Like, Share, Repeat
Image by Paola Peralta, via Wikimedia Commons. By now you should know how to set up your social media accounts and who your target audience is. But once you’ve created that Facebook page or Tumblr blog, your presence needs to be more than just your film’s teaser or a selection of production stills. A good...
READ MOREAdvice from an Indie Producer: What You Need for Filming
The CameraThere are many things you need to actually make a movie. The most important one is the camera. Without one there’s no movie. Here are some key questions you need to ask yourself when choosing a camera: What type of look are you trying to achieve? Each camera’s output has a different look and...
READ MOREWeekly Roundup: E!’s New Talk Show Host, Vieira Returns to TV & Some Things Last Forever
//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/174392904?et=bVzMogZPR3ZK4M71gbYeNw&sig=oaM3P7tNujyof9jRndxT1GZbdZ1J-wjPs4ZBo9udBes= 1.8 million YouTube subscribers agree, Grace Helbig will be a hit for E! Cinderella makes history on Broadway. After a few career stalls, “the road is good” for OITNB’s Uzo Aduba. Meredith Vieira returns to daytime television. Writer-director Jennifer Lee goes from making Frozen history to penning A Wrinkle In Time screenplay. Before you sign that contract, remember “in perpetuity” means forever....
READ MORENotes from a Screenreader: Breaking Hearts for Fun & Profit
Photo via Go Into the Story. Statistically speaking, you do not have a serious antisocial personality disorder. It’s difficult for you to choose to hurt people intentionally, to throw the only copy of their manuscript into the fire, seduce their massive crush, or cut up the one dress they have to wear to the ball....
READ MOREFey-Seagal Scale: The Truth About Sexism in Film Production
Tina Fey, who New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) honored at its 2005 Muse Awards, is in the news again. This time it’s not a brand-new project or further mention of her nonexistent sequel to Hocus Pocus. Instead, Fey has had a grading scale named after her: the Fey-Seagal Scale. Producer and writer Stephen...
READ MOREWeekly Roundup: Octavia Spencer Post-Oscar, Achieving Writing Calm
//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/452695256?et=x9YQuZPYTT5raMTSH5CCLQ&sig=rPk7n1SEA0Kx8glVOzhGsulMk1ZDftZNYGjVK5YeZNM= “Thank God for television.” Get On Up’s Octavia Spencer on life after her Oscar win. It’s still a tough road, but women prevail in Hollywood nonetheless. Lisa McNulty named Artistic Director of Women’s Project Theater. “I can’t wait to come back to an organization that feels like home…” Screenwriters, be confident and stop overthinking. Courtney Kemp Agboh, a female showrunner...
READ MOREFlix Not to Miss: ‘Mansfield Park’
Particia Rozema is a wonderfully subtle director who’s made some terrific films. I recently re-watched one of my favorites, Mansfield Park. It’s a wonderful adaptation of the Jane Austen novel, with a slightly modern treatment of some of the more shocking events. Frances O’Connor is a delightfully sly Fanny Brice, and Jonny Lee Miller is smoldering...
READ MORENotes from a Screenreader: Rethinking Dialogue
Photo via Go Into the Story. Dialogue is a necessary evil, according to legendary director Fred Zinnemann, and writers of spec scripts should print that out and tack it up over their monitors. It is the polar opposite of telling your story visually. So why do you need it at all? As director Kelly Reichardt...
READ MORENYWIFT Announces 2014 Women’s Film Preservation Fund Grantees
Alice Guy-Blaché (image: Wikipedia Commons). New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) has announced the grantees of this year’s Women’s Film Preservation Fund (WFPF). Founded in 1995 by NYWIFT in conjunction with The Museum of Modern Art, the fund is the only program dedicated to preserving the cultural legacy of women in the industry....
READ MOREWeekly Roundup: Sarandon Dishes, Fox Sports Disses
//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/451533912?et=Dg3p-JU7QZlnIhlsO7EK9w&sig=0UXch5e9ci2GOwWGC50rFQDQQZA7aOEBZdpITrITJx4= The Last of Robin Hood star Susan Sarandon discusses, well…everything. The percentage of women on film crews is only 23% (in 2013, less than 2% of directors were women!), but thank you again, Tina Fey. Terry Press named President of CBS Films. Did Fox Sports demote reporter Pam Oliver because of female ageism? Suggestions...
READ MORESocial Media for Film & TV: To Tweet or Not to Tweet
Image by Paola Peralta, via Wikimedia Commons. It was by default that I played the role of social media manager for the weekly PBS program I produced. I was the youngest person in a very small production office, after all. But as someone who loves new apps and technology, I enjoyed posting regular updates and...
READ MORENotes from a Screenreader: Penn & Tellering
Photo via Go Into the Story. Here’s a great magic trick. A magician carries a dollhouse onstage and places it on a table. He says it’s a haunted dollhouse. Every time he takes the cloth away after barely an instant, the haunted dollhouse has produced a fire in the fireplace or a bloody doll massacre or...
READ MOREWeekly Roundup: Remembering Elaine Stritch
//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/102985787?et=6cnWZ-PnQu5OIM7TOxqwWA&sig=taLVNk7TC4HoT0B3eYBlMy7Ak7uhI0Z82sW0okc3hS0= The spectacular Broadway singer and actress Elaine Stritch. Patricia Arquette really enjoyed her 12 years of Boyhood. Marvel Comics addresses superhero gender disparity. Thor will be female! Leighton Meester is not a “tart” in Broadway’s Of Mice & Men. ABC will address diversity with Cristela, and NBC will showcase more women in next season’s lineup. Robin Wright portrays her most revealing role yet...
READ MOREFlix Not to Miss: ‘Top of the Lake’
Oscar winner Jane Campion is one of the most talented contemporary, female directors who sadly hasn’t come out with a new film in awhile. That she decided to make a detective miniseries is fascinating. But don’t expect the typical crime procedural. Top of the Lake is an interesting, moody character study of life in the outback, anchored...
READ MORENotes from a Screenreader: Dialogorrhea
Photo via Go Into the Story. There are scripts about people doing things and there are scripts about people talking about things. One of them has a much better chance of making it past the first round of readers in a competition. Visualize the beat. What is the visual information in the scene? Do your...
READ MOREActing Up: Soul Inspiration
This past month I had the opportunity to travel to Machu Picchu. Wow! Did that trip turn my vibration, my reality, my thoughts on their head. As time slows down for a bit this summer, I encourage you to inspire your soul. Do something extraordinarily out of the ordinary that will make this summer one to remember....
READ MOREWeekly Roundup: Emmy Fever & a New ‘View’
//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/452006704?et=w-RuV0lIQX1QAJbad3H0SQ&sig=_CPqTlcGvLm6w0XkS71vYALBLi7vWoXJGMWw_yBMLso= It. Is. Emmy. Season! The full list of female nominees—plus, snubs and surprises. Amanda de Cadenet announces her new talk show Undone on Lifetime. It’s official: Everything at The View is coming up Rosie (O’Donnell) and they’re looking for new producers. Love or hate ‘em, script notes are invaluable for screenwriting success. New Oscar...
READ MOREAdvice from an Indie Producer: Locations
Locations are an important part of your prep as a filmmaker. The places you choose can either enhance or potentially harm the production value of your project. The process to find locations can be daunting especially on a full-length feature film, so it’s imperative that you have a plan. BreakdownsBreaking down the script is the...
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