Category Archives: Films

Ode on a Smith Corona

I bought a typewriter off of Craig’s List today. It’s a manual Smith Corona Galaxie XII that I picked up from a house on a Portland side street for thirty bucks. I’m fairly well convinced that it’s quite possibly one of the more beautiful objects I’ve ever owned. Off the top of my head, the onlyContinue reading “Ode on a Smith Corona”

No excuses

Werner Herzog has been in the business of encouraging young filmmakers since famously eating his shoes in a bet to inspire Errol Morris to make his first film in the 70s. In a recent interview on The Business, Herzog offered some more advice to filmmakers. Herzog declares that, because of the digital tools available today,Continue reading “No excuses”

Kickstarter campaign

We’ve launched a Kickstarter campaign for our current documentary film project. It feels strange asking for money, but then that’s how it works in the indie film world. I suppose I’m getting used to it. And Kickstarter is much better than going door to door selling overpriced caramel corn like when I was in theContinue reading “Kickstarter campaign”

Filmmaking is making telephone calls

I hate the telephone. Absolutely hate it. I’ve always sought ways to avoid it, whether it’s been using email, writing letters or driving dozens or even hundreds of miles to talk to someone in person. I’m not generally an introvert. I’ve got no qualms about presenting to a large group of people or walking intoContinue reading “Filmmaking is making telephone calls”

‘A Country Wedding’ screens this Saturday

Our short film, A Country Wedding, will be screening this Saturday, October 16 at the Salem Film Festival. It seems like ages ago that we wrapped production and eventually premiered at the Da Vinci FF, so I’m excited to get back and see it on a big screen again. Here’s the blurb from IMDB: InfatuatedContinue reading “‘A Country Wedding’ screens this Saturday”

New storytelling possibilities

What fascinates me most about the film City of Lakes isn’t it’s gorgeous photography or vibrant locations. It isn’t even the fact that it was filmed with Canon DSLRs, my latest gadget infatuation, though I must admit it’s stunning to think of people producing feature films with an inexpensive prosumer handheld camera. The most interestingContinue reading “New storytelling possibilities”

Becoming a filmmaker, or at least trying

I’m in the midst of producing and co-directing a film that I wrote. It’s a strange position to be in because filmmaking is the ultimate community artistic undertaking and writers are crotchety, solitary creatures who generally toil in solitude and typically engage in public only after several cocktails. But I have to say that thisContinue reading “Becoming a filmmaker, or at least trying”

Six excellent screenwriting and film blogs

johnaugust.com Solid industry insight from the writer of Big Fish and Charlie and the Chocolate factory; this blog is an ideal blend of real information delivered with personality and opinion; John’s enthusiasm for the craft is infectious, and his honesty is refreshing. sellingyourscreenplay.com Though the title of this one seems rather mercenary, and the site’sContinue reading “Six excellent screenwriting and film blogs”

Where does it come from?

That’s a question about creativity raised by the film “Starting Out in the Evening.” It follows an aging and mostly forgotten literary novelist who is forced from his routine when a young graduate student enters his life, ostensibly to research her thesis. It is a wooden and stilted film with some (mostly) unintentional awkward moments,Continue reading “Where does it come from?”

Creating a sense of place in screenplays, fiction and comics

Any story needs a sense of place. This is what keeps a narrative from happening inside of a void. A sense of place is different from setting. Setting is merely a point on the globe. A backdrop. A sense of place has sights, sounds, smell, dirt that feels a certain way when crumbled in yourContinue reading “Creating a sense of place in screenplays, fiction and comics”