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Title: What They Don't Teach You At Film School: 161 Strategies to Making Your Own Movie .... by Tiare Camille/White Landau ISBN: 0-7868-8477-0 Publisher: Hyperion Pub. Date: 16 August, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.23 (30 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Best Book of its Kind
Comment: This book is extremely well-written, targeting exactly what the title says: "making your own movie no matter what". I submit that the ppl having issues with this book either (a) need to have a clue, or (b) can't read (ie, the book title).
The core, primary, absolute must-have of making a film is persistance. PERSISTANCE. Not the technology, not the "film or digital" question, not "Hollywood or Sundance or not", & not even the funding (or lack thereof). Really terrible films are made with big-budgets all the time, simply b/c of the incredible persistance of the director, producer, etc. Anybody see "Daredevil"? The [director] got some high-quality storyboards made, & literally sat in front of Producers for years & years until he convinced somebody to fund it (too bad he didn't spend the $$ on a script). Persistance => green-light.
Landau & White target the person emerging from film-school, and/or those who've given it a miss, & lay-out the bare necessities:
1) Vision. Ie, WHY you want to make a film. Absolute must-have, for success. They include some very good ideas & break-down the process here for determining just *what* you [originally] wanted to say.
2) Script. Pummel your vision/motivation until it screams, & squeeze that into a screenplay format that's presentable. And make *sure* to have your [next] one ready, if/when you current work gets noticed(!!!)
3) Production. Ie, find like-minded, talented ppl to work with you, & learn how to treat them properly. Getting into that whole "diva" crap will only destroy your chances of making films later-on...
4) Community. Make sure to work w/ others, both on your own productions & others'. There is no better way to learn how to make films, than making films. Why do so many ppl blindly repeat this, & then try to make their 'first movie' & never have been on a hot set before?!!
-and always-
5) Persistance. From various techniques of equipment acquisition to relationship issues, Landau/White keep the book directly on-target: "Don't Give Up". If some, or even many, of the suggestions & personal stories/experiences related err on the side of "feel-good", I for one am not even slightly dismayed. Why? b/c ALL the material is from Direct Experience. I have over 100 books on filmmaking, & huge numbers of them are clearly info cut/copy/pasted back & forth from ppl who "read it somewhere". Landau/White know what they're talking about, b/c they've *done* it. And having done it, they realize that a tremendous amount of filmmaking is (pre)planning & fighting fires... ie, "Project Management" ("Ewww!!!" say the 'Artists'). Well, filmmaking is tough, & any little bit of inspiration (coupled w/ a ton of great guidelines) is greatly appreciated.
I say all this having shot cable music-videos & short films, where one of the main comments from cast & crew was the [appreciation] for not having a high-stress set. Wow. Not the script, (which was great, natch). Not the production value(s). Not even the (lack) of craft-services or not. Just treating ppl well, appreciating their input, & making them feel part of the Process.
This is the core of what Landau & White are communicating, & they do it extremely well... amidst a major lack of books communicating same.
I for one am highly appreciative.
If you need "how to find $$ for your films" book(s), check out "Digital Filmmaking 101"; if you need a very-good in-depth tech workbook of digital filmmaking, check out Billups' books.
But whatever [book] you use, you will also need MOTIVATION & PEOPLE-SKILLS. And Landau/White teach (as much as possible in book-form), both.
Thank-you, ladies.
Rating: 1
Summary: strategy # 1 - don't buy this book!
Comment: I wasted my time and money when I took the leap and thought this book would be helpful. Gee, I got such great advice as, "Don't have an affair with one of the cast members!" Following that great chapter ... I then learned that "When I DO have an affair ... I should not break up with that person until AFTER the shoot is over." This advice was not meant to be funny. This advice was not told to lighten things up with minor sarcasm. This advice, and the rest of it, was a waste of time, $ and paper. There is no advice in here than anyone with any practical common sense could not figure out on their own. The only thing stopping me from SELLING my copy here is because I would feel guilty for scamming someone into buying it. If the authors' film is as bad as this book ... then no one in our industry has any use for them. Oh, well.
Rating: 4
Summary: Practical, useful, slightly boring
Comment: This book has some wonderfully helpful pieces for anyone who might want to make a film. I bought it at the same time as "How to Shoot a Feature Film for Under $10,000 (And Not Go to Jail)" by Bret Stern. The two books balance each other quite nicely, and I'm quite pleased that I purchased/read them at the same time. This one seemed to have a less useful information, but has some really helpful stuff for someone who's want to make "respectable movie."
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