Don’t forget, I’ll be at Geeks Con tomorrow at Geeks Comics in Whittier - 6747 Greenleaf Ave. (Cross streets: Philadelphia /Greenleaf), Whittier, CA – 12:00pm – 10:00pm
Stop by for sketches, comics, my 2010 ElfSong Sketchbook, Star Wars and even Phineas & Ferb sketch cards!
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I am going to be at the LA Rock’N Comic Con this weekend (May 28-30) at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, California and will be set up in Artist Alley booth #914 with Shawn Granger from King Tractor Press. I’ll be there showing off artwork and new Nifty Comics merchandise from the Cadre and ElfSong, along with sketching like a madman. In fact, I’m doing free sketchcards for anyone that comes up and recites a really cool dirty limerick.
For more information on the show, go to: http://rockincomiccon.com/
Drop by, pick up a sketch or a DeadPooh print and say “Hi!”
-Mat N.
http://www.ElfSong.com
Like this post? Buy me a beer to keep the site going!Hey, all! Time again for another Q&A with an indie and guerrilla filmmaking guru. This time, horror FX genius, Marcus Koch, takes some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions for you, my loyal Film Sensei readers. Take it away, Marcus!
Name: Marcus Koch
Year/Age Started as a Filmmaker:
I’d honestly have to say i got the itch, for making movies around age 7, my Parents had a video camera, and it was all down hill from there once i got my hands on it. Full Story →
From now on, every Friday is going to be Reader MailBag day here at Film Sensei HQ. That’s right, every Friday your Film Sensei is going to dip deep in to the massive amount of reader email I receive and post comments, questions and critiques from you, my loyal readers.
Today we’ve got a note from a man calling himself Devo from the Seattle, Washington based Booyah Films. Devo has a couple of quick reviews to help out out indie and guerrilla filmmakers with getting their work out in front of the public. Take it away, Devo!
Hi Mat.
Love the Film Sensei site – good stuff. I’m a would be indie film auteur myself, check out my first 3-minute short here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1385504/
I have a couple suggestions for you to review and feature on your site (although I could take a stab at reviewing them):
Celtx – awesome, totally free, script writing software. It also allows you to do index cards (virtual) of scenes, storyboarding, and production scheduling. It supports film, TV, play, and comic formats.
WithoutABox.com – website, lets you submit to multiple (thousands) of film festivals all through one account online.
CreateSpace.com – website, you can send in a DVD master and artwork & they will distribute for you on-demand (when someone orders it). You can set up a site/page through them and also sell your DVDs on Amazon through them.
WithoutABox, CreateSpace and IMDB are all owned by Amazon. I Set up my film in WithoutABox for festivals, set up a DVD Master at CreateSpace (was free at the time), they listed it on Amazon for free and gave me an IMDB page – sweet!
Easy and cheap self-distribution.
Devo
Booyah Films
Seattle, WA
Thanks for the kind words, Devo! Glad you wrote in. Celtx is a great piece of free software for writers, producers and directors. A fantastic alternative to Final Draft or MovieMagic Screenwriter. Anyone interested in writing a screenplay, doing breakdowns or scheduling a production should check it out. The website is: http://www.celtx.com/
The Amazon suite of websites for filmmakers (IMDB, CreateSpace and WithOutABox) are all essential places for any indie or guerrilla filmmaker to check out. I love CreateSpace and have used it a number of times in the past. You can check them out at: http://www.withoutabox.com and http://www.CreateSpace.com
Thanks again for the note, Devo.
That wraps up this week’s Reader MailBag. Please feel free to drop us a note with any of your own indie filmmaking tips or if you want to talk about something you’ve seen here on FilmSensei.com. Take care and I’ll see you again next week!
-Mat N, the Film Sensei
Http://www.FilmSensei.com
In 2009 I had the pleasure of attending one of my favorite horror conventions, Texas Frightmare Weekend in Dallas, TX. I was there to hang out with my buddy, indie film genius Stacy Davidson, and see what the Texas guerrilla filmmaking community had to offer.
I have to say that I was blown away by what I found. The Texas filmmaking community in general, and the horror community in specific, is one of the most creative and innovative I’ve ever seen. The group produces some amazing, and incredibly fun, work.
One of the filmmakers I had the pleasure to meet was a Dallas-native by the name of Abel Berry. He was there pimping his first film, the killer clown flick called SPOILS
So now, a year later, I head back to Texas (well, at least via the Internet) to see what Abel has been up to and to get some of his great advice for indie filmmakers. Take it away, Abel Berry! Full Story →
Like this post? Buy me a beer to keep the site going!Ok, so my intended re-launch of Filmsensei.com wound up taking just a bit longer than I had originally planned. However, I’ve got a lot of cool stuff in store and it all begins today!
As often as I can coax my filmmaker friends to do so, the Film Sensei plans to run question & answer sessions with cutting edge guerrilla and indie filmmakers here on the website. We’re going to get down and get answers from filmmakers who are out in the trenches every day working on low budget films. These guys started out just like you, my loyal readers, as run-and-gun low budget filmmakers and have been able to get their flicks made and out to the public.
The first in this on-going series of indie filmmaker Q&As is with guerrilla filmmaking wunderkind, Jacob Strunk. I met Jacob in 2009 when he needed a good camera for his latest short film, “This is the Place.” Normally I don’t tag along to shoots, but having heard about Jacob’s reputation I just had to go and see the man in action. Needless to say, Jacob didn’t disappoint.
I’m going to shut up now and let Jacob take over. Enjoy! Full Story →
Like this post? Buy me a beer to keep the site going!Welcome to the Dojo!
I got some great news today, although it’s news that makes me feel bad too…let me explain. I found out earlier today that this site, the Film Sensei (http://www.filmsensei.com), was named as one of the 50 Best Blogs for Filmmakers by Moviemaker Magazine. That’s freaking fantastic and it’s great to hear that people respond well to the blog. That’s the part that makes me feel all oogly inside.
The reason that fantastic news makes me feel bad is because I’ve neglected the site terribly over the past few months. I’ve had a bunch of other stuff on my plate — including putting a new film together, my illustration and publishing work (http://www.elfsong.com) and a new addition to my family (baby Morgan Christina Nastos, born December 29, 2009).
I guess what the listing means is that I’ve got to get things back on track with this site and start putting out some new tips, tricks and info every week. Starting this week, look for a new article every Thursday. I’m going to ramp back up to doing video posts at least once a week and upping my article output to at least twice a week…just give me some time. Having a new baby really puts a hurting on my free time right now.
Thanks again to everyone over at Moviemaker magazine for the nod and thanks to you, my loyal readers. Take care and keep shooting!
-Mat Nastos, the Film Sensei
http://www.FilmSensei.com
I haven’t done a good independent filmmaking book review in a low time…in fact, I think I’ve only ever done one before and it was many moons ago (over a year ago with my review of Dov S-S Simens’ book “From Reel to Deal”). It’s funny, I read quite a bit (1-2 books a week), but I can never seem to find the urge to write up a review of any of the books. It must be some sort of left over rebelliousness from high school and how much I hated doing book reports. My incredibly evil 9th grade english teacher, the satanic Ms. Thom, must have done more mental damage with her class than I had realized! Today’s post is my little way of healing that damage.
Back at the end of 2007, I was trying to find a cool book for independent filmmakers. There are literally thousands of books (and quite a few really good ones) on theoretical filmmaking. What I really wanted, though, was something more practical. I wanted a book that was a nuts-and-bolts, real world instruction book for an independent or no-budget filmmaker. Something that gave actual examples of guerrilla filmmaking techniques and showed how to replicate and use them.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but what I was looking for was a book called “The DV Rebel’s Guide: an all-digital approach to making killer action movies on the cheap.” Yes, I realize it has an unbelievably long name and I am usually morally opposed to unbelievably long names for products. This time, however, I’ll make an exception because this unbelievably long name tells you EXACTLY what the book is about. Full Story →
Like this post? Buy me a beer to keep the site going!A few weeks ago I talked about a microbudget filmmaker I met while in Dallas at the Texas Frightmare Weekend by the name of Abel Berry from BS Entertainment Films. Abel was a great guy and his movie, “Spoils
Well, Abel and his crew are now deep into production of their latest no budget horror flick, “Kodie,” and are once again using the Canon HV40. Even better, Abel is posting a series of video blogs talking about the production and extolling the wonders of the Canon HV20 / HV40
Check out Abel’s video and keep an eye out for this young filmmaker…I think we’re all going to be seeing a lot more of Abel and his team in the future!
Until next time, Keep Shooting!
-Mat Nastos, the Film Sensei
http://www.FilmSensei.com
One of the aspects of independent filmmaking I get asked about quite often is on writing a screenplay. The subject is always a strange one for me to talk about because I’m not a traditionally trained screenwriter by any means — heck, I went to comic book school. I’m just happy I know how to (barely) read! Every professional writing gig I’ve had in film, television or comic books has either been something I stumbled on to or created for myself — that includes my feature film work and even the stuff for Disney TV Animation. I’ve never submitted or been hired from a spec script, the work has always come from someone I know asking me if I wanted to write something for them.
The first feature screenplay I wrote (for “Bite Me, Fanboy”) was for a film I was financing myself and the second (for “Stinger”) came from me harrassing Morris Ruskin over at Shoreline until he gave me the gig. The Disney work came from producers I’d been working on and off with since the mid-1990s.
Needless to say, in spite of my experience, when it comes to giving tips on how to write an independent or low budget screenplay, I don’t feel like the most qualified person around. So, what I’m going to do for today’s Film Sensei independent filmmaking tips post is tell you “how I” write a feature length screenplay (as opposed to tell you “how to” write a low budget screenplay). I will say in advance that my particular method of screenwriting may not work for you and may, in fact, scare the hell out of any “real” writers out there reading this post. You have been warned. Full Story →
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