The first Friday of each month, I present a small and arbitrary selection of links that will hopefully be useful or interesting to the minor mogul. To suggest a link for March, please email me.
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Prepare before you walk on the set
The old saw “Prior planning prevents poor performance” applies especially to movie-making, where the shots you get are only a small part of the work you put in. C.J. Perry suggests ways you can run your shoot more efficiently, increase your production value, and save money by making sure you have what you need and know what you’re doing before you set foot on the floor on the first day of shooting.
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What can you show?
“Clearances” can be a dreaded word to the minor mogul. If your hero demonstrates his retro-nerd cred by wearing a “Space Invaders” T-shirt, you might get in legal trouble with Taito, which owns the rights to the game. If your stoner heroine rolls a joint with “Zig Zag” brand rolling-papers, you might get in legal trouble with National Tobacco. If your frat-house set has the poster for A Clockwork Orange on the wall, you might get in legal trouble with Warner Brothers. Almost any time you use something recognizable, you can get in legal trouble with somebody.
In his article (a few years old now, but still useful), Thomas A. Crowell elucidates some “Legal Issues: What Can and Can’t Be Visible on Set”, and gives some tips for avoiding legal troubles.
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YouTube short-movie competition
YouTube (the online-video giant) and Scott Free (the British production-company owned by Hollywood Directors Ridley and Tony Scott) are launching on online short-movie competition, “Your Film Festival”.
Anyone in the world can submit a 15-minute movie; there is no entry fee. The brothers will choose 50 semi-finalists, and the movies will be put online for viewers to vote on and select 10 finalists. The 10 lucky movie-makers will attend the Venice Film Festival, where Ridley Scott will lead a jury to pick the winner — who will receive $500,000 to make a movie for Scott Free.
They started accepting submissions yesterday, and you have until March 31 to submit your movie. The odds for success are probably about the same as buying lottery tickets, but “You never know . . . ”
Learn more: YouTube.com/user/yourfilmfestival
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Awful things about being an actor
This is one of those articles that makes you laugh, and then stop laughing and realize how horrible it is. Soren Bowie describes “Five Awful Things Nobody Tells You About Being an Actor”. It makes you appreciate all the more those whose dream is to bring to life the characters of our imaginations.
Read it: Cracked.com/blog/5-awful-things-nobody-tells-you-about-being-actor