Quick book review - The Unkindest Cut

I bought this alongside several other seminal texts (see this blog post from Feb 2010) and it never really managed to grab me, so it kept getting left on the shelf. But it has finally been read!

It's by a  bombastic and egotistic (but very funny) film critic called Joe Queenan who hears about the infamous $7,000 budget for El Mariachi and decided to go one better and make his own self-financed movie for $6,998 in order to overturn the corporate paradigm, make a name for himself, and win a victory for all the average joes who thought that filmmaking was only for the Hollywood elite. All his cash is reserved for film stock, development and equipment hire. He gets neighbours to star in his film for free and uses local locations.

Of course, things snowball out of control very quickly. Queenan has never made a film before, and his cheerful experiment soon becomes a month of terror and dread, with costs exploding exponentially and spilling over all through post production. He loses friends and alienates neigbours, and documents every decision, catastrophe and breakthrough in detail in the book, which makes for compulsive reading.

The movie gets made, but at a heck of a cost. It's a great read if you're interested in what goes on behind the scenes of a film, and if you're interested in making films yourself, you will walk away having learned a lot of lessons.

Sadly the film is impossible to find, it would make the perfect companion to the book about it's genesis. If you've already read Rebel Without A Crew (Robert Rodrigues book about the filming of El Mariachi) then this is a great follow up. The two projects could have not have gone more differently!

It also makes me fucking glad that I work with digital video and not film. The cost is insanely prohibitive!

God bless ya, DV.

If you're interested, you can pick up the book through amazon marketplace:


The Unkindest Cut: How a Hatchet-Man Critic Made His Own $7,000 Movie and Put It All on His Credit Card - amazon

Been beavering away on the film project since the last update, have read through the highly recommended book "Directing Actors" by Judith Weston.

(Amazon link)

Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances for Film and Television

I echo the praise this book has already received, it was incredibly enlightening and has honestly changed my perception of not only acting and actors but also on the role of the director. I feel like I've been re-educated.

There were almost too many important pages to bookmark! Every second paragraph was practically a gem.

I'm also reading On Film Making, by Alexander McKendrick, another seminal and highly regarded book aimed at directors. I can confirm that it after a lengthy introduction, it gets really good, but I almost feel like my brain has reached saturation point and I don't want to waste the knowledge imparted, so I've picked up a fiction novel for the first time in months and I am claiming back my lunch hours and train journeys for relaxation rather than education! Maybe I can take a week or two off from learning just to wind down. I look forward to picking McKendrick up again once I can fit more knowledge in!

(Amazon link)

On Film-making

A friend of the family imparted a useful quote to me recently, it wasn't in the context of film-making, but he said "knowledge without experience is just information".

All this knowledge I've been gathering from so many texts, it really is just words until I put it into practice. I really need to get in there and get my hands dirty and get practical. The Directing Actors book has already made a difference to the way I run rehearsals, and it's allowed me to open up and penetrate the script and gain a new understanding of what is going. I'm working with non-actors, so not everything in the book is going to be of use, but reading the whole thing was honestly invaluable.

I'm doing my best to take notes, read actively and not let all this golden information just seep away.

As for the current project, I've cast a few more characters with non actors, again asking friends and people we know. We're meeting this week with the principles to work on backstory, get the new character in, and do another draft of the script. I've also created a few tables to help me break down the plot and the flow and the character relationships.

I made a lot of progress recently on a music video I've been working on for months now, it's one I've mentioned before and I've taken lots and lots of footage of things and places to make a video without people in it. I basically threw edits and effects at one another until things started to stick, it was very experimental and highly satisfying. It's the most progress I've ever made on it and the first half of the video is pretty much done. I would like to finish this one soon as I have a large workload, I have another non-film related creative project outside of all this as well as a full time job and a wonderful partner whom I want to spend more time with and a big, demanding dog and a lazy cat. To be honest that last one takes up nearly none of my time, he don't do nuffin!

But I think it's getting to me, my left eyelid has been twitching for a month now and it's driving me crazy. Stress related apparently. I don't feel stressed, but I know I am stretched pretty thin. I think things will be better when I get the music video finished, although I'm really enjoying working on it and learning a lot, not only about visuals, but also about Final Cut and the whole editing process.

Plus I haven't played more than 15 minutes on the Xbox for weeks. Shocking!

Will post more soon

x

New book - Film Directing, Shot by Shot - Katz

This is a bit of a staple I think for pretty much anyone who wants to get involved in filmmaking, editing, film production, and so on. So far it's really good. He goes into a lot of detail and makes things very clear. The first section, on storyboarding, really hits home how important it is to storyboard your ideas, and I think he's really right. Speaking from my own limited experience, if you're going to shoot something and edit it together, you really need to storyboard it, just so you know what you're doing. It also opens up a whole new world of ideas once you see your thoughts on paper.

I know I'm a complete newcomer and I've only made a couple of stupid videos but I can say that Katz is right, you really must storyboard. Even if you haven't got an artistic bone in your body, stick figures and planning your camera set up is really useful. Plus it's kinda fun.

I really want to gravitate towards doing something a little more ambitious and worthwhile, and I'm glad that I'm giving myself good habits nice and early.

I've got several more chapters to go, but I can already tell this book will teach me a lot.

Here's the link to buy it from amazon:

Film Directing Shot by Shot: Visualizing from Concept to Screen

Great books for no-budget filmmakers

Mike Figgis - Digital Filmmaking


Mike Figgis has been a succesful film director for many years and he is a champion of digital video. In this book he talks about his love for the medium, it's future, and shares stories of films he's worked on as well as imparting some tips and advice on filmmaking and directing in general. A slim volume but a good read for anyone interested in filmmaking.

Amazon UK link

Rebel Without A Crew - Robert Rodriguez


This is Rodriguez' account of the time he spent making El Mariachi. Robert had grown up making short films with his brother and sisters, editing them with two VHS players wired together. He eventually decided to try and make a full length movie, doing all the crew work himself. He hired friends to help him make a film that he could release on the Mexican video market, just to see if he could do it. The film ended up being a worldwide hit. An inspirational book about a director with determination and a great attitude to DIY filmmaking. An entertaining read brimming with tips.

Amazon UK link

The DV Rebel's Guide - Stu Maschwitz 


True guerilla filmmaking (moreso than the Guerilla Filmmaker's Handbook, which was very industry based), teaching you how to get stuck in and do it yourself. Great tips on raising the production value of your shots to make them look professional and a huge selection of tips for working with special effects including the use of guns, shooting, models, CG mattes, and other assorted digital trickery. Written with a great DIY ethic that encourages you to be open, smart, and flexible. Packed with useful information and instructions.



Amazon UK link

Make Your Own Damn Movie! - Lloyd Kaufman


Lloyd Kaufman is the man behind Troma, the low-budget bad taste film studio that brought us classics such as the Toxic Avenger series and Poultrygeist. This is Lloyd's tome on filmmaking, replete with advice on staffing, budgets, special effects and directing. While Lloyd's tips on building a crew (hire hundreds of volunteers and treat them like crap) might be of little use to the go-it-alone filmmaker, his stories of film festivals, production, and the industry in general are deeply fascinating and highly motivational. He also shares tips on how to make a dummy head that can be blown up or ran over to gruesome effect. Kaufman is acidid, acerbic, and slightly nuts. A man who argues with his editor and co-founders even within the pages of his book. A great read!!



Amazon UK link

On Directing Film - David Mamet


Writer/Director David Mamet has experience of writing and directing both in theatre and on the big screen. He is an advocate of pure filmmaking and the power of drama. In this short book he brings his experience to bear in a series of chapters built like lectures and tutorials where he teaches us how to construct a scene and how to give power to drama while avoiding cliches and conventions. Useful and informative.



Amazon UK link

Bambi Vs Godzilla - David Mamet


Mamet again, this time raging against the machine of big industry filmmaking. Have you ever wondered why movies seem to be getting dumber? About how they are more about spectacle than substance? About how money rules the roost? This rip roaring assassination of the movie industry is an essential read to anyone interested in movies. Less informative for the no-budget filmmaker, but an enlightening book that really gets you fired up and glad you're not working for a studio.



Amazon UK link

Making Movies - Sidney Lumet


Few filmmakers have the kind of pedigree and experience that Lumet has. In this book Sidney muses about his time in Hollywood, about creative control, and about the multi-layered nuances of the film industry. Importantly, he also talks about his experience working directly with actors, and about the understanding that needs to exist between a director and his crew. He also talks about exactly what a film shoot consists of, which is revealing and insightful - while no-budget filmmakers will not be working with this kind of scale, it shows you the kind of things you need to think about, and for me, it made me happy that I would never be working with a studio, with producers, and with a huge crew. Lumet also discusses the power of editing, of lenses and setting up your scenes. Small things that as moviegoers we barely notice, but which coalesce together to ooze atmosphere and intention.

Amazon UK link

Digital Video - Collins Gem Guide


A basic introduction to digital video. If you're new to the medium, this is a pretty basic introduction with a few useful tips for the beginner. It will give you enough to get started and it fits in your pocket.



Amazon UK link