Holy Cow! FCP Short Cuts

Here a great article by Dustin Lau about the keystroke shortcuts that will help you dramatically speed up editing in Final Cut Pro. Read more

Think Bigger

By Cole McDonald

Think Bigger!

I’ve heard the “write a script with what you’ve got access to” thing alot. Even Robert Rodriguez, the role model for low-budget filmmakers everywhere says this. I think this is ok for your first couple of shorts, after that it’s your responsibility to start thinking bigger.

Every indie film I’ve seen (and made) has the same components. Two people trapped somewhere in an awkward situation talking… Generally across a table… No more! I will make the comparison that I see conversations between two people in big budget hollywood movies all the time. Somehow, they make it compelling. Some of it may be the level of acting, but I’ve seen some really amazing indie level actors that should be able to pull off this type of dialog. What is missing is the subtle camera movement, the background action, the people at neighboring tables, the carefully chosen wall art and set dressing around the people. Perhaps even the location should be changed to make a more lively scene. Read more

You Can’t Teach a Screenwriter to Say “I was wrong”

In my twenty years as a professional writer and the last twelve as a screenwriter, I’ve yet to meet a stupid writer. Pretty much all of them are literate, intelligent people who can string together a pretty neat sentence.

Running along side the general intelligence of screenwriters is the abundance of available information about screenwriting. Let’s face it, there is a lot of it… and it ranges from the downright daft to the pretty good.

It’s also true that more people than ever are trying to write screenplays.

Therefore, with all these smart people writing screenplays and so much information about how to do it well, there ought to be hundreds and possibly thousands of hot screenplays doing the rounds… and yet there aren’t. Talk to any producer and they will tell you the same story… there is still a shortage of great screenplays out there. In fact, you only have to look at what is making it into production to see that even at the top end, a great screenplay is the exception rather than the norm.

So, why is this? Why are so many smart people, with all the information they need to do the job well, failing to write great movies? Read more

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