MoFo School of Film

Everything. Advice on filmmaking, brilliant movies that any prospective filmmaker should see (if you post one, please point out some specifics as to why) and even some anecdotes -possibly success stories, possibly not- regarding this sort of thing.

Please no arguments though, if you want to rip someone, sneak it into a valid post.

__________________
"We are all worms, but I do believe I am a glow-worm."
--Winston Churchill

Well, just in terms of people making shorts/features/whatever on low/no budgets, my own [very recent] experiences are that you should simply ask for everything. Ask people to donate things, to drop prices, to drive themselves to the set, to work for nothing, to do something for a credit in the film.

On Cow Hunters of the South Seas we have shot over two hours of raw footage [including sequences involving swimming cows, deep sea fishing, political rallies, SWAT team infiltrations and large floral tributes] and all we have spent is $130 [on tapes and still camera film, mainly]. We got all of this by asking. We asked an abbatoir for a cow head and then we asked a diver to dive and hold it above water, we asked all out friends with boats if we could use them, we shot in a backstreet with a large group of friends and family on a Sunday afternoon, we spray painted some water pistols black and asked a supply store for blue overalls and shooting goggles, we even asked the local cemetery if we could raid the graves of all the flowers for our film.

People are willing to help you make your film, but you have to ask them, or they'll never even know about it.

__________________
www.esotericrabbit.com

No arguments?

I know I am treading on thin ice on this site, so I will avoid any sort of confrontation.

The Bullet is right, ask anyone for anything. Buy or borrow a camera, and just shoot. Every film will get better, and your experience level will rise.

The more films you make, the easier it is to get trust from people; Because in the beginning NOBODY will trust you... not even your best friends or parents.

"Natural Born Killers" is a good film to study (if you have the tummy). This is a perfect example of experimentation. They use video, 8mm, 16mm and up. The editing is also really well executed. To this day, I still see the influence in my work.

"Evil Dead 2" and "El Mariachi" are both great films to learn by. Both budgets were really low, but the constant moving of the camera makes it look that much more interesting. Being creative with your shot selection is crucial.

- It's good to watch a bad movie every now and then. It reminds you that it is possible to break in the biz. "if they can do it, I can do it." Right?
If you never see a bad movie, then how will you know what a bad movie is?

Other advice... hang around with 1) creative people. 90% of my friends are in some sort of arts field. 2)optimistic people. If one of your friends become the poop of the party, give him an elbow in the spine.

Uh Oh, here comes the hail storm.

__________________
"I know a man who was born with his heart on the outside. Every man's worst fear, he also had heavy hands. he couldn't touch his lovers face, he couldn't hold a baby." - Buck 65

You're right about hail storms. But only a little...[!]

The only point I can disagree with you on is the avoidance of negative people. In the same manner as watching bad movies to learn about what a bad movie is, spend time with negative people [just don't listen to them] so as that you know what a negative person is, and to avoid becomming one. One of my best friends is way too cynical for my liking and it shows in his work. I have learnt to savour the good in people and things as a result of seeing how badly it effects his work [and makes it, in many cases, worse]. I have learnt from that, I guess.

The problem for him is how his negativity is spawned from the messages he learnt in films like Fight Club and so when he tries to write the messages himself, they directly mirror those ideas; his thoughts are not exactly his own. That is another tip I have to suggest and that is that you spend time thinking [often about thinking itself]. Work out your own theories about life and art and all of that, and try not to adopt those of others simply because they are there.

And while we are discussing negativity, negative people and bad movies, it is important to note that you are not perfect and never will be. Make mistakes. Very often they either provide an invaluable learning experience, or they result in something even better than you had previously planned for.

This is true. Don't find your personality from a film, or a C.D or even the back of a cereal box. Travel, meet new people, read, get into valid conversations.

I will chose my words carefully. I'm only 22, and I've travelled Europe, learnt about all of the worlds religions and read just about the history of the world.

What has this quest given me? A personality.

Exactly.

Here is a list of films that I think aspiring filmmakers should try and get hold of:

Directing: GoodFellas
Editing: Raging Bull
Cinematography: Lawrence of Arabia
Screenwriting: Pulp Fiction
Production Design: Moulin Rouge
Sound Design: Apocalypse Now

It is important to note that each of these films can easily fit into any other section, not just the one outlined for them as their ultimate strength.

I would suggest that any aspiring writers read as many raw screenplays as they can. My suggestions are:

Casablanca
Chinatown
North By Northwest
Being John Malkovich
The Royal Tenenbaums
Pulp Fiction
Reservoir Dogs
Adaptation
Three Kings
The Godfather
Magnolia

And in terms of short films there are many that you can look at that demonstrate how to get in, tell your story, and get out as quickly as you can, but for me, there are only a few that resonate with me everytime I see them and they are all the work of Evan Mather.

Although I love to think that one day maybe someone will link to me in the same fashion, you know?

I guess from what I've seen, and what I've done regarding personal cinema, all that I've learned (which hopefully isn't much as I intend to be doing this for the rest of my life) can really be boiled down into three ideas, really very simple ones.

1. Attain and befriend actors who are as excited about this project as you are. If someone feels even remotely half-assed about it, and they aren't just going to play some extra, then get rid of them, and look for a replacement. Filmmaking is hard enough, maintaning a vision is hard enough, without having to convince someone that showing up to the shoot tonight is better than playing video games.

2. Unless you're sure that someone cannot benefit you in any manner, or are sure that you'd rather be shot in the head than accepting help from them, remain friendly. Many a time have I called on someone who's barely tolerable in any social atmosphere that is absolutely crucial to my project. It's neccesary in most aspects of work to to do the Machiavellian thing, and put up with a buinch of jack-asses in order to further yourself, filmmaking is no different.

3. Watch movies, read screenplays and breathe film.
If you're just not interested in this field, or even in a certain production, don't just trudge along because you've nothing better to do, quit.




Be yourself. Gain a personal vision. Write write write.
But also, watch these...

The Graduate: Because it's hilarious, and Mike Nichols displayed a level of cinematic maturity that he certainly isn't known for. Not because he couldn't do it, but because people were too busy with the East and West coast film schoolers during this generation to notice. Also, read the screenplay, Buck Henry's an incredibly talented screenwriter.

Apocalypse Now: Coppola displayed more than a destination, this was a journey, and a horrifying, beautiful one.

Mulholland Dr. Watch it through to the end, and spend a lot of time thinking about it. Lynch took a pretty regular story, and skewed it enough to make it a true original. A shining example of the fact that more than a "twist" can be used to surprise the viewer.

Dr. Strangelove: or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb
Kubrick at his peak, and far away from his regualr genre.

Watch:
Coppola
Scorcese
Bergman
Speilberg
Lynch
Kubrick
Romero
Raimi
Arnofsky
Anderson, PT
Anderson, Wes
Scott
Arnofsky
Smith
Hitchcock
Welles
Fincher
Kurosawa
Fellini
De Sica
Jonez
Lee
They've all got things to say.



There are so many more, too many to list. See everything, though. Be it a movie, or just life. Every living thing is an actor and every moment is a scene.

Spend less time talking about how to make films, then go and make them.

I have been working on and creating my own films and theatre productions and I think all of your advice has been good to lesser and greater degrees. But I think Silver Bullet's is probably the best as long as the others are kept in mind.