Indie Filmmaker Inspiration: Mark Toia
Mark Toia never made a feature film before. He came up with an idea and explored it as a hobby. Soon it became an obsession, that became a screenplay, attached actor Neal McDonough, the directed and produced it, with 200 effects shots for under $2 million dollars. It looks like a $50 million dollar movie. He turned down complicated film...
Advice from Script Readers
Script readers have the difficult task of reading spec script submissions sent to studios, producers and agents, the good and the bad, and a lot of the later. I'm always interested to hear what they have to say about storytelling. They may not be great writers or teachers of screenwriting, but just by virtue of swimming in the slush...
Stanley Kubrick’s First Short Films
From Look photographer to filmmaker, Kubrick's first two short films show the developing eye of a great director. He made his first film Day of the Fight in 1949 for $3900. It tells the story of a day before a fight for boxer Walter Cartier. The 16 minute film sold to...
Handheld Camera Hell
Handheld camerawork has lost it's way in today's media. It's overused, over-exaggerated, and misplaced. Some media productions have fallen into handheld hell -- impossible to watch without getting sea sick. Too often handheld camerawork destroys what would have been...
Great Literature Editions for Christian Storytellers
B&H Publishing and Dr. Karen Swallow Prior have published a number of literary classiscs in beautiful new hardcover editions. These editions are from the series "A Guide to Reading and Reflecting (Read and Reflect with the Classics). Each novel includes helpful...
CWVFF Filmmakers Guild Membership has relaunched
The Christian Worldview Film Festival has reluanched The Filmmakers Guild with over 300 hours of keynote addresses and workshops. I've purchased a membership and have enjoyed many great videos from past events. It's well worth the membership fee, and for a limited...
Faith-based films rank among best “low-budget breakout” films
The American Film Market provides some very useful information on filmmaking trends and statistics. One of the most interesting articles they've published reveals that faith films are among the best performers in the coveted "low-budget breakout" category. They share...
CWVFF 2022 is streaming live this week!
The Christian Worldview Film Festival (CWVFF) 2022 is live streaming key sessions throughout this week, August 1-5. Watch live stream here. Visit the website here.
Screenplay for “O’ Bury Me Now” is nominated for an award at Content 2022
My western faith screenplay is nominated for an award at the Content 2022 Film Festival and Media Summit. The category is Best Drama Feature Screenplay – Adult and Teen. The screenplay is titled O' Bury Me Now, which is set somewhere in the 1880s. After a botched...
Sight & Sound Theatres begins new chapter with Sight & Sound Films
Sight & Sound Theatres launches their new effort called Sight & Sound Films, which will release it's first feature film, a biopic about Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Below is their announcement. Sight & Sound® is a ministry on a mission to create...
Why you need to listen to Richard Walters Substack ‘Get Reel’
I want to direct you to a screenwriting resource that I have greatly enjoyed. It's a Substack by Richard Walter called Get Reel. Richard Walter is a great screenwriting instructor. He knows his stuff. He is also very opinionated and isn't afraid of rocking the boat or...
7 Indie Micro-budget Filmmakers Who Have Chutzpah
We are living in a new era of microbudget filmmaking. More and more filmmakers are learning how to make their own films on a shoestring and find an audience. We are no longer beholden to Hollywood for entertainment, and that's a good thing, especially for Christian...