Anyone can make a short film, right? Just grab some friends and your handheld and you can do it in a weekend or two before being accepted to a slew of film festivals, right? Wrong. Roberta Munroe screened short film submissions at Sundance for five years, and is an award-winning short filmmaker in her own right. So she knows a thing or two about how not to make a short film. From the first draft of your script to casting, production, editing, and distribution, this is your one-stop primer for breaking into the business. Featuring interviews with many of today's most talented writers, producers, and directors, as well as revealing stories (e.g., what to do when the skinhead crack addict next door begins screaming obscenities as soon as you call "action") from the sets of her own short films, Roberta walks you through the minefield of mistakes that an aspiring filmmaker can make--so that you don't have to make them yourself.

Fully revised and updated practical and inspirational guide for students and independent film-makers, describing and explaining the whole process - from creating an original or adapted script, through producing, directing and editing, to finance and distribution.

"The first book of an exciting new paranormal series from two award-winning authors about what happens when an alien race brings Earth to the brink of the Apocalypse. The husband and wife writing team of Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes continue to achieve extraordinary literary feats with this first book in the exciting new Devil's Wake series. Due's The Living Blood and My Soul to Keep were each named to Publishers Weekly's list of Best Novels of the Year, and both were nominated for the Bram Stoker award. Barnes scored New York Times' bestsellers with The Legacy of Heorot and Star Wars: The Cestus Deception, and he has been nominated for both the Hugo and Cable Ace awards for his work in television.The eeriness of Devil's Wake begins a week after tomorrow. An unprecedented infection has swept across the world, bringing an epidemic of mindless biting attacks from the infected that leave their victims "changed." Society has broken down. The victims are more than mindless zombies. They are the result of a sinister alien life-form in the wake of the aliens' insidious plot, humanity ultimately becomes enmeshed in a brutal struggle for control of its home, planet Earth.Part Dawn of the Dead and part Road Warrior, Devil's Wake is a testimony to courage, friendship, and the power of faith. Horrifying and heartbreaking, exciting and challenging, it is a compelling, brilliant story on the edge of what could be the end of it all"--

Making a Winning Short is the first book to give hands-on instruction on how to write, direct, edit, and produce a fictional short in film or video. Edmond Levy guides the beginning filmmaker step-by-step through the stages of making a short: writing the script (from developing the idea to fine-tuning the final draft), launching production, casting, and working with the actors, working with the crew, directing the camera, editing, and other aspects of post-production. He devotes a separate chapter to Hi-8 video and gives a list of short-film festivals, both domestic and international.

Want to know how to make a movie on a tight budget? How to make a movie: Filmmaker Rickey Bird and screenwriter and novelist Al Guevara are on a mission to help indie moviemakers everywhere. Today’s indie film market is growing by leaps and bounds. At the same time, many aspiring filmmakers are running into their share of problems: • not enough money for crews • over budget and more than likely making the wrong movie • can’t get the attention of an indie studio • should have started with a short film to gain attention Cheap Movie Tricks: Film school numbers aren’t down. They’re increasing at more than 2,600 film-related courses worldwide. You probably didn’t even realize 48% of all film schools are in the U.S. and U.K. Thousands of aspiring filmmakers are literally learning how to use cheaper, widely available filmmaking technology, as well as the craft of making movies from books pulled from bookstore and library shelves. They’re totally DIY and the most creative people you will ever meet. Rickey Bird’s Hectic Films is a Southern California enterprise that is building a filmmaking empire on a budget. His short films, feature films, micro docs and tutorials have landed in some of the biggest American film festivals and been seen online throughout the world. The result? Millions of views worth of exposure from films online, in festivals and creative marketing literally on the street. His many projects have seen leading B actors like Hulk Hogan and Vernon Wells (Mad Max Road Warrior), make-up artists from the TV show Grimm, and stuntmen from the Call of Duty games. What you’ll learn inside this book: • how planning and shooting a short film today can lead to a feature-length project tomorrow • everything you need to know about writing a movie project on a burger budget • tips on how to find locations and not get arrested • shooting tips galore for building exciting scenes • sound and film editing tips and all kinds of special effects wizardry, including puppetry • screenings, promotions and juicy tips on film festival strategy

Lloyd Kaufman, the writer/producer/director of such cult-classic films as The Toxic Avenger, Class of Nuke 'Em High, and Tromeo and Juliet, offers a guide to movie-making unlike any other available anywhere. In 25 years, Kaufman, along with partner Michael Herz, has built Troma Studios up from a company struggling to find its voice in a field crowded with competitors to its current--and legendary--status as a lone survivor, a bastion of true cinematic independence, and the world's greatest collection of camp on film. As entertaining and funny as it is informative and insightful, Make Your Own Damn Movie! places Kaufman's radically low-budget, independent-studio style of filmaking directly in the reader's hands. Thus we learn how to: develop and write a knock-out screenplay; raise funding; find locations and cast actors; hire a crew; obtain equipment, permits, and music rights (all for little or no money); make incredible special effects for $0.79 each; charm, schmooze, and network while on the film-festival circuit; and, finally, make a bad actor act so bad it's actually good. From scriptwriting and directing to financing and marketing, this book is brimming with utterly off-the-wall, decidedly maverick, yet consistently proven advice on how to fully develop one's idea for an independent film.

New technologies now offer accessibility to the medium of video and film for virtually anyone who feels they have something to say. You might be: someone who wants to create a video to share online; someone who wants to record and document everyday events that happen around you; a charity worker wanting to highlight the plight of the less fortunate, or a journalist keen to use film to explore social issues; an artist or a writer eager to experiment within an an audio visual medium; anyone who wants to step into a world of discovery and challenge, and learn new skills along the way.This book offers an abundance of hints, tips and practical advice that will help emerging film-makers discover an exciting form of expression, either for personal satisfaction or to make their mark in a highly competitive industry. It includes: deciding what kind of film you want to make; choosing a camera; choosing your subject matter; dealing with copyright; using music to enhance your film; working with professional actors; researching information and avoiding location problems; production meetings; budgets; schedules; conducting interviews for documentaries; digital editing; aound and lighting techniques; and, making your film stand out from the crowd.