“I’m 18 and second year in junior college. I live in a town where there aren’t many opportunities for indie filmmaking or related jobs. I am financially dependent on my parents and they think filmmaking is pie in the sky, and they discourage it. I’ve written short stories and scripts for years, and dreamed of being a director and screenwriter. Recently, I also started branching into cinematography, video editing and color grading.
Are my parents right? Where do I start?
–TD, Colorado”
Reader SARAH asks: “I work in-house for law enforcement and was given a pretty big video to shoot that explains what our Probation Department does. The video committee decided that it’d be “funny” to start the video off with “here’s what you think Probation is” showing our staff being aggressive, dismissive, and generally dicks to clients.
I might be crazy, but I think it’s not funny, and it won’t do what they want it to do. How do I fix this?”
I just finished my first screenplay, and I know it is really good. I just need a chance to get in front of someone to prove it. I’ve tried to contact agencies, but got no response. I don’t want to give up my dream of being a Hollywood screenwriter! Any advice? –Jim S., New York The stock answers to the career screenwriter question tend to be variations on “you have to pay your dues” or “you have to know someone.” I’m not a fan of either piece of advice, so let’s start by reframing those two old bromides into solid…
Sometimes you’re teaching about an app or other content that lives on a screen. Traditional screencasts are visually dull. But it it possible to make an interesting screencast?
While there are plenty of posts on Video Meeting Etiquette out there, much of that advice is painfully obvious. (Pro tip: It’s painfully obvious advice if the words “you moron” perfectly complete the sentence. Like this one: “Unmute before you talk.” See what I mean?) As the pandemic wears on and it’s clear that Zoom meetings are here to stay, it’s time to go a little deeper.
“I’m from Poland. Sorry, for my English. I read your article about Arrival after seeing the movie. I was wondering about three-act structure of this movie. Could you tell me in which minute – in your opinion – are the act breaks for act I, II and III?
I bought your book last Saturday and have already read most of it! I have a question about creating a story for a book-signing that I shot on Saturday to promote my friend’s new book. Using your story formula, I know my hero is the author. But what’s the story? Should the video tell the story of how she breaks into a new genre of writing? Or should it focus on the story of her book? I’m confused. Can you help me get to step two with my video? Babs Hogan Arlington, TX Thanks for reading the book, Babs. Great…
How do I know if I’ve shot enough footage? I hate to waste money and time, but I’m nervous I won’t get what I need for the edit. PS: Absolutely love your book! I’ve read it cover-to-cover twice now and starting my third time through. –Jamal Directors always shoot more than they think they need. Which means some of it will always be wasted. That’s how it’s supposed to work. It’s so normal that there’s even a name for this waste. It’s called the “shooting ratio” and it simply means the ratio between how much footage goes on screen, and how…
I do a lot of speaking and consulting on video, but by far the most rewarding is teaching I’ve done almost every year since 2000 at Summer Stars Camp for the Performing Arts. This is the camp’s 20th Anniversary and I’ve managed to attend 17 sessions, teaching music video classes to 12-17 year-old disadvantaged kids from New York and Boston who pay nothing to attend. Much of my book comes out of my work teaching those kids. (I’m also on the camp board, so now must suggest that you donate at www.summerstars.org) The first step in creating a music video: immersing yourself…
My writing partner and I were arguing about a scene in a new screenplay. It’s a time-travel piece, and he wanted to explain all the technical steps that lead a character to have a conversation with someone from his distant past. The reason? So the audience would believe their meeting could plausibly happen. Makes sense. If we don’t show how the machinery works, and explain exactly how the two accidentally meet over miles and eons, who will believe it? Credibility comes from detail, right? It makes sense, but it’s totally wrong. Extreme explanatory detail in a movie is death. We…
I love answering questions about creating video. I get to help you, and it saves me from having to come up with blog topics. Win-win, right?
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Steve Stockman is a writer/ producer/ director in Los Angeles. How to Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck, available in 9 languages, is the best selling video how-to book in the world. You can find the updated (2017) edition from Workman Publishing wherever you get books, ebooks or audiobooks. [more...]
