Case Studies

We break down real productions, episodes, pitch sessions, sizzle reels, scenes, and shots we’ve worked on so you can duplicate our successes…and learn from our mistakes!

Sneak Peek of Commercial Kings Local Commercial

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On our new show Commercial Kings, the hysterical Youtube Sensations Rhett and Link travel the country, making local commercials for businesses in need. We document the process, but they make the commercials, keeping every bit of the local flavor. AND “local commercial” flavor. Here’s a sneak peek of a commercial Rhett and Link made for … Read more

Featured Kickstarter Project: How Do You Write a Joe Schermann Song

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Independent writer/director Gary King seems like one of nicest, most daring filmmakers we’ve never met–though we hope to change that someday. He’s currently raising funds to finish, of all things, a MOVIE MUSICAL called How Do You Write a Joe Schermann Song. Now, full disclosure…we’re not really fans of musicals, though we can respect the … Read more

That First Review of Your Movie

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If you’ve ever put something creative into the world, you know what it feels like to wait for a verdict. There’s dread. Nasuea. Lots of pacing… That was us waiting to get our first review of our movie. To make matters worse… Our film Dying to do Letterman, which just premiered at Cinequest, was accepted … Read more

How to Hijack a Film Festival

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Okay, well, maybe “hijack” is a bit harsh…we’d never want to take anything away from the other great filmmakers we’re playing along side. But, in an attempt to stand out amongst the other 173 films playing at the Cinequest Film Festival, we’ve made an elaborate plan involving hospital scrubs, flyers, interactive buttons, and lots of … Read more

Amanda Lin Costa on a Tight Deadlne

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Amanda Lin Costa, filmmaker, Her Letters photo credit Emon Hassan

In part one of our interview with Amanda, she talked about the (difficult!) process of adapting a short story into a short film. The catch…this story has “zero dialogue AND psychological and emotional deterioration as it’s main plot points.” Good read. Check it out.

We ended by discussing how she was shooting the film on the Canon 5D Mark II, one of the leading models in the new rage to shoot video on cameras traditionally meant to shoot stills.

The benefit to doing so is getting some amazing images that have a very cinematic feel, and shallow depth of focus. Her cinematographer Emon Hassan was able to deliver some spectacular results. Check out these two “top secret” still frames from “Her Letters.”

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Getting Outer Space

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So, we’re on a shoot in the middle of Louisiana. The PA (production assistant) a funny kid named Kemerton Hargrove, says, “Hey, me and my friend Evan made a movie. It’s kind of embarrassing because I acted in it, too. You want to see the trailer?” Now, this happens fairly often on these shoots, and … Read more

Amanda Lin Costa is a Hands-On Producer

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Amanda Lin Costa, filmmaker, Her Letters photo credit Emon Hassan

She’s one of our faves on Twitter. Writing, directing, producing, editing…Amanda Lin Costa is a woman after our own heart. Her current project is a short film called Her Letters, a dramatic story of the dilemma a husband faces when his wife dies and leaves him a packet of letters with a foreboding request. She wants him to destroy the letters…without opening them.

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Featured Kickstarter Project: A Year Without Rent

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Lucas McNelly just may be the living embodiment of the indy film spirit. What a cool guy…a sort of “travelling filmmaker.” We’ll let him explain (see the video.) Suffice it to say, we saw fit to pledge $25 to the cause, and you can do the same here. Lucas’ project also has a place in … Read more

Filmmaking On Tilt

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While we’ve been in our cave editing Dying to do Letterman, one of the projects we funded a while back via Kickstarter, TILT, has been knee-deep in editing as well. Coming up for air today, we were excited to see this! Here’s the sweet looking trailer for TILT from Phil, Julie, and Jessica: Congrats, Team … Read more