So, I got called a “Debbie Downer” tonight by someone trying to break into our business.

She asked me some questions. I gave her some straight forward answers. (To set the record straight, I may be more of a realist than an optimist, but I’m far from a pessimist.)

She Did Not Take My Answers Well…

In case no one has told you yet, this is a hard business. We love it, we work in it, we blog about it, we want to see others succeed in it…but make no mistake: if it was easy, everyone would do it.

make no mistake: if it was easy, everyone would do it.

That’s also why I find this business so rewarding. Every success is earned. Nothing is just handed to you.

For anyone just starting out, I guess that’s the lesson to learn: it ain’t easy.

We’ve talked on this blog about the numbers game, about giving yourself an edge by being a hands-on-producer, about knowing the odds and diving in anyway. All those things are true, but here is another lesson we learned the hard way:

Talent, Passion, and Great Ideas are Not Enough

Way before our first official credit in Hollywood, but after we’d produced our own pilots, we were fortunate enough to be in a conversation with a successful TV producer. He was honestly impressed with our work, and said these were the “best tapes” he’d seen in years. (Yes, we still used VHS way back then.)

He then told us something I’ll never forget: “No matter how brilliant your idea, no matter how good your previous work, no network will hand you two a budget to just go make a show. You don’t have the resume, you don’t have the credits.”

At first I thought he was crazy…maybe even jealous! We then ran into exactly what he was talking about, as every network politely passed on working with us.

It seemed show business was a club that was impossible to break into.

A Different Perspective

Now that we’ve made it to the other side, it’s really an easy issue to understand. People have sacrificed years and years of their lives to get to where they are in Hollywood. Their jobs, families, and survival all depend on bringing in the right producers and best projects. Why the heck would they want to risk it all for you, an unknown, unproven writer, producer, or director?

It’s Different When You’re Spending Someone Else’s Money

It’s easy to spend you own money however you want to on your own projects. What happens when a studio tells you what you can and can’t spend money on? You may be able to put a project together on your own, but what about working with a team? You know how to address your own notes, but what about a those coming from the network?

Once you get to be an Executive Producer, Director, Screenwriter, or receive any position of power, things get crazy. There are issues you’ll deal with at these high levels that you can’t even imagine. Unless you’ve put in your time in the trenches, you can’t know whether or not you’ll be ready.

Real World Shark Tank

Catch that TV show Shark Tank? You know when the sharks on the show say, “It’s MY money and it’s hard earned?” Well, same goes for the producers and network executives you are approaching. It’s their money, resources, and good name they’ve had to work hard for. You are asking them to risk their word–their reputation–on you.

Respect that, know that, and work even harder.

Let That Make You Better

I’m no Debbie Downer. I’m simply telling a truth you need to hear if you want to succeed in Hollywood.

Don’t look at the hurdles mentioned above as negatives. See them as your induction into showbiz. Smash through these obstacles and people will show you an immense amount of respect…because we all know how hard it was to get here. And we all know it’s even harder to stay here.

Put on your Game Face

Get prepared, get to be the best you can be, because one day, someone WILL give you your opportunity you’re dying for.

When you get into that position, where a producer, network executive, or studio puts their neck on the line for YOU, gives YOU your chance, you should work harder than you’ve ever worked.

You should feel privileged and proud. You should feel the immense pressure threatening to crush you…and rise above it. You should be scared and do it anyway. YOU should prove you deserve to be there.

Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

–Michael Jordan

I won’t lie…it’s 10am on a Sunday morning, and I’m tired.

We’re in post on a series and two pilots, so it’s game-time…and the ball’s in our hands. What does that mean?

My Saturday night was spent blurry-eyed in an edit bay where I made tweaks and changes to more cuts than I can count.

After a few hours sleep, I’m back, this time personally creating CG shots for Scream Queens that we don’t have the budget to outsource.

My head hurts, my back hurts, my butt hurts from this chair (and it’s not a bad chair.)

So why would anyone want to live like this? No sleep, no social life?

I’ll tell you why: because this silly little FX shot I’m pouring my heart and soul into is going to be seen by millions of people.

On a show that has our names listed as the company bringing that shot to TV sets everywhere.

It’s a dream I’ve had since I was a little kid…make moving pictures for the world to see.

Earning the right to do that is hard. Actually completing the work once you get the go-ahead is exponentially more difficult.

But know this: every exhausted moment spent living your dream is a gift.

Are you chasing a big dream? I believe every sacrifice you make to achieve it will be worth it.

And now, back to my swirling windows of Final Cut Pro, After Effects, and Cinema 4D…

Just a quick post to let you know about our guest post over at Multi-Hyphenate.

The site is the brain child of Tyler Weaver, and is quickly becoming a power-house of great posts from filmmakers and artists working at achieving their goals and dreams.

Hope you enjoy!

This is a short post I wanted to put up about a technique I’ve been fascinated with: Camera Mapping. Essentially, camera mapping allows you to take a still photograph and turn it into a 3D scene you can fly through. Here’s the best explanation I’ve found of how it works:

Here’s another great example:

I’m using this technique to replace some jib shots we can’t afford in an upcoming MTV pilot. While I’ll be using Cinema 4D, there are tutorials to do this with the FREE 3D Software BLENDER.

Here’s an example from Blender (there are some artifacts, but this is a great start)

Camera Mapping Test with Blender from Gifted Babies on Vimeo.

Here’s the link to Gifted Babies and their explanation of what they’re doing in Blender:

This will be a new technique for us. We’ll let you all know how it goes.

Both cheering and booing masses are all-a-Twitter about the new iPad. Is it worth it? Who will use it? Will it really change our world?

I’d like to let you know how the iPad will make our Hollywood careers easier.

Pitching Big Ideas

Yesterday, Joke and I pitched a TV show to CBS.

It’s a big reality show. Easy to grasp hook.

It’s also chock full of twists and turns, bells and whistles–the kinds of things that can confuse executives who haven’t developed the show along side you for 3 months–especially in a 10 minute pitch.

So you need an easy-to-understand, clean presentation to help the room stay focused on the important parts of the show.

Enter Keynote

I’m a Mac guy, and our company runs on Apple products. Recently, we switched from Powerpoint to Keynote for pitch presentations. Keynote runs faster on my Mac than Powerpoint, presentations look more “Apple” like out of the box, and Keynote’s deadly simple to use.

In the room, I present the Keynote presentation to the executives, and both Joke and I narrate the pitch.

The Problem

You never know what room you’ll be in when pitching to an executive. Don’t know what the AV situation will be, or if you’ll be able to connect to a TV or projector. Most of the time, you can’t. So you must be prepared to pitch off of whatever device you’ve brought with you.

Yesterday, the room was tight.

At one point, I ended up kneeling on the floor pointing at my laptop. This was both uncomfortable and looked weird.

Still, given the circumstances, I wouldn’t have done anything different. The execs understood the show, asked the right questions, and were polite enough to giggle at my lame verbal sound fx.

Hello, iPad

Given the iPad’s size and the fact that it will run Keynote, this could be the solution I’ve been longing for. It seems big enough to pitch to 2 to 3 executives, while being small enough to handle.

Sure, it may take a bit of practice, but pitching a Keynote Presentation off a laptop you’re forced to place on your lap in a tiny room, as opposed to an iPad you can hold up easily…well, I’m all for the iPad.

Now, if I can just convince Joke to let my buy one…

Get it while it lasts… Don’t know how long that link will work for!

When I was in 8th grade I started a glam rock band called “Biagio.”

We had a song called “We Are Biagio.” We rhymed “Walls of Jericho” and “Shores of Mexico” with “We are Biagio.” That such poetry never became a hit song has doubtless left a gaping hole in the glam rock landscape.

Now, perhaps you’re wondering what got me reminiscing about a 14 year-old “me” sporting a mullet and a Casio keyboard?

Caught My Ear

Twitter lead me to a young band I really like, Ives the Band. (Caution: link may launch iTunes.)

Coming up as an editor, I know first hand how the right piece of music can take a good scene and turn it into an emotional powerhouse. In listening to their album, I thought, “I want to cut to THAT.”

I reached out to the guys and they were kind enough to invite us to their show last week at the Sunset Strip’s infamous Viper Room.

How Does This Help You?

Let’s face it, there’s a lot of young bands out there who are really, really good. I’m not an expert on what’s fresh, new, and hip in the music world, but I know when something catches my ear, and Ives the Band did.

The reason I wanted to write this post is because these musicians have three ingredients needed for showbiz success–and success in general. Whether you want to be a rock star, a movie director, a reality TV producer, a novelist…these three traits are key.

3 Must-Haves for Showbiz Success

1. Talent

Clearly, the members of Ives the Band have talent. If you’re reading this blog, you are likely very talented in some respect as well.

Harsh truth: talent is probably the least important piece of the success puzzle.

YES–talent is a must.

Talent’s not your ticket to the big time, just proof you should take your shot at it.

But there are lots of talented people out there. Few translate that talent into success.

Many assume their “talent” entitles them to fame, magazine covers and movie premiers. Talent’s not your ticket to the big time, just proof you should take your shot at it.

Ives the Band is bursting with talent, but they’ve got more going for them than talent alone.

2. Personality…

…and by personality, I don’t mean “Rock Star” eccentricity–I mean the members of Ives the Band are nice guys. They’re not afraid to engage in intelligent conversation. They have a good sense of who they are. They don’t reek of that “neediness” rampant in so many seeking showbiz success.

If you come off as rude, annoying, or indifferent in your quest for success, people will either forget you or avoid you.

It’s important to know who you are as person, and be comfortable in your own skin. People want to work with people they like–people they don’t mind spending long hours with. Be that person.

3. Work Ethic

For 45 minutes, at the Viper Room, the guys called “Ives the Band” got to be rock stars.

However, Ives the Band is not yet Coldplay. They don’t have a gaggle of roadies to carry their gear, or a gigantic tour bus to relax in.

So, after they played their hearts out, the curtain closed, and the guys raced the clock to tear down their instruments, pack their gear, and get off the stage. Much like guerrilla filmmaking, putting on (and tearing down) the show was an all-hands-on-deck affair.

I venture to say Ives the Band sweated through many more hours of manual labor that day, not to mention years of hard work, just to enjoy that 45 minutes in the spotlight.

And that’s what living the dream is all about.

Surefire Success?

There’s no such thing. I don’t know if Ives the Band is going to attain super-stardom, though I’m rooting for them. (Decide for yourself…here’s the link to their album The Incredible Story of Mr. Birch.)

I do believe they have the right stuff, though. Take a page from their book. Hone your talent, let your personality shine, and have a fierce work ethic. That gives you the best shot at claiming your time in the spotlight.

Recently, we talked about how excited we were to have one of our pilots receive a “green light”…meaning we get to make it.

Well, here’s your chance to come be a part of it!

Casting Notice!

We are looking for very creative people with a clear point of view. Clothing designers, Production Designers, Artists, Architects, Advertising Execs–ANYONE who can not only visualize great ideas, but also physically execute their vision. Creative thinkers AND doers.

Can you create something beautiful out of nothing? Can you sell an emotion or an idea with your art?

If you or someone you know, has an incredible eye for DESIGN, is tremendously CREATIVE in its execution, and wants to share his/her talents with the world … download and fill out the application and get it to us via email or US postal service no later than February 1st, 2010.

While the concept itself is top secret, I can say we are SUPER excited about this show. If you’re the kind of person who can create beauty out of anything, and present it in a stunning manner, please come audition!

And definitely follow us on Twitter for all the juicy updates!

At a time when everyone’s talking about the stereoscopic 3D in Avatar, I had to take a moment to draw your attention to this AMAZING piece of “2D 3D”…a short film called “The Third & The Seventh.”

Wow.

100% CG, this is an excellent example of the kind of photorealism that can be achieved on a computer…if someone thinks beyond software, and approaches CG from a big picture perspective.

Why it’s so Good

Clearly Alex Roman, auteur of this amazing piece, is not following a “press an automagic 3D button” workflow. He’s made sure to build a piece that has excellent composition, mimics the real-life aberrations of film cameras, and is color-graded for maximum impact. Enjoy this video, then check out the Compositing Breakdown and Making Of videos below. Really amazing.

As a producer/director/writer/whatever, there’s nothing more exciting than selling a project. However, in Hollywood there’s a big difference between “selling” a project, and actually making that project.

Big Phone Call

Last night we received the call you hope for and dream about: one of our reality pilots got the Green Light. It will actually be funded, we’ll produce the pilot, and with luck, it will make it to air, much as Scream Queens did.

That Took A While

Here’s what most people don’t realize: we “sold” the project on November 20, 2008. 412 days before the Green Light call last night. That’s roughly 58 weeks, 9888 hours, 593,280 minutes, or, 35,596,800 seconds.

That’s Okay!

Before a network or movie studio invest one penny in any project, they’re going to look at it from every angle, and make sure it will work for their audience.

They usually will buy a project in what’s called a “step deal.” That could include many steps, such as:

1. Write a script or flesh out a treatment.
2. Attach talent.
3. Cast contestants.
4. Shoot a mini-pilot, presentation, or tests to prove a “look” will work.
5. A million other things to make the people with the money feel better about investing.

When you get a Green Light, you’ve overcome a lot of hurdles to make your project. You’ve proven:

• You have a unique idea and a great project.
• There’s a market and audience for your show or movie.
• Someone trusts you enough to give you money to execute that idea.

Be Patient

The time between selling a project and making the project could be very long. Remember our post, Showbiz is Slow-Biz? Well, it’s the truth. So don’t expect your big idea to come to fruition over night.

Instead, look at it as a series of mini celebrations every time you get closer to the big go-ahead. When the Green Light finally comes, well, then the work really begins…

There’s never been a better time to make a movie yourself. Just ask John Homa, judge and acting coach on Scream Queens Season 2.

While giving an interview for the upcoming Scream Queens EPK (electronic press kit) John got a little side-tracked, and went into a topic he’s very passionate about: taking responsibility for your own Hollywood Success.

In short, don’t complain about not making movies…just go make a movie!

Here’s John getting all worked up:

You may have seen this already:  http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/18545

Well, I’d like to start 2010 by telling all of you how proud I am of my “bespectacled, fast-talking spin-meister who’s nothing if not a master at conveying a sense of bottomless enthusiasm.”

Maybe it’s our political landscape or the lack of investigative journalism in the mainstream press that has led to the negative connotation of the word “spin,” but in the world of story telling, or even in our every day life, a good dosage of spin is necessary.  If you can’t put a spin on the story you’re telling, maybe you should leave it to someone else to tell.  

And the same goes for life.  There are so many ups and downs, so many challenges and obstacles that you have to put a spin on things not to get overwhelmed.

That’s what I’ve learned from my very own spin-meister.  Biagio has always been a glass half full kind of person, a dreamer.  And while I am the “yin to his yang” and sometimes more realistic as I like to call it, he’s taught me to see things as I want them to be.    

To succeed in this business, there will be times you have to fake it ’till you make it.  You’ll have to spin yourself into believing you can succeed. Besides, the truth is you won’t know if you can swim until you dive into the deep end.

So my wish for your 2010…is that you spin.  Become your own spin-meister. If you don’t believe in you, fake it, and you may very well make it.

You are part of a special group of people.

That group includes:

• You.
• Us.
• Steven Spielberg.
• Charlize Theron.

It includes our new Twitter friends like:

• @Jaime_King
• @TravisLegge
• @indiemoviemaker
• @davidspies
• @KingIsAFink
• @Michael_Rooker
• @PattyFantasia

and

• @Maria_56…

…just to name a few of the great “Tweeps” we met in 2009.

All of us have one thing in common:

A Hollywood Dream

Reaching “The Big Time” can take a long time. We’re all at different places on that journey.

Some of us are already working in the industry.

Others, like Mr. Spielberg, are living the dream, but aiming ever higher.

Maybe you’re somewhere in between, or just taking your first steps towards dreams of Tinseltown triumph.

No matter what anyone tells you, there’s one thing you need to know. In Hollywood, your success or failure is entirely up to you.

Take Your Dreams Into Your Own Hands

If you’ve been around this blog at all, you know we’re big on Hands-On Producing.

In a relatively short time (in terms of Hollywood, anyway) we went from working out of our shoebox, one-bedroom apartment to having our own, full-fledged production company–all because we bit the bullet and put our money where our mouth was. (And by the way, that was NOT a lot of money.)

Yes, carrying the rent for 8,000 square feet of office space and around 20 edit bays comes with it’s own set of stresses. For that matter, so does working professionally as a writer, director, producer, or any other job you want in Hollywood.

If you’re up for it, here’s how you do it:

Become Awesome

Simple enough?

Okay, How Do You Become Awesome?

Go make stuff. It doesn’t matter if you’re a writer, a director, an actor or actress, or a producer: the only way to really get an edge in today’s Hollywood is to learn to do EVERYTHING yourself.

How come? Read Why You Need To Be A Hands-On Producer.

Whether you want to make movies, want to break into reality television, or anything in-between, you can’t go wrong by diving in head first, getting your hands dirty, and completing a project.

By that, we mean starting with nothing, and ending up with a concrete piece of tape you can show somebody. A short film, a pitch for a TV show, a movie trailer, a music video…you get the point. Something you made that you’re proud to show.

That’s a solid way to break in to Hollywood.

Want Proof?

These two young, aspiring producers took our advice. They went away and produced a solid three-minute tape to help pitch their reality TV show idea.

Here’s what happened: we did a small re-edit on their tape, and then we sold their show. Alongside the two of us, this ambitious duo will be producing their first project in Hollywood.

(More to come on that, so be sure to subscribe to Joke and Biagio or follow us on Twitter to catch the juicy details.)

We’re Here To Help

We know how hard it is to break in to show business. Things get even harder once you’re producing real life projects (like our latest, Scream Queens Season 2, our documentary Dying to do Letterman, or our new scripted project Rooker.)

In 2010, we want to give you an edge on your competition. We’ll be blogging and tweeting simple truths to help you break in to the biz:

• Real-time tips from the trenches of production and post-production
• Tricks and tutorials about the software we use to make film and TV
• Interviews with other filmmakers we hope you’ll find as insightful as we do
• Behind the scenes videos from our productions
• Links to other great resources (much of which we’ll do on Twitter, so be sure to follow us!)
• And, at long last, a real treat: I’ve finally set up Joke’s computer and iPhone so she can blog all by herself! (Sorry it took so long, honey!) Until now, we’ve been writing many of these posts together. Now, Joke’s unleashed! Look out! You’ll be getting opinionated commentary and insightful tips straight from my wife and business partner, Joke!

Keep Learning and Honing Your Craft

You can never stop learning. Ever.

We ourselves will be learning and exploring all sorts of new technologies and filmmaking techniques in 2010. We’ll share our journeys with you here at the blog, and probably even ask for your help.

(For instance, right now I’m sharpening my 3D modeling and photo-real rendering skills, and learning to use Apple Motion as a sometimes-replacement for Adobe After Effects. Oh, and producing 8 one-hour episodes of TV for VH1. Sleep? What sleep?)

Keep learning and improving until the day you drop dead. That gives you the best chance of long-term Hollywood success.

When You Get There…

When that day finally comes and you get your chance, whatever that is, push yourself out of your comfort zone and deliver something amazing. We’re rooting for you.

Here’s to 2010. See you on the red carpet.

Call us suckers, but this is all we had to see. We’re there.

If you missed it, be sure to check out this blog post on Dread Central about Scream Queens Season 2.

Means A Lot

When places like Dread Central or FEARnet (one of the first horror community sites to support our show) take the time to cover Scream Queens it’s a big deal for us. All we’ve ever wanted to do with this show is help truly great, undiscovered actresses celebrate the horror genre.

We Do Care

Not everyone will love Scream Queens, or any of our work, for that matter. That’s part of this career. We get some love, we get some hate, we get some indifference. At the end of the day, all we can do make a show we’re proud of, Lionsgate is happy with, and VH1 wants to air.

Still, it means a lot when a place like Dread Central says about us (Joke, in this case)

…whose passion for the project is apparent – there’s no sense on set that the genre is being exploited…

This show’s never been about using horror as a doormat for wannabe starlets, but rather about pointing out that carrying a horror movie is one of the most difficult acting jobs on earth.

We take pride in working to give our potential Scream Queens an accurate idea of what it would be like to work in the horror genre–with no sugar coating.

Okay, Enough…

Thanks for taking a minute to celebrate with us. Upcoming blog posts and tweets will be full of useful tips, behind the scenes videos, and all sorts of gossip from behind the scenes of Scream Queens Season 2.

Almost half-way though the filming of Scream Queens Season 2. We love this show. We love our cast. We have no time for anything else…yet.

Been Crazy Busy

We hoped to tweet and blog more from set. Of course, that’s hard to do when there’s no time to eat or sleep, much less share funny tidbits of life from set. But, rest assured, come December 21, we’ve got lots of great behind the scenes footage, stills, and stories coming your way.

Here to Share

We hope you can learn from our mistakes, steal from our successes, and use this blog to help you achieve your own Hollywood dream, whatever that is for you.

Let us Know What You Need

Got questions? We got answers. (Just might take a minute to get back to you!)

You can always leave us a comment here, or message us on Twitter.

Back to Making a TV Show

About to roll on John Homa’s acting class. Ladies don’t know what’s going to hit them tonight! See you back here soon.

The official press release for Scream Queens season 2 hit the wire at 9am EST today.

As you already know, James Gunn is off directing his movie Super, and was not available for our shooting start date (which is just days away.)

Then, more sad news: as things changed creatively and schedule-wise, we learned Shawnee Smith would also be saying, “goodbye.”

We love James and Shawnee to death, and rest assured, we’ll be working together with both of them again. They are like family to us.

Re-Casting

…at first, the big changes broke our hearts.

We loved making season 1 of Scream Queens, and at first, the big changes broke our hearts. On the bright side, we were put in the super-cool position of meeting with incredible horror film directors and terrific actresses who could help fill the large shoes left behind by James and Shawnee.

Honestly, it was crazy to meet with actresses and directors we admired, and realize they wanted to be part of our show. For two kids outta’ Cleveland and Belgium, it was pretty rad.

The New Judges of Scream Queens Season 2

Tim’s passion for actors and making movies is clear the moment he opens his mouth…

Filling the role of director is the extremely charismatic Tim Sullivan. A real horror director, he’s done films he calls “Splatstick” like 2001 MANIACS and SNOOP DOGG’S HOOD OF HORROR, as well as the character-driven teen ghost story DRIFTWOOD. Tim’s passion for actors and making movies is clear the moment he opens his mouth, and he’s going to be amazing on Scream Queens.

Our talented actress and host for Season 2 is Jaime King. A terrific artist, you’ve seen her in everything from MY BLOODY VALENTINE to BULLETPROOF MONK to PEARL HARBOR. Not only is she a master of her craft, she has an intense passion for helping aspiring actresses achieve their dreams.

Jaime was only interested in working on the show if she knew she could help actresses improve.

That’s not me just spinning a P.R. line…Jaime was only interested in working on the show if she knew she could help actresses improve. She said, “If I can’t help them grow, I don’t want to do it.” After watching season one of Scream Queens, Jamie saw that we were serious about supporting undiscovered actresses, and chose to do the show because of that.

Some More Good News

Everyone’s favorite bad-ass acting coach, John Homa, will be back!

Props to James Gunn

We have to give James a lot of credit. He recommended Tim Sullivan as his replacement, and though we met a ton of incredibly awesome directors, James’ instinct was dead on. James is also under the impression that we’re not giving him credit for the Tim Sullivan find, and has complained endlessly to me. James, I say it loudly for the world to hear: you da’ man.

Plus, James Gunn told Jaime King that we didn’t suck. Thank you, James.

An Exciting Season

Scream Queens season 1 was our baby…our dream show come true. A perfect blend of competition reality and real movie making. It will always have a special place in our hearts.

That said, Season 2 is going to be completely amazing. We feel so lucky to have Tim and Jaime on the Scream Queens team.

Get ready for a kick-ass season!

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You’re finally going into production. Awesome.

For months, you’ve planned every detail. Endured never-ending rewrites. Scoured locations. Cast meticulously.

And, if you’re like us, you’ve done absolutely nothing for you.

Get your Affairs in Order

In our case, here we are, a mere 5 days from rolling cameras on our month-long shoot for Scream Queens season 2. For nearly 30 days, there won’t be a single day off for the two of us.

Does the crew get days off? Of course. Does an Executive Producer get days off? Though we may try, the truth is usually no. Especially if you want your project to be any good.

…if you’re like us, you’ve done absolutely nothing for you.

The motto of an Executive Producer (or the lead creative) should be “I care more than anyone else, so I work harder than anyone else.” This mostly means 7 day weeks, 15 to 19 hours a day. Before you bite that bullet, here’s a few things to make sure you do for YOU just before you disappear down the rabbit hole:

1. Warn your friends and family

They won’t be hearing from you. At all. You’re in the abyss of production. Produce, eat, nap, repeat. No time for personal calls. Those close to you will take it much better if you warn them.

On a personal note, my dad’s finally forgiven me for vanishing during Beauty and the Geek. With Scream Queens season 2 underway, he knows what to expect…though he still goes out of his way to make me feel guilty!

2. Pay Your Bills

Rent, anyone? How about those credit cards? Utilities? People can wreck their good credit during production simply because they’re barely conscious enough to make it to set, much less remember to write checks.

People can wreck their good credit during production…

If you don’t have Joke for a wife (who’s brilliant and never forgets to do anything, even when she’s half dead) do yourself a favor, and write out all your checks in advance, seal in an envelope, and stamp. Set up a reminder in you email or calendar program so you don’t forget to actually send the sealed, stamped envelope.

3. Think About Your Health

You won’t be sleeping a lot, already a strike against you on your quest to live through production. Chances are, you’ll be over-doing it with the caffeine, increasing the odds that your heart simply explodes along the way. Take a daily vitamin, and try to drink a bottle of water for every energy drink you slam. It’ll help you keep hydrated.

If you’ve been putting off that trip to the dentist, do it now. No time for a root-canal during production. Probably want to make sure you see your doctor, and refill any prescriptions, too.

If, like me, you’re also watching your diet, make a plan to keep you on track. Personally, I’m staying away from the craft services table, having a P.A. bring me back diet-friendly food at lunch, and I’m bringing my Atkins bars to set for when I need to snack.

4. Get Comfortable Shoes

…you’re about to be on your feet for hours and hours on end.

You’re about to be on your feet for hours and hours on end. We all need to be frugal, but when it comes to shoes, I say splurge. Go to a good shoe store and find something that works for your body type. I wear a water-proof Allrounder with arch-support, and I’m far less cranky after those 19 hour days.

5. Take Your Car Into the Shop

This one is our personal Achilles heel. When your entire life is spent trying to make your mark in showbiz, changing the oil and getting a tune up just don’t seem to make the priority list. According to Murphy’s law, this means your car will spontaneously-combust on the fourth day of a three month shoot. Avoid that. Show your wheels some love.

6. Clean Your Home, Top to Bottom

Whether you’re in a studio apartment or big ole’ house, the 4 – 6 precious hours you’re granted at home need to be spent relaxing, preferably in an unconscious state.

If your place is a wreck (as often happens to us creative folk) it’s an added layer of stress you do not need. Make the space you call home a sanctuary—whatever that means to you—before the first day of shooting. It will be the only stress free location you see for a while.

7. Buy Extra Socks and Underwear

Let’s face it: during production, you ain’t doing laundry. The jeans and tee-shirts can air out. Socks and underwear, not so much.

Well, if any of you follow James Gunn’s blog, you already know, much to our deep sadness, he won’t be coming back for this season of Scream Queens. He’ll be off directing his movie SUPER, with great cast members like Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, and of course, Michael Rooker.

Rainn Wilson’s Got a Gun!

Apparently, Rainn Wilson will be wielding a fire-arm in this movie! So who better to teach him to shoot than everyone’s favorite tough guy, Michael Rooker–who actually OWNS a shooting range. (Yes, the guy who starred in Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer owns a shooting range. What can we say?)

So Mr. Gunn, as a going away present, here’s a little viral video for your new movie, SUPER. Filmed by Michael Rooker and Rainn Wilson themselves, and edited by our own Caleb Emerson, we present you with:

Michael Rooker and Rainn Wilson Go Shootin’!

How’s that for an intriguing title?

David Allen, producer of the great podcasts Mac20Q and Video20Q got us to spill our guts on everything from making reality TV to how I once won $38k on a game show.

David was very thorough in his questions, and even asked some tough ones. We respected him for that, and, for better or worse, just told the truth!

Why is Biagio Screaming the Whole Time?

I have to say though, I think I’m going to be the worst old man ever…I sound like I’m screaming my answers through the whole interview! Wait until I’m old and lose my hearing. Oh, my poor future grand kids.

Joke, on the other hand, sounds terrific–though she claims my screaming caused her to raise her voice as well

Thanks, David Allen

Really appreciate that you took the time to include us in both of your excellent pod-casts.

Catch our Mac20Q interview here, and our Video20Q interview here.

As mentioned in our ROOKER tease the other day, we’ve been working with Michael Rooker on a new scripted project we’re very excited about.

Michael Rooker is Engaging his Audience

We ll know many actors hire teams of people to “make them look good.” But Michael’s taking time out from his busy schedule to connect directly with fans, as he does here, to @tenindenmark, a fan from Denmark who wished him well on his recent Karate injury:

Or sharing this tidbit of trivia from Henry – Portrait of a Serial Killer, with fan @AdzFilmmaker:

Michael’s Reaching Out to a new Audience…

…and talking about our new project at the same time, with a very special purpose.

Aside from producing what we hope will be a great story with ROOKER, we have another goal: for people to remember WHO Michael Rooker is!

As Michael will tell you himself, many people know his face, but not his name. In an attempt to change that, Michael has not only embraced Twitter, but put up his first ROOKER FOLLOW FRIDAY video.

Shameless Self-Promotion Alert

Yes, @Michael_Rooker gave us a Follow Friday too, but we are producing his new project, after all : -)

(You can follow us here, by the way.)

Look for more Rooker Follow Friday videos in the weeks to come!

As you know, Dying to do Letterman is a self-funded, passion project documentary we’ve been shooting for more than four years.

It follows comedian Steve Mazan who, after learning he has liver cancer, dedicates his life to living his dream: performing on the David Letterman show.

4 Years and 300 Footage Hours Later…

Today, post-production began in earnest.

Steve who’s far more than just the subject of the doc–he’s a talented writer and producer himself–will be very hands on during the edit.

Here’s some Flip cam video of our hero, Steve Mazan, getting ready to begin the next leg of his amazing, inspirational journey. He’s joined here by his wife Denise, who supported Steve’s every move in chasing his dream.

Be sure to follow Steve on Twitter (just launched his account today!) and be a part of his amazing journey.

Here’s the video:

Biagio tries to direct actor Michael Rooker–as if that’s possible!

Warning: This post is a teaser.

We’re not saying much. We’re keeping a tight lid. But we’ll drop some names:

• Michael Rooker.
• James Gunn.
• Orson Welles.

To get the reference to that last name, you need to be following @Michael_Rooker on Twitter. Wouldn’t hurt if you followed us, too!

For a bigger tease, look at Michael’s Twitter video greeting:

That is all.

Love,
Joke and Biagio

A documentary filmmaker chronicles a gang of mercenaries in Mission X.

This is part 4 of our interview with David Baker, producer/writer/director/editor of the massively ambitious Mission X. If you’ve been following this series, you know David is a no B.S. guy who speaks his mind with radical honesty.

In part 1, You Can Make and Distribute a Movie Yourself, David talked about his decision to go it alone, even though his previous movie was funded and distributed–an endgame most indies dream about.

Part 2, Make an Action Film for $8000 explored just how to shoot full-on gun battles in the middle of a major city for no money.

Part 3, Direct Your Movie Your Way, took a look at how David paved his own way when it came to directing, even breaking a few “cardinal rules” to get things done.

Today, David explains his hands-on approach to distributing his film himself.

You are distributing you movie yourself. Why? How?

My intention from day one was always self distribution.

When I decided to make this film, it was for two clear reasons. I knew it would probably be too small to show Hollywood, but I knew it would be big enough to show what I can do. To attract resources, collaborators for the next movie I make.

Also, I knew that I could possibly sell it, then use the “sales position” on this film as my day job, instead of working.

As for how I am distributing, at first I intended to do a Scottish and UK tour of multiplexes, indie theatres, anywhere. An investor had shown some interest, and I had some sponsors interested. I secured a big UK multiplex chain. Cineworld liked the film, and wanted to do test screenings.

In the last ten days, I had to pull theatrical. The investor was haggling for a bigger cut of the film, and a sponsor changed their mind. But the more I did the math, I realized it was not a bad thing to sell direct to my audience without theatrical. Why? A theatrical release is purely an exercise to promote the dvd, download, and merchandise.

I discovered after some big feature press spots that hardly any traffic came from them. I easily get more traffic via the web on a daily basis.

I also discovered that it was not difficult to pinpoint my target market. I have compliled a list of military groups, military video gamers, airsoft, paintball, other miltary films. There are literally hundreds of thousands of them.

I found an affiliate partnering service, where people take banners, I pay them a cut of the dvd from sales, and I get direct access to my demographic. This is a way of finding my precise market. So selling direct this way can put me into profit within a few weeks.

Theatrical is not right for every project.

The cinema was also goig to be taking 75% of returns, so it works out better for me to go this route.

What advances in technology have opened the final frontier of distribution to indie filmmakers?

I think first and foremost is social media. Why? I have seen case studies of filmmakers who have sold thousands of dvd’s from their websites, using MySpace etc. A simply direct to consumer method. But social media is helping us connect even more.

Ok, nobody has made millions with self distribution yet. But I do think we will start seeing filmmakers who grab a bigger audience in the months, years ahead. That’s when people will then really sit up, take notice.

There is also more of sharing filmmaking community now. In the past, you had little groups who kept to themselves. “Filmmaking is only for the special people, it’s very difficult, mysterious, and interesting. F*#k!”

Well, no it’s not!

I think sharing our own case studies about how we pull it off is going to help us all find the model. Social media has been the main thing that has driven that sharing and all the rest forward.

What technology is coming soon that will make distributing your own films even easier?

Definately HD streaming, VOD, direct to phones. We can do all that now. But I think it will explode when we have the very easy link from the computer to the TV. Thats the time I am working towards. Thats why filmmakers need to wake up now! I think it’s amazing that somebody in Texas or Germany can press a button and watch your film in their home!

Filmmakers are still saying “Whats the model?” “Oh, how do we do it!”

Are they blind!!!! A lot of people want to be spoon fed. It’s all here.

We can make a film, plug it, distribute in many ways, create support TV shows from our homes, beam to phones! Jesus! The model is simple! People need to get their arse moving!

I have always said this, the successful filmmakers, (as well as being great content creators) will be the one’s who are the best marketers. Otherwise, how will that Texan know that your film exists?

What benefits are there to being your own distributor

There’s a list of them.

You own your film forever, and the rights for any remakes, sequels.

You make a far bigger profit on all the deals on TV, VOD, direct dvd, digital downloads, merchandise.

You have the freedom to release how you please, and when you want.

You have a potential cashflow that can keep you running. I don’t know how many times I got meetings in LA after my first film, but I couldn’t even afford to live there for a few weeks. And it took years to develop the next film, because I had to work a day job to pay the rent, and do only a few hours a night, weekends on the film stuff.

On a whole though I think the biggest benefit of self distribution is getting that direct link to your audience. And I am not really talking about Twitter followers, Facebook, as you never own that following. I am talking about the ability to gather a list of emails. Thay’s your potential market for other products, films, deals. That’s gold dust. You would never get access to them properly if you sold the film through a distributor. It’s your potential future.

Well, Once Again, David Speaks His Mind!

We love David. He does not hold back! In fact, while this was meant to be the final installment of this series, look for a few surprise blog posts down the line with more “gems” coming to you straight from David Baker’s soul!

Be sure to follow us on Twitter or to subscribe to our feed so you don’t miss some real gems from David that didn’t fit into these four installments!

Thank you, David, for your generosity, brutal honesty, and willingness to reveal your filmmaking secrets. Can’t wait to see Mission X.

Joke, Biagio, Syd the Demon, Magician/Producer Andrew Mayne, & Scream Queens Supervising Challenge Producer Matt Laesch.

As a producer, you have one job: make stuff. In whatever field you’re in. When it comes to showbiz, that means taking film and TV projects from beginning to end. It’s a grueling job, with 17, 18, 19, and 20 hour days.

And sometimes those hours still aren’t enough.

A scary thought.

It can make you afraid to take on daunting projects.

To overcome those fears, it helps to love what you make.

We Love Scream Queens

Getting to make a show that blends our love of docu-style Reality TV with our passion for movies is probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

We feel like the luckiest producers in the world.

Of course, we spend a lot of time feeling, well, scared–and not because the show’s called Scream Queens.

To make a TV show that’s a perfect blend of “docu-style” reality and “movie-style” screen tests is a huge challenge. It’s only right to feel a certain amount of nervousness taking it on. Just a couple reasons:

Entire episodes are shot in three and sometimes only two days. There’s no room for error.

Movies are expensive. Reality TV shows have small budgets.

On a film set, sometimes you take an entire day to shoot one scene.

On Scream Queens, we have to run up to 10 girls through the same scene in a half-day (after all, we need the other half to film reality.)

Sometimes, making our days seems impossible.

If it Feels Impossible, You’re on the Right Track

If your dream project is the easiest thing in the world to produce, you’re not trying hard enough.

Want to make something great? You have to cross the line of what’s comfortable, what’s “do-able” and figure out how to do more. How to be bigger. Better. More amazing.

Get to the place where what you want to accomplish is so huge, it scares the crap out of you.

Then you’re officially where you need to be.

You are the Sum of Your Frightening Experiences

Putting together a project that seems “undoable” gives you a lot of confidence. Why? Well, the truth is, many times the project actually IS undoable…as originally planned.

So you improvise. Roll the dice. Take some chances. Make some mistakes. Fall down. Pick yourself up. Keep going. Find a solution. Become a lot smarter.

In the end, you’re a better producer for it.

Scream Queens is Scary

And we’re not just talking about watching the show.

Sure, all these pics from the FX shop we visited today are pretty freaky. We get more freaked out about the incredibly tight schedule. Even tighter budget. Difficulty balancing house drama with tent-pole moments. Hoping our actresses are every bit as good in their scenes as we believe they can be. Packing a challenge, an acting class, a “scare the actresses” moment, a screen test, the revealing of “the list” and an elimination into 42 minutes. Oh, and having good reality scenes to tie it all together, too.

A tall order.

Scary as hell to pull off. But totally awesome to take on. We’re so grateful Scream Queens has helped make us the producers we are today.

Don’t Pass Up a Project Because You’re Scared

A project feel too big for you? Maybe it is. Maybe it’s time to walk away. On the other hand, if you never push yourself to the next level, you’ll never move beyond where you are today.

We all find ourselves in situations where we fear we’ve bitten off more than we can chew. It’s a natural by-product of ambition, and that’s a good thing.

When you get overwhelmed, and you’re terrified you can’t pull off the production you’ve already set in motion, it’s time to…

Face Your Fears Head-On

The best way to handle a project that feels undoable is to dive in head first, and figure it out as you go.

Yes, you prep.

Of course, you plan everything to a tee.

Do everything possible to get each piece of your project’s puzzle in place.

When you figure out that’s still not enough, put on a smile and get ready to dance.

Like many adrenaline junkies have said on far more dangerous outings, “Feel the fear, and do it anyway.”

The experience will be terrifying at times.

It’ll also be one-hundred percent worth it.

Most of you have probably heard of the book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen. GTD, as it’s become known, is the latest, greatest way to be more productive in less time.

I’ve personally read the book, and used its techniques to great effect while producing TV shows like Beauty and the Geek and Scream Queens.

Actually Getting Things Done

While you can implement David’s system using only pen and paper, I’m a geek. I live on my computer and iPhone. They form my “trusted system”–the place I know all my ToDo’s live.

There’s plenty of desktop software out there to help you “Get Things Done.”

I’ve tried them all. Every single one. If it exists, I’ve tested it out. There’s only one I love: a program called The Hit List.

One Huge Problem: No iPhone App

Yes, shoot me now. Some of the other apps out there have corresponding iPhone software. The Hit List, not yet. I was contemplating leaving The Hit List for one of the other GTD apps on the market, when, today, something magical happened…

2Do from Guided Ways was Released

It’s amazing. Having tried 5 or 6 other to-do apps on the iPhone, this one blows them all away.

Gorgeous user interface, terrific animations, easy to navigate…all the features I’ve always wanted.

Using the app, it feels like the good people at Guided Ways asked themselves,

• What will make the user happy?
• What will make the app easy to work with?
• What will make it FUN to use?

Then, they went and built that app.

2Do has the Best iPhone to iCal Sync of Any Stand-Alone iPhone App. Period.

I know this, because I’ve been frustrated with all the rest of them.

Because it syncs with iCal (or the software we use, BusyCal) via a free download called Mac Sync Helper, this stand-alone iPhone app becomes infinitely useful.

In our case, since The Hit List can sync with iCal, and iCal syncs with 2Do, I now have a GTD system that works on both my laptop and my iPhone. Hooray!

Video Demo Coming Soon

I’m putting together a little video post demonstrating the workflow. Be sure to follow us on twitter or to subscribe to our feed so you don’t miss it.

In the mean time, if you want to take a peak at 2Do, this link will take you there (Note: launches iTunes.)

Get Things Done with 2Do

We start shooting season 2 of VH1’s Scream Queens in about 5 weeks. To keep me sane, I started using 2Do, today.

Update As per the question in the comment section below, this was in no way a “paid advertisement.” We do occasionally link to a product we’re over-the-moon about, but not for the extra 47 cents we may make here or there. The small cash generated from our links will eventually go toward product give-aways or other blog-expanding costs. Sorry for any confusion. We purchased 2DO and use it everyday.

Related Posts:

• 3 Secrets to Showbiz Success
• Chad Wrote a Book!
• Twitter Time Take 2
• Working With Celebrities: Do’s and Don’ts
• Pictorial: Scream Queens Season 2 Los Angeles Open Casting Call
• Powered by Contextual Related Posts
]]> http://www.jokeandbiagio.com/2do-from-guided-ways-new-iphone-app-for-getting-things-done/feed 21 http://www.jokeandbiagio.com/direct-your-movie-your-way http://www.jokeandbiagio.com/direct-your-movie-your-way#comments Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:52:04 +0000 Biagio http://www.jokeandbiagio.com/?p=1600


David Baker directs Mission X.

This is part 3 of our interview with David Baker, producer/writer/director/editor of the massively ambitious Mission X. If you’ve been following this series, you know David is a no B.S. guy who speaks his mind with radical honesty.

In part 1, You Can Make and Distribute a Movie Yourself, David talked about his decision to go it alone, even though his previous movie was funded and distributed–an endgame most indies dream about.

Part 2, Make an Action Film for $8000 we found out just how to shoot full-on gun battles in the middle of a major city for no money.

Today, we look at David’s hands-on approach to making and directing the film.

You wear a lot of hats on this film. What are all the jobs you’re doing?

I am doing everything, basically. I acted because I had experience in that and I could rely on myself in a no budget situation. I wrote, directed, produced. I edited the film. Grant help me tweak the cut, tighten. He did sound post and color grading with me. He was great.

It’s not an ego thing, its simply that I have no money.

I think every filmmaker should edit their films at the start of their career.

If they get a bigger film, then get a top pro editor, but at the start its so useful to edit it yourself. It teaches you what to shoot in the future.

I have also done all the web design stuff, and I am doing distribution myself. It’s not an ego thing, its simply that I have no money. I want the job done, I know what I want, so I have to wear a lot of hats.

When taking on so much responsibility, do you worry about suffering from a lack of collaboration? In other words, having no one to say, “That’s a bad idea.”

I dont work like that. Example: When I had the idea for “Death Movie” my family said “Let’s hear the pitch.” I never told them. Why? Your loved ones say you are great, even when its shit!

I put the pitch on MySpace, and targeted Rob Zombie fans. About a 100 hardcore horrors fans.

Filmmakers posting their horror short films to these people often get comments like, “It’s sh*t mutthafu**a, bury yourself with it you talentless sh*t!”

So I sent my page and pitch to them. I forgot about it, and looked back months later. There were a few thousand messages and followers that said “This f*cking rocks!”. My point is, I ALWAYS listen to others. My crew, actors, post people, and more importantly, an audience. People that don’t, have a problem.

It’s sh*t mutthafu**a, bury yourself with it you talentless sh*t!

I never know 100% what I want. But I always know 1000% what I DON’T want. Thats means I have plenty of room for changes, suggestions. You get the best out of people when you make them part of the collaborative process.

I want others’ suggestions, but I filter what I think is right or wrong, and make the final decision.

I worked with a lot of directors as an actor, and 90% were bad. People think directors have to be all shouting, cigar in face, intimidating. It’s bollocks.

What do you think makes a good director?

Most directors are bad because they are not “movie fans.” Tarantino, Scorsesse, Speilberg, Rodriguez, Rami, and many more are all “film buffs.” They are right in that audience with the cinema goers when making a film.

A lot of directors I met go “I rarely watch movies. This film is about my personal experience when I was struggling with my inner demons and sexuality!” Crap!!

They don’t really care or know who their audience is. I think they think that sounds really artistic, bohemian. No, it’s plain dumb!

That attitude’s okay if you are scribbling poems, or painting a picture, but for the movie business, where you burn up a lot of cash, you SHOULD know. If you don’t, you will not be productive, and you will be a slave to others as you beg for cash your whole life.

At the end of the day a dvd still has a bar code on it whether its a popcorn or art flick! It’s a product!

For your cast, you mixed both actors and non-actors. Why?

In my view, lots of drama students are bad. They have that “actor” thing going on. You get the rare talents that come out of schools, but most have little life experience.

I found some experienced and pro actors via social networking. The ones that did have their shit together online–many don’t have videos on their sites.

So I could see from their showreels they were natural. I met with them, was honest about having no money, but they liked the story.

In my view, lots of drama students are bad.

I cast about half of the guys with non-actors. They looked the part, they had life experience, they didn’t “act”, they “re-acted”. I gave them all a solid script, then told them to forget the exact lines. Just know their characters. They worked brilliantly.

Grant (playing the documentary filmmaker) had never acted before. However, he was a video gamer, a film student, and he had military experience. The line between fiction and reality blurred. I even let him keep his own name for the character.

The witnesses were all real people from the street, stores. Some of them had seen the battle when we shot, so I used that fact.

What was it like mixing your script with heavily improvised dialogue?

I am a script man, and I am a strong dialouge writer. I believe in solid scripts, so this was a big departure for me. But I am glad I did it, because it was a huge learning experience. The script had to be solid because of the non-linear narrative within the story. But the film was so natural, that I had to be flexible with it.

There are several big dialouge spots that are almost word from word from the script, because the actors felt it was written naturally. I like to write the way people talk. But a lot of the time I told the actors to dump the script, and improvise witin their characters in the scene. This worked really well. It was a good balance of scripted and improv. Very structured improv of course, because there is nothing worse than unstructured improv lines.

Stay Tuned for Our Final Installment…

…in which David spells out how he used social media to promote and distribute his film. Cutting edge ideas that taught us a thing or two! You won’t want to miss it. Be sure to follow us on twitter or to subscribe to our feed to catch the rest of David’s brutally honest interview, filled with great tips you can steal!

Grant Timmins and David Baker, in character for Mission X.

This is part 2 of our interview with David Baker, producer/writer/director/editor of the massively ambitious Mission X.

We were excited to talk with David because he’s developed so many of the skills we look for in Hands-On Producers.

In part 1, You Can Make and Distribute a Movie Yourself, David talked about his decision to go it alone, even though his previous movie was funded and distributed–an endgame most indies dream about.

In the interview, it became clear quick that David speaks his mind. He continues his refreshingly brutal honesty in this part of our story.

David, for a while, you were going to do a different film called Death Movie. What happened?

I had been looking for the money for Death Movie for three years, and I got lucky one day. My accountant knew two wealthy individuals who wanted to get into films. We made a presentation, and they commited within a week.

I was about a month from situating myself in LA, and the first £50,000 ($80,000) never came. The accountant told me they had to back out because some sort of “financial collapse” never before seen in all of history was about to hit! I thought he was bullshitting because they didn’t like a scene in the film or something! But the rest is history. A few weeks later, the banks were in trouble. 

You’ve said this hit you hard. So, before making Mission X, you put together a checklist that would help you make a no-budget movie. What was that list? And your philosophy behind it?

It was a wake up call to my life. I knew my filmmaking pursuits were over if I didn’t adapt. And lets cut the bull, REAL filmmakers shoot with nothing! Wannabee filmmakers think they can’t do it unless they have lots of money.

I studied the guys I admired. Robert Rodriguez, Chris Nolan, Kevin Smith, and a little film called “The Magician” by Scott Ryan.

One night, I decided to shoot the film myself, over many months, or even a year if I had to. I had nothing to lose anymore. I could not go back to looking for money–that’s a really dumb approach when you’re just starting out. It’s best just to go make something.

Mission X: A story about a documentary film student who follows a mercenary recruiting for a mission, only to learn the mission is right in his own back yard. Why this film?

First of all, with no budget, I think you need the right style of movie to make it work. I saw so many MySpace filmmakers who were making films with £100, but the film had aspirations of being a 100m blockbuster, so right away it looks cheap, crap (unless you are REALLY talented, then you make “INK” like @DoubleEdgeFilms.) Overall, don’t make a movie that has aspirations to be a blockbuster if you have no budget.

I needed a story that would NOT work with top cameras, composers, name actors, great lighting, etc. A film that was meant to be real, gritty, dirty, kinda battered looking. I like films where you just follow interesting characters, like Taxi Driver. Or the way you just hang out with Tarantino’s characters to get to know them. People like following characters.

I wanted to show I could write strong three-dimensional characters. A lot of filmmakers can’t. I had several years experience as an actor, and I have written scripts for about ten years now, so I actually find it very easy to write dialouge. 

At the same time, I wanted to show I could direct thrills and spills, some wild action, with no money.

Following in the footsteps of filmmakers like Christopher Nolan, Robert Rodriguez, Kevin Smith, and Peter Jackson, just to name a few, you decided to fund your movie yourself. What was your budget?

My first day’s shoot budget was £35 ($56.) Most of that went for food, petrol money. I had the people, I had the kit, props, etc, so it was really the basics. It went on like that for about 5 months. Wages from my McDonald’s job.

They say an army marches on it’s stomach. You should NEVER not feed people. Well, EVERYBODY was so into the film, that many days they brought their own food. It’s like a cardinal sin, I know you at LEAST feed people.

I kinda played the card that these guys have to get in character. Mercenaries can survive in the wild eating bugs if they have to. So I think I kind of got away with the lack of food using that “method” attitude! Haha! Nobody wanted to moan about the lack of food when they were walking around playing bad assed mercs!

In total, film was about £5000 ($8,000.) I also bought a computer, hard drives with that.

How did you manage to film all-out warfare in the middle of the city with no money?

This is the only area I had to be REALLY sensible with. Ten years ago, I might have done it guerilla style, but today, with an armed response in 4 mins, you would have to be an idiot not to get permission. (Might seem obvious, but I worked in student films in London, and we tried to film gun scenes in the city with no permission all the time.)

I went straight to the top armourer in Scotland. He worked on a recent mercenary horror film “Outpost”, and “Doomsday”. I was honest with him. I offered a cut of the film, like I did with everybody, but we all know that is not a great incentive these days. I saw he did not have a website, so I offered to build him one as payment.

Getting him on board helped wth the police a lot, since he knew the police film unit well. I dont think anybody has shot AK-47’s in the city. Not in films anyway! So I had to convince a chief inspector I knew what I was doing. He agreed to it if I told all the residents and businesses in the area. 

I only had £40 ($65) in my pocket for this big action scene that day. People thought it cost thousands.

The shooting style of Mission X is very stylized. You say you were inspired by real videos of urban battle in Iraq?

Absolutely! I watched them when writing the script. You can’t shoot good action when you have no money. But as I watched the Iraq videos, I noticed you don’t really see the enemy. Just them firing from the distance, and the aftermath. I think a lot of times it’s what you “dont see” that adds to scenes. This also helps in a no budget film when you can’t afford many “enemy.” So, a budget problem actually added to the creativity.

The Iraq videos were a perfect template for shooting action reality style.

What camera choices were inspired by watching those videos?

At first, I had no cameras, no crew, no props–so I had no choices. I owned a mobile phone with video on it. I was so desperate, I even considered shooting the whole movie on that phone. But as the weeks went on, I met people with all sorts of camera kits. They offered them for free to help me out.

Grant (who plays the film student) had his own Sony PD150. An old battered camera. But it worked perfectly. Films like “Inland Empire” “24 Hour Party People” and “Open Water” used cameras like that. We tested it in low light conditions, and it held up well.

Plus, going with this kind of “method” attitude, it worked: it was Grant, it was his camera. So we just kept it that way.  I also had 7 other cameras in the underground shoot out. Consumer cameras and flip cams, to represent multiple pov witnesses. I had a lot of students shooting from different positions for that day. 

Stay Tuned for Part 3…

In which David discusses techniques he used to combine actors with non actors, and so much more. You won’t want to miss it. Be sure to follow us on twitter or to subscribe to our feed to catch the rest of David’s brutally honest interview, filled with great tips you can steal!

A documentary filmmaker chronicles a gang of mercenaries in Mission X.

David Baker is one bad-ass filmmaker.

Everyone talks about making feature films. Some claim they’ll distribute the movie themselves. Most never get past the wishful thinking stage.

Enter David Baker

In an era filled with big talkers, David’s busy making movies…his way. He’s is in the final stages of launching his film Mission X.

The movie is a gritty, ultra-realistic depiction of mercenaries on a violent mission in the middle of a major metropolitan city.

David is Doing it All

The perfect example of a Hands-On Producer, David is writing, producing, directing, and acting in the film. Talk about hands-on!

Even more interesting, he’s also distributing the film himself. Surprising, considering that David’s first film, Pasty Faces, was distributed by a “real” outlet. So why is David blazing his own trails on Mission X?

David’s Sharing His Secrets

writer/producer/director/actor David Baker on set of Mission X.

David gave us an interview about his career, his movie, and his experimental strategies that have branded him a pioneer in the world of indie filmmakers.

What we love about Mr. Baker is the fact the he’s not afraid to open up and tell his stories in the spirit of helping other indie filmmakers succeed.

In this multi-part interview, David spills the beans on everything, including:

• How he managed to shoot gun-fights in the middle of Glasgow on a tiny budget
• How he’s using social media to promote his movie, and how you can, too.
• How and why he’s distributing the movie himself. It’s not impossible.
• Lessons he’s learned making movies. Great tips you can steal.

David Baker Interview Part 1:

You’ve had quite a career path. You began as an actor?

I went to London in my twenties to get away from a small town in Scotland. I really tried to be an actor for the same reasons as most people when you start out. Meet girls, all the bullshit. But I got isolated in London, read a lot, studied, acted in a lot of student films, and got passionate about the craft of acting. Became a loner geek! I got bored on sets because I had a lot of energy.

In many filmmakers’ eyes, you’ve achieved nirvana: receiving funding and distribution for your movie “Pasty Faces.” Do you see it that way?

No! It was a bad experience. I feel I am just starting now! My first film was all a learning experience about what NOT to do. I don’t regret it though, it’s helping me in many ways today.

What went wrong? What specific experiences on Pasty Faces changed your outlook about indie filmmaking?

Although I HATE my first film, I learned more than any film school could teach. In EVERY area. Production, distribution, marketing.

It was a small film but it had a lot of co-producers, executive producers, and distribution company on board (they partially funded it.) So it was almost a bit like making a film by commitee. Like a Hollywood film on a Micro Brit budget! £350,000 [$560,000.]

We all know a film is a collaborative process, and I am cool with that. I am also on the side of the financiers. Filmmakers love to see them as the enemy, I don’t.

Its only right you want to make a profit if you fund someone’s creative life. But when the [non-creatives] start bringing their paint brushes to your canvas…when THEY want to be creative collaborators…problems!

So there was interferance when I made the film and when I posted it. Memo’s from a large group in lots of areas.

It’s a kind of catch 22 deal. If you are starting out, and you have a strong vision, you need to get that across in a project. But because you are starting out, it’s really hard to get [full creative] control of your project.

I realised why top directors like Robert Rodriguez, Chris Nolan, Sam Rami, Peter Jackson, and coutless others funded their own first projects. Some on much smaller budgets than I had. If you have a strong vision, you need to control the creative process. And the only way you are going to get that full control at the start of your career is by self-funding.

Stay Tuned for Part 2…

…in which David goes in to the making of Mission X, including how he filmed full gun-fights and action scenes on the streets of Glasgow. Be sure to follow us on twitter or to subscribe to our feed so you don’t miss the rest of David’s candid, exciting, and informative interview. Trust us, it’s packed with indie filmmaking gold.

How'd David do this with no money? Stay tuned to find out!

Google Wave, the amazing real-time communication platform from the web giant, launches in a few hours.

Geeking Out Over Google Wave

I’m a geek. I geek out about these things. The idea of exploring new ways to communicate with all of you via Google Wave gets me all geeky.

Though swamped with producing duties, we love finding the best ways to reach out and connect with aspiring filmmakers and producers. New ways to communicate directly with TV audiences about our shows intrigues us, too. And of course, anything that can streamline the creative process is worth exploring.

Can Google Wave really do all this?

Google Wave as the Ultimate Media Tool

Google Wave is so customizable that its potential uses are almost limitless.

We’re excited about trying Google Wave for everything from social networking to production planning, story-tracking to media management.

In the short term, we’d like to explore Google Wave as a tool for promoting and discussing Season 2 of our TV Show, VH1’s Scream Queens.

Time to Experiment with Google Wave

Along the way, we hope to experiment with the platform to discover the best ways it can help filmmakers and producers make and promote film and TV.

Those experiments will be public conversations with all of you, as we push Wave to see if it really lives up to the hype.

Getting Google Wave

There are only a few ways to get Google Wave. Since I was buried in post-production when it was announced, I signed up late. My best bet: I need one of you to invite me.

Help Us Help You With Google Wave

Get us an invite, and we’ll put Google Wave to the Hollywood test. We’re looking forward to finding out if this tool can revolutionize the way we all work in the entertainment industry.

The other day, we received a question from Sean Duran (on Twitter as @esotericsean.) In part one of this two part series, we broke down how we launched our production company.

Today, we look at the second part of Sean’s question:

Our passion is short films and we hope to eventually evolve into doing features. We quit our day jobs and are now attempting to shoot actor demo reels and music videos, but it’s tough.

Sean, like many filmmakers, needs a plan to break into feature filmmaking. We’re going to share super-cool, high-powered, proven methods to give anyone–including you–the best odds of using a short film to launch big screen success.

A Place for Short Films

Short films are wonderful. They are:

• A valid art form
• Great training for indie filmmakers and producers
• Terrific showcases for aspiring directors
• The backbone of many film festivals

Listing the virtues of short films could go on for pages. So don’t get mad when we tell you about…

The Short Film Rat Race

Making short film after short film, when you really want to make feature films, is a never-ending time suck.

It’s very hard to monetize or have success with a short film on it’s own. Aside from the web and festivals, there’s not a huge market for shorts in and of themselves. To make matters worse, if all you have is your completed short film, the chances someone will anoint you the next Tarantino are next to none.

If what you really want is to make features, hone your filmmaking skills. Once your short films look as polished as solid indie releases, you’re ready to take your career to the next level.

How to Use Short Films to Launch Your Feature Career

As we touched on in this post, to increase your odds of breaking into features, consider these approaches:

1. Make a Short-Film Based on a Feature-Length Script.

   

   This is a script you’ve written or have the rights to produce. Your short then becomes a “sales tape” used to convince a studio or production company to make the feature.

   Taking this approach is infinitely more useful than just “shooting a short.” You prove you have the moxie to produce and direct a great story (because your short film is fantastic) but, most importantly the feature version is ready to go.

   THAT is something people might invest in. As a matter of fact, that’s how the movie Saw
   was sold. The original short film was about 6 pages of the feature script.

   You can see the original SAW short here.

2. Use a Visionary Short Film to Sell Another Script

   

   Shoot a short film that has a very unique look, style, or filmmaking technology at its core. Make that a “proof on concept” tape to sell yourself as the person to make the feature-length version of another script you’ve written or have the rights to that would use similar technology.

   This is how Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
   came to fruition. In the original short film, which you can see here, the unique look and feel that would drive the feature is front and center. In fact, Gwyneth Paltrow was so enchanted with the look of the short, she immediately signed on to do the feature.

   More recently, Alive in Joburg, a short film by Neill Blomkamp, became this year’s hugely popular District 9. Watch the original short here, and notice how it’s a mini blue-print for the feature itself.

   Yes, Neill was already pretty successful. But before you decide this level of production value is impossible to achieve for an unknown filmmaker, look at the trailer for Dan Gaud’s Leap, a project put together entirely by Dan and a few friends for $900.

   Of course, you can always…

3. Skip the Short. Make the Feature.

   Gear is cheap and plentiful these days. There’s no reason you can’t take your time (even a year or two if you need it) to call in favors, find free locations, and make an entire feature film for little or no hard-cash.

   The experience will be invaluable, and you’ll have a feature film to prove you’re serious. You might not get distribution. So what? Distribute it yourself! What better way to get out the word that you are “for real.” That’s a great path to break into producing or directing feature films.

   NOTE: DO NOT GO BROKE MAKING A MOVIE. Many of the rules we lay out in these tips for making a TV pilot on your own apply to making your own feature film as well. Don’t forget, Robert Rodriguez made the version of El Mariachi that became a blockbuster for $7000, and that was on film!

You Need A Script

You’ll notice, key to all of these approaches is the feature script.
Remember, people need a reason to invest in you. Shorts don’t make money. Features do. If you’re hoping to launch your career using short films, think of them as the “commercial” for a feature you are passionate about. That will serve you far better than simply pumping out one short film after another.

Sean, Take the Next Step…

Sean, we think your next step is to write or find a feature script you really want to make, and then use one of the above methods to bust in to the feature game. Use that short to help promote the script, and your odds of success will increase greatly.

Got a question from a friend on Twitter, Sean Duran (on Twitter as @esotericsean.) He and a small team of filmmakers run Take Zer0, Take Zero Productions, and We Heart Short Films.

How did you get started in building up your own production company? We’ve been at this for about 5 years now and it just seems like we’re headed nowhere. Is it easier to just go out and work for other studios and work your way up? Is it worth it starting your own company? Our passion is short films and we hope to eventually evolve into doing features. We quit our day jobs and are now attempting to shoot actor demo reels and music videos, but it’s tough.

Sean, these are questions all aspiring producers and filmmakers ask. Let’s take your question a part at a time. In this post, we’ll cover how we started our production company.

In part two (coming soon) we’ll discuss how you can increase your odds of moving from short films to features. Be sure to follow us on Twitter or subscribe to Joke and Biagio so you don’t miss it.

How We Started

As we talked about in one of our first posts, it was seven years ago, in our tiny shoebox apartment, that we just decided to “do it”…whatever that meant!

In our mind, that entailed putting our money where our mouth was, and producing our own TV pilots and films from scratch.

As our friends will tell you, we became recluses. We took various day jobs, but worked on our own projects seven days a week. Every spare second we wrote scripts, produced indie films, and shot reality TV pilots. If we went out and socialized, it was never more than once a month. Seriously.

Every penny we made went towards gear. A camera. An editing system. A deck. A wireless mic. We built slowly.

Like you, we shot and edited actors’ demo reels to help pay the bills. We took on the occasional local commercial, wedding video, and any other job that let us sharpen our producing skills.

When we weren’t working for others, we were working for ourselves,

As fate had it, our reality TV career took off first, and we ran with that, knowing that we’d eventually segue back into scripted projects as well.

Start Your Own Production Company or Work for Someone Else?

When starting out, it’s a tough decision. There’s success stories on either side of the fence. Working for people in the industry will never hurt you, and working your way up is a nice, steady way to break in to the biz. We’d say more people earn success this way than any other.

Not us. We actually went the route of starting our own company first. It wasn’t easy. We produced entire TV pilots, feature films, and documentaries from scratch. Managed to bang down a few doors. Everyone loved our work. Only one problem…no one knew what the heck to do with us!

Without a single “real” industry producing credit, our resume was thinner than that of most production assistants (one step above interns.)

Producers, industry people, and agents responded positively to our tapes, but since the two of us produced nearly every aspect of our work, no one could get a reference on us.

Think about it…who could they call to find out the truth about how we performed on set. Just us!

Of course, we said, “We’re great!” But before a studio or network would put their neck on the line for us, they wanted someone else to verify we were as good as we claimed, and had to skills to take an entire production from start to finish.

We Needed Street Cred

At that point, we DID go to work for other production companies. Showing the pilots and presentation tapes we’d created as samples of our work, production companies agreed to hire us to create pitch tapes for them. The deal was that if one of the tapes we created sold to a network, we’d produce on it.

Eventually that happened, and we became Producer/Directors. This allowed us to jump into the producing game at a very high level and on our own terms. Going that route was a huge risk, but in our case, it paid off.

Becoming a Real Production Company

From there, we built our reputation with networks as hands-on producers. We proved we weren’t afraid to get our hands dirty. Since we’d produced all of our own projects for no money, we had a bag of tricks that let us stretch budgets as well. That helped a lot.

Over time, we earned a good enough name that networks began to trust us to produce and deliver television series on our own. That’s where we are now, a full fledged production company with offices in Universal City.

Which Path Should You Take?

You have to decide for yourself. Working for other companies from the get-go may be safer. It might even get you to the top in about the same time it took us.

The route we took was risky and there was nothing easy about it. We could’ve ended up with a bunch of home-made TV shows no one ever watched.

If we had it to do over, though, we wouldn’t change a thing. After all, if you won’t take a risk on yourself, why should anyone else?

If you’ve spent some time on the blog here, you know we preach the importance of Hands-On Producing. The idea that, when all else fails, you should have the ability to take a project from conception to completion on your own.

That means if the s@!# hits the fan, you can step in to write, direct, edit, get the sound, make the graphics, online the edit, and even sound mix.

Not The Norm

You DON’T want to do that all the time. In fact, one of the reasons to develop these skills is to know each job well enough to hire someone better than you…the true sign of a great leader.

Hands-On When We Need To Be

You probably know my wife Joke and I own and run Joke Productions, Inc. On certain shows (like Scream Queens on VH1) we have hundreds of people working for us. Story Producers. Editors. Art people. Sound department. Camera department. Grips. The list goes on and on.

Our goal is to make sure every person on set can do their job better than we can do it ourselves. However, if someone doesn’t cut it, we have a great insurance policy: us.

While we can step in and get the job done if we have to, that’s never our aim.

The goal is to staff great people in every position so that we, as Executive Producers, only focus on the overall creative vision of the show.

But Sometimes, You Will Do It All

Not every project has the kind of budget a show like Scream Queens has, especially pilots and pilot presentations (shorter tapes used to sell a TV show.)

This past weekend, Joke and I returned to our indie roots for a small pilot-presentation we are excited about. (We’re under NDA so I can’t say what it is.)

Budget: tiny.
Crew: lean.
3 of us.
Me, Joke, and Peter Spoerri, our EIC (Head of Production.) No sound man. No PA’s. No craft service. No breaks.

Joke and I each had a camera rigged with a short boom mic and a wireless receiver. We wired talent up on the fly with a mic pack, shot through the day and night (first shoot day was 16 hours), got up and did it all again…and again.

For post, we have a few dollars for an assistant editor to get the footage captured and grouped. I’ll be finishing the edit, making the graphics, color correcting, and sound mixing.

Not All Producers Do This

A lot of executive producers are not hands on. Take our advice: become a producer who IS hands on.

That way, if a project comes along that you’re passionate about, but there’s no money to complete it, you can dive in head first and make your vision a reality.

In this economy, you are your own greatest resource. Be good enough to do every job on set when you have to, and smart enough to hire people better than you when you can.

That’s a great path to a career as a Hollywood producer.

I wanted to direct your attention to a great post by Paul Zadie (he’s on Twitter at @paulzadie.)

It’s titled What a Nice Camera. It Must Make Good Stories.

Nice Way to Put It

I was immediately grabbed by the headline, as it seemed Zadie was getting at a pet-peeve I have with a lot of aspiring producers and filmmakers these days.

His post didn’t let me down. In it, Zadie points out than many filmmakers are flocking to the new breed of Digital SLR’s that actually shoot video. They provide a beautiful picture and shallow depth of field for a relatively low price.

However, just like buying a set of paints and a canvas doesn’t make someone a master artist, buying one of these cameras won’t make someone an award-winning filmmaker.

In fact, many “films” shot on these cameras and posted recently are nothing more than pretty pictures strung together with some music underneath. Nice to look at. But gorgeous, filmic imagery doesn’t make up for story…ever.

Tempted by Technology

The temptation to fall in love with technology and forget about story is nothing new. Think about all the blockbusters you’ve seen over the years that, despite amazing explosions and incredible CG, are just lousy.

Somewhere along the line, someone was more concerned with whiz bang technology than with story. As George Lucas said himself, “a special effect without a story is a pretty boring thing.”

The Latest Special Effect

Shallow depth of field (a shooting technique in which only the main subject is in focus, and the foreground and background blur out in a pleasing way) is just a new “special effect” for a lot of indy filmmakers. It’s a bell and whistle they didn’t have access to before. Now that they do, many are spending more time crafting shallow DOF than crafting story.

Perya: A Great Short Film

Now, a real filmmaker has crafted an enchanting short documentary with the Canon 7D, a piece called Perya. It’s a beautiful, rich piece about carnival workers. Perya has great characters, a beginning, middle and end, and yes, beautiful imagery. It enhances the story, instead of fighting it, or overshadowing it all together.

Yet, as Zadie points out, many comments on the piece come from folks enamored with the camera and not the story…as if the camera is what made it a great short movie.

Bob Nicolas made a great movie. Not his camera. Thanks Paul Zadie for reminding us all that story is king, and a camera is only as good as the filmmaker using it.

“Perya” – a Canon 7D Short from Bob Nicolas on Vimeo.

In part one of our Twitterview, James took questions off of his Twitter stream from fans who wanted answers from Tanedra.

Part two picks up after the Twitterview. James and Tanedra talk about Tanedra’s huge freak out at the house in the final episode of Scream Queens, and James tells Tanedra how he really feels about her potential to be an actress.

Yesterday, we looked at the drama surrounding Megan Fox’s recent remarks about Michael BAy, including referring to Michael as “Hitler.”

Angry Transormers’ crew members wrote a scathing public letter attacking Megan Fox.

Today, Michael Bay responded on his website:

The Crew Letter
09/12/2009 11:32 PM
I don’t condone the crew letter to Megan. And I don’t condone Megan’s outlandish quotes. But her crazy quips are part of her crazy charm. The fact of the matter I still love working with her, and I know we still get along. I even expect more crazy quotes from her on Transformers 3.

Michael

Take note: Michael managed to come out of this whole debacle smelling like a rose. He took the high road, didn’t add fuel to the fire, and now the story will likely die a quick death.

More than just a brilliant PR move on Bay’s part, this was the right thing to do.

Lesson to learn? Before airing out a set disagreement in the press, think twice. Remember: what happens on set, stays on set.

Today’s Twitter Time question comes to us from @gabrielnovo.

Gabriel Novo calls himself a “Globe Trotting Cuban” and says he’s trying to “balance his ultra nerdy technology side with his super artsy creative side.”

Good luck with that, Gabe. I seem to lose out to my nerdy side more times than not!

@gabrielnovo: What trade publications would you recommend?

We subscribe to a lot of publications. Rarely do we get to read everything. Many times the magazines end up in the waiting room at our offices for people to read. For that reason, we’re going to start with some FREE resources anyone who wants to be in the business should get. They are free, after all!

Free Trade Resources

Cynopsis

From the Cynopsis site:

Cynopsis is a free daily trade publication for the television industry that launched on April 2, 1997, as a simple internal memo. It is published by 530am ET each weekday morning.

If you don’t have the money to subscribe to the Hollywood Reporter and Variety (see below) you’ll get almost all the same news from Cynopsis. Basically, Cynopsis is a showbiz synopsis (go figure) written by Cynthia Turner.

Big news from across the entertainment industry is summarized in one snappy email. We know of no easier way to get “in the know” quickly than reading Cynopsis for 5 minutes a day. There are several different newsletters you can subscribe to, covering different aspects of the entertainment industry.

This is a once a day service, and a great read we highly recommend. However, it won’t bring you breaking news throughout the day.

Holywood Reporter Free Newsletters

I mentioned the Hollywood Reporter above. If you can’t afford the rather hefty subscription price ($199 to $299 per year), you can still get great news and updates from their free newsletters, and these include breaking news…so you’ll get notified immediately if something big is happening throughout the day.

Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood

If you really want the latest breaking news, subscribe to Deadline Hollywood. Honestly, Nikki Finke seems to break more news than any of the standard outlets. Beware, this news can be very “inside Hollywood”…if you have trouble keeping up with all the players and drama, don’t worry, keep reading. You’ll catch on soon.

The Studio Group Newsletters

The Resource for Film, HD, digital production and post news, tools, tutorials, reviews and case studies. Home of Studio Monthly and Film & Video Magazine.

The Studio Group puts out amazing material, delivering on the above claim. Subscribe here to keep yourself in the loop about the technology that drives our industry.

Creative Cow Magazine

Anyone whose ever tried to make a graphic, design a title card, edit some video, composite a shot together, or create a 3d scene had BETTER know about Creative Cow, one of the best resources on the web for creative artists. They put out a free magazine you can subscribe to, with issues you can download right now. Go get ‘em!

Perez Hilton

People love to gossip in Hollywood! Know what they’re whispering about by reading the blog Perez Hilton made infamous.

Watch with Kristin

You can’t possibly watch everything on TV and work the grueling hours it takes to be a Hollywood producer. So, for TV gossip, spoilers, and breaking news, check out Watch with Kristin. You’ll be a TV super-genius in no time.

Paid Subscriptions

There are some subscriptions we pay for.

HD Video Pro

Filled with in-depth gear reviews, articles on technique and advice from top videographers, HDVideoPro is the professional’s guide to going high def. In every issue, you’ll find: Profiles of top professionals and their work, extensive pro-level equipment coverage to show you what’s new and how to use it, detailed explanations of the latest technologies—everything from software to gear, tips and techniques to help you create and run a profitable videography business, how-to articles that show you innovative ways to use your hardware and software.

It’s a good read. If you can’t afford it, don’t panic.  You can find all pertinent info online.

Videography Magazine

Videography is another great read. Like HD Video Pro, if you can’t afford it, you can find similar stories on teh web.

DV Magazine

Great companion to the above mentioned, DV Magazine speaks a bit more to the rebel spirit that drives the indy professional. To us, this magazine, more than those already mentioned, speaks to stretching your dollar, and achieving great results regardless of your equipment. Great site, too.

CGW (Computer Graphics World)

Because we plan on eventually making blockbuster movies, and know that 3D and CG technologies are getting less expensive and more ubiquitous, we read CGW Magazine to keep up with all the latest in 3D and CG technology. Great stories, great interviews. WARNING: Very geeky at times!

Entertainment Weekly

Less geared for the professional and more viewer-oriented, we still find reading Entertainment Weekly to be a huge asset in our industry. It keeps us abreast of everything going on in pop culture, and prepares us to discuss almost any show or movie in any meeting we find ourselves in. You can also get a lot of great free info from their site and blog.

The Standards

The Hollywood Reporter and Variety remain the standard trade publications in the entertainment industry. Steep subscription prices and stiff competition from the web leads many people to opt-out of subscribing. Make your own decision on whether these pubs are a good investment for you.

In our opinion, Cynopsis, Deadline Hollywood, and the Hollywood Reporter Headlines email subscription will give you the most important news as soon as you need to know abou it. The web will provide you with the rest.

Thanks @gabrielnovo for this week’s Twitter Time question.

To know when we’re taking questions, and to see future posts expanding on the above topics, be sure to follow us on Twitter or subscribe for all the latest updates!

In the mean time, please share what trade publications YOU can’t live without. I’m sure Gabriel would love to hear, and so would we!

Nikki Finke has broken an amazing story.

In one of the most emotion-laced, angry statements we’ve ever seen, anonymous crew members wrote a letter trashing Megan Fox for her comments comparing Michael Bay to “Hitler” and stating that Transformers was an “unsafe set.”

Their attack on Megan is very personal, and pulls no punches.

We are not advocating for either side. However…

There’s an important lesson to be learned here:

To paraphrase the popular Vegas advertising campaign, “What happens on set, stays on set.”

The last place to air dirty laundry about an unhappy work situation, whether on a movie set, or in the office place, is the media.

Personality conflicts, creative differences, and big egos are all a part of working in Hollywood.

On set, there will be occasional clashes of ideas. Some knock-down, drag-out fights. This happens when creative, passionate people come together under tight deadlines striving for great things.

Realize this is the case, and be prepared for the fact that making a movie or producing a TV show is hard work. You will be under a lot of stress.

Don’t open your mouth and trash, say, a big Hollywood Director like Michael Bay. Make statements deemed unfair and, as the above-mentioned letter proves, people will strike back.

We can’t know the truth about statements made by parties on either side of this argument.

For all we know, Megan is completely justified in her complaints (though calling Bay “Hitler” seems over the top.) But because complaints were aired in the media, instead of behind closed doors, millions upon millions of movie fans are forming opinions about Transformers that have nothing to do with acting or filmmaking.

Our advice: if there’s a problem on set, deal with it on set. Leave it on set. Move on once you leave set.

“The first rule of Fight Club is, you do not talk about Fight Club.”

When it comes to feuds on set, think of it like that.

According to FEARnet.com,

FEARnet is the premiere site for horror, thriller and suspense video online, including new FREE movies every Wednesday, available on demand all week long. FEARnet also features exclusive original series, movie trailers, and exclusive scenes from soon-to-be released films. All of that content and you don’t have to pay a dime, give up your first born, or perform any strange cultish rituals!

And they’re being modest. The site is one of the best on the web for fans of films like the above mentioned.

That’s why it means so much to us that they’ve helped get the word out about Scream Queens Season 2. We take our actresses seriously, and are earnestly searching for the best potential Scream Queens. FEARnet’s noticed.

FEARnet’s been on it!

FEARnet has covered a lot of the Scream Queens behind the scenes action here, and here, and today published a great, candid interview with James Gunn on Scream Queens Season 2.

• What truly shocking idea does James have for season 2?
• How did he feel about last season’s cast?
• What’s James screaming at the casting directors about?

Head on over to FEARnet’s Interview with James Gunn to find out!

And be sure to follow FEARnet on Twitter!

We’ve been experimenting a lot with the RED one lately, the camera used to shoot the majority of scenes on District 9 (although not the documentary-looking scenes…we’ve heard those were shot on an EX1.)

Adam Sampson, our DP and friend, helped us put together these RED one tests, our Twitterview, and some behind the scenes footage for Scream Queens season 2 casting.

Today, he put up this short clip he shot just messing around in his backyard. In his email to me he said:

an hour, a RED, a backyard, and a 300mm prime lens. This is straight from camera, no color correction except for what I did in the RED.

You can see why I love this camera, but more importantly, why I love Adam shooting on it! Here’s the video of Adam “playing around” with his RED:

300mm back yard from Adam Sampson on Vimeo.

People are clearly connecting with Steve Mazan’s journey to perform on The Late Show with David Letterman, from the outpouring of Twitter love, to great stories like this one on Punchline Magazine and this story…which was the lead on Yahoo this morning.

We are so honored to be making the feature-length documentary about Steve’s journey, entitled Dying to do Letterman. To keep up with what’s happening on the doc, be sure to follow the Twitter updates.

From Steve, and both of us, thank you all for your very vocal support of Steve, his journey, and this project. Editing begins next week, and we hope to have it finished sometime in 2010.

The outpouring of support for Steve Mazan and his journey to perform on David Letterman has been amazing. Twitter has come to life with words of support and encouragement. Thanks to all of you, many more viewers will share in Steve’s dream tonight on The Late Show with David Letterman, and many people now know about the feature-length doc we are producing with Steve, Dying to do Letterman.

Steve came in a few minutes ago and wanted to say “thanks” to all of you who’ve been tweeting on his behalf, including Paris Hilton, Doug Reindhardt, Holly Madison, Sara Jean Underwood, James Gunn, Frankie Delgado, and Tiffany Selby.

Steve Mazan is a stand-up comedian.

Steve Mazan is our friend.

Steve Mazan was diagnosed with incurable liver cancer.

But he refuses to except a dead-end fate. Steve says he’s living with his cancer, not dying from it, and in fact, he’s living his dream.

Steve Mazan, Our Hero

We met Steve during our days of editing actor’s demo reels. Steve had us cut together some of his stand-up routines, and we became friends.

A few years later we heard the news: Steve was told he had incurable liver cancer.

We were stunned.

Remarkably, Steve decided to take it in stride.

Steve had a Dream

Steve’s whole life, he had one dream: to perform on The David Letterman Show. Steve was already working as a stand-up comedian in clubs across the country, but had never fully commited to pursuing this lofty goal.

Now, doctor’s were claiming he was facing a ticking clock. Many in Steve’s situation would curl up and feel sorry for themselves. Not Steve. He stared cancer in the face and said, “I’m not dying because of you. I’m living despite you.

Steve Dedicated the His Life to Living his Dream

We offered to help in any way we could. Steve asked us to shoot a documentary about his journey. He wanted us to follow his battle to live his dream.

He didn’t want the movie to be a pity party.

He wanted to make a fun, entertaining movie with a simple message: chase your dreams, no matter what. And by the way, to hell with cancer.

The Daivd Letterman Show…

…made it clear they would not put Steve on the show simply because he had cancer. At one point they even wrote him a letter stating his goal could never be achieved.

As a policy, they couldn’t put people on the show just because they were sick or dying. In their defense, they get hundreds of those requests a month. It would be impossible for them to make even one exception. If Steve wanted to get on the show, he’d be treated like every other aspiring comic out there.

He’d have to earn his spot.

Steve was not angry. Steve appreciated that letter. He wanted to make the show because he was good enough, not because he was sick.

A Four Year Journey

It’s been a heart-breaking but inspirational tale.

Steve worked hard on his comedy routine, but it came at a price.
He dealt with mounting medical bills, bankruptcy, bouts of depression, and self-doubt. But he never gave up.

In addition to his tenacity, he had the help of his wife Denise, who supported him every step of the way. Denise insisted he not give in to the idea that cancer is a death sentence, and Steve agreed. He would choose to live with cancer, not think of himself as dying from it.

In the end, it was worth it.

Last night, at approximately 7:40 pm, Steve taped his perfromance on The David Letterman Show. It airs this Friday, September 4th.

Steve has lived his dream.

Dying to do Letterman

This is the title of the documentary we’ve worked on for four years. We will now begin editing it, and hope to have it ready sometime in 2010. Please follow our progress on Twitter, and keep an eye out for Steve’s story…we will not rest until it is told.

The documentary is completely self-funded, but we will work to make sure the world sees Steve’s story on the big screen.

We are so honored Steve asked us to follow his journey. His remarkable tale supports this simple statement Steve made to us four years ago:

It’s not how much time you have, it’s what you do with it.

UPDATE: Punchline Magazine has written a great story about Steve here.

This actress shows off her flexibility.

Saturday’s open casting call in L.A. was a huge success. Thanks to all the actresses who came out for Scream Queens season 2.

Major thanks also goes to Fearnet.com for helping us get the word out about the Scream Queens casting, and to all you Twitter users following @james_gunn, @tanedrahoward, @SQCasting, and @jokeandbiagio for sending great people our way.

Finally, lots of gratitude to the New York Film Academy, Backstage West, and Samuel French for helping out with the open call today!

Here’s some pics:

It was HOT

Early on, actresses toughed it out in the hot sun as the line wrapped around the building.

Actresses Came Focussed and Ready to Compete

An actress puts her inner demons on display.

She really loves James Gunn.

James and Tanedra Stopped by To Greet Actresses

James gets so serious when he talks about acting.

Loving Producing Scream Queens

Actresses, beware! Don’t try to pull one over on casting director Dana Lynne Tomsic!

Dana, Chad, Donna, Joke, and Biagio see some great potential!

Agent Ra Kumar and Joke share a chuckle.

Donna and Biagio are glad the actresses are competitive!

Executive in Charge of Production Peter Spoerri stopped by to lend a helping hand.

Chad and Joke found some applications very…creative!

A Great Start!

Don’t forget, we’re still casting! New York open calls are coming up. Additionally, if you can’t make it to an open call, you can submit a home tape…you’re chances will be just as good.

Looking forward to a fantastic cast for an incredible season 2 of Scream Queens!

Today’s Twitter Time question comes to us from @cassandrahollis.

@cassandrahollis: What is the best software for developing your package for feature film…also budgeting software?

Great question Cassandra. I’m sure a lot of other aspiring producers and filmmakers are wondering the same thing.

When you’re on your own, putting together any kind of presentation, whether for feature film, reality TV, a potential web series…you name it…the best software to use is what you are already comfortable with.

Here at Joke Productions, we use the following:

Editing: Final Cut Pro.

Graphics (title cards, etc.) After Effects, Cinema 4D, and Zaxwerks Proanimator are our workhorses. Adobe Photoshop (standard, not extended) is used to design some logos or graphics for paper presentations.

Paper Presentations: We like Apple’s iWork, but BEWARE: You don’t want to use the preset templates as-is.

After all, everyone out there has access to those templates. You’d be surprised how many paper pitches look alike. We receive paper pitches all the time that even use the fake LOGOS in the templates, so please, avoid that! This is a creative industry after all: it’s okay to start with a template, but at least tweak it for your idea.

Budgeting: We use EP Budgeting from Entertainment Partners.

But That’s Just Us…

Remember, just because someone else is using a certain software doesn’t mean you have to jump on the bandwagon. Final product is all that matters…period. If you can make a perfect presentation with iMovie and Textedit, more power to you!

All that matters it that your software helps you achieve your vision. Like they say, it’s not the tool, but the user, that matters.

Thanks @cassandrahollis for this Twitter Time question.

To know when we’re taking questions, and to see future posts expanding on the above topics, be sure to follow us on Twitter or subscribe for all the latest updates!

In the mean time, please share what software YOU use for your presentations, pitches, graphics, editing, etc. I’m sure Cassandra would love to hear, and so would we!

8 hours. 43 Setups. 1 Mock Movie Trailer.

Sound impossible?

Here’s the true story of how we did it, and how Rebel Without a Crew by Robert Rodriguez inspired us to get it done.

A Horrifying Challenge

Episode 4, Season 1 of VH1’s Scream Queens may have included the most ambitious shoot day of our entire career.

Simple premise: in an homage to classic B-horror films, our actresses would audition for and film a mock movie trailer.

A Frightening Schedule

On Scream Queens, a typical shoot day was 12 hours. To pull off the day, we’d have to shoot house reality scenes and the actresses’ auditions in the first four hours. That left only 8 hours to shoot the entire trailer.

A Terrifying Script

Not terrifying to read, terrifying to shoot! The script was co-authored by Caleb Emerson, writer/directof of cult horror hit “Die You Zombie Bastards” and Mr. James Gunn. To pull it off as-scripted, we’d need 43 setups.

43. You read that right. 43.

Yeah, but Scream Queens is a Big Reality Show

Yes, unlike Robert when he wrote his book, we had a crew.

But reality budgets are set up to do certain things. Shooting an entire mock-movie trailer with 43 setups in 8 hours is not one of them. To be honest, when you need to move that fast, a big crew just gets in the way.

This was truly daunting.

Let’s Be Rebels

Robert’s book details how he made El Mariachi for the seemingly impossible budget of $7000. How? He did everything himself. In fact, this book inspired our philosophy of Hands-On Producing, and I believe reading it early on in our career helped us become successful, quicker.

The tale of how he shot it is fascinating, but a lot of it comes down to this: he moved real fast! Just about everything was shot in one take. He slowed down for no one.

People told him his idea was impossible to pull off. He made his movie anyway. He was a Rebel.

“Let’s be Rebels.”

It became our behind-the-scenes battle cry that day.

Channeling the message of Robert’s book, we broke all the rules of any “normal” shoot day on Scream Queens.

• We ran (literally) from setup to setup as fast as the crew could move.
• Everything was shot in just a couple of takes.
• Someone screwed up? Too bad. We kept moving.
• Our DP, Adam Sampson, made use of available light, and added a light or two when we would let him.
• We made Adam trade in his PS-Technic adapter and good lenses for the SDX-900 and its standard lens.
• Because this was an homage to B-horror movies, we decided perfection lied in imperfection (that was our excuse to keep moving, anyway!)

The break-neck pace brought an energy to the set, and those who thought the shoot a fool’s errand quickly adopted the Rebel spirit.

I don’t think James Gunn had any idea what he was walking into that day. But, as I’ve mentioned before, James is a team player. He took on the trailer like a champ, and directed the actresses in a jump-to-light-speed fashion to help us make our day.

Co-Writer Caleb Emerson recorded the trailer voice-over in a not-so-quiet room on set.

I stayed up all night, and personally edited the first cut, which we showed to the actresses the next day.

Robert Rodriguez’s Book Inspires Action

There was no way for us to realistically pull off this shoot. We did it anyway by throwing caution to the wind, and treating a professional set with the same sense of adventure found on small, indie productions–the kind written about in Rebel Without a Crew.

Here is the result of adopting Rober Rodriguez’s run-and-gun style approach to our shoot, a Grindhouse-inspired homage to B horror films, a mock movie trailer called Reform School Zombie Squad. Made to be really bad in the most fun kind of way: (E!’s The Soup was even kind enough to award us Clip of the Year!)

In our previous Scream Queens post, we uploaded footage of James and Tanedra seeing each other for the first time since wrapping Scream Queens. Today’s post features two new clips.

In the first, Tanedra talks about how nerve-wrecking it is waiting for Saw VI to come out.

The second clip introduces Dana Lynne Tomsic, Casting Director of Scream Queens. Here, Dana comes clean about whether or not she thought Tanedra would win it all. James also asks Tanedra when she finally believed she’d be named Scream Queen.

This also continues our testing of the RED one for reality TV. It’s the same camera used in Distric 9. We went for two different looks with these clips.

Again, thanks to Adam Sampson for his great camera work, and for agreeing to shoot this run and gun style, using only available light, and pulling his own focus. (It was my not letting him light the scene that really drove him nuts!)

Be sure to follow us on Twitter or to subscribe to our blog for all the latest videos and posts!

Here’s clip 1 of 2:

Here’s clip 2 of 2: (going for a more desaturated look on the RED.)

This is the launch of a new feature on this blog called Twitter Time.

We’re asking those of you following us on Twitter what questions you’d like answered about producing. Today, we took questions from @visualchord, @c_cappelletti, @kittenspeaks, and @russellnichols.

@visualchord asks about story in reality TV:

How do you recognize and flesh out storylines – do you look for them during production or in post?

In our company, we have a saying: “Story trumps everything.” Driven by that philosophy, we leave ourselves open to a variety of ways to find that story.

When we go into the field, we typically have a plan for the story beats we expect to get.

For instance, if we’re following a make-over story on a show like Scream Queens or Foody Call, we know there will be a before and after part of that story. We prep to make sure those beats are covered.

What we don’t know is what the cast member’s emotional reaction to the make-over will be, so we’re prepared for anything. Whether they are overjoyed at their new look, or storm out in anger, we’ve planned to NOT know the outcome, and are ready to chase that story wherever it goes.

Sometimes we go into the field thinking a story is going to go a certain way. Then it takes a big shift. Surprise…the story you planned for isn’t happening!

Rather than trying to force our pre-conceived notions of a scene on to the real people we’re following, we abandon whatever plan we had, and chase the new story full-force. That said, we need to make sure that story has a beginning, middle, and an end.

Story is also found and shaped in post. Sometimes, when seven cameras are rolling in different parts of the set, the big picture doesn’t become clear until the edit.

Little story nuggets, connections, and relationships we didn’t see during the shoot become clear, and we work to shape and polish those as truthfully as possible.

@c_cappelletti asks about being a writer who doesn’t want to produce:

Do you ever get pitched ideas/concepts by writers who don’t necessarily want to produce? Pros and cons of that for you?

Great question. It’s a different answer depending on if the project is scripted or reality.

For a scripted project, producers working with writers who only write on the project is the norm. We are in development on several feature projects right now with writers who want to write, not produce.

Reality is a bit different. Ideas are a dime a dozen in reality TV, so to team up with someone else, that person has to bring something of real value, beyond the idea, to the project.

If you’ve read our blog, you know we’re big on Hands-On Producers. This is because someone who comes in having produced a great tape has demonstrated skills valuable in producing reality TV. The tape itself is a big asset to sell the potential show.

That said, if you’re not a producer, and don’t have a great tape, there’s another way to make yourself valuable: attach something unique to your project.

That could be a business or company that agrees to let you film a show with them, a celebrity or interesting personality that allows you to follow them around, or access to a world most people could never get into.

If you happen to be best friends with someone at The Pentagon who says they’ll let you come in and do a show there, that’s pretty valuable access!

You may also know a book author who can help you option the rights to do their book as a TV show.

Come with any of the above, and you increase your chances of a production company or network being interested in your idea.

How do you attach someone to your show? Check out this great Filmmakers Notebook post on entertainment attorneys. You want someone like this to create an agreement your attachment signs off on.

@kittenspeaks asks about deadlines and schedules:

What is the average time from shoot to air? Do you prefer to finish the series before you start airing?

This changes from show to show, but it’s never as long as we like! As budgets get smaller in this tight economy, schedules shrink. Only hard work and long hours can get the job done.

For instance, on Scream Queens, we were still editing episodes while the show was already airing. That’s pretty typical. But the turn-around time from shoot to air can be a long as months or as short as weeks.

Finally, @russellnichols asks:

How do you solicit an attachment without risking them stealing the idea and giving it to someone more established?

Ah, Russell, a tough question to answer. Of course, you can register your idea with the Writer’s Guild, or the copyright office, but…it’s useless. Everyone’s got an idea, and ideas are pretty worthless on their own.

It’s the execution of an idea that has value. That’s why Wife Swap and Trading Spouses can both exist on the air at the same time. The slightest difference in execution has proven to be enough.

Some bad news. Whatever idea you have, no matter how brilliant, is probably not unique. There’s a 99% chance someone else is out there working on the same idea, or something similar. So what sets you apart is

1. how you execute your idea, and
2. what you attach to your idea.

So attaching something or someone to your show, especially if it’s a follow-doc type show, is a must.

Now, if you approach someone with an idea early in your career, you will be lacking in experience. What to do? Make up for lack of experience with enthusiasm!

Joke and myself attached some pretty big talent to our early show ideas when we had no credits. How? Our pitch to the potential talent was so passionate, so clear, they couldn’t deny that our vision was valuable.

Will they take your idea and do it with someone else? There’s always a chance. Can you really afford to worry about that when you’re just starting out? No, you can’t. We’ve all been screwed at one time or another. It’s another reason why we preach that one big idea is not enough.

While I won’t say your ideas will definitely be stolen at some point, you will pitch ideas that someone else will end up putting on TV. It happens all the time. Maybe someone else had a similar idea. Maybe someone really took your idea. Sometimes, those are the breaks.

In our opinion, your best bet is to keep developing new material, and sharpening your ability to execute. Eventually you’ll succeed.

Yes, it’s scary to risk putting your ideas out there, but what choice do you have? No risk, no reward.

That’s our first Twitter-Time!

Let us know if you enjoyed it. Of course, be sure to follow us on Twitter so next time you know when we’re taking questions for Twitter-Time.

Thanks to @visualchord, @c_cappelletti, @kittenspeaks, and @russellnichols for the great questions.

Don’t kill your Hollywood career before it starts. Learn this simple truth:

Showbiz is slow-biz.

Prepare to Hurry Up and Wait

You’re ecstatic! Mr. Bigshot is interested in your idea! He wants tape, paper treatment, script, and a budget NOW. No time to waste!

Dutifully, you pull all-nighters to deliver everything that’s asked of you, practically gift-wrap all of it, drop it of, and then…you wait.

And you wait.

And you wait.

That’s Hollywood

Is the studio/network executive/prodution company any less excited about your idea? Probably not. You’re simply now in the limbo that lasts from pitch to green light–that magic moment when someone writes a check to make your dream come true.

Projects Cost Big Money

Whether your pitching a movie, TV show, web series, or anything that requires an investment from someone else, realize that a lot of people need to say “yes.”

Plenty of legalities go into that kind of deal. There’s lawyers. Business affairs people. Agents. Managers. Executives. All of their assistants. A lot of moving parts. They won’t all coordinate their schedules to get your deal done faster.

They’re handling a lot of deals. Be glad yours is one of them.

We’ve gone more than a year from pitch to green light on some of our shows, and some projects go longer than that without seeing “forward progress.”

Keep Your Cool

During this waiting game, newbies tend to get flustered.

• “Why haven’t I heard anything?”
• “Why don’t you love my project anymore?”
• “I demand to know why you’re screwing with me.”
• “I will sue you!”

If you find yourself even remotely considering any of these statements STOP. Breathe. Waiting is normal. Launching any project takes time.

Polite Persistence

Here’s the best way to follow up on what’s happening with your project:

“Hi, just wanted to send a quick email to see if there was any news, or anything I can do to help move things forward. Thanks!”

Once a week, max.  That’s it. No 20 paragraph emails, no accusing people of “messing” with you, no demanding instant results. Do that, and industry folk will lose interest in your project quickly.

You Want to be Seen as Professional

Remember, when someone buys your idea, they’re not just saying “yes” to your project, they are saying “yes” to YOU. If things go right, they’ll be working in the trenches next to you for a long, long time.

Don’t freak them out with childish impatience. Emotional outbursts because things aren’t happening on your schedule make you look totally amateur.

Yes, Waiting Can Be Hard

We know what it’s like to be broke and really, really, really want that first project to go. We were there not so long ago.

The best course of action, once you’ve done all you can to send your idea into the abyss, is to start your next big project. Like we’ve said before, one big idea is not enough. Here’s another big reason why:

Productivity Cures Impatience

Once you start working on numerous projects, you get to a point when you have a lot of “stuff” out to potential buyers. Rather than focussing on just one project and feeling trapped as you await its outcome, you’re keeping track of all the irons you have in the fire.

That’s the best way to stay motivated, maintain your sanity, and keep the respect of the industry.

Patience is a Hollywood virtue.

The other day we shot and posted part 1 of a Twitterview in which James Gunn interviewed Scream Queens winner Tanedra Howard with questions pulled from his Twitter stream.

Being reality TV producers, and not wanting to miss an opportunity for genuine emotion, we made sure the cameras were rolling when Tanedra actually arrived at our offices.  This is the first time she’s seen James since Scream Queens wrapped.

In this clip, they reunite, Tanedra talks about filming Saw 6, trying to stay calm on such a huge movie set, and what is was like working with experienced actors like Costas Mandylor.

This shoot also marks our early tests of shooting reality on the RED–the same camera used on District 9. We’re very happy with the results.

Thanks to Adam Sampson for his great camera work, and for agreeing to shoot this run and gun style, using only available light, and pulling his own focus. (It was my not letting him light the scene that really drove him nuts!)

Be sure to subscribe to Joke and Biagio as we have a big article coming on what it’s like to shoot reality TV on the RED.

Here’s Part 1 of the Video:

Check out Part 2 and 3 of the video here.