How do I decide which camcorder to buy When you’re looking for a camcorder, really what you’re looking at are two things. You’re looking at features and you’re looking at performance. Features are fairly easy to understand. They’re kind of black and white. A 35 power zoom is going to get you closer than a...
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What is a “camcorder” A camcorder is really two things. It’s a recording unit as well as a camera. The early camcorders were two units. They were a video camera hooked on through an umbilical cord to a large recording device like a deck. Those were lugged around through theme parks, through beaches and...
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What is a ‘genre’ Nobody likes to have their movie put into a box, but a genre is just style of movie whether it’s a comedy, a romantic comedy, a horror film, a teen slasher film. Genres can get more and more specific as you want them, but they’re basically about: What kind of movie...
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How do I find a ‘cast’ for an independent film When you want a cast for your independent film, get the script to anybody who is willing to read it. Whether it is a big Hollywood star and you are trying to approach their agent directly, or dealing with a casting director. Usually if you...
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How do I determine a budget for my independent film Independent films can cost one dollar to fifty million dollars. The reason why it’s an independent film is because that’s where the money is coming from. But Is it coming from somebody who is guaranteeing distribution? Or is it coming from somebody who is hoping...
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What is ‘post-production’ Post-production is when a film is being edited. It’s when a film is being scored, the music components are getting put in the film, and audio things are being checked and balanced out. Sometimes, the actors have to come back during post-production and do ADR, which is when they do voiceovers and...
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What is ‘location scouting’ Location scouting takes place during the pre-production phase of a film and it’s when you go out there and try to find the places where you’re going to go out and shoot the movie. Location scouting is really about approaching businesses in the city where you’re shooting the film, or wherever...
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What is an ‘independent film festival’ There are really two types of independent film festivals, in my opinion. There are the big festivals where films are being sold to studios and to distributors. Of course there’s the Cannes Film Festival in the South of France every summer and there’s the Tribeca Film Festival, and Sundance....
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What is ‘production’ Production is when you go out there and make a movie. It’s from the first day of shooting to the last day, and on the final day, the director says, “It’s a wrap.” Production is the actual nuts and bolts, getting all the material you need to then go to the editing...
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How do I start writing an ‘independent film screenplay’ Every great independent film starts on the page. You’ve got to just hit the keyboard and write an independent film, and often times movies are adapted from other source material whether it’s a book, or a graphic novel, or even an article in a magazine can...
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