The film will be released in early November

Development is where you raise the money and build the right team.  Distribution is where you make money to pay back the investors and enough for you to keep going.  These two areas are woefully lacking.  That’s why I started teaching the Greenlight seminar several years ago.

Sean Patrick Flanery and Dan Millican on the set of "A Promise Kept."

Often people have a story they want made into a movie and they either write the screenplay or commission the writing of the screenplay.  Then it’s an upward climb to get the script sold to a production company.  Then it’s an uphill battle for the production company to actually go into production on it.  I heard one screenwriting teacher say that if you stacked all the scripts floating around Hollywood on top of each other, they’d reach the moon.  That was ten years ago.

On Tuesday June 12, we’ll take an evening to go through these hard parts of making a movie and we’ll talk about the number one question I get asked: How do I get started?  And the second: How do I get distribution?  Sign up for your seat here at the SFilms store.

The actor demo reel has become extremely important for getting auditions and landing roles.  Often times, actors work for little or nothing to get the resume credit and to get a scene or something they can drop into their reel.  But time and time again, actors would talk with me about not being able to get the filmmaker to send them the scene to use.  The filmmaker just wouldn’t have time or resource.

So at that point, I decided to help out the actors– what if we could do an original scene that looked as if ripped straight from an indie film and featured the actor the way they wanted to be featured?  Of course there’s some serious cost involved– I bring a real film Director of Photography and crew along, and I use high def cinematic cameras and equipment.  So I priced it as if we’re shooting for the day and split the cost between the actors, which has been $350 a person, minimum of 6 actors.

When you register, I contact you and we discuss what type of scene you need.  Our goal is a kicking 20 seconds, but usually it will be 40 sec to a minute total.  Everything we’ve shot is original.  That’s why I need you to sign up earlier rather than later– I’m going to write it just for you.  The shooting takes about 3 hours or so.  And when we’re done, I usually send you a high def quicktime file in about a week.

I’ve noticed since then, there are some others now shooting demo scenes for actors– but from what I’ve watched, it’s all a glorified audition scene.  Clearly staged, with locked off cameras and little to no editing or sound design.  I want scenes that look like they belong in a movie.  Shot with camera movement, cutting, sound design… music when needed.  This is what we do.  It’ high quality and a little mroe expensive.  But actors need to lead with their best.  Us directors aren’t going to watch much more.

But decide for yourself… checkout previous actor demos we’ve done.

Here’s one we did with teenagers Teanna Rose and Grant Griffith.  Both did a great job.

Weapons Classes (Saturday)

First of all, do not bring any actual weapons to this workshop.  Our weapons master, Doug Williams will supply all equipment.  And especially don’t bring any live ammunition whatsoever.  If you have a concealed carry permit, please leave your weapon in your vehicle, locked.

Next, you will need to wear pants and a shirt you can tuck in.  This includes both male and female students.  You will need a solid belt you can clip a holster to.  And wear shoes that you can move around in.  Think about the role you might audition for– is it a police detective?  Wear what they would wear.

Screenfighting & Special Effects (Sunday)

Wear clothes you can easily exercise in.  You’ll be throwing punches and moving around.  And for special effects, for those purchasing a squib hit, you need to have layers– if you want a upper torso hit, wear a tee shirt and then a shirt you don’t mind throwing away over that.  And then bring an extra shirt and towel to change into after the hit.  Or you can wear the fake blood home, but don’t have the police officer who pulls you over call me.  (And it’s happened, btw).

Looking forward to seeing you this weekend!

The Quest

Constantin Stanislavski– often referred to as the father of modern acting, defined acting as the quest for theatrical truth.  I believe this is a great starting place for the craft you’re working in.  It all boils down to this– is your performance as close as possible to theatrical truth?  Personally, I believe that truth cannot be achieved in a theatrical performance (you’re performing, pretending– it’s not truth, but theatrical truth).  Does your performance ring true with the audience?

Sure, many factors go into you achieving theatrical truth in a film role.  The writing can be decidedly “untrue”.  The directing.  The production value.  The editing.  All these have to work together to achieve theatrical truth.  but as the actor, you can’t control many of these other factors.  You can only strive for theatrical truth in your performance.

Does this ring true?

The question as a director I ask myself constantly when watching the take… does this ring true?  The best demonstration of theatrical truth in an actor is when it comes across as not acting.  That it’s real.  And having acted as well, for me, I can usually tell when something felt real– mainly because it’s rare.  I think as I become a better actor, it becomes less real.

The bottom line to the question above is when you as the actor stop acting and simply become.  To Be, not to Act, is the answer.  And “to be,” requires a heavy study into the backstory of the character, the environment, the story.  Maybe researching people that are like your character.  When we hired Tom Wright to play “Popeye” in The Keyman, he went and studied homeless people.  He told me later some of the things he observed… homeless people were very respectful of other homeless people’s blankets and carts.  He looks for the “walk” of the character.

Costuming, make-up, props and sets– these can all help you get to the place where you can “be” and not act.  Theatrical truth.  Method, substitution or other acting styles and philosophy don’t really matter– only in the sense of what tool helps you get closer to theatrical truth.  For some, Method might be the route they need, others find another way.  The path to Theatrical Truth isn’t a solitary lane– I believe there’s many routes.

And yes– Theatrical Truth is largely subjective.  Look at it from the science of communication: the actor is the sender, the audience member the receiver.  To “ring true” it needs to touch on the reality of the receiver.  But reality is based the individual’s experiences.  So yes, theatrical truth can be a bit akin to nailing jello to a tree.  But there are some universals.  So just because your research into the character brought you to a link to the Weird and Rare Instances– your receiver may not have that knowledge or experience to relate to your performance.  For them, it doesn’t ring true– it’s not theatrical truth.

In the audition room, theatrical truth is an extremely difficult thing to achieve.  The audition room is incredible unnatural– “un-true.”  Your training needs to be focused on the methods you need to get to the place of “being” as quickly and seemingly effortless as possible.  On the set, you’ll have more time– in some regards, it’s a lot easier to shoot for theatrical truth.

So my actor friends– what tips and techniques do you employ to achieve theatrical truth?  I’m curious.

Big is Bad.

My advice to feature film and television actors is to bring it down.  In some cases… way down.  Now this advice is not without controversy.  I’ve had one agent tell they think I’ve got it wrong… that it’s better to be too big than too small… that a director can bring a performance down to the right level more easily than bringing it up.  Not in this director’s experience.

You see, in the audition room, using a 0-9 scale on “bigness”, I have many local actors coming in at 7, 8 or 9.  I’m looking for 1.5.  Now we have to go from an 8 to a 1.5?  Sometimes on the second read through in the audition, they come down to a 6.  But you see the problem– I don’t have time to keep this up.  However, if the local actor comes in too low (a 1.0), it won’t take much to bring them up.

I think the bigness comes from the actor’s desire to show the director everything he or she is capable of.  But may of the roles available are dayplayer roles… it might be “here’s your coffee sir.”  And the local actor puts everything in it to show what an outstanding talent she is.  Too big.  Or even if it’s a principle role or a lead, film acting is so much different than theater acting… and theater is what’s available locally a lot more than film.

There have been moments in the audition room where I think if they just read the part flat with no emoting, it would be better than what they’re delivering.

Having said all that, please do remember that every director is different.  And that especially with low budget indies, often first time directors– so you can throw out the rules.  One director might be from a theatrical background and be looking for you to project to the last row in the house (heaven forbid!).  But alas, it’s the reality of what’s out there.  Do your homework before you go to the audition.  Check out the director’s background.

I believe local actors have every bit the talent of the NYC/LA actors.  What they lack is simply experience.

Corporate video productions, in spite of all the technology and advancements in computers and cameras, is still first and foremost an artform and demands an artist.  The best artist is the one that can convey a message effectively through a medium, like painting, sculpture, or performance.

The corporate video production or media project is the same way– the effective ones send a message through the medium of video delivered on the canvas of a television screen or a computer screen.  So when we look around Dallas Fort Worth to build a team for any given media project or event, we look for the artists and we look for those who leave ego behind and can work as a team.

Sure, we use the most cutting edge tools and techniques– it’s what keeps us as artists at the top of our game.  And facilities– we have studios and access to whatever facilities we need.  But what we bring to the table first is an artistry and the ability to see it through to a successful completion.

We hope we can help you tell your story through video or film.  Give us a call or email us for information or for an estimate.  We look forward to working with you.

Can my child attend this workshop?

For ages under pre-teen, I don’t think Day One (Weapon Handling) is a good idea.  What we’re talking about is learning skills for upcoming auditions and roles, that will give you an edge as an actor.  There just aren’t that many roles for a gun-wielding 8 year old.  (I could be wrong, but there you go.)  For teens, especially older teens, yeah maybe.  It’s a skill and you can add it to your headshot/resume.

I do think Day Two, with the fighting and SFX classes, that it’s fine for children.  It will certainly be a lot of activity and won’t be hard to keep their attention.  And learning to fight and act around special effects is a good thing for kids to know.

We’re keeping class size small so that everyone can get individualized attention, so if you plan on coming, please register as soon as possible.  We’re close to having the minimum.

Starting in the spring, we’re having a series of evening seminars covering filmmaking, writing, directing, acting and more.  These will be held on Monday evenings at Serendipitous Films in Fort Worth and will include dinner.  They all start at 6pm and go to 8:30 or 9pm.  All classes are $39.  Seating is going to be limited and also there will be a 5 person minimum.  If class doesn’t make, full amount will be refunded.  Once class is full, we will stop registrations on it.  Register at the SFilms store.

Monday March 26 Greenlight Yourself

This evening session will cover some basics about how to make your own feature film.  Emphasis will be placed on exact steps to get started, fundraising and the end game– distribution.  We’ll also cover topics like how to get name talent and short cuts and insider tips from a filmmaker who’s made five feature films.

Monday April 2 Directing Film

We’ll cover the necessary tips and techniques for people wishing to learn how to direct.  The emphasis here is on the dramatic– we’ll cover both technical info concerning camera movement, blocking and shooting for the edit, as well as working with actors to get what you need from the performance.

Monday April 9 Writing Screenplays

For the writer who already has screenplays under his or her belt to the person who would like to get that idea down into script format, we’ll cover technical, where the rubber meets the road, information to help get the most of of your screenplay.  We’ll also talk about the industry– different routes for getting your screenplay produced, and what directions you can take.

Monday April 16 Editing Dramatic

In this class, we’ll take a look at how to edit a dramatic scene.  We’ll cover the craft of storytelling through editing.  There’s a reason a wide shot is used and a reason it’s not.  Or when to cut in on the close up.  We will take a look at action raw footage and see what goes into the cutting.  This class is also perfect for the actor, writer and director– much can be improved in your performance by seeing what goes into the thought process in post production.

Monday April 23 Acting: A Director’s POV

Calling all actors– here’s a seminar that’s told Director to Actor– not just Actor to Actor.  You’ll learn information about what a director is thinking in the audition and selection phase as well as what they’re thinking on the set.  This seminar will give you some tips to send you to the front of the line for landing that role and avoiding the cutting room floor.

Monday April 30 TBA

This might be a repeat of any that sell out.  We’ll announce what we’ve got going as soon as we know.

Remember– register at the Store before the seats are all filled.

Many corporate videos today are built around the interview.  Clients, employees, spokespeople are recorded talking about the product or service.  It’s a quick and effective way to tell your corporate story.  This usually involves the video production of shooting an interview (discussed Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3).  What we’re discussing today is the mechanics behind the editing of the corporate interview.

How We Shoot Interviews in Dallas

First, we like to shoot interviews with two cameras.  Lately, the majority of these interviews are with DSLR’s– they give a very nice, rich look, shallow depth of field and with the speed of the lenses, we don’t need a lot of light to make it beautiful.

So after shooting, I will have two different sets of clips and a totally separated audio file.  I use Final Cut Pro to edit and I build a timeline with one camera on video layer 1 and the other camera on video layer 2.  I also separate out the audio tracks so that the clips all keep their audio.  Then I lay down the discreet audio recorded on set separately.  The program Plural Eyes is a neat little software fix for syncing audio.  I tell it to sync the sequence I have open and within a few moments, it has analyzed the waveforms of all the clips and brought them together.  If my camera sound is really bad, I might have to manually sync it, but generally pluraeyes is great.

After that, I go through the sequence, cutting and pasting good sound bites onto a “selects” sequence.  Then from those selects, I can pick just the great ones, all depending on the length of the video the client is wanting.  I have one Dallas Fort Worth client that it’s not unusual to have over 60 minutes in selects and we need to get it to about 8 minutes.

In video productions, it’s critical to be able to shoot and edit corporate interviews.  Talking heads don’t have to be boring but can be done in an exciting way that engages the viewer in to your product or services.