Master of filmmaking director Martin Scorsese's movie Shutter Island premieres in theaters everywhere Feb. 19. I found this interview with the producer of the movie Brad Fischer. He talks about working with Scorsese on a horror piece (not his usual genre) how he wound up getting the rights to Shutter Island, and a bit about the Boston area where the movie was shot at.
For the interview: Fear Net, by Joseph McCabe
Interview w/ Scorsese at Berlin also ft. DiCaprio and Sir Ben Kingsley:
Keep up with the Raindance Team now in Berlin at Raindance_Fest
Pitching your Script
Source: James Burbidge, Raindance Intern
Loglines are tricky things – distilling 120 pages of script into one sentence and imbuing it with the power to summarise, titillate and intrigue is a surprisingly difficult task. As a writer it can be hard to develop a good logline because you are invested equally in each part of your work – identifying the crucial story elements and leaving everything else out feels like you aren’t doing your script justice. But remember, a good logline is crucial to selling your script; in a covering letter, in a pitch, in the 30second window you have with an executive when you accidentally meet on the Great Wall of China. That being the case it is vital that you develop a good logline for your magnum opus, something with sizzle and pop, but also, crucially, something that tells the audience what the script is about.
Firstly – what is a logline?
Loglines are tricky things – distilling 120 pages of script into one sentence and imbuing it with the power to summarise, titillate and intrigue is a surprisingly difficult task. As a writer it can be hard to develop a good logline because you are invested equally in each part of your work – identifying the crucial story elements and leaving everything else out feels like you aren’t doing your script justice. But remember, a good logline is crucial to selling your script; in a covering letter, in a pitch, in the 30second window you have with an executive when you accidentally meet on the Great Wall of China. That being the case it is vital that you develop a good logline for your magnum opus, something with sizzle and pop, but also, crucially, something that tells the audience what the script is about.
Firstly – what is a logline?
Coen Brothers Scripts
Take a few minutes to see if you know from which Coen Brother movie script these quotes and scene descriptions came from. Afterward keep the link bookmarked to the Raindance website's Coen Brothers Suite, highlighting all of Ethan and Joel's scripts.
The answers are linked in the description or quote.
1.
The answers are linked in the description or quote.
1.
Character #1
...Ah, you'll lick this picture business,
believe me. You've got a head on you
shoulders. What is it they say? Where
there's a head, there's a hope?
Character #2
Where there's life there's hope.
...Ah, you'll lick this picture business,
believe me. You've got a head on you
shoulders. What is it they say? Where
there's a head, there's a hope?
Character #2
Where there's life there's hope.
2.
Excited, he counts out a bundle of bills and tosses it onto the back seat.
He starts to take the rag away from his chin but the layer pressed against his face sticks, its loose weave bound to his skin by clotted blood.
He pulls very gently and winces as blood starts to flow again.
He carefully tears the rag in half so that only a bit of it remains adhering to his jaw.
3.
4.
EXT. FACING ROOF
We are looking through the telescopic sight of a high-powered rifle. The rifle sweeps up from BLANK'S body across the brightly lit room, and centers BLANK, still staring at the window, in the cross hairs.
Excited, he counts out a bundle of bills and tosses it onto the back seat.
He starts to take the rag away from his chin but the layer pressed against his face sticks, its loose weave bound to his skin by clotted blood.
He pulls very gently and winces as blood starts to flow again.
He carefully tears the rag in half so that only a bit of it remains adhering to his jaw.
3.
CHARACTER #1
It's all a goddamn fake. Like Lenin
said, look for the person who will benefit.
And you will, uh, you know, you'll,
uh, you know what I'm trying to say--
CHARACTER #2
I am the Walrus.
CHARACTER #3
That Fucking bitch!
CHARACTER #1
Yeah.
CHARACTER #2
I am the Walrus.
CHARACTER #3
Shut the fuck up, Donny! V.I. Lenin!
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov!
It's all a goddamn fake. Like Lenin
said, look for the person who will benefit.
And you will, uh, you know, you'll,
uh, you know what I'm trying to say--
CHARACTER #2
I am the Walrus.
CHARACTER #3
That Fucking bitch!
CHARACTER #1
Yeah.
CHARACTER #2
I am the Walrus.
CHARACTER #3
Shut the fuck up, Donny! V.I. Lenin!
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov!
4.
EXT. FACING ROOF
We are looking through the telescopic sight of a high-powered rifle. The rifle sweeps up from BLANK'S body across the brightly lit room, and centers BLANK, still staring at the window, in the cross hairs.
10 Commandments For Low Budget Independent Filmmakers
Making a movie needn't be difficult. It is hard work however, especially if your budget has been crunched to next to nothing.
Can you still make movies with hardly any cash?
Of course you can, bit it's a whole lot easier if you observe some basic simple rules, which I call, with a bit of arrogance, the 10 Commandments of Low Budget Independent Film
Can you still make movies with hardly any cash?
Of course you can, bit it's a whole lot easier if you observe some basic simple rules, which I call, with a bit of arrogance, the 10 Commandments of Low Budget Independent Film
Easy Riding
Do you know how director Dennis Hopper picked the music for the crazily successful independent film Easy Rider in 1969? He chose some his favorite rock songs from the radio while editing the movie in 1968.
Learn more about the classic movie and its soundtrack.
Learn more about the classic movie and its soundtrack.
10 Things Filmmakers Use Every Day
If you are serious about filmmaking, then there are a few basic pieces of hardware and software that you need every single day.
The beauty of filmmaking today is that these elements can be put together relatively inexpensively, and with a small capital investment of money, and a great deal of time and passion, you could be on the road to a filmmaking career in no time flat.
Intrigued?
Check out the 10 Things A Filmmaker Needs Every Day
The beauty of filmmaking today is that these elements can be put together relatively inexpensively, and with a small capital investment of money, and a great deal of time and passion, you could be on the road to a filmmaking career in no time flat.
Intrigued?
Check out the 10 Things A Filmmaker Needs Every Day
Music and Movies
by Sarah Romeo
Nothing sets the mood quite like music. Your film’s soundtrack can make or break the tone of your story, but acquiring the actual songs can be a daunting task. Read on for the ‘need to know’ in buying your movie’s tunes!
What Licences Do I Need?
If you have some tracks in mind for your film, the first step is to contact the music’s publisher—most singers and songwriters have little control over their own music, but their publishers will own almost all the rights. The best way to find out a publisher’s information is to look up the song you want on a site like Amazon, find the record label name, and find the appropriate contact information on the record label’s website.
Once in talks with the publisher, you’ll find out the different licenses you need to acquire. These licenses have different names depending on who you’re dealing with and where you’re making the deal.
Purchasing music rights in the UK or the US, you’ll usually need two licenses:
1) Publishing License - This one is from the publishers, or whoever holds the copyright to a pre-recorded composition. It gives you the right to synchronize a piece of music with your visual image. Some companies also refer to this is as a Synchronization License.
2) Recording License - by the person or persons who OWNS THE RECORDING. In many cases, actually frequently, this is a record label or recording major such as Sony, Warners, Universal, EMI, etc. To approach the Composer would be quite wrong unless the recording was an indy that the Composer had made themselves. However, for most commercially available music, it is a record label or recording company major that you are dealing with.
Some companies also refer to this as a Master Use License.
MUCH MORE TO LEARN FROM ROMEO
Nothing sets the mood quite like music. Your film’s soundtrack can make or break the tone of your story, but acquiring the actual songs can be a daunting task. Read on for the ‘need to know’ in buying your movie’s tunes!
What Licences Do I Need?
If you have some tracks in mind for your film, the first step is to contact the music’s publisher—most singers and songwriters have little control over their own music, but their publishers will own almost all the rights. The best way to find out a publisher’s information is to look up the song you want on a site like Amazon, find the record label name, and find the appropriate contact information on the record label’s website.
Once in talks with the publisher, you’ll find out the different licenses you need to acquire. These licenses have different names depending on who you’re dealing with and where you’re making the deal.
Purchasing music rights in the UK or the US, you’ll usually need two licenses:
1) Publishing License - This one is from the publishers, or whoever holds the copyright to a pre-recorded composition. It gives you the right to synchronize a piece of music with your visual image. Some companies also refer to this is as a Synchronization License.
2) Recording License - by the person or persons who OWNS THE RECORDING. In many cases, actually frequently, this is a record label or recording major such as Sony, Warners, Universal, EMI, etc. To approach the Composer would be quite wrong unless the recording was an indy that the Composer had made themselves. However, for most commercially available music, it is a record label or recording company major that you are dealing with.
Some companies also refer to this as a Master Use License.
MUCH MORE TO LEARN FROM ROMEO
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)