Pre-production Diary: Script Breakdown
Posted by Jeremiah on April 30th, 2007 @ 10:12 AM | Comments (0)

Still looking for a location. We need a bookstore. I’m sure we’ll find one.

But that’s not what this post is about. This post is about the fun job of breaking down the script. Now most people may not know what a script breakdown is. Well, let me tell you. Breaking down the script is when you go through the script and figure out scene by scene what is required for that scene including actors, props, set dressing, specific wardrobe, vehicles, special FX, etc…

I think the AD usually does it but I’m not positive about that. For this film, I’m doing it because… well, no one else is going to do it. And I really enjoy organizing things. When I was a kid, I’d collect Star Wars cards (for gaming) but I just had fun organizing them into Rebels/Empire/Bounty Hunters/Jedi… Yeah, I was a BIG nerd. (WAS?)

I’m using a software that helps out a lot. Once I have it completely broken down, I’ll start the specific schedule of when we are shooting stuff. After the script breakdown is complete and the schedule is set, we’ll start working on getting props and specific things for the shoot.

In one scene, we need a picture of two of the actors who are supposed to be married in the film. That’s going to take getting them together, taking the picture, printing or developing the picture, and putting it in a frame. That’s just ONE of the MANY tasks we have to do for this film.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention, we now have a title!!!! Read the scene below to find out what it is.

BILL
Hello Jack.

JACK
Hello Bill.

BILL
Have you seen the new Daws Brothers film?

JACK
Oh, you mean Dangerous Calling?

BILL
Yes, that’s the one.

JACK
I saw it last night with my girlfriend. We loved it.

Pre-production Diary: The Locations
Posted by Jeremiah on April 25th, 2007 @ 03:29 PM | Comments (0)

I’ve never made a big-budget Hollywood feature before (I’ve never made a feature before) but I think I know a little about how it works. When you write a scene set in a place, most of the time, you build that place… or SCOUR the countryside to find THAT place. We began writing our film based on locations we’ve been to or lived near at some point in our lives and that we knew we could use. But, the memory is a funny thing. It’s never quite as accurate as you would like.

Yesterday, Josh and I went to visit all of the locations and meet with the owners. We’re shooting in Ellijay and Rome, Georgia. Both are about an hour and a half drive from us and each other. So, we spent a large portion of the day driving. When we arrived at these locations, we realized that what we have written doesn’t fit exactly what we were imagining. So, we’re having to do a minor rewrite.

But one day, I’d love to sit down and write a script and be able to build a set to match what I wrote. Though I’m sure even with all the money in the world, compromises have to be made. Yesterday was the first of MANY compromises that we’ll have to make in order to get this movie made. But I think Robert Zemeckis says something about filmmaking being a series of compromises. I guess the trick is that when you get to the end of the filmmaking process, still have a movie that somewhat resembles the film you wrote.

For those of you who haven’t made a feature, let me tell you, it is an exciting and terrifying thing all at the same time. I can only imagine it’s like sky-diving, though I’ve never been. (But I want to.) There is great potential to do something amazing, but also great potential to splatter all over the pavement. Sometimes I think, “why are we doing this?” But in the end, there is nothing I’d rather do with my life.

So if I have to live in a constant state of terror for a few months out of the year in order to be a filmmaker, so be it. The fun of it all overshadows the anxiety. I hope.

Big News!
Posted by Josh on April 18th, 2007 @ 07:29 PM | Comments (0)

We’re shooting a feature.  Yup.  Our first feature will go into production in a little less than two months. June 11-29.  The script is done and most of the actors/locations are in place.  We’ll start posting regularly as we move forward.  Stay tuned for more info.

How to get started in Filmmaking — My thoughts
Posted by Jeremiah on April 9th, 2007 @ 12:54 PM | Comments (0)

We were recently emailed by an aspiring filmmaker who wanted to know how to get started in filmmaking. Below is part of the answer I sent him. Thought it might be helpful to others out there.

——–

As for getting started in filmmaking, definintely START NOW! The earlier the better. Every filmmaker has a LOT of bad films inside and the sooner you make those films, the sooner the good ones will come out. I’m 26 and Josh is 29 and its taken us this long to get all of our bad films out… (hopefully they are all gone. hehe.)

Don’t let the fear of it not being perfect stop you from making films. Go ahead and strive to make it the best you can but at the end of the day, you have to be making films. Not every film you make is going to be The Shawshank Redemption or Jaws. And that’s okay. Josh and I have wasted sooo much time because we wanted to make a masterpiece - in the end we would scrap a project and so then we just wouldn’t have made anything. So MAKE FILMS!

I would definitely read screenwriting books. Even if you aren’t super interested in being a writer, in the beginning you probably won’t find many writers who will write for you so you’ll have to do it yourself. Syd Field’s books are GREAT. SCREENPLAY is my favorite of his. Once you finish that and you want a real challenge, read Robert McKee’s STORY.

Also, for making your angles look good and motivated, read The 5 C’s of Cinematography. It’s illustrated and has all the rules you should live by and sometimes break. You’ll understand why when watching 24, you get a little confused as to where everyone is. THey jump the line all the time. (So does Friday Night Lights and a few others.) Its a style. I’m not a big fan of jumping the line but its a style that works to keep the energy up.

Also, just to get some great low-budget filmmaking tips, read Rebel without a Crew by Rodriguez. Great book.

So once you have your stories KILLER and your films look AMAZING, what next?

Go to film school and make everyone in the class hate you because your stuff is sooo much better than theirs.

I tried to get into USC in California. I did not get accepted but you should definitely try. Its the best. And you’ll get so many opportunities that you won’t get anywhere else. FSU in Florida is a good one as well and they rejected me as well. I did however get accepted into the University of Central Florida. They have a decent film school. I only stayed there a year because Josh moved to Georgia and we are partners to it made it difficult. I moved up to Georgia and finished my schooling at Georgia State University. Their department isn’t great but its not bad either.

The thing you want to look for in a film school is a place that will let you make films as homework. UCF was great about that. We had several projects due. GSU wasn’t good about that. It was mostly about writing papers and such. But at that point, I was making so many films on my own, I didn’t need to have a professor tell me to make films. I did them in my free time.

Also, you want to make sure the professors actually worked in the film industry. UCF was good about that. GSU wasn’t. But even at UCF, I had several professors that almost made it in Hollywood, quit, and then started teaching. One professor who taught screenwriting told me that I shouldn’t expect to make it in the film industry because she didn’t. She said its too hard. Not very motivating. I’ll be thanking her at the Oscars one day. Hehe.
And if you do have homework that makes you make films, MAKE EVEN MORE. Don’t just sit back. Film school is basically an excuse to not get a job, not face the real world, and spend 4 years just making films. You get a jump on all those guys who skip film school. While they are working at blockbuster and trying to get their films made in LA, you are in film school making all your BAD films and hopefully that one good one that might get your foot in the door.

Another thing you should do while in High School and Film School is watch EVERY FILM YOU CAN! Especially old films. Go to AFI’s website and watch every film on the top 100. But you need to know who all the great directors are - Capra, Hawks, Hitchcock, Ford, Wyler, etc… That’s just a few. Then when you get familiar with the filmmakers of the 30’s through 50’s, move on to the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s like Coppala, Scorcese, Spielberg (my fav). All those guys based a lot of their work on the early guys. Spielberg stole a lot from David Lean, Akira Kurosawa, and Alfred Hitchcock. (Lucas stole elements of Star Wars from Hidden Fortress - a Samurai Film.) Then after you master those guys films, pick your favorites of today. I love Ed Zwick’s films - Glory, Last Samurai, Blood Diamond. I also love Shyamalan’s work (but not Lady in the Water.) Jon Turtletaub makes a solid film (National Treasure.)

And also stay true to the films you love now. Remember them. I still LOVE Back to the Future. Was my favorite as a kid and still is. I love anything Spielberg. In film school, I was criticized by every student and professor for loving Spielberg and Lucas. But I didn’t care. I love their films. So, don’t let the “artsy” students tell you that you have to like depressing films just because everyone else does. (If you do, thats cool, just make sure you like them because you like them.) And the truth be told, if you ask those artsy guys in film school what they really think of a film like Jaws, Jurasic Park, or Indy Jones, they’d say they love them. They just don’t have the guts to say it.

Now, as for how to get into the film industry, I still haven’t figured that one out. But we are trying. We spent the last 3 years (Since I graduated) trying to get Hollywood to buy a screenplay or watch our short films in hopes that they pay us to make films or write. We finally got sick of asking permission to make films and decided to go out and do it.

—
(That’s upcoming news. We’ll write more on that later)

—
The point is, there are several ways to get into Hollywood. Everyone is different. We believe God is in charge of our destiny so we don’t worry about it… much! We just keep trying new things and know eventually we’ll make it.

Damah Film Festival
Posted by Jeremiah on April 4th, 2007 @ 10:25 AM | Comments (0)

We were just notified that our film, Reading Time, was just accepted into the Damah Film Festival out in Culver City, California. (That’s near the Die Hard Building. Neato!)

The Damah Film Festival accepts films with spiritual themes so Reading Time was a perfect fit. We are very excited and honored to be accepted. Josh will be going out to LA the first week of May to attend the festival. (I can’t go because they only give out one All-Access pass and Josh is better at the schmoozing stuff.)

Also, we will be annoucing some more big news soon. Still getting all the ducks in a row. (Where did that phrase come from? Is that like trying to shoot a bunch of ducks at one time with only one bullet? If so, then no, that is not what we are trying to do.)

So, stay tuned. This is going to be an exciting Summer for the Daws Brothers.