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WRITE LIKE A PRO: How Our Screenwriting Experts Overcome Common Hangups
There are times when writing can be exciting, effortless, and fun. And then there are all the other times: when you don’t know where to start, or can’t remember why you started, or when you’re buried so deep you don’t even know which way to dig to get yourself...
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RECENT POSTS
DON’T TAKE ‘NO’ FOR AN ANSWER: An Interview With Documentary Filmmaker Alexandra Shiva, Part II
About Alexandra Shiva Alexandra Shiva is a documentarian known for critically acclaimed films like Bombay Eunuch, Stagedoor, and the Peabody Award winning How To Dance In Ohio. Her most recent film, This Is Home: A Refugee Story, won the audience award for World...
THIS IS HOME: An Interview With Documentary Filmmaker Alexandra Shiva, Part I
This Is Home: A Refugee Story is a portrait of four Syrian families resettling in Baltimore after fleeing their war-torn homeland. This moving documentary chronicles their struggles to assimilate and rebuild their lives in America. Winner of the audience award at...
THE BIG TIME: 5 Tips For Hollywood Success
Have you been dreaming of a career in film and television? Well, I’ve got good news for you: Lunacy Productions (and every other production company, agency, studio, and ancillary business in Los Angeles) is full of people who had that same dream and are making it a...
Z-AXIS MOVEMENT: 5 camera techniques to help you raise stakes, create unease, and more
There are three directions you can move your camera: along the horizontal x-axis (pans and dollies), the vertical y-axis (tilts and booms), and the z-axis (moving forward or back). Used separately or in conjunction, these movements can serve utilitarian purposes,...
UP YOUR EDITING GAME: Our 5 Favorite Red Giant Plugins
Red Giant has a multitude of effects suites that range from graceful, high quality transitions, to industry-standard visual effects packages. What’s great about Red Giant is that you aren’t obligated to purchase the entire effects suite -- you can buy them one at a...
STAR SEARCH: 5 Things To Remember When Casting Your Film
While a great script is critical, even the best material can fall flat without the right vessel to deliver it. That’s why casting is so important. It’s always preferable to have a casting professional assist you, and it’s almost always worth it. But depending on...
BETTER SLATE THAN NEVER: The Importance Of The Slate To An Assistant Editor
“Rushing Ramona” is a 2nd AC (camera assistant) working on a feature in Kentucky. Before each take she updates the slate (also called clapboard, clapperboard, or sound marker) with the appropriate scene and take. She announces the take, claps the “sticks,” and gets...
PITCH IMPERFECT: 5 Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Pitching a Project
Whenever you are pitching a project, be it to a production company, an investor, or a collaborator, you are not only selling the project, you’re selling yourself. After taking the time to prep your script, treatments, and other physical documents, the most...
BOOM & ZOOM: 5 Keys To Help Your Next Production Sound Like A Million Bucks
Audiences can be very forgiving when it comes to indies. Poor picture quality, shaky camerawork, amateur performances… almost anything can be overcome by a talented filmmaker with a compelling story. But one aspect that ironically costs the least can also impact...
APPLE BOXES, HONEY WAGONS, AND C-47s: Your Guide To Set Lingo
Like any other profession, filmmaking has its own specialized lingo. Many of these terms you will only hear on set, but being familiar with them could be crucial to your success in this business. For instance, you might panic the first time you are asked to track...
UNDER-PROMISE, OVER-DELIVER: 5 Indispensable Tips For Raising Equity On An Indie Feature
Acquiring financing for an independent feature film can feel like an insurmountable obstacle. It’s a high risk investment in a product that might stall or collapse at any moment due to incompetence or misfortune. Yet it can also be very rewarding, both financially...
TIMING IS EVERYTHING: 5 Quick Tips For Efficiently And Effectively Scheduling Your Shoot
Shooting days tend to begin the same way, with everyone moving slowly, wiping the sleep out of their eyes, chatting at the crafty table, and savoring their morning coffee. But by hour twelve everyone is usually scrambling frantically, trying to squeeze in a few...
AND THEN I GO: Director Vincent Grashaw Discusses His New Feature
Lunacy Productions is proud to present the powerful and harrowing drama AND THEN I GO, available on digital platforms everywhere!iTunes / Google Play / FandangoNow / AmazonStarring Melanie Lynskey, Justin Long, and newcomers Arman Darbo and Sawyer Barth, And Then I...
CHECK YOUR EMOTIONS AT THE DOOR: 5 Tips to Help You Embrace Harsh Criticism
We’ve talked before about the importance of receiving criticism with an open mind. But that’s easier said than done. Nobody enjoys having their work analyzed and picked apart. Yet it’s an essential tool in growing and becoming better at your craft. Not only will it...
DISCOUNT TIME TRAVEL: 5 Tips For Making A Believable Period Piece, Cheap!
Your script has it all: action, romance, and a killer twist. It's dynamite! Best of all, there are only a couple characters and locations, so you might be able to pull it off on a low budget. There's just one problem. The story isn't set in the present day. The...
GREATEST HITS
LOW-BUDGET FILMMAKING: How Much Does It Really Cost To Make Your First Feature?
Fellow indie filmmakers continue making micro-budget feature films. Glen Schultz (Red Trail 90) says he did it with $10,000. Mark Duplass (The Puffy Chair) suggests you only need $1,000. Those figures notwithstanding, keeping costs low can set you up to turn a...
RENAISSANCE DISNEY: 5 Filmmaking Lessons from Disney’s Mulan
The term “Renaissance” has been used by fans to describe the awakening and reinvention that brought public and critical interest to Disney Feature Animation in the 1990’s, starting with 1989’s The Little Mermaid and ending with 1999’s Tarzan. No matter...
Z-AXIS MOVEMENT: 5 camera techniques to help you raise stakes, create unease, and more
There are three directions you can move your camera: along the horizontal x-axis (pans and dollies), the vertical y-axis (tilts and booms), and the z-axis (moving forward or back). Used separately or in conjunction, these movements can serve utilitarian purposes,...
BETTER SLATE THAN NEVER: The Importance Of The Slate To An Assistant Editor
“Rushing Ramona” is a 2nd AC (camera assistant) working on a feature in Kentucky. Before each take she updates the slate (also called clapboard, clapperboard, or sound marker) with the appropriate scene and take. She announces the take, claps the “sticks,” and gets...
WOMEN ON THE CUTTING EDGE: 5 Female Film Editors Behind Your Favorite Films
In honor of Women’s History Month your friends at Lunacy will be posting content celebrating the contribution of women to the film industry. We continue this week with a look at female filmmakers who aren't household names but have nonetheless shaped the history of...
