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Here’s a daily dose of inspiration. Matt and I teach this philosophy to any aspiring filmmakers/actors who will listen, and I think it’s a major key to surviving and thriving in any creative industry.
Earn your “No”s
Nerds unite! The time is drawing near for the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo. Every year, we’re honoured to speak on a panel or two about filmmaking and new media. This year, however, Matt and Scott will be on four panels throughout the weekend. We invite everyone who wants to pick our brains to join us! Here’s the schedule, still marked as “tentative”:
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Our final day of Phase 1 for the NSI Features First program consisted of a full-morning mock pitch session. We were lucky to meet four Producers from some of Canada’s top production companies, who came in for some one-on-one 20-minute pitches.
We welcomed Elise Cousineau from Sienna Films; Sonya Di Rienzo from Whizbang Films; Mark Montefiore from Montefiore Films and Kevin Krikst from Rhombus Media.
So what’s the best way to pitch your film?
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Wow. Day 4 was enlightening in vastly different ways than our previous days at NSI Features First. Today we met with Broadcasters, Distributors, Telefilm and Marketing Strategists. It was definitely a day for the Producers, though Screenwriters should absolutely be paying attention to these lessons.
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We met with three literary agents during our first phase of the NSI Features First program, and enjoyed some enlightening discussions about the nature of the screenwriter/agent relationship, the producer/agent relationship, what working with an agent is like and what agents look for these days.
Here are our Top Ten Tips from those conversations:
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Ahhh Alberta Filmmaking Grants… what polarizing, frustrating, wonderful beasts. Whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em (or both), you can’t deny that a grant can make the difference between a screenplay and a finished film.
Full Swing has had modest success with our grant applications over the years, and as we find ourselves in the middle of the early-year grant application season, we wanted to share a few grant-writing tips we’ve learned along the way.
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Confession: I’m not a stylish dude. I often rely on my better half to “consult” on what I’m wearing, and when we film narrative content, I always try to collaborate with a Wardrobe Stylist to make the cast look their best.
But when we shoot a corporate video or an interview, having a Stylist on set is rarely practical. As such, we often get asked “What should I wear on camera?”. It’s an excellent question, as the wrong wardrobe can distract the audience from the subject matter, and can even end up ruining a great video!
If you’re appearing on camera any time soon, check out the handy guide below. And don’t worry, this comes from experience, not my fashion-sense.
Last week, Matt and I got the opportunity to be Guest Lecturers for SAIT’s Film & Video Production program’s 1st year students. It turned into a 2-hour Q&A, and we were surprised to find it didn’t stray far from “how to get started in Calgary’s film industry” (specifically what to do after graduation).
Luckily for SAIT students, they have a bit of direction ahead of them. However we know many people in Calgary are interested in making movies, but have no idea where to start — this industry can seem extremely inaccessible. The good news is, while it will take some work, it’s actually not that hard to get started!