Scheduling Actors, Software, & Other Stuff

April 20, 2010
I am still on tour, it is winding down and I am pretty beat up.  I want to thank all of the folks that sent me notes about Moses’ passing.  He was a great tour companion and is missed.  Your words made me feel better.  Thank you.

I just got this link from a friend; check it out it’s sad and funny all at the same time.  http://www.theonion.com/articles/sad-sack-purchases-screenwriting-software,17254/

Check out the DC Shorts Film Festival website (http://www.dcshorts.com/ ), it’s a great festival!  The deadline is 4/30/10

I have been getting a lot of questions lately about scheduling scenes for actors, here is a reprint from an earlier blog posting for those that missed it.

Your AF Tip of the Day.

If a couple of your characters are going to have a major fight with each other, give them time to get in to rhythm and character on the set before you demand that they emote their brains out. 
    - - from The Angry Filmmaker Survival Guide 

I am sure most of you know what I mean by this.  When you are doing your production schedule during PRE-PRODUCTION, take a hard look at the scenes you want to shoot first.  I never put the intense scenes at the beginning of a shoot.  I know the actors have rehearsed and know their characters but they haven’t been working on a set together that long yet.  And the same thing goes for the crew.

I like to put the intense scenes or any nudity towards the end of the shooting schedule.  I want the actors to really have time with each other to really get in to character.  I also want my crew working like a well-oiled machine. 

Since my shooting schedules are usually only 3 – 4 weeks in length I try to put the really hard scenes in the last week.  Sometimes it works; sometimes they go late in the second week.  As a filmmaker I am always looking at what is going to be the best for my cast, and for my crew.  When I worked as an editor I saw filmmakers schedule really dramatic scenes in that first week, and I can’t tell you how many times those scenes were re-shot.  And if they weren’t re-shot I know that most good directors I worked with regretted shooting those scenes early.

Buy my Damn Book!   In addition to my book being $2.00 off (Internet Specials), I have lowered the price on both of my Workshop DVDs (under Cool Crap to Own – Workshop DVDs) by 20% for a limited time.   (www.angryfilmmaker.com)

I am booking the Fall tour, if you want me to come to your college, university, media art center, or even to your house for dinner drop me a note at angryfilminfo@aol.com.

Don’t forget to check out my tour sponsors, The Write Brothers (www.screenplay.com), Pollard Design (www.pollarddesign.com), Zoom Creates (www.zoomcreates.com), and IMD Independent Media Distribution, (www.imdfilmsdvd.com).    If you haven’t checked out their sites and their services, you better.

Talk later.

Kelley

www.angryfilmmaker.com

Fall Tour/New Book/New Workshop

Hey Everybody,

It’s that time of year again. It’s cold and rainy and I feel like I haven’t seen the sun in months. Yes, it’s June in Oregon.

And we all know what June in Oregon means. It’s time to dream of better weather, vast stretches of open highway, huge gas bills and the Fall Tour. Yep, I can’t believe it either, but I am going to be hitting the road in September in the face of high gas prices and the Presidential campaign.

My first stop will be at the DC Shorts Film Festival the weekend of September 13^th. I will be on the East Coast for about 2 weeks before I slowly start making my way west.

The Fall Tour is going to be a big one! In addition to showing my movies and teaching work shops I am going to be promoting my new book, The Angry Filmmaker Survival Guide: Making The Extreme Low Budget Film. The book should be ready later this summer.

"Angry or not, Kelley Baker knows his stuff, and he tells it all in this book that's part indie film war story, part instructional manual for true independents, and part furious rant. It's always entertaining, and it might just tick you off, but – most important – the advice contained within these pages will help you get your film made. Anyone reading this book can tell Baker truly wants to help passionate wannabe filmmakers realize their creative visions without going bankrupt or making the kinds of mistakes they can't afford to make."

Chris Hansen, writer and director of “The Proper Care and Feeding of an American Messiah.”

I have also added a new work shop.

Pre-Production on Extreme Low Budget Features, is a 3 hour work shop where Kelley Baker will walk you through the ins and outs of everything you need to do before you get to the set. From casting, staged readings and actor rehearsals, to script break downs and securing lots of free stuff, Kelley has seen and done it all. How do you know if you've hired the right crew? What kind of insurance should you have, and how much? What happens if one of your locations falls through at the last minute? Do you have location releases, talent releases? Who gets a certificate of insurance? How long should Pre-production even last? “I believe that your movie is made before you ever step on the set. If you get Pre-production right then the rest of your schedule should go smooth, and when it doesn't you need to know what to do to get it back on track.”

So contact me (angryfilminfo@aol.com) if you’re interested in booking me on the Fall Tour, or if you want to chip in for gas. Moses and I will are looking forward to seeing all of our friends again.

Other stuff…

I have a new page on my site (www.angryfilmmaker.com), called The AF Speaks. If you have ever wondered why they call me the Angry Filmmaker I’ll tell you about it. The page contains short video interview clips which will be updated every other week.

I’ve also added another clip to Odds & Ends

Don’t forget to check out the work books. Bowling Green State University just purchased multiple sets for their film classes, shouldn’t you?

Talk later.

Kelley