Author: Titan Throw

Why Your Cast and Crew Deserve to be Paid

no money

 

Isn’t it funny how we all want to be taken seriously as movie makers, and yet we won’t do the same for others in our field? The answer is no, it’s not funny. it’s actually a bit hypocritical, and you should feel bad. Sorry to get tough with you, but this is something most indie filmmakers overlook for far longer than they should. Your cast and crew are essential to the success and, more importantly, realization of your film. So it’s not too far fetched to say that they should be compensated for their participation. Aside from this obvious fact, you may be happy to hear that there are actual benefits to paying your actors and crew. I took the liberty of listing them for you.

Continue reading “Why Your Cast and Crew Deserve to be Paid” →

How to Hold a Casting Call and Audition From Start to Finish

 

casting call

 

 

Casting calls are one of my favorite part about the film-making process. I think Stanley Hudson from “The Office” said it best: “To get to go sit in an air conditioned room, downtown, judging people, while my lunch is paid for…that is the life.” In his case, he was referring to jury duty, though the principle is the same for me. But maybe you all aren’t as dastardly as I am. Maybe you find casting calls a bit scary, and they can be. I think after reading this post you guys will feel much more at ease doing it.

 

Continue reading “How to Hold a Casting Call and Audition From Start to Finish” →

Will Your Cheap Microphone Work Better With a More Expensive Recorder?

Will Your Cheap Microphone Work Better With a More Expensive Recorder?

Building your kit gets really expensive really quick. But I don’t have to tell you that. Instead, let me tell you something a little more useful. If you already happened to splurge on a pretty decent recorder, you can get away with a cheap microphone for quite a while. I have the facts to prove it too. I spent part of my weekend comparing how my Takstar SGC-598 (My very first microphone!) sounds when used with my three Zoom recorders. The H4n. H5, and F8 all performed relatively well for being paired with a $22 microphone.

Continue reading “Will Your Cheap Microphone Work Better With a More Expensive Recorder?” →

Top 3 Tips to Help Start Writing your Script

If you’re anything like me, you’d agree that the hardest part about anything is getting started. This is why, even though I have a million ideas in my head, most of them will never see the light of day. I, along with a great majority of filmmakers, have the hardest time starting a script. An idea always seems so simple to execute, until it’s time for it to leave my brain. Unfortunately, beating your head against your laptop doesn’t do much for knocking those ideas loose. However, I have a few tips for those of you that have been in the same predicament as me. Here are the top three things that help me get started on a script when I’m having writer’s block.

Continue reading “Top 3 Tips to Help Start Writing your Script” →

Whitetails

Well, it’s finally finished guys! I have released the short, three minute version of my film for the My Rode Reel 2016 contest. If any of you are interested, here is the link to it. Please let me know what you think! Constructive criticism is always welcome. Just to give you a heads up though, I most likely will have something in my eye the entire time you’re dissing my film.

 

5 Things I Learned From Directing my First Film

Hello again you beautiful people! Yesterday I had my first shot at the director’s chair shooting a five minute short film titled Whitetails. We took about half a day to do it all. Needless to say, it went a lot worse than I expected. The best way I can think to describe it is this: Imagine you have been wanting to buy ice cream for a while but you didn’t have the right equipment or people to help you (I know this is a terrible analogy but just go with it, ok?) Then you finally get the things you need to get that delicious ice cream and you see the ice cream truck coming around the corner. Well you start setting things up for the truck to arrive safely but the idiot that designed the truck forgot to put breaks on it. Since you already committed to getting that ice cream and you have all these people there to get it with you, you try to stop the truck by standing in front of it and get run over by it. That’s how making my first movie felt. Like I got hit in the face with a truckload of something I love. But I may be a bit of a masochist because, after everything that went wrong, it was a great learning experience and a ton of fun despite all the stress. Anyway, I made a short list of things I think will make your process slightly less painful than mine. Check it out!

 

Continue reading “5 Things I Learned From Directing my First Film” →

Why Start a Blog When There are so Many?

Why Start a Blog When There are so Many?

Hello there, fellow indie filmmaker! I see you stumbled upon my humble little site. Hopefully you will find small little nuggets of wisdom in it. To be quite frank, I almost decided not go through with this site. It seemed a bit unnecessary seeing how there are so many others like it. Not to mention the amount of effort it takes to maintain, improve, and market a website.

But then I paused and thought about it in a different way. Isn’t that exactly what us filmmakers do? Very few movies these days are original. They are just a different version of tales that have been told before. We give them our personal spin and put them out there for people to decide whether our interpretation is good or not. I suppose I am doing the same with this site. I want to give you all my personal views and advice on all aspects of filmmaking. Hopefully it will come in handy to someone.

 

 

Now that we have gotten that out of the way. I will tell you a little about me. I have been bouncing around from job to job since I became an adult. From working in the restaurant industry, to the military, to fitness instruction, to adult education. I have only been involved in film for a little under a year. Now a year may seem like either a lot or a little depending on where you are in your own journey. Personally, I think how long ago you have started doing something is not a true representation of your skill. You could spend three years playing the flute once or twice a month and you will most likely be less skilled than someone who plays every day even if they started a few months ago. But I digress, During that year, I participated in two major indie projects (along with a lot of smaller ones) that taught me enough to be either brave or foolish enough to direct a project of my own. I am currently in the middle of pre-production and will be filming in less than a week. I would love to say I have all my bases covered but the reality is that I have a ton of stuff to do and not enough time in the day to do it! I will post in a few days to let you guys know how it went. I hope to be of service to at least a few of you. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or comments about any of the  topics covered in this blog. Until next time!