Thursday, October 21, 2010

Netflix May Go Streaming Only...A New Blow to DVD's

On the Double Down Film Show, we recently introduced a segment entitled "Startin' Some Sh*t" where we do weekly anonymous "man-on-the-street" audio segments on some controversial debate in filmmaking such as "film vs. video" or "the future of 3-D cinema".

Last night during the show we posed the sh*t startin' question:

Are DVD's Dead?


Click below to hear the man-on-the-street response:


...My co-host, Pete Chatmon, and the majority of our interviewees felt like DVD's are mostly still alive and well and going nowhere soon. I see it differently.

As you know I already declared DVD's to be dead (at least on life-support, anyway) on this blog earlier this summer. And now it appears that Netflix may be doing it part's to pull the cord on DVD life support and speed up the process. (Good thing too, I've got a lot of bets riding on DVD's imminent demise.)

Read the NY Times Netflix article HERE.

SKILLZ: Learning From the Masters - Julio Macat, A.S.C.

Hosted a great private workshop for students at NYU last night with previous Double Down Film Show guest, D.P. Julio Macat, A.S.C. (Home Alone, The Nutty Professor, Ace Ventura, Wedding Crashers, etc.)

Julio was very generous with his knowledge. He talked alot about the conventions of lighting and shooting comedy and gave a nice demo of some effective and simple lighting set-ups. Here are some of the hilight tips of his presentation:

  • You can shoot with a lighter in front of the lens to create a heatwave effect.

  • If some big name actresses like the way you make them look, they may start to request you to the director on their future projects.

  • Always do the ordinary first, then ask yourself, "How can I make this extraordinary?"

  • Julio often goes by himself top "pre-film" a location by shooting various angles and lighting conditions on his own pre-production film camera test.

  • Alot of comedy comes from the audience knowing something the characters don't, so a lot of comedy is best played out in wider shots to better establish the comedic situation.

...There was much more, but those were just some of my take-away notes. His whole presentation just reinforced one of the messages I already preach to my students and audience plain and simple...

It ain't about the toolz. It's about the skillz.

Using the simplest of tools (chinaball, 1 open-faced light and some bounce material), Julio lit a model and made her look great. Plus showed the subtle, but powerful differences that little things like direction of the light, netting off light on clothing, and double diffusing can have on the quality of the image.

Even on the biggest budgets, the core of what the cinematographers do, still comes down to having great knowledge and skills.

Thank you Julio for driving the point home.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

The Craft and Hustle of Acting with Dorian Missick


On the next Double Down Film Show it’s all about the ins and outs of the acting game in a candid rap session with our special guest actor, Dorian Missick.

Dorian dedicated himself to the craft (and hustle) of acting early-on and landed a few commercials as a teenager. After that first taste of professional acting, there was no turning back.

He began to methodically build a career as a working stage and screen actor starring in such films and TV shows as Lucky Number Slevin, 6 Degrees, The Manchurian Candidate, The Bounty Hunter and Double Down co-host, Pete Chatmon’s first feature, Premium… and he did it all while managing to avoid the most common pitfalls of young actors.


· What is the acting "MIDDLE CLASS" and why do most actors end up there?

· What are the unique challenges of CARRYING a feature film?

· How important is IMPROV to an actor’s toolbox?

· What to do if a scene is grossly inaccurate or gratuitously OFFENSIVE?

· What’s the difference between film and tv work for ACTORS?


Once again the back door to film school is open and we’re giving up “the game” for FREE on yet another real-life episode of the Double Down Film Show.



Filmmaking Reality Starts Here.


The Double Down Film Show


Every Wednesday, 9pm - 10pm E.S.T.

Call-in Number: (646) 929-1956


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Is Guerrilla Filmmaking For You? Discussion


Recently in their newsletter, Shooting People sent a link to this discussion: Is Guerrilla Filmmaking For You?

This fellow film blog, A Recipe to Ambleton Delight, discusses how, just because you have a guerilla crew, doesn't mean that your film will benefit from the indie style. Both this article and the blog in general are worth checking out.

For anyone interested in the topic further, Anthony teaches a full seminar on guerrilla film mindset and tactics called "Down and Dirty Filmmaking: Guerrilla Tactics - Professional Results"

Here are some video clips from the seminar:

Guerrilla Special Forces




Attracting Name Talent