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I couldn’t resist posting this.

via Jeff Goldsmith

I attended a small lecture at the talent campus called the art of the follow up. The panel included Jean-Baptiste Babin, Riina Sildos and Peter Wetherell. It was moderated by Ido Abram.

The phrase ‘who am I looking for and what is my goal?’ came up more than once.

“What is my goal?” is the quintessential question. It applies when you’re writing, when you’re shooting, when you’re editing and it also applies when you’re at a party and you’re networking.

Some notes from the discussion:

1. Always know what you want to achieve when you’re headed into a meeting, when you’re at a party or an event.

2. Never trust your memory. After you take someone’s business card, write a note on the back (something the two of you discussed) that will trigger your memory when you’re sifting through dozens of cards a week later. Also - make a note of what you wanted to follow up with.

3. When talking with potential collaborators, act as if the ball is already moving. As if your project is already rolling. Create the psychology ‘are you on or not?’ If they don’t get on someone else will.

4. Prepare. Prepare. Prepare. Do your research. Know who will be there (at the meeting, the party etc).

Janusz Kaminski, the renowned, Oscar winning cinematographer, was at the talent campus two weeks ago. He gave an interview with film historian Peter Cowie, but also sat and ate breakfast with us one morning so that we could get more time to speak with him one on one.

Kaminski is an incredibly passionate man and this is quite obvious to see when he speaks about his work and his inspirations. He is, as well, very humble despite all his success. You get the sense that he just wants people to share in his enthusiasm of lighting and photography.

During his interview with Peter Cowie, Kaminski was analyzing Cowie’s shoes, and at one point mentioned that he was figuring out how he would light and frame them. Kaminski is always thinking about his work, because for him, it’s not work, it’s life.

During the lecture, Kaminski showed three minutes of test footage from The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. (It’s always more interesting and educational to see “the process” rather than the finished result.) An audience member asked what the light source was. Kaminski mentioned which lights were used, which lens he was using and at what aperture he was at (I don’t remember these details). He didn’t condescend to the audience or assume that people wouldn’t understand him when he went into detail about apertures and shutter speeds.

We watched roughly three minutes of the opening sequence to Saving Private Ryan. While watching the clip Kaminski said “there goes 20 million dollars and we don’t even see Tom Hanks.” He went on to tell us that certain shots were shot at 10 frames (normal film speed is 24 frames per second) and step printed, which ultimately created a very powerful effect. He ended by saying “It’s about evoking emotions in the audience.”

Two things he mentioned, which I think are worth mentioning here:

1. The faster you move (on set), the more instinctual you work. (This should go without saying but is often not practiced.)
2. The DP’s collaboration with the production designer is essential - one of the most essential on any set.

Kaminski often shoots off frame (at 8 or 10 frames). Sometimes he stops the film but keeps the shutter moving. He likes to play with images and experiment with different techniques, as is evident in The Diving Bell.

Someone asked how he came to work with Spielberg. Kaminski replied “I was sitting on the streets of Krakow and he found me.”

A personal favorite quote from the lecture; “A lucky accident is when everything is in focus.”

It was a master class in cinematography and it was by far one of the best lectures at the campus.

If you have quality content, people will pay for it, regardless if it’s available for free.

Evan Hessel wrote an article for Forbes recently called YouTube Goes Hollywood. Here’s an excerpt:

Content partnership head Jordan Hoffner argues that YouTube streaming could actually stimulate DVD sales, pointing to the experience of Monty Python’s distributors, who posted dozens of television segments last year and soon saw its DVD boxed set shoot to No. 2 on Amazon.com’s movies and television bestseller list.

Contrary to what most people believe, when you give things away for free, you will be rewarded down the line. Monty Python is probably not the best example to use since it’s a celebrated establishment with a cult following of millions. The Tribe, however, is an excellent example of how giving away your content for free pays out in the long run, on an independent scale.

The Tribe is a short documentary film about the Jewish people and the Barbie Doll. The film played in festivals all over the world and has won countless awards. It’s available to purchase through iTunes, through the film’s website and it’s also available for anyone to see - in its entirety - on YouTube.

Tiffany Shlain, the film’s director, producer and co-writer made the film available for viewing on youtube from the get-go and her sales on iTunes were quite good. When the film got into higher profile festivals like Sundance however, she was asked to pull the film from the net (for legal reasons). As soon as she did this, her sales plummeted to zero. So, after the festivals ended, and a certain amount of buzz was generated, she put the film back on YouTube. What happened? The Tribe hit #1 on iTunes.

Since the film is available for free, Shlain offered incentives to those who actually bought the film ie. she got creative with marketing. She’s offering signed, limited edition posters and a cleverly designed dvd box set that includes flash cards and a film guide.

Even with big and small success stories, there are those that are still reluctant to follow suit. The music industry learned this the hard way. Why do we think the film industry is any different?

When you give things away for free, the rewards come back to you in spades. It’s called the gift economy.

Photo credit: source unknown

Most people know about speed dating. This was essentially the same concept, except, of course, we’re looking for collaborators not future partners.

Every day, I met about 30 people in the space of an hour - producers, composers, editors, production designers, cinematographers etc., from all over the world. These speed matching sessions were one of the best parts about the campus. After all, the main purpose of the campus is to network and make lasting contacts for future collaborations.

Some of the best films are ones where key members of the crew come form diverse cultural backgrounds. There is an inherent blend of styles (since we are all influenced and informed by our cultural upbringing) which offers those films a unique voice.

Unfortunately when you’re working in a country where films are subsidized by the government (every country other than the US) there are several restrictions placed on producers in terms of hiring and collaborating with creatives in key positions outside the country of production.

In Canada for example, (and I believe this applies to most other countries) tax credits are given based on a rating system (8 out of 10 key creatives on any given production need to be from Canada). This gives reason as to why films tend to look ‘Canadian’ or even ‘French’ or ‘German’. When you’re constantly forced to choose from the same pool of DP’s, actors, production designers, composers as every one else, all your films are going to look and feel the same. You’re not allowing, nor encouraging outside (foreign) influences. That’s not to say these creatives are not talented, it’s just to say that it’s not the ideal foundation to produce a unique work of art.

It’s a tough call. On the one hand I am grateful to live in a country where the government supports the arts, on the other hand we need to reevaluate the basis on which the government influences the arts. Considering it was a struggle to overthrow Bill C-10 that almost went into effect last year, I can’t see the rating system changing any time soon.

Photo credit: source unknown

So much for blogging during the talent campus. Better late than never right?

It was a great week, densely packed with lectures and workshops. I took lots of notes so I’ll do my best to impart what I got most out of the various seminars.

The theme of this year’s campus was ‘turning points.’ Every lecture, whether it be on screenwriting, directing, composing or acting related to this theme in one way or another.

The first lecture I attended was aptly called “Turning Points in Scriptwriting.” The panel included playwright and screenwriter Sir David Hare, producer Anne Carey and set designer/director Daniela Thomas. The panel (and almost every other) was hosted by film historian Peter Cowie.

David Hare is a very entertaining speaker. He kept the audience engaged and laughing with personal anecdotes and snide remarks. His new film The Reader is playing in theatres and was also playing at the festival.

Talking about writing, Hare said he spends 1/10th of the time writing a script and 9/10th’s of the time talking about it. He also said the writer is the only person who can’t use the argument “I don’t know, it just feels right.”

Hare mentioned that the greatest moments in film are those that never leave you ie. cinematography and montage, and not plot turns. He talked about the importance of the ‘diffusion of dramatic moments.’ How to get around what he calls ‘bedoing!’ moments. He stressed the importance in making the audience believe in the inevitable coincidence. (The coincidence being the turning point in every script, what propels the story forward).

What stuck with me most out of everything Hare mentioned was when he said “dialogue is not words it’s ideas. If the ideas are simple the dialogue is simple.”

Carey talked about her work as a producer on The Savages and the soon to be released Adventureland. She said the script for the latter took about four to five years to complete, and even then the script was not really finished. The moment a script is on set it’s a completely different thing. It takes on new qualities and characteristics. Someone asked when one knows a script is ready to shoot. Carrie responded by saying “It’s ready when you can defend every line of the script. When it can stand on its own legs without anyone there to support it.” She emphasized that a script is never really done. “It’s a living thing.”

Asked about actor’s improvising his work, Hare responded by saying “if an actor asks if he can improvise, I say, ‘you can write some of your own scenes if I can act in some of yours.’” He also said that if you write screenplays the person you hate most is the composer. “As a writer you think your words speak for themselves, and in comes this composer who then says, ‘I’m going to underline this and make it even more obvious.’”

It has to be mentioned that Hare, along with several other notable, ‘older’, panelists, got their start writing for television. It was their training ground. TV, as he said, “was a place to learn, make mistakes and make bad films,” which he said “I made a lot of.” (As soon as he said this I couldn’t help but think about Outliers, Gladwell’s recent book on popular notions of success.)

Overall it was an interesting lecture and great way to kick start the campus. My favorite quote was once again from Hare, who was quoting Hitchcock. He said “I don’t understand a shot where the camera is in the fridge.”

The Berlinale Talent Campus starts tomorrow.

If you’re interested in keeping up to date on what’s going on during the week the campus is keeping an official blog. Looks like it’s going to be an intensive week packed with seminars, lectures and workshops. Can’t wait!

I’ll try and blog as much as I can during the week…

Before you write the script - write a one page. This isn’t something new. I hear writers say things like this all the time. But it works and I often need reminding.

What trailers do for movies, the one page does for your script. If you’re trying to work out the structure of your script it helps to summarize your film into a few small paragraphs. You’re forced to condense all the important elements into a couple of lines.

By doing this, you focus not only on the structure of the film but on key aspects that will be engaging to your audience.

The one page, in essence, has the following: The call to adventure, the inciting incident, some “thrilling” components that take place in the middle of the script (the second act) and a hook at the end that leaves the reader wanting to know more, which is essentially the climax.

Every movie has these elements - whether you’re watching a documentary, a bio pic or an action film. By defining the structure in a few lines or in one page, you make it that much easier to start writing the actual script. You don’t necessarily have to know where you’re going. You’re not drawing a box and shoving your script into it. You’re giving yourself a a baseline from which you can follow.

Here are a few books on writing that I’ve found incredibly helpful and often turn to when I need some guidance. No one book has all the answers (actually there’s no such thing as the right or wrong answer) so I often pick and choose what works for me.

1. The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler
2. The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri
3. The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
4. On Writing by Stephen King
5. Adventures in The Screen Trade by William Goldman

There’s a lot more out there but these are definitely a good place to start.