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Reading plays can definitely give you a great ear for dialogue. But, as a produced playwright, and somebody who sees up to 100 plays a year or more, I'll give you some cautions: #1. Plays are NOT movies, as a trueindie says above. If you want to read scripts in order to make you a better...

Thought I would add this article into the mix. It was written by Greta Gerwig for the New York Times after she completed shooting Frances Ha, Noah Baumbach's film: You can read the whole journal, all 42 takes, here. This seems like a lot of takes from my experience as both an actor and a...

Honestly, I'll second the above advice: Take an acting class and read a few of the books that actors read. You will discover so much. Also, make sure you are not getting tunnel vision by simply chasing what you think the "perfect performance" will be. Be open, and if you have time, get some...

I know this isn't part of your original post, but I just want to throw out there that you make sure that the actual actress who was in the scene knows that you are going to simulate her being fully naked in the scene I am assuming you already filmed with her. Most likely she knew that going...

I'll just expand on Alcove's great point. Start to think of character and plot as inextricably intertwined. In other words, your character becomes unique and interesting by the way he or she responds to or creates plot points. Let's take a murder mystery like you've presented. Think of...

No Film School just published an interview with the DP's of Bob and the Trees, which is about to show at Sundance. They filmed the feature mostly outdoors during last year's frigid, snowy winter in Massachusetts, and it is one of the first features exclusively shot on the Blackmagic Pocket...

New Rates: Ultra Low Budget: Under $200,000 Day Rate: $125 Modified Low Budget: Under $625,000 Day Rate: $335 Weekly Rate: $1,166 Low Budget: Under $2.5 million Day Rate: $630 Weekly Rate: $2,190 Read more here.

I think you should try really hard to get it down to under at least 120. As people have pointed out: that means you are in the ballpark of a two hour movie. Could be more, could be less. Here are some tips for a quick tightening: 1. Go through the script and see if you can extract the...

I would say, it depends. How big is the role? An unexperienced person might get quite overwhelmed and also might find that the reality of shooting a film is very boring and unsexy. This could cause problems. I would say to approach the person, have coffee with them to discuss it, and then...

The best advice I can think of is that if you have what you think is a good idea for a movie, try to create a step outline for it. If you don't know what that is, yet. There are different versions you can find in some basic screenwriting books.. Basically, it is outlining, very simply, the...

You have to be careful with documentaries as well. Others on here may have experience with this, but my understanding is that sometimes the documentary subject retains their own life story rights. So, say you make the next Searching for Sugarman. Well, subsequently a fictionalized major...

I'll add this article into the mix on this discussion. Life Rights is a thorny issue. Even if you greatly fictionalize a living person, you can be subject to constant lawsuits. The bomb expert that was supposedly the inspiration for The Hurt Locker continues to sue to the makers of that film...

As an example of what people are talking about... Several years ago, I knew some people involved in a small indie film that shot for a total budget of about 50K. It played in several of the major film festivals. (Not Sundance though. ) It did get picked up a known indie distributor and it had...

BTW. I know this may sound like an obvious question, but you're sure this kid isn't union, right?

I've been involved in maybe 9 48 Hour Film Projects over the years with regular team of friends. For your first project here are things that you want to make sure of. 1. Get your film in on time. We missed the deadline by minutes twice over the years and it is the most depressing thing to...

I've done a couple of Q&A's. Be positive, yes. Don't ever talk about clashes of personalities. However, audiences do love to hear about on-the-fly changes, or things you had to overcome to get the film made. One of the best Q&A's I experienced was a director who took 3 years to get the...

As far as the very beginning process. Here is some advice that I have followed, personally. You'll also find this advice in many books on writing. Get a piece of paper and just start writing out all of the ideas you currently have, or have had for stories. They can even be just a scene you had...

True, the Fight Club twist is a real audience divider. I haven't seen Fight Club since, but I remember being very disappointed in the ending when I saw it in the theater. However, the other people I saw it with loved it. Re Sixth Sense. I actually would argue, and I know I'm in the minority...

Twist endings can be really rewarding if done right. Some things to keep in mind: 1. Your movie should be a compelling movie even without the twist. For example: The Sixth Sense is a pretty creepy ghost story as well as a touching story of a man recovering from a tragedy and a boy learning to...

Yes. As mleseman says, be specific about it. Play by play. And, as Birdman adds, find a way to make it kinetic on the page. Here's an action line from the screenplay for Rocky. An interesting note on this. When Rocky was actually being filmed, Stallone had to get even more specific. In...