Filmmaking: Mixing Pros with Amateurs

The six-minute short film Family Law, produced by Royal Entertainment in association with Powers Productions, saw a mixed cast and crew of professionals, semi-pros and amateurs.  While everyone gave their best, I saw a unique difference between the experienced and the non-experienced.

Knowing in advance that I would be directing a mixed crew, I called a meeting at the beginning of the shoot to share how I work, and explain on-set etiquette. I also talked with several members of the cast and crew in advance to get a feel for their backgrounds and abilities. During those discussions, I asked key questions of each person, according to their production role.

When the inevitable problems arose on set, the professional would immediately notify his or her department head and the issue would be addressed in time for the problem to be overcome. Some of the amateurs, who wanted to make sure they did everything perfectly in hopes of being on the next production, kept quiet about their mistakes. This silence resulted in costly postproduction nightmares.

CJ Powers works with Francine Locke and Dan Bredesen on Family Law

I noticed that when asked a difficult question, most newbies told me they were familiar with what I was looking to achieve and confirmed that they could do it. The pros shared that they might be able to accomplish what I was looking for and then asked me a series of questions to clarify their understanding of my vision. Once on set, I realized that the professionals gave me exactly what I asked for and it became very clear that the amateurs hadn’t understood my goals, let alone … Continue Reading

HOSFU On-Site: A Christmas Snow – Liz McCracken Interview

Here’s our interview for today! Meet Liz McCracken, head of the Makeup Department for A Christmas Snow. We interviewed Liz on Friday morning at the Tulsa International Airport.

HOSFU On-Site: A Christmas Snow – Tulsa Technology Center with Director Tracy Trost

After spending yesterday getting to know some of the cast and crew on their off-day, today is our first day on set. HOSFU On-Site is doing live, online publicity for Trost Moving Pictures, as they produce A Christmas Snow.

We started bright and early at the Tulsa International Airport. We did two great interviews with Liz – head of the Makeup Dpt. – and Jim Stovall – author of The Ultimate Gift and to-be novelist of A Christmas Snow!

Next, we moved to the Tulsa Technology Center. We’re currently based in a hanger with a huge airplane in it. We’ll be here for the rest of the day. We got two more interviews with actors Anthony Tyler Quinn (upcoming Featured Actor on Christian-Movie.com!) and Muse Watson.

You’ll get to see those interviews over the next few days, but for now here’s a short video from Eric Highland and Director Tracy Trost!

Become a fan of A Christmas Snow on Facebook by clicking here! Thank you for supporting faith-based, family films.

Film Composers:
How Do You Find the Right One?

By John William Doryk

In my 25 plus years of composing for television and film, I’ve worked on all kinds of projects and have had all kinds of experiences. However, some common threads have ensured either a wonderful final product – both visually and musically – or a challenging, frustrating experience for both the composer and producer/director. The common threads I’m referring to are … Continue Reading

Film School In A Box – From Advent Film Group

HOSFU has always admired the heart and professionalism of Mr. George Escobar and Advent Film Group.

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If you are looking to get started as an independent Christian filmmaker, I could not recommend the below resource highly enough to you.

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While traditional film schools can be too costly for the up and coming filmmaker to afford, this DVD resource is incredibly affordable.  At $149.00 for over 13 hours of high end instruction, this offer is worth every penny!

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But this special offer is only for the first 100 sets sold.  After that, the price will go up.  So read on and see just how great this resource is. … Continue Reading