Film Method

Behind every great film is a great script and behind every great script is a great writer or team of writers. The month of July is dedicated to the topic of writing as it is a crucial part of the filmmaking process. Writer and script consultant Julie Gray and writer Aydrea Walden join us to [...]

The relationship between the director and actor in any medium is a very special one. Trust is of the utmost importance and when established early on can give the actor a freedom to explore and create in such a way that can help serve the story and the film. Chasing Eagle Rock is veteran TV [...]

Believe it or not, having good sound is about as important to your production as having a good quality picture. Low quality sound will make your film seem cheap and unprofessional. Zsolt Magyar joins us this week to talk about being a production sound mixer on set. Brian McQuery also joins us to discuss the [...]

Since the time the Film Method podcast began we have been talking about Eve Light Honthaner and her amazing book The Complete Film Production Handbook! Eve has worked on many films including Titanic, Just Married and Tropic Thunder. She joins us to give some helpful tips for producers for the day that your film finally [...]

Susan Nininger started out in the field of fine art creating sculpted ceramic pieces and then realized that she liked “sculpting costumes”. Her big break was in the 90′s when she was given the job costuming Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard. Susan talks to us about working on that film and she [...]

The script supervisor has one of the most important and difficult jobs on set: making sure what’s in the script ends up in the can (or in the case of The Office, the plastic tape case). The script supervisor, also known as the scripty, rarely has a free moment on set as she or he [...]

The role of the 2nd A.D. is an extremely important one and is very different from that of the 1st A.D. While the 1st A.D. spends all of his or her time on set, the 2nd A.D. is primarily in the production office, working with the producers to make sure that the production is running [...]

For obvious reasons, lights are some of the most important elements on a film set. Without light, you wouldn’t see what’s in the picture and without the picture, you wouldn’t have a movie! The lighting department is filled with many peculiar sounding crew member titles like best boy, grip and even a griptrician (what you [...]

When you’re on a film set, like in any business, there is a certain structure that should be followed in order to finish your day and ultimately to finish your film. Of course on a film set, just like in any business, things don’t always go according to plan, and this is when the members [...]

Having unlimited resources at your disposal while making a movie doesn’t mean that you’ll make a great movie, but it sure helps. What luxuries do you have on a larger budget production? What must you sacrifice to make a smaller budget work? Producer Scott Fort joins us to discuss what it’s like to make features [...]

Some people will tell you that you should go to film school if you want to be a filmmaker. Others will tell you that you should use that money to make your first feature instead. Rukmani and Derek decided to do both: they made their first feature while in film school. Listen as they share [...]

When you arrive on set that first day, you want to make sure that your creative team has a plan in place. The goal is to take the vision that you’ve fleshed out and communicate that to your crew to execute the game plan in order to have a successful shoot! DP Geoff Goodloe and [...]

The  second episode of our season about production, highlights a very important element in starting production, the money. Executive Producer Tony Boldi stops by to share some of his experiences with us and to explain the pros and cons of starting production without all the money in the bank. Tony Boldi- Executive Producer Tony has [...]

Kicking off Season 3: Production is producing/directing team Chris Uettwiller and Tom Vaughan who recently finished their feature film, Playing House, which is Tom’s directorial debut. Tom and Chris talk about the first day on set and the value of having solid pre-production. They also discuss their 7-year partnership and how that helped them to [...]

What better way to learn about distribution then from someone who oversaw distribution and marketing at Paramount, one of the most prestigious studios in the world. Barry London headed up marketing campaigns for some of the largest films of the 80′s and 90′s including Raiders of the Lost Ark, Fatal Attraction, and Forrest Gump. Barry [...]

What better way to learn about distribution then from someone who oversaw distribution and marketing at Paramount, one of the most prestigious studios in the world. Barry London headed up marketing campaigns for some of the largest films of the 80′s and 90′s including Raiders of the Lost Ark, Fatal Attraction, and Forrest Gump. Barry [...]

We continue our month of episodes about distribution and celebrate the season of Sundance that is upon us as we speak to former Sundance short film programmer Roberta Munroe. As a festival programmer Roberta viewed tens of thousands of short films and has seen the best of the best and the worst of the worst. [...]

Are you currently producing a feature film or have you recently finished production on one? Do you have big plans to sell it to a studio for a big payday or even, *gulp*, planning on sending it to Sundance? Those are both fantastic goals, but what is the likelihood of a big studio exec coming [...]

You thought this day would never come, but it’s here! The release of the last episode of our Pre-Production Season! For this episode we recap the previous season in all of its glory. Producers Jenna Edwards, Aydrea ten Bosch, and John Paul Rice join me to revisit the season and discuss just how important pre-production [...]

On November 11th, 2010 Film Method and Mental Eclectic held their first joint Shorts ‘N Spirits Showcase together. The event featured many different web series and shorts and included industry speakers as well. Film Method was there to capture it! This is part two of the interviews we conducted at the event with filmmakers Tom [...]