Where does a young filmmaker begin? With the right short-film concept and this book!
The right short can be a filmmaker's "business card" in Hollywood. Here's the authoritative handbook by one of Hollywood's most connected insiders that offers a step-by-step guide through the entire creative process of shooting a short film, as well as expert advice from established filmmakers, and a final game plan for promoting and selling the film once it's in the can. Topics covered include:
€ Concept € Budget € Finding equipment € Assembling a crew € Casting € Arranging for location € Locating festivals and ancillary markets € Working with the unions € Film vs. digital video
Plus: € A list of film schools € Oscar-winning shorts and nominees € A selection of short-film festivals € Actual short-film budgets € Sample scripts and shooting schedules € A helpful short-film glossary
Frederick Levy is the founder of Management 101, where he guides the careers of actors, writers, and directors. An active filmmaker, he was the associate producer of the film Frailty starring Matthew McConaughey, and he has worked on many other films including Reindeer Games and Mr. Wrong. Levy has appeared on Entertainment Tonight, MTV, CNN and Fox News. In addition, Mr. Levy teaches film classes at USC and UCLA Extension based on his bestselling book, Hollywood 101.
Frederick Levy is the owner of Management 101, a firm that guides the careers of actors, authors, screenwriters, and music acts. In addition to his day-to-day management of clients, he also develops and produces feature films and television programs.
Frederick was the co-creator and executive producer of DANCE ON SUNSET (www.danceonsunset.com) that aired on Nickelodeon. Previously, he was the executive producer of Unknown starring Jim Caviezel, Greg Kinnear, Joey Pantoliano, and Jeremy Sisto, which was released by The Weinstein Company. Frederick was also a producer on FRAILTY, starring Bill Paxton and Matthew McConaughey, for Lions Gate Films. Levy also served as the US Casting Director on BIG In AMERICA, RTL Germany's version of the hit US TV show MAKING THE BAND.
Before founding Management 101, Levy was the Vice President of Development and Production at Marty Katz Productions. While there, the company produced THE GREAT RAID for Miramax Films, directed by John Dahl, and starring Benjamin Bratt, THE FOUR FEATHERS for Miramax Films and Paramount Pictures, directed by Shekhar Kapur, and starring Wes Bentley and Heath Ledger, IMPOSTOR for Dimension films, directed by Gary Fleder, and starring Gary Sinise and Madeline Stowe, REINDEER GAMES, directed by John Frankenheimer, and starring Ben Affleck and Charlize Theron, James Cameron's TITANIC for Paramount Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox, MR. WRONG starring Ellen DeGeneres for Touchstone Pictures and MAN OF THE HOUSE starring Chevy Chase and Jonathan Taylor Thomas for Walt Disney Pictures. Before joining Marty Katz Productions, Frederick worked for InterMedia/FilmEquities, Inc. which financed and packaged films.
Aside from his producing chores, Levy is also the author of six books about the entertainment industry, including: SHORT FILMS 101: HOW TO MAKE A SHORT AND LAUNCH YOUR FILMMAKING CAREER (Perigee Books), THE HOLLYWOOD WAY: A YOUNG MOVIE MOGUL'S SAVVY BUSINESS TIPS FOR SUCCESS IN ANY CAREER (St. Martin's Press), THE ULTIMATE BOY BAND BOOK (Pocket Books), 15 MINUTES OF FAME: BECOMING A STAR IN THE YOUTUBE REVOLUTION (Alpha Books), HOLLYWOOD 101: THE FILM INDUSTRY (Renaissance), a two-time Los Angeles Times Best Seller, and ACTING IN YOUNG HOLLYWOOD: A CAREER GUIDE FOR KIDS, TEENS, AND ADULTS WHO PLAY YOUNG TOO (Backstage/Random House).
Frederick began his Hollywood career as a studio guide at Universal Studios Hollywood. He got his start in television working as a Guest Coordinator on more than a dozen shows including LOVE CONNECTION and STUDS. He also worked in professional radio as producer of THE MORNING MAGAZINE on KWNK, Los Angeles, and the syndicated THEN & NOW and THE CELEBRITY DJ PARTY, both of which he also created.
Levy is on the board of directors for the Tahoe-Reno International Film Festival (T-RIFF). He has served as the West Coast Director of the National Association of College Broadcasters. Frederick graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.S. in Business/Marketing. He currently teaches film classes at the School of Cinematic Arts at his alma mater. Consistently busy with a multitude of diverse media projects, Frederick is most proud of his work with the Starlight Foundation for which he produced two celebrity charity benefits that raised money to help seriously ill children.
Levy is an avid speaker on the lecture circuit having lectured at Harvard, Yale, NYU, USC, Rutgers, and Boston University, and numerous actor and writer seminars throughout the country. He has been a featured guest on many TV and radio talk shows including Entertainment Tonight, CNN, Fox News, MTV, VH-1, Starz!, and CBS News.
More information can be found on his website at www.fredericklevy.com.
This review is from: Short Films 101: How to Make a Short and Launch Your Filmmaking Career (Mass Market Paperback)
I can sum up this book in a few short phrases:
1. Go to film school and make lots of contacts.
2. Have lots of contacts because the only way anyone in this book makes a film is because they had inside contacts.
3. Shoot on film, because video is for losers. Except that your story is more important than the quality of your images, so shoot on whatever you want. As long as it's film.
4. Make sure your script is good, because if it's not, your movie will be bad. So have a good script. Like anything that Rob Schneider has been in. Because Rob Schneider films were made in Hollywood so they are good and shining examples of what you should strive for.
5. Have a good script, and lots of contacts.
I read through this whole book, hoping against hope (like a hero in a decent story) that good would triumph and redemption would be found and that somewhere there would be useful information within. Alas, it was not to be. Against my better judgement I slogged on, and coming to the final page I had an epiphany: I had just lost several precious hours of my life, never to be regained. All for naught.
I seriously doubt that anyone who dreams of being a successful filmmaker has their sights set on making the next "The Animal."
If you are on a budget and want to make a film (short or otherwise) you will get more useful information and help from any given paragraph in "Digital Filmmaking 101" by Newton and Gaspard than you will get out of this book. And I am not associated with Newton or Gaspard.
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This review is from: Short Films 101: How to Make a Short and Launch Your Filmmaking Career (Mass Market Paperback)
This is an OK book. I still pick it up every now and then and give it a read. The $50K budget is a little optimistic in my opinion but he does know his stuff.
If you can get this at a used bookstore, you will be more satisfied with it. Glean from it what you can but it is geared more toward people with more than $300-$500 to make and distribute a film.
There are some great references in it for equipment and information.
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This review is from: Short Films 101: How to Make a Short and Launch Your Filmmaking Career (Mass Market Paperback)
This book is really great...the information given is practical and very usefull. I was supprised at how many Film Directors actually got thier start by just shooting a couple of shorts...If i could i'd give this book 10 Stars...but for now. I'll settle for 5.
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