I was gob-smacked when I first started shoveling around this site. It is the best film community on the net hands down. Started by Mike Figgis in the UK, it has spread to the U.S. It just opened in Los Angeles and San Francisco, so if you live on the west coast you can join for free for a limited time. Otherwise it's $40 a year (I think)-- a bargain!! Crew up, find a cast, get your film shown, go to swell Shooting People parties, and tons of other stuff. Sign up now and spend the next week exploring all it has to offer. HEY ACTORS on the west coast! Sign up now so we can start putting you in movies!
The freaky brain child of Erika Lopez. "Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill" has nothin' on these filmmakers.
These guys rock. Check out DV RACK and for green screen keying their ULTRA software. I could talk about these guys for days, but check out their stuff for yourself.
Lots of Professional filmmaking supplies including Grip, Lighting, and Expendables.
If you can't find the suction cups for the car mount, here they are. Plug "suction cup dent puller" into their search engine.
This is where you can find the CST Surveyor's tripod I talk about in my book. Make sure you get the flat head and not the dome head! I use model 60ALQC20.
You won't be able to order stuff off the web with these guys, but if you live in the L.A. area it's a good place to go.
Lots of free articles on the nuts and bolts of filmmaking.
These guys deal in telescope parts and accessories. Take a look at the "Misc" section. Lots of cools stuff that I haven't figured out a use for yet.
Thousands and thousands of parts and components. Very cool.
B & H is a great place to get just about anything for filmmaking. Their customer service is really top-notch. In fact it's so good these guys are practically Japanese.
This is my absolute favorite forum for DV filmmaking.
Want to see what other rig makers are up to? This is one amazing site. A special thanks to Jon in the U.K for turning me on to this.
This is a great thing for those in the Los Angeles area. The F.A. is a filmmaking cooperative, where filmmakers work on each others projects. Their facilities (like editing, mixing, etc.) are at super low rates for Alliance members too! What they do is too vast to mention here, so go check out the web site.
Extreme DV At Used Car Prices
By Rick Schmit. This book will inspire you to get off your ass and go make a movie. Really, it will. Plus it is packed with useful information and links. http://www.lightvideo.com
Hollywood Camerawork
By Per Holmes. I get asked all the time for books on staging and camera movement. While there are quite a few out there, I just don't like them. Why? Because they are books! And they are books that focus heavily on storyboarding to illustrate technique. A pretty limiting way to learn--especially since I hate storyboards! I was lucky enough to learn from a great director, Alexander MacKendrick, at California Institute of the Arts. Given that experience, everything I could recommend was sorely lacking...until now. Yes, just for you dear reader, I ordered a copy of Hollywood Camerawork to see if it is something I could recommend. I can tell you right now that its hefty price tag is worth every penny. Hollywood Camerawork is a massive 6 DVD set of how to work with a moving camera. Nine hours of instruction! And I mean a real nine hours--if you blink, you WILL miss something. As I told a friend recently: "It's Sandy MacKendrick in a box!" The first thing you need to do is build the "Dark Passage Dolly" and the "Killer's Kiss Crane" in my book. Then order Hollywood Camerawork. Here's a link to their site: www.hollywoodcamerawork.us
Directing Actors
By Judith Weston. Listen, you've got to know how an actor thinks before you can direct them. This is a freakin' great book. Get it, get it, get it. You can find it at Opamp Technical Books (cheaper than Amazon): Opamp.com
In the Blink of an Eye
By Walter Murch. Having spent most of my professional life as an Editor, I can tell you that this book is a must read to understand the psychology of editing. This little book may not seem like much, but it is truly important if you want to be a top-notch filmmaker. You can find it at Opamp Technical Books (cheaper than Amazon): Opamp.com
Alexander Mackendrick on Filmmaking
Edited By Paul Cronin. When I was going to school at CalArts, there was this guy teaching there that had directed my favorite movie of all time: "The Sweet Smell Of Success". Not only was Alexander "Sandy" Mackendrick a great filmmaker (his other films include: "The Lady Killers", "Man in the White Suit", "Whisky Galore", among others), but knew how to stuff that knowledge into our wee brains. Sandy had given students enough hand-outs on the art and craft of filmmaking to choke an elephant. Paul Cronin has taken these hand-outs and edited them beautifully into this book. Without a doubt, this is the best book on directing you will find. http://www.thestickingplace.com/books/
Totally Unauthorized
By Peggy Archer. This is a blog but is so well written, it belongs in the book section. People often ask me what it's like working on a film set. I used to tell them it's like moving your entire apartment every day, 6 days a week. Now I can point them to this blog. Start from the beginning and read the whole thing. If you still want to work in movies when you're finished, you're insane, and we welcome you into the fold! http://filmhacks.blogspot.com
Chris Gore's Ultimate Film Festival Guide
By Chris Gore. Once you've got that film done YOU MUST READ THIS AMAZING GUIDE. Not only lists the film festivals, but has tons of valuable tips on how to behave, crashing industry parties, why your film got rejected, and other insider info. A MUST HAVE! Get it from Powell's Books
The Grip Book
By Michael Uva. Wish I'd had this book when I started working professionally. ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING you need or don't need to know about working as a grip (really, you have to get this book if you're building and using your own rigs! This will help you make the best use of them.) Also, make sure you get the 3rd Edition; it comes with a swell DVD. Opamp Has It.
