Blog
The Anti-Resolutions of 2021: How Filmmakers Are Crafting Attainable Goals
It's time of year for resolutions. Each one of us says to our inner self: come on, you can do better. Try making an anti-resolution this year. Let me explain how crafting attainable goals means you have a chance of success. My name is Elliot Grove. I’ve witnessed 29...
On the Power of Film: a Surprising Example
On October 30th 2000, President Bill Clinton signed into law Bill HR 3710, fully exonerating Navy Captain Charles B. McVay. McVay had been unfairly blamed for the sinking of the USS Indianapolis in 1945 and for the deaths of hundreds of crewmen. His court-martial...
How Creatives Avoid Analysis Paralysis
How many times have you had to make a creative decision and been locked in analysis paralysis? Have you been caught in a dither trying to decide the simplest of things, like what character name to chose? Or is it bigger creative problems you have like which plot point...
Film Industry Trends We’re Likely To See In 2021
Pandemic took almost all the industries out there by a storm. Some suffered for a certain time to later settle with alternative ways of operation, while some still have no solutions to the loss they’ve met. The film industry is also one of the industries which met...
No Budget Feature? No Problem. You just better have a lot of time to invest instead…
I have dreamt of directing a feature film for over 20 years. Having finally completed a ‘no budget’ feature, it had a theatrical premiere and limited cinema release this December and was released on demand on the 14th and will even be on supermarket DVD shelves on the...
Twenty-One for 2021: Trends Filmmakers Track
Reflect on 2020. Was it a terrible year? Or a year filled with tough challenges tinged with exciting creative opportunities. I wrote a blog post on how filmmakers can celebrate Christmas during a Tier-4 Lockdown. Whether you consider yourself as 'creative' or are just...
6 Ways Filmmakers Celebrate Christmas in Tier 4 Lockdown
With Christmas plans dashed by the rampant COVID, filmmakers the world over are faced with the new challenge of how to celebrate Christmas in Tier 4 Lockdown. Don't yield to the despair of ruined Holiday plans. This is so-called second wave anxiety. And it's normal to...
Interview with Short Filmmaker Alexei Slater
Photo credit: Daniel D. Moses Candice is a newly released short film, written by short filmmaker Alexei Slater, directed by George Watson and produced by Dom Riley. After a run at festivals, the short is seeing wider internet distribution through the YouTube platform...
How to Survive Making your First Feature Film
A few years ago, after directing a few short films and music videos, I had this crazy idea to write, direct, produce and act in my first feature film. And believe me it was a crazy idea. DEVILS IN DISGUISE was shot in Los Angeles in 11 days with a crew of 3 (including...
Ten tips for student filmmakers making their first short films
The short film is an art form in its own right. Many of its storytelling properties differ from those of the feature film. It is typically under 10 min. long. The shorter the better. It should not be confused with the 25-40 min. graduation films made at film schools...