tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84662920299956713492012-02-16T03:23:39.301-08:00In this blog I welcome you to join me on my journey as a Flic Maker! In today's world of digital video and high-definition, the art of filmmaking has changed - evolved, rather, into the art of Flic Making! I've set out on my journey to being a Flic Maker and want to tell you all about it. I'm Scott Russell, self-taught screenwriter, director and all-around Flic Maker. I believe in making high-end, high-quality flics on the cheap! Isn't it about time you did so too?Flic Maker Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975912581115451975noreply@blogger.comBlogger151100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466292029995671349.post-16651589670798878042009-09-07T08:27:00.000-07:002009-09-07T09:07:36.006-07:00

So, I'm still on this "by the book" screenplay project that I started back in June. It's hard to give any details about it because I'm writing out most of it on paper...well, all of it so far. However, I just downloaded a trial of Final Draft 8. I've never used FD before and am curious how I will like it...or not.Here's a shout out to Celtx...you suck! Okay, now that that's out, I'll explain.

Flic Maker Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975912581115451975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466292029995671349.post-24660142007125600962009-06-09T14:45:00.000-07:002010-12-30T11:24:30.366-08:00

I love this time of year. It always gets my creativity going.I broke down and bought "The Screenwriters Bible" by David Trottier. It is the definitive book on screenwriting today; the "bible," if you will. I usually check it out at the library (very cheap that way) but when I picked it up recently, I found that it was a brand new fourth edition and it looked as if I was the first to check it

Flic Maker Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975912581115451975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466292029995671349.post-15022403278864003582008-05-21T23:34:00.000-07:002008-05-26T00:08:15.135-07:00

WARNING! The next few blogs will most likely contain information specific to screenwriting.Bear in mind, if you don't have a screenwriter (be it you or someone else), YOU HAVE NOTHING. You saw what the strike did to Hollywood ...hmm. So let's talk about screenplays, screenwriters, being a screenwriter and things of the like.First and foremost, I am a screenwriter. I have to be. I can't take

Flic Maker Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975912581115451975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466292029995671349.post-10172390096560077382008-05-18T03:35:00.000-07:002008-05-21T23:32:39.658-07:00

...is a quote from the movie "Galaxy Quest." It is a favorite of mine. In fact, no, literally fact, I had been working on a short story that when "Galaxy Quest" came out, it could have been from the story I was writing. Mainly, the plot - guy gets abducted by aliens to help save their world. It's been a long time since, but another I can think of is I had written Sigourney Weaver's name into

Flic Maker Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975912581115451975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466292029995671349.post-55970059432880774572007-12-01T09:15:00.000-08:002009-09-07T09:11:07.739-07:00

I was taking notes the other day and realized something. The more notes I took, the more notes I came up with. Which goes back to what I've been saying FOR YEARS - keep writing. I haven't written much in the past few months because, frankly, I let myself think that I had nothing to write. But once I sat down and started to jot down a few things I had been thinking of, more ideas came. Keep

Flic Maker Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975912581115451975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466292029995671349.post-11825449137307122782007-08-16T10:48:00.000-07:002009-09-07T09:11:40.881-07:00

Everyone starts somewhere, even a flicmaker. A flicmaker doesn't just go out there and, on their first try, film E.T., or Indiana Jones, or The Matrix. He, more likely, starts with a piece of crap camcorder and a VCR or, in this day in age, his video capturing cell phone and produces something that will probably never even get watched on YouTube. The point is to get started and keep going.

Flic Maker Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975912581115451975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466292029995671349.post-48551588629116843032007-06-25T23:34:00.000-07:002007-06-28T02:41:47.915-07:00

Here's a quick post to inform those of you who aspire to one day be PAID screenwriters, Creative Screenwriting Magazine's Screenwriting Expo 6 is underway! Click the link to get more information.Good news! They are accepting "short film" scripts this year! My project "JIMMY" which has been shelved for about 6 months will finally see the light of day again. JIMMY is a short I wrote and started

Flic Maker Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975912581115451975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466292029995671349.post-1759725624248513872007-06-23T00:48:00.000-07:002007-06-25T23:52:59.572-07:00

I wanted to drop a quick note here to let you know what I'm listening to.I've heard this movie did not do well/people didn't like it. I don't understand why; I have an idea, but still..."I, Robot" is a great movie. Okay, checked it out; I, Robot made only $52 mil on opening weekend. Not too shabby until you consider the budget of $120 mil. Latest earnings say $144 mil, so, technically you

Flic Maker Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975912581115451975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466292029995671349.post-30520603334214363262007-06-19T00:20:00.000-07:002007-06-25T23:52:59.572-07:00

And so should making flics be. We just wrapped a two-day shoot on a short flic sequel. Yeah, it's a sequel. In fact, the project will be a trilogy once we're finished.The project started last year when my buddy and I formed our production company (in name only, so far) and decided that "if we're going to make movies, then we'd better get out there and do it!" We both wrote scripts and

Flic Maker Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975912581115451975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466292029995671349.post-27623672758956637802007-06-06T21:18:00.000-07:002007-06-25T23:52:59.573-07:00

Ahh, it's good to be back! The only thing I can say is any life changing event can and will slow your productivity to a crawl. So weigh them carefully!In the works: "No Whip 2: Whip Harder" is going to be filmed on Father's day weekend. Check out "No Whip" on Tom's MySpace page. I began filming a music video for a friend. It was a spur of the moment thing so I'm having the artist(s) re-cut

Flic Maker Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975912581115451975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466292029995671349.post-14106672328275949372007-03-18T22:01:00.000-07:002007-06-25T23:52:59.574-07:00

As you advance your new career as a flic maker, you are going to have to get some "tools." I've given you some in previous blogs...here are more:First, Stu Maschwitz is the author of The DV Rebels Guide and co-founder of The Orphanage effects house. He has a blog right here on Blogger called ProLost. If you're not familiar with The Orphanage...looky here!Next is Mark Christiansen. He is the

Flic Maker Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975912581115451975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466292029995671349.post-35789147337467057152007-03-01T19:05:00.000-08:002007-06-25T23:52:59.574-07:00

"Gee, Flic Maker Scott, you've given me a lot of information, but I have a lot of excuses...now what?"Obviously, the first thing is LOSE YOUR EXCUSES! You know the old saying...but if you don't: "Excuses are like assholes, everybody has one and they stink!" Look, you're not getting any younger. And if you are young, early twenties or even just out of high school, TIME is about to speed up on

Flic Maker Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975912581115451975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466292029995671349.post-38168009272254090722007-03-01T18:10:00.000-08:002007-06-25T23:52:59.575-07:00

Now let's jump into movies. This is a little more fun but not as much information. Just watching movies will do nothing for you unless you know what you're looking at. The rule is watch the movie first, commentary second...that's because I hate spoiling the end of the movie; simple as that. But it also keeps the movie fresh in your head and you can focus on the commentary (sometimes this is

Flic Maker Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975912581115451975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466292029995671349.post-34785642835307487812007-03-01T17:57:00.000-08:002007-06-25T23:52:59.575-07:00

Maybe you're saying to yourself, "I know nothing about making movies. Where do I start?" Well the first thing (and the last thing) you need to keep in mind is ACTION. You can very easily over think this and DO nothing at all. You can over research, know everything you need to know, and still DO nothing. ACTION is key. With that in mind, start learning. This is what I did:I'm a music person,

Flic Maker Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975912581115451975noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466292029995671349.post-87935655246621546632007-03-01T16:11:00.000-08:002007-06-25T23:52:59.576-07:00

So I've been kicking around ideas for my first blog and decided I would start with how I got this idea in the first place.I've spent the last two years learning the basics of flic making. Not film making, because I couldn't tell you the first thing about using a film camera. I wouldn't even want to. Why not? Check out Robert Rodriguez's commentary on El Mariachi. He says there's only about

Flic Maker Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975912581115451975noreply@blogger.com0