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“Lights, Camera, Animals” - Compass Film Academy Roll with Themes
What could a pig farm have in common with Victorian England or a cutting edge barber shop? All three subjects are part of the stories in thesis films currently being produced by Compass Film Academy’s class of 2010. The projects this year are some of the most ambitious and complicated productions in the school’s history. [...]
Post NAB
NAB is where all the cool toys are introduced and each year’s NAB seems to paint a picture as to the direction of the industry. This year was no exception. Two items of interest to filmmakers saturated the show floor.
First was 3D video. Only time will tell if it is a fad or a trend, [...]
Battling to Remember the Great War
To documentarian and friend of Compass David DeJonge, Frank Buckles is a cultural icon and historical gatekeeper, a man whose story demands to be told. At nearly 109, Buckles is America’s last surviving veteran of World War I (WWI). Since 2006, DeJonge has been fighting to tell his story.
He first met the centenarian while documenting [...]
Banging out the Gun: An Intern’s Experience
Compass called me and told me they had and internship opportunity in Grand Rapids. The next morning I found myself in the production office of The Gun, starring 50 Cent and Val Kilmer.
I was assigned to intern in the Locations Department. Immediately, I was introduced to all the department heads. I committed their names to [...]
Screenwriter David N. Weiss on Process in 250 Words or Less
Two hundred and fifty words? Easy for you to say. What on earth would I write about? What does anyone ever write about? Hmmm… What do I usually do in this situation? Well, I usually start by opening a journal page, much like this one. And I begin typing questions to myself. Who’s story is [...]
Confessions of a Migrant Film Worker
I have discovered no guide or book that warns of the lifestyle of the migrant film worker. And, as I have traveled from one film to the next, I have pretty much made every mistake there is. It is with that in mind that I share my experiences with you:
The allure to this industry is [...]
More than Props and Paint: Life in the Art Department
“Everything in film is done deliberately,” instructor and mentor, Roger Schutter, told me early on in my training. It was a bombshell. The implications, at the time, made the mountain that is “filmmaking” seem insurmountable. Could I be that “detail-oriented?”
I always knew that I loved art and film and that I belonged somewhere in [...]
Hopeful Notes - An Intern’s Experience
Steaming bathroom curtains. Cooking 15 pots of spaghetti noodles on four burners in 20 minutes. “Crowd-controlling” a herd of giant, biting ants –
One thing about interning in the art department of the film Hopeful Notes is there was no typical day. There was no typical task. When I arrived home at night and my roommates [...]
