The No Film School Podcast

Dawn Porter made the transition from a successful lawyer to a successful documentary filmmaker. But there were no guarantees. She took a big risk but she took it for very specific reasons, in a way that eventually led her to more success. Her new film The Way I See It, chronicles the story of Pete D’Souza, the official White House photographer for Ronald Reagan and Barrack Obama. Earlier this year...

This week, Alamo Drafthouse allows folks the opportunity to rent out screens for a low, low price and the Avatar franchise gets put under scrutiny (by us). We are joined by our very own Oakley Anderson-Moore, who gives us the lowdown on the grants and contests of Fall 2020 that you need to be aware of. In Tech News, Charles Haine discusses the competing lens mounts favored by different brands. For...

Richard Jenkins was nominated for an Oscar in The Shape of Water. He's acted in a hundred movies (literally). How did writer-director Andrew Cohn get an experienced actor like Jenkins in his first narrative feature? How did the first-time director approach working with Jenkins? And how the heck did he go from making docs with his friends (and putting them on credit cards) to Sony Pictures releasin...

This week: unions and studios come together on a new COVID-19 production agreement, Hulu tries their hand at deep fakes (with rather successful results), and Canon announces the ultimate small cinema camera (Charles Haine is beside himself). Also, in light of RBG's supreme court seat vacancy... we get political. Read more: Canon's C70 is a Fresh Take on a 4K Cinema Camera Unions and Studios Reach...

This week on the No Film School Podcast, Creative Artists Agency tries to dupe the WGA by signing a made-up contract, Netflix passes on movie theater-buying, Disney+ demands major coin from its subscribers for Mulan, and the new diversity rules for the Best Picture Oscar are unveiled. Also, Sony drops its new extra-small, full-frame camera, the a7C. Topics covered: CAA (Sort Of) Signing of the WGA...

From his early days at USC making a little student film called THX 1138, to winning his third Oscar for The English Patient, Walter Murch has innovated the fields of sound design and film editing becoming one of the most respected and knowledgable figures in his profession. Murch details to us how he first got interested in filmmaking and discusses projects like The Godfather, The Conversation, Am...

This week we discuss a new entertainment industry jobs report on Planet Money, how Sony and Canon are competing with parallel release dates for upcoming products, and an AI software called Colourlab which will revolutionize post-production workflows. Check out Charles Haine's article about Colourlab here. To wrap it up, we cover some of our favorite 'deep cut' movies about filmmaking itself. Links...

The making of the film is an amazing journey and a must-listen. Writer/director team Michael Schwartz and Tyler Nilson have an unbelievable story to tell: the arduous and joyful seven-year journey to make The Peanut Butter Falcon a reality. From the humblest of beginnings to creating a legitimate sleeper hit, these gentlemen lived out of cars and tents, gamed the vast network of industry emails an...

Is this new media collaboration tool ideal for making your remote work interactive? This week, we remember the great Chadwick Boseman and the impact of his work. We also discuss how to manage desperation as an emerging filmmaker. Writer Jason Hellerman joins us to continue to weigh the value of the new screenwriting app ScriptHop. Plus we answer a great question from the No Film School community r...

Oscar-nominated camera wizard Jeff Cronenweth sat down with us to talk about his origins in the film industry. As a young man, Cronenweth spent time on the set of Blade Runner as his father, Jordan Cronenweth shot it. He walks us through the next chapter of his career, starting out as an AC for legendary DP Sven Nykvist and how his long term working relationship with David Fincher began when shoot...

Filmmakers are gearing up for submissions to festivals, including Sundance so we go over release and festival application strategy. We also discuss the pros and cons of the upcoming platform ScriptHop. For tech news, we cover the new Final Cut Pro. And finally, we tackle the million-dollar question: “Why are you the best person to tell this story?” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone...

Logan Schneider walks us through his cinematography career, from starting out in the camera department, to shooting scrappy music videos, until bringing a film-caliber prowess to "Drunk History." We also talk about personal growth and maturity as an overlooked aspect of professional growth. *Edit*: Despite what we say in the intro, Schneider has not been nominated for an Emmy personally, but "Drun...

In an informative new episode featuring guest Katherine Tolentino, we tackle the history of foreign influence in Hollywood, pay equality across departments, working overly long days, and what might be the birth of a new filmmaking manifesto á la Dogme 95. Plus, a new augmented reality software from FXhome and the pros and cons of crowdfunding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...

Back to the future...of Vertical Integration. The Paramount Decrees are officially over...so what does that mean for filmmakers? Plus, a Deakins inspired chat about focus groups and decisions, we also talk about the new Sigma lens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Unlike Hamilton, Mulan will hit Disney+ VOD... at a cost. Plus, 12-bit raw is coming for the a7S III through Atomos and we answer a question about master fees and a YouTube clip. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two years ago, Matt Enlow and Oren Kaplan started the Just Shoot It Podcast with a key question: What does a director do? Now, we come to them with our own key question in mind: What does a director do...during a pandemic? Listen in as we learn more about how to use this time creatively, how to shoot in the time of COVID, and other secrets of the trade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit mega...

7.31.20: Did Filmmakers Finally Get What They Wanted? by No Film School Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Charles, George, and Michelle reflect on a recent conversation around terminology. Plus, Blackmagic's big news, a case for theaters to look like the Star Wars' Galactic Senate, and we have Tenet's new release date... kind of. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're feeling hot, hot, hot as Canon cameras heat up and Palm Springs is a hit from the desert. Plus, we dive into a new app with a confusing name and the newest codec on the block. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re not throwing away our shot to talk about Hamilton. Disney+ and Hamilton change the game and the conversations around streaming platforms, Broadway musicals, and awards. Plus, this week, AMC heads to church (murch?), Zoom brings out an "Octo" monster, and...will filmmakers be "satisfied" with a recent camera announcement? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It seems improbable or impossible to the more seasoned (or jaded) among us. A man, outside of the system and outside of the major cities like New York and LA, built a thriving indie production company with a full growing slate of movies and content... but that's not even the crazy part. The crazy part is that the stories he's telling reflect his worldview, and a specific vision for humanity and th...

A Christopher Nolan rumor makes us consider on-set rules and philosophies and Fuji's new update makes us ponder how this will change upcoming cameras. Plus we time travel (not through a Nolan film) to see if we can answer a No Film School question that dates back more than 100 years ago. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple changes everything (again) and forces a decision for every filmmaker...and, no, it's not whether to use the handwashing feature in the watchOS. Plus, we pay tribute to legendary (and dividing) filmmaker Joel Schumacher and we answer an Ask No Film School question that pits an episodic approach vs. tackling an indie feature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's theme is how Dinosaurs will adjust to the new world. It's woven into a few of our topics. In addition to talking about Chris Pratt and his open invitation to discuss pizza with us on the podcast, we cover updates from Mac, Adobe's maybe intentional leak of Canon specs, and of course the news that writers are being mistreated by Hollywood. But is that really news? Learn more about your...

Chris McKenna tells us about his day job writing for Marvel, while his friend and longtime collaborator Bob Byington talks about carving his career through indie film. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices