The No Film School Podcast

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Erik Luers discuss the unexpected indie hit en route to becoming Magnolia’s highest-grossing film, how cinemas may actually be doing a disservice to great cinematography, and a new platform helping filmmakers make money. Charles Haine joins us fresh off the plane from Cinegear to report on all the latest in vide...

For "Hearts Beat Loud", Director Brett Haley wanted to tell a story about people who make music, so he asked his stars, Nick Offerman and Kiersey Clemons to play all the music...completely live. When it comes to actors playing musicians on screen, he made sure not to follow the conventional standard of well, having no standards. No lip synching, no dubs, no inserts of a hairy-knuckled hand double...

In this episode of our step-by-step podcast on how to get your first feature made, using No Film School founder Ryan Koo's Netflix Film Amateur as a case study, we answer questions from listeners. This is the final episode! Watch Amateur on Netflix, available now worldwide at netflix.com/amateur. You can find all other episodes of The First Feature at nofilmschool.com/firstfeature. This episode of...

Four-time Sundance filmmaker Tiffany Shlain and her Let It Ripple Studio have made and distributed films that have engaged over 50 Million people in dialogue with a new model that they developed to start global conversations with screenings and discussions across all continents on the same day, with a combination of live and virtual events. Shlain joins Liz Nord to discuss the mechanics behind the...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, Erik Luers and Charles Haine discuss the quiet indie making a loud noise at the international box office and why now is the time to pitch your high-concept horror film, as well as Netflix’s newest independent filmmakers: Barack and Michelle Obama. We also say a sad goodbye to master movie poster designer Bill Gold a...

In this episode of our step-by-step podcast on how to get your first feature made, using No Film School founder Ryan Koo's Netflix Film Amateur as a case study, we dive into the final release of Amateur. Watch Amateur on Netflix, available now worldwide at netflix.com/amateur. You can find all other episodes of The First Feature at nofilmschool.com/firstfeature. This episode of The First Feature i...

If you've seen a few independent films that have come out of the festival circuit the past year or two, odds are you've seen the work of Sam Daley, Nat Jencks, or Seth Ricart. They are three talented colorists who have graded films like "The Florida Project", "City of Ghosts", and "Beach Rats". All three sat down with No Film School at this past Sundance Film Festival where they premiered their co...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Erik Luers share loads of news from the 71st Cannes Film Festival, including the biggest acquisitions, what caused Agnes Varda and Ava DuVernay to team up, and Spike Lee’s Oscar contender. Charles Haine joins us for gear news including why a company known for monitors might be making your next camera. Charles al...

In this episode of our step-by-step podcast on how to get your first feature made, using No Film School founder Ryan Koo's Netflix Film Amateur as a case study, we dive into the post-production stage of filmmaking. Watch Amateur on Netflix, available now worldwide at netflix.com/amateur. You can find all other episodes of The First Feature at nofilmschool.com/firstfeature. This episode of The Firs...

The difference between a film that has some good moments and a full-fledged, unhindered story hinges on how it's treated in post-production. That success starts with the delicate navigation of the editor. Sitting down at this past Sundance Film Festival, a handful of talented post-production artists who worked on some of the most cutting-edge indie films of 2018, discuss how they work to make bril...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Erik Luers discuss the opening of the 71st annual Cannes Film Festival and how Netlifx is playing nice—or are they? We also cover the first results of the Academy’s ethics enforcements, and say a sad goodbye to prolific editor of ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ and over 50 more films, Anne V. Coates. Jon also answers an As...

In this episode of our step-by-step podcast on how to get your first feature made, using No Film School founder Ryan Koo's Netflix Film Amateur as a case study, we dive into the production stage of filmmaking. Watch Amateur on Netflix, available now worldwide at netflix.com/amateur. You can find all other episodes of The First Feature at nofilmschool.com/firstfeature. This episode of The First Fea...

Three filmmakers with documentary films in the 2018 Tribeca and HotDocs lineups—Assia Boundaoui of ‘The Feeling of Being Watched’, Nancy Schwartzman of ‘Roll Red Roll', and Cynthia Lowen of ’Netizens'—sit down with No Film School’s Liz Nord to discuss their powerful films and several behind-the-scenes topics like how to gain the trust of subjects who have been exploited by the media or other insti...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Erik Luers discuss two of the most important industry events that you might never have heard of, Cinemacon and the Newfronts, along with mayhem at Moviepass. We also say a sad goodbye to photojournalist Shah Marai, who was killed in a bombing in Afghanistan this week. Charles Haine joins us for gear news, includ...

In this episode of our step-by-step podcast on how to get your first feature made, using No Film School founder Ryan Koo's Netflix Film "Amateur" as a case study, we dive into the creative and visual side of prep including storyboarding, shotlisting, previz, and creating overheads. He also discusses some common pitfalls to avoid such as why it's challenging to rewrite the script during prep and wh...

We’ve discussed many different tactics for getting your short films into film festivals on this podcast, but at SXSW last month we decided to head straight for the source: the people in charge of selecting the films themselves. That’s right we’re talking about the all-powerful festival programmer. And to get the inside scope there’s no one better than SXSW Senior Film Programmer Claudette Godfrey....

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Erik Luers and Jon Fusco share all the news, films, projects, and directors you need to know about from our on-the-ground coverage of the Tribeca Film Festival, and debate Tribeca’s importance for indie filmmakers. Charles Haine joins us for tech and gear news, including the lighting that was designed for Michael Haneke and is...

In this episode of our step-by-step podcast on how to get your first feature made, using No Film School founder Ryan Koo's Netflix Film Amateur as a case study, we dive into how to cast your movie—and what to expect when you go into prep. This episode covers Ryan's experiences attaching cast to Amateur, including Michael Rainey Jr. (POWER, LUV), Josh Charles (THE GOOD WIFE, SPORTS NIGHT), Sharon L...

Three filmmakers with short nonfiction films in the SXSW 2018 lineup—Jury Award-winner Charlie Tyrell, Mohammad Gorjestani, and Leah Galant—sit down with No Film School’s Liz Nord to discuss why this is a golden age for documentary shorts, how they each got their projects made, and how shorts can fit into your filmmaking career’s bigger picture even if you’ve already worked on commercials or featu...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord and Erik Luers and discuss whether independent filmmakers ultimately pay the price in the ongoing war between Netflix and the Cannes Film Festival. We also preview the Tribeca Film Festival, which we will be covering in depth over the next two weeks, and say a sad goodbye to influential film director Milos Forman, who passed aw...

In this episode of our step-by-step podcast on how to get your first feature made, we dive into the pitching and financing processes on Ryan Koo's Netflix Film AMATEUR. This episode covers his experiences pitching Amateur eighty (!) times and eventually getting it to Netflix, including the following points: Making a pitch into a back-and-forth conversation as early as possible; What goes into a pi...

The landscape for short films is changing quickly. One might say we're entering a "Golden Age," where content is being taken seriously and you can even make money off of a five-minute video...if you get the right eyes on it. Traditionally, getting those views used to be all about submitting your project onto the festival circuit. This also came with the stipulation that you couldn't exhibit your p...

In this special episode of Indie Film Weekly, Charles Haine, Andy Zou, and Jon Fusco broadcast live from the historic Plaza Hotel in downtown Las Vegas. The trio of No Film School editors come together to discuss their first couple of days of non-stop coverage at the annual NAB Show. And man, did this year's convention come through in a big way. While we've seen less of the sexy lenses and cameras...

In this episode of our step-by-step podcast on how to get your first feature made, we dive into the screenwriting process on No Film School founder Ryan Koo's Netflix Film Amateur (out now!). This episode covers many screenwriting tips and tricks, including: Tracking your hours to ensure you prioritize screenwriting in your life; Brainstorming out loud and recording yourself so you don't forget a...

What would you do if you were tasked with building an entire universe on an infinitesimally small budget? Where would you even start? This is probably the biggest problem that any independent filmmaker with a science fiction project must solve. Co-Directors Zeek Earl and Christopher Caldwell have found a solution. To put it plainly, you can't separate the money from the creativity. For Earl, Caldw...