The No Film School Podcast

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord and Jon Fusco discuss a new finding on the average length of Oscar-winning short films and what it means for you, which digital companies may be replacing the Hollywood studio system once and for all, and why some audiences in Asia may be missing out on the most popular indie films. In tech and gear news we get in the mood for...

Here's Episode Two of our new podcast series The First Feature. This is a step-by-step guide on how to get your first feature made, using Ryan Koo's new Netflix Original Film AMATEUR as a case study. In this episode, we get into: Whether or not your short should be a proof-of-concept for a feature, how to make production manageable and cost-effective for a short film, auditioning, casting, and fin...

Director/Writer Olivia Newman, DP Ashley Connor, Editor Tamara Meem, and producers Chanelle Elaine and Bryan Unkeless of ‘First Match’ join No Film School’s Liz Nord to discuss how they took their film from short to Netflix Original feature, how they made a sports movie inside a personal narrative instead of the other way around, and the strategies they used to stretch a limited production budget...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Erik Luers discuss the MoviePass effect on indie films and a whole bunch of ways the industry is throwing shade on Netflix—including promising young upstart Steven Spielberg. Charles Haine joins us for gear news, including Canon’s entry into the Full Frame Cinema market with the C700 FF. Charles also answers an...

Here's Episode One of our new podcast series The First Feature. This is a step-by-step guide on how to get your first feature made, using Ryan Koo's new Netflix Original Film AMATEUR as a case study. In this episode, we get into: The three questions you can ask yourself to help decide which movie to make; when you need an agent; how Koo lied his way into MTV (and New York); Koo's DIY web series wi...

Some would say that Jim Cummings' journey to winning this year's SXSW Grand Jury Prize for best narrative feature started back in 2016 when his short film "Thunder Road" won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. Yes, the short, which many consider one of the greatest of all time, was the source for their feature adaptation, but in reality, Jim's journey to SXSW royalty started long before "Thunder Roa...

Jon Fusco and Erik Luers are back from SXSW while Liz Nord has mysteriously disappeared, so get ready for a testosterone-fueled recap of the week's best news from the entertainment world! The resident men of the publication discuss the impact of what could be No Film's Greatest piece of original content ever, an intriguing new cut of Stanley Kubrick's classic The Shining, and how The Weinstein's C...

The First Feature is a new in-depth podcast series on No Film School about the making of a single film: in this case, NFS founder Ryan Koo's first feature AMATEUR. AMATEUR is a Netflix Original and premieres April 6; the trailer was released today. Every episode of The First Feature will cover a different phase of production, from screenwriting, to prep, to production, to release. It's meant to be...

Can you imagine being pepper sprayed, pelted/bombarded with rubber bullets, or hit with water cannons while still managing to hold on to your camera and record? That’s what filmmaker Cody Lucich took on for eight months to document the Standing Rock protests of the Dakota Access Pipeline.  No Film School's Oakley Anderson Moore saw the first screening of Akicita: The Battle of Standing Rock at the...

Co-hosts Jon Fusco, Erik Luers, Oakley Anderson-Moore and yours truly, Liz Nord have been running all over downtown Austin, Texas for the past week to bring you insights from America's coolest film event, the SXSW Film Festival and conference. In this episode, we forego our regular show format to share in-depth festival coverage, from news on the ground, to interviews with festival award-winners,...

Nash Edgerton, Tonya Glanz, and Cesar Mazariegos are three creators of shows that were featured in the new Indie Episodic section at Sundance 2018. They Join No Film School’s Liz Nord to discuss how the got their series off the ground, stretched production dollars across multiple episodes, and how much freedom they felt working in this burgeoning medium, unrestricted by duration, platform and trad...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Erik Luers get pumped for America’s coolest film festival, SXSW, and share our fun-fact-filled awards season recap. Charles Haine joins us for gear news including new and improved versions of three useful tools. Charles also answers an Ask No Film School question about the best way to get those surprisingly tric...

If you haven’t picked up on the hottest trend in film and TV right now, then you may be living under a rock. Of course, we're talking about the “80’s Revival” a movement seemingly spurred by the success of Stranger Things. In reality, however, the 80’s Revival may just be the sign of a new wave of filmmakers coming to fruition in the masses. 80’s babies who are looking to re-live their childhood o...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Erik Luers preview the upcoming Academy Awards, ponder whether Netflix’s total dominance of original content is good for indie filmmakers, update you on the latest in the battle for Net Neutrality, and say a sad goodbye to veteran producer Benjamin Melniker. Charles Haine joins us for gear news, including new ca...

To say that it’s tough to play your short at Sundance is an understatement. In 2018, 69 shorts were picked from 8,740 submissions. While there’s no simple formula on how to make a short film will get into Sundance, programmer Dilcia Barerra told No Film School that there is one important guiding principle for filmmakers that do get in: be authentic to your reality and your style. Anything contrive...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Erik Luers and discuss how BitCoin and the blockchain are revolutionizing the film industry. We also update you on awards season and the Berlin International Film Festival, as well as marvel over ‘Black Panther's astonishing opening weekend and talk about what it means for indie filmmakers. Charles Haine joins u...

It’s no secret that filmmakers copy those other filmmakers in their lives who most inspire them. Whether that’s picking up on some sort of trademark dialogue, production design, pacing, music, performances, editing, or camerawork, many times it's easy to identify and trace a piece of style one director drew influence in from another. With two wildly different, yet eerily similar films under his be...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Erik Luers discuss ‘Black Panther’ mania ahead of the groundbreaking film’s opening weekend. We also get into the Parking Production Assistants of New York decision to unionize, the results of the WGA Awards, and say a sad goodbye to Oscar-nominated film composer Jóhann Jóhannsson. Charles Haine joins us for gea...

In his introduction speech prior to the premiere of "The Catcher Was a Spy," Sundance Director of Programming John Cooper described the film’s director Ben Lewin as the “nicest director you'll ever meet.” When you’ve got four decades of dealing with the chaos of filmmaking under your belt and can still be described as such, you know you must be doing something right. While Lewin may describe his c...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Erik Luers discuss why the ‘Kill Bill’ car crash story matters for every filmmaker, how to create a winning Super Bowl ad, and the results of the recent DGA Awards. Liz also answers an Ask No Film School question about what to do if you don’t think you fit in at film school. Charles Haine joins us for a huge wee...

Meet four powerhouse cinematographers who had nine projects between them at Sundance this year: Claudia Raschke, Shana Hagan, Ashley Connor and Mia Cioffi Henry. The talented group sat down at Sundance 2018 with No Film School’s Liz Nord to discuss the benefits of switching between docs & features instead of sticking to just one, how to be the cinematographer your director needs, what to do when a...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Erik Luers discuss two historic Sundance deals and what the festival sales tell us about the ever-changing indie distribution landscape. We also cover the Sundance awards and ponder whether MoviePass’s risky strategy will pay off. Liz answers an Ask No Film School question about perfecting your film's fundraisin...

Nathan and David Zellner are no strangers to Sundance, but perhaps they wish the festival was as new and exciting to them as it was when they premiered "Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter" back in 2014. That's not to say Park City has grown stale for the directing brothers, merely that they enjoy new experiences. So much so, in fact, that it has become the driving force in their creative mission over the...

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord and Jon Fusco are joined by Oakley Anderson-Moore and Erik Luers to give a full rundown from the snowy streets of Park City. The whole team has been trudging through the mountain snow for the past week to bring you all the most fascinating stories from America's preeminent independent film event. We forego our regular show form...

Well, here we are, live from Utah and our first interview out of Sundance is for a film called "Arizona." Bizarre right? Well not nearly as bizarre as the film itself. Set in the midst of the 2009 housing crisis, this darkly comedic story follows Cassie Fowler (played by Rosemary DeWitt), a single mom and struggling realtor whose life goes off the rails when she witnesses a murder. The man who com...