When creating a filmmaking project, costs add up quickly. Whether paying for cast, camera equipment, PA’s, or countless other expenses, you wanna save anywhere you can. So how about music? Today, we break down copyright free music. We talk about what it is, how to use it, and copyright free vs “royalty-free.” We’ll get you one step closer to a finished project with music that’s cheap, effective, and not breaking any rules. Continue reading How Copyright Free Music Works and Where to Find It
DING DING DING! You found it, the best place to find the best ding sound effect download. Need that perfect ding noise to set the toaster off and distract the bad guy? An iPhone ding sound to ruin a romantic moment? An annoying seatbelt sound to ramp up the tension in an argument? Don’t worry, no matter why you need a ding sound effect, we’ve got you covered. A little ding goes a long way.Continue reading Ding Sound Effect Download — Royalty-Free SFX Library Sounds
Believe it or not, there was a time in Hollywood when all studios wanted was a spec script. The next big thing. More Shane Black movies. Before Hollywood became the land of superheroes, reboots, and remakes, it was the land of original IP. Welcome to the ‘80s and ‘90s, when writers would write, directors would direct, actors would act, and the studios had their checkbooks open. So, who is Shane Black? Just a recent UCLA grad who took full advantage of this seller’s market, becoming the world's highest-paid screenwriter by the age of 30. Let’s find out how.Continue reading Shane…
There seem to be three primary ways people learn screenwriting these days: film school, screenwriting books or the Scriptnotes podcast with John August and Craig Mazin. In most cases, probably a combination of all three. Film school has an obvious downside, it costs about $100,000. Ask any screenwriter about screenwriting books and you’ve clearly hit a touchy subject, and don’t even mention the gurus. Yet, it’s hard to find anything negative about the weekly Scriptnotes podcast, which means it’s hard to find anything negative to say about John August. So, who is John August and why is he such a…
Ever watch a sci-fi movie and wonder how they filmed it? Are there secret movie studios on the Moon? Mars? Westeros? Unfortunately not, the answer is far less gratifying. Instead of Mars, it was probably filmed in a warehouse. However, luckily for us, chroma keying is cheaper and a lot more practical than a trip to the Moon. So cheap you might be able to use it on your next shoot! But what is a green screen, how do they work, and what are the various ways they can be used? Let's get into it.Continue reading What is a Green…
Whether looking to edit your first video or thinking about switching, something prompted you to stumble upon Davinci Resolve 16, and what a stumble it was. We’ll get into the ins-and-outs, the ups-and-downs, the whys-and-why-nots, talk about Adobe Premiere Pro, all that. First, take a moment, pat yourself on the back. As of clicking this think… you just saved a lot of money. Let’s find out why.Continue reading Davinci Resolve 16 — Prices, Features, and How it Compares
It’s well documented that Hollywood is a tough industry to crack. Whether an aspiring writer, producer, or director... you’ll often start in a job that’s neither writing, producing, or directing. And as you spend countless hours on Linkedin or Indeed searching for jobs, you may see posts for script reader jobs, script coverage jobs, or even script analyst. But, what is a script reader? Is it different from script coverage? Script analyst? What do they do? How are they paid? Is it a good gateway into the industry? Enough questions, let’s find out.Continue reading How to Become a Script Reader —…
What makes a great music score? Does it need to dominate the soundtrack or can go unnoticed in the background? Should a contemporary movie always use modern music or is it blasphemy for a period piece to include pop songs? Whether you have answers to these questions or not, there's no denying the power of music in how we experience movies. These are the best movie scores of all time — some you will spot a mile away, others will raise some eyebrows, but all will get you thinking about what music you'll use in your next project.Continue reading 23…
Never-ending. Eternal. Infinite. People speak in hyperbole quite often but, in real life, everything does come to an end. Everything, that is, except The Shepard Tone, which may be the one thing that truly doesn’t stop. This audio illusion is more than just a novelty, however, and filmmakers like Christopher Nolan have embraced it in their work. From sound effects to the musical score, nothing ramps up tension quite like the Shepard Tone. We'll explain how this illusion works and with some examples of this fascinating trick of the ear.Continue reading What is The Shepard Tone? The Audio Illusion Explained…
You just watched Inception, more specifically, you just watched the ending of Inception, maybe not for the first time. Naturally, you’re gonna have some questions. Wait, what? That top started to fall right? Why were his kids wearing the same outfits? Could that have really been a dream? Don’t worry, we’ll parse through all the Inception theories, and by the end of this, get the Inception ending explained.Continue reading Inception Ending Explained — Dream vs Reality vs Nolan
