Chase Jarvis - Time management

Self-taught professional photographer Chase Jarvis did a morning Q&A over Coffee where he answered one question that concerns all of us: How do you take time for yourself?
 

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David Fincher - And the Other Way is Wrong

“There’s a million ways to do a David Fincher video." 

Tony Zhou says, "No. Just two. And the other way is wrong."

For sheer directorial craft, there are few people working today who can match David Fincher. And yet he describes his own process as “not what I do, but what I don’t do.” Join me today in answering the question: What does David Fincher not do?

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Aaron Sorkin interview

Aaron Sorkin (Moneyball, The Social Network, Charlie Wilson's War, The American President, Malice, A Few Good Men) talks about his career.

What is composition?

Press Play deliver an excellent discussion on the elusive subject of composition.

5 Tips for first-time filmmakers - Jon Stewart

This list has been doing the rounds. It comes from an article written by Dana Harris, the editor-in-chief and general manager of Indiewire.

Jon Stewart is a writer, director, producer and actor with decades of production experience, who is best known for his work on The Daily Show. Which is to say, he'd done a lot of TV but was a filmmaking rookie when he took on directing Rosewater. Here's his advice for first-time filmmakers.

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1. There are many things you don't know. Know that, and find people who know better.

"I think the smartest thing that I did was recognize my own ignorance. It was a really crucial aspect of being able to rely on the experience and competence of department heads and people that really did know what they were doing and had done it before. And also I think by being aware of it, it kept me vigilant." "It's not like what's out there right now, I don't look at that and go, 'Yes! Perfection!'" - Jon Stewart

2. Learn to recognize when it’s not going well. This will happen a lot.

"You’re in a scene and it’s not working. So within that, I think what you learn is you can’t walk away until it’s working and whatever that may entail—whether that means rewriting it, whether that means changing the dynamic of the scene, all those types of situations. It’s kind of a constant battle of trying to correct what you did wrong. The entire process is. I remember the early sequence of his family story was pictures kind of appearing and disappearing as we explained it and that occurred after he had been arrested, so it’s a much different placement and the scene where he’s walking in the streets of London was much more of a West to East kind of transitional scene. And it just wasn’t working. And I was done shooting.”

3. Learn how to adapt. You will have to do this a lot.

"So, what I ended up doing was looking at the reflective surfaces of the London walk and taking the images and just placing them there and moving them forward in the movie. So it’s a constant process of evolution. I could go back in there right now. It’s not like what’s out there right now, I don’t look at that and go, ‘Yes! Perfection!’ I’m still going, like, ‘Fuck, I could have shot that from the other direction. And the light would have been right and it just would have worked.’”

4. Don't think about it too much. Sometimes it's better not to know.

"In some ways, thank goodness I did not know what I was getting myself into because I probably wouldn’t have. Momentum in film is everything. And momentum can be broken at almost every stage of the process. So, unless you are single-mindedly and tenaciously pursuing that momentum, you will lose it. And at any point in that process and you lose it, it’s kind of over."

5. Don't expect this to seem like a reasonable thing to do. It's not.

"In the middle of the script process, you will come up with obstacles that are seemingly unsurpassable and that momentum can easily be broken because something’s on television or you wanna do other shit or enjoy your life. Then once you have that script, it’s got to go out and try and get someone to finance the production of it. So, at each turn your forward momentum toward getting it made can be very easily dissipated. So you have to be a bit singleminded about driving that and there’s a lot of opportunity to not. There's always going to be those moments."

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Marketing lessons from selfies

Kelly Bush is the Founder & CEO of ID PR. She is a karate black belt, reputed to be unafraid to threaten journalists when she needs to, and one of the film industry’s most effective publicists for putting out fires.
     Her article, 3 millennial marketing lessons from the selfie, first appeared in Ragan's PR Daily a few weeks ago. 

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As a member of Generation X, I find selfies to be, well, almost comical. It’s photography taken by oneself, featuring oneself, doing nothing other than being oneself.
    Some have started calling millennials “the selfie generation.” But what does the selfie really tell us marketers about the millennial generation?
    A lot, I think. With every picture, millennials express themselves and reveal how they prefer to receive information. For marketers, knowing how millennials communicate is key to reaching them and to helping them express themselves through our brands.
    Here’s how the selfie gives us insight into the millennial psyche:

Selfish selfies

Sometimes it seems like every single situation, no matter how mundane, is “selfie-worthy” to some millennials. New shirt? Selfie! Arrived at the office on time? Selfie! Just feeling good today? Selfie!
    Why the “selfish” selfies? This generation is beyond digital native. They are on the cusp of being mobile natives. They barely remember a world that wasn’t connected via mobile devices.
    Every aspect of their lives is based on connectivity. So why wouldn’t the ability to share every moment of their lives on demand be the norm? It’s how they learn about new restaurants and products, how they complain to their friends about their latest failed relationship, and even how they meet their future (possibly failed) relationship partner.

LESSON LEARNED: Connectedness is an integrated aspect of millennials’ lives. Mobile can’t be an afterthought. It has to be the first thought.

Self-expression selfies

Millennials aren’t just sharing their everyday stories on social media. They’re using all kinds of tools to enhance their stories.
    The tool might be a quirky photo filter. Perhaps it's a unique selfie pose they’re introducing. They might even resort to hashtagging their selfies.
    Millennials are driven to be unique when they express themselves. Their social media photos are as much an expression of themselves as the clothing they wear, the music they listen to, and the people with which they hang out.

LESSON LEARNED: If you want to resonate with millennials, give them ample opportunity to express themselves. Make sure customer service listens to their unique expressions, and give them opportunities to customize your products.

Situational selfies

Did you see this guy? He took a selfie from the top of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. It’s one of many “risk-taking” selfies that kids are doing these days.
   Millennials’ lives are often rooted in visual context. They’ve grown up in a world with easy access to photography (Instagram) and video (YouTube). They even graduate high school with the ability to create digital slideshows, build websites, and edit videos. They know what impact visual can have. And they rely on it in the stories they share.

LESSON LEARNED: "Let’s get visual / Visual / I wanna get visual…" (#ThrowbackThursday). You don’t have to rely on copy to tell your story. Visual context can’t be overstated with Millennials. They get it. Powerful image or video will go much farther than a block of copy.

Millennials’ wants and needs aren’t so different from anyone else’s. They’re just children of a different era of technology and connectedness. So they’re communicating with each other, and the brands they love, differently. And perhaps "Selfie-shly."
 

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Time Machine - Doritos Super Bowl Winner 2014

Mr. Smith is in for a surprise when Jimmy invites him into the time machine.

I was watching Back to the Future with my son one day. He asked if I would build him a time machine. I found an old refrigerator box, and made one. As we played with it, the basic idea hit me -- not the full story just yet -- but the idea of a boy having a cardboard time machine, as opposed to a lemonade stand.
    Pre-production wasn't too terrible. I knew exactly what I wanted. I knew that I was going to shoot it at my parent's house, and I already had a basic shot list. I had also already done some test shoots with my son (who's actually the star of the commercial). So I painted and designed the box in our front yard. Lots of people drove by giving me the strangest looks. Someone even asked if they could buy the cardboard from me for their cardboard business.
    Then I had to cast for the Older Man and Mr. Smith. Including myself, talent, and crew there was a total of 7 of us. Location was my parent's house. The boy was my son; the dog was my dog 'Hogan.' Mr. Smith was a mutual friend that I had always wanted to work with, and the old man was local Arizona talent that I was told was a great actor and a great guy! The rumors were true!
    When it was all said and done, the budget was just under $300. ~Ryan Thomas Andersen