It’s not a toy!

If you’re filming a miniature, flood the bastard with as much light as you can without starting fires or flipping breakers.

Read More

This is what “doin’ the wave” sounds like.

Recording live sound at a beach is problematic at best. Beaches are great places for action scenes, fight scenes, and dialogue-free contemplative scenes. Anything that requires sound is going to sound like crap.

Read More

Might as well be the Vashta Nerada

Filming an outdoor scene in bright sunlight’s not all it’s cracked up to be — shadows are harsh and sharp, and everybody bakes.

Read More

Or it might keep those brats in line.

If you’re shooting after dark, find out who can see your set. A neighbor who doesn’t care about a day shoot might object strongly to a 1k light shining in the kids’ bedroom window.

Silent, Meaningful Glances

If you read through your entire script out loud, chances are excellent that every single place you stumbled on the dialogue can be cut without hurting the story. Unless you’ll be breathing-for-effect, don’t write dialogue bigger than a single breath can handle.

Read More

Hot Stuff

The lights are hot enough to melt parts of the camera body, as well as melt or ignite other materials nearby.

Read More

Safety Fourth

There’s only two reasons to do another take: because you want a safety, or because you want something done differently.

Read More

Why not — bullets all feel the same, right?

When doing sound design, try to not use the same sound more than once — unless there’s a very specific reason to. Every monster roar is different — even if it’s the same monster.

Read More

They were medieval wristwatches, apparently.

Period pieces require costumes. Make sure you account for that. Including shoes!

Read More

Speedy McSwordster

Quick way to build a sword: If it doesn’t have to be a hero prop, just make it out of thin plywood wood and paint it.

Read More

For that, they can keep the glasses.

It’s not rocket science to produce a 3D movie — all you need is the same technology behind Viewmaster sets, and for your audience to be able to cross their eyes or look wall-eyed at something. It’s no big trick — I’ve done it myself. To produce a 3D movie showing on one screen is trickier, and you’ll need glasses.

Read More

It’s an audio trifecta!

For every sound you record for your sound design, keep in mind that you can pull three different sounds from that: the original recording, a speeded-up version, and a slowed-down version.

Read More

No one likes watching the sausage being made, however.

Some people like to show rushes to the crew, thinking it can be inspiring. Some don’t, because it can be demoralizing. However you decide to do it, at least be consistent, be clear about why you’re doing it, and keep an eye on what effect it may be having.

Read More

That’s a real word, too, by the way.

Watch DVD commentaries.

Read More

Perspective has value, too!

There will always be someone better than you. There will always be someone worse than you. Comparing is a losing game.

Read More

A review of Judd Winick’s book The Big Book of Barry Ween, Boy Genius.

Don’t for a moment think of this book as a book for children. It’s easy to make that mistake with graphic novels. This is definitely a story for grown-ups, even though the protagonist is a 10-year-old boy.

Barry Ween has an IQ upwards of 350 and spends his every waking hour thinking like a madman. Also, he has some bizarre adventures, including adventures with his hormonal sidekick Jeremy, and several others. Do you like stories that take place in the Old West? How about stories with giant gorillas? Dinosaurs? Aliens? Secret government think-tanks? All that and more are here for you to enjoy.

And special note: Barry swears in a way that will blow your mind, so you better wear a helmet. I laugh like a maniac every time I read this book.

I think you will, too!

This month’s book review is Murderous Love, edited by Laura Eliabeth.

It’s a dark and violent anthology of tales by eight different authors: Piper CJ, Nenia Campbell, Kristen Coar, Maggie Hoopis, Lauren Cate Leake, Rachel Pendley, E.V. Sauvage, and Ava Smiddy. I read it as I was on vacation, so it got to sit out with me by a nice pool and keep people from bothering me by sporting a cover that clearly said “No, not this time.”

I initially read it because I loved the hook: eight stories by eight women, of viscous revenge. That enough piqued my interest. As I read through the stories, I agree, they are damn ferocious. But I don’t want to miss the mark on this – in all the stories, the villains 100% get their comeuppance in ways that feel completely justified and appropriate.

So that’s awesome.

The thing that caught me by surprise, however, was just how spicy some of the stories were. Okay, in my defense, I probably could have looked up the authors to get a better sense of what they wrote. But, to be honest, it still felt fine. I mean, this isn’t a book I’ll be asking my mother if she wants to read after me, but (shrug) as long as you are aware that the chili has hot spots, you won’t be shocked.

There are content warnings inside the front of it. Depending on how you might feel about content warnings, I could say read them or ignore them, but I might suggest keeping an eye on them if you have sore spots, because when I say some of these stories are ferocious, I am not kidding. Best be prepared.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

A review of Eliot O’Donnell’s book Werwolves.

As a child, I discovered I enjoyed creature features, and – bless her heart – my mother often indulged me in that. Somehow, somewhere, she found this book and got it for me. At the time, I devoured it (well, in retrospect, that’s on-brand for me), but over time kinda forgot about it. I lost many of my books in a Massive Mold Infestation when I was a teenager, and my guess is that it was one of the casualties.

Recently, I remembered, and hunted the book down. Oh joy!

It was every bit as enjoyable and weird as it was the first day I read it.

O’Donnell’s style of writing feels very much like a Kolchak-style exploration of the hidden world of werewolves, including stories of werewolves and other lycanthropes from many cultures. Back when I read this, I was also reading tons of books about other cryptids, alien astronauts, pyramid power, etc. (we all were, admit it, haha) It all fit together very nicely. Nowadays, this style might feel a bit dated, but the overall presentation still fits together perfectly.

Now, I’ll go you one further… this book was first published in 1912! It’s been reprinted so many times, and every time I encounter a reprint, it still feels like I am in some forgotten corner of an ancient library, reading a book I should never have been allowed to see.

If you want to pick up any of the neat reproductions, by all means do so! You can also find it at Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26629

A review of Richard Brautigan’s book The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western.

I’ve very much enjoyed Richard Brautigan’s work since I was introduced to it in the mid ‘80’s. I haven’t read everything, but what I have read has stuck in my head and constantly wormed around. He’s mostly known for his poetry, and his poetry is remarkable, and I think his poetic sense of rhythm works so very well when it comes to writing novels. He keeps a poetic rhythm in his prose and that makes it so much fun to read.

The Hawkline Monster is a gothic western, so expect a western and also expect some monstrous shenanigans.

The story follows two hired killers, Cameron and Greer. A mysterious woman contacts them, asking for help. The three of them make the long journey to eastern Oregon (I think it was eastern Oregon, though I might be mis-remembering), encountering a few situations that are definitely “western” flavored. Had I read this description initially, I might have thought it would be a bit dull, but Brautigan draws it all out on the page in a way that is utterly real and – like I mentioned earlier – sticks with you.

Once they arrive at the Hawkline Mansion sitting in the middle of a field of snow and ice, surrounded by the baking hot Oregon desert, then things get even weirder.

I don’t want to spoil anything, but to be completely clear, there is a monster and it is definitely messing with everybody’s heads. And it ends in a very satisfactory way (which I definitely to not want to spoil here!).

I’ve read this book several times and it’s always great. I’ve also read this book aloud at least twice to people, and… usually… it’s well-received. Reading Richard Brautigan aloud is a genuine treat. I mentioned his rhythm earlier and when you read it aloud, the rhythm feels even better.

Please give it a try!

A review of Matt Youngmark’s book series The Arabella Grimsbro Collection.

Youngmark definitely has his voice down and the feel for his main character Arabella Grimsbro. As she moves through her adventures, you can feel her sense of impatience and frustration, and as deeper “tricks” are revealed, her surprise comes through clear as a bell.

In these books, Arabella finds herself drawn to a peculiar store in the mall. It seems to be a bit like a book store in the form of a VR experience or something like it, but once the mechanism is out of the way, Arabella finds herself hurled into several already-in-play adventures.

Her first adventure is in the land of Oz, and a young woman with a grumpy attitude and a punchy temper does much better there than one might expect.

Her next adventure is on the distant planet Barsoom, where she joins the Tharks and other Martians.

Her third adventure is aboard the submarine Nautilus, both shipping with Captain Nemo and his crew, but also trying desperately to find her way out of this sequence of adventures and back home.

The collection also includes a short adventure in the worlds of Sherlock Holmes, for those of us so inclined.

As a character, Arabella offers us an insight to each of these settings that is atypical to the settings. While she’s angry and confused and sometimes abrasive, at her core, she believes in a kind of justice and kindness, albeit of her own flavor.

Also, she swears. Much more than you might think. In fact, her swearing is enumerated in the introductions. It’s that awesome.

I hope you check it out if you have a chance.

A review of Carrie Lacina’s book Hoof (Sera the Well-Adjusted Serial Killer).

Okay, so this was fun, and fun to read. And REALLY interesting.

Structurewise, I appreciated the short chapters. That keeps you coming back to the narrative.

I also appreciate that the main character, Sera, is not… super professional. We can’t all be Bret Easton Ellis, and Lacina’s created a character that kinda hurtles her way like she’s in a ragtag pinball game. Luck plays a factor with her, for the better and for the worst. Think of Sera as a character with a lot of HEART, but the best she understands as far as experience goes is… cloud-shaped drawings.

This luck also included a surprising amount of animal intelligence. About this I shall say no more, so that it may come as a joy to you as well, when you read it.

As others have said, I’m glad it came to a satisfying conclusion.

Absolutely delighted to be interviewed by Ryan Anthony for his podcast Creativity Worth Expressing.

I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did!

If you enjoy, please toss a like toward Creativity Worth Expressing, and sub to his channel!

A review of Orrin Grey’s book How to See Ghosts & Other Figments.

I think short story collections are one of the most interesting views into an author’s heart and soul. A short story can be nearly anything the author wants. It can be any shape or form. It can address any topic. There are no minimum number of words, there is no pre-established structure. A short story can be a single brilliant spike of emotion, or a muddled mass of human misery, or something even more bizarre.

Orrin Grey’s collection How to See Ghosts & Other Figments embodies that concept perfectly. In this book are eighteen stories, and each one feels like the polished facet of an insane jewel, constructed in such a way that no facet is identical in shape to another, yet the jewel’s existence cannot be denied.

In the stories, one feels a longing and obsession with old movies, old plays, old stagecraft, and wizardry. There is the sense that no matter how normal life might seem, around certain corners, in certain trunks, and behind certain curtains lie creatures and people and realities and assumptions that are so outside of the expected, that to face them directly might shatter a sane person’s mind.

Each story also includes an afterward by Grey, exploring the genesis of the story. Although these afterwards feel a teensy bit like a magician showing you the strings and pulleys of each trick, it’s also good because it feels more human. These aren’t simply stories from some otherworldly pen dipped into the ink of stars, but a person who also struggles to connect needs and passions into a single art form.

Kudos also to the cover artist, Nick Gucker who — in my opinion — embodied the multi-faceted nature of the book with a painting depicting a crazy pulsing castle of unbelievable shape and depth, filled with hints of the horrors within. I think this is a great reflection of the entire book.

I paced myself with How to See Ghosts & Other Figments one story a day, as I did other things, and I think this is a genuinely lovely way to experience this book. It is important to include the weird and wonderful in each of your days, if you want to survive reality.

A review of Kasey Kubica’s book Woebegone.

Woebegone opens with a heart-wrenching scene of great tragedy. Be aware there there are no emotional punches pulled.

On the narrative level, the story drives toward solving the mystery of that tragedy, as well as many other tragic and horrifying events, all connected.

But when I fully digest Woebegone, it becomes something deeply sobering. It becomes a cautionary tale, and an eyes-open reckoning of the destructive effects of tragedy on people and on community.

The events of the opening tragedy never leave the characters. It leaves an open wound in each character, and they all try different ways to close that wound, to heal it. Even the community around them tries to cope. And yet, the wounds remain raw — not only those wounds wrought by the opening tragedy, but older wounds hidden in their past. Points of view shift and swivel, and even when characters fully dissociate, they crash back into their realities.

Unaddressed grief, pain, and tragedy produce a setting and story where we’re brought to the edge of what’s unfaceable, and then pushed over that edge, learning the cost of refusal.

Kasey Kubica’s novel shares a trait with many classic novels — a seemingly simple read with a steel core of unflinching humanity within.

A review of K. L. Young’s book The Secret Language of Spiders.

The Secret Language of Spiders is a title so fantastic, I had to pinch dozens of people to be sure it was real. It is quite real, as my alleged parole officer keeps insisting.

In a small, dark, dying, and twisted town, horrible things scuttle about in the darkness, and horrible voices whisper insistently from beneath cold soul-sucking water. Faith and love are tested in unforeseen ways, and we learn that isolation and despair lead to the heart’s darkest horrors.

The engine in this novel starts right away, and revs up continuously throughout, until its mind-destroying, multi-legged climax. It’s terrific page-turning terror, lovingly hidden beneath a haunting cover!

Young’s setting is every little town left behind by the mad rush of society and poisoned in the center, and his characters are every real and hurting person abandoned in that same rush. Some still crave relevance and some have accepted their baffling fates in a shell of a town whose core has finally started a collapse into itself. And, as with the dark parts of life, there’s even a touch of humor here and there.

Watch for more work by K. L. Young, and brace your mind for when it hits!

A review of Bestiary of Blood, edited by Jamal Hodge

Let’s start off right away with the structure – Bestiary of Blood is a book outrageous in breadth and scope. Tons of established and tons of upcoming authors, all hand-picked by the editor Jamal Hodge, to fit his theme of Modern Fables and Dark Tales.

The stories are further subdivided into categories and subcategories, which might sound a little dry on the surface, but is instead a reflection of the wide variety of stories inside. Some are best in daylight, some by night, and some during the unknown bands of gray between. Some reflect beginnings, some reflect ends, and others reflect even stranger stages. For me, it all worked. My li’l inner organizer brain loved it.

But the stories themselves…

Wow.

So many authors, and each brings a new and dangerous voice to play in this sandbox, each bringing their own interpretation not only of the theme, but of the animal they’re writing of. Because these are fables, each is told from the place of an animal – or animal-like creature.

Some of the stories are traditional fables. Some of the stories are cautionary tales. Some of the stories offer insights only available from such a creature. Some are stories of people encountering and affected by creatures. Some are so outrageously bizarre that it’s hard to tell what Universe they’re from.

The picture is so big that approaching it intellectually isn’t the right way to do this. Approach it emotionally.

This book is an emotional ride through the nerve fibers of many different animals, and on each part of the ride, you’re gonna feel it, right down to your roots.

Get this book (you can find it on Amazon). Share this book. Feel it.

You won’t regret it.

Music to my ears!

It’s hellaciously cheaper to find a Local Band you like who’s looking for exposure than to try and secure the rights for that “perfect” song from Popular Band. Plus, Local Band will probably enjoy the exposure you will give them.

Read More

Wisdom upon reflection

Sometimes, motion tracking doesn’t work. Unless you or someone you know is a total whiz at it, don’t count on motion tracking to make up for what you can fix on set. Look at all signs, glass, mirrored surfaces, visible roads, etc.

Read More

The shadows know…

Look at the shadows!

Read More

Maybe it could be the Moon!

If you’re shooting after dark, be sure you’ve visited the set after dark.

Read More

No more secrets.

Here’s a nifty “Emergence” kind of sound: Reverse the first five seconds or so of your sound effect or music, add a little echo to it, then reverse it back. Mix that into the original beginning bit and voila!

Read More

Sound’s important!

For your sound design, do your main sound bed first.

Read More

How Much is Your Soul Worth?

Jerks who pay are still jerks. You don’t have to be a slave to a paycheck, y’know.

Not that I’m pointing fingers, mind you…

In your genre script, you don’t have to worry about explaining each and every little detail.

Read More

Train the kids, also, is what I’m trying to say here.

Animals are very tricky to work with.

Read More

Plus, Toys are Awesome.

If you don’t need a detailed hero prop (one that looks extremely realistic), you might find something that works great at a toy store.

Read More

And it’s Worth Every Penny!

It’s easy to think you don’t need a script, or that a script is a pain to deal with, or that writing is easy. None of that is true.

Read More

“Shot on location — in my bathroom!“

Try to avoid making a movie that takes place in a cramped location, such as a bathroom stall.

Read More

Aw…. busted!

If a prop or setpiece or other object breaks, immediately let someone know.

Read More

Plus, er, earplugs.

When using a microphone, watch the sound levels of the recording device.

Read More

“Peek-a-boo!” gets boring after you pass 18 months of age.

If you think an invisible monster is dumb, or not scary at all, watch The Fiend Without a Face or Forbidden Planet. You can chuckle at the reveals, but never underestimate the power of imagination, when spiced with good sound, good music, good acting, and maybe a little on-set trick or two.

Read More

Band-Aids don’t always work.

There’s a reason ordinary people don’t do explosive squibs all the time — because it’s so easy to screw up.

Read More

Hot Set

Know what part of the set is Hot Set.

Read More

The owner pulls the tenant’s strings.

Leave the location cleaner than when you arrived, and be gracious and grateful to your host. Even if you paid. Even if they were jerks.

Read More

Get every single punch!

If you’re shooting a fight scene, get a lot of coverage. A lot. Every possible angle you can. Overshoot.

Read More

This requires depth, however…

You can rehearse until you’ve lost the feeling in your genitalia, but unless the Actors understand and have integrated the characters, the performance will never be better than memorized lines. The Director must work with them to help them understand the characters.

Read More

Science can save your skin!

If you can feel heat through your gloves, whatever you’re holding is hot enough that you want to find a way to put it down right now. It’s just going to get hotter. You don’t want that on your hands. Literally.

Read More

Don’t let a cuppa joe spoil your shoot.

If there’s going to be any sort of mess on set at all, such as effects or rain or anything, bring an extra set of clothes. Even if there isn’t going to be anything tricky, having an extra set of clothes handy won’t kill you.

Read More

Permission trumps forgiveness.

Always make sure your permits are in order before lighting anything on fire. If you’re not sure if you need a permit, find out first. A pleasant phone call and a $35 permit fee are much preferable to a steep fine or worse.

Read More

“Lift with your legs, Hercules!”

Get someone to help with the heavy lifting. It’s okay — no one expects anyone on set to be Hercules…

Read More

…or change Time and Space.

No matter how cool the makeup effects are, find out how long they take to apply and how long they last under hot lights. Factor that into your schedule.

Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hellbender Media is thrilled and delighted with Black Bed Sheet Books for the publication of the novel The Violet Furnace. The book is now available wherever books are sold. Digital version for e-readers are also available.

Read More

Radio-controlled is just askin’ for trouble, though.

If you’re going to use a puppet or build a model to be manipulated with strings or wires, make the strings removable at the model or puppet, so that if you’re doing a shot that doesn’t need this or that wire, you can physically remove it.

Read More

“Hey, who is that guy?!”

Have your background extras dress and appear as generic as possible. This includes clothing, hair, whatever. If you notice them, they’re doing it wrong.

Read More

You could always use a film camera, too.

If you want your video to look like film, one of the most effective choices you can make is to light it like film.

Read More

Target: Good boundaries!

If you want to get a little experience under your belt, browsing online classifieds (such as Craigslist, Mandy, etc.) can help you find productions in your area that are crewing or casting. Usually, they pay little or nothing, but if you’re just starting to learn, this sort of experience can be invaluable.

Read More

And if you’re winning at Powerball, you can hire people to make movies.

You know those stories about a filmmaker who maxed out every credit card and spent all their savings and retirement in a mad gamble at success? In those stories, just as this debt is about to rebound back, the gamble pays off, the movie is wildly successful, and everything turns out great?

Read More

Plus, it adds adventure to your life!

Find those people who — when presented with a problem — ask “How can we make this work so we can keep moving forward?” Those are great people to have on set. Cultivate those connections.

Read More

And check for humming technicians, too.

If you’re getting a hum in your sound, replace your cables with shielded cables, or new cables, or at least don’t run them next to or across power cables. Make sure they’re properly grounded.

Certain tasks should never be randomly assigned.

If you have a pyrotechnical device, never leave the arming key in the firing system if you have to walk away from it… NO EXCEPTIONS. And yes, you have an arming key, the removal of which will make the effect impossible to trigger. Of course you do.

Read More

Really, Beware of Thunder!

Before you plan a shoot, record the ambient sound from the location and go somewhere else and really listen to it. Make sure you aren’t missing something that’s going to bedevil you later, such as an elevator, nearby crowd noises, crashing sounds from across the street, whatever. It’s usually easier to find a new location than to clean up crap audio.

Read More

Nobody likes a Chatty-Cathy

Storytelling and dialogue are not the same thing. If no one gets the story, it’s not because there isn’t enough dialogue — it’s because the story doesn’t make sense. In fact, if you think you might need more dialogue, you probably need less.

Read More

Study the Secrets!

A great source of quickie tutorials is the B&H site: BHPhotoVideo.com.

Read More

Nobody Wins Anyway

Don’t fight. Seriously. Yes, there will be disagreements. Yes, there will be frustrations. Yes, there will be setbacks. That is normal. But please, don’t fight about it. There’s no need to yell or shout or scream or whinge on.

Read More

Who needs a working brain?!

You know those little adapters that let you plug a three-prong plug into a two-hole socket? Don’t use those.

Read More

Stop mumbling!

There are a lot of things you can fix in editing, but crappy line delivery isn’t one of them.

Read More

But never allow a brogue delivery!

If you’re actors want to try a variation of a line, get the scripted line first, and then let them try their variations (assuming you have the time, of course).

Read More

Unless you’re in the middle of the Giggle Loop™.

It’s not necessary that you weep at your sad scenes and laugh at your comic scenes, but if you don’t with some consistency, maybe you might want to think about rewriting them.

Sometimes all of the above.

For certain types of shots, recognize when more is better and communicate that to your crew. For example, more gore, more blood, more vomit, more air coming out of the wind machine.

Read More

And it’s rarely in HD.

You might think having a setpiece that consists of video monitors tracking action all over a location is a cool thing, and in a lot of ways it can be, but think of each one of those video feeds as a completely separate short movie you have to make before you make the movie.

Read More

…assuming you have a trailer.

The night before a shoot, check all costumes, props, locations, actors, gear, food, and crew. make sure everything’s ready. Make sure batteries are charging, tapes are striping*, etc.

Read More

Your mom always loves your work.

It’s okay to run a script by a buddy or two, but don’t go overboard.

Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“Seeds” to premiere at the Portland Horror Film Festival.

Read More

Dateline February 6, 2023 — I am interviewed on the Francy and Friends podcast.

Read More

Unless it’s a really masterful master shot…

Don’t spend all your time getting the master shot. A master shot is important, true, but you need to get coverage, other angles, lots of things for your editor to use.

Read More

Unless it’s a convertible.

Always lock your car doors when you go on set, and keep valuable hidden. Better yet, keep valuables either at home or on your person. Sure, it’s a closed set, and sure, everybody’s buddies, and sure, there’s Security keeping an eye on everything, but still. Lock your car.

Read More

Stranger Danger!

If it’s not a small set or a closed set (well, why isn’t it?), make sure that the people who are supposed to be there (cast & crew) have badges or some other clear and obvious identifier. Everybody should keep their eyes out for people who don’t have this identifier.

No one likes feeling dumb.

Never underestimate the audience — they are smarter than you think, and they will get the joke.

Read More

Explosive charges might not be a good idea.

Actors should never be allowed to take costume gear off set. You don’t have to keep their clothes hostage, but it can help.

Read More

Finger-count must remain consistent.

Everybody working lights should get a pair of gloves. Even a cheap-o dollar-store pair of gloves is better than nothing. Lights can get very hot and you don’t want second-degree burns becoming a “badge of honor” on your sets. Spring for gloves.

Read More

Eating’s kind of disgusting to watch.

Continuity’s even more important: Dinner scenes are really, really challenging because you have to make sure chicken legs don’t magically heal from one scene to the next. Pay close attention to who is eating what — or just plan to shoot around the plates.

Read More

And then get back to work on the next one.

Make a big noise when you finish something. Celebrate, dammit — finishing a movie is a Significant Event!

Or none, for that matter.

Continuity’s still important! If you’re using a revolver in your movie, make sure the bullet counts are accurate. Nothing makes you look more dorky than a character talking about how she only has one bullet left when the viewer can plainly see five.

Read More

And always look at jewelry.

Continuity’s important. For each “movie” day, make a quick sketch of what each character’s wearing and make sure you double-check that sketch against what you’re shooting. This is not something you can easily fix in post.

Read More

“It’s pretty nice work, considering the source…”

You may run across people who try to discourage you. They may not even mean to do it, but whenever you talk with them, you’re discouraged. Your best defense is the following mantra: “Just get the shot.” Most of the folks who are discouraging are really trying to discourage themselves. Don’t buy into their limitations.

Read More

That’s not technically a “special effect,” there…

Regarding cables, lights, power supplies and other things plugged into the wall: These things should not get hot. If they feel hot to you, tell someone immediately. You don’t want them getting any hotter, and you definitely don’t want them to start smoking or burst into flame.

Read More

It still beats low-budget CGI!

A dog isn’t a werewolf, but careful application of camera angles, cuts, reaction shots, and good interesting sound can fool most anyone.

Read More

Artsy blue-green color grading notwithstanding…

If you’re using a monitor (which you are, right?), then do your best to calibrate it. Calibration is simply setting the contrast, brightness, color levels, and other controls to be as accurate as possible.

Read More

Do you see what I see?

Always use a monitor so that you can see what the camera sees without making your DoP move. On rare occasions, a monitor is contraindicated, but those are very rare occasions. You always want to know what the camera’s seeing.

Read More

No, higher than that.

If you must use a sprinkler to simulate rain, position it high enough so it doesn’t look like someone’s peeing on your actors.

Read More

Plus, they eat your food.

Yes, being on a film set can be fun, but think very hard before allowing people on set who are neither cast not crew. They can be dangerous wildcards.

“Oh, we thought he was with you!“

Spooky locations where mischief can happen invite mischief, such as dark woods, insane asylums, corn mazes, etc. Assign people to buddy groups for safety.

Read More

Time for a gritty remake of Empty Room?

The fewer the actors, the fewer the sets, the fewer effects, the simpler the movie will be to make. Be realistic about what you can chew before you bite.

Read More

Be a good camper!

If you’re shooting at a natural location, such as a beach or a forest, when you’re all done, pass out trash bags and everybody wander around picking up trash and making it prettier. Not just your production’s stuff, but spread out. Make your group the Entropy Decreasing Group.

Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hellbender Media is thrilled and delighted with Black Bed Sheet Books for the publication of the novel The Blood-Red Night of Hatchet Valley. The book is now available wherever books are sold. Digital version for e-readers are also available.

Read More

Welcome to November 2022’s edition of Invocation, Hellbender Media’s email newsletter. We remain happy as a clam that you’ve joined us. And we speak fluent clam, so we know!

Read More

Not so great for adult films, though.

If you want someone to move very, very creepy in a movie, have them move backwards and reverse the video. If they move quickly, the illusion is blown, but if they move slowly and in a somewhat linear fashion, the audience won’t q-u-i-t-e know what’s going on, and that’ll freak ‘em out.

Read More

And who really needs a highly trained cat with what CGI can do these days…?

Seagulls will act for breadcrumbs. So will pigeons and doves (even in slow motion!).

Read More

Everybody pays attention to loud rain.

If you’re filming something that’s supposed to take place when it’s raining, get everything wet. Roads, sets, actors, everything. People might or might not notice rain on the video, but they will notice things not being wet.

Read More

Death can be funny — if you give it time.

If you’re coming off a funny scene, give the next scene a few seconds to let your audience shift gears. If you don’t, then no one will ever hear whatever’s said in that scene, because they’ll be too busy laughing.

Read More