We just hot-swapped in a new design.  We are still working out some of the quirks.

I’m sure this one is going to get around the blogosphere pretty quickly. Some of the most influential DIY filmmakers on the net have gotten together to make what might be called the film festival 2.0. It’s called From Here to Awesome and features many of the online social networking principles that have been employed to do successful DIY film distribution: youtube, myspace, blogs, and audience control.

The masterminds behind this project are:

• Lance Weiler - Lance is the founder of The Workbook Project, a fantastic resource for filmmakers. He wrote and directed Head Trauma and The Last Broadcast
• Arin Crumley - Arin’s feature film Four-Eyed Monsters was distributed with an extensive no-budget marketing campaign that used just about every online social networking tool out there.
• M dot Strange - (real name: Michael Belmont) M made the internet sensation We Are the Strange, an animated film that premiered last year at Sundance.

Some relevant Videos:

• Lance Weiler talking about “truly independent” production in general and his film Head Trauma in particular:
• Trailer for We Are The Strange:
• Arin Crumley’s preview for Four Eyed Monsters. That’s Arin playing the lead:

The films of David Lynch are not for everybody (Lynch on IMDb). I am often hesitant to share his films with friends unless I know that they appreciate what might be called “the aesthetics of the weird.” That said, I think he’s really brilliant, especially when it comes to creative an immersing experience. Here are a few videos of Lynch giving his opinion of some trends in movie viewing and movie making. Both are really funny.

Also, going along with our previous post on ideas, here is David Lynch’s take on ideas.

Music is a perpetual problem for indie filmmakers.  Over at Rhythm Creation, they’ve got a great list of 10 great sites for getting free music and sound samples.  Most of the sites offer the music royalty free.  Some are only royalty free for non-commercial projects.  I checked out several of the sites and they look pretty good.  I especially recommend Sample Swap.

People always ask Neil Gaiman where he gets his ideas. The popular author of several books and screenwriter of the recent films Stardust and Beowulf has a lot to say about answering this question. His short answer:

‘I make them up,’ I tell them. ‘Out of my head.’

But before, you go and read his essay on the topic which I highly recommend, stick around here for what I think is the most effective tip for coming up with (and keeping) new ideas.

Here’s the short answer: write them down.

Sounds too simple to be the killer solution doesn’t it?

Maybe, but here’s the truth, writing down ideas eliminates a block to having them. If an idea has to hang around in your short term memory for a long time in order for it to get written down, that’s a serious stress on your brain. Your brain is not going to generate ideas if it’s just going to mean more stress, more work, more things to remember. When you write them down, you get them out of your head and then your brain is free to come up with more ideas, new ideas, better ideas.

Get the right tools

Personal productivity mavens will be familiar with the term “ubiquitous capture tool.” That’s a fancy term for a notebook and pen that you always have at hand. Ideas come all the time. Be ready.

I recommend choosing a notebook format that you like and stick with it. You will be surprised how fast you fill them and need to line them up on a bookshelf somewhere. Personally, I am a fan of the Circa notebooks from Levenger because I can rearrange the pages like its a binder but it doesn’t have the clunky metal rings. I know a lot of people swear by the Moleskine, also a good option. For the budget savvy, there is also the Hipster PDA (which I also use when even a notebook is too cumbersome). A Hipster PDA is just a stack of 3×5 index cards held together by a binder clip. You’ll find this has all kinds of other useful side effects. Any way you go, having a system makes a huge difference.

Okay, now go read Neil Gaiman’s essay on getting ideas and after every bit of advice he gives, add the words “and then write that idea down.”

As part of our New Year’s cleaning effort, my wife and I finally got around to organizing our bookshelves.  In the process, I found several great books that I had forgotten about.  Here’s my list of the top five film books that I forgot I owned.

1. Film as Art by Rudolph Arnheim - This book goes way back.  The author goes so far as to argue against new-fangled ideas like sound and color.  Regardless of whether you think all films should be B&W and silent, Arnheim does a stellar job of identifying the way a filmmaker puts his artistic mark on a film.
2. Film Form by Sergei Eisenstein - The classic collection of essays by the Russian montage master.  He really makes you think about what meaning is added to a pair of shots when they are edited together.  I also think his writings on rhythm are essential for any filmmaker.
3. What is Cinema? by André Bazin - These essays by the French film critic, André Bazin, do what only the best criticism can - explain why films are good rather than why they are bad.  Great lessons for filmmakers.
4. In the Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch - A quick and insightful read on what make a good cut, written by a master editor.
5. Rebel Without a Crew by Robert Rodriguez - This book chronicles Robert Rodriguez’s rise to fame with his first indy feature, El Mariachi.  This book probably inspires more young filmmakers to go for it than any other out there.

Although most of these are pretty old, they contain a lot of great insights that could be helpful to any filmmaker.