Writers and Editors

Amazon's Bad Deal. Craig Mazin (The Artful Writer, 11-20-10) writes: "Recently, Amazon launched 'Amazon Studios,' a strange mashup of contest/​development/​crowd-sourcing designed to help filmmakers 'break in' by getting noticed, winning money and even having their movies released by Warner Brothers. It’s a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad deal," especially if your script is good." Screenwriter John August also weighs in against the idea: On the Amazon film thing.

Association of Independents in Radio (AIR), a social and professional network of 750+ producers – both independent and those employed by media organizations – representing a range of disciplines, from NPR news journalists and reporters, to sound artists, station-based producers, podcasters, gearheads, media activists, and more. Provide resources to help independent producers navigate the public media industry and talent directory. Check out AIR's week-long Sounds Elemental producer intensives.

The Basics of Video Editing: The Complete Guide (Adam Dachis, Lifehacker Night School). "Last week we learned the basics of video editing, covering everything from the general workflow to special effects and color correction to a primer on encoding and delivery. Here's the complete guide with all the videos and notes in one convenient location."

The Blacklist (site and blog for The Blacklist, an annual list of the most popular unproduced screenplays as voted on by Hollywood insiders). You can see previous releases of the Black List here.

Bookshops: Theatre and Film (most of them use the British "theatre" instead of the American "theater")
• Samuel French Bookshops (Los Angeles), amazing source for books, plays, screenplays, cast recordings, dialects, etc. (associated with , play publishers and representatives.
• E-script Online Film and Theatre Bookstore (wide selection of contemporary plays, screenplays, and other theatre and film publications and recordings)
• Drama Book Shop, Inc. (New York, phone: 212-944-0595, tollfree from US and Canada: 800 322-0595, info@​dramabookishop.com)
Tell me if I have omitted anyone useful.

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Complications Ensue: The Crafty TV and Screenwriting Blog (Alex Epstein on the craft of screenwriting for tv and movies)

Crying at the Movies: A Film Memoir by Madelon Sprengnether, about which Library Journal writes: "By exploring her extreme reactions over the years to a range of films, including Pather Panchali, The Piano, and Shadowlands, and trying to place them in the context of her own life, Sprengnether has created a vivid, passionate description of the therapeutic value of cinema."

Documentary Filmmakers Win Exemption From Digital Millennium Copyright Act (PRWeb, 7-28-10). "Documentary Filmmakers Granted Access to Previously Off Limits DVD Content, Restoring Their Fair Use Rights" -- From the Library of Congress: Rulemaking on Exemptions from Prohibition on Circumvention of Technological Measures that Control Access to Copyrighted Works.

Fair use, copyright, social media, and multimedia
The Center for Social Media at American University has posted excellent resources, especially on best practices in fair use of various multimedia, including the following documents:
• Statement of Best Practice in Fair Use of Dance-Related Materials
• Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for OpenCourseWare
• Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video
• The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education
• Fair Use in Media Literacy Education FAQ
• Recut, Reframe, Recycle: Quoting Copyrighted Material in User-Generated Video
• Frequently asked questions about fair use, based on these statements of practice
• The Cost of Copyright Confusion for Media Literacy
• Unauthorized: The Copyright Conundrum in Participatory Video
• The Good, The Bad and the Confusing: User-Generated Video Creators on Copyright
• Documentary Filmmakers’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use
• Success of the Statement of Best Practices
• Digital Futures: A Need-to-Know Policy Guide for Independent Filmmakers.
• John August posts on rights and copyright

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Film blogs:
• 100 Best Blogs for Film and Theater Students (Best University)
• The Top Film Criticism Sites, Annotated blog, Part 1 (Paul Brunick & Staff, Slant Magazine)
• Film (blogging the reel world)
• A Filmmaker's Life (Jacques Thelemaque, on being an indie filmmaker)
• Cinematical (good writing for film lovers)
• Deadline Hollywood Daily (Hollywood news)
• Films Gone Wild
• Filmmaker Magazine blog (good magazine and blog for learning about indie films, filmmakers, filmmaking, and film festivals)
• Greencine Daily (from highbrow and avant garde to blockbuster movies)
• Hope for Film blog (Ted Hope, an indie film producer)
• indieWire Blog Network (several blogs)
• John August (blog for writers by a veteran screenwriter)
• Roger Ebert
• Thompson on Hollywood (Anne Thompson, IndieWire.com, a mix of Hollywood and Indie news)
This list is WAY incomplete but it's a start.

Film Criticism Is Dying? Not Online Thanks to the Internet, there is more and better writing about movies than ever before, says Roger Ebert (WSJ, 1-22-11). Some of Ebert's favorite sites for film criticism:
• David Bordwell
• Edward Copeland on Film
• Musings by film commentators from around the world (SunTimes blog, edited by Ebert).

Free Documentaries Online

Go Into the Story (Scott Myers on screenwriting) -- check the links down right for some interesting pages, including A story idea each day for a month (click on them).

Harlan Ellison, the Great Ranter, writer of "speculative fiction"
Harlan Ellison: A Kind of Twisted Fantasy, Kurt Andersen's interview with Ellison on Studio 360 radio program (and check out the Bonus Track: "Harlan Ellison uncut")
http:/​/​www.studio360.org/​episodes/​2009/​05/​29
Click here: http:/​/​www.sundancechannel.com/​digital-shorts/​#/​series/​20958611001/​20977196001 for readings and film clips starring Harlan Ellison, a series of Sundance "digital shorts (breakthrough Web videos for progressive minds)." Most ranters get boring; Ellison's rants are as verbally creative as his "speculative fiction."
"I have never written science fiction...What I write is a kind of twisted fantasy." ~ Harlan Ellison

How to find a writer's assistant job and an earlier version of the post by Amanda Pendolino (@​amandapendo). See also The Writers' Assistant Life: How to Get In and The Writers' Assistant Life: How to Not Find a Job by Ariel, Industry Nexus.

Luna: A Whale to Watch. (Michael Parfit, Smithsonian magazine, 8-11). "The true story of a lonely orca leaps from printed page to silver screen, with a boost from new technology." The streamlining (even the physical lightening, in weight) of technology has put film-making into more hands, so the studio system doesn't have the tight control over distribution it once had. The studios said 'No' to this film about Luna, but it got made anyway.

Mapping Public Radio's Independent Landscape (Key Interim Findings) and final report: Opportunities for Innovation

Mastering Multimedia (links to resources for learning the art and craft of various aspects of multimedia)

Movie review and criticism sites and databases
To check out reviews, review-score average, or "consensus at a glance":
• Internet Movie Database (IMDB) (great for for when you know the name of the actor but not the film, or only the name of one of the films one of the actors played in; you can retrace your steps and fill in the blanks -- for reviews, look at "external reviews"; plug in zip code at "showtimes & tickets" and see where it's playing near you)
• Rotten Tomatoes (scores movies as fresh or rotten)
• Movie Review Intelligence (monitors and scores reviews of dozens of critics)
• Metacritic.com (review aggregator for movies, video/​DVDs, TV, music, and games).
• AARP Movies for Grownups Awards
• Movie Review Query Engine (MRQE)

• Movie Mom (Nell Minow, Belief.Net, on good movies for kids and families)

Nonny de la Peρa on “Gone Gitmo,” Stroome and the future of interactive storytelling Ernesto Pirego (Nieman Storyboard 1-30-11) interviews one of the co-founders of Stroome.com, a community that allows online collaborative remixing of visual journalism

PUMA Creative Catalyst Award (PUMA and BRITDOC, for an international documentary filmmaker with a story to tell, but not necessarily the resources to do it -- developed to give filmmakers the funds to develop trailers for their films). Apply at BRITDOC. See finalist trailers.

Rotten Tomatoes (a website and film review aggregator devoted to reviews, previews, trailers, information, and news of films, reviewed and rated on the tomatometer)

Running with My Eyes Closed (Jill Gollick's blog on television writing for screenwriters)

Script Frenzy, an April challenge to write 100 pages of original scripted material in 30 days (screenplays, stage plays, TV shows, short films, and graphic novels all welcome). From the people who brought you National Novel Writing Month (NaNo), in which you write 50,000 words of fiction in a month(November).

Spielbergs Curriculum. It may not actually be Spielberg's list of the movies you MUST see to learn about film, but it's a pretty good list!

StageGrade (reporting the critical consensus for New York City plays and musicals (formerly Critic-o-Meter)

***Story. Robert McKee's resources
• Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee. The bible on film, say many.
• McKee Story Seminars
• Storylogue (subscribe to daily McKee lessons and get access to backlog)
• Story Seminar Resources (McKee's excellent links)
• McKee Story Structure (Kenny Kemp's notes, PDF)

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) (mission: to strengthen, nurture and promote professional not-for-profit American theatre)

Transom.org. A showcase and Workshop for New Public Media (all about the power of story in sound): a motherlode of audio learning with tools, advice, & community.

TV Worth Watching (David Bianculli and friends) and TVWorthWatching (Fresh Air Faves)
Helpful blogroll and links to other TV facts, news, criticism, etc.

TVTropes. A wiki/​catalog of the tricks of the trade for writing fiction. "Tropes are devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members' minds and expectations."

Video Tutorials:
• Knight Digital Media Center video tutorials, including tutorial on Editing in Final Cut Pro.
• The Basics of Video Editing: The Complete Guide (Adam Dachis, Lifehacker Night School)
• Multimedia Shooter's tutorials
• How to fail at online video (Glen Canning's tongue-in-cheek guide to how to do it wrong)
• Media College Video Camera Tutorials
• Apple tutorials
• GeniusDV tutorials, including Learning to Use Modifier [shortcut] Keys in Final Cut Pro (GeniusDV.com)
(These recommendations courtesy of Alan Haburchak, who spoke on a panel at the ASJA 2011 conference, together with Michael Cervieri and Dave Cullen (Lindsey O'Connor moderated).

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Books on screenwriting, playwriting, radio and video production, and documentary-making
• Akers, William M.. Your Screenplay Sucks!: 100 Ways to Make It Great
• Artis, Anthony Q.. The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide: A Down & Dirty DV Production
• Biewen, John. Reality Radio: Telling True Stories in Sound (Documentary Arts and Culture). Biewen is audio program director for Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies; includes essays by Ira Glass, Jay Allison, the Kitchen Sisters, and more)
• Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces
• Chandler, Gael. Cut by Cut: Editing Your Film or Video
• Chitlik, Paul. Rewrite: A Step-by-Step Guide to Strengthen Structure, Characters, and Drama in Your Screenplay
• Crowell, Thomas A.. The Pocket Lawyer for Filmmakers: A Legal Toolkit for Independent Producers
• Douglas, Pamela. Writing the TV Drama Series: How to Succeed as a Professional Writer in TV
• Dunne, Peter. Emotional Structure: Creating the Story Beneath the Plot
• Egri, Lajos. The Art of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis In The Creative Interpretation Of Human Motives
• Epstein, Alex. Crafty Screenwriting: Writing Movies That Get Made
• Field, Syd. Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting
• Field, Syd. The Screenwriter's Problem Solver: How to Recognize, Identify, and Define Screenwriting Problems. In her book review, Suzie Quint applies plot problem-solving to novels.
• Field, Syd. The Screenwriter's Workbook
• Field, Syd. Four Screenplays: Studies in the American Screenplay
• Flynn, Danny Martin. How Not to Write a Screenplay: 101 Common Mistakes Most Screenwriters Make
• Glebas, Francis. Directing the Story: Professional Storytelling and Storyboarding Techniques for Live Action and Animation
• Goldberg, Eric. Character Animation Crash Course
• Hampe, Barry. Video Scriptwriting: How to Write for the $4 Billion Commercial Video Market (for corporate and instructional script writers)
• Hampe, Barry. Making Documentary Films and Videos: A Practical Guide to Planning, Filming, and Editing Documentaries
• Hunter, Lew. Lew Hunter's Screenwriting 434: The Industry's Premier Teacher Reveals the Secrets of the Successful Screenplay (the one the Miller Bros used)
• Iglesias, Karl. The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters: Insiders' Secrets from Hollywood's Top Writers
• Keane, Christopher. How to Write a Selling Screenplay
• Kern, Jonathan. Sound Reporting: The NPR Guide to Audio Journalism and Production
• King, Viki. How to Write a Movie in 21 Days
• Laybourne, Kit. The Animation Book: A Complete Guide to Animated Filmmaking--From Flip-Books to Sound Cartoons to 3- D Animation
• Luckie, Mark S. The Digital Journalist's Handbook
• Maschwitz, Stu. The DV Rebel's Guide: An All-Digital Approach to Making Killer Action Movies on the Cheap
• McKee, Robert. Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting
• Rabiger, Michael Directing the Documentary
• Riley, Christopher. The Hollywood Standard: The Complete and Authoritative Guide to Script Format and Style
• Rosenblum, Ralph and Robert Karen. When the Shooting Stops, the Cutting Begins: A Film Editor's Story
• Rosenthal, Alan. Writing, Directing, and Producing Documentary Films and Videos (4th edition)
• Seger, Linda. Making a Good Script Great
• Snyder, Blake. Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need. Good on structure and storytelling, and if Snyder's Beat Sheet (a list of points in a film script) helps you, look also at Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies: The Screenwriter's Guide to Every Story Ever Told (discussed in terms of concept, logline, and treatment) and Save the Cat! Strikes Back: More Trouble for Screenwriters to Get into ... and Out of (more on finding the spine of the story, with examples from popular films -- read Suzie Quint's review, for romance writers.
• Schellhardt, Laura. Screenwriting For Dummies (A to Z, for absolute beginners)
• Thurlow, Clifford. Making Short Films: The Complete Guide from Script to Screen
• Trottier, David. The Screenwriters' Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script. This standard reference will help you with the mechanics of the trade -- structure, format, and style.
• Truby, John. The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller
• Vachon, Christine. Shooting to Kill
• Van Sijll, Jennifer. Cinematic Storytelling: The 100 Most Powerful Film Conventions Every Filmmaker Must Know
• Vogler, Christopher. The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers
• Whitcomb, Cynthia. The Writer's Guide to Writing Your Screenplay: How to Write Great Screenplays for Movies and Television>

Memoirs and Biography

• Goldman, William. Adventures in the Screen Trade; Which Lie Did I Tell: More Adventures in the Screen Trade
• Meyer, Nicholas. The View from the Bridge: Memories of Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood
• Miller, Logan and Noah Miller. Either You're In or You're In the Way: Two Brothers, Twelve Months, and One Filmmaking Hell-Ride to Keep a Promise to Their Father

You'll find reviews of these books at the Amazon links imbedded in the titles and at this website: Shooting Scripts. For purchases made after linking to Amazon.com through Writers and Editors, I get a small percentage, which helps support the site.

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