The No Film School Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Why Making a Film is the Only Thing That Can Ever Really Prepare You for Making Your First Film Aug 14, 2017

Show notes

The quality of this summer’s offering of independent films has just been utterly ridiculous. There have already been so many new voices, new perspectives, and unique stories hitting the big screen and now we can add Matt Spicer’s Ingrid Goes West to the list as yet another standout title. The film, which earned the coveted Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance follows Ingrid Thorburn, an unhinged social media stalker, frenetically brought to life by Aubrey Plaza, who moves to LA in an attempt to make friends with her latest obsession, the boho-chic social media influencer, Taylor Sloane, a character that’s oh-so convincingly played by Elizabeth Olson. Even with a hilarious cast and chuckle-worthy premise, it's hard to call Ingrid Goes West a comedy, in the truest sense of the word, because, well, it is really, really, creepy. The disturbing tone carefully planted beneath the film's shimmering Los Angeles foreground will stick with you long after you've left the theater. For Spicer, who penned the film along with David Branson Smith, this was the culmination of a ten-year journey from screenwriter to director. He joins us this week to discuss the steps he took to make this film happen, the pros and cons of social media’s new role in the film industry, and how making a film is the only thing that can ever really prepare you for making a film.

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IFW 8.10.17: Best Tripods for Your Budget & The Academy's Surprise President Aug 10, 2017

Show notes

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco,and Emily Buder discuss two new and very different industry studies: one about the use of swear words in movies, and the other about the future of the documentary film industry. We also talk about the new President of the Academy of Motion Pictures, updates from the Locarno, TIFF and NYFF festivals, and Netflix’s first acquisition of another company. Charles Haine joins us for gear news, including the Panasonic EVA-1 specs and an embarrassing moment for Apple. Charles also answers an Ask No Film School question about how to assess and buy tripods in a range of budgets. As always, we also bring you the latest gear news, upcoming grant and festival deadlines, new indie film releases, weekly words of industry wisdom, and other notable things you might have missed while you were busy making films. You can see all the links from this show in this week’s podcast post at nofilmschool.com.

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The Worst Things a Director Can Do on Set Aug 07, 2017

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The experienced cast of ‘In the Radiant City’ joins No Film School’s Liz Nord to dish on how (and how not) to direct actors. 'In the Radiant City’ is directed by Jeff Nichols protégé Rachel Lambert and co-written by Lambert and Nathan Gregorski. The film is a quiet but very tense family drama about a man who testified against his brother in a murder trial when they were kids, and his return to their rural Kentucky hometown twenty years later to face the family that was left behind. Its talented ensemble cast includes Marin Ireland ('Hell or High Water’), Michael Abbott Jr. (‘Loving'), Madisen Beaty ('The Master'), and Celia Weston, who has over 60 credits to her name but may be best recognized as Barb Tucker from 'Modern Family.’ On this lively episode, that entire group, plus Lambert and Gregorski, discuss what you should *not* do on set as much as they give constructive tips for directing actors. Lambert also shares the details of how she got her debut feature off the ground, including great advice like "Get to know every goddam bartender in the area,” as well as the most important things she learned from mentor Jeff Nichols, who produced the film.

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IFW 8.3.17: The Demise of DSLR & Soderbergh's Plan to Save Movies Aug 03, 2017

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In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco,and Emily Buder wonder if DSLR filmmaking is finally dead, and whether Soderbergh's new production model can revive indies. We also discuss a former Google Android exec who extols iPhone filmmaking, Netflix's $20.5 billion in debt, and say a sad goodbye to Pulitzer-Winning writer, director, and actor Sam Shepard. We hear from video essay guru Kogonada about his debut feature ‘Columbus,’ which hits theaters this week. In gear news, Fusion gets a VR toolset and big price break, the TSA adds filmmaker-unfriendly travel rules, and lens mount options grow for the Fujfilm MK zooms. Ask No Film School fields a question about what extent you should involve an author in your film when it's based on their book. As always, we also bring you the latest gear news, upcoming grant and festival deadlines, new indie film releases, weekly words of industry wisdom, and other notable things you might have missed while you were busy making films. You can see all the links from this show in this week’s podcast post at nofilmschool.com.

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How Stupid Videos Led to a $5 Million Deal For 'Brigsby Bear' & An 11 Year Trip to 'Killing Ground' Jul 31, 2017

Show notes

Back at Sundance, No Film School's Jon Fusco sat down with a few of the teams behind a few of this summer's best independent films while they were still fresh off their premiere highs. Brigsby Bear, which came out July 28, obtained a $5 million deal from Sony Pictures Classic for Distribution rights. Director Dave McCary and screenwriter Kevin Costello join the podcast to discuss the journey each of them took to get that deal. From stupid YouTube sketches with their comedy group Good Neighbor to Saturday Night Live Digital Shorts and now full-length features, their process is a great model for collaborative filmmaking. Through a lethal combination of non-linear storytelling, gender reversals, and Deliverance type thrills, director Damien Power successfully toys with audience expectations all the way throughout his debut feature, Killing Ground, which we might add took 11 years to make. We discussed how Australia's film scene helps to foster artists who take greater risks, the lengths Power went to to get his film made, and the strategies he put in place to create the script for Sundance's most mind-bending horror film.

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IFW 7.27.17: How to Break into Modern Hollywood & The Latest DSLR Fail Jul 27, 2017

Show notes

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Emily Buder discuss the new rules for breaking into Hollywood and why "constantly reminding people you exist is now part of the job." We also share what we learned from last week's Comic-Con and the 38th News and Docs Emmy nominations, which were announced this week. We bid farewell to both Adobe Flash and the YouTube editing tool. Our rundown of this week's indie film releases is particularly robust, with no less than six festival favorites hitting theaters. Charles Haine joins us for gear news, including Canon's latest camera fail, and answers an Ask No Film School inquiry about the differences between online and offline editing. As always, we also bring you the latest gear news, upcoming grant and festival deadlines, new indie film releases, weekly words of industry wisdom, and other notable things you might have missed while you were busy making films. You can see all the links from this show in this week’s podcast post at nofilmschool.com

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'Landline': How to Avoid Sophomore Slump and Make Your Second Feature Jul 24, 2017

Show notes

‘Landline’ co-writers, Director Gillan Robespierre and Producer Elisabeth Holm join No Film School’s Liz Nord to discuss how they overcame the typical hurdles to get their second feature made and theatrically released. The pair first collaborated on 'Obvious Child', which premiered at Sundance 2014, where Holm won the Red Crown Producer’s Award, and went on to critical and audience acclaim and theatrical release. They joined efforts again for ‘Landline', which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2017 and opened in theaters last Friday. In this episode, Robespierre and Holm talk about how they avoided the "Sophomore slump", writing authentic dialog and getting equally authentic performances out of your actors, and how filmmaking is like polyamory.

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IFW 7.20.17: The Dangers of Being on Set & Best Advice from Summer's Top Indie Directors Jul 20, 2017

Show notes

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco,and Emily Buder discuss George Romero's DIY Legacy, what filmmakers should note about last week's Emmy nominations, and a trio of stories about crucial on-set safety issues. We also share the best advice we've gotten from some of summer's biggest indie directors, and hear from ‘Killing Ground’ director Damien Power about his 11-year journey to get his newly released film made. Charles Haine joins us for gear news, and answers an Ask No Film School question about whether your production company should accept credit cards. As always, we also bring you the latest upcoming grant and festival deadlines, new indie film releases, weekly words of industry wisdom, and other notable things you might have missed while you were busy making films. You can see all the links from this show in this week’s podcast post at nofilmschool.com

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Flying Lotus on How Rejecting Film School Made Him a Greater Director Jul 17, 2017

Show notes

You may know Steve Ellison better by his beat-making alias Flying Lotus, or perhaps even as Flying Lotus' MC alias, Captain Murphy. Music, however, was not his first love. The director, who now simply goes by "Steve" actually went to film school far before he laid down his first mixtape. Just don't call him a product of the cinematic education system. Steve's debut feature Kuso truly goes against every single rule his teachers may have taught him back in his days as a student. In fact, Steve says he had to consciously take some time off to unlearn film school, where he believes things were taught to be done in a certain, almost factory-like way. He is a staunch believer that if you limit yourself to what you learn there, you may miss out on crucial organic discoveries. Instead, Kuso plays out more like his music: free-form, chaotic, jazz-like. It is comprised of four horrifying shorts, woven together, but separated by a series of animated hip-hop freak-outs that, when put together, form some sort of grotesque psychedelic tapestry. No Film School's Jon Fusco sat down with Steve to talk about what scares him about being a filmmaker, erasing all self-doubt, and jumping into your first project with a punk rock, let's do this attitude.

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IFW 7.13.17: Russia's Plot to Kill Indies & RED's Hype Machine Jul 13, 2017

Show notes

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco,and Emily Buder discuss how even indie movies aren't safe from Russian interference, updates in the indie box office, the battle to save net neutrality, and a too-early goodbye to actor Nelsan Ellis. We also hear from director David Lowery about the challenges of making his summer indie hit ‘A Ghost Story.’ Charles Haine joins us for gear news, including RED’s incessant product teases and a TV that might replace movie screens for good. Charles also answers an Ask No Film School question about which affordable monitors to buy. As always, we also bring you the latest gear news, upcoming grant and festival deadlines, new indie film releases, weekly words of industry wisdom, and other notable things you might have missed while you were busy making films. You can see all the links from this show in this week’s podcast post at nofilmschool.com.

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