The No Film School Podcast

Latest Episodes:

How Filmmakers Can Conquer VR's Biggest Challenges Jan 16, 2017

Show notes

In the emerging field of virtual reality filmmaking, there are still lots of basic questions about how best to tell a story in VR, which projects even make a worthwhile story in 360, and what conventions from traditional filmmaking that we need to throw right out the window to help pave the way for this medium. On this episode, I speak with some smart people who have been grappling with these questions and made some amazing projects—Ben C. Solomon, video journalist and filmmaker for The New York Times, and Carla Borras, Director of Digital Video at PBS’s long-running documentary series, Frontline. We are joined by Sean Flynn, Program Director of the Points North Institute who invited both Borras and Solomon to the Camden International Film Festival where we spoke, and curated its interactive storytelling lineup. Our guests share their stories and advice from the 360-degree trenches. For more, check out the podcast post at nofimschool.com

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Indie Film Weekly 1.12.17: Why Gear Trade Shows May Be Dying & Kodak Revives a Film Stock Favorite Jan 12, 2017

Show notes

Co-hosts Jon Fusco, Emily Buder, and Charles Haine discuss Kodak's big reveal at CES—the revival of color reversal film stock Ektachrome—and why trade shows are becoming irrelevant. They also delve into the awards season, which kicked off with Sunday's Golden Globes; George Lucas' new museum; and how to manipulate aperture and light sensitivity. As always, the show also brings news you can use about gear, upcoming grant and festival deadlines, this week’s indie film releases, our Ask No Film School segment, and other notable things you might have missed while you were busy making films.

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Indie Film Weekly 1.5.17: A Rough Start for American Filmmakers in 2017 & Full GH5 Specs Revealed Jan 05, 2017

Show notes

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Emily Buder discuss how the death of America’s Section 181 filmmaking tax incentive will affect indie filmmakers. We also talk about the NoBudge Film Awards and say a sad goodbye to Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, and TIFF co-founder Bill Marshall. In Ask No Film School, we give some pointers on properly backing up your footage. Tech writer Charles Haine joins us to bring the latest gear news, including a CES preview that reveals the full Panasonic GH5 specs, and as always, we update you on upcoming grant and festival deadlines, this week’s indie film releases, 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. http://nofilmschool.com/2017/01/indie-film-weekly-010517-podcast

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Johannes Nyholm on How to Film Contemporary Surrealism Jan 02, 2017

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The Giant is a film that's nearly impossible to pin down. Director Johannes Nyholm describes it as a western, a cheesy sports movie, a drama, a surrealistic fantasy, and a dark comedy all rolled into one. It follows the daily life of an autistic and severely deformed little person named Rikard. His main ambition in life is to win the Scandinavian Championship of pétanque, a European bowling game much like bocce ball. Oh, also, there is a 200 foot giant by his side nearly every step of the way. On this week's episode of The No Film School Podcast, we deconstruct the film's veiled themes, and with the aid of it's Swedish director, piece them back together to reveal how surrealism can weave together a more meaningful message than your average run-of-the-mill drama. Nylholm is a DIY filmmaker through and through, he didn’t go to film school instead teaching himself as many tools as he could through shooting, editing, VFX and animation first for music videos and then his own shorts. He is living proof that, with the correct tools in place, you can create a movie that doesn’t cost much even though it looks like it does.

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Justin Kurzel on Keeping Your Vision and Breaking the Video Game Curse with 'Assassin’s Creed' Dec 29, 2016

Show notes

This week on The No Film School Podcast, Producer Jon Fusco sits down with Justin Kurzel, director of the new Assassin’s Creed movie. The film is, of course, based on the incredibly popular Ubisoft game series. There has yet to be a video game movie release that one could call "excellent," but it's easy to identify the factors that make these adaptations so challenging to do well. This would certainly seem to be a higher profile guest then we usually have on the show, but like many other recent blockbuster directors, Mr. Kurzel is a low-budget filmmaker at heart. His two previous movies, The Snowtown Murders and Macbeth, are a few of the more stylized indie action flicks to have come out in recent years. This same visionary style shines through in Assassin's Creed—whatever unevenness the script presents—making it one of the most enjoyable video game adaptations to date. With an $130 million budget, Assassin’s Creed is a far jump from the $15 million Macbeth, which was already a leap from the $ 2 million spent on The Snowtown Murders. In this conversation, we break down the biggest challenges of making the jump from independent film to blockbuster, where the scale is massive and there are endless voices in your ear throughout production. In the end, Mr. Kurzel insists what’s most important is keeping your vision strong despite all of those voices, and how in doing that himself, he hopes to have broken the dreaded “video game curse."

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Indie Film Weekly 12.22.16: Best Movies, Cameras & Filmmaker Advice of 2016 Dec 22, 2016

Show notes

This special, year-end episode of Indie Film Weekly reveals the best that 2016 had to offer while you were busy making films. This year was full of outstanding indie releases and gear innovations, and in our final episode of 2016, co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, Emily Buder, and Charles Haine share our favorite films. We also unveil top camera choices and review the biggest gear news of the year, namely the launch of Lytro's groundbreaking Cinema Camera. We also discuss our best takeaways from talking to some of the most interesting filmmakers and industry pros on the planet, from Kodak President Steve Bellamy to Gianfranco Rosi, director of Italy's 2017 Foreign Language Oscar contender. You can see all the links from this show in this week’s podcast post at nofilmschool.com.

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'A Monster Calls': How to Direct Young Actors to Brilliant Performances Dec 19, 2016

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On this week's episode of the No Film School Podcast, we lead a fascinating discussion on how directors can work with young actors to produce astounding performances. Our guests include director J.A. Bayona (The Orphanage, The Impossible), first-time screenwriter Patrick Ness, and 14-year-old Lewis MacDougall, the leading man of A Monster Calls. A Monster Calls, which hits New York and Los Angeles on December 23rd, is not your typical feel-good holiday story. It follows a child as he slips further and further into a fantastical relationship with a tree monster in an attempt to cope with the impending death of his mother. For the actor, screenwriter, and director, the film’s heavy themes posed many questions. How emotionally intense should a screenwriter render a child's role? How does a director encourage a young actor to reach deep into his emotional depths? And what does it take for the actor to get there? It took the efforts of all three to pull the final product off. Here's how they did it.

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Indie Film Weekly 12.15.16: The Best 4K Under $4K & Netflix's Bad Deal Dec 15, 2016

Show notes

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, we reveal your best budget 4K camera options, and tell a cautionary distribution tale from the indie doc ‘Do Not Resist.’ No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, Emily Buder and Charles Haine also discuss The Black List’s annual ranking of the best unproduced screenplays and Emmy Rossum’s “shameless” battle for equal pay on the set of her hit Showtime series, and share clips from our interview with Greig Fraser, DP of the latest Star Wars film, ‘Rogue One’. As always, we update you on the latest gear news, upcoming grant and festival deadlines, this week’s indie film releases, 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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Indie Film Weekly 12.8.16: Steadicam Inventor's Key to Creativity & 'Last Tango' Rape Controversy Dec 08, 2016

Show notes

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, we hear from one of the greatest influencers of modern cinema, Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown, and give our take on how consent issues might affect your filmmaking. No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, Emily Buder, and Charles Haine also discuss Sundance 2017’s full lineup and the new movie app that has J.J. Abrams, Steven Spielberg and Tyler Perry on board. As always, the show brings our Ask No Film School segment, and we update you on upcoming grant and festival deadlines, this week’s indie film releases, 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 http://nofilmschool.com/2016/12/indie-film-weekly-120816-podcast

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Alice Rohrwacher on Why You Have to Go into the Void to Make Good Movies Dec 05, 2016

Show notes

Cannes-Winning director Alice Rohrwacher was selected to be this year's prestigious Film Society of Lincoln Center Filmmaker in Residence. Rohrwacher grew up in the Tuscan countryside and never saw a moving image until she was an adult. No Film School's Emily Buder discusses faking her way into her first directing gig, boredom's role in producing creativity, and why we need to go into the void to be great filmmakers.

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