filmmaking

This is a short one. Tonight my most challenging short film yet releases online as a YouTube premiere. Click here and check the “Notify me” button to tune in live with me and watch it together live at 5:30PM PDT tonight. It’s been a very long journey, but I’m so excited (& relieved) to check off this last milestone. If you want to support me and the film, help spread the word & share it with friends. 1-on-1 Feedback Discount Ending! ⏰ I’ve had a blast giving feedback…

Over the past few years, I’ve discreetly offered 1-on-1 consultations to filmmakers seeking help or advice on their projects – at first it was by request only, and then eventually I made a page for it. Here are a few things I’ve learned from 50+ individual consultations over the years. Most People Do It Too Late Many filmmakers book a consultation after finishing a full draft they are already mentally committed to. They are not really looking for direction… They are…

After a long road, we finally hit a long awaited milestone: Wednesday night, we premiered our short film in a crowded movie theater in Los Angeles. I’m too wiped out to type a full report of the night, but expect a YouTube video covering it soon. For now I’ll just say it went off without a hitch and was an absolute blast. I’m so grateful to the 111 people who came out to the screening – from in the neighborhood, to hours away, to all the way from Texas! I wish I had more time…

As you know I’ve been prepping for a premiere screening of my new film this Wednesday at a theater I rented out in Los Angeles. (Tickets here if you haven’t gotten them!) It’s been an interesting experiment: Finding the right venue, finding other films to screen with us, promoting it… It’s taught me a lot about what it’s like to be a film festival. The financial side is still a big question mark too. I set the tickets at $10 to keep it affordable, while still allowing…

Happy new year! I hope 2026 brings you new projects and growth as a filmmaker. And hopefully even money from your skills too. As they say in China on new years: “I hope you get rich.” This time last year, I wrote an issue about a different approach I was going to try for setting goals in 2025…

Happy holidays, I’m finishing up this last newsletter of 2025 from my parent’s house in Virginia, trying to work as little as possible, but I wanted to finish up what I talked about in last week’s issue… It was about the snowball effect and how valuable generating momentum is when making a film. However, my upcoming short film, The Lost Fortune of Oliver Brody, has been… does the math …20-months in the making. 💀 For the longest time, our biggest struggle was a serious LACK of momentum. But…

There have been a lot of exciting updates on my upcoming short film, The Lost Fortune of Oliver Brody. In fact, it’s almost done! I’ll share some of the specifics next week, but the recent flurry of progress on the film has reminded me of the importance of building up projects through people. Strong teams quickly compound to even stronger teams – ultimately creating a film an order of magnitude more professional than you’d hoped for. Here’s what I mean. This issue of…

Here’s something a lot of filmmakers don’t want to admit: Filmmaking is a mode. It’s not a constant state. It’s not something you can hold onto forever. It’s not always available on demand. And the truth is: You’re not always going to be in that creative mode. You’re not always going to be making films. You’re not always going to feel inspired, productive, or expressive. In fact, life is definitely not optimized for being a prolific filmmaker. Things have a way of…

Get your head out of the gutter, I’m talking short films. A couple weeks ago I posted this video about a filmmaking challenge I undertook: telling a story in only 3 shots. Then I challenged viewers to try making their own short films in only 3 shots. I didn’t expect so many submissions! The great thing is, not only are these films quick to make, they’re also quick to watch – most are under a minute long. So check out some of my favorite 3-shot micro films created by…

Today I’m going to be breaking down some of the biggest unexpected costs from my most expensive production yet, The Lost Fortune of Oliver Brody. Along the way I’ll be answering questions like: How much did this film cost? Why spend big bucks on a short film? What’s the status of it now? Read on to find out… This issue of Friday Film Notes is sponsored by: FilmConvert Nitrate Crave that dreamy celluloid look? FilmConvert Nitrate upgrades your footage with cinematic…