Comments for R&R Consulting http://creditspectrum.com Bringing science back to financial engineering Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:55:02 -0700 hourly 1 Comment on Film Fund-amentals: Kathryn Bigelow’s Big Night by MarieAnna Dvorak http://creditspectrum.com/2010/03/film-fund-amentals-kathryn-bigelow%e2%80%99s-big-night/comment-page-1/#comment-398 MarieAnna Dvorak Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:55:02 +0000 http://creditspectrum.com/?p=1106#comment-398 Dear Dennis, Thank you from the bottom of my heart. MarieAnna Dear Dennis,

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

MarieAnna

]]> Comment on Film Fund-amentals: Coming Home by T. Reed http://creditspectrum.com/2010/02/film-fund-amentals-coming-home/comment-page-1/#comment-388 T. Reed Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:46:33 +0000 http://creditspectrum.com/?p=1092#comment-388 Awesome article addressing these complications directly! This is a huge mess right now, but most people aren't even aware because they simply find a simple habit for their consumption model and stick with it until it becomes imperative or enticing enough to change. The war between Beta and VHS passed by without a lot of fanfare(unless you had stock in either;) It's the biggest headache for us in the industry trying to figure out what the next infrastructural direction they need to take. No one wants to get stuck with a large investment in the new 'Beta' of digital delivery. Awesome article addressing these complications directly!
This is a huge mess right now, but most people aren’t even aware because they simply find a simple habit for their consumption model and stick with it until it becomes imperative or enticing enough to change. The war between Beta and VHS passed by without a lot of fanfare(unless you had stock in either;)
It’s the biggest headache for us in the industry trying to figure out what the next infrastructural direction they need to take. No one wants to get stuck with a large investment in the new ‘Beta’ of digital delivery.

]]> Comment on Film Fund-amentals: A Few Tips on Directing Actors by Matt Shelton http://creditspectrum.com/2010/02/film-fund-amentals-a-few-tips-on-directing-actors/comment-page-1/#comment-383 Matt Shelton Wed, 17 Feb 2010 02:00:16 +0000 http://creditspectrum.com/?p=990#comment-383 The truth of the matter is that acting is an art form that requires tremendous skill and technique. The whole gestation of film is so that human beings can understand each other better. Without a gifted actor/artists the film medium continues to de-evolve to an intellectual and/or entertainment medium which is useless to any of us really. Filmmakers that do not understand the actor's process and/or have the ability to recognize good from mediocre acting will only continue to bastardize the potential for film as a communicative vision of the human condition. Do yourself a favor and hang around the best acting studio in your area for awhile. Most real filmmakers do this. The truth of the matter is that acting is an art form that requires tremendous skill and technique. The whole gestation of film is so that human beings can understand each other better. Without a gifted actor/artists the film medium continues to de-evolve to an intellectual and/or entertainment medium which is useless to any of us really. Filmmakers that do not understand the actor’s process and/or have the ability to recognize good from mediocre acting will only continue to bastardize the potential for film as a communicative vision of the human condition. Do yourself a favor and hang around the best acting studio in your area for awhile. Most real filmmakers do this.

]]> Comment on Film Fund-amentals: A Few Tips on Directing Actors by Jai Jai Noire http://creditspectrum.com/2010/02/film-fund-amentals-a-few-tips-on-directing-actors/comment-page-1/#comment-382 Jai Jai Noire Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:52:25 +0000 http://creditspectrum.com/?p=990#comment-382 While I get where Dennis is coming from and agree with some of his points, Kevin Cloud Brechner nailed it. When I direct actors, I spend time pre-shoot discussing the character that they're playing, the character's situation, their body language and how s/he relates to the other characters. I love actors and love what they can bring to a role. Casting a good actor is worth its weight in gold. Having (so far) been limited to ultra-low or no-budget shoots, I'm enormously grateful to the actors with whom I've worked. Creating a film is a team effort, and yes, the job of the director is to direct, to helm the project, direct and hone the performances to tell a story and set the mood for the audience. Lines do sometimes need to be re-written. I recently shot a piece as a book promo and even the book's author noted that her dialog sounded so much different when spoken. The brief scene (based on described events in the novel) that I wrote dialog for ended up sounding smoother because I was writing with actors in mind. With dialog, "less is more" in most cases. One thing that he didn't mention in the article is directing non-actors or first time actors (common in low budget shoots.) In that case I find it helpful to watch that person closely and try to steer them toward body language/actions that will feel more natural to them, without squirreling up the script. While I get where Dennis is coming from and agree with some of his points, Kevin Cloud Brechner nailed it. When I direct actors, I spend time pre-shoot discussing the character that they’re playing, the character’s situation, their body language and how s/he relates to the other characters. I love actors and love what they can bring to a role. Casting a good actor is worth its weight in gold. Having (so far) been limited to ultra-low or no-budget shoots, I’m enormously grateful to the actors with whom I’ve worked. Creating a film is a team effort, and yes, the job of the director is to direct, to helm the project, direct and hone the performances to tell a story and set the mood for the audience. Lines do sometimes need to be re-written. I recently shot a piece as a book promo and even the book’s author noted that her dialog sounded so much different when spoken. The brief scene (based on described events in the novel) that I wrote dialog for ended up sounding smoother because I was writing with actors in mind. With dialog, “less is more” in most cases.
One thing that he didn’t mention in the article is directing non-actors or first time actors (common in low budget shoots.) In that case I find it helpful to watch that person closely and try to steer them toward body language/actions that will feel more natural to them, without squirreling up the script.

]]> Comment on Film Fund-amentals: By the Book by Morrie Warshawski http://creditspectrum.com/2010/02/film-fund-amentals-by-the-book/comment-page-1/#comment-373 Morrie Warshawski Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:33:29 +0000 http://creditspectrum.com/?p=975#comment-373 David: Thanks so much for including my book in your list. Re Sherri's comment above, I've just had published a brand new 3rd edition of SHAKING THE MONEY TREE. Sherri is right, and I had to make many additions changes to this edition to reflect the current scene in fundraising for film, especially the role of the Internet - which is why for the first time I commissioned 15 experts in the field to write sidebars for this new completely revised edition. Hope you can give it a once over and see if the advice still holds up. Best, Morrie Warshawski www.warshawski.com David:
Thanks so much for including my book in your list.
Re Sherri’s comment above, I’ve just had published a brand new 3rd edition of SHAKING THE MONEY TREE. Sherri is right, and I had to make many additions changes to this edition to reflect the current scene in fundraising for film, especially the role of the Internet - which is why for the first time I commissioned 15 experts in the field to write sidebars for this new completely revised edition. Hope you can give it a once over and see if the advice still holds up.
Best,
Morrie Warshawski
 http://www.warshawski.com

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