Sound’s important!

For your sound design, do your main sound bed first.

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How Much is Your Soul Worth?

Jerks who pay are still jerks. You don’t have to be a slave to a paycheck, y’know.

Not that I’m pointing fingers, mind you…

In your genre script, you don’t have to worry about explaining each and every little detail.

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Train the kids, also, is what I’m trying to say here.

Animals are very tricky to work with.

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Plus, Toys are Awesome.

If you don’t need a detailed hero prop (one that looks extremely realistic), you might find something that works great at a toy store.

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And it’s Worth Every Penny!

It’s easy to think you don’t need a script, or that a script is a pain to deal with, or that writing is easy. None of that is true.

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“Shot on location — in my bathroom!“

Try to avoid making a movie that takes place in a cramped location, such as a bathroom stall.

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Aw…. busted!

If a prop or setpiece or other object breaks, immediately let someone know.

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Plus, er, earplugs.

When using a microphone, watch the sound levels of the recording device.

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“Peek-a-boo!” gets boring after you pass 18 months of age.

If you think an invisible monster is dumb, or not scary at all, watch The Fiend Without a Face or Forbidden Planet. You can chuckle at the reveals, but never underestimate the power of imagination, when spiced with good sound, good music, good acting, and maybe a little on-set trick or two.

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Band-Aids don’t always work.

There’s a reason ordinary people don’t do explosive squibs all the time — because it’s so easy to screw up.

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Hot Set

Know what part of the set is Hot Set.

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The owner pulls the tenant’s strings.

Leave the location cleaner than when you arrived, and be gracious and grateful to your host. Even if you paid. Even if they were jerks.

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Get every single punch!

If you’re shooting a fight scene, get a lot of coverage. A lot. Every possible angle you can. Overshoot.

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This requires depth, however…

You can rehearse until you’ve lost the feeling in your genitalia, but unless the Actors understand and have integrated the characters, the performance will never be better than memorized lines. The Director must work with them to help them understand the characters.

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