Here’s our picture (Abandon Films + Kwill) at the pay booth of the Corner Parking Lot in Charlottesville. We had just seen the premiere of The Parking Lot Movie and needed to check out the spot for ourselves.
It’s legit. The movie did not lie. The laid back parking attendant smoked, swore, and insulted my camera [...]
Screenwriters: How do you write compelling drama?
A memo written by David Mamet to his writing staff at CBS answers this question. This short, sweet document gives practical tips on how you can ask the right questions to analyze the scenes you write. It’s meaty, with deep insight on the nature of drama from a seasoned [...]
The following are notes from two panels I attended at SXSW: Financing in a Troubled Economy, and Finding an Audience for your Film.
What is your unique perspective and why does it work?
What is the story outside the story?
What’s the idea?
What are you selling? What does the poster look like?
Who are you trying to reach?
What will [...]
Today I leave for SXSW in Austin, Texas.
My primary goal is to eat a breakfast taco.
What, you say. You’ve never had a breakfast taco?!
No. I haven’t.
I’m a newbie at SXSW, so I’m a little overwhelmed excited. But I have good company (riding on the plane with my friends from Out:think Group). My friend Dan tells [...]
This is beautifully illustrated in the short film Kavi, a social justice narrative that sheds light on modern day slavery through the simple telling of a story about an Indian boy who wants to play cricket. Gregg Helvey spent two and half years working on this 19-minute film, and this past Sunday he sat at [...]
Abandon Films‘ CFO TV ad took home the Best in Broadcast over the weekend. Special thanks to Access Advertising for liking the pitch and giving us the chance to create the ad!
We had a lot of fun coming up with this spot. I wrote and storyboarded the project, and was slated to direct, but due [...]
I’m playing my guitar on Saturday. In public, which I always enjoy. First gig of 2010.
I was recently doing some research on Christian songwriting legend Steve Taylor (he makes movies now), and I came across this poignant statement from a 2008 interview:
I found it difficult as both a Christian and an artist to continually do [...]