The No Film School Podcast

The No Film School Podcast is a weekly show devoted to catching you up on all the notable things you may have missed while you were making films. Host Charles Haine and NFS Editor-in-Chief George Edelman discuss the myriad flaws and wonders of the ‘Game of Thrones’ finale (is Drogon smarter than we think?) and how Verve made a crucial move in the WGA vs. ATA battle. They also go over some exciting gear news: the MicroFogger blasting onto the scene, DJI taking on GoPro, and why normal-speed scenes in ‘Avengers: Endgame’ might be shot at 48 fps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If there's one universal truth about filmmaking, it's that it's hard as hell to get your picture made. So if you're going to go through all the trouble of making a movie, you better damn well make sure you're not scared to tell the story that you want to tell. Luckily, there's no better time to do this than at the very beginning. Rick Alverson is one of the most daring filmmakers on the planet. His latest film, The Mountain, is a surreal odyssey concerning the very heart of creativity itself: the mind. Or rather the antiquated science behind destroying it. In the film, Tye Sheridan plays a young man who after losing his mother, goes to work with a doctor, portrayed by the unhumanly charismatic Jeff Goldblum, who specializes in lobotomies. The timing of this film's release is no coincidence. While there may not be a literal blade held to our skull, every day we are subject to creative suppression from an overabundance of media, screens and pop culture. And while mainline cinema may do its best to further this narrative, Alverson argues that it's our duty as independent filmmakers to buck the trend and create art that leads to critical thinking. It's a truth that he learned some time along the middle of his career, that filmmaking should be about having a conversation with the medium and not a promotional exercise. Filmmakers should meditate on how they can contribute to the art form itself and not look for personal advancement. There is no better time to start this practice, than at the very beginning. NFS sat down with Alverson and Sheridan to discuss how filmmakers can look to achieve this very notion at SXSW. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The No Film School Podcast is a weekly show devoted to catching you up on all the notable things you may have missed while you were making films. Host Charles Haine and NFS Editor George Edelman dive into the latest Game of Thrones controversy (this week style and content are at war), Roger Deakins’ old-school, single-LUT methods and why ARRI is invading Charleston, North Carolina. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Big Time Adolescence is a feature close to director Jason Orley's heart, and why shouldn't it be? In addition to making its world premiere at Sundance back in January, the film has the unique distinction of being the first screenplay he ever wrote. It's not often that the first thing you write ends up being your first feature. But the fact that this is Orley's first feature is not from lack of trying. In the process of achieving this seemingly unachievable feat, Orley penned multiple scripts with the goal of "proving he could write." A few of them, including Big Time Adolescence ended up on The Black List. And if you don't know what The Black List is, it's time to get familiar, because it's an accolade that could end up changing your screenwriting career forever. That's what ended up happening for Orley in any case. Adolescence tells the story suburban teenager comes of age under the destructive guidance of his best friend, an aimless college dropout. That dropout is played by none other than Saturday Night Live standout Pete Davidson, who in addition to joining the film as an executive producer, turns in a star-confirming performance. NFS sat down with Orley at Sundance to discuss the basics of writing to prove you can write, what The Black List can do for your career, using the star of your film as your greatest collaborator and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For his new film Olympic Dreams, filmmaker Jeremy Teicher was granted unprecedented access to one of the most exclusive residences in the world. This is a location so rare that it's only available once every four years. A place where pheromones course through the veins of some of the most beautiful and physically talented people alive: The Olympic Village. Teicher and his partner Alexi Pappas were provided a grant and, perhaps equally valuable, permission to shoot anywhere they wished at 2018's Winter Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Pappas, an Olympic track star in her own right, stars in the film with the always hilarious Nick Kroll. The two are the only actual actors in the film, playing a young cross-country skier and a volunteer doctor that fall in love over the course of the winter games. Everyone else who appears in the film is either a competing Olympian or unknowing passerby. For this reason, it was crucial the production had the smallest footprint it could possibly get away with. The opportunity wouldn't be without its challenges, however. Namely, Teicher would be shooting an entire narrative film in a chaotic foreign location, entirely by himself. NFS sat down with Teicher and Pappas to discuss the most important parts of one man crewing, what gear to bring along, how to make things easier for yourself in pre-production and, at the end of the day, why it may be a better idea to bring at least one other person along to help. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Introducing the No Film School Podcast a weekly show devoted to catching you up on all the notable things you may have missed while you were making films. Host Charles Haine dives into the current state of the WGA - ATA conflict, discusses the perceived darkness of the most recent episode of Game of Thrones, and gives us some insight into a new LED cube light. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mariam Webster defines "democratization" as to make (something) available to all people: to make it possible for all people to understand (something). So when we talk the democratization of filmmaking, in a way we're talking about the evolution of filmmaking itself.  Over the past decade or so we have seen some radical changes in both the type of video content that is being created and the industry at large. Not only are filmmaking tools growing more sophisticated, they are becoming cheaper to access as well.  What's more, the language of film itself has seemingly been instilled in the minds of new generations of creators who have grown up with the social media platforms like Instagram, Vine and TikTok. These creators are learning to edit and tell stories, whether that's their intention or not. At SXSW, NFS led a panel featuring Instagram Co-Founder Mike Krieger, KitSplit Co-Founder Lisbeth Kaufman, and Frame.io Founder Emery Wells. We discussed how each of their platforms has contributed to the democratization of filmmaking, what the revolution means to them and how emerging filmmakers should be taking advantage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Barry Jenkins once said, "Art is inherently political. Even trying to make a film that has nothing to do with politics is, in and of itself, a political act." Unfortunately for filmmakers, not everyone these days will jump at the chance to see a movie that advertises its own inherently political nature. So how do you subvert an audience's expectations with a film like The Wall of Mexico? The title itself implies one of the most controversial issues facing the United States of America today. Directors Zachary Cotler and Magdalena Zyzak would say that the first step lies in staying ahead of the audience. How do you stay ahead of an audience expecting a social issues movie? Don't write a movie explicitly about social issues. That's exactly what the directing partners did with their SXSW standout. The film is heavy on magical realism and doesn't beat the audience over the head with any one single message. As Colter and Zyzak put it, ambiguity is a part of their artistic creed. And it's one that benefits the social issues genre greatly. In what is a subversive plot in and of itself, The Wall of Mexico tells the story of a wealthy Mexican family who decides to build a wall around their ranch to stop American townspeople from stealing their well water. I sat down with the cast and directors to discuss the art and importance of subtlety and messing with audience expectations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will Forte never met Mike Ahern or Enda Loughman before jumping on board the pair of Irish director's debut feature. He didn't need to. The script for Extra Ordinary was just that good. All he needed to know was that they'd be directing. Why? Because according to Forte, in comedy, writing and directing go hand in hand. In that respect, writing and acting may go hand in hand as well. While Forte and scene partner Claudia O'Doherty may bring some star power to the project, it's the relatively unknown comedian Maeve Higgins who truly carries the brunt of the project on her shoulders. And as we learned in this interview, she had a hand in writing the film as well. Higgins plays Rose, a sweet, lonely driving instructor in rural Ireland, who is gifted with supernatural abilities. Rose has a love/hate relationship with her 'talents' & tries to ignore the constant spirit requests from locals - to exorcize possessed rubbish bins or haunted gravel. Forte plays a washed-up pop star/satanist in his usual outlandish manner, O'Doherty his indifferent wife. Also joining us on the show is actor Barry Ward, Roses' love interest in the film. We sat down after the film's premiere at SXSW to discuss trusting actors to write, the advantages of comedy jamming with directors and "funnying" your way out of any problematic situations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Making a coming of age film can be a tricky thing. There's a delicate line between teenagers keepin' it real and overly nostalgic reminiscing. Even though it's his first feature, it's clear that Ninian Doff will never have a problem toeing that line and is truly a master of keepin' it real. SXSW Midnight standout Boyz in the Wood follows a group of kids as they set off deep in the Scottish Highlands, as part of a camping program for troubled youth. As they push through the wilderness they encounter everything from rap-loving farmers to hallucinogenic rabbit shits. What really sets the film apart from the traditional coming of age story, however, is its strong influence from hip hop culture. This might be obvious from a film whose title so closely resembles John Singleton's 1991 classic, but Ninian Doff's film is about as contemporary in tone as you can possibly get. While it's his debut film, the director made a name for himself in his music video collaborations with acts like Run the Jewels, and his past work is clearly seen in the frenetic graphics, a pulsating soundtrack and blitzkrieg action that pervade through the feature. We sat down with Doff and his cast of boyz soon after their opening night premiere at SXSW to talk about shooting a film that's 95 percent exteriors, building trust with young actors and how to make a coming of age film that doesn't suck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices