The No Film School Podcast

Jon Fusco and Erik Luers are stranded together in Brooklyn for yet another turkey day, but a major announcement from The Criterion Collection has given them plenty to be thankful for. On the other side of the coin, we take a moment to remember one of the greatest American screenwriters of all time. Charles Haine joins us for gear news where big changes may soon be coming for Final Cut users and on Ask No Film School - how do you avoid casting shadows when setting up your lights? As always, the show also brings news you can use about gear, upcoming grant and festival deadlines, this week’s indie film releases, industry wisdom, and other notable things you might have missed while you were busy making films. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How we approach history and how we approach film are very similar. As László Nemes puts it, history doesn’t work the way we think it works, we think we know more about these events in our past, but there’s no way of ever knowing firsthand what the atmosphere at the time actually was. In much the same way, we can lean on popular conceptions of the way films should be made or we can question the existing language of cinema and follow our own inspiration. The truth is, you don’t have to start from ground zero. As a filmmaker, you are already taking in an enormous amount of influences, every single day. Cinema is about your adventure. It’s not about what someone tells you will work. Nemes has followed his own guiding light, despite going to film school, on every project he’s ever made. History is his muse, but his style comes from a curriculum which he’s curated himself. This is something you can do too. Nemes’ debut feature Son of Saul earned him an Academy Award, a BAFTA, several grand jury prizes at Cannes, and dozens more. His latest film, Sunset, features a stunning performance from Juli Jakab as a young milliner in Budapest before World War I, whose bent on finding out how her family lost control of their prized hat store. I sat down with both Names and Jakab at TIFF where we discussed making period films thrilling, ignoring your film school teachings and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jon Fusco, Erik Luers, and Liz Nord are here to recap what was a truly insane week in the world, even in the film industry. They discuss an unexpected loss in the epicenter of cinema as fires continue to rage through Southern California and say goodbye to one of the world's greatest storytellers - Stan Lee. Charles Haine joins us for gear news, where he reveals a major acquisition from Teradek, new features from Nikon and why RED's much-hyped Hydrogen may end up a major disappointment. On Ask No Film School, we give recommendations on a few books to check out on cinematic technique. As always, the show also brings news you can use about gear, upcoming grant and festival deadlines, this week’s indie film releases, industry wisdom, and other notable things you might have missed while you were busy making films. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Working with Mike Leigh is what you would call an actor’s dream true. Since his debut in 1972, the seventy-five-year-old legendary British director has made twenty films and consistently refined his craft to fit a process where the collaboration with actors is paramount. This is due in part to his own experiences at acting school in the 60’s, where he felt confined by rigid Shakespearian premeditation and hostile attitudes towards experimentation. Perhaps his only rule now is that he must discover what his film is through the making of it. This starts with the actors and in effect, it begins as early as the audition process. Here he negates modern methods, instead opting for one on one improvisations with those going out for the part. Later these improvisations will become the basis for building scenes throughout the production and as a result, they are stacked one upon the other to build a narrative. We sat down with Leigh at TIFF this year, where his latest film Peterloo made its North American premiere. We nail down his process with actors, from audition to production and confronting your own status quo by challenging yourself as a filmmaker with every new film make. The advice he gives is invaluable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jon Fusco, Erik Luers, and Liz Nord are here this week to reveal a few of their favorites from what BBC has labeled their one hundred greatest foreign films of all time. Is your favorite on the list? Plus should "A Star is Born" really come with a trigger warning? Charles Haine joins us for gear news, where we talk Aputure's new venture into sound with Deity microphones and a new cage that actually may be worth checking out. On Ask No Film School - how much should you ask to be paid up front for a new gig? As always, the show also brings news you can use about gear, upcoming grant and festival deadlines, this week’s indie film releases, industry wisdom, and other notable things you might have missed while you were busy making films. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For co-directors Daniel Schmidt and Gabriel Abrantes, the making of Diamantino was just as, if not more complex, than the award-winning film's insane plot. It tells the story of Diamantino, the world's premier soccer star, who loses his special touch and ends his career in disgrace. Searching for a new purpose, the international icon sets on a delirious odyssey where he confronts neo-fascism, the refugee crisis, genetic modification, and the hunt for the source of genius. That's a whole lot of ground to cover within the confines of an hour and a half, and after seeing the first assembly of their cut, the duo was dismayed and ready to throw in the towel. Even during production, Schmidt felt as if they had bit off a little more than they could chew. Unhappy, they walked away from the project and decided to regroup at a later date. Ultimately, they came to realize that they still had a fair amount of interesting material they felt they could work with and that their failures could, through the magic of post-production, be turned into an avante-garde tour de force. Using stock imagery, frenetic archival footage and green screen wizardry they spliced together a cut worthy of Cannes, New York Film Festival, The Toronto International Film Festival and more. We sat down with Schmidt prior to Diamantino's screening at TIFF and talked about adapting to difficult circumstances, learning from mistakes, and never giving up hope on your vision. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jon Fusco, Erik Luers, and Liz Nord are back together again, this time to mourn the loss of yet another brilliant streaming service. But while our home options dwindle, box offices around the country continue to put up big numbers. So much so that Alamo Drafthouse has given its employees half a day off...for a much-needed reason. Charles Haine joins us for gear news fresh off Apple's big event in Brooklyn where they announced a new MacBook Air and more products designed with the intention of enticing filmmakers. Are they worth the plunge? In Ask No Film School - surefire methods to achieve hard and soft qualities of light. As always, the show also brings news you can use about gear, upcoming grant and festival deadlines, this week’s indie film releases, industry wisdom, and other notable things you might have missed while you were busy making films. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's hard to coin Steven Yeun's year as "breakthrough" since the South Korean actor has been a figure in the public's eye since his first appearance as Glenn from AMC's The Walking Dead in 2010. But with starring roles in both Boots Riley's Sorry to Bother You and Chang Dong Lee's Burning in 2018, he has all but cemented himself as a leading man on the independent film scene. It's been a long road to get to this point. In the years between the role that made him famous and now, Yeun found himself on set feeling more like a placeholder than an actual human being. In the end, he found that growth stems from self-motivation. For him, this meant taking on meatier projects and ignoring those that were nothing more than a nice paycheck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jon Fusco is back this week with Liz Nord to lead you through the fallout of Withoutabox's shut down and what it could mean for your project. Plus, in what was a busy week on the internet, they discuss new financial opportunities for educational YouTubers and the demise of one of our favorite video platforms. Charles Haine joins us for gear news, where he reveals his long-awaited opinion on the 2018 MacBook and if its an improved product for the aspiring filmmaker. On Ask No Film School - how do you calculate the amount of data storage you'll need for your film? As always, the show also brings news you can use about gear, upcoming grant and festival deadlines, this week’s indie film releases, industry wisdom, and other notable things you might have missed while you were busy making films. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Irene Lusztig (‘Yours in Sisterhood’) and Dominic Gagnon (‘Going South’)—two filmmakers who edit their own films—join No Film School’s Liz Nord to make the case for editing your own work by sharing their processes and how they make the many decisions that go into an edit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices