The No Film School Podcast

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco and Emily Buder get excited about the 16th edition of the Tribeca Film Festival opening this week, and discuss whether (finally!) Netflix might let us see its films in theaters. We also say goodbye to the genius cinematographer Michael Ballhaus and remember his storied career working with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Martin Scorsese, and Francis Ford Coppola. Tech writer Charles Haine joins us to share more previews of the big NAB gear expo that starts this weekend. He also answers an Ask No Film School question about creating Digital Cinema Packages for your movie. As always, we also bring you the latest gear news, upcoming grant and festival deadlines, this week’s indie film releases, and other notable things you might have missed while you were busy making films. You can see all the links from this show in this week’s podcast post at nofilmschool.com http://nofilmschool.com/2017/04/indie-film-weekly-042017-podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three cinematographers with three very different films at SXSW 2017 discuss their favorite gear, what DPs can do to stand out off set, how they make room for their actors or subjects in vulnerable situations, and of course, the shoots that almost killed them. Guests include Autumn Eakin, who shot Jessica M. Thompson's realist, contemporary THE LIGHT OF THE MOON, which won the SXSW Narrative Feature Audience Award; James Axel West, who shot Adam Keleman’s stylish, ‘70s-referencing drama EASY LIVING; and Shane King, who shot Jennifer M. Kroot’s feature documentary THE UNTOLD TALES OF ARMISTEAD MAUPIN which won the SXSW Documentary Spotlight Audience Award.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord and Emily Buder discuss the strike that threatens to bring Hollywood to a halt, while a big move by Netflix attempts to bring a whole new life to production in Tinsel Town. Charles Haine joins us to disclose all of the drone rumors from this year’s upcoming NAB show, and answers an Ask No Film School question about what focal lengths to consider when buying prime lenses. We also talk about what the new Oscar eligibility rules mean for you, and hear from two directors of indie films that are being released this week: Joe Swanberg of ‘Win it All’ and Michael O'Shea of ‘The Transfiguration.’ As always, we bring you the latest gear news, upcoming grant and festival deadlines, this week’s indie film releases, and other notable things you might have missed while you were busy making films. You can see all the links from this show in this week’s podcast post at nofilmschool.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The docu-fiction hybrid genre isn't necessarily a new thing. In fact, there are some festivals that are entirely devoted to those films that blur the line between what is real and what is written. It's the liberties in which the filmmakers choose to blur the lines where the real magic shines through.    Kristoffer Borgli, director of the SXSW standout DRIB and guest on today's episode of The No Film School Podcast, didn't realize the full potential of the genre until he was halfway through making his film. He always knew he wanted to screw around with his audience, but to what extent?   DRIB is the true story of performance artist Amir Asgharnejad, a man who amassed a following through fake fight videos he would put up on the internet. For Amir, it was never about getting famous however, it was all just a joke. It seems the joke was lost on an LA based energy drink company who decided Amir would be the face of their new brand.    This is a film unlike any other, weaving together an embellished narrative of Amir's story, with real interviews discussing Amir's experience on which the narrative is based, and behind the scenes footage of what it was like making the film itself. If that sounds confusing. It's because it is. Oh yeah, and on top of all that, Amir stars as himself throughout the film's entirety.     NFS Producer Jon Fusco sat down with Kris, Amir and co-star Brett Gelman at SXSW to get some insight into the art of play and trickery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NFS Writer Oakley Anderson-Moore talks with the talented artists behind Felix & Paul studios, one of the leading VR production companies in the film world. The cinematic quality that is a hallmark of their projects is very uncommon in these rudimentary days of VR. Virtual reality has been excelling in the realm of documentary because exhibiting an immersive experience of a location goes almost hand in hand with that genre. With narrative VR, however, it’s been a harder nut to crack. How do you create a character arc in a 360 environment where viewers can look anywhere they want at any moment? It’s a challenge Felix & Paul take head on in their film "Miyubi," the story of a 1980s toy robot through whose eyes we watch a family grow up as he grows obsolete. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When attending film festivals, there is no more exciting prospect than catching a screening of a midnights shorts section. These are generally made up of the strangest, and in many ways, the most innovative projects accepted. They are playgrounds for exploration, coming from filmmakers who are absolutely fearless in exploding the themes and neurosis of their own daily lives. And SXSW selects the best of them.    NFS Producer Jon Fusco sat down with a handful of crew members from shorts featured in this year's edition of SXSW, including Drew Maynard and Caleb Dirks from The Saurus, Celine Held and Logan George from Mouse, and Sarah Winshall from Whiskey Fist.   We discussed the different favors, planning efforts, and resources it took for each of these filmmakers to get their short into SXSW. There was one constant in every path, however. No one made a short to get into a midnight section or even a film festival. They all just made stories which they felt needed to be told. The stories also just happen to be bat-shit insane.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode, co-hosts Jon Fusco and Emily Buder discuss what's causing major panic in the studio world, why (and how) you should use Facebook to promote your movies, and why it may finally be time to concede to HDR. We also hear from Richard Kelly, writer/director of 'Donnie Darko,' about how his cult classic scared off distributors at Sundance and then flopped at the box office, and Charlie McDowell, director of Netflix's 'The Discovery,' about why he opted for a streaming deal out of Sundance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before "Ramblin Freak'," Tacodeli employee Parker Smith had made only one movie featuring sound. The three three-time film school dropout was stuck between a rock and a hard place after realizing his internship at The Austin Film Society was little more than the theater job he had left in Boulder, Colorado to make a name for himself in Texas. Now, the task of making your first feature is a daunting one. Some would think that filming it entirely alone should make things a hundred times more difficult. For Parker, however, being the only member of his film crew provided him with exactly the freedom necessary to experiment, learn and shoot his movie right.   No Film School's Jon Fusco sat down with Smith at SXSW to learn how he pulled off making a movie about a guy who doesn't know how to make a movie. From watching five documentaries a night to finding a producer through Instagram, he provides us with tremendous insight into the art of learning as you go. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Indie Film Weekly, No Film School co-hosts Liz Nord, Jon Fusco, and Emily Buder dissect Netflix’s balancing act between the indie and studio worlds, and how indie theater guru Tim League threw down the gauntlet against the streaming giant. We also cover why getting your film graded F could be a good thing, according to IMDB, and a sad goodbye to indie film producer Robin O’Hara (‘Raising Victor Vargas’, ‘Gummo’). We hear from two directors whose films are hitting theaters this month, Alice Lowe of ‘Prevenge’ and Sarah Adina Smith of ‘Buster’s Mal Heart’. Charles Haine joins us for gear news, including an app that lets you shoot in LOG mode on your phone and his review of the new Sigma Cinema Zoom lenses. As always, we also bring you the latest gear news, upcoming grant and festival deadlines, this week’s indie film releases, and other notable things you might have missed while you were busy making films. You can see all the links from this show in this week’s podcast post at nofilmschool.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we’re kicking off our SXSW coverage on a particularly high note. That’s because this interview features arguably the best voice we’ve ever had on the podcast in Nick Offerman, and also one of the best laughs we’ve ever had on the show in actress Trieste Kelly Dunn. They are joined by acclaimed indie director Bob Byington to discuss the creation of Infinity Baby, a film that premiered to uproarious laughter at the festival last week. The film is a convergence of three separate narratives surrounding a corporation that sells a highly unusual product: babies that never age. So while Byington may have made a name for himself with naturalistic movies like 7 Chinese Brothers, the surrealistic elements of Infinity Baby’s plot act as a springboard to the intricate dialogue of screenwriter Onur Tukel and grounded performances from Offerman, Kelly Dunn and the rest of the cast. We talk about how script supervising may be the best training ground for directors, how Nick Offerman overcame being a "sucky actor," and how sometimes if you want to get your break in Hollywood, all you have to do is make sure you have fresh laundry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices