Category: Indie Film & Video

Cargo 3120: The Making of a Sci-Fi Franchise #6

CARGO3120Entry 6 On to the Advanced Class

by Aaron Walker Sr.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: The Story So Far starts HERE)

The advanced class was where things really got interesting. The class was down to only four weeks in length. On the surface this was a good thing, but in reality it meant you had a lot of work to do, and a short period of time to get it done.

The focus shifted from the mechanics of screenwriting, to matters of story and character development. The first hurdle was clear: The script was just too long. The first attempt at Cargo was meant to be a T.V. movie in hopes to get picked up as a full blown series, which was why the script was 117 pages. So Larry tasked me with trimming that bad boy down to no more than 90 pages. read article

Angelo J. Bell: Pitching and Planning

Plan

by Angelo J. Bell

November has begun with a bang and I’m scrambling to keep up with the momentum to close out the year and check-off every item from the 2014 To Do list. Earlier this year I decided to “turn up” and work overtime to get something — anything — in gear before the end of the year. I wanted to be able to look at 2015 with even more positivism and hope than the last few years.

Efforts resulted in four pitch meetings in the final quarter of 2014. Two were scripted shows geared for E! and Bravo. The third originated out of North Carolina where, XO5 compadre Paul, networked with author Kim Wiley over the adaptation of her self-published thriller books. NBC Drama liked the written pitch and invited us in to talk about the project. The fourth meeting resulted from an unscripted pitch I heard at The Great American Pitchfest (GAPF) by Dionna Bolarof Atlanta. I remember hearing her pitch and thinking, “This is perfect for Oxygen.” Lo and behold, Oxygen Network felt the same way. Dionna is flying in and we’re heading out on November 24th.

But it’s not over. Still on the go, there are other projects in development, namely an insanely cool and mysterious crime thriller, two contemporary sci-fi dramas and continued efforts to branch out with other unscripted producers and other networks, ie Virgin Produced and Joke Productions. read article

Leesa Dean: Adventures of a Web Series Newbie #82

politically_incorrect

The Politically Correct Police or…The Death of Comedy?
by Leesa Dean

I originally posted this last week, was really busy, and realized today…it didn’t post.  So here it is:

As a writer, I’m pretty politically incorrect.  It’s all about the jokes. The comedy. And yeah, the narrative. My biggest comedic influences are Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Patrice O’Neal, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappelle, Joan Rivers and even Howard Stern (though, at times, his politics and attitude drive me nuts/piss me off). read article

Web Series: THE LOUISE LOG

Earlier this year we ran an article about THE LOUISE LOG, one of our favorite web series. Since then, it’s gotten better and better. So today we thought we’d share what Anne Flournoy, the creator of THE LOUISE LOG has told us about the series, in the hope that it’ll prove inspirational to other peer producers.

Take it away, Anne:

THE LOUISE LOG Capture

by Anne Flournoy

LA Web Series WinnerHow did I get this going? read article

Everything You Need to Know About Creating Animated Video

GoldenStreetAnimation

In 1 minute and 12 seconds:

read article