Spectacular films and accompanying conversations. Great range of genre and cross genres. Small, carefully, thoughtfully packaged 5-10 min gifts from filmmakers from 5 different countries including Canada.

The body of work acted as a thesis conductor, Knock out and flow style over symphonic lead, in the theatre of motion arts, sound and language.

My personal favorite, if I must choose only one, was German Shepherd.

The moderator Matthew Toffolo was excellent! Love WILDsound

– Donna Thompson, (from Meetup)

Tonight was fantastic!

– the_wizard_of_oz, (from Instagram)

This was a great event. Nice variety of movies. Distinct. Awesome to see the differences even in short films…stylistically and conceptually. This was my first event but it won’t be my last.

– Claudene, (from Meetup)

I loved these films and the intelligent discussions. Awesome!!!

– bruno_marks, (from Twitter)

Very interesting group of films.

– David, (from Meetup)

Love this event and how its evolved…

HOW TO WRITE A SCREENPLAY
FILMMAKING NOTES

SCREENPLAY WRITING

When writing a SCREENPLAY, it’s all about CHARACTER, PLOT, and THEME – the three cornerstones to telling a great story.

Below is Part One of NOTES you need to think about when writing a script. Whether you’re a seasoned script writer or just a beginner, these notes should be insightful for all – and it beats reading those long drawn-out books on the subject.

“A good film script should be able to do completely without dialogue.”-David Mamet

FOUR STAGES OF ANY SCREENPLAY.

1. THE STORY CONCEPT – A single sentence telling who the hero of the story is and what he/she wants to accomplish
2. THE CHARACTERS – The people who populate the story
3. PLOT STRUCTURE – The events of the story and the relationship of the characters; determines what happens in the story and when it happens
4. THE…

PLOT WRITING
FILMMAKING NOTES

How to Write a Screenplay? PART 3 – PLOT Screenwriting

For most writers, PLOT is the most interesting part of screenplay writing, and why they begin to write to write the script in the first place. They have a good idea for a story, and they want to write it.

PLOT Screenwriting is a mixture of two things:
1) What happens to the characters
2) What they do because of WHO they are

Most PLOTS wouldn’t happen if it wasn’t for the CHARACTERS. A CHARACTER(s) should drive the story, and vice versa.

You always know you’re watching a BAD FILM when any human being can insert themselves into the film. The UNIQUE character has to drive the PLOT.

The last thing you want is for you, the writer, to be a character in the plot.

“The stuff that I got in trouble for, the casting for…

PRODUCTION MANAGER
FILMMAKING NOTES

The Job of Production Management is the job of organization, budgeting, scheduling and preparing for everything.

POINTS OF A PRODUCTION MANAGER

1. Prepare breakdown and preliminary shooting schedule
2. Prepare and coordinate the budget
3. Oversee preliminary search and survey of all locations and the completion of business arrangements
4. Assist in the preparation of the production to insure continuing efficiency
5. Supervise completion of the Production Report for each days work, showing work covered and the status of the production, and arrange for the distribution of that report in line with the company’s requirements
6. Coordinate arrangements for the transportation and housing of cast, crew and staff
7. Oversee the securing of releases and negotiate for locations and personnel
8. Maintain a liaison with local authorities regarding locations and the operation of the company

THE PRODUCTION MANAGER’S RESPONSIBILITY IS TO FACILITATE THE WORK OF THE…

HOW TO PRODUCE A FILM
FILMMAKING NOTES

FILM PRODUCTION
– How to make a movie!
– How to PRODUCE a film!
– How to be the best Movie Producer

A movie producer has the most important position in film production. Why? Because they start from the top, and are in charge in the entire production. They play many different roles: the mother, the father, the lover, the romancer, the persuader, the psychologist, the soothsayer, the comic, the best friend, the teacher, the warrior, the negotiator, the arbitrator, the dreamer, etc…

The best thing to do when making a film is hire or get people who know what they are doing technically, and with whom you can be in sync, artistically.

Before anything else, the producer must know the end result of the project, and know which path the project will take after it is completed.

THE PICTURE HAS TO BE…

SOUND DESIGN
FILMMAKING NOTES

Film Post Production and What Is Sound Design?

The process of creating the soundtrack for the visuals of a film. Since silent films began to talk, filmmakers have been looking to improve the post production of their film. It has become a whole new creative world as people like George Lucas proclaim that “It is 50% of a film.”

CINEMATIC SOUND DESIGN MULTIPLIES TWO OR THREE TIMES THE EFFECT OF THE IMAGE

IT HAS FAILED IF IT DISTRACTS THE AUDIENCE

SOUND DESIGNING IS ABOUT EMOTION, STORY AND RHYTHM

QUIET IS GOOD – THE BEST SOUND DESIGN IS THE SOUND INSIDE SOMEBODY’S HEAD

THREE COMPONENTS IN SOUND EFFECTS AND SOUND DESIGN
SPOKEN LANGUAGE
MUSIC
SOUND EFFECTS

SPOKEN LANGUAGE
-An actor can emphasize one word over the other and thus change the meanings of the sentence completely.
-It all depends on the dramatic contract
-Two types of spoken…

FILM SHOTS
FILMMAKING NOTES

FILM DIRECTING SHOTS – One of the most over used cliches in film is “The Shots are all you have.” The following are what you need to think about practically so you can think creatively and device the best shot list and camera shots you possibly can:

QUESTIONS TO ASK?
-What is the best viewpoint for filming this position of the event?
-How much area should be included in this shot?

SCENE – Defines the place or setting where the action is laid
SHOT – Defines a continuous view filmed by one camera without interuption
SEQUENCE – A series of scenes or shot complete in itself

TYPES OF CAMERA ANGLES
OBJECTIVE – The audience point of view
SUBJECTIVE – The camera acts as the viewers eyes-movement
POINT OF VIEW – What the character is seeing

SIX BASIC SHOTS

1) Extreme Long ShotTaken at a great distance…

DEADLINE: 1st CHAPTER/FULL NOVEL Festival. FULL FEEDBACK. Get novel performed by professional actors
http://www.wildsound.ca/book_contest.html

Get your story performed at the Writing Festival. FULL FEEDBACK on all entries.

WATCH the Recent Winning Short Story/1st Chapter Readings:
http://www.wildsoundfestival.com/novel_and_short_story_readings.html

Deadline TODAY: SUBMIT your NOVEL (both your 1st chapter or full novel accepted)
And we’ll make it into a MOVIE
http://www.wildsound.ca/audio_video_book.html

* * * * *

Deadline: FEATURE Screenplay Festival – Get FULL FEEDBACK. Get script performed by professional actors
http://www.wildsound.ca/screenplaycontest.html

Watch WINNING Screenplay Readings – Watch videos of past winners performed by professional actors
http://www.wildsoundfestival.com/winning_screenplays.html

READ 100s of testimonials from past submitters –
http://www.wildsound.ca/wildsound_festival_review.html

* * * * *

Deadline: SUBMIT TV PILOT/SPEC Script – Get FULL FEEDBACK. Get script performed by professional actors
http://www.wildsound.ca/tvscreenplaycontest.html

Watch WINNING TV PILOT Screenplay Readings
http://www.wildsoundfestival.com/tv_pilot_readings.html

Watch WINNING TV SPEC Screenplay Readings
http://www.wildsoundfestival.com/tv_spec_readings.html

READ 100s of testimonials for past submitters –
http://www.wildsound.ca/wildsound_festival_review.html

* * * * *

I thought that the feedback video was one of the best gifts this short film could bring me. Everything the audience said was so precise, every emotion… They captured the essence of the film! I never thought it could go so far. It really inspired me to keep on working.

– Laura Garcia’s reaction to watching the Audience FEEDBACK Video from the WILDsound Festival

Watch the AUDIENCE FEEDBACK VIDEO:

The Short Film ALEX was the Winner of Best FILM from the March 2015 WILDsound FEEDBACK Film Festival.

Matthew Toffolo interviews director Laura Garcia:

Matthew: What motivated you to make this film?

Laura: I was interested in adolescence and identity so adoption came up to my mind. Alex, the adopted girl in the film, wants to know more about her origin so she decides to meet her mother but hiding her identity. I thought that decision was strong enough to write…

FILM PHOTOGRAPHY
FILMMAKING NOTES

Cinematography is the art of manipulating light and shadow, and capturing it as a moving image. We’ll be posting articles and insights – maybe a bit of inspiration too! Whether you’re a pro or have hardly picked up a camera except to point and shoot at a birthday party, we hope you’ll find some useful information below.

CINEMATOGRAPHY – SHOTS AND CAMERA ANGLES

QUESTIONS TO ASK:
-What is the best viewpoint for filming this position of the event?
-How much area should be included in this shot?

SCENE defines the place or setting where the action is laid
SHOT defines a continuous view filmed by one camera without interruption
SEQUENCE A series of scenes or shots complete in itself.

TYPES OF CAMERA ANGLES
OBJECTIVE The audience point of view
SUBJECTIVE The camera acts as the viewers eyes-movement
POINT OF VIEW What the character is seeing

CAMERA…