Last weekend I went to Florida State University where I spoke with a group of film students working on their thesis films. The dumb filmmaker likes nothing better than a road trip, and getting a chance to talk film with
Details, Details, Details
“God is in the details,” the architect Mies van der Rohe said. (Though I prefer the Devil is in the details, but you get the picture- details are important.) The first class all Flashpoint students take is called Sound, Image,
Flashpoint Academy Year 1: that’s a wrap!
Hello again, it’s been awhile since I have written. Thanks for your patience and all the emails asking where I have been, I hope this helps explain somethings. This past Saturday, May 31, Flashpoint Academy celebrated the successful completion of
Film Production 2
The Flashpoint Academy film students just finished production on their second films. This is a picture from the set one day last week. Before they embarked on these films I sat in on a series of production meetings and was
Teen Parents
Readers of this page know that Jim and I have been working on the Teen Parent film for months and years. Yesterday, we recorded the final voice over with Kathy Brock, the ABC7 Chicago news anchor. We recorded the session
School Security
When I was in college, Security was the name of the most popular band at school, and thinking of them was the only time I ever thought about security on campus. But now I am on the other side of
The Red Camera
This is a picture of the Red Camera all stripped down. Not all that impressive looking, but it is a piece of technology which is going to change the film production process. For eight days beginning Jan. 30 and ending
Internet, Films and Education Reform
There is an interesting interview in today’s Wall Street Journal with Reed Hastings the CEO of Netflix. Netflix is partnering with a Korean company to create a (TV) set top box which will allow users to stream films from the
Let it Snow
I have been swamped with work and now a foot of snow. The dumb filmmaker apologizes for his absence from this page, but promises to return with all new exciting posts on viral marketing, Flashpoint Academy’s production-in-action- film, The Intruder,
The Internet, Kids Today and Heath Ledger
This past Tuesday the PBS series Frontline broadcast a fascinating look at teenagers who have grown up with the Internet. The program focused on a small New Jersey town about an hour’s train ride from Manhattan. It looked at a
