MFM Writer Mike Flanagan Completes Production on Intrepid/Focus Feature of Oculus (News)

Posted by on Nov 3, 2012 in Articles, Behind-the-Scenes, Industry, MicroFilmmaking, News | 0 comments

After Mike Flanagan's masterful release of Absentia--which won best feature film at LA's 2011 Shriekfest and was distributed by Phase 4 films earlier this year--his Oculus franchise was picked up by Trevor Macy and Marc D. Evans of Intrepid Pictures for the major Feature treatment. (The original Oculus short is a cult classic that was made for $1500, garnered a 9.5 from MFM when it came out, and used a single room, a single actor, and a cowled mirror to strike fear in the heart of viewers everywhere.) Intrepid is a production company that seems to be taking a page from the origins of New Line and focusing on films that have very targeted audiences. While they're most recently known for producing James McTeigue's (V for Vendetta) film, Raven, starring John Cusack, they've also produced or presented such varied works as The Cold Light of Day, Crush, and Balls of Fury.

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The MFM Straight Shooter review to be unveiled… (News)

Posted by on Oct 4, 2012 in Awards, Industry, MicroFilmmaking, News | 0 comments

Our filmmaker fans have long had a single request for an improvement here at MFM: film reviews! While we are very well known for our film critiques, which are aimed at helping filmmakers learn from their mistakes and improve their craft as filmmakers, the technical details which make these critiques so helpful aren't as great for folks who want to get publicity on the film viewer side of things. As such, we will now be launching our Straight Shooter Film Reviews. A "straight shooter" is someone who doesn't shovel manure, but tells you the unvarnished truth. These reviews will be all the things our filmmakers have said they want for publicity: short, non-technical, and designed for film watchers!

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Starlite Film Festival Announces Film Submission Deadlines (News)

Posted by on Sep 21, 2012 in Festivals, Industry, MicroFilmmaking, News | 0 comments

The second annual StarLite Film Festival announces deadlines for film submissions.

This one-of-a-kind micro-budget film festival promotes the screening and development of feature length narrative films from across the globe that are produced, shot and completed for a total budget under $200,000. Over the course of three days, the film festival will feature 8 hand-selected films screened at the Garden Theatre in historic downtown Winter Garden.

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After Effects CS6 (Review)

Posted by on Aug 17, 2012 in MicroFilmmaking, Reviews, Reviews (Software), Software | 6 comments

After Effects is a pretty essential tool for most filmmakers who are incorporating any type of graphic treatment to their work, and this latest update is a major one specifically designed to increase the speed at which you can create, without waiting on your computer. This alone makes this update more or less essential for anyone who relies on After Effects as part of their normal work-flow, but the addition of the camera tracking feature and extruded text are also HUGE.

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Kickstarted (Redux): How to Effectively Use Crowd Funding Sites (Article)

Posted by on Jul 28, 2012 in Articles, MicroFilmmaking, News, Tips | 2 comments

As sites like Kickstarter and Indie Go-Go continue to grow in popularity, and more and more projects start knocking on the door for small donations, the importance of knowing how to properly use such sites becomes what will separate motivated, capable artists from the hordes of amateur wanna-be's whose projects won't ever make it off the ground, with or without your $10.

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