Generally, the more experience you have on a film set, the bigger your bag of tricks. The bigger your bag of tricks, the faster you can come up with novel answers to complex questions. So if you haven’t started building one yet, now is the best time to start — and I’m here to help you.
Filmmaking Tips and Advice
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20 Rules You Should Never Break On Set
Yesterday I posed a simple question to those who like The Black and Blue’s Facebook page and, within the hour, dozens of responses poured in.
The 7 Stupidest Assumptions You Can Make When Rigging Your Camera
When rigging a camera to a jib, a crane, or even a Steadicam, you don’t want to leave anything to chance by making false assumptions. So, to stay safe and keep your job, avoid making these 7 stupid assumptions that could lead to your demise, the camera’s demise, or put the crew in danger.
Camera Hack: Using WiFi SD Cards to Deliver Still Frame Grabs from a Camera
The problem with frame grabs is the intrusion of retrieving them from the camera. Often, a DIT or AC will have to take over the camera to generate the grabs and whisk them away on the SD card. Fortunately, for those who don’t like interruptions and those who don’t like interrupting, one reader has come up with a solution that utilizes WiFi-enabled SD cards.
Freelance Taxes #4: Must-Do Tips for Filing Your Taxes in the Future
Today we’re going to time-travel into… the future! “Is it a good future?” you might ask. Well, that depends on how well you follow the advice in this post — we’re going to talk about how to better prepare yourself for doing your taxes for next year.
Freelance Taxes #3: 50 Deductions You’ll Want to Take to Save Money
I’ve got three quick questions for you: Do you like money? Do you like saving money? Do you wish you could get money back from the stuff you’ve already bought? If you answered “yes!” this post for you — because we’re going to talk about tax deductions.
Freelance Taxes #2: Five Pitfalls of Filing Taxes as a Freelancer
Filing taxes isn’t as intimidating as it may seem, but that doesn’t mean you won’t make a mistake. When you’re filing as a freelancer for the first time (or the fifth), there are a few pitfalls you’ll want to steer clear of to avoid paying more than you need to or to avoid an audit from the IRS.
Freelance Taxes #1: The Basics of Getting Started and Preparing Your Taxes
Sometimes the hardest part about doing your taxes is summoning the will to start. If you’re like me, you’ll do anything else on your long list of “To-Do’s” before you’re willing to do taxes. I don’t blame you.
How to Do Your Taxes as a Freelance Filmmaker (Series)
When you’re a freelancer, paying taxes can seem like a huge burden. There’s more paperwork to handle, calculations to make, and money on the line. If you don’t wade through the ocean of tax rules carefully, your filing could end up being a tidal wave of epic proportions.
The 10 Commandments of Slating
What came forth were laws and commandments written by the Lord himself for all camera assistants and clapper-loaders to learn and to follow. With their slates in hand, they waited patiently as, one-by-one, the rules of slating were laid upon them.