| Title | Description |
| Dies the Fire by S.M. Stirling book review |
Summary: Book review of Dies the Fire by S.M. Stirling about a silly post-apocalyptic world. |
| Natural Selection by David Freedman book review |
Summary: Book review of Natural Selection by David Freedman about the Most Phenomenally Inept Predator in the Food Chain. |
| Join Me for Free Hollywood Event |
On November 2, I'll be on the panel to discuss "Finding Your Place in Hollywood in an Ever-Changing Industry" |
| Free Movie Construction Kit template |
Free outline template for scripting and making a movie |
| Free Leo Outliner plug-ins |
Free HTML and RTF export plug-ins for the Leo outliner editor. |
| The Naked Cartoonist by Robert Mankoff book review |
Summary: Book review of The Naked Cartoonist by Robert Mankoff of a wonderful New York Times cartoon collection. |
| Free 3D Modeling Checklist |
Revised checklist for planning the creation of 3D models in Maya, Lightwave, Blender, 3D Studio Max, Cinema 4D, Poser, or any other 3D application. |
| Dynamic Light and Shade by Burne Hogarth book review |
Summary: Book review of Burne Hogarth's Dynamic Light and Shade of Hogarth's drawing samples and techniques for drawing and painting. |
| Free Male Character Name list for Writers |
A basic list of male names for writers to print and put in their workspace for reference. |
| Don't Point that Thing at Me by Kyril Bonfiglioli book review |
Summary: Book review of Kyril Bonfiglioli's Don't Point that Thing at Me by Dan Rahmel of Charlie Mortdecai, an aristocratic yet shady art dealer. |
| Free WriteRoom for Microsoft Word |
Microsoft Word macro that brings the distraction free writing tool by Hog Bay Software to the Windows platform. |
| Darwin?s Radio by Greg Bear book review |
Summary: Darwin?s Radio by Greg Bear book review by Dan Rahmel of excellent speculative fiction that makes you think. |
| Writing the Fantasy Film : Heroes and Journeys in Alternate Realities book review |
Summary: Book review of Jak's wonderful fantasy screenplay writing book. |
| What is a Vodcast / Video Podcast / Vlog / Video Blog ? |
Explanation of the basic process and functioning of a vodcast. |
| Aristotle's Poetics for Screenwriters by Michael Tierno book review |
Summary: Book review of Tierno's book of Aristotle's Poetics for Screenwriters that describes applying Aristotle's writings to script development. |
| Video Podcasting or Vodcasting Introductory Tutorial |
Tutorial series showing an aspiring vodcaster/video podcaster how to subscribe, create, publish, and promote a video column or vlog. |
| Hemingway?s France ? Images of the Lost Generation by Winston Conrad book review |
Summary: Book review of Conrad's Hemingway?s France ? Images of the Lost Generation which is a perfect visual complement to ?The Sun Also Rises?. |
| Faking a Painted Masterpiece |
Tutorial showing how to create a faux prop painting of an art masterpiece. |
| High Concept : Don Simpson and the Hollywood Cultures of Excess by Charles Fleming book review |
Summary: Book review of Charles Fleming's High Concept : Don Simpson and the Hollywood Cultures of Excess which details the Simpson and Bruckheimer Hollywood of the 1980s and 1990s. |
| Free Last Name List for Writers |
A basic list of sample last names for writers to print and put in their workspace for easy reference. |
| Lost in La Mancha by Terry Gilliam documentary review |
Summary: Review of the documentary that follows Terry Gilliam's failed attempt to make a film based on Cervantes' novel Don Quixote (to be called 'The Man Who Killed Don Quixote'). |
| Free Character Trait List for Screenwriters |
A basic list of character traits for writers to print and put in their workspace. |
| Production Design and Art Direction (Screencraft) by Peter Ettedgui book review |
Summary: Book review of Peter Ettedgui's wonderful book on production designers and art directors. |
| Free Short Script -- Printing Trouble |
Use the free short script 'Printing Trouble' to make a short film. |
| Cinematography: Theory and Practice by Blain Brown book review |
Summary: Book review by Dan Rahmel of this excellent overall cinematography book. |
| Free screen framing ratio template for storyboarding film, video, and television |
Free template for storyboarding for the various frame ratios for the target media. |
| Generate Date-Time for Podcast, Vodcast, or RSS Feed from Microsoft Office |
Code to generate RFC 822 Date-Time format for Podcast, Vodcast, or RSS Feed from Visual Basic/VBA in Microsoft Office. |
| Filmmaking Glossary with Definitions |
Film glossary and definitions that contains many common film terms, slang, and explanations. If you're new to production sets, this glossary is a critical so you're not lost in the sea of film jargon. |
| On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King book review |
Summary: Book review by Dan Rahmel of Stephen King's advice to writers and authors of fiction. Advice best suited to accomplished writers. |
| Free Depth of Field spreadsheet |
Depth of Field spreadsheet for quick DOF calculations |
| How to Write Action Adventure Novels (Genre Writing Series) by Michael Newton book review |
Summary: Useful information, but you have to dig for it |
| Free Action Verbs for Writers |
Action Verbs for Writers provides a free Sample list of action verbs |
| Interview with screenwriter Jack Sekowski |
Interview with screenwriter Jack Sekowski that also includes free download of a produced script "Who's Your Daddy?" |
| Shooting Food |
Filming and photographing food so it looks good enough to eat. |
| Dan's TopTenTips for Short Filmmakers |
Here is a list of some of the most important elements to keep in mind when making a short film. Following these guidelines will help you avoid the more common pitfalls. While these are only suggestions, they will almost certainly improve both your film and your filmmaking experience. |
| No-cost teleprompter |
How to convert a laptop into an instant teleprompter. |
| Screenwriter Jumpstart poster |
Poster containing screenwriter information such as Summary main points of Aristotle's Poetics
Polti's 36 Dramatic Conflicts (with movie examples), 2000 sample names, 750 Action Verbs to electrify your writing, 460 character traits, 120 color descriptors, 200 sample locations (both interior and exterior), 350 professions, List of most common genres and sub-genres, General script page outline (with Plot Points)
Script conventions (FADE IN, FADE OUT, etc.) |
| Documentaries for Art Directors |
Documentaries and the interiors they show for production design reference |
| TopTenTips for Graphic Design |
Ten guidelines to think about anytime you begin a new graphic art project. |
| Nuts and Bolts Filmmaking reviews |
Reviews of the non-fiction book "Nuts and Bolts Filmmaking" by Dan Rahmel. |
| Free Script Templates |
Templates for a screenplay, a TV studio sketch, and a radio sketch (in both United States and U.K. formatting standards). |
| My Living Memory -- free short script |
Free short script "My Living Memory" can be used to make a short film. |
| Adam and Amy storyboarding Templates |
Cartoon templates of Adam and Amy figures to make storyboarding quick and simple. |
| TopTenTips for Movie Production and Guerilla Filmmaking |
Some production hints, tips, and advice that I've picked up over the years. |
| Cell: A Novel by Stephen King review |
Review of Stephen King's novel "Cell" |
| Haunted : A Novel by Chuck Palahniuk review |
Review of Chuck Palahniuk novel "Haunted : A Novel" |
| Confessions of a Video Vixen by Karrine Steffans book review |
Summary: Entertaining gossip |
| Making a Prop Sword Look Real to the Camera |
How to construct a fake sword that will appear on film to be the real thing. |
