The Centennial Edition of the NAB Show will take place April 15–19 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The NAB Show is the world’s largest gathering of electronic media professionals and innovators. The show draws creatives and new technology from all over the world.
As part of planning my life for the new year I usually take several classes and read articles on goal setting. This year was no exception. One of the classes, by Vanessa Van Edwards, threw me a curve. She suggested we look back at 2020 for all the good things. “Good things? You’ve got to…
As I came of age in Baldwin Park, California, four teachers had an impact on me and my life. First, the lay of the land. When my parents chose Baldwin Park in 1957, it was still SoCal country. From the late 40s till the mid-50s it had been the home of the Country Barn Dance…
In Churchill’s Shadow Raiders, author Damien Lewis chronicles events around a daring raid – Operation Biting – which seized the top-secret German technology and changed the course of the WWII.
The first three weeks of class were fun, educational, and a little exhausting. I decided to bring cookies this week. Then things got dramatic.
The common wisdom is that screenwriters should take an acting class to understand what it’s like to be on the receiving end of a script. I suppose not doing so, would be like trying to design a boat without having ever taken one out on the water. OK, I’m getting on board.
(Originally published on Blogcritics.org) At this year’s National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show, the annual Las Vegas conclave of television, radio, internet and supporting industries, Amy DeLouise set an aggressive goal for her presentation titled: “A Producer’s Guide to Everything That Matters.” Everything? Maybe not, but DeLouise, an award-winning video- and multi-media producer, came pretty…
(Originally published on Blogcritics.org) At the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show 2015, in the Las Vegas Convention Center, surrounded by every video camera made, virtual sets, lighting equipment, online streaming hardware and software platforms, they didn’t forget that it all begins with writing. In “Self-Editing Basics: The Tools You Need to Improve Your Writing,”…
Legendary Chicago Cubs shortstop Ernie Banks passed away last month. The Cubs, Ernie Banks, Hank Sauer, Ron Santo and others played a big part in my young life. I would often sit next to a floor model radio we had in our apartment behind my dad’s Chicago dry cleaning store and listen to the games. But, when I heard about Banks’ passing, I thought of my mother.
It was a long time ago when Margaret and I first started our intergalactic journey, but it seems like yesterday. The force was with us.
(Originally published on Blogcritics.org) The pilot episode of Gotham, the Batman prequel, is a textbook lesson for screenwriters on establishing your hero. The two textbooks I have in mind are Save the Cat by Blake Snyder (Blank Check, Stop or My Mom Will Shoot) and The Story Solution by Eric Edson (Lethal Vows, Uncaged Heart).…
(Originally published on Blogcritics.org) Alameda Writers Group (AWG) Co-Presidents Scott and Gail Moss are stalkers. After viewing the filmTouching Home at the Melbourne Independent Filmmakers Festival in Florida, they were so impressed that they hunted down the twin brothers who wrote and directed the film, until they were able to meet them. Friendship ensued. Now,…
Your life can change in an instant. Let those whom you love know that you love them every day.
At a recent meeting of a writers group, we were doing table-reads of our screenplays in order to critique and improve our writing. One of the participants was less than enthusiastic, lamenting that this would be better done on a computer before coming to the meeting. So, was he correct? Why do we read out…
My friend Marc Cushman has published the definitive guide to Star Trek season one, These are the Voyages. Gee, William Shatner looks much younger in this picture than he does on those Priceline.com commercials.
One day can change your life. One day can ruin your life. All life is is three or four big days that change everything. — Beverly Donofrio
This observation, by the author of Riding in Cars with Boys,
Effigy– A film I co-wrote and co-produced for the Producers Guild Weekend Challenge. Click on the poster to watch the film.
(First published on blogcritics.org) Two SXSW panels demonstrated that journalism, like many other industries born in the brick and mortar era, must evolve or die. The first panel was populated by professional zombies, unaware how pathetic their whining sounded. The second panel contained innovators of the Superhero mold. Here Come the Zombies The “Cinematic Storytelling and Journalism” panel…
(First published on blogcritics.org) Among the computers, flashing lights, video cameras, ubiquitous Wi-Fi, and people dressed as bloated software of SXSW, you wouldn’t expect to find authors reading their books. But, after all, books were the first interactive media, so they are represented at SXSW as well. David Meerman Scott talked about his new book Newsjacking: How to…
