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Category: About Deb Patz

Deb and her books on folding set chairs

It’s time for a F.I.L.M. & INK update!

Welcome to my updated website and its FILM & INK blog!

I’ve built my website and updated it now and then over the years – it’s hard to picture that the first one I wrote using ASCII text was more than 25 years ago now (where does the time go?). Yes, yes… there are parts of this new site that are still under construction, but that means it will just keep getting better every time you visit.

What’s new about F.I.L.M. & INK?

Well, from static site to blog to newsletter and presence on social media sites – there are so many fragmented channels to reach people. Most recently, I wrote a companion newsletter to my website and books, but found over time that it doesn’t really connect me well with readers and filmmakers like I thought it would, so I’m returning to my blogging roots.

My F.I.L.M. & INK blog is for a little F-un, I-nspiration, L-ife, & M-oviemaking stories and tips for filmmakers and writers. I hope you follow along, share and enjoy!

In the meantime, my Film Resource Links page is updated: https://www.debpatz.com/film-links/. They are are set of industry links as a companion to my Film Production Management book. Enjoy!

Cheers & a great shoot or writing session to you,
Deb

Deb's FILM & INK Tips & Tales

Deb’s FILM & INK Newsletter… come ‘n join!

I’m back online (finally!) and bring with me a bit of news:

My FILM & INK blog has been converted and expanded into a FILM & INK Tips & Tales Newsletter. Come and enjoy some film production stories and nuggets of advice for working professionals and for teens just starting out:

Deb’s FILM & INK Tips & Tales Newsletter
https://mailchi.mp/00970e39a325/debpatzfilmandink

Like the blog, the newsletter complements my books, Film Production Management 101 (for managers and coordinators) and Write! Shoot! Edit! (for teens). With your input, I plan to tweak the newsletter as needed so it addresses your needs, educates, entertains and celebrates your successes.

Come and join FILM & INK! I look forward to connecting with you there! In the meantime, here’s the “Call Sheet Joke” from the inaugural issue:

Gladys and Santa as PMs

Cheers & a good shoot to you,
Deb

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Deborah (Deb) Patz is the author of Write! Shoot! Edit! for teens and Film Production Management 101 for the industry – both books are published worldwide by MWP. She’s also part of the editorial board for Prism International and is new to figuring out this newsletter thing, but believes in lifelong learning… so that’s a good thing!

WHERE IS DEB? (upcoming events and appearances)
Feb. 1, 2020 – DM Youth Expo – North Vancouver, BC
Feb. 19, 2020 – I Read Canadian Day (more info to come)
July 26-30, 2020 – UFVA (University Film & Video Association) Conference, Tallahassee, FL

WHERE TO FIND DEB’S BOOKS?
Paperback or eBook: AmazonBarnes & Noble, Chapters/Indigo, direct from the publisher (MWP) and from plenty of other great bookstores worldwide.

Up for a Mini-Seminar at DM Youth Expo (Sat. Feb. 9)?

The Digital Media Academy (DMA) is holding its Digital Media Youth Expo again this February and I’m thrilled to participate again – this year at the MWP and Biz Books booth.

More than 800 students and their families attend to learn about the numerous educational and employment opportunities available in the Digital Media and Film Industries.

This year I’m conducting MINI-SEMINARS at the MWP/Biz Books booth:

CAREER PLANNING IN THE FILM INDUSTRY

LIVING A CREATIVE LIFE

So, come on by or pass the word to folk you think should attend. Hey… it’s a free to attend!

Saturday, February 9, 2019
12noon to 3pm

DIGITAL MEDIA YOUTH EXPO 2019
at Argyle Secondary School
1131 Frederick Road
North Vancouver, BC

I hope to see you there!

Cheers,
Deb

– – – – – – – – – –

Deborah (Deb) Patz is the author of Write! Shoot! Edit! for teens and Film Production Management 101 for the industry – both books are published worldwide by MWP. She’s also part of the editorial board for Prism International. She loves to inspire the next generation of storytellers… might that be you?

WHERE IS DEB? (upcoming events and appearances)
Feb. 9/19 – Author Participant with Biz Books at Digital Media Youth Expo, North Vancouver BC
July 2019 – UFVA Conference, Minneapolis, MN

WHERE TO FIND DEB’S BOOKS?
Paperback or eBook: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Chapters/Indigo, Waterstones, direct from the publisher and from plenty of other great bookstores worldwide.

The Hollywood / Doowylloh Sign

Since I was a teen, I dreamed of walking behind the Hollywood sign. I wanted to see Hollywood with the word spelled backwards in front of me.

My first trip to LA (when I was a teen), I saw the sign from Mulholland Drive, which as you may know, is on the hill next to – but not really near – the sign. Still, there was the word, spelled out on the terrain – shining, white letters. What did they see every day while us millions look up at them, dreaming our fantasy of a life in the movies?

Many years later, I found the right set of hills and managed a hike toward it, but at the posted warning “no trespassing beyond this point” I turned back.

By now I’d be working in the movies for a considerable time. With permission I’d wandered the backlot of Universal “off tram,” attended a party in a Hollywood mansion, and had many other movie-life memories, but not of the view behind the Hollywood sign. I tried a hike from Griffith Observatory, but without a good map and enough water, it was another attempt aborted.

This summer it happened.

Map in hand, sufficient water, hat and supplies, solid footwear and family to support me, we did the hike – crazy that we are – at the heat of the day. The air was thick with heat, the sun burned down on us, unforgiving. The odd lattice-like shadows and a few cool zephyrs provided enough relief to keep us going. Well, that and my dream.

The dirt path led to a paved road that winds up, around and right behind the Hollywood sign. Sure, there’s a chain-link fence between you and the sign, but that’s no barrier for the eyes. A rocky outlook perches above the path and fence so you can have an unobstructed view. Up there is the best thing of all: a B&B… a b-ench and a b-reeze.

So here’s what the Hollywood sign sees of us every day:

I’m at a loss to describe the feeling, but will try. In that moment, I was a teenager again standing on that other hill gazing over here at the sign (and me), dreaming of the future. At the same time I was here, so many years later with established career in film and my family beside me – an incredible family I never imagined in that teenage dream.

I didn’t sit on the letters themselves (as I did in my dream), but I also didn’t need to. From up here, it looked like it would be ridiculously uncomfortable anyway. I know that now… because I’ve been there.

Funny thing about dreams: they often come in a slightly different form than when you first imagine them. You have to be flexible enough to accept them as they are and to celebrate them as they come true. You also can’t stop living life to try to achieve them – they happen along the way.

So, I’ve now made another life dream of mine come true! Here’s to making more dreams, and then making them come true… all life long!

Cheers to you and your dreams,
Deb

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Deb Patz is the author of “Write! Shoot! Edit! A Complete Guide to Filmmaking for Teens” (new in 2017) and “Film Poduction Management 101” both published by MWP Books. She does not recommend hiking hills and mountains at the heat of a summer day… unless you’re truly prepared for the weather.

DEB’S LATEST NEWS:
Her new book, “Write! Shoot! Edit!” was reviewed in:
(1) the Vancouver Sun and other papers across Canada, including the Montreal Gazette,  The Province, the Ottawa Citizen, the Saskatoon Star Phoenix, the Windsor Star, Canada.com, and News Locker;
(2) SF Crowsnest (in the UK);
(3) the Midwest Book Review Library August 2017 Watch list (on the Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf)

Deb Patz interviewed on Dave Says Movies Matter

Hey! I was recently interviewed by Dave Watson about my new book, Write! Shoot! Edit!. Here’s the interview… happily, it’s a text-based, not video, interview! 🙂

http://www.davesaysmoviesmatter.com/interview-deborah-patz.html

Dave’s site is cool. It has superb, short and to the point reviews of movies, and lots of interviews. Great range of movies and insight. Worth a look-see.

Cheers & happy movie watching to you,
Deb

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Deb Patz is the author of “Film Production Management 101” and the upcoming “Write! Shoot! Edit! A Complete Guide to Filmmaking for Teens” both published by MWP Books. She totally agrees that movies matter!

WHERE IS DEB? (upcoming events and appearances)
May 31 – Guest speaker – Encompass, Coquitlam, BC
Jun.3-7 – Guest instructor – PEI Screenwriter’s Bootcamp, Charlottetown, PEI
Jun.14 – Guest speaker – Charles Best High School, Coquitlam, BC
Jun.15 – Guest speaker – Heritage Woods High School, Port Moody, BC
Jun.24 – Book launch party for “Write! Shoot! Edit!” at Chapters Pinetree, Coquitlam, BC
Jul.30-Aug.3 – Panelist – UFVA Conference, Los Angeles, CA

How The Creative Brain Works: Two Perspectives

I read an interesting article in the May 2017 issue of National Geographic about how the brain works regarding creativity. As a people, we’ve tried to understand creativity for years. Can’t see it, can’t touch it, but it – whatever “it” is – is definitely there.

Nat Geo reports another scientific attempt to understand the creative process.

Researchers managed to record brain waves in an MRI while jazz musicians played music that was memorized and then music that was improvised. They learned that for the improv, the brain activity was “fundamentally different” and that it appeared the brain was able to turn off its own ability to criticize itself.

I find this fascinating because, I’ve learned the same thing from leading a creative life, and share as much in my new teen filmmaking book (“Write! Shoot! Edit!”) coming out this July. I believe it’s important to understand the creative process so you can better harness your creativity.

Though it appears the researchers break the creative process into two types of activities (in this case playing improv vs playing memorized music), through my experience, I believe the creative process breaks down into three stages:

(1) wild invention (the improv, free-creative activity)

(2) structural edit (a big picture activity where you work with historical conventions)

(3) nit-picky edit (a fine-tuning activity where details and consistency matters)

Each one of these stages needs its time at centre stage, its time of focus, so if it’s a writing project, you’ll have to write the project at least three times to focus your brain’s perspective for each draft.

I’d love to see an MRI scan of differing brain activity for each of these three phases of the creative process, as I believe each one taps into a different skills in the brain… but I guess we’ll have to wait for science to explore that idea someday.

For those living the creative life, what’s your perspective on the activity happening in your brain while you’re creating?

All the best of creativity to you,
Deb

For more info on my new book “Write! Shoot! Edit!” see my website’s book page.

– – – – – – – – – –

Deb Patz is the author of “Film Production Management 101” and the upcoming “Write! Shoot! Edit! A Complete Guide to Filmmaking for Teens” both published by MWP Books. She’s lived a creative life for… uh… all her life!

WHERE IS DEB? (upcoming events and appearances)
Jun.3-7 – Guest instructor – PEI Screenwriter’s Bootcamp, Charlottetown, PEI
Jun.24 – Book launch party for “Write! Shoot! Edit!” at Chapters Pinetree, Coquitlam, BC
Jul.30-Aug.3 – UFVA Conference, Los Angeles, CA