Life – Page 3 – Deborah S. Patz

May272017

DIY Summer Camp: Write! Shoot! Edit!

Wow, there are a lot of fabulous summer camps out there: Knight camps, space camps, sailing camps, horse riding camps, and on and on… and of course camping camps. But you can’t attend camp every week of the summer, and at some point you age out of some of them too.

So… what about a do-it-yourself camp? Why not make a movie with your friends?

My new book “Write! Shoot! Edit A Complete Guide for Teen Filmmakers” comes out July 1st… just in time for camp season! Pre-order now or pick up a copy when it comes to bookstores, then gather your friends and use it as your guide to a DIY Filmmaking Camp all the way from writing the story to editing the final version. The book shows you how to make a movie with whatever equipment, cast and crew access you have right now.

Summer camps are all about learning new skills and making discoveries about yourself. How better to to that than making a movie… YOUR movie. You may discover a whole new exciting career ahead of you – all because you started this summer. Now.

And when you do make your summer movie, drop me a line and tell me about it and the experience. I love to hear about your filmmaking stories.

Cheers & a good shoot to you,
Deb

Here’s a link to learn more about the book and to read an excerpt:
http://mwp.com/product/write-shoot-edit-complete-guide-teen-filmmakers/

Here’s a link to places where you can pre-order the book:
http://www.debpatz.com/a-world-of-book-store-links-aka-finding-write-shoot-edit-for-pre-order/

And, if you’re in the Vancouver Lower Mainland, come to the Sat. June 24 Book Launch Party!
http://www.debpatz.com/book/write-shoot-edit/

– – – – – – – – – –

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. The movies she made at her own DIY summer camp led to her career in the movies.

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.16 – 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

May102017

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

Aug82016

Where Do You Write?

Back from the UFVA Conference, it’s time for me to get back to writing! But rather than talk about my works-in-progress today (there are two of them), let me ask you:

Where do you write?

When I was single, writing was hard to schedule around life, but I had a dedicated desk at home for the job… then I had a family and wow! it’s HARD to schedule writing around life!! Consequently, I find I’m not writing in one designated place anymore. I’ve written on desk, table and lap – wherever and whenever I can, including:

At coffee shops (of course… hasn’t every writer?)
On the train (thank you, thank you for those excellent tables and plug-ins on the train!)
Backstage at the theatre (waiting for dance class to finish)
On a boat (fine, until the seas get lumpy)
On a plane and in a hotel room (more, classic out-of-the-house locations)
On the patio (trying to enjoy the good weather, but it’s too bright for the screen)
And, at home (the family made me a “Busy Writing” sign, thank you very much!)

What about you? A designated spot, or wherever you can?

Cheers & productive writing to you,
Deb

Jan152016

What I Learned About Filmmaking from… RC Flying

Amazing the places you can learn concepts useful for filmmaking. Here’s a look from the perspective of RC Flying…

1. There Are A LOT of Crashes
The first take-off is exhilerating, but, boy, are there a lot of crashes before being able to deftly fly the mini aircrafts. From each of those crashes, you build on your knowledge to fly better and better next time. Not that there won’t be any crashes in the future, but (1) you’ll be more prepared for them physically and mentally, and (2) you’ll recover from some of even before hitting the ground. Echoes of a freelance career, doesn’t it?

2. Gotta Have Spares
To weather those training crashes, you can’t be flying just 1 plane and have no spares. To increase airtime, you have to have multiple planes and, most certainly, spares. It’s your B-plan. For an industry career, your network is your multiple planes, and your side jobs I see as your spares.

3. Put Your Imagination In The Pilot’s Seat
You’re flying an RC plane “from away.” Basically, it’s the third person POV. Your actual perspective on the plane is changing constantly and you need to put your mind into the pilot’s seat to instinctively know which way to manipulate the controls to bank in the direction you want to go. Get it right, and the plane flies seemingly effortlessly. On a film production, you need to put your imagination into the story – in effect, “fly the scene” – to see and create the necessary details to make the story and characters come alive.

How about you? Where do you find parallels between life and the film industry?

Cheers and a high-flying shoot to you,
Deb

Oct152015

How an Empty Box is Like a Sailboat

See the empty box and its label
Hear the music: “Yes, we have no bananas...”
Let your thoughts take you to the movie “Sabrina” with Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart

Ah, yes…

Cheers and good movie memories to you!
Deb

Sep32015

Magic Hour – Big and Small

Crimson and gold clouds stretching to the far horizon… a pink blush of colour tints the buildings left behind… sunset is a vibrant, spectacular time of the day – especially when the weather conditions are just right. No wonder at all why it’s called “magic hour.”

We can’t help but look to the skies for the extravagant light show, can we? Well, know that there are many other – smaller – magics happening at sun rise and set too.

Look down. Look closely.

Find the flowers that close up in the evening and open again at dawn. Everyday. Every single one. It’s a quiet kind of magic, but magical all the same.

Look closely. What small magical events and stories are happening around you?

Cheers and magic to you,
Deb

Category: Life