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Deborah S. Patz – Author

Author of film books for industry pros and youth

May272011

Live Deb vs Virtual Deb

Today I’m at Theatrebooks in Toronto with my latest book “Film Production Management 101“! Oh boy!
PM101 in TO
Since I’ve spoken at a number of places over the years, in honour of today’s event – and for those of you who are not in the Toronto area – I thought I’d gather together links  to some of the articles I’ve written over the years:

Budgets: Use a Template or Write From Scratch
(at MWP Virtual Film School)
I discuss 3 factors to help you sort out the dilemma.

7 Things Writers Need To Know About Production Budgets
(part of the Expert Series at the Writers Store)
Though written for specfically for writers, PMs… and the rest of the crew should know these elements too.

To Volunteer or Not To Volunteer – as a Production Manager
(at MWP Virtual Film School)
I talk about 5 times when volunteering is a good thing, and 2 times when it’s not.

I’m very much looking forward to meeting and re-meeting fans, friends and family at Theatrebooks today! If you’re in the neighbourhood, come on by! See you starting at 5:30pm…

Cheers,
Deb

May202011

Inspiration at the Movies: The Sound of Music

“Activity suggests a life filled with purpose.”
– Captain Von Trapp (The Sound of Music, 1965)

But even the good Captain is not convinced as he speaks these words to the Baroness. He only hopes there is purpose somewhere inside that busy activity of his.

May we be reminded not to fill our lives with activity hoping that purpose will follow or form itself, instead look for purpose which will then help us to determine the activity necessary in life.

Cheers & may you make the right discovery for you,
Deb

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PM101 in TODo you know about Deb’s appearance in Toronto on May 27 and the “Toronto Area PM101 Facebook Challenge (for a free book)“? To learn more, click here: http://on.fb.me/hEdmNg

May132011

Camera Tape or Hockey Tape?

Which one do you see?

… or does the answer depend on the time of the year that you’re looking at it?

Cheers & smiles,
Deb

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PM101 in TODo you know about Deb’s appearance in Toronto on May 27 and the “Toronto Area PM101 Facebook Challenge (for a free book)“? To learn more, click here: http://on.fb.me/hEdmNg

May62011

The Best of F.I.L.M. – The Early Days

In honour of my two year anniversary F.I.L.M. blogging, I thought I’d bring together older top posts – especially for those of you who may not have been here since the beginning:

  • F-un

Pumpkin Carving Contest on Set
I instigated the contest… to which there was a surprising winner!

  • I-nspiration

Inspiration at the Movies: Harold and Maude
You’ll never look at a field full of daisies the same way again… I know I don’t!

  • L-ife

3 Things I Learned About Filmmaking from… My Grandmother
(1) If you can’t do it, keep trying
(2) Make and eat dessert
(3) Always wear clean underwear
… and they really are relevant to a film career!

  • M-anagement

Free Film Budget
Nothing compares to getting a full budget template to refer to and learn from! Thanks, Deke.

And thanks to you for the great feedback I’ve received over the years! Here’s to more F-un, I-nspiration, L-ife and M-anagement to come!

Cheers & a great shoot to you,
Deb

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PM101 in TODo you know about Deb’s appearance in Toronto on May 27 and the “Toronto Area PM101 Facebook Challenge (for a free book)“? To learn more, click here: http://on.fb.me/hEdmNg

Apr292011

Weddings, Name Changes & Screen Credits

The Royal Wedding has me thinking about that pre-wedding dilemma some of us go through… to change the last name after the marriage ceremony or not. The choice is, of course, personal, but in this industry there are some extra factors to consider.

If you change your last name…

… and you work freelance… How are you going to inform your network? As a freelancer, it takes up precious job-searching time for your network to learn you’ve moved from one job position to another, and think of you in the new role. How long will it also take them and to reconcile you are the same person now that your last name is different? Plan to spread the news of your new last name for multiple times, using multiple channels and over an extended period of time to ensure people know who you are.

… and you have a website using your birth name… What are you going to do with your domain name? You could have two, with one automatically forwarding to the new one for a few years as people get to know you with the new name.

… and you choose to use your birth last name for work, but your new last name for home… How are you going to deal with social networks that overlap work and home life? If you use your Birth Last Name on LinkedIn whereas your New Last Name on Facebook, you’ll be able to keep your home social network more separate from your work network, but you’ll still deal with confusion about what label to use for yourself and when as work and home networks overlap.

… and you hyphenate your last names… Will you use a hyphen or a space between the ames? You’re bound to run across mis-spellings and mis-filings that will make it that bit harder to find your name, but depending on the two last names could make your new name more distinctive and easier to find.

And – though no one wants to consider the possibility at time of a wedding – if you get divorced, are you ready to go through what’s necessary to change your name back again to your birth name?

Considerations, considerations. Whichever choice you make, ensure it’s the right one for you.

Cheers & enjoy the coverage of the Royal Wedding,
Deb

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PM101 in TODo you know about Deb’s appearance in Toronto on May 27 and the “Toronto Area PM101 Facebook Challenge (for a free book)“? To learn more, click here: http://on.fb.me/hEdmNg

Apr222011

3 Hidden Costs in the Production Budget

Easter brings to mind hidden eggs… hidden eggs brings to mind hidden savings & costs in a production budget. The hidden savings are great, but the costs? Well, not so welcome. Here are three situations that typically generate hidden costs that you can watch out for:

1. Tethers In The Shot
Working with animals is challenging and tethers are often used as a training aid. Seeing tethers in the finished shot, however, is not what you have in mind, so you’ll have to CGI them out if you see any. Do you want to spend your CGI budget removing tethers or creating fancy effects shots? Balance the cost of shooting a few minutes faster on-the-day vs the extra (hidden) cost of tether removal during post.

2. Weather Dependence
If you need a certain exterior weather, you need to plan extra time (read “extra money”) to wait for it. Yes, that means the cast & crew waiting for the clouds to arrive, or waiting for the clouds to leave. Can anything move inside (and stay true the story)?

3. Distant Locations
The location may be the perfect for the story, but it’s miles away from the “free travel zone” for cast & crew and you need to be there for multiple weeks. You find that the crew you really wanted to use prefers not to be away from home for that long a time, so you choose your B-choice crew… who happen to shoot slower and don’t have the same sensibility as you do about the film. You also find that equipment and supplies are harder to source at the distant location – so, again, you need more time (and again more money) to make it all happen. Perhaps shooting at that inside location in-town would work and instead use a reduced unit at the distant location for the few critical exterior shots in order to bring the two locations together? Hmmm…

When you think about potential hidden costs, you can often find potential hidden savings. And hidden production savings is the greatest easter egg there is!

Cheers, Happy Easter & a great shoot to you,
Deb

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PM101 in TODo you know about Deb’s appearance in Toronto and the “Toronto Area PM101 Facebook Challenge (for a free book)“? To learn more, click here: http://on.fb.me/hEdmNg