Tag Archives: cinema

What can David Lynch teach you about making films

inland empire, David Lynch movie poster with Laura Dern

What can David Lynch teach you about making films?

The IFC Center in NYC is currently screening a remastered version of David Lynch’s Inland Empire, a 2006 experimental film written, directed and co-produced by David Lynch.

 The film’s cinematography, editing, score and sound design were also by Lynch, with pieces by a variety of other musicians featured. 

Released with the tagline “A Woman in Trouble”, the film follows the fragmented and nightmarish events surrounding a Hollywood actress (Dern) who begins to take on the personality of a character she plays in a supposedly cursed film production. 

Several Firsts

Inland Empire marked several firsts for Lynch: it was shot without a finished screenplay, instead being largely developed on a scene-by-scene basis.

Shot entirely in low-resolution digital video by Lynch himself using a handheld Sony camcorder rather than traditional film stock.

He basically grabbed a Sony PD150 (not the nicest camera out there) went and shot a movie and grossed over 4 million dollars at box office.

Now, this movie isn’t for everyone, and only die-hard Lynch fans tend to love it, but you can’t argue with the fact that one of the main reasons he was able to do it was because he had his own digital camera.

Guess what, ladies and gentlemen, if you ever decide to come to Digital Film Academy and take our Associate of Science Degree in Digital Media, you will get a much nicer camera than the Sony Lynch had at the time. 

Not to mention all the professional sound equipment, lights, awesome skills and industry professional training.

Lynch found a (very profitable) way to share his ideas with the world, even if most people didn’t understand it.

So if you’ve got something to say, DFA won’t stand in your way. We will give you the training to do it.

Come check us out at one of our Open House events and know more about our school, programs and graduates.

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3 Ways to be Professional

Profile view at young African-American sound mixer wearing headphones while editing at home recording studio.

Let’s talk about professionalism. We often hear that we need to “be professional” on set but what does that really mean? We’ve broken it down into 3 ways to be professional: be kind, listen, and focus.  

Be Kind.

For the first example, we have Martin Scorsese whose birthday was earlier last week and his words give us a sense of the type of people he wants to be around on set as a film professional.

“And as I’ve gotten older, I’ve had more of a tendency to look for people who live by kindness, tolerance, compassion, a gentler way of looking at things.” –  Martin Scorsese

No one likes to work with someone who is angry or intolerant all the time because it can create a negative work environment. For this reason, having a positive attitude and displaying kindness conveys something to those around you and sets up a more positive environment to film.

Listen.

So, why is listening important? Martin Scorsese has another quote for this:

“Now more than ever we need to talk to each other, to listen to each other and understand how we see the world, and cinema is the best medium for doing this.” ― Martin Scorsese

Professionalism doesn’t always mean being the loudest voice in the room. Sometimes, you need to step back and really listen to what others on set are saying. Practicing active listening and responding to ideas is a great way to convey professionalism on set.

Focus.

Lastly, focusing on your goals will help everyone to stay on the same page. This includes time management and communication. Eliminate outside distractions and focus on the task at hand. Sometimes, the simple solution is actually the most concise and important one. 

And we’ll leave you with a final quote about simplicity: 

“There’s no such thing as simple. Simple is hard.” — Martin Scorsese

Digital Film Academy is here to help you become a more well-rounded and marketable film professional through our Associates Program and our Advanced Certificate Program.

We have Pre-Production classes with leading professionals in the industry who will help you to excel with practical experience. Our Post-Production classes includes learning from the top editing softwares like Davinci Resolve, Avid, Pro-Tools, and After Effects; giving you professional experience from your own computer. 

Join us for our next Open House Tuesday November 23rd at 6pm EST. You can sign up here: 

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Call Your Own Shots

A black man operating a Red camera, calling his own shots. Two other man setting up a different camera in the background.

Have you found it difficult to find work during the pandemic? Are you scrolling through work pages waiting for the next opportunity to come along? Do you miss having the power to call your own shots?

Let’s talk about creating your own work. 

Instead of waiting for opportunities to pass you by, why not pick up a camera and shoot something of your own? Get together with some friends and write a short film or a web series and get it on camera.

Creating your own work comes with many benefits… it gets your name out there, stretches your creative muscles, and gives you hands-on experience with equipment and working with other like-minded people in the field. 

Maybe it’s time to step in front of the camera and try your hand at acting. If you have stage fright and want to stay behind the camera, try having a brainstorming session about new and creative ways to tell a story. There are plenty of ways to get involved in building your own creative career. 

How can DFA help?

At Digital Film Academy, you are set up for success with everything you need to become your own production company.

We have an Associates Program that gives you equipment to own (yours forever, no joke), included in the tuition and that’s in addition to our lifetime access to equipment that you will gain through the school.

This allows you to create your own work, anytime, anywhere. We have multiple classes such as Directing, Cinematography, Screenwriting, Video Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Design, Producing, etc. Having a diverse curriculum gives you the opportunity to learn all facets of filmmaking making you more marketable and experienced. 

Come learn more about how we can help you jumpstart your career, by joining our Online Open House.

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NSFW: Production of the Series ‘Future Sex’

One of our former students was a producer on all four episodes of the anthology ‘Future Sex’. Stephan Zlotescu was featured as a producer on the hit series Future Sex by French digital-media startup Blackpills.

Featuring stand-alone dramas — incisive, exciting, futuristic stories that explore techno-sexual interactions in the future — “Future Sex” is a forward-looking anthology with stories that tap into the collective unknown about sex in the future. Each story features its own cast of unique characters exploring what’s to become of mankind’s most favorite ritual.


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