FOCUSED ON FILM, Fun & fiction
LOOK INSIDE
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“This book will definitely prepare you for success.”
— Darren Borrowman, Head of Film, Vancouver Film School Shanghai
Take a quick look inside with this sample section from “OUTCOMES”…
There are many filmmakers throughout history who set ambitious goals for their student productions.
Two notable examples are George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola, trailblazers and legends, both at school and in their professional careers. While enrolled at university, they made memorable films at the opposite ends of the filmmaking spectrum: Lucas did a 60 second short and Coppola finished a 97-minute feature.
Lucas went to the University of Southern California (USC) but not to study film, initially. He discovered his interest in filmmaking through an animation course. The term project required students to shoot one-minute of film, 1440 frames, using the school animation equipment. This was an exercise to demonstrate that they understood the camera and frame-by-frame creation of movement.
While others were happy to do pencil drawings of a bouncing ball, Lucas created a photo montage from magazine clippings with a vision beyond the silent frames. His film told a story using a stylized collage of images. He later added sound, music and narration.
Lucas worked within the guidelines and constraints of the assignment but took a completely original and creative approach. His film was experimental, but narrative; abstract, yet grounded in the zeitgeist of the 1960s. It engaged the audience and made them feel something.
The difference between George Lucas and every other student is that his class assignment went to festivals around the world. It even has a Wikipedia page: Look at Life.
Coppola, on the other hand, won a playwriting scholarship while he was pursuing a major in theatre arts at college. He graduated, gained experience in the professional film business, and went back to school enrolling at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) graduate film program. He set out to do something no one else had done before: shoot a feature film for his thesis project.
You’re a Big Boy Now (1966) got a theatrical release, some critical acclaim and put Coppola on the radar as a director.
Lucas and Coppola set their own standards. They approached their assignments with an eye to creating something bold, something different. They demonstrated their inventive spirit in school and went on to break new ground as pioneers in the film industry.
This book will help you build your ‘Creative Binder’
Your portfolio is constantly evolving. You need to keep it organized and current. PRIMER helps you generate original ideas and track your work with over 20 exercises to supercharge your creative juices and storytelling skills.
Admission requirements vary from school to school. You need a well-organized portfolio to assemble your best application for any program.
Your Creative Binder is your bank for original ideas. Ideas that you’ll turn into films.
Get ahead and stay ahead with ‘Story Drills’
Coming up with a good original story is hard.
It’s not the same kind of stress as writing a term paper or cramming for an exam. It’s creative stress, and this is why preparation is your most important consideration. ‘Writer’s block’ can be devastating, especially when deadlines are looming. Stress can impact your work in other courses as well — not to mention your mental health.
PRIMER has exercises to help you generate story ideas and turn them into screenplays. Arriving at school with scripts in hand is your best laid plan.
Read it. Know it. There will be a quiz
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Pozer is an award-winning filmmaker with over thirty years of experience. His debut feature, The Grocer’s Wife, had its European premiere at the Cannes International Film Festival and was selected as the opening film for the exclusive Critic’s Week section. Among his many notable achievements, John received the George Sadoul Award from the International Critic’s Association and the Best First Feature Award from the Canadian Film and Television Academy.
John has directed for various networks, including The Disney Channel, MTV, YTV, Fox Family, Global, and CBC. He also directed multiple episodes of the popular computer-animated series, Beast Wars, a top-rated children’s show televised in over 60 countries. In addition to directing, John’s credits include writing, producing, and editing on productions that have screened at numerous festivals and garnered world-wide sales and distribution.
John earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in Cinema Production from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. A passionate educator, John has developed curriculum and taught film for more than 20 years at prestigious schools and institutions across Canada. His first book on film education, 21st Century Film Student Primer: Everything You Need to Know and Do Before You go to Film School, was published in 2019.
TELEVISION
John has directed for several networks, including comedies on MTV and the supernatural So Weird on the Disney Channel. Also known for his work on Beast Wars, John directed multiple episodes of the Daytime Emmy award-winning computer-animated series. John’s experience in television dates back to his teen years starting as an actor in several CBC dramas, including The Beachcombers (Prairie Sailor, 1971).
FESTIVALS
With screenings at hundreds of international festivals, John’s work in independent film making has been recognized around the world. He won the Inaugural Best First Feature Award from the Canadian Academy of Cinema and Television for The Grocer’s Wife. He also received two awards at the Figuera da Foz International Festival in Portugal for Best First Feature & Best Film.
“John’s advice to never play it safe — or, as he likes to put it, “If you’re not dangerous, you're dead” — together with his frequent encouragements to follow my creative instincts, had a major impact on my decision to follow through with my unusual vision for my first feature film. His experience, input, and personal involvement were invaluable ingredients for the realization of this project. Through the process of working on the film, we became true artistic allies — something that is extremely hard to come by in the incredibly competitive field of feature film making.
It was not only a great honour to be selected for the ‘New Directors Competition’ at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, but it was probably an even bigger honour to attend the festival together with John in September 2015.”
— Hans Christian Berger, Writer/Director, After Eden
Reviews for ‘The Grocer’s Wife’
“Tiny comedy a masterpiece”
“Shot in suggestive black and white on a measly budget of $60,000, The Grocer’s Wife derives much of its spooky dramatic power from its atmospheric, neo-gothic setting.”
— TORONTO STAR
“A little miracle”
“From the opening shot of a towering smokestack belching out smog, Pozer’s dingy stage is set. …a slick, studied film noir which should earn him critical raves and enthuse art film aficionados worldwide.”
— VARIETY
“Scary people haunt almost-erotic vision of hell on earth”
“The Grocer’s Wife is a smart, funny and technically stunning debut from an important new Canadian director.”
— VANCOUVER SUN
“A completely original feature debut”
“It’s been a long time since such an odd, almost dangerous film arrived on the Festival’s doorstep.”
— Toronto International Film Festival
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