tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57258297408393075972024-03-05T16:44:07.971-08:00Dances With BlogsBehind the scenes at the Dances With Films Festival in Los Angeles.RSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.comBlogger185125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-83646742108321942822016-02-23T21:35:00.000-08:002016-02-23T21:35:06.482-08:00The Martini
Regular readers and new submitters to Dances With Films
might have taken notice that I haven't posted any blogs this season. There are
many reasons for this. The long and the short of is, that I'm putting this blog
to bed.
The last three or four years (out of the six that I've been working
on this), I've been faced with writing the same thing over and over again:
Finish your script
before RSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-73369566865217502312015-05-21T20:05:00.001-07:002015-05-21T20:05:53.199-07:00The SilenceJust an FYI for anyone who might be checking my blog for Festival Updates.
I don't do that sort of thing. It's not that I'm too busy. I could probably squeeze in an article a day, but I don't want to. I am busy... having fun! If you want a blow-by-blow of what's happening, our Social Media guru, Kim, keeps our Facebook page up-to-date. Like us and follow along.
If you're in the LA area, come RSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-8140072331016694432015-05-12T22:54:00.000-07:002015-05-12T22:54:48.230-07:00Minding The StoreThis year Dances With Films is featuring something brand new that I think you'll be seeing on the festival circuit around the world in the near future. Remember, you saw it here first.
What is this new feature?
The Dances With Films Alumni Store.
Why will this become a mainstay on the festival circuit?
Honestly, it might not, but it should.
People see the digital revolution hit an industry RSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-56129409398999787742015-05-03T23:43:00.001-07:002015-05-03T23:49:26.196-07:00Joys and HeartachesI know many of you are waiting for one of those few letters of acceptance that have yet to go out.
Yes, that's right folks. Our competition films are going to be announced in the morning (Monday, May The 4th be with you) - but believe it or not, we are still working to fill some screening slots.
Remember, nothing is decided until you get a pass letter, and those should all be out by RSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-73941264481174320692015-04-27T21:29:00.001-07:002015-04-27T21:29:11.820-07:00Getting OrientedI know. I know. We haven't completely announced yet and I'm already talking about the orientation meeting that's coming up this Friday. That's the nature of this business, folks. Things move slow, slow, slow, then super fast.
I just want to drop a quick note to filmmakers who are not in easy road trip distance to LA. As famous as Dances With Films is for being the only film festival (we know of RSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-55378707263158828812015-04-26T10:51:00.001-07:002015-04-26T10:51:20.529-07:00And The Dance Goes To...We will be announcing our slate soon.
Just a reminder, as with anything in life, what is said publicly and what happens in reality are not always 100% the same thing. We have deadlines to get out a press release about our slate - and that press release is always 100% true - but, it doesn't mean that it represents every film in the festival.
There are always one or two slots still open.
And yetRSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-1183920746777268082015-04-22T08:01:00.000-07:002015-04-22T08:01:15.444-07:00The HarvestingThis is always the most difficult time of the year.
Deciding what films get in the festival is easy. Deciding which ones don't get in is not.
Some of my favorite movies of all time submitted, but didn't get into, Dances With Films. Usually this is because the film has been seen at a number of other festivals - especially Los Angeles Fests. Filmmakers don't seem to understand that RSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-29690049996808979322015-04-20T18:23:00.001-07:002015-04-20T18:23:52.618-07:00What I Did This Weekend
I had a long eventful weekend so this will be short and, hopefully, sweet.
I took a break from DWF screenings to spend Saturday and Sunday managing the Society ofChildren's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) booth at the Los Angeles TimesFestival of Books. It went very well.
On Sunday, I had to slip away from the festival to attend a memorial for a friend from my RSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-36286923403433216232015-04-16T14:51:00.001-07:002015-04-16T14:51:03.488-07:00Like Ducks On A PondDo you know the old saying about someone who is like a duck on the pond? Above the water, they appear serene and in control, while under the water their webbed feet are paddling like crazy to keep them in one place?
That's a good description of what life is like at Dances With Films right now. On the outside, we are as cool as a cucumber, but readers of this blog know we are working like mad to RSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-32495527567168735232015-04-13T10:48:00.001-07:002015-04-13T10:48:56.296-07:00We're In This Together
This will be short and sweet, as we still have a pile of
movies to watch and not much time to do it.
I wanted to touch base on something that applies to all
filmmakers, whether you get into DWF or not. If you just got a sinking feeling
in your stomach on the mention of not getting in, sorry. I know that feeling
well, as I've been turned down by the best and worst of them. Regardless of
RSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-55863855116749092332015-04-09T10:24:00.001-07:002015-04-09T10:24:53.189-07:00A Film Festival Orange
Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange
We have more movies to watch than ever!
Thanks to all of your submissions, we've added one day to
our screening schedule, and will probably have to add another – and that's just
for the shorts. We're also cramming feature films into our collective brains as fast as we can - so keep that in mind when whatever date Without A Box has for our announcementRSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-53779824251639027342015-04-06T10:14:00.000-07:002015-04-06T10:14:38.417-07:00A Festival of ... BOOKS!?!
First things first. I want to get a shameless plug out of
the way. On Saturday, April 18th 2015, between 2:00 and 3:50, I will
be selling and signing Billy Bobble Makes A Magic Wand at the Los Angeles Times Festival of
Books in the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI –
LA) booth 834. Please feel free
to join my event on
Facebook and if you're in the LA area then, comeRSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-85745263367890980212015-03-30T20:24:00.001-07:002015-03-30T20:24:39.922-07:00Doin' Time Is Here
We are getting close to the final
deadline for submissions, which means it's getting real, folks. For those who have submitted, that means the
waiting is going to get more and more intense. Sorry, there's not much we can do about that.
For us, it means it's time to
actually do all of the things we said we'd like to do. … okay, maybe not ALL of
the things we'd like to do, but most of RSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-87181569039616839812015-03-23T12:46:00.000-07:002015-03-23T12:46:55.405-07:00On Being A Programmer
Last night, I spent the evening as a different kind of
programmer. While all of our other screeners spent the night watching shorts, I
tweaked our Filemaker Pro program to track who is watching what feature film
regardless of format, and unsuccessfully tried to calculate a sum using three
separate WHERE parameters. I have an SQL equation that works for two of them,
but the third is a problem forRSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-27970252883754866102015-03-16T10:52:00.002-07:002015-03-16T10:52:58.774-07:00Why A World Premiere?
Last night I was digging through the bin of unseen short
films looking for which ones we'd screen in the room that I'm in charge of,
when I realized that you, the filmmakers who submitted these movies – as well
as the filmmakers who might want to learn more about how film festivals work –
might benefit from knowing what I was looking for.
The answer is easy. World Premieres.
Let me clarifyRSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-689121043782094202015-03-09T13:05:00.001-07:002015-03-09T13:05:35.652-07:00The Screenings Continue
As of today, we are tracking to have more submissions this
year than any other year of the festival.
Last year, getting all of the films screened and programmed
nearly killed us. It will be interesting to see how it goes when push comes to
shove this year.
With that in mind, I'm going to start now saying the two
things I say every year over and over again.
First, I don't care what RSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-51213670979263306912015-03-02T11:16:00.000-08:002015-03-02T11:19:55.094-08:00It's All About The Connection
Before I get into the films, I want to talk about walking my
dog.
Wait – don't run. I have a point.
When I walk my dog around the neighborhood, I see tons of
people out and about for whatever reason. Most of them are wearing headphones,
listening to God knows what. For non-Artists, that's fine. Sherman Oaks is
hardly NYC, Detroit or Moscow. We probably have more than fair our share of RSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-5171126119547330482015-02-23T17:49:00.004-08:002015-02-23T17:49:57.835-08:00While Waiting for the Godot Festival
I was away from the shorts screenings this week, so I'll
have some catching up to do. I did see good feature submissions, so thanks to
those filmmakers for that. I know other screeners will appreciate them as well.
We all want your movies to be great!
We had a production meeting this past week, and got to the
topic of distributors coming to the festival. This turned into a discussion of
what RSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-57400803743723731912015-02-16T11:50:00.001-08:002015-02-16T11:50:50.848-08:00All About The Talent
Before we get to the shorts, I'd like to talk about features
for a second.
Last week I saw three films in a row featuring an early
scene of a single character, usually mumbling to him/herself, with about a
million jump cuts thrown in to look cool. It's not.
For my non-filmmaking readers, a jump cut is any edit that
cuts from a shot of one person to another shot of the same person. Most RSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-13192650706104163402015-02-09T09:29:00.000-08:002015-02-09T09:29:31.961-08:00Minute-By-Minute
At least once a year, I do a live-ish blog. That is, I share
my thoughts about each short film as they are screened. I say live-ish because
I'm not writing this during the movies, that wouldn't be fair to the filmmaker.
Instead, I'll go through my notes as I wrote them.
Keep in mind, I'm not the only judge. I think we had five or
six people in our room last night, so this is just a RSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-28193400587253402412015-02-02T09:56:00.001-08:002015-02-02T09:56:15.180-08:00The AFI Challenge
If you screen for a film festival long enough, you can play
"name that film school" with the rest of us. USC students almost always do Sci-Fi. FSU will usually have something with kids. UNCSA, one of my alma maters, doesn't submit
enough but I always know them for the brick colonial locations and southern accents somewhere in the cast.
Of all the film schools, the easiest toRSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-39847838965856660202015-01-27T10:44:00.003-08:002015-01-28T13:39:27.658-08:00We Begin Again - #DFW18
Welcome to all of those who have submitted to Dances With
Films year 18!
Welcome to those who have not yet submitted to Dances With
Films year 18. Keep polishing that sound,
tightening up those edits, and making sure your score is more than random notes on
a piano. As you follow this blog, you'll learn how much that helps. Do try to submit before the late, late deadline, RSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-51461436273839591312014-11-21T10:22:00.000-08:002015-03-17T07:02:06.091-07:00Billy Bobble Makes A Magic Wand - Order Now!What good is having your own blog if you don't get to promote your own work?
Regular readers know, I'm big on promoting your work. Without promotion, no one knows your work exists. So, with that in mind...
My Science-Fiction Novel for the Whole Family is on Amazon!
Order now!
Book Description
"E = mc2 is no longer the most powerful force in the universe. Your wand is."&RSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-29862297040637067722014-11-08T16:17:00.000-08:002014-11-09T15:17:15.382-08:00When is the best time to submit to a film festival?
Have you ever run a maze backwards? It's a breeze. Looking at the choices from the angle of the
maze-builder makes it a thousand times easier.
The same can be said for film festivals.
If you're a filmmaker who has never worked for a festival, you probably
don't know which way to turn. I understand. I've been there. We all have in one way or another in
RSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5725829740839307597.post-39659421704130040972014-09-22T15:17:00.001-07:002014-09-22T16:51:09.713-07:00Marketing – Books, Movies, Life
This is the off-season for Dances With Films, but I noticed
a tremendous spike in page views lately.
Whether that is due to film festival submission season kicking into gear
with Sundance's last submission deadline coming up, or because I've started promotion
on my book, Billy Bobble Makes A Magic Wand, I don't know – but I thought I
should give either audience something new to read since RSMellettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14957584006652753439noreply@blogger.com0