I spent six days in Austin enjoying the 2015 SXSW Film program. Like any conference that’s also a nonstop party, this year’s lineup was inspiring, informative, and over too soon. Here are six takeaways that stuck with me. “The cavalry is not coming.” – Mark Duplass Sound depressing? Well, wait Read more…
Some people dream of quitting their day jobs in order to freelance, but the fear of “what could go wrong” keeps them from making the jump. If you want to make a living freelancing but you’re worried about all the risks, these 13 tips for starting a freelance career by Read more…
“What happens when there’s no independent media left?” A decade ago, this question was unthinkable. In 2005, “new media” was still new and its rules were largely unwritten. To put this in perspective, in 2005 Steve Jobs announced the iPhone’s new video capability by showcasing Tiki Bar TV, a no-budget Read more…
I decided to change my life again. Once, back in 2005, I quit my job in order to freelance full-time. I learned a lot during the next seven years — including a lot about what not to do as a freelancer — and then in 2012 I decided that the Read more…
In politics, business, love and war, we’re tempted to reduce all conflicts to a winner and a loser. By doing this, we imply that one side’s argument (or army) defeated the other soundly. In reality, this rarely happens. That’s because the margin between victory and defeat is often just a Read more…
To everyone who’s ever created something and shared it online, I’d like to say one thing: I’m sorry. See, those of us who’ve been doing this for awhile now — we’re the ones who invented blogging, and tweeting, and YouTubing, and social networking, and we’ve been preaching about “the digital Read more…
Every Marvel movie has a few problems, but Thor: The Dark World has some truly blockbuster-sized plot holes.
In September of 2003, before the launch of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or MySpace — before you could watch a video on your iPod, much less on your cell phone — the first episode of a brand new, so-called “web series” was uploaded to the Internet. The writer-director of this web Read more…
NOTE: This post was written in June 2013. Since then, DC and Warner Bros have released Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, and Justice League, plus a parallel DC TV Universe on the CW. While DC and WB stuck to their vision, I still think my strategy would have Read more…
I don’t remember a word from my graduation. I don’t even remember who spoke at it, much less what they said. That’s partly because I was exhausted (our art school staged our portfolio review and our graduation on the same day), but also because people rarely say anything memorable during Read more…