Five keys to creating authentic, distinctive work, whether you are a student, professional or simply love making films on your own
For Creative Filmmaking from the Inside Out, three professors at the renowned University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television interviewed fifteen outstanding filmmakers, then distilled their insights into the "Five I's" of creativity. Learn how to:
. Uncover your unique creative voice (Introspection)
. Work from real-life observations and experience (Inquiry)
. Draw on your nonconscious wells of creativity (Intuition)
. Strengthen your creative collaborations (Interaction)
. Communicate at the deepest level with your audience (Impact)
This comprehensive approach provides practical exercises that will enrich and transform your work, whether you are looking for a story idea, lighting a set, editing a scene or selecting a music cue.
The participating filmmakers, who have collectively won or been nominated for 39 Oscars and 27 Emmys, are:
Anthony Minghella, writer-director (The English Patient); Kimberly Peirce, writer-director (Boys Don't Cry); John Lasseter, writer-director-producer (Toy Story); John Wells, writer-producer (ER); Hanif Kureishi, writer (My Beautiful Laundrette); Pamela Douglas, writer (Between Mother and Daughter); Renee Tajima-Peña, director-producer (My America...or, Honk If You Love Buddha); Ismail Merchant, producer (The Remains of the Day); Jeannine Oppewall, production designer (L.A. Confidential); Conrad L. Hall, cinematographer (American Beauty); Kathy Baker, actor (Picket Fences); Walter Murch, sound designer-editor (Apocalypse Now); Lisa Fruchtman, editor (The Right Stuff); Kate Amend, editor (Into the Arms of Strangers); and James Newton Howard, composer (The Sixth Sense).

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

The Filmmakers

one introspection

A Mysterious Predisposition: Discovering Your Creative Field

Finding the Resonance: Choosing the Stories You Want to Tell

A Private World: Drawing on Personal Memories

two inquiry

Breadth of Knowledge: A Preparation in the Liberal Arts

Getting Out of the Car: Observation of the World

Doing the Homework: Researching a Film

three intuition

Open-closedness: The Link Between Intellect and Intuition

The Dreamer: Connecting to the Nonconscious Mind

Time at the Desk and Time Running in the Forest: Enticing Your Intuition

four interaction

Plenty of Rope: The Fluid Collaboration

Arguments Worth Having: Responding to Creative Differences

Everyone Is Telling the Story: Establishing a Creative Environment

five impact

The Undercurrent: Finding the Soul of the Film

Fresh Eyes: The Power of the Audience

Taking Responsibility: Owning the Images We Create

six workouts

Endnotes

Selected Filmographies

Suggested Reading

Embedded Values Questionnaire

Index

Carroll Hodge, Jed Dannenbaum and Doe Mayer are professional filmmakers who also teach film production at the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television. You can visit them at www.creativefilmmaking.com.