No Budget Film School

No Budget Film School

Instructor / Guest Speakers

The No Budget Film School is taught by Mark Stolaroff. Stolaroff will be joined by a number of low-budget filmmaking experts.

MARK STOLAROFF, Instructor

Mark Stolaroff is an independent producer and a founding partner of Antic Pictures, an LA-based production company producing a slate of low budget, high quality digital features. Stolaroff just completed his newest micro-budget film Pig, the fourth feature from award-winning writer/director Henry Barrial (Some Body). Pig recently received its World Premiere at the Nashville Film Festival and won Best Feature Film at Sci-Fi-London, its international debut. With Ron Judkins, Stolaroff produced Barrial's third feature, True Love, which was developed in the 2003 Sundance Screenwriters Lab and recently played the festival circuit. He was also the co-producer of the feature documentary Paper Chasers, which was released in 2005, and was the Associate Producer of The Trouble With Men And Women, which opened theatrically in 2006.

Stolaroff was formerly a principal of Next Wave Films, a company of The Independent Film Channel that provided finishing funds to exceptional, low budget films; and through its production arm Agenda 2000, financed and executive produced digital features. Included in Next Wave's 13 films are Christopher Nolan's (Inception, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Memento,) first feature, Following; Joe Carnahan's (The A-Team, Narc) first feature, Blood, Guts, Bullets, & Octane; Amir Bar Lev's (The Tillman Story, My Kid Could Paint That) first feature Fighter; the Academy Award-nominated documentary Sound And Fury; and the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winning documentary Southern Comfort. He was the Associate Producer on a number of Next Wave projects, including Some Body and Manic, two digital features at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival, and the award-winning theatrical documentary Keep The River On Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale. In all Next Wave took seven films to Sundance and five to Toronto; nine were released theatrically in the U.S. and two premiered on HBO; nine were shot digitally and six of those were transferred to film.

Stolaroff has lectured on low budget and digital filmmaking throughout the world and at many of the major film festivals. He has taught film classes at UCLA Extension, the Maine Film Workshop, and The Learning Annex and has written for Scientific American, Filmmaker, Sight & Sound, Film Festival Reporter, and Film Arts Magazine. He has been on countless filmmaking panels over the last two decades, including serving as the Series Moderator for IFP/LA's Digital Filmmaking Series in 2001 and 2002. He has sat on the juries of several film festivals and was on the Advisory Board of HBO's US Comedy Arts Film Festival. He currently serves on the advisory board of Filmmakers Alliance.

Stolaroff has extensive production experience on several low budget features and shorts, including production managing the Academy Award winning short film My Mother Dreams The Satan's Disciples in New York. His background also includes two years in Investment Banking at Merrill Lynch Capital Markets, and five years as the Managing Director of Curtains Theater, an innovative legitimate theater he founded in Houston. A native Texan, Stolaroff received his BBA from the prestigious Business Honors Program at the University of Texas in Austin and minored in Film Production, directing several 16mm shorts.

Guest Speakers for Aug. 20-21 Class:

Peter Broderick (left)

PETER BRODERICK is President of Paradigm Consulting, which provides strategic consulting services to filmmakers and media companies. In addition to advising on financing, sales, and marketing, Paradigm Consulting specializes in state-of-the-art distribution techniques -- including innovative theatrical service deals, cutting edge video strategies (mixing retail and direct sales online), and new approaches to global distribution. It helps filmmakers reach target markets effectively and build core personal audiences.

Broderick was founder and President of Next Wave Films, which helped launch the careers of exceptionally talented filmmakers from the U.S. and abroad. A company of the Independent Film Channel, Next Wave supplied finishing funds and other vital support to filmmakers, and financed digital features through its production arm--Agenda 2000. Next Wave's features included Christopher Nolan's Following, Joe Carnahan's Blood Guts Bullets & Octane, Jordan Melamed's Manic, Kate Davis's Southern Comfort, Josh Aronson's Sound and Fury, and Amir Bar-Lev's Fighter. Broderick played a key role in the growth of the ultra-low budget feature movement and has been a leading advocate of digital moviemaking, giving presentations on digital production at Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, Berlin and many other festivals. He has lectured at Harvard, taught courses at UCLA, and written articles for Scientific American, The New York Times, The Economist, The Los Angeles Times, and Filmmaker magazine. A graduate of Brown University, Cambridge University, and Yale Law School, he practiced law in Washington, DC.

Most recently, Broderick has focused on the coming revolution in independent distribution. In addition to giving keynote speeches on the subject internationally, he published a groundbreaking article, "Maximizing Distribution," in the Directors Guild of America magazine (Jan. 2004, http://dga.org/news/v28_5/craft_maxdist.php3). In 2004 he launched a website, http://www.filmstoseebeforeyouvote.org, designed to harness the power of film to impact elections utilizing new distribution techniques. For more information on his sought-after consulting services, visit his website: http://www.peterbroderick.com

EVAN GLODELL Originally from Wisconsin, Evan moved to California in his early 20s with a group of close friends to pursue his dream of becoming a filmmaker. He and his brother started the Brothers Glodell which would grow to have a huge Internet cult following for their quirky and humorous short videos, some including Bellflower cast members Jessie Wiseman and Vincent Grashaw. Picking up other Coatwolf members along the way, including Tyler Dawson and Joel Hodge, Evan began working for Internet start-up STIM TV where he conceptualized and starred in the edgy sitcom BOSS OF THE GLORY. Evan has directed many music videos, most notably Cursive's "Let Me Up." Working as a cinematographer, Evan shot the feature-length horror movie PLACEBO and the short film SAVANNA, which screened at the Beverly Hills Film Festival and won an Accolade Competition, 'Excellence in Film' award.

BELLFLOWER, an intensely personal story incorporating many real life events, is Evan Glodell's feature-length directorial debut. Production began in early 2008 shortly after completing the innovative 'Coatwolf Model II' Ultra Large Format optical system made exclusively for the film. Bellflower became Evan's true labor of love, causing him to sacrifice almost everything, including selling off all of his personal belongings and living in an abandoned wing of an office building to fund the movie.

The sacrifice paid off, as the $15,000 film was accepted into the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and was picked up for distribution out of the festival by Oscilloscope. Bellflower has been a hit on the festival circuit, playing in both prestigious general festivals (like SXSW) and more hardcore genre festivals (like Fantasia in Montreal). Oscilloscope is releasing the film theatrically beginning August 5th, and it will be playing on screens all over the country. Click here to view the trailer and check show dates: http://www.oscilloscope.net/films/film/45/Bellflower

Evan is a prolific writer and has already developed a series of feature-length movies to follow Bellflower.

VINCENT GRASHAW Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, over the last decade Vincent has written, directed, produced, and acted in several music videos, shorts, feature films, and commercials. He won much acclaim for the award-winning horror film CALLOUS SENTIMENT which has screened in over a dozen festivals around the world. Callous was a Top-10 Finalist in Kevin Spacey's Triggerstreet Film Festival in 2005, and it garnered distribution on two feature-length film compilation DVDs: "Festivals of Horror, Vol. 1" and "Visions of Horror, Vol. 1".

Vincent's latest endeavor was producing the critically acclaimed feature film BELLFLOWER which made it's World Premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, where it garnered glowing reviews from press and audiences. Bellflower has also screened in almost a dozen film festivals nationwide, including the 2011 South by Southwest Film Festival. Distribution company Oscilloscope Laboratories purchased the film and will be releasing it in theaters beginning August 5, 2011.

Vincent's filmography also includes: the beloved Fijian language film ELIKI, which was also recently selected as a Top-10 Finalist in Kevin Spacey's Triggerstreet Film Festival in 2010; SAVANNA, a controversial piece that premiered at the Beverly Hills Film Festival and won the 'Excellence in Film' award at the Accolade Film Competition.

Currently, Vincent is slated to direct two feature films: COLDWATER and the dark hitman drama ANATOMY and he intends to produce films for Evan Glodell under the Coatwolf banner, and they've already begun development on a slate of feature films.

SCOTT LEBERECHT was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning in 1994. At age 24, Scott joined George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic Art Department.

Over the next five years, he created storyboards and concept art for eight major motion pictures. When promoted to the position of Art Director, Scott guided the work of computer graphic artists, creating the visual effects for Walt Disney's 101 Dalmations, Flubber, New Line Cinema's Spawn, Warner Bros.' The Green Mile, Eraser, and Tim Burton's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

From 2001-2003, Scott attended the American Film Institute as a Directing fellow, where he made six short films. Underdog and Natural Selection became official selections at major film festivals, winning several awards.

MIDNIGHT SON is his feature film debut. Premiering at Cinequest earlier this year, the micro-budget horror film has gone on to play festivals all over the world--including some of the most prestigious genre festivals, like Montreal's Fantasia--and winning awards at several.

JOSHUA LEONARD is a Los Angeles -based actor and filmmaker who first garnered attention for his memorable role in 1999's lo-fi thriller THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. Leonard has continued to work in projects that push the envelope, including 2009's Independent Spirit Award-winning HUMPDAY, HBO's acclaimed series HUNG and Showtime's UNITED STATES OF TARA.

Leonard had two films that premiered at this years' Sundance Film Festival -- As an actor, starring in Vera Farmiga's directorial debut HIGHER GROUND, Leonard played a man at odds with his wife (Farmiga). He also directed and starred in THE LIE, a devilish morality tale adapted from the story by acclaimed author, T.C. Boyle. The project co-starred indie darlings Mark Webber, Jess Weixler, and Jane Adams.

Most recently, he completed filming THE MOTEL LIFE, an adaptation of Willy Vlautin's novel, starring opposite Emile Hirsch and Kris Kristofferson.

Leonard directed the short film, THE YOUTH IN US (Sundance '05). Art doc, BEAUTIFUL LOSERS followed, winning the Grand Jury prize at Cinevegas in 2008. He has also directed music videos for many popular acts, such as Morcheeba, Harper Simon, and Fitz and the Tantrums.

MATT RADECKI is a Los Angeles-based producer, director, editor and cinematographer, and the co-founder of Different by Design, a high-definition production and post-production company. Included in Matt's credits are the 2010 feature documentary Marwencol, which has won over 15 awards including the Spirit Award's Truer Than Fiction Award; TV Junkie, a feature-length documentary he co-directed and edited which won a Special Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival; and Chasing 3000, which he co-produced with his Different By Design co-founder Greg Lanesey (who directs), and which stars Ray Liotta, Rory Culkin, Lauren Holly, Seymour Cassell, Keith David and M. Emmet Walsh. He also produced and is co-cinematographer of Red White Black & Blue, which will aired on PBS’ Independent Lens in 2007. He recently edited Who’s Back (shot by DA Pennebaker), which will appear on the definitive Who DVD collection Incredible Journey.

Different By Design www.dxdproductions.com was founded in 2004 to produce interesting and entertaining films and provide high definition production and post-production services to their clients. Since its inception, Different By Design has produced seven feature length films and has provided HD services on over 100 films, documentaries and music videos, including Me & You & Everyone We Know, The Aristocrats and music videos for Keith Urban and Switchfoot. Different By Design can provide high definition camera packages through its partnership with HD Cinema, high definition and standard definition online and color correction as well as dubs, down converts and deck rentals.

Guest instructor for Aug. 27-28 "Cinema Language" Classes:

TOM PROVOST has enjoyed a varied and successful career in the entertainment industry as an author, screenwriter, editor, director, producer, actor, and instructor. Before graduating from The University of Texas in Austin's prestigious Plan II honors program with an emphasis in film, he wrote and directed several shorts and authored a published thesis on director Alfred Hitchcock. He then moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. After landing several parts in film and TV, including a recurring role on Steven Spielberg's SeaQuest DSV, Provost took up editing, learning the Avid system just as non-linear editing was beginning to make its way on the scene. After editing short films and a couple of features, he worked for several years cutting and producing award-winning promos for the WB and Bravo Television Networks. During this time he was hired to adapt a script for Morgan Freeman's production company, Revelations, a screenplay eventually made into the film Under Suspicion starring Freeman and Gene Hackman, directed by Stephen Hopkins. The screenplay was nominated for an Edgar Award. This lead to work as a script doctor, where his ability to shape story has been highly prized.

Long in development, Provost's feature directorial debut The Presence, (www.thepresencemovie.com), which he also wrote, was recently completed and was picked up by Lionsgate. It will be released starting October 4th, 2011. The inventive ghost story/modern-day gothic romance stars Academy Award-winning actress Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite), Shane West (ER), Golden Globe Nominee Justin Kirk (Weeds), and Tony Curan (Pearl Harbor, Gladiator). In addition to directing commercials and editing reality TV (The Bachelor, The Apprentice [Emmy nominated], and several others), Provost has been a popular film instructor at a variety of venues all over the country for many years.