Hollywood, Unapologetic!

- Season 8

(2020)

Right off the bat, you should check with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regularly. This should be your first source of information. There are tons of contradictory and just flat-out wrong information bits floating around. Some of this has to do with today's political climate.

Many of you have dreams of becoming a motion picture director. You have a favorite director. You've watched every single thing he or she has ever made. The body of work inspires you to become a director. But . . . you don't know where to begin. I'm going to give you a checklist of eight things to be mindful of to help you get started.

The long anticipated 22-page, "Proposed Health and Safety Guidelines for Motion Picture, Television, and Streaming Productions During the COVID-19 Pandemic" document was sent to Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York, and Governor Gavin Newsom of California.

The first stage in the filmmaking production process you need to do and be mindful of, during the Coronavirus Pandemic is the development stage. This is the stage when ideas for a film are put together. Sometimes that means acquiring the rights to a book, stage play, magazine article, video game, comic book, graphic novel, or directly from the source of a true story. Other times the screenplay has already been written or a pitch for an idea is available.

The second stage in the filmmaking production process you need to do and be mindful of, during the Coronavirus Pandemic is the pre-production stage. This is the stage when you prepare all of the moving parts to your project. No matter how much you may want to jump into running full-steam with your project, pre-production should not begin until you have financing secured, as well as the cinematographer, key production crewmembers and cast are all secured.

The third stage in the filmmaking production process you need to do and be mindful of, during the Coronavirus Pandemic is the production stage. This is the physical production where the scenes are created and captured for the film. The film's executive in charge of production or production supervisor would hire the additional crew needed for principal photography.

The fourth stage in the filmmaking production process you need to do and be mindful of, during the Coronavirus Pandemic is the post-production stage. This is where all of the media that was captured is assembled and edited together. Probably the best way to look at this stage of the filmmaking process is to think of your film as being a huge puzzle with thousands of integral parts that make up the completed story.

The first thing to do during the distribution stage is to consider your distribution outlets. If you haven't made a game plan by now for distribution, now is the time. It doesn't matter the amount of time and effort that has gone into creating your film if no one ever sees it. Having it as a vanity piece will not further your craft, career, nor the careers of anyone else who bled and sweat along side you on this adventure.

Most of the steps for a motion picture, television and streaming productions of higher production value are the same in the most part, but distribution is different. Plus with the growing availability of digital and self-distribution outlets online, and with the growing popularity of crowdfunding, there's multiple ways to get your vision financed and your voice heard.

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Due to Hollywood's immense influence over politics and culture, all of the racism, discrimination and glass ceilings Black people in Hollywood experience on a regular basis have direct implications on Black lives everywhere. The media has a direct influence on the populous, without a doubt. The way we speak, the way we dress, and the music, the television shows and the films we are exposed to have influenced our lines of thinking. We as content creators have the responsibility to be mindful of the influence our content has. And it's far greater than our immediate ...

In a keynote address Robert Smith gave to over 200 top philanthropists at the 9th annual Forbes 400 Summit on Philanthropy, he proposed that large corporations should use 2% of their annual net income to empower minority communities over the next decade. While the average American household charitably donates 2% of its income every year, Smith is asking corporate America to do the same. This was after he called on big banks to capitalize the financial institutions that service Black-owned businesses and minority-run entrepreneurial ventures, in an effort to begin ...

Many of you have dreams of becoming a motion picture director. You have a favorite director. You've watched every single thing he or she has ever made. You know the history and backstory of each project, and of all the principals involved. The body of work inspires you to become a director. But . . . you don't know where to begin. You're in luck. I'm going to give you a checklist to help you get started. This is the first part of what you need to know to help you get the ball rolling.