Shawn Goth's Lounge Discussions

Call a local schools "science department" see if you can borrow a rat for the movie- offer special thanks to the school - give the rat an acting credit-the kids will love it. And all those kids will want to see the movie.

Angela obviously it depends what you need the rat to do. Your first question should be: Do you actually need a live rat? Can you shoot the scene without seeing the rat, or can you use a puppet or just a flash of grey fur? If you decide that you really do need a live rat then you might want to consider a specialist film animal trainer. These are likely to know how best to get the animal to do what you want it to do and save you lots of time.. The alternative of a school rat is a good idea as is using one from a loa all pet shop. Alternatively you good just wait at the rear of any food type shop /restaurant at night.

Hey Angela, have you thought about animation for the rat? We specialize in post production hyper real animation. If you shoot the live plate (the bin) we can animate a rat into the bin for you. The rat would do anything that you want, and look real. How close-up is the shot to the rat?

did you get your rat?

I love to think about the old painters that had to borrow money from their fanily of sweep floors to paint. Artists are given a gift but yes also a curse

I am with Evan. Write and produce your own films. That is what I am doing

Start with a short - anything between 5-25 pages. Try to get directors to make it. Or offer to write something specifically for a director or producer. You will slowly learn the craft while building your reputation. And shorts don't suck the life out of you. In theory you could have 5 to 10 shorts in production with all different directors at the same time. Thats HOT. You ought to have read at least 20 books on how to write and sell a screenplay. Also it wouldn't kill you to sign up to be a movie extra or production assistant. That gets you on set meeting people who can actually do something About your screenplay. Good luck. ; )

Jim, Don't give up, ever. You just haven't met the right people to help you out as yet. What type of writing have you done in those 4 projects, genre?

The average screenwriter didn't make a cent before writing 9 full length scripts (and rewriting them). So at 4, you're quitting before you are even halfway there.

I hate Meisner but I do believe in listening to your fellow actors in scenes.

Practice with a cheap 100 dollar video camera doing Monologues. When they are so good you have to share them on Youtube you are ready for some try outs. I also LOVE actors who do theater. They are in my opinion the best actors to work with.

Research universities in your area and do student films. Take classes and stay passionate!

Email me. I do directing and casting. I can give you tons of ideas on how to get started. demandmedia@outlook.com

I could also use your mentoring. Jarick44@yahoo.com