Let’s Make A Movie Workshop

In addition to running the Fandance Film Festival, the fine gents at Hellbender Media will also once again be running their annual “Let’s Make a Movie!” workshop! Join a rowdy bunch of movie-crazed fen to work through the entire process of creating an ultra-low-budget film, from concept to finished product, all during Norwescon weekend! Here’s the step-by-step panel lineup…

Whether you are making a fan film or epic indie movie, this class will take the frustration out of creating green screen special effects. No more nasty green halos or ragged fringing. This hands-on class gives tips and tricks for artists who want to achieve professional special effects without breaking their budget. The workshop will demonstrate lighting techniques and post-production tips so that your effects will look great.
Speakers: Lisa Sherman, Edward Martin III, Ryan K. Johnson

Although each of us would love to have a hundred million dollars for the top-of-the-line special effects, the sad truth is that those Powerball numbers remain as elusive as ever. In lieu of an unspeakable budget, here is a collection of techniques and tricks, including live demonstrations, of some special effects that you can do on a more dinner-and-a-movie budget! Bring your own conundrums and let’s see if we can figure out how to make it happen!
Speakers: Edward Martin III, Brian D. Oberquell, Lisa Sherman, Ryan K. Johnson

It’s our fourteen year anniversary! For more than a decade, we’ve been making movies every Norwescon, like some sort of terrifying clockwork monkey. Be a part of history without actually burying yourself in the desert for a thousand years! In this introduction, see all the movies ever made at Norwescon as a part of this ground-breaking workshop, including introductions by the filmmakers. Here’s the best place to watch all these movies at once, and behold the genesis of one of the weirdest and funniest workshops ever to be tolerated by Norwescon! Learn about some of the weird and heinous behind-the-scenes stories! Feel free to ask the filmmakers questions afterwards, if they’re brave enough to stick around! Be inspired for part 1!
Speakers: Edward Martin III, Brian D. Oberquell, Lisa Sherman, Ryan K. Johnson

You were there for Part Zero, right? Quick! Time travel! In Part One, we go over the plan, figure out the gear, work up a story, write the script, plan the shoot, and pretty much anything else we can think of. That’s right, from soup to nuts, we’re going to make an entire movie here at Norwescon. This is your chance to be a part of the annual fun and learn how to make a movie on a budget so tiny calling it shoestring would be an insult to shoestrings. The key to making a movie, of course, is good planning!
Speakers: Edward Martin III, Brian D. Oberquell, Lisa Sherman, Ryan K. Johnson

You were there for Part One, right, where we figured out what we needed and planned this movie all out? Quick! Time travel! In Part Two, we shoot like mad weasels, because there’s not much time and if we’re going to make a movie at light speed, then we have to move like light! So, don’t be late, or you’ll just see red-shifted versions of us. The key to making a movie, of course, is to get the footage in the can! Or, box, actually, because we’re shooting video. But you know what we mean.
Speakers: Edward Martin III, Brian D. Oberquell, Lisa Sherman, Ryan K. Johnson

Let’s make a movie! You were there for Part Two, right, where we shot video like crazy? Quick! Time travel! In Part Three, we show you a little about editing, how we put all that crazy footage down and made it into a movie that made some kind of sense. Actually, we hope it makes some kind of sense. We never really know. If you bought a computer within the past two years, chances are excellent that you have more digital video editing power at your fingertips than has ever been subject to the hands of Ordinary People. Learn about using this power for Good. Or Evil. We don’t care, because we only use it for Fun. The key to making a movie, of course, is editing.
Speakers: Edward Martin III, Brian D. Oberquell, Lisa Sherman

In its fourteenth year, the Festival is a celebration of low- and no-budget cinema, brought to wondrous lurching life by amateur filmmakers from all around the Pacific Northwest. More than just the movies, this one hundred twenty minute extravaganza of entertainment also includes the filmmakers, to regale you with terrifying tales of their productions. Be there or be a regular right quadrilateral! The Fandance Film Festival is the final terrifying phase of the Let’s Make a Movie Workshop, in which participants walk through every step of making a movie, from conception to the premiere of the finished product.
Speakers: Edward Martin III, Brian D. Oberquell, Lisa Sherman, Ryan K. Johnson