What They Don't Teach You at Film School: 161 Strategies for Making Your Own Movie No Matter What

Filmmakers Landau and White believe that ""if you want to make films, make films."" Since only four students in each class of 45 at the country's top film schools get chosen to direct an advanced narrative film, the authors urge hopefuls to honor the trial-and-error, Blair Witch-approved method: ""if you want to be a filmmaker,"" they advise, ""put down this book and pick up a camera."" Though some of their imparted wisdom reads like an After School Special dialogue, the authors do project a healthy dose of industry know-how that could prove useful to those who have never entered the cutting rooms and bursar's offices of NYU, USC, UCLA or other prestigious establishments. The book offers concrete, creative suggestions for initiating a writing schedule, pooling financial resources (or choosing the right low-APR credit card) and feigning confidence in the face of blind fear. Among their best advice is this insight: ""Your short film is only as good as your feature script"" because ""all that work and money [spent on the short film] add up, at best, to the invitation to submit a script to someone's office."" The authors' enthusiasm for their subject is matched only by their delightful irreverence toward the industry itself, crediting doughnuts, duct tape and Red Vines as the stuff that reel dreams are made of. (Aug.) FYI: Landau and White are in preproduction for Three Loves, their first feature film.