I’ve gotten a lot of terrific candidates for the [Director of Digital Things job](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2010/hiring-a-new-person). I’ll be narrowing down my top choices beginning Thursday, so if you’re considering applying, make sure I have your stuff by this Thursday morning, February 4, 2010.
Are online film classes worth it?
I’m 22 years of age and I’m currently an online student at the Academy of Art University based in California. (I live in Florida.) I am majoring in Directing and Producing.
I’m doing very well with school but I feel I’m not getting anywhere in the process. I mean, the way school is going I’m not going to graduate until I’m around 25 – 26 years of age which is just absurd especially since I’ve been in school already for a year & a half. I may not even finish my online schooling because it’s a bit pricey for the cost per class. I’m also not able to truly associate or really affiliate with anyone through the online program. Online schooling is just not good in that matter since everything is through a message board. You’re also not able to get hands on with anything. I’ve even looked on transferring but the situation is just not presenting itself well.
I’ve talked to a few people and even read some things on if schooling is needed for this industry and some say yes and others say no. It’s a guessing game from where I’m standing.
I’ve even looked around on ways to get noticed or recognized as many have said film festivals, film schools and so forth but that’s nothing new and I didn’t already know. But in order to enter a film festival, I need a film and that takes a lot of money to get a film made and I just don’t have the resources either. I’m really just looking for answers on what do and how I can get my foot through the door but then again, I’m still looking for a door.
I can’t just up & move to California even though I do plan on going out there sometime down-the-line (when? Who knows at this time) but I wouldn’t know where to begin or let alone look, on how to get some kind of acknowledgment or advice. My folks and I are just trying to find some answers for me or a path of some sorts. It’s just becoming frustrating. My folks are questioning on what to do as it’s a dead end on every corner and opportunities are just not coming about.
I hope that maybe you could provide some answers or something.
— Scott
Florida
I think online classes are a great option for many topics, but basic filmmaking isn’t one of them. Drop out and save your money.
Yes: a class that was purely about screenwriting could be taught online, but almost every other part of filmmaking is physical and collaborative. You need to be setting up lights and comparing angles and figuring out why the sound isn’t recording right. An online session might offer a master class with Robert Elswit talking about composition. It would be fascinating. But it wouldn’t be the practical information you need right now as an aspiring filmmaker.
Make short films. Find little movies that are shooting in Florida and work on them for free. Take local classes in the things that interest you.
You’re 22 — you don’t have to have your whole life figured out. But you owe it to yourself to pursue every interesting thing with every bit of energy you have. And if you still find filmmaking is your number one passion, move to a place where they make movies. That’s Los Angeles, New York, and (recently, thanks to tax credits) Louisiana. Get yourself there and get hired on a movie. You’ll learn more your first week as a PA than you have so far in your online classes.
Read what Adam Davis wrote about his [experience moving to LA](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2007/starting-out-in-hollywood) to get started. It’s not easy, but it’s not overwhelming either. Every young actor you’ve seen on TV has moved to Los Angeles, and trust me, many of them aren’t that smart or confident.
Your parents are nervous because they don’t see a clear path ahead for you. My mom was the same way. But once I was here, working 16-hour days on a hundred different things, she could at least see that I’d found something that really engaged me. I was making things, even if I wasn’t making enough money to buy a bed.
It’s okay to struggle. It’s okay to have doubts. But don’t let them paralyze you. You don’t have much, but you have your youth. There are many folks reading this blog in their thirties or forties with a marriage and mortgage who don’t have options you have. Embrace your freedom and explore.
How screenwriters will use the iPad
A few thoughts on Apple’s new tablet, and how we’ll be using it in a few months.
1. **It should be terrific for reading scripts.** Right now, the big Kindle DX does a credible job with screenplays. It’s $489. The iPad is only $10 more, and can handle mail, web, video and a lot more. A few weeks ago, I wrote about reading scripts on [laptops turned sideways](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2009/read-scripts-book-styl). The iPad is the elegant version of this solution.
2. While you probably won’t *write* write a screenplay on it, you could **easily make minor changes to a script** right on the iPad. If Pages and Numbers can run on the iPad, a credible screenwriting app should be possible. (There’s already a poky one for the iPhone that can handle Final Draft files.)
3. **It will be useful for pitches.** A few weeks ago, I was in a meeting and wanted to show the team what I envisioned for a specific monster. I passed around my iPhone. An iPad would have been ideal.
4. The touch screen feels ripe for an **index card/outlining application.** Virtual corkboard, virtual cards. Go.
5. One TV show will use it **on-camera by the end of the season.** I suspect it will be one of the CBS crime procedurals. We’ll notice it the first few times it shows up, then it will become commonplace, the way TV characters are always on iPhones.
6. While it’s never going to have the detail of a Wacom tablet, I can envision a lot of **storyboarding and shot-planning** happening on the iPad. A touch interface is a very natural way to approach angles and spatial composition.
7. **Scaling up blows.** While you *can* run any iPhone app on the iPad, things with text look pretty crappy. Most developers will want to do a new version for the iPad.
8. **Comic books.** They’re going to look great on it. Marvel and DC need to offer subscriptions and all-you-can-eat plans. (Update: Marvel [already does](http://marvel.com/digital_comics/unlimited/).)
9. I don’t know that the iPad is going to save print media in general, but many **film-focussed magazines** would probably work as well or better in this format. Right now, I read [DV Magazine](http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/newbay/dv0210/) in its online, Flash-based form, and it’s a surprisingly good experience.
10. **There’s still room for the Kindle.** The Kindle’s e-ink screen is great for reading traditional, linear books. Amazon’s selection for the Kindle is great, and the fact that they already make a good Kindle reader app for the iPhone means they’ll be able to bring that selection through to the iPad. I like that there’s going to be competition right from the start.
11. **”Fine, but I’ll wait for version 2.0.”** That’s great. I’ll enjoy using version 1.0 for a year, then get the new model when it comes out. Particularly since you don’t have to buy it with a wireless contract, there’s no penalty for upgrading.
Hiring a new person
I’m hiring a second full-time employee, a position I’m calling Director of Digital Things.
In addition to my actual job of screenwriting and directing, I currently do all the tech stuff: the websites, the wiring, the coding, the iPhone app that’s *thisclose* to beta testing. And I enjoy it. The luxury of a writer’s life is the freedom to explore and obsess.
But the list of things I’d like to do is so much longer than what I could conceivably do that it makes sense to bring in somebody with similar ambitions and a specific mandate. Rather than, “Wouldn’t it be neat if…” I’d like to be saying, “Hey, figure out a way to do this.”
So I’m hiring somebody who can.
My assistant, Matt, will continue to handle my schedule, travel, research and proofreading. The new person will handle stuff related to this website and many new projects.
I see this as a full-time job. Salary would be commensurate with experience, and there’s health insurance.
I’d prefer the person live in Los Angeles for occasional face-to-face discussions, but she or he would be working outside the office most of the time. The new guy would be free to — encouraged to — pursue outside projects, as long as the real work came first.
After a string of terrific and very different assistants, I’ve learned that hiring someone is never a matter of checklists. Each employee brings experiences and abilities that change the nature of the job.
But I can safely predict this person will need to be very digital, with a good balance of design sense and general geekery. A good candidate for this position would be able to talk about most of the following with ease:
* Great opening title sequences of the last year.
* Pros and cons of breaking out CSS into multiple files.
* The feeds aren’t updating right. Is the problem on WordPress, Feedburner or somewhere else?
* Whatever happened to the Stone typefaces?
* Books you’ve bought just for the cover.
* Is that short URL scheme a good idea?
* Why isn’t Google hitting this page? What SEO should we bother with, and what should we ignore?
* Is it worth outsourcing comments to something like Disqus? Could we get Scrippets to work with it?
* If you were marketing a web series about giant killer plants, what outlets would you target and how?
* Since jQuery’s already loading, what else could/should we have it do?
* Getting an offsite backup server going.
* How quickly can we get The Variant onto the new Apple device?
* If we needed to swap hosts in 24 hours, what are the first six things to do?
* Five desert island typefaces, and whether TypeKit is worth it.
* Setting up A/B test pages to track two possible layouts.
A great candidate might also have expertise in several of the following:
* Coding everything from PHP to Flash to Ruby to Objective-C
* Motion graphics and VFX
* Shooting and editing
* Gadgetry and game development
You’ll notice that “writing” is nowhere in these criteria. To date, all of my assistants have been screenwriters, and all of them are now working in the industry. But I don’t see this new position as being a particularly good stepping stone for an aspiring screenwriter.
But it is likely a stepping stone for something else, and a paid opportunity to explore some areas of interest for a year or two. In addition to maintaining existing properties, there’s a range of new projects I’d like to tackle.
Here’s the hiring process:
1. Candidates email digital@johnaugust.com. Include a bio with work experience and background, interests, and (most importantly) links to work you’ve done. I’m particularly interested in seeing websites you’ve designed, along with an explanation of their goals and techniques. But I’m also curious about other projects, like iPhone apps or short films or something else you think I’d be interested in. I’ll be hiring a person, not a portfolio, so let me get a sense of what you’re like.
2. By the second week of February, I’ll narrow down my choices to a few great candidates. I’ll give each candidate a small budget and a reasonable deadline to come up with a site for a specific project, such as The Remnants. We’ll have coffee and talk about what you did and why.
3. I’ll pick the person who seems the best fit.
**Do not apply in the comments.** Let’s save the comments section for feedback about the nature of the job and general discussion.