Netribution Review
The Guerilla Film Makers Movie Blueprint
Guerilla movie maker Chris Jones has been at it
again - and done it bigger and better than ever
before. Authorship that is. Whilst his last feature
production Urban Ghost Story, set in Glasgow, was
gathering critical acclaim at Edinburgh
International Film Festival a couple of years ago,
Jones was gathering all his notes together as fresh
material for this, his latest foray into authorship.
His Guerilla Film Makers Handbook explored new
ground, but this is a far more generous portion of
Jones expertise in creating features with little or
no cash. This Guerilla Film Makers Movie Blueprint
does for low budget film what Gray did for human
anatomy. It exposes completely the complexities and
hidden conflicts that lie unseen beneath the film
gloss and shows the aspiring filmmaker how to plot a
safe course through them.
The
book is not a blueprint for success. It is no fewer
than 25 blueprints for success - and there’s one for
every department, from production company start-up
to sales and distribution, each section packed with
essential information. The style is factual and
informal, drawing on Jones’ own experience of
helming two features and producing a third, but
regularly pulls in other qualified opinion for
snapshot advice alongside the main text. As you
would expect from a film maker it is a rich visual
experience, with detailed photographs, diagrams and
graphs and tables laid out attractively. There’s a
strong sense of designer vision as you browse
through the book. Like any good film maker Jones
relies on his crew to back him up. These particular
film types seem two dimensional at first glance, but
they have cleverly been given life by illustrator
Jim Loomis. They are keen, dedicated and when the
going gets tough, these guys raise smiles. I would
be prepared to hire any of them.
Jones has profited from his earlier GFM Handbooks
and not only because they became best sellers, but
because he has an awareness of what he had not given
sufficient coverage to. The resulting reshoot has
not simply revisited previous ground, but also,
superceded it, with much more detail than the
earlier handbook format would allow. As a result,
Movie Blueprint has become something of a paperback
tome, its 600 pages packed with essential knowledge,
but it weighs in as one point six six kilos of pure
gold.
This amalgam of experience, distilled, revisited,
re-ordered and patiently recounted is available to
any filmmaker for just £25.
Camcorder User
Following on from ‘The Guerilla Film Makers
Handbook’ comes this title from its co-author Chris
Jones. Where ‘Guerilla Film Makers Handbook’ gave
fascinating insight and personal reflections, the
‘Movie Blueprint’ goes one step further and details
absolutely everything you are likely to need to get
a low budget picture made.
Virtually every problem a film maker is likely to
encounter is covered in depth, even as far as
providing recipes for on set catering! It covers the
roles of every essential person on set from grips to
DOP’s and runners to directors. Differing shooting
formats and equipment are also covered along with
sample budgets, postproduction routes, concise
technology explanations and sound mixing blueprints.
Suffice to say, it’s all there, and in startling
detail!
What
is particularly refreshing is the informal manner in
which the information is related. Whilst any body
can pick this book up and understand it, its tone is
never condescending. It’s also short of the overly
confusing and unimportant technical jargon that can
often plague a book of this nature and yet remains
packed with the essential facts, tricks and
techniques that can help you finally get that film
you always dreamt of making off the starting blocks.
There are undoubtedly a plethora of books on the
film making subject by authors that can talk the
talk but Chris Jones has actually walked the walk.
With three low budget films already under his belt
you can rest assured that the techniques and
knowledge described are both hard won and based in
fact. The emphasis here is on empowerment, not
through lottery grants or arts council handouts but
by giving the reader the necessary knowledge to grab
the bull by the horns and with little or no money
simply go for it. At just shy of 600 pages it also
represents fantastic value for money and is sure to
become a handy resource manual should you make it to
production.
If you are going to buy any book to guide you
through the low budget film making process, this
should probably be the one. For £25 you’re highly
unlikely to find better or cheaper advice elsewhere.
Essential reading for the wannabe film maker.
Ben Frain - Nevember 2003 issue
Empire, Summer 2006
Possessed by a desire" - and handy hints: add 50 fictitious names to the end credits to create extra kudos. Overall, then, a revelatory read which will inform and inspire in equal measure.
Film Review, November 2000 (2nd Edition review)
It
was just coincidencetch Project, who knows a bit
about budget film-making. He says that it's
"absolutely indispensable" and concludes that "it
should be within arm's reach throughout the entire
film-making process."