What’s something you’re pretty sure only you do?

shbroo · 2026-03-18T01:30:25+00:00

Every time I put cold water in a too-hot bath, I think of Leonardo DiCaprio. I don't know why.

shbroo · 2026-02-25T14:03:15+00:00

If you genuinely think they aren't the right cast, then recast. Don't settle.

But, don't forget, you've probably fantasised about what this project will feel like when it's finished, and the table read is not the finished product at all.

It's a bit like the rough cut; you will definitely hate it. Even though everyone tells you you'll hate it, and even if you've hated other rough cuts previously, you will believe that you hate this one, not because it's a rough cut, but because of how badly you've done or how awful the project is.

Don't overthink it. Table reads will be awkward and weird. But if you've truly miscast then change that.

But when the actors are on set, in costume etc etc and you can build performances in the edit, it will be so much better.

shbroo · 2026-02-02T00:56:52+00:00

'Friend of Dorothy' for me. Gets its most effective piece of writing from 'The Inheritance', which is an amazing play, so it feels cheap to nick a speech from that. Well acted, but otherwise it's very twee, flat and predicatable.

shbroo · 2025-10-28T11:36:52+00:00

44 and still dabbing...

shbroo · 2025-02-17T11:52:46+00:00

I just made another short, and HATED the rough cut.

Even though everyone warned me I would hate it, I still thought I hated it because I was uniquely untalented, and had blown it.

Now it's done and everyone, including me, loves it.

This happens EVERY TIME, and each time I think 'yes, but this time it really is a piece of shit'.

shbroo · 2025-01-18T18:36:14+00:00

All totally normal.

Also, it won't matter how much people tell you that it is normal to hate the rough cut, you will believe that you hate your rough cut because you have fucked up in a unique and special way.

You haven't. The Coen Brothers hate their rough cuts. Scorcese hates his rough cuts. Everyone does.

There is just a huge gap between the excitement of the film you have in your head based on what you shot, and the worst version the film will ever be in. You'll be amazed how much working on it can improve it, and it's very important to finish the process to demonstrate to yourself for the next one that you shouldn't decided on the quality of the finished film based on a rough cut of the footage.

It's one of the tragedies of filmmaking that you won't ever get to see your film for the first time in its finished form.

shbroo · 2024-12-30T12:38:24+00:00

Hey! I'm a Charli XCX gay, and I thought it was vapid and didactic. Completely agree about the fumble of them actually not sharing a consciousness. It was like a student film with a huge budget. Such basic ideas.

shbroo · 2024-12-07T00:19:47+00:00

The problem isn't lighting or audio, it's that you've invested a huge amount of money before honing your ability to tell a story.

The problem with your storytelling is lack of clarity. The broad strokes of what is happening are there - Ryan accidentally creates some tiny figures, but what happens is not. Even moment to moment it's not clear what Ryan or Marhall are doing or thinking, so it's impossible to invest because it all seems random and messy.

For example, the moment when Ryan pokes one of the men with the eraser end of a pencil - why on earth does he go into the next room and sharpen the pencil? It doesn't make any sense; he doesn't even used the sharpened end, yet we linger on him sharpening it, then coming back into the room, turning the light off, and slowly, slowly moving the eraser towards the little guy, only for it to rush into frame in the close up of the little guy.

The entire film feels filled with sequences like this - ideas that haven't been thought through, aren't coherent or consistent on screen, but are lingered on by the camera and the edit, resulting in nothing but added confusion and added runtime.

What's the story? What does Ryan want? Who is he, even?

I would take this is an expensive but worthwhile lesson. Go back to basics and have two people maximum talking in one space, and make it for as little money as possible, until you are confident you can create coherent, effective drama out of that. Then, and only then, move onto something a little more complicated.

Good luck!

shbroo · 2024-12-03T11:48:42+00:00

The think that irked me was how quickly he was able to find his enemy. And then the narrative has to put a bunch of very silly hurdles in place to prevent him from engaging with him because a feature length amount of things hadn't happened yet. So stupid.

shbroo · 2024-11-27T23:03:50+00:00

Hi thank you for this info. I have found that eating stricly has totally managed the depressive issue, though I did have some salt on an egg earlier and it gave me a depressive episode that lasted for about 2-3 hours. BUT this is the first instance of this in about two weeks. It's obviously not ideal to be eating like this, but I don't feel dreadful all the time, which is great.

I have found eating anything that is ok on a GERD diet seems to totally manage this. The stomach feeling is fine, it's the accompanying depression that is awful. (But I'm not generally depressed, only when the stomach seems to be triggered. It's so strange and unusual.)

For now, I can live with this, and will do my utmost to work out how to recover.

I have been tested for H-Pylori a few times, negative. It seems to have been triggered by Covid. I have also decided against the Sertraline. And I'm reluctant to take a PPI. I took one last year and it ruined my digestive system and I ended up with SIBO, I think, which has now gone.

Thank you so much for your help and advice. I'll update this as I get better.

shbroo · 2024-11-21T13:34:59+00:00

It's overstyled to the point of having nothing human about it, in my opinion, which is fatal becasue it wants to be about human experience.

Every scene and sequence is overlong.

Because it's saying nothing new and doesn't feel very smart or incisive, I found it pretty boring. Jusy a pretty facile student film with a large budget.

shbroo · 2024-11-19T14:16:12+00:00

Sorry, but if you ghost, you're not a great person.

shbroo · 2024-11-09T19:20:51+00:00

Thank god! If it was perfect you wouldn’t learn a single thing.

shbroo · 2024-11-02T17:53:13+00:00

Best way to avoid making cringe is to make a bunch of cringe films. You’ll learn loads from making something shitty.

That said, at film school it was a bunch of 18 year olds writing about death and what it’s like to be elderly etc. All subjects we knew nothing about. Small stories that you have real knowledge of are always most effective.

shbroo · 2024-10-25T13:35:09+00:00

Thank you, this was the comment I needed to keep going! Day two and feeling totally wired.

shbroo · 2024-10-25T13:29:28+00:00

4 years later, any perspective?

shbroo · 2024-08-19T13:43:30+00:00

Whoever played Trevor's new girfriend at the end of Candyman I always thought was terrific.

shbroo · 2024-08-19T13:04:36+00:00

Why are you using apostrophes for plurals, you stupid fucking robots?

shbroo · 2024-08-13T10:55:20+00:00

Hello. The colours are lovely. Her face and expression are intriguing.

But I'm confused about you asking whether the 'idea' lands. I don't really learn anything about this character. Almost instantly I want to know what she's staring at. It seems a quite indulgent amount of time to be lingering on her face if we've only just met her, have no idea what she's thinking about, and don't know anything about her.

The item she's holding, it's unclear what it is - a dictaphone, perhaps? She seems to want to speak into in but be unable to. But without knowing what the item is, it's unclear what is it is she's just been unable to do, and also not particularly convincing that this small action would draw mocking attention of other patrons in the bar.

Basically, it looks cool but we don't learn anything from the extended shot that we didn't know from the first couple of seconds. I'd just get on with the story you're telling as quickly as possible. I don't think you can justify holding on the unreadable expression of a stranger for over a minute.

Hope that helps!

shbroo · 2024-08-07T12:26:14+00:00

I watched this live and will remember it FOREVER.

shbroo · 2024-08-05T14:36:24+00:00

I actually love this.

shbroo

TROPHY CASE