It's the final day of Comic-Con@Home, which brings me to my final panel of the weekend. I decided to attend a panel called Comic-Con Film School. The panel consisted of industry professionals giving advice about making your first movie. Honestly, the name is what drew me to the panel because I thought, well I’ve already been to comedy film school, why not go to Comic-Con Film School?!
Moderated by Sean Rourke, the panel included Valerie Perez, Jack Conway, Vera Vanguard, Nick Murphy, Josh Perilo, Megan Rees, Kelsey Walmer and Bradley Upton. Each panelist was a mix of writers, actors, producers and/or directors from various backgrounds in the film and television industry. The panelists talked about themselves and also gave what they felt was important advice. While I already have one short film under my belt, I found the panel to be extremely informative.
Normally, Comic-Con Film School is a four day class at Comic-Con, but the panelists did a great job of taking the “greatest hits” from the class into a forty-five minute panel. Rourke mentioned right off the bat that the point of the panel is to teach the idea of making movies for not a one and done model, but to make them as an art form and putting in the time and effort to make your vision come to life. Many of the panelists noted that no one is going to have more passion for your project than you, so you need to just get out there and do it!
A lot of practical advice was given throughout the panel as well. Some of these included: work with people you like, finish your plan, be organized, follow guidelines to keep your cast and crew safe, crowdfund, and use scheduling to your best ability. Having them talk about their own experiences and how they adapted to challenges was beneficial as they said that everyone’s experience is different so try not to base your personal experience on someone else’s.
A driving point during the panel was that you are always learning! The word I probably heard most throughout the discussion was ADAPTABILITY. Some mentioned don’t get caught up too much in prep, as you must be able to adapt to situations on the day of. It was also highly recommended that first time filmmakers start with something small, as with very little budget it can constrain your project. As a panelist put it, “Save that big two hour movie with lots of explosions for later!”. At the end of the panel, the panelists were more than willing to give their social media channels and ways to contact them, something I was not expecting!
Since this is only a brief rundown of the panel; as an aspiring filmmaker, I highly recommend this panel for first time filmmakers if they want a crash course in getting your project off the ground. I walked away from it feeling inspired and thinking about what I’m going to write next. You can check out the panel on Comic-Con International’s YouTube channel, and this brings me to the end of my first Comic-Con. Not quite how I expected it to go down but it was a blast! Thanks for following me on this journey and stay tuned for whats next!
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