Wednesday, December 12, 2012
You might be asking yourself why Center Stage Guitar Academy is so affordable compared to other online guitar lesson sites. Some of the most popular online guitar lessons sites are priced at around $20.00 a month. Center Stage Guitar Academy only costs you $9.99 a month and we are getting ready to offer a Christmas special of only $4.99 a month for life if you sign up by December 31st! Does this mean Center Stage Guitar Academy is not as good? How can we do it so cheap? Well here is the answer. Firstly, we are a new company and don't have the quantity of lessons that other sites have, so we don't feel like we can charge you the same price. However we add new lessons on a monthly basis, so we are constantly building our repertoire of lessons. The quality of our lessons are on par with other lesson sites. We have high quality, split screen videos that give you full access to the instructor with several angles. Second, we can offer you quality lessons at a lower price because we are a small, personalized business with very little overhead. The company is made up of only three people...an instructor, video producer, and web designer. We keep it small in an effort to bring you high quality lessons at a very affordable price so everybody has the opportunity to learn guitar. Please visit us at www.csgacademy.com and start learning how to play guitar.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Center Stage Guitar Academy has just finished filming the next two volumes forwww.csgacademy.com. These two volumes include 20 online guitar lessons that cover such topics as Suspended Chords, slash chords, connecting chords with scales, Triads, Inversions, and much more. These lessons should be edited and published within the next two weeks. Learn guitar now at Center Stage Guitar Academy!
Is there a big difference between private, in-person, guitar lessons and online guitar lessons? Well I think that depends on the individual and how far along you are in the process of learning guitar. First, if you are a beginner and not a very disciplined person then online lessons would not be the best choice. However if you are disciplined and can hold your own feet to the fire then I think you could benefit from online guitar lessons. Online guitar lessons offer a lot of benefits over private lessons. One, way way cheaper. Learn guitar at Center Stage Guitar Academy and pay $120 a year. Learn from a private instructor and pay $1200 a year! Big difference. Two, you can learn how to play guitar at your own pace with online lessons. You can go as fast or slow as you want. Three, you can do it from home at your own convenience. If you are already playing and just want to expand, then online lessons are great because you already know the basics. If you need someone to hold you accountable for learning then private lessons are the answer. However, if you are not motivated enough to keep yourself accountable then you are probably not going to see it through anyway. And in the process waste a lot more money on private lessons.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Monday, August 8, 2011
STOP TALKING ABOUT IT.. SHOOT IT! e-book
Hey all,
Been working hard on Sidney but in the meantime I have been working on an e-book called, "Stop Talking About It... Shoot it!! The book is designed for anyone who wants to make movies but are afraid it is out of their grasp. I felt the same way for years. I mean since I was 22 years old. I am 43 and I finally got the balls to go for it. Don't wait as long as I did.
I am not saying this is the right way to do things or the wrong way. It's my way and it has been working. Yes, it has been a learning process and I have made tons of mistakes but as we all know, we learn from those mistakes. I learned so much that when it is time to shoot SPOON, our next feature hopefully this Spring, It will be a much faster process.
Below I have included the Introduction Chapter of the e-book. When it is done it will be for sale at a 2.99 price point. Extremely cheap, especially for the time and work that is going into it. I just think that we need to forget about the Hollywood myth that even crops up to often in the INDIE world. I need the best camera. I need funding. That's a lie. And it's horseshit! So,stop talking about it.. Shoot it!
PS.. pass it onto your friends, share this link on your wall. Help me promote this. Its a lot of great information for less than the price of a Starbucks coffee.
Stop Talking About It! Shoot It!
Introduction
So you wanna make a movie?
Well you can... AND YOU WILL!
I guess the first question I need to ask is... "Do you have the balls to make a movie?"
I know this sounds harsh and I mean no disrespect by it. The reason I am asking that
is because I certainly did not. I talked about it and talked about it for years. Ever since
Robert Rodriguez put out El Mariachi in 1990. All I kept saying is that I wanted to make
a movie. As if that wasn't laughable enough to my friends, I had absolutely no money.
Zero. In 1990 I was 22 years old. I had some crappy job if I remember correctly and still
lived with my parents and I was talking about making a film. Talk about a pipe dream.
Obviously this was when all you could really do is shoot on film. That was what amazed
me so much about Robert Rodriguez' story. She could only afford 25 rolls of 16mm
film and could only shoot one take and that's it. Crazy! And with a borrowed camera,
a Marantz cassette recorder, Radio Shack mic and two clip on work lights bought at a
hardware store, he set out to film a Sundance film fest winner, and a curriculum to indie
filmmakers around the world.
Fast forward to 1997. I was producing records and had a few hits under my belt. Money
was flowing in from writing songs and producing but the film bug never left me. When
I wasn't writing songs or in the studio recording, I would be on my computer writing
screenplays. My hope was to get an agent who would in turn get me that three picture
deal with Sony and all would be well with the world. I was churning em' out like you
wouldn't believe. The one thing I can say about myself was I never had a shortage
of stories to tell. I think that was why I did well as far as songwriting was concerned.
Some of my best songs were stories that you could visualize but I never liked the idea
of cramming a story into a 3 minute and 30 second format. I'm the type of guy that loves
the epic movies. The Godfather, Goodfellas, Braveheart. Long movies that I wish would
never end. Anyway, I tried to get my scripts read. I tried to get an agent and even with
a successful music career, I still fell victim to the "we don't accept unsolicited material"
brick wall.
Let's fast forward again to 2011. I'm no longer in the music business and have a family.
Forced to be a grownup and have a somewhat stable existence though I say that and
laugh cause if you have been paying attention to the miserable state the economy is in
in the USA you know damn well nothing is stable. My point is, you know longer have to
have a lot of money to make a film. In fact, you really don't need any. It all depends on
how creative you are and how convincing you are. You would be shocked at how many
people would love a chance to be apart of a film. A chance to escape from their boring
jobs and redundant, groundhog day existence and do something different and creative.
To have their name fade in and out on a screen in the beginning or at the end of a
movie, big or small. This I know for a fact because when I shot my movie, "Sidney",
it started with an idea my friend Bryan and I had and a year later turned into 30 plus
people jumping onboard wanting to make the vision a reality for all of us. The wonderful
ing is, they all did it for no pay.
Here's the thing. I will never expect my little no budget films to make any money. The
reason I am doing them is to practice. Let me explain. See I live in Cincinnati, Ohio.
There is a small film community out here but it isn't Los Angeles or New York. The
opportunities for an aspiring actor, director or producer are far and few between. And
forget about your local film commission. At least in Cincinnati. I have absolutely no
problem saying they are useless when it comes to local filmmakers. When we decided
to make our film, a few of us called the Cincinnati Film Commission with questions on
how to go about a few things and none of our emails or calls were returned. And that
brings me to the point of this book.
If you are waiting for people to help you, you will be waiting for a very long time. If you
are waiting for someone to come along and write you that gigantic check so you can
realize your cinematic dreams, you will be waiting for a very long time. If you talk and
talk and talk about it the more people will laugh at you and think you are full of it and
call you a dreamer. Some will even tell you this straight to your face. This is something
else I know first hand. The fact of the matter is, technology now allows any and all
of us to make a film very cheaply. The only investment you need to make is a camera.
Most everyone has a home computer. There are programs out there that you can edit
your film on for free such as Lightworks. I know you are probably saying, if it's free it
cannot be that good. Ha, well you would be wrong. Movies such as Shutter Island and The
Kings Speech were edited on Lightworks. In fact, it's the editing program of choice for
Thelma Schoonmacher who has been Martin Scorsese's editor for decades.
"But Matt.. I wanna shoot my film on a Red camera. DSLR cameras don't look as good."
My response to that is. Great! Good luck with that. But while you are waiting for your
rich uncle to croak and leave you that large inheritance or take a second mortgage
on your house, you know what I will be doing? Making my film with whatever camera
I can get my hands on. If all you have is that standard def handy cam your mom and
dad use for their annual trips to Florida then use it. If all you have is an android phone
then use it. If you have one of those point and shoot cameras that shoot video, use it.
Remember, every movie you make is your practice movie. No matter if you shoot it on
your cellphone, a Red or a Panavision camera. Just shoot it and make sure your story is
good.
I've seen some films shot on the crappiest camera. The Blair Witch Project for example.
I believe that was shot on hi8. Didn't do bad at the box office. Then I've seen movies
shot in the Hollywood system for 200 million dollars, Water World. And it was a piece of
crap. It's all about the story. And it's all about YOUR story. Remember people love to
read about someone accomplishing a dream against all odds. People want the hope
that they can achieve a dream through hard work. Hollywood doesn't do that for anyone.
In fact, it's just the opposite. They have the door shut and welded so no one can come
in but they expect us to go pay outrageous ticket prices for the soulless crap they put
out. Ya know what? Give me a film shot on a home video camera that has a great story
and a ton of heart and soul behind it and I will watch it instead of a movie with incredible
effects and looks so good you can eat off it with no heart. There is
absolutely no reason a movie should cost more than 1,000,000 to make. The reason they cost so much is because actors are getting 40 million per picture and effects houses are charging
millions. It's ridiculous. It's like the government paying 2,000 dollars for a hammer. It's
the same concept. These Hollywood moguls are so used to throwing money down the
toilet, they don't care if they spend 40 million dollars on an actor to shoot for 30 days.
Are you kidding me? Hey I think Johnny Depp is a great actor but I don't care what
anyone says, he isn't worth 40 million dollars. Period. Sorry Johnny. If it makes you feel
better I feel the same way about athletes. So if you are one of those inspiring directors
whose dream is it to make bloated over priced soulless films where the actors eat
up half of your budget, this might not be for you. Or it might be for you to an extent
because if you are reading this, chances are you are not at that level and are suffering
the same roadblocks like the rest of us and you have to start somewhere.
This book is about how I am making my first feature length film, SIDNEY with no
budget. How I was able to convince friends and a bunch of total strangers to "drink the kool-aid and take that journey with me. We will discuss cameras and lighting. Sound and editing. We will talk about how to audition your actors and actresses for free without leaving your home via
YouTube. We will discuss free or nearly free software for editing, and organizing your
project. We will talk about social networking to promote your film while you are making
it. You will also find pictures and links to video throughout this ebook. When you see
a link, click it so you can see real world examples of lighting techniques and camera
reviews and pricing, etc. I want to make this interactive. And let me add that I am in no
way affiliated with the companies that make this stuff. I will just talk about gear that I
have or have used before. It's up to you to find your own weapon of choice, learn it and
be unstoppable with it.
One other thing I would like to stress is that this isn't just for you aspiring directors
or producers. This is for actors and editors as well. The best way to show what
you can do is to show that you can do it all. If your an actor or actress, it's in your best
interest to make your own film. It isn't easy to build up a body of work for your reel.
Without a reel how are you prove to anyone you are the next Al Pacino or Meryl Streep?
Make your own films. Wear different hats. Write the script so you can tailor it to your
strengths as an actor. Find a friend that writes short stories and hides them under his
bed. Collaborate. Direct them yourself. Remember, the more you can do the more
valuable you will be. Or join local filmmaking groups. These are great places to find people who
share the same dreams as you. To make films behind and in front of the camera.
Beware. You WILL run across the guy who has been trying to get funding for his film
for years. He will try to talk you out of making a no budget film. He will have more
excuses as to why you CAN'T make your film as to reason why you CAN. That's the
guy you need to steer clear of. He will suck the life and the energy right out of you.
There is absolutely no reason why you cannot make your film with no money. Yes, it
will take a long time. I have been shooting SIDNEY for almost a year because we can
only shoot on weekends. Yes, you are going to see people drop out because they just
don't have the stamina, will, heart and desire that you have. Yes, you will have to make
the initial investment of a camera and lights. A computer if you don't have one. But I
don't count this as the cost of making your film. Because once you have these, you can
make as many films as you want without having to rent anything. You will have it all.
I'm not gonna lie to you. This is a totally daunting task. And there have been plenty of times when I would say to myself, "What the hell am I doing this for?" But whenever those little voices pop in your head, whenever you crew leaves you flat and calls you an idiot behind your back, you
need to keep your eyes on the prize. And that is your completed film that when asked how much it cost , you can proudly say.. Nothing. People think it's cool to make a film. People think it's cooler when you can make one for nothing.
Ok enough talk. Let's figure out how YOU are going to make YOUR film!
Been working hard on Sidney but in the meantime I have been working on an e-book called, "Stop Talking About It... Shoot it!! The book is designed for anyone who wants to make movies but are afraid it is out of their grasp. I felt the same way for years. I mean since I was 22 years old. I am 43 and I finally got the balls to go for it. Don't wait as long as I did.
I am not saying this is the right way to do things or the wrong way. It's my way and it has been working. Yes, it has been a learning process and I have made tons of mistakes but as we all know, we learn from those mistakes. I learned so much that when it is time to shoot SPOON, our next feature hopefully this Spring, It will be a much faster process.
Below I have included the Introduction Chapter of the e-book. When it is done it will be for sale at a 2.99 price point. Extremely cheap, especially for the time and work that is going into it. I just think that we need to forget about the Hollywood myth that even crops up to often in the INDIE world. I need the best camera. I need funding. That's a lie. And it's horseshit! So,stop talking about it.. Shoot it!
PS.. pass it onto your friends, share this link on your wall. Help me promote this. Its a lot of great information for less than the price of a Starbucks coffee.
Stop Talking About It! Shoot It!
Introduction
So you wanna make a movie?
Well you can... AND YOU WILL!
I guess the first question I need to ask is... "Do you have the balls to make a movie?"
I know this sounds harsh and I mean no disrespect by it. The reason I am asking that
is because I certainly did not. I talked about it and talked about it for years. Ever since
Robert Rodriguez put out El Mariachi in 1990. All I kept saying is that I wanted to make
a movie. As if that wasn't laughable enough to my friends, I had absolutely no money.
Zero. In 1990 I was 22 years old. I had some crappy job if I remember correctly and still
lived with my parents and I was talking about making a film. Talk about a pipe dream.
Obviously this was when all you could really do is shoot on film. That was what amazed
me so much about Robert Rodriguez' story. She could only afford 25 rolls of 16mm
film and could only shoot one take and that's it. Crazy! And with a borrowed camera,
a Marantz cassette recorder, Radio Shack mic and two clip on work lights bought at a
hardware store, he set out to film a Sundance film fest winner, and a curriculum to indie
filmmakers around the world.
Fast forward to 1997. I was producing records and had a few hits under my belt. Money
was flowing in from writing songs and producing but the film bug never left me. When
I wasn't writing songs or in the studio recording, I would be on my computer writing
screenplays. My hope was to get an agent who would in turn get me that three picture
deal with Sony and all would be well with the world. I was churning em' out like you
wouldn't believe. The one thing I can say about myself was I never had a shortage
of stories to tell. I think that was why I did well as far as songwriting was concerned.
Some of my best songs were stories that you could visualize but I never liked the idea
of cramming a story into a 3 minute and 30 second format. I'm the type of guy that loves
the epic movies. The Godfather, Goodfellas, Braveheart. Long movies that I wish would
never end. Anyway, I tried to get my scripts read. I tried to get an agent and even with
a successful music career, I still fell victim to the "we don't accept unsolicited material"
brick wall.
Let's fast forward again to 2011. I'm no longer in the music business and have a family.
Forced to be a grownup and have a somewhat stable existence though I say that and
laugh cause if you have been paying attention to the miserable state the economy is in
in the USA you know damn well nothing is stable. My point is, you know longer have to
have a lot of money to make a film. In fact, you really don't need any. It all depends on
how creative you are and how convincing you are. You would be shocked at how many
people would love a chance to be apart of a film. A chance to escape from their boring
jobs and redundant, groundhog day existence and do something different and creative.
To have their name fade in and out on a screen in the beginning or at the end of a
movie, big or small. This I know for a fact because when I shot my movie, "Sidney",
it started with an idea my friend Bryan and I had and a year later turned into 30 plus
people jumping onboard wanting to make the vision a reality for all of us. The wonderful
ing is, they all did it for no pay.
Here's the thing. I will never expect my little no budget films to make any money. The
reason I am doing them is to practice. Let me explain. See I live in Cincinnati, Ohio.
There is a small film community out here but it isn't Los Angeles or New York. The
opportunities for an aspiring actor, director or producer are far and few between. And
forget about your local film commission. At least in Cincinnati. I have absolutely no
problem saying they are useless when it comes to local filmmakers. When we decided
to make our film, a few of us called the Cincinnati Film Commission with questions on
how to go about a few things and none of our emails or calls were returned. And that
brings me to the point of this book.
If you are waiting for people to help you, you will be waiting for a very long time. If you
are waiting for someone to come along and write you that gigantic check so you can
realize your cinematic dreams, you will be waiting for a very long time. If you talk and
talk and talk about it the more people will laugh at you and think you are full of it and
call you a dreamer. Some will even tell you this straight to your face. This is something
else I know first hand. The fact of the matter is, technology now allows any and all
of us to make a film very cheaply. The only investment you need to make is a camera.
Most everyone has a home computer. There are programs out there that you can edit
your film on for free such as Lightworks. I know you are probably saying, if it's free it
cannot be that good. Ha, well you would be wrong. Movies such as Shutter Island and The
Kings Speech were edited on Lightworks. In fact, it's the editing program of choice for
Thelma Schoonmacher who has been Martin Scorsese's editor for decades.
"But Matt.. I wanna shoot my film on a Red camera. DSLR cameras don't look as good."
My response to that is. Great! Good luck with that. But while you are waiting for your
rich uncle to croak and leave you that large inheritance or take a second mortgage
on your house, you know what I will be doing? Making my film with whatever camera
I can get my hands on. If all you have is that standard def handy cam your mom and
dad use for their annual trips to Florida then use it. If all you have is an android phone
then use it. If you have one of those point and shoot cameras that shoot video, use it.
Remember, every movie you make is your practice movie. No matter if you shoot it on
your cellphone, a Red or a Panavision camera. Just shoot it and make sure your story is
good.
I've seen some films shot on the crappiest camera. The Blair Witch Project for example.
I believe that was shot on hi8. Didn't do bad at the box office. Then I've seen movies
shot in the Hollywood system for 200 million dollars, Water World. And it was a piece of
crap. It's all about the story. And it's all about YOUR story. Remember people love to
read about someone accomplishing a dream against all odds. People want the hope
that they can achieve a dream through hard work. Hollywood doesn't do that for anyone.
In fact, it's just the opposite. They have the door shut and welded so no one can come
in but they expect us to go pay outrageous ticket prices for the soulless crap they put
out. Ya know what? Give me a film shot on a home video camera that has a great story
and a ton of heart and soul behind it and I will watch it instead of a movie with incredible
effects and looks so good you can eat off it with no heart. There is
absolutely no reason a movie should cost more than 1,000,000 to make. The reason they cost so much is because actors are getting 40 million per picture and effects houses are charging
millions. It's ridiculous. It's like the government paying 2,000 dollars for a hammer. It's
the same concept. These Hollywood moguls are so used to throwing money down the
toilet, they don't care if they spend 40 million dollars on an actor to shoot for 30 days.
Are you kidding me? Hey I think Johnny Depp is a great actor but I don't care what
anyone says, he isn't worth 40 million dollars. Period. Sorry Johnny. If it makes you feel
better I feel the same way about athletes. So if you are one of those inspiring directors
whose dream is it to make bloated over priced soulless films where the actors eat
up half of your budget, this might not be for you. Or it might be for you to an extent
because if you are reading this, chances are you are not at that level and are suffering
the same roadblocks like the rest of us and you have to start somewhere.
This book is about how I am making my first feature length film, SIDNEY with no
budget. How I was able to convince friends and a bunch of total strangers to "drink the kool-aid and take that journey with me. We will discuss cameras and lighting. Sound and editing. We will talk about how to audition your actors and actresses for free without leaving your home via
YouTube. We will discuss free or nearly free software for editing, and organizing your
project. We will talk about social networking to promote your film while you are making
it. You will also find pictures and links to video throughout this ebook. When you see
a link, click it so you can see real world examples of lighting techniques and camera
reviews and pricing, etc. I want to make this interactive. And let me add that I am in no
way affiliated with the companies that make this stuff. I will just talk about gear that I
have or have used before. It's up to you to find your own weapon of choice, learn it and
be unstoppable with it.
One other thing I would like to stress is that this isn't just for you aspiring directors
or producers. This is for actors and editors as well. The best way to show what
you can do is to show that you can do it all. If your an actor or actress, it's in your best
interest to make your own film. It isn't easy to build up a body of work for your reel.
Without a reel how are you prove to anyone you are the next Al Pacino or Meryl Streep?
Make your own films. Wear different hats. Write the script so you can tailor it to your
strengths as an actor. Find a friend that writes short stories and hides them under his
bed. Collaborate. Direct them yourself. Remember, the more you can do the more
valuable you will be. Or join local filmmaking groups. These are great places to find people who
share the same dreams as you. To make films behind and in front of the camera.
Beware. You WILL run across the guy who has been trying to get funding for his film
for years. He will try to talk you out of making a no budget film. He will have more
excuses as to why you CAN'T make your film as to reason why you CAN. That's the
guy you need to steer clear of. He will suck the life and the energy right out of you.
There is absolutely no reason why you cannot make your film with no money. Yes, it
will take a long time. I have been shooting SIDNEY for almost a year because we can
only shoot on weekends. Yes, you are going to see people drop out because they just
don't have the stamina, will, heart and desire that you have. Yes, you will have to make
the initial investment of a camera and lights. A computer if you don't have one. But I
don't count this as the cost of making your film. Because once you have these, you can
make as many films as you want without having to rent anything. You will have it all.
I'm not gonna lie to you. This is a totally daunting task. And there have been plenty of times when I would say to myself, "What the hell am I doing this for?" But whenever those little voices pop in your head, whenever you crew leaves you flat and calls you an idiot behind your back, you
need to keep your eyes on the prize. And that is your completed film that when asked how much it cost , you can proudly say.. Nothing. People think it's cool to make a film. People think it's cooler when you can make one for nothing.
Ok enough talk. Let's figure out how YOU are going to make YOUR film!
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