What do Icelandic horses have to do with making films? A chance conversation with two tourists made me realize how easily we can kill an exciting idea by immediately thinking about all the work that comes with it. Sometimes you need to stop feeding the horses and just see where
Documentary
Some films begin with an idea. Others begin with a person you cannot forget. I’ve now released my documentary KING OF THE BUTTERFLIES in full on YouTube. The film follows Darryl Francis and his attempt to reclaim his life through writing after spending much of his adulthood trapped in
Some stories take you halfway around the world. Others bring you home. MAKING THE DOCUMENTARY Since I started making films I’ve always travelled the world looking for interesting subjects. When I find them, they usually have foreign connotations because “Iceland vis-à-vis the globe” has always spoken to
Film Class
I’ve just uploaded my full filmmaking class, From Idea to Screen, to YouTube—and it’s completely free.
Storyboard
Storyboarder is a little gem: practical, intuitive and fully free.
I’m heavily into editing a feature film at the moment, and I’m trying to remind myself of something I seem to forget every time I make a film: my job is not always to find the solution. sometimes my job is just to find the problem. Sounds obvious.
Writing Tools
... and not before long, the same voice returns with a different complaint: "You’re not moving fast enough."
Film Class
Learn Documentary Filmmaking and demystify the documentary process, but it'll also illuminate your creative strengths and help you identify areas of improvement and opportunities. After you have completed this class you'll be able to make a documentary film project.
Film Class
If you want to become a filmmaker, this class will guide you through the process of mastering the art of creating a short film. I believe in the principle of learning big by starting with something doable. By the end of this class, you will have independently created and completed a short film.
Film Class
If you aspire to write for film and TV, this screenwriting class is perfect for you. By focusing on mastering just one scene, you'll learn to write in screenplay format effectively. I believe in the principle of learning big by learning small.
Film Class
To make a film, where to begin? How about starting with with 10 seconds.
Olaf de Fleur's Icelandic Film Bakery
Four questions for getting through the strange doorway between thinking and doing. “I’m working on six projects,” I used to say early in my career. Like it was a sign that I was highly active. I’m the same today—a wagon being pulled in different directions by too
In my case, there is usually one scene that starts the process of making a film. I may not know the film yet. I may not know the ending. I may not know if the idea is strong enough to survive all the practical humiliations of making a film. But
A couple of weeks ago, I finished shooting a feature film. Months of preparation, schedules, rewrites, weather forecasts, batteries charging, lens choices, emotional pressure, compromises, accidents, and tiny miracles.
Some ideas belong in an unfinished state. Crooked. Half-formed. Still breathing.
I Didn’t Switch to Final Cut Pro X -- I drifted into it.
Why looking away from the screen helps you work longer
For me, writing is never just about producing words. It is a custom job each day, sometimes each hour, where the real task is figuring out how to interrupt momentum long enough for that something to appear.
Clean Language: A beautiful, symbolic system at work.
"A word limit, a location limit, a time limit, a stylistic rule, a format."
This is a community filmmaking challenge where anyone can create and share a 10-second short film. There are no judges, no competition, and no single winner.
A short tale of my daughter's magic.
The principle is simple: design the gap instead of letting it design you.