Authors — John Yost
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Shooting With John: Knuckle Jack
On this special episode of Shooting With John we shoot shotguns in Los Angeles with John Adams and talk about the experience of family filmmaking. Knuckle Jack is a wonderful microbudget film made by the Adams family in the backwoods and backyards of upstate New York. Jack is a small-town, foul-mouthed drunk with an artistic gift for thievery. Haunted by a youthful tragedy, he passes through his days in a lonely haze, robbing wealthy weekenders’ homes only to score more drugs, booze and bitterness. When Jack is asked to care for his eight-year-old niece Frankie for one thick, hot Catskill […]
by John Yost on Jul 10, 2013 -
Shooting With John: Loves Her Gun
On this special episode of Shooting With John, we shoot M1911’s with Geoff Marslett and talk to the crew of Loves Her Gun about the role guns play in cinema. Check out Loves Her Gun this week at SXSW: Monday, March 11th 1:45PM – 3:24PM Topfer Theatre at ZACH Tuesday, March 12th 11:15AM -12:54PM SXSatellite: Alamo Village Friday, March 15th 4:00PM – 5:39PM Topfer Theatre at ZACH
by John Yost on Mar 11, 2013 -
Holiday Top Ten of 2012…With Eggnog
Tis the season for egg nog, friends, good conversations, video games, and top ten lists. So we put all of it into one post. Ghosts of SWJ past and future get together in this first episode of season two to give us their top tens from 2012. But first a few friends drop by for a drink and to talk about creativity in today’s climate. Check out Bryan’s sites: Bryanbruner.com Loveandrobots.tumblr.com Eric’s Film: American Bomber Movie Happy Holidays! John Top 10 of 2012: Frank Mosley 1. The Comedy 2. Compliance 3. The Master 4. Killing Them Softly 5. Bad Fever […]
by John Yost on Dec 21, 2012 -
The Micro-Budget Conversation: The End
“Filmmaking is a visual medium. Is it a gimmick that I care about aesthetics in a visual medium? I think a well-shot film looks beautiful. I think well shot digital looks adequate. It’s simply a preference. Truth be told, I’ve always thought the idea of micro-filmmaking was something of a gimmick. How little someone spends on a project doesn’t interest me. Is The Blair Witch Project more enjoyable knowing they spent such a small amount? Should I not support the Batman movies because the budgets are excessive? I just don’t think it’s that important. The great thing about Kickstarter is […]
by John Yost on Apr 19, 2012 -
THE MICRO-BUDGET CONVERSATION: SXSW AND ITS EMOTIONAL TOLL
I am not cut out for big festivals…film or otherwise. Let’s take away the fact that large crowds disturb my calm, on top of that I am a person of extremes. I either jump in all the way, or abstain from the activity entirely. Take a person like that and just feed them beer and films…and you get the worn-out mess that is myself. Two days after the experience I’m still sick, tired, and working hard to gain a foothold on what the festival meant to me and what it means to our industry. Industry is a great place to […]
by John Yost on Mar 21, 2012 -
The Microbudget Conversation: SXSW #1
2,637. That’s the number of days it has been since I was in Austin, TX. My wife and I moved there right after working a full season at the Maine Workshops, and the moment we arrived we realized we absolutely loved the place…and there was no way we could stay. At the time (and until I’m dead it seems) I owed an incredible amount of money in school loans and 2004 seemed to be the year everyone decided to stay, or move to Austin…I considered working at Jamba Juice after two months without a job…I said “considered.” We were flat […]
by John Yost on Mar 8, 2012 -
The Micro-Budget Conversation: Is Enough… Enough ?
When and how did Edward Burns become the mouthpiece of micro budget cinema? That’s a question I asked on Facebook after a late night holiday bender and noticing the ridiculous amount of press Ed got for making a film that certainly didn’t cost him 9K. Then I thought, who really does make a film for 9K? If you add up all the favors and salaries that are not getting paid you’re in the hundreds of thousands. Then I thought, oh man is there any such thing as micro-budget at all? Or is it like the myth of cover girl beauty. […]
by John Yost on Feb 16, 2012 -
The Microbudget Conversation: The Success Of Failure
Well after a great holiday, and another Sundance, we are back for a new season of the conversation. This year we’re going to try and expand the definition of micro and see it as more of a state of mind and community, as oppose to a budget. I’m looking to hear from more filmmakers, see how they are expanding the limitations of technology, and see how the new model is effecting the old. We are also working on a project you’ll be hearing more about as the months roll on. Our hopes is that it will be some of the […]
by John Yost on Jan 31, 2012 -
The Microbudget Conversation: What Is Your End Goal?
As the editor of this column it is my job to choose the contributors, shape the voice, and move the column in a forward direction. The last post really struck up a good conversation, and it is now clear that my decision to move the blog in a new direction would be a welcome change. This does not mean, however, that we will stop talking with micro-budget filmmakers on timely topics and take the time to check in on their latest projects. Despite what some people feel, one of the functions of this column is to help contributing filmmakers get […]
by John Yost on Dec 20, 2011 -
The Microbudget Conversation: The Journeymen
As most of us receive our early morning Sundance rejection email (which literally makes us the 99 percenters…again.) we should all take a moment and reflect: what drove us to this? What brought us to this moment where a single email is either enormously heartbreaking, or just another bump on the dirt road of DIY/micro filmmaking? I’ve asked fellow columnist, and bi-coastal filmmaker, Gregory Bayne to shed a bit of light on his practice of treating each project as the first uphill battle of many, and how that journey is essential for the career independent filmmaker. We have an almost […]
by John Yost on Dec 2, 2011
