Our newest feature filmmaker is Eva Madden. Eva is one of the most open and giving people you will ever meet. Bright and creative and inspiring for sure. I asked her to tell me three things that kept her motivated being it was November, the days were getting darker and winter is fast approaching. Below; first her Bio and then her response. She'll make you smile and keep you working on towards that goal!

EVA MADDEN: BIO – RECENT WORKS

Born and raised in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Eva studied Filmmaking at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. While learning the art of light and sound, she made two short films, and completed the BFA (Cinema) Specialization in Film Production, while garnering the Dean's Award for Excellence in Filmmaking. This success carried Eva and her passion for filmmaking to Vancouver, BC, where she began working as a sound mixer for documentaries and a sound assistant for “Hollywood North” film and television, mentoring with many innovative directors along the way.

Currently living in Halifax Nova Scotia, Eva keeps herself busy as an emerging writer and director. Eva recently completed the NSI Drama Prize film Eastern Shore, garnering the award for “Best Original Score” at the 2007 Atlantic Film Festival, and “Best Film” from the Surf-Riders Association. Eastern Shore also aired on CBC television’s Canadian Reflections in 2007. Her short film Maximum 50 was screened at the 2006 Viewfinders International Film Festival for Youth, and went on to win “Best Direction” and “Best Editing” at the 15th Annual Atlantic Filmmaker’s Co-operative Film Festival, and was screened in Los Angeles, California, as part of “Best of The Attack” film series. Maximum 50 was also broadcast as part of the series finale for CBC Zed. Eva’s feature film script, Sweet Nothing, was part of the 2006 “Inspired Scripts” Program and went on to win the “Inspired Scripts Pitch”. Sweet Nothing is currently in development with Halifax’s Idlewild Films. Eva is also producing and co-directing with filmmaker Drew Hagen on the feature documentary Move On, spanning five years in the life of singer songwriter Amelia Curran. Her latest film, Fast-forward in Reverse, a Super8 film made in association with The Nickel Film Festival, screened at the Wreckhouse International Jazz & Blues Festival in July 2008. This summer Eva produced her first original stage play, mounting The Confidence Game before audiences in Halifax as part of the 2008 Atlantic Fringe Festival. To keep things interesting, Eva also works at Power Post Productions as a sound designer.

MOTIVATION

Motivation. Otherwise known as inspiration, driving force, incentive...call it what you will but after passion, blind ambition and a tough skin there’s nothing more important to a film maker – except maybe talent. :)
As the dark evenings of winter make those heady weeks of film festivals, conferences and cocktail parties seem like a distant blurry dream, it is even more important to look around your environment and find the things that can keep you going – ‘cause that’s the other thing a filmmaker needs – tenacity. So we all need to keep the train rolling right? But how? Well here’s a few things I do to keep motivated. Maybe you’ll find a little something in here that might help you.

Workshops. This is a big one. I try to attend at least 5-6 workshops a year. Writing workshops, directing workshops, acting workshops, even – god forbid producing workshops – they are a gold mine of motivation. First off you get the benefit of learning more about your craft – and you don’t need me to tell you that filmmaking is a demanding and challenging craft. Especially when you are an emerging filmmaker – even if you’ve been through film school or the rigorous school of hard knocks – the more you know, well...the more you know. And not only will you learn from the instructor and the program itself, but you can learn from other filmmakers. You can reap the benefits of their experience, or sometimes their inexperience. You also make new contacts, which we all need, and sometimes make new friends – other poor sods like yourself who have given it all up to be a filmmaker. They will understand you. They will commiserate, they will share war stories. We all need that. In this crazy misunderstood business, a little support from your fellows always helps. And believe me, there is something VERY motivating about sitting next to a guy who just finished his 2nd feature and has 2 series in development and meanwhile you are still trying to find the energy to finish your short film script. It gives you that kick in the ass you need to get going. Shit – if he can do it, so can I. It also reminds you that unless you log off MySpace, turn off the TV or whatever your flavour of procrastination might be – the script will not get written, the budget will not get done, the story boards will not get drafted – in other words – unless we do it – no one else will. Which is fine. If you don’t really want to be a filmmaker. And you do right? That’s why you’re reading this. One more thing about workshops – look for local ones, through your film co-op, funders, associations etc but also look outside your comfortable surroundings. Think about taking a Robert Mckee workshop in Toronto, a SIFT workshop in Ottawa or Montreal, or a Judith Weston workshop in L.A. Yes, it will cost you, but the investment is worth it (and you can source out professional development grants to help with the costs). For all the reasons above times ten. You will come back ready to rock it. Motivated out the wazu. I promise.

Looking toward the future. Sure we all love film festival season. Especially if we have a film up there on the screen. But the only way to get a film on the screen is to make one right? And that takes time. Well here’s where a long dark winter comes in handy. Winter is a grand time to write. There’s no whisper of summer breezes in the trees beckoning you to go out and play in the sun. The beaches are dismal, and a lot of time the sidewalks aren’t even fit for walking. So why go anywhere? Why not just fill your cup with your poison of choice, put on a comfy sweater and tap away at the keyboard. Listen to the wind beating against the window panes and imagine yourself smiling as you arrive at your film premiere next summer, proud of yourself that you buckled down to work when it mattered most. In other words, down time is GOOD. If we had to go to cocktail parties all year long, no would get anything done, or if we did it would all be very disjointed and out of focus. If you really need to get out of the house, dress up warm, load up your favourite playlist of thinking music and take a walk out in the snow to daydream. Imagine, speculate, project, figure it all out, but for god sakes, go home and write it all down. One of the best lessons I learned this year was that “thinking” about your story is one process. But writing it down is a whole different thing. It uses a different part of the brain and brings to light things that pure imagination won’t. And yes, I learned that at a workshop. See? It works.

Watch Look and Listen. Let’s start with listen. As I mentioned above, build a playlist – songs that relate to your story or help evoke certain emotions that you might associate with this particular project. I have a whole folder of different playlist with my film titles attached. These songs help me visualize my characters, plot out sequences, build a world. There is a power to listening to the same song, or series of songs over and over again. It allows you create associations, visual bookmarks so to speak. The beauty of this is you can listen while you write at your computer or you can throw it on your music player and hop on the bus, take a walk, whatever. You can turn travelling to and from work, or shopping at the grocery store into valuable creative time. I do a lot of scene work this way. And if the music isn’t doing it for you, slip the head phones off and just LISTEN to the world. Instead of being pissed off that the supermarket line is taking so long, take the opportunity to listen to the conversations of the other shoppers. Instead of being bored on the bus, tune into the chatter around you. If you can’t sleep because the neighbours are arguing, get out your notebook and jot down notes. Listening to the cadence of real conversation is a great way to improve your skills at writing dialogue. Learn how people talk. Real people. Don’t just listen to the voices in your head.

Next - WATCH. And watch some more. If winter’s getting you down and you’re not feeling inspired, pop in a DVD, look at work you love and work you hate. Rent films you would never think you’d like. You’ll learn something from it. Even if it’s that you DON’T want to make work like that. If you want to be a filmmaker there’s no such thing as watching too many films. And make sure you throw in some great ones. Great films will motivate you to try and make a great film of your own.

And finally - LOOK. Read scripts. Reading a script is a completely different experience than watching the movie. It really helps you get a sense of structure, dialogue, rhythm, and even formatting. Don’t just read transcriptions. Look for the original screenplays. You can buy them in bookstores sure, but we’re struggling filmmakers right? Look for them for free online. Drew’s Script-O-Rama is a good place to start.

I hope some of this gives you a bit of juice. If you have any comments or insights, tell us what gets you motivated. Share it with the readers here at Moovy and help us all get motivated! Happy Winter!

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