Today’s digital technology allows teens to produce short films with enviable accessibility. But there is a darker side to today’s technology, too: the expectation to live and share your life online, to become an instant success with your first creations. Imagine being free to experiment and play with the medi-um, with a mentor beside you helping you craft solid, professional work that never looks like a home movie. Industry pro Deborah Patz is that mentor. Much like writers pen journals they don’t publish (aka “writing practice,” as taught by Natalie Gold-berg), Write! Shoot! Edit! mentors teens in “first filmmaking” — crafting complete, scripted movies in a safe place free from public exhibition and scrutiny, experimenting with the medium, and discovering one’s own visual storytelling voice. You want to direct and edit, but your friend wants to write? Not a problem. Don’t read the book in order! Just follow the path. Write! Shoot! Edit! is written in three distinct and intertwining paths, so you can experience the book as you want to: as a writer, director / DOP, or editor. Start making scripted films today so that you can be the overnight success of tomorrow!
