How do you make a film about graffiti with a small budget, a relatively unknown cast and crew, a shooting time of 18 days and still manage to premiere at the Berlin Film Festival while juggling day jobs? Director Benjamin Morgan and the crew of Quality of Life share their secrets, stories, tips, and trials and tribulations of the indie filmmaking process in this book based on the movie. The book is divided into three parts: a section on interviews with various cast members, a DIY Film School section that covers film logistics like budgeting and casting, and the actual screenplay. While the middle section provides some useful tips for those hoping to make their own indie films, the interviews with the cast sometimes feel a bit like listening to your younger brother and his friends sling insults back and forth and laugh about inside jokes. After a while, it gets tiresome. The book also offers pragmatic pointers to indie filmmakers and newbies on finding investors, distribution, getting into film festivals and editing. The whole point of graffiti is to create a powerful, visually-compelling piece with little or no resources, and Morgan highlights the advantages of using this guerrilla mentality when making an indie film. (Michelle Kay)
by Benjamin Morgan and the Quality of Life Crew, $20.00, 240 pgs, Soft Skull Press, 55 Washington St., Suite 804, Brooklyn, NY, 11201, qualityoflife-themovie.com