About the Book:

Write! Shoot! Edit! is the essential open-on-the-desk guide for Teen Filmmakers.

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 medium, with a mentor beside you helping you craft solid, professional work that never looks like a home movie. With Deborah Patz' penchant for sharing knowledge and her knack for delivering the nuts and bolts of the business, she is that mentor.

Much like writers pen journals they don't publish (aka "writing practice," as taught by Natalie Goldberg), 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!

What people say:

"A thorough, dynamic and inspiring guide for young filmmakers written in the voice of a mentor who challenges but never underestimates her audience. It could be life-changing in the hands of a motivated teenager working on their own, and it's ideal as a text for high school media courses." — Bruce Sheridan, professor and chair, Cinema, Artt and Science, Columbia College Chicago

"An engaging book for teens, and a wealth of information about movie making for all ages, now on our school must-read list for students and staff." — Tevor Kolkea, principal, École Moody Middle School of the Arts

"A great tool! I wish I had it when I started my first film." — Eileen Hoeter, chair, Women in Film and Television International

About the Author:

Deborah S. Patz has been a filmmaker on award-winning productions since the mid-1980s, primarily as a production manager and coordinator, and then as production executive. She has worked with Lucasfilm, IMAX, MCA/Universal, Alliance/Atlantis, Nelvana, BBC, CBC, the Disney Channel, and the list goes on. She currently works in film finance and teaches filmmaking workshops for teens.