Good Day Fellow Storytellers!

I had a dream last night  (no joke) and for once I vaguely remembered it. In that dream, mentorless.com still existed, but its tagline was: scrapbook of interestingness for storytellers in the 21st century.

I don't know if it's a good tagline (it was a dream after all) but what I know is that for the first time in over 5 years, I haven't been able to write a single article on the site this week. I wrote on Medium, I even shot a film log episode but haven't been able to edit the damn thing!

So today the newsletter loses its format. No more distinction between what comes from the site, and what comes from other sites, as long as I found it interesting, it got a spot below. The art of storytelling, especially as a filmmaker, remains the main focus. I really enjoyed being a free agent focused on storytelling and creativity, I hope you'll enjoy it too:

• After years reading without finding an effective way to collect and archive the interestingness I loved, I finally developed a system that works for me. (Hint: the same system works for screenplays)

• Stephen Follows collected data from the 47,809 crowdfunding campaigns for films launched between 2009 and 2015, and answers the question: How many filmmakers run multiple crowdfunding campaigns? Very interesting.

• I was looking for a video camera overlay, and it turns out, Premium Beat offered a free one, along with 4 more overlays to simulate different camera looks. (Warning: it's 500Mo, make sure you're doing it with the right connection)

• Who are the New Power Brokers in Hollywood? Silicon Valley Mogul-ish. Here is a list of the 25 names we probably should all know. (Thanks to Raindance founder Elliot Grove, if you don't follow him, you should.)

• Who did this and why? These are the two questions one of the world's most famous musician asks to stay curious and never take anything for granted. Applies to any creative disruptor.

• "It's very similar to the songwriting process. You write your first thought, which is your blueprint, and you see if you have something that can be worked on." Bruce Springsteen's creative process on writing his autobiography, Born To Run.

• On my (ridiculously long) to-watch list: a one-hour making-of about Blade Runner available on YouTube. If you're into making-ofs, you'll probably love this 13min making-of shot on Blade Runner's set in 1982, with interviews of Ridley Scott, Syd Mead and Douglas Trumbull. 

• I enjoyed actress Uma Incrocci's quick metaphor being in a toxic relationship with the Business.

• I ran a storytelling experiment to cope with creative-grief (aka rejection from a gatekeeper): I was to tell the story live on Instagram, drawing 10 panels and spending less than 15 minutes on each panel. You can discover the result here. (5 minutes read)

Thanks for reading!

If you like this newsletter and want to support it, forward this email to a friend or become a patron.

Be creative. Be ambitious. Be kind.
Nathalie