It is not very often that a film has to wait 45 years to see the light of day. But for the recently rediscovered “Summer Children,” which features cinematography by Academy Award winner Vilmos Zsigmond that is exactly what happened.

Directed by James Bruner, “Summer Children” is a lost black and white treasure, a cinematic bridge between Italian neo-realism, French New Wave, Film Noir, and American youth movies that were so prominent in the 1960s. The film was made on a small budget, and features mostly student actors from UCLA. Of the main cast, only David Arkin, who has a minor role, went onto sustained success acting in movies, appearing in Robert Altman’s “The Long Goodbye,” “Nashville,” and Alan J. Pakula’s “All the President’s Men.” Stuart Anderson, John Hanek and Valora Noland had minor roles in TV and films throughout the 1960s and not much beyond, while Sandy Gabriel had some success in soap operas. Bruner never directed another film, and his last credit is as production designer on “Blood Bath” in 1966. Writer Norman Handelsman never had another script made into a feature.

While there are many tangible things that you can learn as a writer, such as structure and format—all the things that make up a strong foundation for your screenplay—it’s what you do with that knowledge, and also how you apply the intangibles, that will separate you from the pack.

For many indie filmmakers, they never set out to be writers at all, so the entire screenwriting process becomes a learning curve (even more so than usual). The necessity of having a script to make a film dictates that they become writers as well, even if they only initially saw themselves as directors. Add a collaborator into the mix of coming up with and finishing a screenplay, and now there’s a completely different dimension.

There are generally three kinds of directors. There are those that define their films, those that let their films define them, and those that can bridge the first two worlds, knowing when to step to the front and when to let the story lead. Sidney Lumet, who died this past weekend at the age of 86, was most decidedly the third kind of director.

Lumet preferred letting the story unfold in front of the viewer. He kept takes to a minimum, and constructed the movie as he went along, trying to minimize the time spent in post production.

If you’re a filmmaker at almost any level, you’ve figured out that the process depends on collaboration. Unless it’s just you making a documentary (and even then, you’ll need the participation of your subjects), filmmaking requires that you have a dependable crew and people that share your vision and will work hard to make that happen.

Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 Science-Fiction masterpiece, “2001: A Space Odyssey,” based on Arthur C. Clarke’s novel (which was actually released after the movie; Clarke also co-wrote the screenplay with Kubrick) instantly became a precedent setting film in this genre and a masterpiece of modern filmmaking. The two had been in discussions as early as 1964 about collaborating on a science-fiction piece.

Using a critical eye, a viewer cannot help but consciously or subconsciously catch the clever use of symbolism throughout the film.

“I Will Follow,", a quiet, slice of life drama will be something of a test case. It will be the first film released through The African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement (AFFRM), a grass roots organization looking to increase exposure and get theatrical distribution for African-American independent movies. The film will open in Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Seattle.

At first, it might seem like a typical indie film shoot. Four days in New York City, with a small cast and a mostly volunteer crew. But “The Sea is All I Know” is far from typical. The short, from writer/director Jordan Bayne, stars two time Oscar nominee Melissa Leo (“Frozen River,” “The Fighter”), and took Bayne the better part of four years to write, find financing, and finally, shoot and finish the film.

Much is made of what a writer puts into a screenplay, but just as important is how the writer tells the narrative. The most important elements that a screenwriter can use in putting together an effective script, one that gets past the first read and one that hooks an audience are: action, characters, and setting. Narrative description, or the way you frame your story, is something that every aspiring writer should have a handle on before submitting a script.

Making documentaries is tricky business. A filmmaker has to strike a balance between not only finding an interesting subject, but to then make an entertaining—and hopefully—engaging, entertaining movie that reaches the audience in a meaningful way. And while it’s the same goal shared by feature filmmakers, the documentary director has to hope that viewers will be drawn in and try to relate to a slice of real life as opposed to fiction.

From the outside looking in, a movie is just a collection of scenes that are tied together. So what separates the great films—the ones that are embedded in our collective consciousness—from the forgettable ones? Several things elevate a movie into being memorable: a great concept, a great cast, and ultimately, a great screenplay. As a writer, you have to be able to look at that collection of scenes objectively, to know how to tie it all together, and to turn what seems like a loose collection of scenes into a story.

“You must not come lightly on the blank page.” – Stephen King

Writers write. Every day they look into their computer screens – white, empty and intimidating – deciding what to say and how to say it.

It’s a common theme for the independent filmmaker: they didn’t necessarily get into making movies to become producers, but the nature of the industry—low budgets, tight shooting schedules, and razor thin margins in finding cast and crew, forces them to be involved at all levels of production. And usually, this is on top of trying to maintain a separate professional career, the paycheck that allows them to chase their passion.

One of the most important things that your script should have is a strong, compelling story. A good, memorable story allows your characters to grow organically, and separates good writers from the mediocre ones. Think about whether you can pitch the idea of your script in two sentences or less, because producers (and audiences) are looking for something that will grab them right away.

When Dino De Laurentiis passed away at the age of 91, the daunting task arose about how to eulogize a man whose film career spanned more than six decades across every kind of movie imaginable. It is easy enough to list the litany of films that he produced; a body of work that is celebrated not only by his successes, but almost more so his failures.

As a screenwriter, the ability to craft dramatic suspense can turn your script from a basic, by the numbers story into something memorable, and the basis of a movie that people will remember. Film is a visceral art, and a thousand things have to go right in the execution of a story to make it resonate, but it all starts with the screenwriter. Without the basic foundation and the proper storytelling tools, your script might not make it past the first read.

The world is now a hyper-expanding WikiNation, with information flowing back and forth faster than ever before. This exchange of information extends to filmmaking as well. “Rip! A Remix Manifesto,” in which web activist and filmmaker Brett Gaylor explores issues of copyright in the information age, mashing up the media landscape of the 20th century and shattering the wall between users and producers.

As a screenwriter, there are a few ways to get your script sold and—possibly—made into a movie. Screenwriting contests have emerged as a way for unknown writers to get their name out there, but this requires either winning the contest or placing very high, and more than likely having to do it in multiple contests to get noticed. If you have the money and are a director as well as a writer, you can go the indie route, but providing you get the movie made, there is no guarantee of any kind of distribution. The most traditional way for a screenwriter to get his or her work sold and made into a movie is by getting an agent.

There is perhaps no other genre in film so geared towards American sensibilities as the western. While the elements within the western--the good vs. bad, the revenge scenario, or even the tortured loneliness of a hero—can all be translated through different categories of film and to different cultures, it is the setting that makes the western so unique.

When beginning the process of shooting your first feature (or any film, for that matter), one of the major questions that typically comes up is “What will I need to do this?”

The truth is, “gear” is about a subjective a topic as any. One filmmaker may swear by a film workflow, while another will insist that digital is the future. Some filmmakers simply must have a steadicam, dolly, and a jib.

In the world of independent filmmaking, it’s easy to assume that more money can make any problem go away. But most filmmakers--independent or mainstream—will readily admit that nothing derails a project faster than being unprepared before the production begins.