Film Makers?

No one blames you for your denial.

And no one blames you for being a Jackass

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" I see in your eyes, the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, whe we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. May and hour of wolves and shattered shields before the age of men comes crashing down, but it is not this day! This day we Fight! For all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand men of the west!!"
-Aragorn: The Lord of the Rings the Return of the King

Hey now. Let's keep it a Christian level and not get off topic and have another round of arguments, Rico. Settle down.

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Everything I do, I do to make my second stepdad proud.

Pulp Fiction, great movie, no, I am not a film maker, but I do have ideas.

right now Im doing a fan film but later this year Im going to be making a film that I've been writing. the fan film is kind of a practice film to get ready for a true indy film. come check out the trailers... the film will be out this spring.

http://www.design-projects.net/desproductions.html

I checked out your film link and it doesn't work.

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Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
Buddha

Me and a friend are working on a scirpt but I still worry about the budget even it it is no budget lol.

I'm wondering if I should save up and use 16mm stock or just buy a fairly decent dv camera for around £2000~.

Still not sure, any suggestions would be great.

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Peter: Excuse me, is your refrigerator running?
Because if it is, it probably runs like you - very homosexually.

Even if you save up and buy some 16mm stock you'd need even more for development, transfer video for editing, then transfer back for print. Just get a nice DV cam or rent a HD cam from a production house.

Lets back up. What do you plan on doing with the movie once it's done? Festivals, friends, etc...?

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Ok, here we go

Yea I knew about post production costs for editing, developing etc~
I was wondering if I should wait a give it a few more years and spend more or would a DV/HD cam do the job?

Thing is we're amateurs obviously but we still don't want to make a movie that looks very home movie, and really amateur.

Would we be able to achieve a fairly professional looking picture with HD/DV?

We plan on making a few shorts first, then if we're confident maybe after a year, go for the movie.

We're planning on taking it to film festivals.

Thanks for the help so far and for taking interest.

Hope I don't sound too much like a complete novice with his head in the clouds.

Yup, have worked on around 30 student movies, mostly in New York.
Going back to university for my diploma in digital film next month, my dream is to make my trilogy of crime films in Glasgow, then sell out and move to New York, Hollywood is so passe!!!
Had my film-reel stolen in New York by a fellow student, guess he was short of his own ideas, so it's back to square one, as he also stole the original dv tape!!!
Hope to start shooting some short documentaries over the next few months.
Watch this space!

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Hey Pepe, would you say I have a plethora of presents?


Toga, toga, toga......


Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbour?

Nice man

I'd suggest going the DV route with atleast a couple of shorts. Getting used to working with actors and crew is a task in itself and if you aren't comfortable with doing that it will come across in the final print. Spike Jonz has used DV on many of his short videos and Robert Rodri(spelling) uses HD. The only reason you'd want to use film is to be able to project it onto a theater size screen without losing tons of resolution. If anything, get a DV camera with some manual features and focus on acting, editing, lighting, and sound. If you get those down the fact that you used a DV camera wont even matter.

Was that sexy "Swanson, Swammy, Simmy.... Oh! It's right here on the breif case" Samsonite?

OH YEAH! Gods 3rd Leg, don't use an on board mic. You get a decent DAT recorder and you'll automatically move miles beyond the amatuer filmmaker, assuming you know how to get good sound.

GOOD LUCK!

Thankyou very much, I appreciate the help you have given me

Can't think of much else to say

Thankyou once again ^,^

I would also say another thing that is very important for separating you from the chumps is to learn about lighting techniques, then buy a decent light kit, and spend time practicing blocking. You can get a small pro light kit for about 750$, and everyone I talk to says it is of utmost importance to learn about light usage. I am in the middle of learning about lighting, myself.

As for the camera, grab a DV. As Pimp stated, try to get a manual focus ring, and make sure you have access to manual f-stop etc....

Talke a basic photography class.

Take a sketch class.

Practice storyboards, to get used to working with visual information.

Learn about editing suites, as you will need one of these immediately.

Am I a filmmaker? Nope, but I plan on shooting my short next summer, and I am well into the pre-pro stages.

Making a film is difficult.


I would also recommend shecking out the following gear to get some professional looking shots:

Steady Cam rig (Ranging from 14 - 1500 dollars to aquire)
Steady Stick
Filters - Go for the Tiffen Professional grade, and in particular, the soft F/X 3 filter, which magically makes DV stuff look a little less cut and harsh, for a warmer film look.


Check out this site, they carry all this stuff, tell you how to use it, and offer other excellent information on DV filmmaking.

www.dvcreators.com

Check this article out first, as it gives some great advice. The article is in the SHOOT section of the site.

http://dvcreators.com/shooting/

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Depending on what type of films you want to make, I recommend studying similar films in detail to get ideas for lighting, camera angles, acting etc.
Check out
www.scottishscreen.co.uk
and watch some short films, or just google short films, and see what comes up.
It's really important to get sound right, if you're shooting DV, there is alot you can do in editing, but sound you really have to get right, as there is little you can do afterwards.
Do as many short courses as you can, it's important to build up your knowledge and keep yourself up to date with new technology.
Good luck, if you need any help with questions or advice send me a private message, and I'll try to help you, I'm just about to start a diploma course at the sae institute.
www.sae.edu

Thankyou all very much, all the help is greatly appreciated.

I will follow most of the advice given to me. Things seem a lot clearer now

I just need to talk to my scriptwriter and see where to go from there.

Thanks once again

Hello. What a terrific site! I have made a film, soon to be released: a Christmas ensemble comedy called "Naughty or Nice" coming to theaters in New England this holiday season, and would love to expand its theatrical release before putting it out on DVD.

The movie was made by an amazing cast and crew with an almost nonexistent budget...but a lot of candy canes, snow, and love (not in that order).

Please check out our web site and trailer at www.naughtyornicethemovie.com and let us know what you think!

Merry Christmas!

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Chris Tyrrell
Director,
"Naughty or Nice"
www.naughtyornicethemovie.com

Me and a friend of mine are currently writing a feature length crime suspense thriller and we're about 45 pages in now, which is probably a little under halfway. It's really good and we're both going to be attending a Multi-Media school, so if its not completed by then we'll be able to make it better with screenwriting classes. I'm confident that it will be in theatres someday.

I hope it is

Good luck.