Need help making my first indie film:

[NatalieOshea]

Hi, y'all! It's Natalie. New to the board...

So I'm joining because I'm an aspiring filmmaker trying to get her first film off the ground. Here's all the information I have about the movie I'm trying to make:

The cameras I'm going to shoot on are the, Sony CineAlta F35 (A Camera) and the Sony PMW F3 (B Camera). I don't know which lenses I want to use but I do want my film to come out with the 2:35.1 aspect ratio. I also want the footage to look something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGsNjdY6veE

For the opening credit sequence and titles I want the text to look like this: http://s12.postimage.org/4oixvv919/streetballers.png (the all-lowercase Arial/Helvetica subway-looking font against the street-like landscape)

I don't have the funding as of now but I'm planning on shooting this movie on a budget of $500,000. I won't say much as far as the plot goes except that it's going to be a basketball-themed film.

Now about the cast -- I'm planning on using first-timers but I also want actors and actresses who have acting experiences already (on TV, in other movies, in theater, etc.).

As far as releasing goes, a limited theatrical release would be nice, but I was thinking to make this movie available on DVD and on YouTube (pay-per-view YouTube), maybe on iTunes as well. I don't see it getting into theaters because there is going to be nudity in the film.

With all this being said, I'm still working like hell on the script that I can't seem to finish but I'm determined to get through this first step, the script. At the rate I'm going, I won't be surprised if finding funding ends up being easier than writing and finishing the script! I'm going to be the writer and producer and I have a friend who said she'd produce it with me. I didn't ask her yet but I'm thinking she might also be the director.

Back to mentioning funding, she keeps suggesting Kickstarter and IndieGoGo for funding. My only problem with that is if it's possible, I'd rather get funding from a source that i don't need to repay the funding. This is why I'd like to avoid investors and/or crowd-funding sites but if it's a last resort that means getting this movie off its ass then fine.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks in advance.

PS! Last question! See this large white sheet thing in this image:

http://backtosaloland.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/filming-a-movie.jpg

What's that called? I'd like to use that as well as I was told it's some kind of lighting thingy

 

[rayw]

Well... just for a little perspective on the journey ahead of you, I created this image for you and others:

(Note that HUGE gap between "Screenplay Completed" and "Feature Film Financed". It ain't your only obstacle.)

You got a long road ahead, Baby!

http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=39742
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=39122
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=37825
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=38636
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40055
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=37696
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=34549

GL!

 

[mlesemann]

As a fellow writer/producer ( www.survivingfamily.us ) I wish you all the luck in the world! $500k is a lot, and I wish you luck getting it.

Contributors via Kickstarter and Indiegogo do NOT get repaid. I may have misunderstood what you were saying, but it seemed like you think that they do.

 

[Zensteve]

See this large white sheet thing (...) I'd like to use that as well as I was told it's some kind of lighting thingy

That "thingy" is an 8x8

Good luck with your film.

 

[CraigL]

That "thingy" is an 8x8

Actually, looked more like about 12x8, didn't it =)

It's also called a scrim, used to soften/diffuse the harsh direct light from the sun. Or sometimes, used to simply reduce the light intensity if they cannot be easily dimmed (or change colour if dimmed).

Good luck also. I liked rayw's image, although I sometimes feel the "Screenplay Completed" should have been 5Km or so before the line even enters the image...

CraigL

 

[Zensteve]

looked more like about 12x8

Mmmmm.... metric system? An 8x8 Royale...

 

[CraigL]

Mmmmm.... metric system? An 8x8 Royale...

Ah, I didn't realize there was a tradename for it, I was just going on the fact that it looked twice as tall as the people, and assuming a close to 6' tall person, that would make it 12'. However, I also see now there appears to be something tacked on at the bottom, although that bit doesn't look 4'... IDK, as I said, just going by what it looked like not realizing what it might be called.

Thanks,

CraigL

 

[Alcove Audio]

You mentioned cameras; you didn't mention one word about the sound kit.

Your project will only look as good as it sounds, because
"Sound is half of the experience."

You should be thinking about sound from the very first minute of preproduction, and have retained your Supervising Sound Editor/Sound Designer before you shoot a frame.

BTW, why are you deciding what camera should be used to shoot the film? Shouldn't that be up to your DP? In fact, you shouldn't be making any decisions at all about what equipment to use. That should be up to your department heads; you tell them what you want, they decide how to accomplish it.

Why should nudity preclude the film from being shown in theatres?

 

[harmonica44]

It seems you can get 2.35:1 with any lens. I'm guessing the camera you will be using has a 16:9 ratio like most cameras. Just put the camera on a tripod in front of a 16:9 TV. Then line up your 16:9 camera viewscreen with the screen of the TV. Line them up exactly.

Then put in a DVD of a movie with a 2.35 ratio and hit record on the camera. You know have the ratio saved on your camera viewscreen, so you can just put black tape on screen, where the black bars are. And use the tape as your screen borders. You can then use any lens and it won't matter as long as you crop the movie to 2.35 in post.

 

[Zensteve]

I didn't realize there was a tradename for it

...with cheese? ...

 

[rayw]

The cameras I'm going to shoot on are the, Sony CineAlta F35 (A Camera) and the Sony PMW F3 (B Camera). I don't know which lenses I want to use but I do want my film to come out with the 2:35.1 aspect ratio.

It seems you can get 2.35:1 with any lens. I'm guessing the camera you will be using has a 16:9 ratio like most cameras. Just put the camera on a tripod in front of a 16:9 TV. Then line up your 16:9 camera viewscreen with the screen of the TV. Line them up exactly.

Then put in a DVD of a movie with a 2.35 ratio and hit record on the camera. You know have the ratio saved on your camera viewscreen, so you can just put black tape on screen, where the black bars are. And use the tape as your screen borders. You can then use any lens and it won't matter as long as you crop the movie to 2.35 in post.

Yup: http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=45266

Another way of doing it is to just shoot it however you want on the 16:9 viewfinder and then adjust the image up or down in your NLE in the layer below the matte bars.


However, at the budget level which you're hoping for, Alcove Audio is correct in nosing around the idea that you really shouldn't and won't be doing much of anything yourself beyond directing and maybe producing, and certainly promoting your brains out.
With a half mil budget you ought to be hiring people who know WTH they're doing in their own respective departments, such as DP, audio collection, lighting, set design, scouting, editing, etc.


Frankly, you're not even at the bottom of the mountain you intend to climb.
You're on the highway just leaving the city on the way to the park camp at the bottom of the mountain.

 

[Sweetie]

As far as releasing goes, a limited theatrical release would be nice, but I was thinking to make this movie available on DVD and on YouTube (pay-per-view YouTube), maybe on iTunes as well. I don't see it getting into theaters because there is going to be nudity in the film.

hm... I seem to remember nudity in films.. Even in the cinema. Hell, they even had a movie (Total Recall) with a girl with 3 bare titties in it. Unless you're planning hardcore porn???

Back to mentioning funding, she keeps suggesting Kickstarter and IndieGoGo for funding. My only problem with that is if it's possible, I'd rather get funding from a source that i don't need to repay the funding. This is why I'd like to avoid investors and/or crowd-funding sites but if it's a last resort that means getting this movie off its ass then fine.

That really leaves a government grant, self funding, the US Dept of Mummy and Daddy Filming Fund and robbing a bank (probably lots of them to get 500k) as your main options. Even some govt grants need to get paid back.

Good luck, you're in for an interesting ride. Hope you get it off the ground.

 

[NatalieOshea]

Actually, looked more like about 12x8, didn't it =)

It's also called a scrim, used to soften/diffuse the harsh direct light from the sun. Or sometimes, used to simply reduce the light intensity if they cannot be easily dimmed (or change colour if dimmed).

Good luck also. I liked rayw's image, although I sometimes feel the "Screenplay Completed" should have been 5Km or so before the line even enters the image... CraigL

"Scrim" thank you! I was actually going for the name of the object, not the dimensions of the object.

That really leaves a government grant, self funding, the US Dept of Mummy and Daddy Filming Fund and robbing a bank (probably lots of them to get 500k) as your main options. Even some govt grants need to get paid back.

Then they're not really called "grants", are they? "Loans", I believe, would be the more appropriate terms as grants don't need to be reimbursed.

Good luck, you're in for an interesting ride. Hope you get it off the ground.

Oh, I will, and thanks to you and everyone else wishing me luck with the production.

However, at the budget level which you're hoping for, Alcove Audio is correct in nosing around the idea that you really shouldn't and won't be doing much of anything yourself beyond directing and maybe producing, and certainly promoting your brains out.
With a half mil budget you ought to be hiring people who know WTH they're doing in their own respective departments, such as DP, audio collection, lighting, set design, scouting, editing, etc.

Frankly, you're not even at the bottom of the mountain you intend to climb.
You're on the highway just leaving the city on the way to the park camp at the bottom of the mountain.

Fine! I can live with that. After all, it's not like I'm trying to or expecting to get from Point A all the way to the finish line by tomorrow morning... if that makes any sense.

...with cheese? ...

It seems you can get 2.35:1 with any lens. I'm guessing the camera you will be using has a 16:9 ratio like most cameras. Just put the camera on a tripod in front of a 16:9 TV. Then line up your 16:9 camera viewscreen with the screen of the TV. Line them up exactly.

Then put in a DVD of a movie with a 2.35 ratio and hit record on the camera. You know have the ratio saved on your camera viewscreen, so you can just put black tape on screen, where the black bars are. And use the tape as your screen borders. You can then use any lens and it won't matter as long as you crop the movie to 2.35 in post.

You lost me there but I'd rather just have my editor go into Adobe Premiere and crop it to 2.35:1 anyway.

BTW, why are you deciding what camera should be used to shoot the film? Shouldn't that be up to your DP? In fact, you shouldn't be making any decisions at all about what equipment to use. That should be up to your department heads; you tell them what you want, they decide how to accomplish it.

I guess I should but after looking at this picture and seeing the trailer for Ava Duvernay's Middle of Nowhere and that both used Sony cameras, I've had my sight set on the Sony cameras I've mentioned yesterday.

Which is funny because I've also wanted the Moviecam Compact, Panavision, and RED cameras so I guess I should leave that up to my DP after all if he can get the cinematography to look nice, which is what I want more than any particular camera.

Why should nudity preclude the film from being shown in theatres?

hm... I seem to remember nudity in films.. Even in the cinema. Hell, they even had a movie (Total Recall) with a girl with 3 bare titties in it. Unless you're planning hardcore porn???

Sweetie, you'd have to read the script or watch the scenes for yourself and be the judge but I don't think it's "hardcore" -- there are just two sex scenes in the movie (intercorse action).

Does anyone remember or have seen Lee Daniels' Shadowboxer? Steven Dorff appeared in a full frontal nude scene as he was giving it to a girl in the back end, and that wasn't the only nude scene too. I don't think it's unreasonable to think that it went straight to DVD because of all the nudity in it.

Contributors via Kickstarter and Indiegogo do NOT get repaid. I may have misunderstood what you were saying, but it seemed like you think that they do.

How the hell not? I can't just ask for $500,000 and just expect to just get it with no strings attached. I mean, I wish but it doesn't work that way.

Natalie O'Shea

 

[ShadoeFox]

Kickstarter and Indiegogo are more like a community tossing money into a hat then investing. Right now it's actually not legal to crowdfund for equity (Meaning actual investing, though that is likely to change fairly soon.). What people are doing when they pay on Kickstarter or Indiegogo, they're paying forward for the chance to SEE the film.

Also, most Kickstarter/Indiegogo campaigns offer goodies for different donation levels (Think PBS fundraisers). A mid level one is frequently a DVD of the movie (In the case of films).

For a note... I understand some people break their project into several segments for funding, even through crowdfunding. Also, with the high ammount your looking for you might think Indiegogo over kickstarter. Indiegogo you can set it up so you get what funding you get (with a higher percentage off the top for IG) where kickstarter is "all or nothing".

Either way, the FIRST shots your going to take, is the pitch video for your crowdfunding. Pitches with video's do ALOT better than one without.

Geesh... can you tell I've been researching this lately?

Either way, good luck! I might even donate if I like it...heh.

 

[Sweetie]

Then they're not really called "grants", are they? "Loans", I believe, would be the more appropriate terms as grants don't need to be reimbursed.

You'd think that. You cannot always rely upon governments to use common sense.

Sweetie, you'd have to read the script or watch the scenes for yourself and be the judge but I don't think it's "hardcore" -- there are just two sex scenes in the movie.

Does anyone remember or have seen Lee Daniels' Shadowboxer? Steven Dorff appeared in a full frontal nude scene as he was giving it to a girl in the back end, and that wasn't the only nude scene too. I don't think it's unreasonable to think that it went straight to DVD because of all the nudity in it.

It's not up to me, it is up to the rating organizations in each individual country. What you need to avoid is an x rating.

By the sound of it, so long as you don't follow what hardcore porn companies do on the internet, you should be fine if you only aim to get a R rating.

Contributors via Kickstarter and Indiegogo do NOT get repaid. I may have misunderstood what you were saying, but it seemed like you think that they do.

How the hell not? I can't just ask for $500,000 and just expect to just get it with no strings attached. I mean, I wish but it doesn't work that way.

Take a look at kickstarter and indiegogo. These kind of web sites have sprouted up all over the place with those two being the market leaders. It's how filmmakers can ask their fans to donate to their projects without being tied down by securities law regarding advertising/promoting to the general public who you don't know with investment opportunities.

Crowdfunding sites are for people to send donations to projects they believe in. Donations being the operative word, with zero expectation of returns or control over your film. Though, getting 500k in funding is going to be tough but not impossible.

There can be a benefit in having a savvy investor with a lot of experience in movies invest in your film. They can help by bring a business perspective to your production. For instance, as I understand it, if you get Disney to agree to finance your film, John Lasseter gets attached as an executive producer. While a lot of people might not want his kind of scrutiny, with his guidance, the chances of your film sucking is rather low.

 

[NatalieOshea]

It's not up to me, it is up to the rating organizations in each individual country. What you need to avoid is an x rating.

By the sound of it, so long as you don't follow what hardcore porn companies do on the internet, you should be fine if you only aim to get a R rating.

All that makes sense. After all, this isn't a porno flick, just a movie that happens to feature a couple of nude sex-secenes. So for it to get an X-rating is crazy to say the least.

Take a look at kickstarter and indiegogo. These kind of web sites have sprouted up all over the place with those two being the market leaders. It's how filmmakers can ask their fans to donate to their projects without being tied down by securities law regarding advertising/promoting to the general public who you don't know with investment opportunities.

Crowdfunding sites are for people to send donations to projects they believe in. Donations being the operative word, with zero expectation of returns or control over your film. Though, getting 500k in funding is going to be tough but not impossible.

There can be a benefit in having a savvy investor with a lot of experience in movies invest in your film. They can help by bring a business perspective to your production. For instance, as I understand it, if you get Disney to agree to finance your film, John Lasseter gets attached as an executive producer. While a lot of people might not want his kind of scrutiny, with his guidance, the chances of your film sucking is rather low.

Now that you put all that that way, I'm thinking then I'd just better have really good perks to acquire all the $500,000 and have a sucessful campaign!

Natalie O'Shea

 

[Alcove Audio]

"ScI guess I should but after looking at this picture and seeing the trailer for Ava Duvernay's Middle of Nowhere and that both used Sony cameras, I've had my sight set on the Sony cameras I've mentioned yesterday.

Which is funny because I've also wanted the Moviecam Compact, Panavision, and RED cameras so I guess I should leave that up to my DP after all if he can get the cinematography to look nice, which is what I want more than any particular camera.

That's the point; you tell your DP cinematographer "I want this type of look" and let her/him worry about the technical aspects. I may be "only" a sound guy, but even I know that the "look" is more about the lighting and the camera settings (saturation, etc.) and post (color correction) than the camera itself.

And just to reinforce my previous comment, you still haven't mentioned about how you want you film to sound. Like 99.99% of the others out there I can hear you going "HUH???" But the sound of your film is an equal partner. Start thinking about it NOW.

 

[NickClapper]

$500,000 is nigh on impossible to crowdfund.

To put it in perspective, a campaign with Philip Bloom as DP reached $30,000. Only one Film project has ever reached over $500,000 and that was the second series of an extremely successful web series. A handful of others have received six figures, but all have massive followings and track records.

Good luck.

 

[MileCreations]

As far as releasing goes, a limited theatrical release would be nice, but I was thinking to make this movie available on DVD and on YouTube (pay-per-view YouTube), maybe on iTunes as well. I don't see it getting into theaters because there is going to be nudity in the film.

If anything this will be the other way around. I don't see this getting to YouTube with nudity but a theatrical distribution is probably only slightly less likely with nudity as opposed to without

 

[harmonica44]

You lost me there but I'd rather just have my editor go into Adobe Premiere and crop it to 2.35:1 anyway.

Cropping to 2.35:1 without shooting with the camera measured out to it in the first place can cause problems. I tried cropping a 16:9 movie I shot to 2.35:1 and most of it looked good, but in one shot, the characters heads were cut off too much and all you only see the bottom half of their heads. Best to shoot with the camera tailored to 2.35:1 to begin with, or at least get good at giving the shots some room, knowing you will crop later.