Am i ready for full length feature?

Another great topic and conversation, especially combined with "The struggle to get your movie seen" thread.

Just wish I had more experience to contribute! Thanks, folks-
 
(by that I mean an image that reaches a certain bar, actors that can deliver without sounding like robots, locations that actually look decent, and post polishing) the 50K number is pretty fair for a first feature.

I have to disagree. My actors are believable, locations look real and I did 2 years of "post polishing" at a cost of $0. Now having done it once, there are things I've learned to make it even better next time, also at the cost of $0.

We can agree to disagree.

I'm sure there are a number of people that can make 15K look like 150K or more, but the vast majority cannot.

Now this is where you are correct. Indeed, for the majority of filmmakers, I'd have to say they couldn't even make a $150K film look like a $150K film.

Clearly, the amount of money is not the top priority in feature film making -- its the filmmaker's skill set in creating a convincing illusion.
 
I have to disagree. My actors are believable, locations look real and I did 2 years of "post polishing" at a cost of $0. Now having done it once, there are things I've learned to make it even better next time, also at the cost of $0.

We can agree to disagree.

We cearly have completely different tastes, so for sure. You're right, we'll have to agree to disagree on that.

One thing's for sure, I could learn a lot from you on how to be completely confident in my product!!!
 
Sidenote: Rational people cannot agree to disagree. If there is disagreement, then at least one of the participants is wrong.

:P
 
Sidenote: Rational people cannot agree to disagree. If there is disagreement, then at least one of the participants is wrong.

:P

Lol. Never heard that before.

I always thought it meant "we both are adamant about our views on this matter, we obviously will not agree on this".

Hmmmm.
 
2 years of "post polishing" at a cost of $0.

Here's where many people (not all, and this wouldn't even apply to me yet as I'm barely a hobbyist) would say "time is money." Perhaps you never spent any money on the production of the movie, but you paid living expenses during that time (food, electricity rent/mortgage, etc).

Just a thought to clarify, where someone could say $0 and somebody else could say $50k and mean the same thing.
 
They say time is money, but you can't buy food with time. You can't buy camera equipment with time. And you can't hire a post production facility with time.

Time is not money.
 
They say time is money, but you can't buy food with time. You can't buy camera equipment with time. And you can't hire a post production facility with time.

Time is not money.

Right, but instead of editing a video for 2 hours, I could get paid $15 an hour at a part-time job and buy food/put it toward rent.

That's what I mean by time~money.
 
I'm a Time=Money guy. We're talking about opportunity cost here. I can do it and spend time... or I can pay someone else to do it. If I'm already working and putting food on the table... my leisure time is mine to spend. I can choose to do the post work myself or I can pay someone else to do it.

Technically you're right, you could be working more on other people's stuff (someone else's business is not necessarily profitable to us). But if we want to get ahead and already have the $$$ for rent, our free time is better spent than our rent.
 
We all know the meaning of the idiom, "time is money".

But for filmmaking budgets, only money is money.

In other words, a movie's budget is not a metaphor.
 
Last edited:
They say time is money, but you can't buy food with time. You can't buy camera equipment with time. And you can't hire a post production facility with time.

Time is not money.

Technically, you could, but your'e still offering money after that time is over. xD Splitting hairs.
 
Hmm . . . work "x" number of hours to earn $50,000 to pay someone to edit my film OR just do it myself and NOT work "x" number of hours. Decisions, decisions . . .
 
Or edit in the time your not working "x" hours and at the end, you have $50,000 and an edited film!

Sleep, of course, is optional.
 
Just playing Devil's Advocate here, because I of course insist on editing my own work. However...

Nobody has any problem paying a professional DP to do what they do best. Nobody has any problem paying a sound mixer to do what they do best. Nobody has any problem paying a composer to do what they do best. These are obviously just a few examples of which would be many.

Why does nobody (except for Gonzo) want to pay an editor to do what they do best? Just because you can edit doesn't mean you should. Some people are better at it than others.
 
I would say just go for it, its pretty much the same leap from wanting to make a short to actually making it!!! Yes it could take a hell of a long time to complete, ive set myself a year just for principle filming (weekends, evenings basically when every my cast are free). i've never made a short but had plenty of ideas!, only done weddings and a couple of music videos, but, like you the 'Bug' is there!! if your end goal is to make money from it you'll deffo need to invest something in. Personally for me its just to say "I Made That" and have one hell of a ride while doing it. I would say that a plot/script should be your first step port of call, write it so its full length, you can always re-write parts to fit your locations/actors while still keeping your story intact.
 
Back
Top