Hi,
My name is Yonah. I am a student at Rutgers University of New Brunswick, and it is my dream to become a filmmaker. This semester I have been prepping my first short film, and have the following so far:
1) A script (written by me)
2) A good Super 8 camera to shoot on (Canon Auto Zoom 814), as well as a sturdy tripod and a well-made dolly rig, all of which I purchased online or in store
3) University computers with Final Cut pro to edit on
I am working on the shot list right now. It is to be a silent film, shot entirely on black and white super 8, with a guitar score written by myself (will start making the music after the film has been shot and edited).
I want to make movies about human beings, ones with emotional depth and resonance. My goal is to only shoot on film formats, as I find them crisper and warmer. This first script (my first ever!) is a fairly simple love triangle. I'm trying to get my hands dirty making a movie, so I'm starting off with a fairly inexpensive project, as well as one that does not require any sort of effects or even sound.
I hope to build myself up towards more original and complex ideas, but I am taking it slow in the beginning.
Challenges for this year:
1) Completing the shot list (I am about 3 scenes in)
2) Gathering actors (hopefully people I know who already act in university stage performances and/or with some acting experience)
3) Getting permission to use a few locations (e.g. I need a restaurant, a bowling alley, and a couple of houses/cars).
4) Figuring out what kinds of lights I can afford with my extremely low (personally funded) budget, and how to even use lighting.
5) Translating my ideas from page to screen
6) Editing and adding/recording a musical soundtrack
Oh, and paying for film/processing, which will probably be the most expensive part of this project. Overall, I expect the movie to cost under $1000. Editing costs me nothing (free university Final Cut Pro), I don't plan on paying my actors (simply cannot afford it - if need be I will cast friends for certain roles). I have already spent around $500 for the camera, tripod, and dolly rig, but I hope my equipment will last me for a very long time, which is why I spent the money. I may be able to borrow lights from a filmmaking club around campus, so I don't expect to be paying any money for lights. The only other thing which I'll need to buy is an external hard drive, to edit everything on (once a processing company telecines it for me- I believe that is what it's called). My goal is to not buy too much film, and try to avoid too many multiple takes if I can (I plan on doing extensive rehearsals before shooting). At 16 fps I can buy 10-15 rolls of super 8 and have between 30-50 minutes of footage. This should be more than enough for a film which should not run under 10-15 minutes.
And that's it for now. I'm excited to be part of this online community; I feel like I will learn a lot.
My name is Yonah. I am a student at Rutgers University of New Brunswick, and it is my dream to become a filmmaker. This semester I have been prepping my first short film, and have the following so far:
1) A script (written by me)
2) A good Super 8 camera to shoot on (Canon Auto Zoom 814), as well as a sturdy tripod and a well-made dolly rig, all of which I purchased online or in store
3) University computers with Final Cut pro to edit on
I am working on the shot list right now. It is to be a silent film, shot entirely on black and white super 8, with a guitar score written by myself (will start making the music after the film has been shot and edited).
I want to make movies about human beings, ones with emotional depth and resonance. My goal is to only shoot on film formats, as I find them crisper and warmer. This first script (my first ever!) is a fairly simple love triangle. I'm trying to get my hands dirty making a movie, so I'm starting off with a fairly inexpensive project, as well as one that does not require any sort of effects or even sound.
I hope to build myself up towards more original and complex ideas, but I am taking it slow in the beginning.
Challenges for this year:
1) Completing the shot list (I am about 3 scenes in)
2) Gathering actors (hopefully people I know who already act in university stage performances and/or with some acting experience)
3) Getting permission to use a few locations (e.g. I need a restaurant, a bowling alley, and a couple of houses/cars).
4) Figuring out what kinds of lights I can afford with my extremely low (personally funded) budget, and how to even use lighting.
5) Translating my ideas from page to screen
6) Editing and adding/recording a musical soundtrack
Oh, and paying for film/processing, which will probably be the most expensive part of this project. Overall, I expect the movie to cost under $1000. Editing costs me nothing (free university Final Cut Pro), I don't plan on paying my actors (simply cannot afford it - if need be I will cast friends for certain roles). I have already spent around $500 for the camera, tripod, and dolly rig, but I hope my equipment will last me for a very long time, which is why I spent the money. I may be able to borrow lights from a filmmaking club around campus, so I don't expect to be paying any money for lights. The only other thing which I'll need to buy is an external hard drive, to edit everything on (once a processing company telecines it for me- I believe that is what it's called). My goal is to not buy too much film, and try to avoid too many multiple takes if I can (I plan on doing extensive rehearsals before shooting). At 16 fps I can buy 10-15 rolls of super 8 and have between 30-50 minutes of footage. This should be more than enough for a film which should not run under 10-15 minutes.
And that's it for now. I'm excited to be part of this online community; I feel like I will learn a lot.
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