I know this has been gone over before, and I don't have a weird allergy to the search button, but I wonder if I could ask for advice based on my specific project?
Yesterday I finished the first draft of my script Tempus Redux. It was actually a really proud moment for me, because it's now out of my head and into something that will live or die by itself - ANYWAY...
We're filming it this Summer - and I keep assuring people that I mean that very literally - that come may may, Hell or high water, this Summer, this film gets made.
It's not a 'difficult' film to make - it's based largely around dialogue, couple of chases, couple of fights, etc, but nothing expensive or complex. My biggest concern finance-wise is more location, in that there's quite a lot in a hospital, but not problematically so.
'Success', I guess, is not going to be theatrical distribution - I just really don't think it's that kind of film, but domestic distribution straight to DVD would be success for me.
I work in a theatre company so have access to great talent, all of whom are happy to work for free, and points of the result. I'll work with a really small crew.
My thinking about what to shoot on has gone through several incarnations. Forgive me for putting all prices here in pounds sterling.
#1 I thought about getting a Canon XL1 on ebay for about £800. This represents a hell of a chunk of my budget. And it's not Hi Def (don't know how much that matters) and it's still not got XLR inputs, so I guess I'm still going to need a JuicedLink
#2 Saw footage from an HV40 and thought, "That's great!" Can get one for about £550, needs a JuicedLink, started to think, "It's not the camera, it's what you do with it that counts."
Then I read a book by Mike Figgis, who just said, "Just make the movie. Don't get bogged down in what you shoot on. Just make the movie."
So I thought...
#3 Borrow my mates Sony HDR-XR520VE. Part of resists the idea of trying to do what I'm trying to do on a Camcorder, but equally I know Mike Figgis would have no time for that argument. So this way, it would be free, and I could put the money somewhere else into the film.
Now, I find myself questioning whether Hi Def is that important if it's not really targetted at theatrical release, and whether there's less sniffiness from distributors when they ask what it was shot on if I say XL1.
In terms of renting, I think it's at least a 3 week shoot, and therefore renting even something fairly cheap is going to run me £750. Will I really see the benfit?
Any thoughts, or any alternatives, gratefully received.
Cheers all
Yesterday I finished the first draft of my script Tempus Redux. It was actually a really proud moment for me, because it's now out of my head and into something that will live or die by itself - ANYWAY...
We're filming it this Summer - and I keep assuring people that I mean that very literally - that come may may, Hell or high water, this Summer, this film gets made.
It's not a 'difficult' film to make - it's based largely around dialogue, couple of chases, couple of fights, etc, but nothing expensive or complex. My biggest concern finance-wise is more location, in that there's quite a lot in a hospital, but not problematically so.
'Success', I guess, is not going to be theatrical distribution - I just really don't think it's that kind of film, but domestic distribution straight to DVD would be success for me.
I work in a theatre company so have access to great talent, all of whom are happy to work for free, and points of the result. I'll work with a really small crew.
My thinking about what to shoot on has gone through several incarnations. Forgive me for putting all prices here in pounds sterling.
#1 I thought about getting a Canon XL1 on ebay for about £800. This represents a hell of a chunk of my budget. And it's not Hi Def (don't know how much that matters) and it's still not got XLR inputs, so I guess I'm still going to need a JuicedLink
#2 Saw footage from an HV40 and thought, "That's great!" Can get one for about £550, needs a JuicedLink, started to think, "It's not the camera, it's what you do with it that counts."
Then I read a book by Mike Figgis, who just said, "Just make the movie. Don't get bogged down in what you shoot on. Just make the movie."
So I thought...
#3 Borrow my mates Sony HDR-XR520VE. Part of resists the idea of trying to do what I'm trying to do on a Camcorder, but equally I know Mike Figgis would have no time for that argument. So this way, it would be free, and I could put the money somewhere else into the film.
Now, I find myself questioning whether Hi Def is that important if it's not really targetted at theatrical release, and whether there's less sniffiness from distributors when they ask what it was shot on if I say XL1.
In terms of renting, I think it's at least a 3 week shoot, and therefore renting even something fairly cheap is going to run me £750. Will I really see the benfit?
Any thoughts, or any alternatives, gratefully received.
Cheers all