Hello all,
I guess I'd like to preface this by saying that I love filmmaking, as many of you do. I mean I LOVE it. My dream job, of course, is to be a professional writer/director and to also make music videos. I know my chances of ever having any success at this is low, but I figured I might as well try. I am 18 years old, quite young to e taking this seriously and thus my opportunities are limited, as no one takes me seriously. But here I am.
My goal is to get a film into a relatively well respected film festival. i figured that would be the best place to start with my first 100% balls-to-the-wall serious film. I wrote the script for a feature last Summer, and since then I've been trying to film it. I've been told my script was pretty good from most sources but I have mixed feelings so I have no idea about that.
I've managed to scrounge some decent actors from contacts at my high school (my hope is that if I shoot a scene 100 times one of them will be professional enough. They're skilled but far from perfect). I have no idea how I'm going to secure locations. Unfortunately my movie topics all have to take place in a high school since that's the only place I know for sure I can shoot.
I've also managed to accrue a decent amount of supplies, but this is where the serious problems are. I saved my pennies since I was little but I made some very unfortunate purchasing decisions with my life's savings, which I really feel stupid for. So far I have:
Panasonic DVX100B camera
Sennheiser microphone MKE set
XLR cables
DIY boom pole
DIY stabilizer
DIY jig (being built)
Decent tripod and dolly
DIY three point lighting kit
Tiffen UV filter set
Several camera batteries
Makeup etc
Screenplay that I'm probably going to rewrite
The rub came in when I realized my new camera recorded onto Mini-DV's. That sucked, but I decided to work around it. Until I realized that transferring the clips from the tapes to the computer ruined the quality in low-light conditions. Made them all red tinted. Correcting the color made it grainy. So hear I am, virtually broke, and I'm just now learning about cameras. I think I've decided to resell my camera and get a DSLR one, but I am unsure. So basically my question here is this: what is the best setup I can get for my needs, under a certain budget? My budget is $1000-1500 for this part. I know that's not much but there's got to be a way. If entirely necessary I might be able to push it to $4000 but that would involve pulling some serious strings and basically selling my soul for various loans, so I'd really like to have it in my original budget. It's my understanding that a DSLR with some form of external audio recorder would be best. Do those exist with XLR inputs for my mics? Should I use my mics? Also, I've been told there's software that will sync the audio to the video for you, is that true?
I've also grown tired of my script and its ideas after looking at it for months so I'm faced with a dilemma: should I edit it or write an entirely new one? This part really sucks because the movie I WANT to write takes place on a jet, but how the heck am I supposed to get access to a jet.
Is there any filmmaking equipment I should have that I'm missing?
I plan to find copyright free music for the film. I also plan to make some of my own using FL studios and a midi keyboard. Any tips there?
Finally, I know next to nothing about lenses so any suggestions on how to use them/which to get/ etc would be much appreciated.
Basically, I know next to nothing about the technological aspects of actually shooting the movie, but I like to consider myself pretty knowledgable on what makes a good movie and I think I might be able to pull this off. I've decided that even if it is a long shot I'm going to try, or else I'll regret it. I think I can handle the lighting and everything. My biggest problem is going to be taking myself seriously and working with people to make them take me seriously, as well as getting them to let me use their buildings and stuff. Any other general tips for anything would be appreciated!
Thanks! Sorry for the block of text.
I guess I'd like to preface this by saying that I love filmmaking, as many of you do. I mean I LOVE it. My dream job, of course, is to be a professional writer/director and to also make music videos. I know my chances of ever having any success at this is low, but I figured I might as well try. I am 18 years old, quite young to e taking this seriously and thus my opportunities are limited, as no one takes me seriously. But here I am.
My goal is to get a film into a relatively well respected film festival. i figured that would be the best place to start with my first 100% balls-to-the-wall serious film. I wrote the script for a feature last Summer, and since then I've been trying to film it. I've been told my script was pretty good from most sources but I have mixed feelings so I have no idea about that.
I've managed to scrounge some decent actors from contacts at my high school (my hope is that if I shoot a scene 100 times one of them will be professional enough. They're skilled but far from perfect). I have no idea how I'm going to secure locations. Unfortunately my movie topics all have to take place in a high school since that's the only place I know for sure I can shoot.
I've also managed to accrue a decent amount of supplies, but this is where the serious problems are. I saved my pennies since I was little but I made some very unfortunate purchasing decisions with my life's savings, which I really feel stupid for. So far I have:
Panasonic DVX100B camera
Sennheiser microphone MKE set
XLR cables
DIY boom pole
DIY stabilizer
DIY jig (being built)
Decent tripod and dolly
DIY three point lighting kit
Tiffen UV filter set
Several camera batteries
Makeup etc
Screenplay that I'm probably going to rewrite
The rub came in when I realized my new camera recorded onto Mini-DV's. That sucked, but I decided to work around it. Until I realized that transferring the clips from the tapes to the computer ruined the quality in low-light conditions. Made them all red tinted. Correcting the color made it grainy. So hear I am, virtually broke, and I'm just now learning about cameras. I think I've decided to resell my camera and get a DSLR one, but I am unsure. So basically my question here is this: what is the best setup I can get for my needs, under a certain budget? My budget is $1000-1500 for this part. I know that's not much but there's got to be a way. If entirely necessary I might be able to push it to $4000 but that would involve pulling some serious strings and basically selling my soul for various loans, so I'd really like to have it in my original budget. It's my understanding that a DSLR with some form of external audio recorder would be best. Do those exist with XLR inputs for my mics? Should I use my mics? Also, I've been told there's software that will sync the audio to the video for you, is that true?
I've also grown tired of my script and its ideas after looking at it for months so I'm faced with a dilemma: should I edit it or write an entirely new one? This part really sucks because the movie I WANT to write takes place on a jet, but how the heck am I supposed to get access to a jet.
Is there any filmmaking equipment I should have that I'm missing?
I plan to find copyright free music for the film. I also plan to make some of my own using FL studios and a midi keyboard. Any tips there?
Finally, I know next to nothing about lenses so any suggestions on how to use them/which to get/ etc would be much appreciated.
Basically, I know next to nothing about the technological aspects of actually shooting the movie, but I like to consider myself pretty knowledgable on what makes a good movie and I think I might be able to pull this off. I've decided that even if it is a long shot I'm going to try, or else I'll regret it. I think I can handle the lighting and everything. My biggest problem is going to be taking myself seriously and working with people to make them take me seriously, as well as getting them to let me use their buildings and stuff. Any other general tips for anything would be appreciated!
Thanks! Sorry for the block of text.