Can I make a Indiefilm ??

S

shsh04a3

Hi All ,

I am the new guy in the jungle.
I am planning to start with my first ever indie film project.
Yeah you are right , newbies start with 90 minute feature , who wants a short :yes:

Like most of newbie indies , its again a Micro Budget film with estimated cost around 25K $.
I will be hiring actors/actresses from any theatre or talent servies and finish the shoot in 12 days.

Every other aspect script/director/producer and everything will be myself.

Now , where the problem is ?

I am in USA and planning to shoot entire film in USA itself.
But I am NOT a American citizen.
I am here on H1B visa working for a employer. My visa is till 2015.
Planning to shoot the movie by taking a vacation from my office.

Now , I am extremely paranoid about whether it is legal to make a independent movie in USA when on H1B visa ?
Since I will be the executive producer of my project myself , will it be considered as a money making venture which is strictly probhited on working visas.


Any Help will be deeply appreciated.

My all thoughts are at halt at this stage. Mr. Google fails to help
 
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shsh04a3 said:
Any Help will be deeply appreciated.
Click to expand...
FWIW, "any" help is rather broad.

Ask yourself "As a non-American am I allowed to spend my legal U.S. tender (cash) on food/entertainment/clothing/furniture/electronics/a fishing license/prety much the same things as a legal American can?"
If the answer is "yes" then you can make a film.
Citizenship doesn't matter.
Go for it.
No one cares!
It can even be an "I hate America" film and no one will care.
No gestapo will kick down your door at 2am. :no:
Your family back home will not disappear on the way to the market. :no:
Seriously.
Ain't this place crazycool?!:D:cool:


That said...

$25k is a lot to pretty much just gamble away.
But, it's your nickel.
Just... keep your expectations of the outcome pretty darn low, ESPECIALLY since this will be your very first film.
Evidence: http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=44510

Good luck! :yes:
 
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shsh04a3 said:
Since I will be the executive producer of my project myself , will it be considered as a money making venture which is strictly probhited on working visas.
Click to expand...
You are not making money doing this - you are paying people. Do I
understand correctly? If that is the case then you H1B visa does not
prohibit you from paying people in the US to work. So this is not a
money making venture.
 
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ChimpPhobiaFilms said:
Have you ever made a short film? Do you know much about the filmmaking process?
Click to expand...

This is a valid question.

Also, what are your plans with the finished film, film festivals, youtube/vimeo, self distribution, VOD, traditional distributors?

$25K is not a lot of money to make a feature film, but at the same time it is a lot to invest in something that might make $0 ROI.

If you want to make a distributable movie, you need to budget in post audio mix and deliverables.
Those will take a nice chunk out of the budget.
 
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Rayw : Thanks a lot mate. Appreciate your quick response and suggestions.
I have no plans to jump into the production. I will be taking a tremendous amount to get comfortable with the camera with few 2-3 minutes films with random street actors.
25$ cost I am estimating , my production/equipment cost should wind up below 10-12k.
The genre I have chosen is "Paranoid" , so need some terrific editing and sounds. I will be spending on them. Paranoid genre in terms of human psyches and in no way horror or same insane stoned souls.

Chimp : I have Never made any film. I don't have any experience with camera. I click yuck pics from my cell phone. The only thing I intend to make is what i love to watch. I am in no hurry, I will learn each and everything before jumping into production. Sounds so youthful I know, but I dont have any option, I will have to learn , that will sweep away some time that's it. Let's see how my zeal pans out in coming days. I have no film education and nothing of that sort :(

Guru : Thanks gives me confidence yet , "ignorance of law" is no excuse. I have some outdoor shoots as per my story , incase couple of questions from cops can shake me out. Still Looking for a legal clauses.

EuropenDist : Thanks for your comments.
How can I deny , each and everyone picking up the camera has a motive : end motive sales/distribution. Even i quote 100 times I dont intend it , but yes thats what we ultimately want. Actually , I should not talk all these when I dont know abc of movie making yet lol :)
 
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I would recommend spending a small amount of that budget on a lawyer. I have a lot of respect for the people here and they have a lot of experience but when any project starts becoming 'serious,' an attorney is most likely involved and desired.
 
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I would honestly advice you to make shit loads of shorts for very low/no money. Find actors,crew you like/can work with,get experience and than lets say you will have either same 25K or even 20K left spend it on a short,but make it perfect imho. It just sounds that you are doing everything produce/direct/write etc + spending 25K on a quite sketchy venture,which has big risk and very low expected value of any reward.
 
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I don't want to let you down but spending 25k in a country where you have no connections in the filmmaking industry , you have no knowledge what so ever about directing nor other aspects of the process will lead to a huge failure .

I would highly recommend to make a couple of short films with your cellphone or whatever you have and learn to tell a story .

Once you learn to tell a story you might invest into more gear,learn cinematography etc and little by little you'll go to a level where you could be prepared to make a film.

But spending so much money on feature when you have no experience .. I don't think it is going to work .
 
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When I wanted to make my first film, I wanted to make a feature. I made a feature. It was crap. So bad, no one has ever seen it besides me. I threw the DVD away. Try making some short films. Don't jump into the deep end without practicing in the shallow end. You'll drown. Read some filmmaking books. "Movie Making Course", "Rebel Without a Crew", "Master Shots", "Film Directing Shot by Shot", and "The Guerilla Filmmakers Handbook" are a few good ones. Study up.
 
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Yep, it's crazy to blow $25k on a first indie production when you're going to be the writer, director and producer and have no experience... Crazy...

People will happily take your money though.
  • Writing a good screenplays is extremely hard
  • Directing well is extremely hard
  • Producing an indie on a low budget on a tight timeline is extremely hard
And the visa question. You should be asking an immigration expert or attorney that question - it's kind of people to answer here but given what's at stake, you should be asking an expert.
 
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