• Wondering which camera, gear, computer, or software to buy? Ask in our Gear Guide.

Cheapest solution for making fake snow/green screen snow and an avalanche?

Mr.Rainbow

Mr.Rainbow

Alright so I have a good idea for a movie and majority of it is set on a snowy mountain, what's the best/cheapest route to take?

PS: I'm going for a dreamy feel, sort of like inception.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Look, being creative is great, but you need to work within your means. Come up with ideas based around locations you already have access to. You were asking about diy light kits and 11 year old cameras, and now you want to create an artificial snowy mountain and avalanche from scratch? Is it possible on a microbudget? Maybe, if you have years of knowledge and experience. You don't have those, though. Instead of wasting time on unrealistic ideas, you should be working with the assets and locations around you.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
SinEater said:
Look, being creative is great, but you need to work within your means. Come up with ideas based around locations you already have access to. You were asking about diy light kits and 11 year old cameras, and now you want to create an artificial snowy mountain and avalanche from scratch? Is it possible on a microbudget? Maybe, if you have years of knowledge and experience. You don't have those, though. Instead of wasting time on unrealistic ideas, you should be working with the assets and locations around you.
Click to expand...

I understand where your coming from, but I've seen many famous effects recreated perfectly with After Effects. I thought I'd give it a try.

I just wanted an opinion on the GL1 because the people here sounded very helpful and they are, convincing me to not use SD. And I thank them for saving me six hundred dollars that could be used else where.

For the light question, I'm trying to further my basic knowledge of all areas of film-making. I know that it costs thousands of dollars to get an effective light setup and that you also have to have someone with years of experience.

I ask these questions because I thought this website was for indie-filmmakers, and indie-filmmakers have found many different ways to use hollywood style effects on a bite size budget.

I apologize if I sound like an idiot, but I don't want to rush into making a movie and then find out a tip that could of made it look a lot better.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Unless you are envisioning a completely otherworldly look (which you're not, since you mentioned Inception), it is always heaps easier to shoot in a real location. Always. I'm fairly sure that the cost of trucking in snow/fake snow and set dressing alone would cost you more than a park pass and the petrol to get there.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I'm a composer not a director so I don't really know but I would have thought the real thing would be easier and more importantly would look much better.
Somewhere like Lake Mountain could be good.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
LastChancey said:
Unless you are envisioning a completely otherworldly look (which you're not, since you mentioned Inception), it is always heaps easier to shoot in a real location. Always. I'm fairly sure that the cost of trucking in snow/fake snow and set dressing alone would cost you more than a park pass and the petrol to get there.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't mind an otherworldly effect at all, I'm pitching myself ideas for my story I thought of. Which the majority of the film he (the main character) is un-conscious and in a sort of dream world.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
Mr.Rainbow said:
I understand where your coming from, but I've seen many famous effects recreated perfectly with After Effects. I thought I'd give it a try.
Click to expand...

This is where the years of knowledge and experience comes in. You can teach yourself After Effects, but it takes years to learn to use it to it's potential. If you've never touched the program before, you're not going to be creating anything approaching realistic snow effects without putting in a serious time investment.

Mr.Rainbow said:
For the light question, I'm trying to further my basic knowledge of all areas of film-making. I know that it costs thousands of dollars to get an effective light setup and that you also have to have someone with years of experience.
Click to expand...

Even if you do choose to go the AE route, you're going to be shooting in front of a green screen. To get a good key and to match what you're creating in AE, you need to learn great lighting skills.

Mr.Rainbow said:
I ask these questions because I thought this website was for indie-filmmakers, and indie-filmmakers have found many different ways to use hollywood style effects on a bite size budget.

I apologize if I sound like an idiot, but I don't want to rush into making a movie and then find out a tip that could of made it look a lot better.
Click to expand...

It's possible to create great effects on an indie budget, you just need knowledge and experience. If you're just starting out, learn the fundamentals first. I'm not saying to not learn After Effects or whatever else you want, you just need to pace yourself. Shoot a project using a location available to you and include a small effect you can do in AE. Don't go into your very first project expecting to create full virtual sets that actually look passable; it takes time to learn.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
SinEater said:
This is where the years of knowledge and experience comes in. You can teach yourself After Effects, but it takes years to learn to use it to it's potential. If you've never touched the program before, you're not going to be creating anything approaching realistic snow effects without putting in a serious time investment.



Even if you do choose to go the AE route, you're going to be shooting in front of a green screen. To get a good key and to match what you're creating in AE, you need to learn great lighting skills.



It's possible to create great effects on an indie budget, you just need knowledge and experience. If you're just starting out, learn the fundamentals first. I'm not saying to not learn After Effects or whatever else you want, you just need to pace yourself. Shoot a project using a location available to you and include a small effect you can do in AE. Don't go into your very first project expecting to create full virtual sets that actually look passable; it takes time to learn.
Click to expand...

Shit man I'm sorry I thought you were a douche bag but your not. Thanks for the advice and I might just scale my ideas down a bit more.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Man, don't get even close to simulating right now.
First off, if you want it to be realistic, you are talking 3D. And when you tlk 3D you are talking modeling software, plugoins, renders, porably particle work and physics.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I apologize if I sound like an idiot, but I don't want to rush into making a movie and then find out a tip that could of made it look a lot better.
Click to expand...

Ah, the curse of the film maker. If you pursue this as an actual career / extensive hobby, then you won't be able to avoid that. People always look back on their past works and think about what they could have done better. It even happens during the production stage! I remember for my AS coursework we had to do a storyboard for a film opening - over the space of 5 weeks I went through about 20 storyboards, each one being fine at the time but when looked back upon just looked terrible. I didn't know that that would happen, and ended up using a mesh of several of them that got me an A grade but left me feeling empty inside. You change. You grow. If you really feel bad about it, remake it some time in the future.

Seeing what could have been done better after you've done it is one of the biggest ways you can improve. It helps during pre-production to be able to visualize it all properly in your head, but even that can be wrong. It's why people do test shoots and location scouting and mess about with their camera whilst on set to get the right feel.

Looking at old work and seeing the things that could have been done better isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of growth. Remember that.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top