Set loose by who? I assume if they're not getting paid they're volunteering their time, and could just as easily 'volunteer' their time to their own projects if they preferred. I'm not really sure who it is you think it is that is holding all these people back from doing 'experimentation & production'.
do local indie film scenes really exist?
- Thread starter miketv
- Start date
Set loose by who? I assume if they're not getting paid they're volunteering their time, and could just as easily 'volunteer' their time to their own projects if they preferred. I'm not really sure who it is you think it is that is holding all these people back from doing 'experimentation & production'.
Its the 1% thats keepin em down, dont you get it man! OCCUPY HOLLYWOOD NOW! 
@itdonnedonme... most of the folks I've worked with wouldn't have gotten into film had I not given them a platform to "try it on." And some of them are simply not interested in pursuing it as a paid endeavor, they just want it as a creative outlet.
There are motivations out there which are personal and don't match the black and white picture presented in this discussion... we're either "artists" who don't value the people helping us make our art (read ANY of my posts on here covering this topic - please)... or we're leeches trying to profit off of the folks whose time we use, hoping that copy, credit and craft services will act as payment enough for that time.
My reality is that there was no "scene" where I live in the non-metropolitan middle of the country to attach to to learn the craft and trade of filmmaking. I had to make my own scene... I funded everything for about the first 5 years, just to make an outlet for the folks surrounding me who would have volunteered for theatre productions anyway (and many of them still do) as a creative outlet to help offset their well-paid corporate drudgery.
Payment is a flexible term that doesn't always equate to money. What is acceptable payment for some may not be for others. I've offered to make reels for everyone who has been in at least 3 YAFI Underground productions and have never been asked to do so, not once. I've also offered the full weight of the YAFI Underground arsenal (equipment and staffing) to the same crowd -- those who show a commitment to what we're doing.
We have yet to pay anyone for anything and still get asked frequently when the next project is happening so they can make sure they're on set working. Our cast and crew are the coolest people I've met. They love what they do and they love what we're doing. We're trying to squeeze water out of our filmic desert and it's slowly coming together.
1 or 2 paying gigs are starting to coalesce, and when that happens, I pay the people I ask to help out. We've put together enough "good" material for a portfolio Reel for our company to bring to potential investors -- not having access to a really strong scene for so long, it was difficult to get to that point and had to learn it on our own (much of that knowledge came from this and other sites).
The intention has always been to make the same type of production that we've always self funded with volunteers and bring in external funding -- and paying everyone from that funding. That type of promise to the investors for ROI requires that we have our production chops together, which wouldn't have happened without all of the volunteer cast and crew we've used in the past... logically speaking, meaning no one would have had the opportunity to get paid for this at all.
I think I've done alright by the folks I've worked with. I saw a gap that I (selfishly) needed filled and sought out like minded people who wanted to learn as we went. I ALWAYS had payments for the whole group as a mid - long term goal, but knew that the short term, in this local market wouldn't support that kind of budget.
I am the 27.4% !
There are motivations out there which are personal and don't match the black and white picture presented in this discussion... we're either "artists" who don't value the people helping us make our art (read ANY of my posts on here covering this topic - please)... or we're leeches trying to profit off of the folks whose time we use, hoping that copy, credit and craft services will act as payment enough for that time.
My reality is that there was no "scene" where I live in the non-metropolitan middle of the country to attach to to learn the craft and trade of filmmaking. I had to make my own scene... I funded everything for about the first 5 years, just to make an outlet for the folks surrounding me who would have volunteered for theatre productions anyway (and many of them still do) as a creative outlet to help offset their well-paid corporate drudgery.
Payment is a flexible term that doesn't always equate to money. What is acceptable payment for some may not be for others. I've offered to make reels for everyone who has been in at least 3 YAFI Underground productions and have never been asked to do so, not once. I've also offered the full weight of the YAFI Underground arsenal (equipment and staffing) to the same crowd -- those who show a commitment to what we're doing.
We have yet to pay anyone for anything and still get asked frequently when the next project is happening so they can make sure they're on set working. Our cast and crew are the coolest people I've met. They love what they do and they love what we're doing. We're trying to squeeze water out of our filmic desert and it's slowly coming together.
1 or 2 paying gigs are starting to coalesce, and when that happens, I pay the people I ask to help out. We've put together enough "good" material for a portfolio Reel for our company to bring to potential investors -- not having access to a really strong scene for so long, it was difficult to get to that point and had to learn it on our own (much of that knowledge came from this and other sites).
The intention has always been to make the same type of production that we've always self funded with volunteers and bring in external funding -- and paying everyone from that funding. That type of promise to the investors for ROI requires that we have our production chops together, which wouldn't have happened without all of the volunteer cast and crew we've used in the past... logically speaking, meaning no one would have had the opportunity to get paid for this at all.
I think I've done alright by the folks I've worked with. I saw a gap that I (selfishly) needed filled and sought out like minded people who wanted to learn as we went. I ALWAYS had payments for the whole group as a mid - long term goal, but knew that the short term, in this local market wouldn't support that kind of budget.
I am the 27.4% !
Lived in Detroit area my whole life and have yet to find such individuals. Had some friends from film school but most of them have moved out of state or given up on the dream. I've been lucky enough to do some paid PA work for a local production company on some commercials and I have a group of guys that I get to shoot with whenever they happen to get one of their projects up and running. Did a music video and helped on a couple of their shorts.
Still hard to find good people to "jam" with or help out on shoots. I would say the best thing to do is hit up local film festivals and see if there is anyone from the area.
Still hard to find good people to "jam" with or help out on shoots. I would say the best thing to do is hit up local film festivals and see if there is anyone from the area.