First big film?

mrbigchin

mrbigchin

I'm a high school junior in the highest film class offered and this is my first, big film.
Instead of multiple projects throughout the semester, I turn in 1 short film at the end of the semester.
I wanna be as professional as possible with this film.
I'm in the santa Clarita area.
So if you guys could give me some advice with casting, filming locations, budget, anything... it will greatly appreciated. And feel free to share some of experiences to, thx:)
 
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That's a lot of very general information you're asing for. Could write a few books about it, tbh.

Maybe get the ball rolling with some specific questions, to help somewhat? (...and don't even try "what is the best camera?" ;))

If you know what the problem or challenge is, it's much easier to find the solution. :)
 
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mrbigchin said:
So if you guys could give me some advice with casting, filming locations, budget, anything... it will greatly appreciated. And feel free to share some of experiences to, thx:)
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Cast actors from your schools drama department.
Use locations that you have easy access to.
Try for a budget that is within your means.

My first experience with a "big" film was a pretty good
one because I had been making little films for about
three years. My mom was a theater director so I wrote
a script with kids - I knew she would help me cast it
with some pretty good actors. I used the exterior of my
house because it was available and I could control the
location. I was lucky that it was in a quiet area so I could
get good sound. The entire budget was (I think) $200. I
paid for the film, for a wheelchair that we used as a dolly,
all the food and for the materials for the one special effect.

I was always helping out other people making films in my
area so I found a DP who was a little older than me who
had some experience and I used a guy from the local college
to record the audio. He had his own equipment. His wife did
the make up. My friends made up the rest of the crew.
 
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Just as some general advice, try to avoid making your first big film as a one man band. If you've got the vision and the story, be the director. And only the director. Delegate the other jobs...find someone who is dedicated to photography to operate the camera. Find someone with a background in audio to be your sound recordist. Remember this is the most collaborative of all the arts and use that to your advantage.

And of course, the 6 "P"s of independent filmmaking: Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Productions. Have lots of meetings. Communicate regularly.
 
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Lots of good, general starter advice already.

A few pointers might be:

* Start out learning the basics. Basic camera composition, basic lighting setup, basic script construction, basic sound recording.

* Shoot some zero budget experimental shorts, to practice the above skills.

* Once you have a firm grasp on the basics, write a good script. Keep it around 20 pages or less. Revise that script. Revise it again.

* Get some people to help out. The best is when a group of friends come together and all learn a specific task, and work the set together, each growing and falling into a roll. If you can't do that, find other talented cool people to work with by working on other sets yourself.

* Find good actors (not just friends) to work on the project. Hold auditions. Go to local shows and screenings to find actors. Approach the good ones.

* Write within your means. Don't make your first film (short or feature) a superhero movie set on another planet.

* Capture good audio.

* Don't work under the idea that you can 'fix it in post.'

* Have fun!!!

* Preproduction, preproduction, preproduction, preproduction.

* Schedule the hell out of the shoot. If these aren't working actors who are doing it for free, schedule the shoot on weeknights or weekends.

* Feed everyone who's working on set.

Good luck.
 
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thank you all for the help/advice.
I think the main thing you guys are saying is that even though this is my idea, I can't make the movie by myself...
I need to share it.

thx again everyone!:):)
 
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