Movies
So far, we've done two shorts and one feature. All three have been comedic adaptaions of Shakespeare. We started in high school, for a monolouge project in Geoff's class, we did Hamlet. It actually got into the Toronto International Teen Festival (HILTZ), but got a crappy timeslot and was lost in the commotion. Then, King Lear we did for a class project, it was shown at school in the lecture hall to 3 classes, and we ended up making $500 selling VHS copies, so we said, well, let's make a feature. So here comes MacBeth.
We all pitched in and bought some basic equippment, I got a bottle of jack daniels and wrote a modern adaptation of the script, and we started calling people.
It's all very independant- we just gathered friends, explored networks of friends and parents and started filming. No permits, no legalities, no safty, no holds-barred entertainment.
It took a lot of determintion, but in the end, the amount of creative control (writing new scenes on some days, filming on the fly, adding jokes on set) was worth it. We're all very proud of what we've done, and that's better than money.
If you want to put together personal projects, just write them, grab friends, borrow money (or invest it yourself), buy your equipment or rent it (renting means more planning and time constraints though), and go out and film it.
The first scene we shot for MacBeth was in a grocery store where I worked at the time. We waited in the cold of winter for the manager to leave, and then guerrila style, just barged into an aisle with cameras, boom mic, track pieces, 3 witches in full costume, a metal bucket, and 7-8 uniforms I had been collecting over the years by "loosing" my shirts. We ran extension cords to the back of the store, set up lights, and put "employees" on either end of the aisle to get products for customers if they needed them. I had a friend on cash press the page button every time we filmed so sound would synch, and we just did it.
As a side note, the manager on duty came up to me and asked if I had permission... I lied and said, "Oh yeah Goron, Mario told me it was OK"... he then called Mario, and Mario didn't have a clue, so Goron comes back and says "I just called Mario- he says he has no idea what you're talking about". So I say, "Listen, Goron, I talked to him. Maybe he doesn't remember, but he was tired when I asked him, so that's forgivable. But listen- there's 15 people here with all this equipment. Do you really think I'd get all of this together if I didn't have permission? C'mon Goron..." And he says: "How long are you going to be?" And I say: "Just 15 minutes... relax, don't worry man."
So 3 hours later we leave and go home. The next day I get a call from the manager, Mario. He wanted me to bring in the tape to him and destroy the footage. I said I was sorry and would bring it tomorrow. (another blatant lie, because I had heard some rumors.....)
Next week he was fired for grabbing a cashier's butt. Lucky us. lol
im up in scotland so not too far from you (well compared to most of the folk who post here!). how far are u through your studies?
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