I am a student and aspiring film maker. I have written a feature length screenplay and want to shoot it this coming March. I have very minimal experience with film making. I have directed a music video for school and a news broadcast but nothing as ellaborate as a short or feature film. Do you all think I should wait and start with something smaller like a short film? :?
I need advice
- Thread starter filmmaniac
- Start date
First, March 2004 is a short deadline for where you're at now. You should be contacting key crew and such right now if you want to shoot in March.
Do the short film if you want, it'll be good experience. Whatever you do, since you are a novice, I think you should take a subordinate position. Making a film, especially a feature, is a complicated venture and you can really waste a lot of time and money (pissing a lot of people off in the process) if you don't know what you're doing. Additionally, the quality will suffer and there's no point in making it if it looks like crap. I don't know what you want to do (direct, produce, etc) but I would reccomend doing one of the following. First, and easiest, sell it to someone and have them make it. You'll lose all control, but you'll have a credit for a resume as a sold and / or produced film, and you'll have the money. You might even be able to get a job as a PA. Second, pay a production company to make it. You retain the control and have the best possible quality. AMVFproductions.com can do this and we are excellent. All you have to do is get the money. Finally, the most difficult is to find a producer or production company or investor that thinks it's good enough to carry the cost or part of the cost for production. They would become business partners and you could apprentice with the producer, director, grip, whatever to learn the trade. You might retain some control but you'd learn a lot.
If you want someone to review it, let me know! Good luck!
Do the short film if you want, it'll be good experience. Whatever you do, since you are a novice, I think you should take a subordinate position. Making a film, especially a feature, is a complicated venture and you can really waste a lot of time and money (pissing a lot of people off in the process) if you don't know what you're doing. Additionally, the quality will suffer and there's no point in making it if it looks like crap. I don't know what you want to do (direct, produce, etc) but I would reccomend doing one of the following. First, and easiest, sell it to someone and have them make it. You'll lose all control, but you'll have a credit for a resume as a sold and / or produced film, and you'll have the money. You might even be able to get a job as a PA. Second, pay a production company to make it. You retain the control and have the best possible quality. AMVFproductions.com can do this and we are excellent. All you have to do is get the money. Finally, the most difficult is to find a producer or production company or investor that thinks it's good enough to carry the cost or part of the cost for production. They would become business partners and you could apprentice with the producer, director, grip, whatever to learn the trade. You might retain some control but you'd learn a lot.
If you want someone to review it, let me know! Good luck!
This is what I have done so far for the film. Put casting calls for actors. Put calls up for a crew although I have some already, one of which is a filmmaker. I have two out of three of my locations. I have access to a hall for auditions. I have contacted several different organizations and businesses for sponsorship.
It's hard to imagine anyone else bringing my work to life. So I would want to be a part of all aspects of production to make sure it is a work of art.
It's hard to imagine anyone else bringing my work to life. So I would want to be a part of all aspects of production to make sure it is a work of art.
Where can I get my screenplay read and possibly bought?
So I would have to still find all of the funding? Then give it to this company so they can make the film.
So I would have to still find all of the funding? Then give it to this company so they can make the film.
The trailer’s a good idea. A lot of people do that because it’s a minimal investment and you have something people can see and hold. This allows them to feel more comfortable about supporting you since you have clear proof you can do a good job.
To answer your question, filmmaniac, that is one possibility. Of course, you can hire any Joe Blow for hire production company to do that. But I just found out that we are implementing a new program which you may be interested in. We’ve found that the most difficult thing for a filmmaker to do when fundraising is to find the first person to commit in writing to the project. We constantly need more projects, so what we’re doing is seeking filmmakers who need that first push to help them get the funding you need. If we think you have a quality project, we will commit our production capacity in exchange for points. We’ll provide you with a letter of intent that we are committing $X worth of services. You can then take this letter to find additional funding for the cash required for purchases, expendables, actors, crew pay, etc. We’ve had two productions use this that have been very successful so we’re expanding the project. For instance, a feature that’s in pre-prod. now was able to raise several hundred thousand dollars from the state of Virginia and a negative pickup deal. There’s some nitty gritty stuff to the contract that’s worked out on a case by case basis. Some standard requirements are we require credit as associate producer, matching funds, etc. On the other hand, we don’t try to take any creative control from you. Drop me an email or pm for more info.
To answer your question, filmmaniac, that is one possibility. Of course, you can hire any Joe Blow for hire production company to do that. But I just found out that we are implementing a new program which you may be interested in. We’ve found that the most difficult thing for a filmmaker to do when fundraising is to find the first person to commit in writing to the project. We constantly need more projects, so what we’re doing is seeking filmmakers who need that first push to help them get the funding you need. If we think you have a quality project, we will commit our production capacity in exchange for points. We’ll provide you with a letter of intent that we are committing $X worth of services. You can then take this letter to find additional funding for the cash required for purchases, expendables, actors, crew pay, etc. We’ve had two productions use this that have been very successful so we’re expanding the project. For instance, a feature that’s in pre-prod. now was able to raise several hundred thousand dollars from the state of Virginia and a negative pickup deal. There’s some nitty gritty stuff to the contract that’s worked out on a case by case basis. Some standard requirements are we require credit as associate producer, matching funds, etc. On the other hand, we don’t try to take any creative control from you. Drop me an email or pm for more info.