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Is it possible to write this script idea to fit this budget?

I wrote a rough draft of a script, and I was told by some people that I showed it to, and talked about it with, that it was a really good premise for a movie, and I should consider producing and directing it as well.

If I had to use my own money, I was wondering if I could shoot it for maybe $20,000, and I do some of the post production and set duties myself to save on cost, such editing, color grading, which I had a lot more practice with lately, etc.

However, the movie is a Santa Clause type movie that would take place in that universe. So we are talking about a North pole Santa Clause type setting, and I am not sure I could cover that in that type of budget. I mean movies like Paranormal Activity were shot for a similar low budget, but not sure about a santa claus movie.

I mean I suppose I could opt for a more realistic Santa Clause universe setting and have it take place in some real cabins, and shakes and industrial buildings, and then just cut to the inside, where I would shoot in a real toy factory maybe, and not show so much of the toys close up, since most toy factories, probably do not produce a lot of everything. But it's not just toys though, since Santa would give gifts to adults as well I guess, and I could shoot in other factories, and warehouses.

It could look like a much more realistic industrial factory and warehouse setting, rather than the one people are use to watching in Christmas movies. And I live in Canada, so there is already plenty of snow around for exterior shots. And I would just have to get a really good costume designer for Santa and the elves. The elves would probably be the hardest part, besides getting reindeer. I don't know if I would need to actually show the reindeer and the sled, but audiences are probably expecting to see it at some point?

What do you think?
 
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Okay thanks.

I don't really like those 48 hour film contexts, because I have helped others out with theirs' before, and 48 hours wasn't enough time to get it all done, so we ended up with compromised films, with elements of them unfinished. But you saw it will be worth the travel money. Why am I traveling? Why can't I just do it here, and email the movie in to save money? I live quite far away from Toronto or Halifax.
This is the 48hrs winner of 2015:
https://vimeo.com/127982767
(From Amsterdam)
So yeah, your movie won't be as good, but look at the credits. Your credits list will be shorter as well.
Don't worry about that.
Don't worry about compromised 48hrs films: the whole charme of the project is to make a movie that is as good as you can make it in 48hrs. YOU NEED THIS EXPERIENCE: it will teach you to pick priorities, think quick and creative and you learn to plan better.

Last weekend we had to compromise as well: we had a camera student operating the boom.
The sound isn't perfect. The mix isn't perfect.
The MUA had to leave at noon, we wrapped at 19:30.
We had no gaffer.
One shot is terrible: it was too underexposed, but I trusted the DOP since we were shooting SLog3 and I'm not familiair with how to expose it. Watching the BTS pictures I see he was blocking the light. It was a small room so I was on the outside only seeing the ungraded shot on a monitor.
There is even a shot where the transmitter of a lav mic can be seen.

But we made a dark comedy from scratch in 47,5 hours. And it's pretty good for the time we had to make it, although not perfect at all.

You can do it in your own town, but you need someone to physically go their to draw a genre and to drop off the USB stick with the movie and all paperwork.
But you always complain there is nobody in your area, so going there for a weekend might not be that bad to get some more connections.

BTW, why is nobody willing to help you?
Do you ever ask them to help you?
And if you do, do you say on which day you want to shoot? Or is it just a vague 'someday' question?

I should get better scripts. Do you think there are a lot of writers out there wouldn't mind giving me short film scripts to direct of theirs? I am working on a movie right now, but not really proud of it. It is a youtube tutorial I directed and edited for someone, but the host of the tutorial left the project and wasn't interested in finishing it. I can complete that one as much as I can and call it unfinished, but is it a good idea to put unfinished works in my portfolio for now?

One day they make a biopic about this plagued Canadian filmmaker and the title will be 'Unfinished'....
You talked about that project months ago. Still not done?

I helped one group of people make a trailer for a feature they would like to make. They made the trailer before even shooting the feature, but the trailer is not being marketed in L.A. and the filmmakers are now making the movie with funding I believe.

So I could make a trailer of a script, if that is a good idea, it's just I would have to rend several locations just to shoot little snippets of scenes here and there, and wonder if it's worth the movie, just for a trailer. I mean it seems to have been worth it for them, but I was told before that a lot of people do not take trailers made of movies, before the movie is made, seriously. What do you think?

I think your trailer will s#ck.
Because you refuse to learn and practise.
But yes, making trailers is a cool way to learn stuff. But PLEASE don't think spend 20 days of shooting while believing you will raise money is realistic. Make simple trailers as an exercise to tell stories in a very visual way.
I told you years ago that making a fake trailer is a great way to learn to shoot different kind of shots, because you can shoot it all in 1 or 2 days.

"After living a zombie life in an office for 20 years, Jake just had enough of it"
"Live life"
"Embrace the unexpected"
Make it about an unhappy man with a boring desk job and a terrible boss.
One day he sees 2 girls hitchhiking and suddenly decides to stop and reverse to give the ma ride in stead of going to work. He finally smiles again.


You need just a dozen of shots: what shots would you use? (Consider this homework: looking forward to your reply.)

Yeah I did. I was just going by the experiences of people I know as well. Well I think the biggest problem I have is the scripts. Cause in my experience, I will post an add for a short film. Then I will get maybe 5-10 responses from cast who are interested. There is not a lot of crew that respond though unfortunately.

Then after the cast sees the script, after responding to the add, they then do not email me back and seem to have lost interest. So I think I just need to find some better scripts first, and this seems to be the main problem.

Or your communication skills: do you contact them after a few days or a week to ask what they think about it and whether or not they are on board?
When you are casting, do you have a date set for shooting?
People like to know when something needs to happen so they can plan it.
If you just send a script without shooting schedule and never get back in touch... they might loose interest indeed.

5 -10 actors is not bad, you know. Don't expect to get hundreds of replies.

You need to start simpler. Make something that requires no crew, by making it all visual and no dialogue. Find the perfect cheap stockmusic for it and edit it. Make it a 40 second visual joke. Make a mood video about your town waking up. Does a neighbour have a strange hobby: make a mini documentary. Use a lav for interviews.

You want to do the final exam before reading chapter one. That's why you are stuck.
 
Don't be afraid to fail.

Major league baseball players who fail in the batters box "only" 67% of the time are candidates for the Hall of Fame.

Quarterbacks with multi-million dollar contracts still throw interceptions and incomplete passes.

You LEARN from failure.

When it comes to filmmaking 99% of the time the filmmakers didn't plan to fail, but they failed to plan. Proper, efficient, coherent planning takes experience. If you won't go out there and fail once in a while you'll never succeed.
 
Let's just cut to the chase and answer the original question:

No, it is not possible to write this script to a $20k budget. Not for you, Ryan. You lack initiative. You lack decisiveness. You lack resourcefulness. $20,000 will not compensate for any of that. $20mil wouldn't either.

The only way for you to get to where you want to be, to overcome those things you lack, is to prove what you can actually do (if anything at all) by writing/directing/producing shorts. Oh, and stop blaming it on other people you say won't help you.

And I mean that. Make a damned short, complete through post-production, and bring that back here. Then we'll have something to talk about.
 
Major league baseball players who fail in the batters box "only" 67% of the time are candidates for the Hall of Fame.

Quarterbacks with multi-million dollar contracts still throw interceptions and incomplete passes.

You LEARN from failure.

When it comes to filmmaking 99% of the time the filmmakers didn't plan to fail, but they failed to plan. Proper, efficient, coherent planning takes experience. If you won't go out there and fail once in a while you'll never succeed.

For sure man, if your tire hits a pot hole, next time you drive around it.
 
Okay thanks. I don't mean to blame other people, I am just saying I have a hard time finding talent. I don't blame anyone when I say that.

When it comes to making a movie in 48 hours, how am I suppose to find cast and crew in 48 hours to even start with?

You also say that I should learn by doing. One thing I learned from my first short film shoot was to never do one again without a good PSM, since I had to do ADR for most of it later. Should I still make another one anyway, without a PSM, even though i learned never to do it again, from my mistake the first time around?

Oh I posted the last short film I helped out another director on with the production audio, in case anyone didn't see it before. I posted it in the screening room forum. Hardly anyone commented on it so I thought maybe I did a really bad job on the post production audio though.

I also am working on my current short which is a make up tutorial I was doing for someone. I wasn't able to finish all the footage unfortunately. Two of the video files were 'corrupted' and I wasn't able to use them so some footage is missing. I also was not able to have gotten all of the dialogue I would have liked, cause I was not able to get the woman in the video to do any dialogue retakes. Not that I blame her at all, when I say that, I am just saying this is what I have to work with so far, and I am not sure if I can finish it. Here it is, still in the editing phase:

https://youtu.be/xEHf84BCiUw
 
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For 48hrs you gather a crew and cast before the weekend starts.
When you know your genres, prop, line and character, you can start writing with your cast, crew and possible locations in mind. Shoot on saturday. Wrap early evening. Imagelock edit in the early morning, so the composer, audiomixer, title designer and colorist have time to do their thing.
Bring it all together in time to render. Deliver the movie.
Done. Everybody happy and exhausted :)
 
"Should I do a short without a PSM?"
No PSM wants to help a beginner with no portfolio.
You need to find a soundguy/girl who can listen and handle a boom. That's it for now.
You think you need all kind of acronyms, while you just need a skeleton crew to get the job done.


I watched 5 seconds of your tutorial and I see you did not apply the advice given on the keyframes in the opening.

Please don't ask for help anymore if you are to lazy to spend 5 minutes to apply the advice you've been given.
It took me more time to write those instructions than it should take you to apply it.

All you do is ask.
You never really really really read what is being said, let alone understand it.
You almost always distill some idiotic rules from the replies you get and then try to apply it on the wrong situations.
You hardly apply the advice given.
You don't even seem to try to think for yourself.
Why should I even bother to ever respond again?

Did you see the homework I gave you?
It's right there BOLD and UNDERLINED. I guess you missed it.
 
I'd say suspense. As for not applying the keyframes yet, I have been concentrating on just getting the more important things like the sound and editing done. I will apply it later. That doesn't mean I was not going to do it at all. Plus other people watched the movie said I was nitpicking anyway, and putting too much effort into that, and I should concentrate on other things and come back to it later. So that's what I was doing.

As for making my own shorts with an inexperienced crew, the thing is, is that you know it's going to be bad quality, right? So when you now that, how is making a short film of bad quality going to attract anyone for the future? Well I will look at that website of short film scripts and see what there is, and try to find someone who can shoot it, and I will operate the boom and field recorder, while directing then.

I am going to do what Walter B said and make a trailer to learn. However, I don't think it will take 1-2 days, cause I don't think all the locations would available all in one day. Usually a trailer will have at least 10 locations. Maybe I can get away with 5. But I don't think all 5 will all be available in just two days. I will look at the short film scripts and see what there is there as well.

The last time I worked with a skeleton crew though, the sound came out no good, and I had to do ADR. The mistake I learned was to not make a movie, if you cannot get a proper PSM. So for the first few shorts, should I just do ADR anyway if I cannot get good sound? Even if the actors don't want to come back, should I just get others to dub over their footage?

After completing this short though, do you think it's worth putting in a portfolio along with the other one I did before, or are only better done ones, worth putting in and I should scrap these two from the portfolio?
 
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IAs for not applying the keyframes yet, I have been concentrating on just getting the more important things like the sound and editing done. I will apply it later. That doesn't mean I was not going to do it at all. Plus other people watched the movie said I was nitpicking anyway, and putting too much effort into that, and I should concentrate on other things and come back to it later. So that's what I was doing.

Nitpicking? You have a glaring issue with your graphic open (not to mention the left pink overlay disappears after the cut). It's an easy fix and you have an explaination of how to fix it. So fix it. And how is it not one of the more important things? It's the open: literally, the first thing the viewer sees. So it's actually pretty damned important. Procrastinating on it just reaffirms your lack of initiative.

By the way, this isn't a short film. It's a YouTube tutorial video that takes very little production. And yet you are still sitting on it, bemoaning all the things that have gone wrong instead of trying to fix it. Just more excuses, and failure to deliver to the client.

Fix the grahic issue, slap some music under it, and call it a day. Honestly, it's otherwise fine where it is. This could have (should have) been turned around in a day or two.

As for making my own shorts with an inexperienced crew, the thing is, is that you know it's going to be bad quality, right? So when you now that, how is making a short film of bad quality going to attract anyone for the future?

So you don't bother making anything until you know you have everything perfectly where you want it? More excuses, more reasons why it "technically" isn't your fault for not doing anyhting.

And you cite working with an inexperienced crew as if you're not. Wanna know how to fix that? Go out and make shorts.

I am going to do what Walter B said and make a trailer to learn. However, I don't think it will take 1-2 days, cause I don't think all the locations would available all in one day. Usually a trailer will have at least 10 locations. Maybe I can get away with 5. But I don't think all 5 will all be available in just two days. I will look at the short film scripts and see what there is there as well.

Where did you get those numbers? Since when do trailers "usually" have x number of locations?! A trailer can have only as many locations as the film has, so what if the film takes place in only three locations? Or only one? "Well, boys, we can't make a trailer for this film because the story is only in a single location. We should have gotten a more compex script." Geez... just another excuse as to why you can't do something.

The last time I worked with a skeleton crew though, the sound came out no good, and I had to do ADR. The mistake I learned was to not make a movie, if you cannot get a proper PSM. So for the first few shorts, should I just do ADR anyway if I cannot get good sound? Even if the actors don't want to come back, should I just get others to dub over their footage?

You don't learn mistakes. You make mistakes. You learn lessons from those mistakes (theoretically...).

Apparently the lesson you learned was not to try ever again until you have everything perfect, but you don't move toward perfection without practice, and practice means making mistakes, and you don't make mistakes if you never try.

Perhaps the lesson you should have learned was to work creatively if you don't have a proper PSM on the crew. Again, this is why you should be out there making shorts. Make mistakes. Make lots of 'em. And then figure out how to work around them for the next project.

FFS, dude, you could be making noir/suspense shorts that are mostly or completely narrated. That requires no on-camera dialog, thus no PSM. You can do this with only one actor. Or two, or three.

After completing this short though, do you think it's worth putting in a portfolio along with the other one I did before, or are only better done ones, worth putting in and I should scrap these two from the portfolio?

Who knows? It hasn't been completed.

You're so worried about having a portfolio that you're missing the entire point of making shorts: to get better.

Unfortunately, I expect 100% that your reply to this will be another list of "yeah, but" reasons that you cannot follow this advice. Why should we waste any more time on it?
 
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Well the reason why I haven't finished it, is because I have been having trouble matching the dialogue and making it all sound the same. So I have been concentrating on that part particularly, and learning how the audio engineering works in order to fix that. I am learning the adobe audition program in order to figure out how to finish it.

You say that the pink overlay cuts away when it cuts to the next shot. Is this a problem? What's wrong with the overlay, cutting away?

As for making trailers with just a few locations, the scripts I wrote have more locations. Basically in the plot's it wasn't logical for characters to stick around in a few places, when logically they would keep moving. But perhaps I can condense it down and just take a few scenes from the script and make that the trailer.

Alright I am going to make another short film, perhaps even a trailer, even if it means having to ADR the whole thing, with different actors afterwards, should the original actors not choose to come back. I mean why should I let that stop me from completing it with ADR, right?

As for the pink overlay cutting away, what is wrong with that? What's wrong with a cut? Why does it have to transition? Also you say that this is not a short film, but a youtube tutorial video. You asked for me to produce a short film, and I do, and now you are saying it doesn't count. I thought that a short film constitutes a video production, that is a few minutes long. Why does this not count exactly? I mean it's not fiction, but can't a tutorial be considered a short film, like how a documentary can be for example?
 
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Well the reason why I haven't finished it, is because I have been having trouble matching the dialogue and making it all sound the same. So I have been concentrating on that part particularly...

It sounds to me like a difference between on-cam and VO. It's not a huge deal that they aren't 100% identical.

You say that the pink overlay cuts away when it cuts to the next shot. Is this a problem? What's wrong with the overlay, cutting away?

You don't see the discrepancy? The overlay on the right disappears on the cut with the underlying video. The overlay on the left disappears after that. Why are they both not out at the cut?

I could go on about how the overlay just disappearing on a cut overall is odd given the way the graphic comes in. Animate in, cut out? Just seems like a cop out. Why doesn't the overlay move again, to create a wipe from the intro to the b-roll? But that's just me.

Yes, you made something (sort of... it isn't done). Kudos. That does count for something, but it just isn't a short film. The production style, production value, etc., are of their own genre and typically lower bar of quality. Have you ever seen a film festival call for entries in a "YouTube Tutorial" category? Documentary, yes... because that is storytelling. Tutorial, no.
 
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Okay thanks. There are points in the audio where the woman sounds closer such as on her couple of lines, when you can hear the switch. I have additional dialogue which I am working on to get it to match, and haven't put it in yet.

When it comes to the overlay cutting, at what second in the video does this happen exactly? I am missing it I think.
 
Oh yes, thanks I didn't notice that before. I will fix that. Thanks for pointing it out.

Well I think that people do not like my scripts, cause they respond to my add, but then when I show them the script, they do not reply back after or they do, but just say they are not interested. But people are making bad scripts all the time, and getting actors and crew to do so.

Even I helped out others with their scripts, even though I didn't think highly of them, I just wanted the experience. So how can I motivate others into making a bad script, or what am I doing wrong there?

Before I can go out and shoot a movie, I need people to say yes first.
 
Dude, don't aspire to make bad films from bad scripts just becasue others do it. That's just insane.

You need a five page script, one location, two actors. If it's easy enough, go a few more pages.


Use the local junior and highschool drama departments to find actors (or elementary school if the script calls for child roles). It might come off a little theatrical, but it's something.

Use your own house / garage / barn or whatever you have.

How about this - tell me what you have available (locations), and if you have a local drama department.

Tell me who (if you know) will be on crew - as in how many? One camera, one boom? The boom operator will also be the director? This is not uncommon so don't sweat it.

Who will be in post? You?

That's a crew of two and a cast of two, and a location of one. You can shoot that in a day.


Tell me what you can get together and I will write a short script that fits what you have.

Start tomorrow. Send me pics of the ONE location and headshots - age doesn't matter. I'll do the rest.



If you're serious, I'm serious.


Deal?
 
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...................

I am going to do what Walter B said and make a trailer to learn. However, I don't think it will take 1-2 days, cause I don't think all the locations would available all in one day. Usually a trailer will have at least 10 locations. Maybe I can get away with 5. But I don't think all 5 will all be available in just two days. I will look at the short film scripts and see what there is there as well.

................

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeGqRVkE0AE

7 or 8 locations.
Shot in 1 day.
3 of the locations are actually the same room :P

4 Characters: 1 is a friend, the others I asked to join the project.
The crew: me and a friend.
While running: another friend drove the car, one of my brothers watched out for traffic.
And I asked a MUA to join.

So it was me, 3 friends, 1 brother and 4 strangers who made this.

Did you see the homework I gave you?
That could be a simple trailer.
 
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