It's very unusual, even in indie films, for actors to be required to do their own stunts so why not consider getting a stunt woman in to cover the more complex sequences that your backup doesn't have the skills for?
It's The End Of The World!!!
- Thread starter Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC
- Start date
It's very unusual, even in indie films, for actors to be required to do their own stunts so why not consider getting a stunt woman in to cover the more complex sequences that your backup doesn't have the skills for?
This is not Hollywood. I can't afford a stunt team. Actors are required to do their own stunts. We auditioned all of them. So, we know where they are with their stunt abilities.
Not even remotely true.
Not that the actual reason has any bearing on how YOU cast, but
that it not the reason "they" use stunt doubles in Hollywood. Just
trying to avert another belief you have that has no bearing in fact.
I'm pulling for you. I hope you can work it out. Despite all your methods
and precautions it still comes down to one person being the best for a
role and being, essentially, irreplaceable - I can relate. I hope you can
hold off until she is available. I feel for you.
I just did a quick Google search in your area. Disclaimer: Imprecise results await.
http://www.mandy.com/home.cfm?c=cha477
How much is this woman going to cost? $200/300 a day? There have been worse investments. Because it's not Hollywood you can't go to the Hollywood stunt agencies but I'm sure you can find ways of working round your problems within your means...
She's a stunt coordinator. We already have one. What little money I have will be used to bring our DP to town for the shoot. The less experience or more part-timers I have with stunts presents a greater and greater challenge to our stunt coordinator who is already telling me one week rehearsal isn't enough time.
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Not meaning to flog a dead horse and if you don't want to pay for one then you don't want to pay for one BUT she is a stunt woman as far as I can read...
Don't give up. I'm a 15 YO film maker and whenever any of my friends cancels on my videos I get mad, because theres nothing I can do and I feel like telling everyone not to come this weekend when we do the shoot. But, as a filmmaker, I need to get it done, so I either go on without them, or find a replacement. All I can say is don't give up, it can be done
Thank you.
All stunt coordinators started out as stunt people.
If we could reach our goal with kickstarter, life would be easier. But, since that's not happening, drastic measurements will be taken to get the production made. That means budget cuts wherever possible.
She did not say if it is a paying gig or not. We can only recast, not reschedule. The rest of the cast is sticking to the schedule. Her role got filled last night. I have another role I'm trying to fill today. It's another cyborg role. The original actress has to leaave the country because of a sick relative.
The good news is the releases and agreements are ready. I sent them to everyone in the production late last night.
Where the roles not paid?
This is the obvious occurrence of unpaid casting.
It's tough being in a position where you can't pay your cast. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. We all go through it. But, given the role, you mentioned that there where stunts etc, the role surely has to be paid, given the requirements. It seems a costly production, what with the costumes, props etc. Plus, a Kickstarter was in the works, what was the purpose of the aforementioned if the talent aren't being paid?
Priority wise, balance should always be the key. I hope I've just mistook the thread/situation. Yet, if I haven't, I can't help but think the budget hasn't been thought out too well.
This is the obvious occurrence of unpaid casting.
It's tough being in a position where you can't pay your cast. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. We all go through it. But, given the role, you mentioned that there where stunts etc, the role surely has to be paid, given the requirements. It seems a costly production, what with the costumes, props etc. Plus, a Kickstarter was in the works, what was the purpose of the aforementioned if the talent aren't being paid?
Priority wise, balance should always be the key. I hope I've just mistook the thread/situation. Yet, if I haven't, I can't help but think the budget hasn't been thought out too well.
FWIW, in every 9-5 job with regular pay and benefits I've ever worked people have still called out for whatever reason. Sick employee, sick kid, sick family, dead family, mental health day(s), quit, got married and moved to another state, whatever. I don't care.
Stuff happens.
The show must go on, and does.
Stuff happens.
The show must go on, and does.
Modern Myth, I feel your pain. This just happened to me. 2 of my leads backed out 2 days before the shoot. I almost gave up, but I just pressed on and did a quick re-write to accomodate the change. And in hindsight, that was a great decision since I found that the scene that I thought they would be crucial in really would have slowed down the story anyway.
So sometimes, these kinds of changes can actually be blessings in disguise. I wish you the best!
So sometimes, these kinds of changes can actually be blessings in disguise. I wish you the best!
BUDGET FOR INDIE FILMS: whatever you can raise IS the budget. You build around that and not dream of what you cannot have. If all you have is a total of $6,000, that IS the budget and you cut out what you cannot pay for.
The other thing I didn't mention yesterday is the actress I lost really does look like a bully. She was just so perfect for a lead villain. There are not a lot of actresses who are six feet tall and built to look very strong. She had the right look and all the talent to make that whole character sell.
No one here should tell any member how to spend their money. If I'm investing in someone's production with hard cash, then I should have a say. Outsiders have no idea of what a producer goes through to raise what little money they can. It is just as big a let down to lose investors, like I did and be too stuburn to call off a production because there is not enough funds to make a killer movie. As if that is not enough, there was no way of predicting I would have to take a big pay cut with my day job so the place where I work can manage their budget. I don't even make enough money now to cover my monthly living expenses. A sane person would call off the production. People I see everyday have been advising me to call off this production. But, something deep inside keeps driving you to keep going and get your dream to the finish line.
I invested in my friend's production on kickstarter and she is fighting a losing battle there too. But, I'm not going to tell her how to spend the money unless I had enough money to be the lead investor. She even has a distributor and she's not doing much better than me.
This is the pain of Indie filmmaking. Why would a sane person want to go through all this?
The other thing I didn't mention yesterday is the actress I lost really does look like a bully. She was just so perfect for a lead villain. There are not a lot of actresses who are six feet tall and built to look very strong. She had the right look and all the talent to make that whole character sell.
No one here should tell any member how to spend their money. If I'm investing in someone's production with hard cash, then I should have a say. Outsiders have no idea of what a producer goes through to raise what little money they can. It is just as big a let down to lose investors, like I did and be too stuburn to call off a production because there is not enough funds to make a killer movie. As if that is not enough, there was no way of predicting I would have to take a big pay cut with my day job so the place where I work can manage their budget. I don't even make enough money now to cover my monthly living expenses. A sane person would call off the production. People I see everyday have been advising me to call off this production. But, something deep inside keeps driving you to keep going and get your dream to the finish line.
I invested in my friend's production on kickstarter and she is fighting a losing battle there too. But, I'm not going to tell her how to spend the money unless I had enough money to be the lead investor. She even has a distributor and she's not doing much better than me.
This is the pain of Indie filmmaking. Why would a sane person want to go through all this?
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If the "Oustsiders" are film-makers, then yes, I would believe that their suggestions are worthy, as they all go through the very same process. GAINING the funds, and using them accordingly. Not outsiders. This is a film forum. We are film-makers.
What I was referring to is your methodology. I can only go from your previous threads, from the links and pictures you've supplied. But I see/hear of masses of expensive props/costumes, and then I hear the actors are to be unpaid, even though the roles require secondry skills in Stunt work. Immediately, I have to think "Why wasn't this planned in the budget?"
It's always the risk, I said it in a previous thread, If you don't pay your actors, they have no obligation to show up, or to ever contact you again. Is it right? No, infact, it's down right rude. But there are always going to be other offers, and if the alternative is a paid role, why should they not jump ship and be paid for their time?
If this is your definition of "Budget". Then you have no actors. Going purely from this sentiment. You haven't taken into account in whatever planning you did before hand, that you would need to pay your actors. Priority seems not to be with your cast.
I'm old fashioned. I'm a firm believer in "Honoring the material". Which means giving your material the best opportunity to thrive.
Is pursuing a feature with an unpaid cast, but lavish props/costumes doing that? For me, no. I'd have factored it into the budget. It's almost certainly going to cost you more time/money resheduling when the obvious problems arise, and in this case, and many others, they drop out.
Sure, this can happen with paying roles. Ofcourse. I wouldn't for a second rule that out. But if we're playing percentages, and whether or not this is a painful view of our society. Who is more likely to stay, the paid cast, or the unpaid cast?
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hollywood needs to relocate to winnipeg. royally arrange it before al gore makes another film.