Journey West...

NickClapper

NickClapper

I'm just sorting out my future for the next few months so I thought I'd make a thread about it!

Basically I've finished film school and my BA university course doesn't start until mid-October so I've got some time to play with and want to get some more filmmaking under my belt...

As it currently stands I'm going to fly out to Canada (Vancouver) at the end of May and stay there for all of June working. After that however I'm free to roam (a bit)...

So I figured I'd fly down to LA and see if I could do some work there. So that's partially why I'm posting- are there any LA filmmakers who wouldn't mind me helping out on their set? I'm a hard working young go-getter...etc.

After/before/instead of that I might fly out to my native New York so the same offer applies (just with a slightly lower chance of it happening this Summer)...

And then back to England where I'm determined to put together a cool production.

Anyhow that's my Summer plans! What are yours?
 
Possibly back in Nebraska working with the Forestry Service at the site I did my Archaeology field school last summer... here's hoping :)
 
knightly said:
Possibly back in Nebraska working with the Forestry Service at the site I did my Archaeology field school last summer... here's hoping :)
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Never been to Nebraska but I've got nothing but good things to say about trees in general, so sounds fun!

I'm genuinely serious about my offer to any LA filmmakers. I'm trying to sort out my journey soonish but it would be cool to do something in the city of angels.

Also: I have this romantic idea about putting together a longer narrative project in the UK in August. Some people here thing you should do 20 shorts before you shoot a feature, others think you should shoot a feature straight away... what's right for me? :(
 
knightly said:
Possibly back in Nebraska working with the Forestry Service at the site I did my Archaeology field school last summer... here's hoping :)
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Awesome. Best of luck.

Nick, sounds like quite the adventure in front of you. Though I haven't done it myself, I feel confident that an able-bodied person can just move to LA and get a job as a PA. Could be a great way to learn on-the-set stuff, while making contacts. If you find yourself in the mid-Atlantic, let me know. DC is a pretty cool city.

My summer plans? Watch lots of stupid blockbusters at the midnight Thursday show! Also, within the next month or two, I need to get beyond the brainstorming stage, and finally put pen to paper (eh, finger to keyboard) on my next feature screenplay. Oh, and I'll be taking part in the 48HFP.

Should you do more shorts before moving on to a feature? Of course, you're the only person who can answer that. I'm sure you already know how I feel about it. I kinda think your first feature is like making a first impression; the impression you make is gonna last. If that's true, I want it to be as good as I can make it, and there's no question that had I made my first feature without getting a bunch of practice making shorts, it wouldn't have been nearly as good. Whichever decision you make, I'm confident you'll have fun and learn a lot. Cheers!
 
Doors are always open here in Ventura for all and any IT guests traveling through these parts. Would really enjoy meeting up in person should you have the time. Call ahead with your itinerary and we'll make it happen. :) I'd also drive to you if you're simply staying in the L.A. area. Either way, hope we can connect!
 
That does sound like an awesome summer's worth of work/travel! Hopefully it's the right balance of fun and productive. As for the shorts vs. features, for me, doing shorts definitely helped me develop skills. That said, my first feature was worlds better than any of the shorts, and I learned a lot on that too. I'd say, if you have a feature's worth of story, go for it!

My summer with any luck should be pretty booked. One film I've already signed to score should be shooting late spring, so I should have an edit to work with by summer. I'm waiting to hear back on another which is shooting now, so that may be this summer or ending by then. Like Cracker Funk, I'll also be doing 48 hour again (that's usually August here). Toss on a few random shorts and/or ad projects and that should keep me off the streets (which is good because Batman shooting is going to wreak havok on Pittsburgh traffic!)
 
Flicker Pictures said:
Doors are always open here in Ventura for all and any IT guests traveling through these parts. Would really enjoy meeting up in person should you have the time. Call ahead with your itinerary and we'll make it happen. :) I'd also drive to you if you're simply staying in the L.A. area. Either way, hope we can connect!
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I'll let you know Jeff! Ventura sounds Ace.. :rolleyes:

@CF: I'm only planning on staying in the area for a few weeks at most, so I don't really want to pay to fly down there with nothing but a British accent and a dream!

I have a friend at UVA and I'm planning to visit in the autumn (or, as you guys would say, the Fall) so if you're shooting Project #2 then let me know!

As for shorts/features: I've made tons of shorts that range from the crap I was shooting several years ago that no on gets to see because it's horrible to the better stuff I've done lately. When I was shooting Woolies I was happy to do a short film because it was something that I could, fairly easily, get done but I kept feeling like it was a project that I could've done as a feature...

It might be an unrealistic goal but I'd love to shoot a feature before October because I'm starting a three year university course and who knows where my mind will be at the end of that? Strike whilst the iron's hot, right? Plus I'm just polishing a feature script right now that I'm genuinely quite happy with and think that it might be within my shooting means...
 
NickClapper said:
It might be an unrealistic goal but I'd love to shoot a feature before October because I'm starting a three year university course and who knows where my mind will be at the end of that? Strike whilst the iron's hot, right? Plus I'm just polishing a feature script right now that I'm genuinely quite happy with and think that it might be within my shooting means...
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Oh, well in that case, let me completely go back on my prior advice.

When I was new to Indietalk, it was a near-unanimous consent that I wasn't ready to shoot a feature, and that I should put it off until ready. I had personal reasons for why putting it off simply wasn't an option. I stuck to my timeline, and I'm very glad I did. If you're feeling that now is the time to do it, don't hesitate. Go ahead and set the wheels in motion. For a feature, I think it's good to get early commitments from you lead roles. Get your main talent right now. And get to work on that script. You think it's polished? Let some peers review it, and you'll start to see the plethora of ways in which it needs to be fixed. Because of time-constraints, I only had one revision for my feature screenplay, and it definitely could've used a few more. Get it peer-reviewed and revise it/perfect it as much as you can.

I'm curious how this timeline works. You get back to the UK when? And you plan to start shooting when?
 
I'm in the same boat, I had just committed to shooting a feature and had no clue, My only point is, don't sink the money into the first one, as it won't be as good as you'd like... and the money will be lost to inexperience.

By all means, make a feature, so much more learning so much more quickly at that pace than by doing a bunch of short films... but don't spend all your money learning so that you can't afford to do the real thing once you've done your learning on the first one... a feature is a different beast than shorts are... they take a driving force and a long term commitment.
 
Cracker Funk said:
Oh, well in that case, let me completely go back on my prior advice.

When I was new to Indietalk, it was a near-unanimous consent that I wasn't ready to shoot a feature, and that I should put it off until ready. I had personal reasons for why putting it off simply wasn't an option. I stuck to my timeline, and I'm very glad I did. If you're feeling that now is the time to do it, don't hesitate. Go ahead and set the wheels in motion. For a feature, I think it's good to get early commitments from you lead roles. Get your main talent right now. And get to work on that script. You think it's polished? Let some peers review it, and you'll start to see the plethora of ways in which it needs to be fixed. Because of time-constraints, I only had one revision for my feature screenplay, and it definitely could've used a few more. Get it peer-reviewed and revise it/perfect it as much as you can.
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I don't think it's polished, I'm polishing it at the moment as in 'I'm polishing it off' as in 'I've written about 3/4 from my plan' :D

It's a tricky consideration and definitely requires some thought...

I'm curious how this timeline works. You get back to the UK when? And you plan to start shooting when?[/QUOTE]

I'm going to find someone who actively wants to produce before I even consider how this project is going to work. I'm going to be away for all of June and probably about half of July.

My university course doesn't start until mid-October so I have from about July 20th to October 15th to find time to shoot. Obviously that's something I would need to work with the producer on but I don't reckon it would be cost/time effective to have a shoot any longer than 3 weeks.

knightly said:
I'm in the same boat, I had just committed to shooting a feature and had no clue, My only point is, don't sink the money into the first one, as it won't be as good as you'd like... and the money will be lost to inexperience.
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I'm certainly not going to sink my life savings into this! On the other hand it's not like I'm planning on shooting this one and then shooting another next year and the year after. There's no chance of me shooting another feature during the three years of my university course and that might be more if I do post-grad stuff.

So I just think it might be fun to give it a go...
 
I have plane tickets.

I'm off to Vancouver on Monday for three or so weeks. Then from there I fly down to LA for a week of generic tourist fun.

Any natives/previous vacationers got any recommendations for what I should see/do in LA?
 
Zensteve said:
PM me if you wanna meet up in LA :cool:
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Sounds like a plan Dr Steve! :yes:

I'll have to mention it nearer the time because at the moment I have a flight out to Vancouver and a flight back from LA and no passage in between :P But I'll book a transit flight some time soon... :rolleyes:

Anyhow I'm curious to know what famous cinemas, studios, theatres, restaurants, shops...etc I should visit whilst I'm out there. There's no better guidebook than residents themselves and that's coming from someone who accidentally recommended the Isle of Dogs to some Japanese tourists the other day...
 
Dude, you should drive from Vancouver to LA! Straight-shot: I5. Stop in Seattle, Portland, Weed, maybe (definitely) take a detour to SFC! Seattle-LA is a 24-hour drive, and Vancouver-Seattle is maybe 2 hours, but you could make a really terrific 3-or-4-day journey out of it, while spending not much more than a plane ticket.

Regardless of whether you fly or drive to LA, if you spend a few weeks in Vancouver, you'd be making a huge mistake if you didn't take a brief trip to Seattle.

Have fun!
 
Cracker Funk said:
Dude, you should drive from Vancouver to LA! Straight-shot: I5. Stop in Seattle, Portland, Weed, maybe (definitely) take a detour to SFC! Seattle-LA is a 24-hour drive, and Vancouver-Seattle is maybe 2 hours, but you could make a really terrific 3-or-4-day journey out of it, while spending not much more than a plane ticket.

Regardless of whether you fly or drive to LA, if you spend a few weeks in Vancouver, you'd be making a huge mistake if you didn't take a brief trip to Seattle.

Have fun!
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Nice drive too. Many great spots.

Santa Barbara, hope to be shooting a short in June, subatomic budget (smaller than micro).
 
Hit the road, Jack! I mean... Nick! The west coast was made for wheels. It's too beautiful to miss out on, especially this time of year. If you can, if you can.
 
On the non film side, I've got a summer of establishing someone here in Canada, so various paperwork is being done ect.

Film side? I am thinking of starting principal shooting on my first collabrative script called "The Biographer". Also hoping I get my soundtrack to "Showing Face" and maybe hopefully getting "Face Value" submitted to some film Festivals.

Also will be starting prelimnary work on my Documentary Proposal, and working on my mask research book.
 
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