Excellent questions there. I'm not sure how they apply to an independent filmmaker. How do your questions apply to Robert Rogdriguez' El Mariachi, or the directors of Blair Witch Project, or paranormal activity?
You really can't see how my questions apply to an indie filmmaker, honestly? In fact my questions and suggestions are based mainly on indie film making. I've never been directly involved in a big budget studio feature. I can't speak for all your examples but your inclusion of Rodriguez is a very poor example to quote because Rodriguez made El Mariachi with a specific plan, exactly as I'm suggesting! El Mariachi was a product which was budgeted and made for a very specific market. Now the fact that product was picked up and turned into a different product for a different market is extremely rare and is what makes El Mariachi a favourite quote with indie filmmakers.
What I'm saying is that I don't have to agree with you that I need to meet technical specifications first.
According to the stated aims of your idea, you have little choice but to agree!! These small distributors you're aiming at, do they attend local film club festivals in school gyms or only the more major festivals? Your idea is dead in the water if the distributors you are looking to meet/impress don't attend the festivals you enter. If, as is far more likely, the distributors (you are aiming for) attend the more major festivals, the Montreal fest for example, how do you intend to get screened at the Montreal fest? Do you know what the Montreal fest's quality requirements/specs actually are? If you believe you don't need to meet these specs first, how are you going to meet them after you've already made your film?? You spend $10k making a film only for your idea to fall flat on it's face at it's very first hurdle because no matter how good or how much skill it demonstrates it cannot be screened at the festivals you need to attend.
You say that you are looking for a small Canadian distributor. These small Canadian distributor's, is there any history of them taking on extreme micro-budget films and investing in bringing them up to theatrical standards or do they only take ready to distribute or nearly ready to distribute films? If they don't take on extreme micro-budget films your idea is not just incredibly unlikely to succeed, it's absolutely guaranteed to fail before you even turn on your camera and shout "action" for the first time!
You don't seem to have even asked any of these questions, let alone have a plan or even any sort of idea of how to address whatever the answers maybe. So at the moment, I have to say that all you're doing is dreaming!
Your questions are valid for someone with funding, who's doing things like they're supposed to be done. I'm not that person. I'm someone with a 10 to 15k budget.
I'd like to think that you are correct and that my questions are valid for someone with funding who's doing things like they are supposed to be done but of course you do realize that the "way things are supposed to be done" has evolved over the history of film making for no other purpose than to maximise the chances of success? You state that you're not that person, which is astonishing, what person are you then? A person with funding who wants to make a film in a way which maximises the chances of failure? Alternatively, maybe you are an utter film industry genius who's invented a new and better plan for maximising your film's chances but you don't mention ANY kind of plan, let alone a revolutionary genius plan.
I can't think like a professional unfortunately. I am an amateur... I realized that all your reservations, and all your professional viewpoints, and your professional approach towards filmmaking did not apply to me. I'm not a professional.
Look, I've got nothing at all against amateur filmmakers. In fact like most professionals, I envy amateurs in many regards. An amateur can focus on just the fun parts of film making, an amateur can make any kind of film and experiment however they want, whereas a professional can't. By definition, professionals have to manufacture products for a market. So I've got no problem with you being an amateur, the problem arises because you say you want to commercially distribute your film/s. So you want to enter the film making profession but you don't want to be a professional, how's that going to work? If you "can't think like a professional" then don't try and be a professional, stick to being an amateur and you'll enjoy your film making a whole lot more!
I can't spend 30K hiring someone with knowledge of a 3.1 sound system for a 7 day shoot.
The obvious professional question is; what product are you trying to make which requires a 3.1 sound system and a $30k audio post budget? For that matter, what product needs a 7 day shoot?
What I meant to say is that the average filmgoer wouldn't be able to tell 'which studio?' The average filmmaker will know, that the production is not of the same level as Iron Man, but they shouldn't be able to tell the difference between my film, and let's say the look and feel of Doubt, which I believe is a Miramax film.
So you're saying that an amateur film maker can make a feature for $15k that the average film goer couldn't tell apart from a $20m feature made by top professionals? Where are all these amateurs who will work for a few hundred dollars and are as skilled as Meryl Streep, Philip Hoffman, Roger Deakins, Howard Shore, Ron Bochar and all the other top professionals employed in making Doubt? Honestly, you are sounding more and more like you're in lala land!
You're right. I don't have a plan, for warner bros. I think I have a plan for a 10 to 15K film.
OK, you don't have a plan for Warner Bros, who do you have a plan for? And, what is that plan?
I'm just trying to say that we're operating in completely different worlds.
Yes, we are currently operating in completely different worlds but the point you seem to be completely missing is that if you want make a commercially distributable (theatrical) film then you will by definition, be operating in my world!! My world has it's own set of rules which in many cases are very different to the rules in your world, don't conform to the rules of my world and you either won't be allowed to enter in the first place or will be kicked out pretty soon after you do enter, no exceptions!
What I'm looking for is kinks in my plan. You're planning for war like an established military, "well how can you possibly go to war, without your own death star?" I'm saying, "look, I'm trying to think like a rebel, because I don't have the money for a Death Star"... I got the budget for one x-wing fighter
Yes, I think that's the problem, you seem to be looking for the little kinks while ignoring the huge gaping holes!
If all you've got is an x-wing then either you'd better have a damn ingenious plan or pick a fight with something you've got more chance against than a death star. Without a damn ingenious plan, the best you can realistically hope for is to scratch the Death Star's paint job before you get blown to pieces. I've got no problem with you thinking like a rebel, the problem is that you're not thinking like the established military or like a rebel, you're not thinking at all! You're running alone, head-on at an established professional army, screaming and waving your spear in the air without a thought in the world. Honestly, for the life of me I can't see how it's going to end well!
Would you be interested in working on mine if the script inspires you? I'll pay for your ticket, and you can also have the budgeted $1500 (you can have $3000 for that matter), as long as you are willing to sleep in my apt (cause I can't also pay for a hotel), and I'll take the couch.
I doubt your apartment has the equipment or facilities I need to do my job, so you'd have to work remotely, which is a common workflow. However, my biggest concern would be that you're not thinking like a professional, how do you intend to work with someone who does? For example, you say you've got a budget of $3k but what would I need to produce for $3k? If you're doing a very simple TV docu-drama with professional quality production sound then it's doable. If it's a 100 min feature with amateur quality production sound for a theatrical venue (say one of the more major film fests) that's likely to be a two month team job which will cost me several times more than your budget. It's still possible that I would take it on but it would have to be a fabulous script and it would have to be fabulously well acted, filmed and edited. In other words, if I'm to effectively invest in your film then it would need to be a sure fire hit which significantly enhances my reputation.
From your point of view, why would you spend a third or half of your total film making budget on sound? There maybe some specific cases where this would be the best allocation of your budget but in general it would be a serious mis-balance. A crap film with good sound wouldn't help either of us!
What technical requirements are we talking about exactly?
Halleluiah, now you're starting to ask the right questions! I don't know what all the tech specs are, I don't even know just the audio specs, there are a lot of different film festivals in the world. You will have to get the audio specs for your chosen festival/s and then I can explain them to you and give you an idea of the likely cost of achieving them for your film. There's a fair bit to consider beyond just the hurdle of achieving the specs. The worst film screened at any festival will obviously still have met the festival's tech specs. To grab the attention of any distributors present I'm presuming you're going to want something better than the worst film in the festival?
G
