Possibly silly questions, but gotta know from you pros..

S

Samuel M. Hain

Hey there guys and gurus,

I'm revising a script for the 7th time. I'm my own worst critic and, I want and strive for prefection and detail, aiming to avoid those, "oh dammit! I shoulda done it THAT way instead" situations when playing back or viewing.

I've never filmed before. I've written, scored and acted, but filming is not my fortay. Though this is my newest career move.

Of course, like any indie film maker, I want to keep my goals set at a reasonable level, but at the same time, I have chosen this career very seriously, so, my questions to you are thus:

- What are the key elements that potential investors will look for in an indie film?

- What sorts of formats are now considered acceptable for first-time indie film makers?

- with extremely low finances of my own for this project, what sorts of corners can be cut and/or avoided but still produce great results?

- IS it possible to film with say and old vintage camera, and produce good-to-great results? Or is it better these days to go digital?

Thanks.

S
 
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Samuel M. Hain said:
- What are the key elements that potential investors will look for in an indie film?

- What sorts of formats are now considered acceptable for first-time indie film makers?

- with extremely low finances of my own for this project, what sorts of corners can be cut and/or avoided but still produce great results?

- IS it possible to film with say and old vintage camera, and produce good-to-great results? Or is it better these days to go digital?

S
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The answer to your first question is "are they going to make money?" Or, at the very least, do they have a reasonably good chance of making their money back? So, they would want to see a recognizeable actor in your movie or they would want to see interest in something else you've done that's done well, or they want to see good film festival results. For the most part, the people with the money to "invest" in an indie film don't know or care much about the artistic quality or statement. It needs to be an investment for them and you need to make them beleive that they have a good chance of a return on their investment. You also need to make them very aware that investing in an independent film is a very risky proposition. It takes a certain breed of wealthy person to do this. The less they actually know about filmmaking, in my opinion, the better.

For the second question, I think anything goes as far as format is concerned, but it better not look like a home video. With the onset of HD and more and more people having HD televisions in their homes, the acceptance of mediocre visuals is declining. People don't want to buy a $2,500 HD tv to watch something shot on SVHS. I think video quality is increasing in many different formats including HD, DV and mini DV. You can create great looking productions on any of these formats and their infinitely different variables.

If you have to, keep a budget in mind while writing the script. I hate to do this because I feel it hinders creativity, but sometimes you know what you're going to have to work with in the end so why write a scene where a UFO blows up Mount Rushmore if you'll never be able to pull it off realistically. Try to keep the number of locations to a minimum and try to keep the number of characters down. Once you go into production, you don't want to skimp on any part of it. You want to produce the script to its fullest potential.

For the last question, if the material fits it, shoot it. Look at the Blair Witch Project for inspiration in this way. A great movie, very compelling, mostly shot on a little handheld video camera. It worked because it fit the story.

All this being said, I've never produced a feature length independent film and I've never received financing for one so I'm not really an expert in this. I am, however, actively pursuing the financing for a feature and these are my personal opinions that I'm using to guide how I go about it.
 
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Dylan61 -

Thanks for the info. You obviously know your stuff. Logically speaking, I'd assumed as much however, I do have great confidence in my writing, my ideas and of course a compelling story, as well as getting my ideas onto film by using another experienced camera man who, inceidentally, shares my ideas wholeheartedly thus far.

I have actually regarded The Blair Witch Project as an excellent source of learning, among a few others. And thanks for confirming my initial thoughts on that.

Financially speaking however, I'm nowhere near ready to approach anyone yet with my hand out, though it's good to know the outlined key things to consider. Again, Thanks very much.

I try as best I can, when writing, to consider a budget, locations and of course minimal use of actors - problem being that locally (Montreal, that is), for indie film there are very limited areas for filming scenes uniterrupted without having to get one's hands on a rather expensive permit.

Granted, most the filming for this particular film will take place further west of the city and into the country, therefor filming may not be as difficult as if I were to shoot inner-city.

Thanks again for your response!

S
 
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Private property is free...find enthusiastic people who would be "Wowed" with the prospect of a real live movie being shot on their property! Talk to the folks who run local theaters and stuff.
 
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Hey Knightly,

Excellent suggestion. Thanks!

Here's another question for in regards to private property:

In scouting locations in the country, (West of Montreal City), I stumbled upon an old delapitated house with a rotting separate garage, hidden behind trees and bushes and, even the driveway to this property had grown over with weeds and small trees... SOme friends and I decided to park the car at the side of the narrow road and venture on up through what was left of the driveway seen as I didn't think we'd get the car through there. It's about a minute from the road, but so well hidden.

When we got to the house, I noticed the side door was open and yes - I went inside. Inside the house, furniture, rugs, curtains and anything else you'd expect to see in a house being lived in - including, and get this - An old upright piano that, when I hit the keys, you could hear the tones, but you could also hear the piano strings stretching and some breaking. Nuh huh! Creepy! It was pitch black when we did this and, I'm glad we did.

Close by is another house, with obvious signs of people living there. I'm left asuming that the delapitated house is or was owned by these people in the new house. Perhaps they'd rebuilt.

I haven't spoken to anyone regarding this property yet, but I would very much like to get my hands on it. I'd pay of course, but I wouldn't want to simply run up to whoever is responsible for it and offer cash. I always strive for freebies first. ;)

What, in your opinion, woujld be the best approach to getting rights and permission to use this property at my discretion?

Thanks!

S
 
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I'm thinking the best person to give permission is the property owner. Could be the neighbor as you thought. Maybe the neighbor will know who owns it. You might have to search the property records at city hall or a county agency. Maybe a local real estate agent will know (or can find out) who owns the property.

It sounds like a great location.
 
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Thanks for the tip. I'll be looking into those options this weekend if all goes well. Regardless, I'm taking a drive out there either this weekend or the next and I'll take some shots of the place inside and out (inside, provided I can still gain access), and post some links here so you can all see. It IS without a doubt, an ideal locaiton.

I saw so much potential even just outside and around the house itself.

Thanks Directorik!

S
 
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I would start with the neighbor...I always start with:

"My name is [], I'm an independant filmmaker. I'd like to do some filming at [property descript]."

They will be concerned about the content of the film, state it up front, always honest and open all the time! Youd be surprised what you get out of just asking and being honest about your intentions.
 
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Another question for you guys, I love FILM, as opposed to digital, though I'm going to use digital as well, would like to experiment with film cameras. I've been checking out some old cameras on Ebay, and found a BOLEX P1 8mm for a good price.

Would it be worth me buying this camera and playing around with it?

I've also stumbled onto a great deal on this:

http://www.jvc.ca/en/consumer/archived-product-detail.asp?model=GR-DV3000U

and am wondering if this is an ideal digital to get?

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Don't bother with a 'regular' 8 camera.. I don't think there's ANY film stock available for them anymore.. super8 is alright, as you can still find film, and there are a plethora of 16mm cameras that can be had fairly cheaply.

To just play around and see what you can learn and whatnot I think super8 is the way for you to go.. the film rolls are only like $10 from kodak, or typically about $12 from the local camera shop that carries it (if there is one)

And processing can be anywhere between $10-$15/roll.. with telecine costs roughly the same.. so basically, if you shop around, you're looking at $30/roll for stock, processing, and telecine.. which yes is more than video, but isn't completely prohibitive.
 
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Ok. I've also found a nice Chinon 4000GL, projector and super8mm combo for a steal... Again, this is primarily for experimental purposes and, so I can test lighting and angles etc.

I wont bid on this until I hear back from you though. I'm a COMPLETE amateur when it comes to cameras. But I am willing and wanting to learn everytihng about them. Old and new.

Also, did you see the question regarding the JVC GR-DV3000U?

S
 
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I have the younger sibling of this camera (JVC DVR GR-820U). It takes fabulous pictures, but the heads have died on it. I haven't used it all that much, so I don't think it had very good heads (may just be head alignment...I'll experiment :) ). JVC gets great skin tones and the form factor and control placement is pretty good. No option for external microphone direct to camera (some people will argue that you should use a separate recorder, I'm not one of them).
 
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I really like the quality (as far as budget -the dv gr820u- DV goes), but I can't currently get any audio on it and sometimes the video looks like it needs a head cleaning, but it doesn't. I may need the heads replaced and if that camera uses the same parts for the heads, my experience (1 camera) shows that the heads are susceptible to failure. I could have just gotten a bum camera as well. Here are some sample photo stills from it:

http://www.yafiunderground.com/AJ/locations.html - WARNING! lots of pix!

the video quality is the same for the photos as for the video.
 
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knightly said:
I really like the quality (as far as budget -the dv gr820u- DV goes), but I can't currently get any audio on it and sometimes the video looks like it needs a head cleaning, but it doesn't. I may need the heads replaced and if that camera uses the same parts for the heads, my experience (1 camera) shows that the heads are susceptible to failure. I could have just gotten a bum camera as well. Here are some sample photo stills from it:

http://www.yafiunderground.com/AJ/locations.html - WARNING! lots of pix!

the video quality is the same for the photos as for the video.
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T'was worth the wait on those pics loading Knightly. Amazing. I've taken a few stills with a small Canon Ultura, I use this mainly for filming home videos of the girlfriend and me and the animals. But the still don't look half as good as the ones form your JVC.

I'm HOPING the JVC I'm interested in will produce the same results.

Is that YOU in the bottom two pics?

S
 
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yes, that's me...the top ones were taken a year after the bottom ones, you can see the learning at work...same formula I've posted in other threads for getting decent DV footage. Polarizer and lower the exposure. I'd rather have the camera fishing for focus than fishing for exposure (given having to choose between the two as with this camera - only one manual setting at a time).
 
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Nice pics. The staircase looks like something I have in mind for a shoot here. Similar, though not quite.

I'm still waiting for a firewire and IEEE card kit to arrive (hopefully Monday), I'll upload some images of what I've taken with mine.

Those images were the JVC you were telling me about right?

S
 
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