Scene location - near one's house - how to write them?

[Inarius]

I need to write a scene which happens near one's house. Should I write:

EXT. NEAR MAX'S HOUSE - NIGHT

or

EXT. A STREET NEAR MAX'S HOUSE - NIGHT

or

EXT. ENTRANCE TO MAX'S HOUSE - NIGHT

or what?

P.S. I know that the 3rd option sound good, but the characters on the scene are NOT standing near the entrance - they walk TOWARDS the entrance, and only at the end of the scene they get there.

 

[Inarius]

Did you mean there AREN'T enough of them in Tel Aviv.?

There are enough opportunities. In numbers. But actual "movies" is a rare thing. There are 3 "buts" about "opportunities":

1) Some say "don't worry, I pay when it's done, and I'll have your name in credits". But promises mean nothing without contracts.

2) Some are ridiculously requesting people with at least 4-5 years experience in movie industry to work for their first time home-made indie films. As if those experienced people have nothing better to do.

3) Some of them are scums. Scums mostly mean "wanna-be" producers ask me to add some money into production, saying it's a great "investment". Yeah, right!

 

[directorik]

1) Some say "don't worry, I pay when it's done, and I'll have your name in credits". But promises mean nothing without contracts.

2) Some are ridiculously requesting people with at least 4-5 years experience in movie industry to work for their first time home-made indie films. As if those experienced people have nothing better to do.

3) Some of them are scums. Scums mostly mean "wanna-be" producers ask me to add some money into production, saying it's a great "investment". Yeah, right!

Exactly the same here in Los Angeles. None of those very true, accurate,
real things stopped me from getting experience on sets when I was starting.

But these things are stopping you...

 

[Inarius]

I was always interested... what about the big guys? I mean people like Spielberg, Chris Nolan, Snyder, Torantino, Cameron... is the percent of scums within them is bigger, than the percent of scums in the "noobs" filmmakers? A strange question, but still interesting.

 

[directorik]

I was always interested... what about the big guys? I mean people like Spielberg, Chris Nolan, Snyder, Torantino, Cameron... is the percent of scums within them is bigger, than the percent of scums in the "noobs" filmmakers? A strange question, but still interesting.

People like Spielberg, Nolan, Snyder, Tarantino and Cameron do not
hire people the with the “don't worry, I pay when it's done” false
promise. Most of the time the people they hire do have at least 4-5
years of experience (they usually do not hire the below-the-line
personal) and they are not “wanna-be” producers who ask people
to add money to the production. So the percentage of scums (using
your three points) among the working professionals here in Los Angeles
is very low.

What about the legit people in Israel? I mean people like Joseph Cedar,
Assaf Amir, Diana Elbaum, Yuval Adler - is the percentage of scums
within them the same as with noobs?

 

[Inarius]

What about the legit people in Israel? I mean people like Joseph Cedar,
Assaf Amir, Diana Elbaum, Yuval Adler - is the percentage of scums
within them the same as with noobs?

Well, using my 3 points, they are probably not scums by now. But I don't know what means did they take to build up their career

 

[FantasySciFi]

There are enough opportunities. In numbers. But actual "movies" is a rare thing. There are 3 "buts" about "opportunities":

1) Some say "don't worry, I pay when it's done, and I'll have your name in credits". But promises mean nothing without contracts.

Many independent film projects are done on deferment. That doesn't make them bad. If you need a contract, there is nothing stopping you from drafting one up and sharing it. Money is not the most important aspect when you're starting out.

2) Some are ridiculously requesting people with at least 4-5 years experience in movie industry to work for their first time home-made indie films. As if those experienced people have nothing better to do.

If I'm investing my hard earned money into my pet project, I want to hire people who have experience with lighting, sound, and videography. Being 'homemade' doesn't mean the person producing has 'low standards'. Let's switch this around. "Some new unknown screenwriter ridiculously requests that major studios with years of experience making money-making films should work with a novice script as if they don't have award-winning screenwriters to choose from."

3) Some of them are scums. Scums mostly mean "wanna-be" producers ask me to add some money into production, saying it's a great "investment". Yeah, right!

That's not a scam, by itself. That is essentially what Kickstarter and IndieGoGo do. They ask strangers to invest in their film by offering items, walk-on roles, credits or even producer status in exchange for financial backing. As you begin trying to bankroll your independent features, you quickly realize that to achieve the level of quality you desire, you need to have other people buy into your dream. They have the right to ask and you certainly have the right to say no or ignore them.

I really think it's a matter of perspective. Obviously you must be careful and approach each venture with your eyes open. But you need to be careful not to ignore legitimate opportunities. If you read, for example, how Steven Spielberg got to where he is, you start to understand what I'm saying. Sharing a portion of the wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Spielberg): "... His actual career began when he returned to Universal Studios as an unpaid, seven-day-a-week intern and guest of the editing department (uncredited). ... As an intern and guest of Universal Studios, Spielberg made his first short film for theatrical release, the 26-minute Amblin' (1968),[8] the title of which Spielberg later took as the name of his production company, Amblin Entertainment." He later went on to become a TV director, directing episodes of "Night Gallery", "Marcus Welby" and "Columbo". That experience helped form a basis for his later work with feature films.

Money is not the only thing you should focus on. Building credentials through experience and contacts from working with others in the industry are also critical. Sometimes that's as easily done over a handshake as with a contract, especially for small indie productions.

It's good that you're co-directing. Are you paying your actors? How much are you contributing financial to its production? What do you/they gain? Are you paying the crew? What do they gain? Make sure you make the most of the opportunity by being involved with every facet of production.

 

[Inarius]

Many independent film projects are done on deferment. That doesn't make them bad. If you need a contract, there is nothing stopping you from drafting one up and sharing it. Money is not the most important aspect when you're starting out.

I live in a country where money is like air. Very few people can allow themselves not work for a long period.

If I'm investing my hard earned money into my pet project, I want to hire people who have experience with lighting, sound, and videography. Being 'homemade' doesn't mean the person producing has 'low standards'. Let's switch this around. "Some new unknown screenwriter ridiculously requests that major studios with years of experience making money-making films should work with a novice script as if they don't have award-winning screenwriters to choose from."

Well, that's the same logic. But if you have "high standards" for his home-made movie, you should pay more. You can't expect professionals to work for a low salary on a private home-made feature.

It's good that you're co-directing. Are you paying your actors? How much are you contributing financial to its production? What do you/they gain? Are you paying the crew? What do they gain? Make sure you make the most of the opportunity by being involved with every facet of production.

I'm not paying. In fact, I'm also hired, but for a low salary. I get paid with 1200 ILS for a week of shooting, for 12 hours a day. A factory worker gets 1500 ILS for a week, working the same 12 hours. But what important is that I gain credits, and a certain percent if the film gets sold or something