Script to Short Film--Process?

H

HowTheyDoThat

Hi,


Suppose you have a script completed and X amount of money. (say around 5k)

How would you put together the film considering these factors...

You're not attending film school. you're not in the film industry (i.e. no contacts)

.........

How might you find/hire a producer?

A cinematographer.

Cast actors?

You have a schedule (number of days, locales) but it's basic.


Thoughts/Ideas

Film School Grads (I knew a few back in the day and they were always looking for things to work on. How would you approach them, if you would)....

You are in the NYC area (outside of NYC) but in the range of the city.


Suppose you have the script, and want to direct it. You are looking to hire--D.P, Producer, Actors, and what else at a minimum?

How might one find a good producer. Assuming they can handle much of the logistics of the process.

Mandy for technical?
Backstage for actors?
Craiglist seems bad?(yes/no?)
 
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You say east coast, that's a lot of territory. From what I can tell, The Atlanta area, Carolinas, and of course New England (mainly NYC) you can find lots of productions. Before you embark on your own project you might want to connect locally and volunteer on others projects. That will start getting you contacts and experience which will help you in your own production.
 
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My best answer to you would be to sit on the 5k for later.

What you want to do first of all is get yourself a smart phone with a decent camera or borrow someone's digicam which is able to take video.
If you can get hold of an actual videocamera for free, then that's ideal, but beggars cannot be choosers.

Now that you have a means to capture video, shoot a day out with your mates or whatever and then edit it together with whatever free or trial software you can get your hands on - this will help you to develop yourself as a director.

Once you've done this a few times, stage a scene or something with the same crappy equipment and by the end of it, you'll know whether you're cut out for the role or not.

Seriously, to write something and then try to film it without absolutely no experience whatsoever is going to bite you HARD on the arse... and we don't want that.


As for progression: don't worry about what you're shooting on, only that you're shooting; the main thing is defining yourself as a director in your own mind. Once you believe you have the "vision" and skillset to pull it off, maybe consider withdrawing that 5 grand from the bank.

Best of luck on your excellent adventure.
 
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VivaChiba had some very good advice as he's absolutely right. Start small.
Some other tips:
-Don't expect your first few things to be perfect, they aren't gonna be. And no one ever does get to making a "perfect" film anyways.
-The more prep you put into it, the easier it will be to make, thus it will be a better film.
-Know your story more than anyone else.
-Have some energy on set, get people inspired, and they'll be inspired to create a great film with you.
-Ultimately, relax and have fun! ?
 
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Damn, I forgot to mention your all-important first point. I'm glad you brought it up... Wow, the amount of failures, let-downs and disappointments I've had down the years...

One final tip - when you actually get around to shooting a proper scene - would be: storyboard.
I can't stress it enough! Stickmen are good enough for Speilberg, so you've no excuses if you can't draw! Just visit the location, block it all in your mind and sketch out 10-second pictures with written details of what you want in the shot (should you be lucky enough to have someone who knows about lenses get involved).

Storyboarding saves time on a shoot and massive headaches whilst editing (though that important master shot - a take of the entire scene from the primary angle - will help you out if you've someone good at editing in your corner).
 
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thanks for the responses.

Northeast as in NYC area.

--- the 5k was a max number I had in mind as for budget.


Not that I had to spend that much. The money was so I could pay people rather than rely on getting people to work on it as a favor. I don't imagine it being a long shoot(2-3 days) and I would have no problem paying actors/crew for their work. Have yet to look into rates though.

the script would be short/tailored to limited locale.

I'm mainly looking for ideas on how to produce at this point.


--I'm not looking to work as a DP/shoot it myself.

I have a digital camera, but would want to hire a DP and use a higher end digital one. Someone with experience in films/shorts/commercials.


---I wouldn't want to use amateurs as actors.

Non-experienced actors (theater, film school , local productions) are fine, but not someone who is doing it for as a one off thing as a favor because they know me.



---I don't want to go the way of doing p.a. stuff for film shoots for connections(for a variety of reasons). I would rather just hire the people necessary for the production.




I'm envisioning a:

small crew: DP, Audio, lighting,???
cast: 2 actors


How about hiring a line producer for this?



If you were to have:

1- The script finalized.
2- Storyboards done up (in some fashion)
3. Location scouted.

How would you begin putting the thing together?

Thanks again everyone!
 
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