The Odds of Using a Hotel Room

[Ladon]

Here's my situation:

I've written a good first draft for a political noir I would like to shoot in January. But for the second draft I would like to know what my set will be like so I can write specific pieces and chop out what won't work.

Now, the film is around 10 minutes long and set entirely in the Presidential Suite of a hotel room. I need a good sized room to use a dolly and shoot as wide as I would like. There is a hotel in the city that is styled in Deco and has a number of different rooms that would fit what I need, but my budget doesn't allow for $900 a day for the location.

I see four options:

A) Raise the money somehow, or find a smaller hotel room and shoot guerilla style with a small crew.

B) Build my own set exactly as I need it, and spend my budget on the resources and space required to build it and the set dressings.

C) Get my producer to approach the hotel to see if I can shoot in one of those large and well styled rooms when they are vacant.

D) Rewrite the script to shoot in a location that is free, like an alleyway or a carpark (I've been kicked out of those but I can handle that.) Or hope I can find someone who lives in a home that is styled appropriately and is available to shoot in.

I am hesitant to build a set, as the cost of building it and hiring the appropriate people would not be possible to equal out during distribution.

Opinions?

If I had the money, I would rent the hotel room for three days in a row and just shoot it without permission. But... money is the crusher of big dreams!

Opinions?

I've done my camera tests and processing tests, and provided I light appropriately and move the camera appropriately, my footage can look identical to an un-remastered television noir from the era. It excites me, but I need the set to match or it's all for nothing!

-Ladon

 

[Cracker Funk]

You forgot option E) All of the above.

It doesn't hurt to ask. But the hotel will probably shoot you down. So, ask another hotel. And another. I work at a hotel. And they told me "no".

And, consider those rewrites. I predict that's where you'll end up.

But that doesn't mean you shouldn't explore the feasibility of constructing a set. Nor should you rule out re-imaging the scene in a much smaller room, shooting guerilla.

Rule-out no options, until they rule themselves out.

 

[NickClapper]

I agree with Cracker it never hurts to ask.

I would recommend going to see them in person rather than just dashing off an email. Try and get a meeting with the manager and just be polite and humble. I cannot overplay the importance of coming across as a good bloke in relation to getting favours. It's remarkable what people will give you for free if they thing you're a decent person.

If that doesn't work I would consider trying to use another location as a presidential suite. You can always shoot interiors in someone's living room and then take different shots from someone's balcony to make it look like a penthouse.

 

[Papertwinproductions]

It's been said, explore the route of trying to acquire the suite until your feet churn smoke. If and when, depending on the answer, you simply re-write, or trick it in a different location.

Although, I'm hoping you'll get the suite. You'll be surprised at what being polite and professional has got alot of the folk here at IT.

 

[Ernest Worthing]

Im not a big fan of green screen but if none of the other options work:

Use a large living room. If you know someone who has one, this will give you more days and time and luxury.

Light it appropriately for daylight or night depending on the scenes.

Decorate it with the right type of furniture. For eg, if you need a huge table and cant afford it, get creative, use different materials like boxes, just a cheap wooden frame covered with a cloth etc.

Green screen one end of living room to show a the 100th floor balcony outside. Green screen all the other windows and doors to complete the illusion of a hotel room.

Shoot.

 

[Cracker Funk]

Im not a big fan of green screen but if none of the other options work:

Use a large living room. If you know someone who has one, this will give you more days and time and luxury.

Light it appropriately for daylight or night depending on the scenes.

Decorate it with the right type of furniture. For eg, if you need a huge table and cant afford it, get creative, use different materials like boxes, just a cheap wooden frame covered with a cloth etc.

Green screen one end of living room to show a the 100th floor balcony outside. Green screen all the other windows and doors to complete the illusion of a hotel room.

Shoot.

That's a darned-good idea. Set decoration would be crucial, in selling it.

 

[directorik]

But... money is the crusher of big dreams!

Even if you mean the lack of money is the crusher of big
dreams that's a destructive feeling to have.

Every single one of us posting here have a serious lack of
money. And most of us do not allow that to crush our
dreams. You have six very viable options. As you now see
there is a seventh - try all six at the same time.

1 - Start raising the money you need to shoot in the
location you want. Get on it right away. But together an
exact budget and approach friends and family.

2 - Look for a smaller hotel room that you can afford for the
shoot dates and shoot guerilla style with a small crew.

3 - Put together a budget to build a set. You may be able to
get exactly what you need for the money you have.

4 - While you are doing that have producer approach the
hotel to see if they will make a deal with you. The odds go
WAY up if you ask. Be prepared, be flexible, be professional.

5 - Look for that home where you can shoot. Ask friends,
family and coworkers. Ask them to ask their friends, family
and coworkers

6 - In the meantime rewrite the script to use a location you
have available to you. If none of the other five options happen
you can still make your movie.

Not having a lot of money is not a dream crusher. It forces you
to get creative and work even harder. If you feel, even for a
moment that money is the crusher of big dreams you may begin
to actually believe that to be true.

 

[PaulGriffith]

If you find a mom and pop Hotel it'll probably be easier too. When stuff is corporate owned, a lot of times you end up talking to someone in a different city and they have a lot more strict policies in place about everything, including filming.

I tried a few places local and that was the response I got. We just worked it so that the character lived in the city in an apt, the hotel wasn't crucial.

 

[IndieBudget]

A thought, find a small, upscale hotel and offer to do a commercial in exchange for use of a room... might work !!

and Guerilla style worx for me.. Ive done some shoots B4 that way, but cannot have a crowd going in and out.



.

 

[wheatgrinder]

you might check with an upscale real estate agent or property manger. A model home that sitting unused because of the downturn in the market.. a few hundred bucks cash to the right agent.. might get you what you need..

 

[knightly]

I'm completely set on option C... it's the producers job to produce the desired locations. I say this from the standpoint of being that guy on many of my sets. Tons of phone time and lots of handshakes and smiles will get you a great location given enough time.

Keep in mind, you're not asking for this set for free, you're exchanging advertising for it in the way of credits at the end of the film to audiences (know the numbers and the venues before you shoot - have a plan) to a targeted and captive audience... and/or a shot of their sign/storefront in the film. Get advertising numbers in your area from newspapers and tv stations to bring to the prospective places.

 

[Ladon]

Wow. Alright, first off, thanks for the feedback guys!

Brain spasm 1: I'm shooting noir. I have key lights on the SET as well as the actors, so I barely need anything for walls past a piece of cardboard.

Brain Spasm 2: I work at a television station. I don't work in the studio, but I know we have a very large studio space with an excellent lighting rig that I might be able to negotiate my way into to build a simple set and shoot this.

Brain Spasm 3: The style I've written for an intend to be shooting is the televised noir dramas of the '60s, which were all shot on soundstages with very minimal set design or set to speak of.

But in the end, no money was mis-spent, and everyone knows the simple act of spelling out a problem to someone else often leads the mind to solutions.

So I've just sketched out two sets. One was the ultimate hotel room that I could never afford. The other was the very key elements I needed, and how I could light them to require nothing else. I'm pretty stoked to try and budget out this set right now, especially as it only requires one and a half walls!

Cheers folks, I'll be sticking around to share how it turns out from here, and probably to seek advise on my next hiccup. I haven't done a production in quite some time... A bit rusty.

-Ladon

 

[polfilmblog]

I like thinking about the options.

"C) Get my producer to approach the hotel to see if I can shoot in one of those large and well styled rooms when they are vacant."

Of course you want to include the name of the hotel as a product placement and get a shot of the lobby too if they want to promote their hotel in the film.

The green screen could work if you get high res stills of the hotel rooms.

I believe hotwire.com has good deals on hotels when they have extra vacancies. The price drops big time.