What do I really to make a film?

M

Marko

Hello all and thanks for reading my question. I am sure that I could search all over the form and find an answer but I will post just the same. I currently have a canon hv30 and a tripod (no pan and tilt I think its for photography.) that is it. What do I really need to start making short films? Thanks in advance to all that respond.

Mark
 
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You need a good story. Story is the backbone of any decent film of any length. If all you have is an HV30 and stationary tripod, you can make a good short film. But only if you have a good story.
 
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Stories are what sell a good short movie. If you don't have a good backstory the movie will fail miserably. I speak from experience.

Don't start out by trying to write a feature-length movie. Target a time of no more than ten minutes, as that's pretty decent to convey a short movie.

I'm currently attempting to write a forty-five minute story, and it's hard to say the least. What helps is to write rough drafts of your story, outline the major points such as where the story takes place and how it ends, and then flesh it out. Don't write dialog until your story makes sense and is written to a point at which you know you could easily turn it into a film. Even then, changes are likely to be made.

Good luck!
 
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Marko said:
What do I really need to start making short films?
Click to expand...
You NEED only a camera and actors.

Oh... and determination, dedication, desire, strength and persistence.
You also need a lot of patience. Searching all over the forums may
take time, but you'll find excellent information - info that you can use
to get started.

All platitudes and not what you want to hear. But really that's all you
need to make a short film. Come up with a simple idea for a story,
grab several friends and spend the week end making the movie. When
you do that you aren't in the "starting" stage, you are in the doing stage.

Make a short every weekened. Too difficult? You have too many other
things to do and so do your friends? Then make one a month.

What else to need to make short films?

A good mic
a better tripod
6 lights with stands
2 china balls
8 extension cords
6 power strips
black wrap and gels
2 bounce boards
a boom with extension cables
gaffers tape
a bunch of C-47’s - also called “bullets” or wood cloths pins
a coffee maker
a slate with marker

These things you can get over a period of time to make your movies
better. That's why I included "patience". You can make short films
without any of those things to start.
 
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:welcome:

Usually it's the other way around. "I have this great story I want to tell. Now how do I get it on film?" Unless I misunderstood. Seems like you bought a camera but have no passion to tell a story?

Or were you referring to equipment, and methods?
 
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Make as many movies as you can! Even it looks like crap. Learn from it and make another one. Learn what lights do to film. Learn how sound can affect the entire feel. Learn as much as you can and make films.
 
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indietalk said:
:welcome:

Usually it's the other way around. "I have this great story I want to tell. Now how do I get it on film?" Unless I misunderstood. Seems like you bought a camera but have no passion to tell a story?

Or were you referring to equipment, and methods?
Click to expand...

I should have made myself clear. I have a short script I have written and many others in my head that I have not written yet. Also I was refering to equipment.
 
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Talking equipment:
I have this theory where the technical quality of a film will generally be proportional to the square root of the money spent on it. So if you want something twice as good technically, you need to spend twice as much on equipment. But to get twice as good again, you need to spend four times as much. This is why good sound equipment costs tens of thousands; pro cameras cost hundreds of thousands.

(As long as your story's there to support it), you can sink all the money you want into equipment/production design/crew experience and your quality will just keep going up and up. So then the question is "where is the most effective way to spend my money?"

Well, it looks like you have a camera. Do you have an editing system? It doesn't need to be complex... could be Final Cut, could be iMovie. Sound and lights are somewhat important, but you'd get much better results with the same equipment if you (or somebody else) had a little experience with boom operating / lighting design (these are things you can learn out of books, BTW). Sound can be a $50 mic mounted on a $5 painter's pole, lighting can be some bulbs and scoops you buy at Home Depot (I built four lights with stands for $20).

Consider your soft & intangible goods. Keep your crew fed. Be nice, pay for parking and gas if you need to.
Production design is important. Keep money around for props and wardrobes if need be.

BUT....

Really it boils down to story. I just said this in another thread, but I'll repeat it here... one of the last film festivals I was at, the movie that won its category was something a woman had filmed with her cameraphone in a day just following her dog around. But it was hilarious and incredibly creative. And it won against some much, much higher production value movies.
 
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directorik said:
What else to need to make short films?

A good mic
a better tripod
6 lights with stands 4 lights with stands
2 china balls
8 extension cords 6 extension cords
6 power strips 3 power strips
black wrap and gels
2 bounce boards
a boom with extension cables
gaffers tape
a bunch of C-47’s - also called “bullets” or wood cloths pins
a coffee maker
a slate with marker

These things you can get over a period of time to make your movies
better. That's why I included "patience". You can make short films
without any of those things to start.
Click to expand...

Great list. Great advice. Items in red I consider a luxury. Text in green are my edits. You'll notice coffee maker isn't in red. :)
 
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1. People (actors + crew)
2. Camera (doesn't matter what type, as long as it records images and preferably sound) and optionally a Tripod/Camera-man
3. Mic (and again, most camera mics are fine for starters)
4. Lights & Stands (2 or 3 will do. You can even just set all your scenes outside in the day if you can't get 'em or find nice indoor lighting) I usually work with only two or three lights.
5. Computer with editing software and Hard Drive space
6. Duct Tape

Things like a slate (can be a piece of paper, or just your face saying the shot and take), gels, booms, bounces and such can all come in later. If you wanna start out and you want the bare minimum, then you gotta start working with what you have in any way you can. I started out making films by putting a camera on a shelf and every shot had someone walking into frame from the side (after pressing record). We edited in camera. Our family got a kick out of it. I only started getting serious once I found PEOPLE... you find the right people and the rest just falls into place.

Remember... If you build it, they will come.....
 
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