What to Do

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Currently I am writing a movie that I feel could do rather well at festivals. There is one major problem though.
Finding money from other people as a Freshman is rather hard. Most people assume you'll throw it away on something useless. No matter how well spoken you are they jump to conclusions because of your age.

(this is to people of all ages)
How do you go about getting money for your film?

- RR
 
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As a freshman you have three choices that I can think of ...
1) make movies with your friends that do not require a budget in the hopes that you can demonstrate enough skill and discipline that someone will trust you with their money.

2) get money from friends and relatives who are willing to risk their money because they like you and want to support you (unless you've got a rich uncle, this probably won't get you too far)

3) find someone (a production company, etc.) who is making movies and sign on to crew with them; for free, if necessary. You still won't have money, but when you're older and you can get funding for your movie idea, you'll have the experience to make good use of your budget. Also, if the people you are working with like you and your idea, maybe they will help you produce it.

Have you read anything about what Clive has been saying about writer/directors? If you really have a good story, work on that script for a year or two until is is really polished, get it copyrighted and ship it around. Making a low budget movie can still cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you can sell your script, you can get some money and prestige without raising a million dollars and trying to do it all yourself.

If you want to make practice movies while you're working on your really big idea, go back to option #1 above. Get an inexpensive camera and work with a group of your friends to develop some original movie shorts that will help you get experience that will be invaluable if you ever tackle that big project on your own.

sorry for rambling; there is no limit to what you can do, but you must walk before your run (I know, I probably sound like your dad :) )

Doug
 
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I really would recommend that you find someone you can crew for. There is so much to learn in the movie business, you can't even imagine how much you will benefit from working on a real production. I don't want to sound like a pessimist, but if you jump in with both feet, before you even know what you don't know, you'll blow it, and it will be even harder to get people to trust you the 2nd time.

Think long term. A few years of experience before you dive in head first could make the difference between success and failure, and failure could mean 40 years in a job you don't enjoy! :) Now, back to sounding like your dad (I'm 43 years old), we all start on the ground floor, digging ditches and pouring concrete that we will build on for the rest of our lives. Don't try to bypass the foundation building step, because you will regret it (unless you get hit by a train before your 18th birthday, but that is another matter).
 
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One problem I have come across at all ages is filmmakers who want
money but don’t know exactly - to the penny - how much they need.
Most people assume you will throw the money away on something
useless because you approach them unprepared.

You have your work cut out for you if you don’t have any finished
movies to show. A filmmaker who is kind of planning on doing some
shorts comes across as a filmmaker who isn’t serious. Even though
you are - it looks as if you aren’t. And impressions are very
important when asking people for money.

In this case you are asking people to invest because they believe
in you and want to help - not for financial return. You have to
make this very personal. Don’t make promises about getting into
festivals - though do you research and tell them about the
festivals you plan to enter and how much that’s going to cost.
Don’t try to dazzle them with how much money your movie is going
to make unless you can back it up with facts. Example: how many
short films similar to yours have turned a profit.

You are going to need to sell yourself as as an up and coming,
dedicated movie maker. And one way to do that is to have several
good, finished short films to show. Show what you can do with no
money and friends and family are more open to helping you out.


So have a plan. When you approach people give them your “business
plan”.
1) The format it’s being shot on
2) The line item budget.
3) What your plans are with the finished movie.
4) A short bio of the people involved.
5) The amount of days you will need to shoot and edit.
6) A copy of the script.
 
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I think I wasn't specific enough. I ment I was a freshman in High School not a Freshman in College. In the area I live in there aren't a lot of films that take place. (the Pittsburgh Area) and not having a license yet doesn't help not being able to travel to the city.

I guess I might have been a little to ambitous to jump into festivals so I think I'm going to start with short films instead as I work on the current films script. I wasn't really planning on entering one for another 2 - 4 years anyway.

Thanks for all of the feedback,
RR
 
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... and there is no reason you shouldn't approach your projects and plans seriously. Just because our society has assigned adulthood to 18 years does not mean you are not a fully functional, fully capable individual with all the intelligence and potential of any person (adult or otherwise). Experience is a great thing, and the way you get experience is by doing. There is no better time to start than now, and just because people say "no" when you ask, is no reason to stop asking, or stop looking at different ways of approaching the problem and getting the money, equipment, and/or crew that you need.

Probably the best advice I could give you, based on my mistakes when I was your age, is to really focus on respecting and validating your peers. Make them feel like a valued part of your production and they will give you everything they've got. I suppose it's hard for people to believe, but when I was a teenager I was more arrogant, and rougher around the edges than I am now! Yes, I've mellowed with age and discovered that beating up the people trying to collaborate with you does not make them more productive or more willing to help! ;) I suppose it seems obvious, but when you have a vision, sometimes you don't recognize the valuable contributions being made by others, and it is imperative that you not only recognize them, but let people know that you appreciate them.

Thats it. That's all the advice I've got. Any technical problem can be overcome; even with limited resources, but the people who share your ambition are invaluable and irreplaceable.

Doug
 
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A lot of good advice in this thread.

Making films for small festivals is a great way for a newbie to find their feet. Firstly, because it gives you a reason to make stuff... and also a chance to test your product on a panel and hopefully an audience.

One thing you could do to help you in this goal is to find out how to make your movie, even when you don't have the money to make it...:blush:... and therefore I'm going to blushingly suggest you check out my online magazine 1000dollarfilm... because that's all about micro-budget film making. (Oh, I just threw up a page today called "microbudget 101" you should definitely read that.

The other thing I'd suggest is you find a way to surround yourself with production people with more experience, access to more kit and more knowledge than you have. You can do part of that online, but actually networking with local filmmakers in the real world will accelerate your learning process.

Doug's right... respect and get the most from people who've already walked this path.

If you've got the right attitude and some talent for story telling, then who knows... maybe that festival film is closer and more obtainable than you think.
 
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