What steps have you taken or work have you done to move towards your goal recently? Let's get to work edition.
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I had a pretty small amount of time over the weekend to shoot due to some scheduling changes. It was the first thing I've ever shot and I'm the only person who knows anything at all about this stuff. I was basically a one man band for camera and sound but I did have another friend there to handle the boom while I handled the camera and our actress did her thing.
In the end we got through a handful of takes but since we only had an hour or so when I cut it together I only had 12 full seconds of video but I'm proud to have done *something* after a year and a half of wanting to but being too afraid to actually try.
Is there anyone London based that needs a hand with anything? I've little experience besides directing and editing a short for a media course I took earlier in the year, but would love to help out where I can and start learning.
anyone in Florida?
I'm located in Florida. South of Tampa. Where are you user?
Check Facebook groups and other local meet up type sites for film things. That's where your most likely going to have your best luck. Though I know a few people that post in these threads operate out of the UK. They might not be willing to make their contact info public on here.
>Where are you user?
orlando.
I kind of wish tampa and orlando where the same city
there would be a valencia college and really good strippers
also good shoot locations
like pink pony
Yeah, I'm looking to move to Tampa in the next 6 months or so. I'm a web developer full time and there's more job opportunities for that but I'll also have access to a much bigger film community which will be nice. Orlando should be lousy with film people, especially actors since a lot of them want to work with Disney.
What kinda stuff do you want to shoot/write?
Are there any good books about writing and directing as opposed to writing and selling spec screenplays?
I have a few books about writing and selling a spec but now I realize I need books for a writer-director
Working on Neo-80's film. Key filming done, just editing it together. Be done in a month.
Pic is main character's outfit. Budget was £400.
>What kinda stuff do you want to shoot/write?
nice dubs. Anything really.
its just that, im pretty socially inept. so I cant get a crew. not that many friends that would help me. so fuck me right.
I honestly believe tampa has a full blown film community.
what do you mean books about writing and directing? are you referring to how a director formats his script in order to film it?
if that's the case there are many ways. personally I use a quick storyboard instructing how each shot will be framed for every scene. I also use the traditional script as a reference of course. A storyboard is useful because sometimes the location itself overwhelms you and you find yourself standing there looking clueless in front of your actos
How can I get the most out of a cheap lighting kit?
>pic related
Tin foil and big pieces of styrofoam painted black.
good for you, mate. getting over the anxiety and jitters of finally getting your career underway is a major step. i'd suggest shooting as much as you can, with talent or without, just yourself and your camera. never know what you may edit into the video/film.
Elaborate for a newfriend?
I'm assuming the foil goes in the reflectors, correct?
Cover the inside of the umbrellas with aluminum foil for better effect. Also consider using some thick transparent plastic (bathroom curtains are good) to diffuse light if it's not enough.
If you don't have reflectors, make some too.
That's an awesome costume user. How was visibility inside of it? Did most of the budget go towards the costume or other stuff? Full feature or a short?
I don't know too much about books on directing. Rebel Without a Crew might be a good option though I haven't actually read it. There's lots of good content on YouTube from various folks though: FilmRiot, IndieMogul, etc. Some of the MasterClasses might also be up your alley.
reflectors help a bunch. indoors they can help generate a glow on the talent. we used one for an outdoor shoot on a sunny Florida day and it helped with the talent's features.
>2016
>using non available light
laughinglubezkis.jpg
>Rebel Without a Crew
great book but really dated. you can film a feature for far less money these days renting lenses and shooting with an iphone. however, i do suggest reading it for a general gist of how to film gonzo style.
i honestly think the best teacher is experience. either try to PA for a production crew - offer your services on the cheap or even gratis - or simply go at it by yourself and learn through your mistakes.
good luck, mate!
how'd you pull this together? what'd you spend the budget on and how did you find people? got a trailer?
Dubs as a reply to my dubs, cool.
You're entirely right. After having shot that first hour I'm so much less afraid. I'm looking forward to getting to finish it this weekend and then maybe move onto some other small ideas.
We're just doing a small gag right now and I think I might do a handful more of those and get them all online for some basic critiques on how I did them.
I'll be sure to do some other shooting that may be b-roll for this one or just for future work or even just pretty landscapes. I don't want to stop working on this stuff again.
Short film and yes a lot of budget went entirely on props to create a low budget 80's film. I'm a student film maker and have confidence issues with film making, so this was my chance to make something fun and not worry too much about cinematography and artistic merit.
Have a still.
to be fair, this guy does make a good point. most lighting techniques are made for film while most indie features these days are made on video. you can easily shoot using available light or natural sources given the prevalence of sensitive lenses on the market. i mean, Tangerine was shot using an iPhone and rented lenses.
Does anybody have any recommendations for cheap lighting fixtures and the types of bulbs to use in them? I've got some scoop/clamp lights and some incandescent bulbs (60 watt) I think, but they don't generate that much light.
Looks good! Are you also doing the animation or do you have somebody from school that knows how to do it?
I get what you mean with confidence issues. I'm and I spent a year and a half getting equipment and never using any of it because I was too nervous. Just gotta keep working and moving past it!
The power armour is made up of individual elements of shit bought off ebay and amazon. Tactical vests, night vision goggles and respirator.
The bad guy is made up of motorbike armour and a morphsuit. Honestly, costume designing is fun and you can make some really good stuff with a mix of different clothing pieces.
Budget was all props.
Actors are all friends and networking helps.
No trailer. Be done in a few weeks. Happy to exchange stories and ideas.
If anybody is in Houston and wants to put sonething together give me a (You), I've got a camera and sound equipment.
All me. Self-taught sfx. Can't recommend videocopilot.net
Please get out and film. I'm always nervous the day before a shoot but I know I have to just go out and do it. Otherwise you wont have a creative outlet.
omg that looks killer, man. tell me more about your film. both production and story wise.
you gotta keep these threads updated too with your progress, that looks so sick.
How do I write from a woman's perspective? And how can have my character use sex as a tactic of manipulation without demonizing sexuality?
Can anyone offer advice on what makes a good pitch? Thinking of entering this:
Write from a man's perspective and then tell everyone that they have a vagina. There's no huge difference between men and women, just write a character with motivations and history.
Forgot the second question: No one will demonize sexuality. They're smart enough to know that it's bribery that's bad, not sex.
This. Same with gay characters. Don't have the first thing they say be: "HI! I'm gay Trevor! Boy I sure do love penis and being gay! I'm gay by the way!"
Be subtle like The Wire. Think Omar. He loved mangina but he had depth to him and character.
What are some good YouTube channels for film stuff?
I know IndyMogul, FilmRiot, FrugalFilmmaker etc.
Curtis Judd is also pretty good for sound stuff specifically and as mentioned above VideoCoPilot for VFX. I might start adding this info to the OP.
Sorry, forgot to remove the quote at the beginning, didn't mean it just for you .
>that guy got 2 (You)s by accident
I'm jealous
Please add Video Copilot. It is a must for adding visual effects to a low budget film. I'm not saying rely on VFX, but they can make a short film interesting.
Here's a 1 minute movie I did with an alien mask and vodka:
I think i'll definitely add them at the very least. We definitely need more resources than what we've got currently.
If anyone has a gear guide or would like to throw some ideas for various budgets I'd like to put together a text file or image for that as well.
making a romance movie about a lesbian couple. I'm trying to recreate a Wong Kar Way atmosphere.
Got actors? Location? Crew? Equipment?
Every Frame a Painting & No Film School
i wrote basically every scene in interiors so I can use actors houses. Equipment is really basic, just some lights, a 7D and one microphone. Zero budget btw, we are poor
How good is your script then? Have you had a second pair of eyes on it?
actually five pair of eyes, generally mixed opinions
What were they?
Good and bad.
I mean books that are written from a standpoint of someone who plans to make the movie as opposed to selling the script on spec.
How far in to shooting are you? Hired actors or just friends?
I'd feel weird asking a couple female friends to be in a lesbian movie for fear of coming off as a bit of a creep.
basically. Would have posted a page but its in Italian and I'm a bad translator. Its basically a brief stream of consciousness of the main character
I'm half done with the shooting. The actress are actually lesbian so it was easier
That'll certainly make it easier/less awkward.
Will add these for the next one definitely.
>I might start adding this info to the OP.
>Will add these for the next one definitely.
I made a whole entire blog for these threads where I repost video essays, and you guys took out of the OP.
I didn't personally take it out of the OP and I'm not sure which site you're talking about? I've only started posting them the past week or so (I've done 2/3 successful ones). What was your site user?
learn how to shape it
neg. fill is always key
>I didn't personally take it out of the OP
I figured you didn't, I'm just being bitter to be bitter. There's not even a lot on it seeing as it's brand new, but people from these threads can submit/suggest videos.
I'll check this out when I get home in about 15 minutes and look at adding it to my OP copy pasta. Good material and curated stuff is always good to have. I'd like to really get these threads working well and try and get a sustainable encouraging film making group going here.
Me too, user, me too.
Any good free editing programs?
Everything is free when you torrent it :^)
either don't worry about it and write a "straight gay" character who literally just acts like a straight guy until you see him with his buttboy, like with Omar, or study up on some gay cadences and speech patterns to convey a gay way of speaking.
Anyone in Vancouver? I'm moving to next spring, and looking to self-produce a couple of my own and a few others' shorts. Nothing too high budget, probably four or five with a budget of 2-3k each.
I'd like to get a (very) small production company started, and I've got a moderate-sized loan set up if I succeed to that point.
Nice, you using those WKW style angles for all your shots?
I use equipment from my liberal arts school thru a film club, also most of the crew comes from there. i barely know shit about camera work and i'm pretty novice as an editor, haven't touched final cut in years, but i'm finding i can direct scenes pretty well.
Participated in a 48 hour film project last weekend, was pretty fun desu. I was the writer and codirector, but only directed a couple scenes since I didnt want that responsibility in this project in the first place.
Genre we got was either buddy or romance, so we did both and made a story about two best friends so close they act kinda gay around each other. Middle of the story, supporting character reveals he's gay and so the next few times they party together or hang out, the protagonist gets uncomfortable. There comes a point the protsg runs out and avoids him, but he feels miserable. Missing him, the protag goes back to his best friend and tries to kiss him. When his best friend reveals he's not gay for him, the protag feels stupid and figures he's not gay like he thought he was. The gay best friend tells him thats gay. Pic is me on the left talking to the protag.
Point is, even though I could have done better in writing (only had a few hours to come up with an idea), something quality can even be done in 2 days or even one. This whole 8 minute piece of shit was shot in a day and it came out really good.
>DUDE IM GAY LMAO
sounds kinda fun. Pretty sure there's a degrassi episode like this
I'm in central tampa, what film communities?
Also, forgot to add, the guy that was supposed to play the gay character arrived drunk as fuck, so we had to fire him on the spot and replace him with another actor, thus cutting out a character and changing the gay dude's personality. Tbh though it worked out for the best since the gay reveal was a little more surprising considering the actor looked and acted alpha and straight as fuck.
To answer your question without piracy, DaVinci Resolve has more than enough editing features for a beginner and an amazing color correction system for free so I would recommend taking a look at that.
Does anyone know a good way to find actors? Thats always the biggest struggle considering actors are typically the reason your movie fucks up, no matter how technically good it is, or how well written.
Thanks user.
If you're in the UK there's star now.
starnow.co.uk
There's probably an American equivalent.
Backstage
Can anyone recommend good lights under, say, $250?
A kit would be preferable
it depends, what are you looking for exactly? there are lights for different occasions
Just took a look at the site user (had to do some dishes to get dinner ready before I could sit down). It looks good! I'll add it to my OP copy pasta. A nice curated list of potential subjects to talk about will be a welcome edition.
Looking for 3 point lighting for mostly indoor shooting environments, but outdoor capabilities if possible
That's a fun little twist at the end user. Will we get to see your short?
LED, softbox or tungsten?
Take advantage of that equipment as much as you can user. It took me a long time to get together my very basic set of kit. Now, you don't need a bunch of gear to make something, but it certainly makes it easier when you've got a mic and a decent enough camera.
What would you think is most versatile?
Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe Full Sail has a campus in Tampa and with that you've got a strong community of potential filmmakers/graphic artists/sound/editors that you could meet.
Hopefully soon. My team finished editing on Sunday, but not sure why they havent uploaded it. Maybe it's being saved until after the 48 hour judges judge it, or theyre just cleaning up the editing.
use available/natural light
Most indie low budget filmmakers go towards scoop or clamp lights or work lights (pic related) with the highest watt incandescent/halogen bulbs that they can and use diffusers/reflectors along with gels to change the light they're getting. This is probably the cheapest way to start doing lights but there are of course other options. These would only set you back 30-50 bucks for a few of each.
I would go with LED panels, but both are good really. Besides with the budget you have you can buy pretty much anything for a good start.
Thanks, I'll try to add some more videos today.
Anyone tried submitting to Amazon?
I try, but sometimes it just comes out similar because i'm not using a tripod
protip if you use a completely folded up tripod and hold it with the camera on the end as like a staff, it sort of stabilized the handheld-style movement, helps get rid of the jitters. Obviously i can't tell if you have that problem from the stills, but without certain camera models/settings it can be sort of an issue.
Who /licensedmusic/ here? It will stop my shorts from selling or qualifying for festivals, but often i find the use of licensed music is part of my vision and won't hurt the film in terms of how it looks in my portfolio.
Did your actresses both happen to have very similar hairstyles or are they irl in a relationship? I feel like the similar appearance of the characters opens up some possibilities for scenes/shots.
>Anyone tried submitting to Amazon?
last thread someone talked about this
aparently is not exactly a good idea.
something like u loss all rights to that universe story
the screenplay kind of becomes public or something. didnt seem too good desu
oh and pay was about garbage.
but they would always answer you within a 45 day period. so it is kind of better for someone like oh idk. Dalton trumbo.
It shouldn't stop you from sending to festivals. It's not like they ask you to give them a chain of rights or anything like that.
bottom left is a good frame.
there's nothing that reveals amateurism more than using the sort of lights you're using in bottom right.
Did you shoot it all dutch angle?
What's the deal with their hair?
Just started working on a short series I'm trying to get produced while I take a semester off college
Anyone have any experience with proposals?
I was just wondering how it would generally work in terms of assigning crew members and since I have no technical experience, if theyd still let me hang around and control the shoots
Ideally, I'd find a competent director and then have him show me the ropes and go from there for future productions where I could take over
Oh shit, thanks. It's too bad you can't submit to Netflix at all.
i need to shoot a scene in hospital.
should i go as straight as possible with the people there or i need some kind of ace to convince the people in the hospital ?