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Post your favorite films.
This sucks
I have a dissertation to write, but all I can think about is finishing my short film, which I can't even do for 3 weeks
Happy together (no homo)
I love messing around with magic bullet looks, but I lately use LUTs I find on the internet and customize them a bit myself.
Lawrence of Arabia, M, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Seven Samurai, Taxi Driver, The Hidden Fortress, Le Samourai, Rififi, Pickpocket
...
Cosmopolis, anything by Leone
>I have a dissertation to write, but all I can think about is finishing my short film
Me too
#FML
I'm working on a horror screenplay at the moment. I want to put a lot of heart into it and try to make it more of a tension builder rather than you're runofthemill horror shlock.
Would anyone be interested in reading through the first few pages? Just want to get an opinion on the tone etc...
All my works are copyrighted out my ass so i'm not really too worried about any of you grubbers stealing from me.
Still trying to hunt down a producer, got 2 more in mind, waiting for replies. Also did a rough timing of the film and it's around 8-9 minutes. With editing, I hope to knock that down to 6-7 including credits.
Can anyone recommend decent film festivals that cater to artsy-fartsy indie shorts? I need to draft up a marketing and distribution strategy for foreign festivals.
I'd also really appreciate it if anyone can recommend me some filming techniques that enhance feelings of loneliness and loss, and that invoke a closer emotional bond with the characters depicted.
Sure user, give it a post.
What sort of non-writing prep do you guys generally do for screenplays? Research, location scouting, etc.
>location scouting
This isn't really something you need to do if your intention is not directing, you don't need to know exactly where each scene will play out.
Research is obviously the first thing you should do, but don't just dump historical information in your script, no matter how accurate. Only write things that need to be highlighted in the movie itself.
That's fair enough. I have directed my own screenplay, so I do tend to think about these things.
I would like to write a screenplay that could be directed by someone else though.
OP you're a filmmaker? I'd love to see some of your work. I'm trying to be a screenwriter and have been looking for a director to adapt a script I've written.
I'm not, I have no previous work. I'm just doing up a proposal to get funding from a government scheme to create my short film. In the same boat as you bruh.
How do you get funding without a portfolio of previous independent work? I'm at the very end of post with my first short, but I never even thought about getting any sort of art council help.
Where are you from, by the way?
I haven't really written anything outside of things that I know a fair bit about but I do enjoy reading/watching broadly. Whether it's theater, science, politics, comedy, drama, general pop culture stuff etc. because I find the more I learn the more it opens up my stories. I wouldn't be able to write my current short if I didn't have a general interest in technology for example because I wouldn't have known that some of these things even existed.
If you're working on a period piece or on something that's outside of your realm of expertise I imagine a lot of research and personal immersion goes into it. Mike Judge spends lots of time in Silicon Valley with his team so that they can be authentic in the TV show Silicon Valley.
If your work is geographically specific I imagine looking around town would also be necessary so you can accurately describe the look and feel in relation to your plot.
Depending on where you live the local (or in cases of small countries, just government) government provides grants or stipends. You'll have to look things like that up and how to apply. Where I live in Florida for example there's www.filminflorida.com which has grant opportunities listed.
I'm from Malta. The government has several tiers of grants it can give, but the proposal is extremely tough. You don't need previous experience, as its actually aimed at GETTING experience. The trick is that you need a crew, and those can be of various skill levels (you have to give showreels and previous work for most). They also give you a mentor to help everything run smoothly and liason properly between the producer and the government. It's meant to promote you and the country abroad and teach you skills, but the proposal to get funding approved is pretty fucking intensive and technical.
So while I haven't wirtten or directed shit before, I would have crewmembers who are graduated media students or an assistant director who worked on feature films. It's all one big melting pot of skill and experience where everybody grows together.
The later part of your post is probably more relevant to me. I tend to write low concept character studies, and most of my thinking revolves around locations that cater to the drama I want to pull out of the characters.
My references tend to be literary/musical/artistic/philosophical rather than historical/topical/scientific/political
Pretty art wanky, I know.
What is it you're working on now, might I see it?
I remember you from a couple threads ago. How's the application process going for you? Still working through it?
I see. Thanks.
So how do you convince all this graduates to join you on your project? It's a gamble for them right? Do you have a degree of some kind yourself, or are you more of a charismatic artist who can rally their passion?
And what position is it that you would like to take?
Sorry for all the questions. Good luck with whatever it is.
Yeah man, the work continues. Got a bunch of solo stuff done and written but the guy I thought who would be a great producer doesn't feel comfortable doing it. He will help with editing and as a consultant/assistant director though. Another prospective producer who would be awesome is busy till june 2017 and I'm trying to contact this other guy with plenty of contacts and experience, but he's an officeguy. Not much artistic knowhow, he's the paperwork type so not much room for us two to "bond" so to speak.
If that's a no-go, my last chance is a media student I've worked with who has her own company with her friends. We don't have the best of relationships but hopefully she'd be able to look the other way for a serious project. She's identify with it though, since she's a bit of a hipster, gobbles up artsy indie shit.
Acted out the short to get a rough idea of how long it'd take and it's about 8-9 minutes. With editing I want to knock it down to 6-7 to get it nice and concise.
I'm shitting myself at the prospect of not finding a producer though. It all hinges on that honestly. I'd have to wait till next summer to try again otherwise..
Nothing wrong with artsy stuff. I read every night before bed and things like that are terrific for getting the mind thinking. Research will probably be a big thing for you then. If you can talk to someone from those periods (only really works for relatively recent events I suppose) then that would be great. If not then diaries, memoirs or biographies (which I love) are the next best thing to getting a feeling for the people and the time frame.
I'd post it but it's all note cards right now. It's about the real life consequences (funny and otherwise) of our digital actions and interactions. I've posted a few things about it in a few of these threads before to generally positive responses so I'm optimistic for how it might turn out.
Well, you convince them because it's essentially being paid to practice their craft and add something to their portfolios. Plus the shipping of the films to foreign festivals is the end goal, as its to promote the country and your work, so its the dream of anyone in the industry to be attached to to something that will be seen by many worldwide.
It's not so much a gamble because the proposal includes contracts for crew so they get paid for their time and work, so either way you will get your money's worth.
I don't have any degrees, I'm just an idiot with a strong desire to tell a story about something I went through personally. It's not so much charisma, I think.
Good on you for getting through it despite a couple obstacles. I'll keep my fingers crossed that you can get one of those two on your side at least on paper so that you can get your application in. An office guy might be nice to help with all that paperwork hah.
It's a shame that it all hinges on being able to get all of these very busy people lined up to work on it at the same time and that missing even one can knock you out.
That's a good time frame, it's pretty easy for festivals to schedule in shorts of that length so you'll have a much better chance of getting into those as well. That's just about the timeframe I'm aiming for with my shorts. Though I'm working on more skit based ideas right now just for practice that a friend or two and I can knock out in a few hours.
New Strawpoll
Cool. Maybe you'd enjoy Herzog's new doc: Lo and Behold. Personally, I was a little underwhelmed, but seeing as the subject matter ties into what you're writing it could be of interest to you.
I've been reading about the Jacques Rivette, and he used to spend several months with an actor/actress before even beginning to write his screenplay. He wanted to write based on the actor, rather than have the actor fill in a role he purely imagined.
That's interesting. Everyone I got to work on my short other than the DP(a friend from college with a fresh film studies degree and a decent camera) was an unpaid volunteer we found online. We did some casting, so we did meet with people in order to decide whether or not to work with them. But yeah, unpaid. I'm going to look into being funded though.
So you'll be directing your project if it comes to fruition?
Thanks a lot mate, I really appreciate it. It's those kinds of word and support that keep us sane, heh. This shit ain't easy!
I do agree but if it was a crewmember like lighting or sound, that's not as difficult to find as a producer I think, at least here. There's the art college where you can learn all of those things and plenty of equipment to find, but a producer is more abstract. he's the paperwork guy, he's the hype man and the backbone all in one. You can't really teach that, at least not here.
That's good. I thought of doing such and was actually working on a short script to do that, but the special round of funding opened up so I dove right into that.
Anyway, got any ideas for the questions I asked in ? I'd be real thankful.
That does look interesting. I can't watch the trailer right now because I foolishly left my headphones at home but I'll give it a listen and maybe a rent when I get home. The subject matter at least sounds right up my alley. I'm slightly nervous that I'll watch it and it will irreversibly alter the way I was going to do my short so I might finish that first as 'purely' as I can.
That sounds like a pretty painful way to have to make a film though I respect his resolve to do it that way. I think actors are able to transform themselves into a role a bit more than he would give them credit for. Trying to mold a character to an actor instead of finding an actor who could fit the mold of the character seems like you're limiting yourself in terms of delivery.
I can't imagine finding an actor who would have behaved in a way to create Hannibal Lecter for example.
yeah I know how it goes. I'd be iffy asking people to help out of their own pockets but I'm the kinda guy who believes everyone needs compensation for their work (which is why I don't support local television programmes because they don't believe in paying actors, they should "do it for the art" which is dogshit). But if the crew member requires experience and wants to work on a project they believe in, unpaid is a necessary evil oftentimes. It's a stepping stone to hopefully larger things.
Yes I will, Writer/Director. Which is why I really need a producer as he'll also take up a lot of work off me for this application so I can focus on studying for that.
cosmopolis is incredible, absolutely my favorite from Cronenberg
Are we supposed to know what these are dumbass
I understand. Maybe best to leave it for when you're done.
Well, I think for Rivette it was more about finding the inner realities of the person (who just happens to be an actor) and bringing them to light. It's a very low concept approach. For instance, he can get a sense of the person's natural speech patterns, and, once he has an ear for it, write with the individuality of that person's voice. The issue with writing characters is that most people write stereotypes and cliches whether they know it or not. His approach is one way of avoiding that. I agree though that it's laborious. Just what he felt compelled to do I guess.
I'm also really interested in using non-actors. It's sometimes employed as another approach to the same issue Rivette was tackling. Kiarostami did it. Lynne Ramsay is also famous for it. But it completely warps the way a screenwriter can work.
My stupid is that you shouldn't really hire 'actors'. You want 'performers', that are like force of their own. Like Orson Welles or Monica Vitti.
Makes for better watching
Right. Myself and the DP paid for travel fare and food for all the working days. But yeah, in reality its an experience thing for most of them. It wasn't ideal because it was hard to find people who suited the project. But it was my first venture so I was testing the waters really. Took a lot of it as it came.
"actors" deliver dialogue and action.
"performers" suck dick for money
my stupid opinion*
Woody Allen is my guy, tbhfam.
his films are creepy
i'm sorry but that dude just weirds me out fucking his daughter and making kids like fuck
No problem at all. We've gotta keep these threads constructive and positive. Making movies is such a personal thing and putting yourself out there and getting crushed (deservedly or not) really destroys that creative mood. I could learn to do that better in real life when my friends pitch me terrible ideas hah.
Agreed though, a producer is a whole different animal. I've yet to meet anyone who I think could fit in the role if I were to need it. I can't imagine how helpful a person like Ira Glass was to Mike Birbiglia when he was making his movies.
With regards to Sadly I don't know too much about film festivals other than the major ones (SXSW, Cannes, Tribeca, Sundance etc.) but some of those could definitely be included in your plans though the submission fees will probably be higher.
In terms of filming techniques I'm definitely still an amateur but you can emphasize loneliness with wide shots (even a bit of distortion from a particularly wide lens can emphasize a sense of weirdness and otherness) lighting scenes in ways that highlight the main character but show darkness around them or placing the character in public but decidedly outside the sphere of community (pic related).
The canonical example for making a character relatable though is to have them 'save the cat'. Do something objectively nice and kind whether anybody else sees it or not. You could also do this by getting the audience to empathize with universal thoughts of loneliness through voice over etc.
It might be easier to make suggestions if I knew a bit more about the story which might give hints towards ways to use camera movement and framing to show the characters as alone. If you've got to keep it under wraps for now (or if it's not finished though) then that's no problem.
I can certainly appreciate that approach, I hope I didn't come off as denigrating it. You can see that same kind of thing in a looser way with what the Duplass brothers do with mumblecore and letting most of the conversations develop in an improvised way leaving in uhs, ums and other verbal tics.
That kind of stuff works very well for stories about relatively 'normal' characters but if you're writing something outside the normal bounds (Sorkin or Fincher-esque) then you need a different class of actor that can really change themselves into these people.
Neither approach is wrong of course. I really enjoy both.
Forgot to attach the picture! Something like this scene from the end of TSN as well really hits home in terms of loneliness for me:
youtube.com
TSN is one of my favorite movies of all time.
No worries! You're not coming across as denigrating anything, and even if you were it's just taste, so, whatever.
My advice would be think about using carefully composed static shots as a means to paint the loneliness of your character.
Also, lingering creates tension, and that tension is interpreted in terms of the emotion given off by the character/situation in shot.
Not so sure if that's helpful at all, but those are my immediate thoughts.
That's wonderful advice. Thank you! I don't know much about directing or techniques, that's why I'm willing to learn more so i can do my own film justice. I'm writing that stuff down and deleting my older post though, just in case. If you come up with anything else, it sowuld be grand.
Also that clip is pretty nice. The silence in the scene and the expression on the guy's face make you feel what he's feeling.
I honestly couldn't say much in either direction as to their legitimacy, I certainly hope for arts sake that that's not the case though. I would love to eventually get a short or even a feature into one of them (though that's a distant dream).
I love one location shorts. It's always interesting to see how many different ways you can work in the same spot.
It'll obviously depend on the story that you're shooting but if there's no dialogue and only one location then it's all gonna come down to her acting, your lighting and camera movement. Now, to be fair, that's a lot to work with but I imagine it will still be hard to keep people's attention.
Dramatic lighting and framing I think will probably be your best bet to keep people's eye balls focused. You can use the lighting to represent her memories and the camera to represent her loneliness.
You can start with decently well lit areas and wide shots and as she forgets things, lights go out or they dim down and the camera starts to get closer and closer. The lights will go out and hide the things that she doesn't remember and the camera can start to get uncomfortably close until the ending scenes are all relatively tight close ups and depending on how you're ending the story you can even then do a wide closing shot with just the light from the outside of a window coming in like pic related.
If it was my short that's probably the direction that I would start in but it'll depend on how/where you're taking the story of course.
Thank you so much! this is fantastic. I'm writing all this down and you gave me even more ideas, even for a small script edit. Of course I can't reveal anything story-wise but I'm hoping this will help me do a much better job. I'll have experienced help too, of course.
Ehm.
So another thing I regularly see in amateur shorts that feels off is over using close-ups to try and portray emotion. Close-ups are powerful tools, but they have to be used with restraint and artistic calculation in order to be effective and distinct. The sequence of shots justifies the close-up, so when you do a close-up, you need to be thinking of it in terms of the editing around it.
This might seem off topic, but the lonely character(not to disparage them in any way) is an often approached gateway film making character. I sort of did it myself actually. The issue is that director's tend to fall in love with either the character or the actor, and as such the project can become a little exhibitionistic or narcissistic, sort of leaning on the pathos of the actor's face, etc.
While having an actor with a face/physique that articulates the character well is great, it cannot become a compensation for careful direction. Close-ups should be earned.
No one wants to steal your script you little fag.
I'm soon shooting a short documentary about someone who is traveling (film school project), anyone want to give some advice?
Unnecessary user. It's not a matter of stealing it, it might need to be kept offline until his application process is done as a requirement. Even if it's not there's no need to be a dick. This is a constructive thread.
Travelling how? And to where?
Not disparaging in any way, what you say make great sense. Besides, I'm an amateur and I will make amateur mistakes, part of the territory. Having someone with more experience (even just 1 production is more experience..) there to say "Listen, this might not work as well as you think". It grounds you, I believe.
pls no bully
I'm happy to be of any help that I can. I love talking about cinematography. Best of luck with edits and hopefully before too long shooting!
Definitely pay heed to though because you'll need to carefully work up to those tight close ups.
The real hero is always a hero by mistake; he dreams of being an honest coward like everyone else.
UMBERTO ECO
Thank you very much. Indeed, I really hope I get this opportunity If I can't find this producer though, I'll have to wait till next summer.
>Have written 8 short story scripts (10-20 pages)
>None will probably ever be filmed because I don't really know anyone who's interested in film let alone filmmaking
Find a facebook group for local independent filmmaking.
dont know, come and see, sinekdoke new york, dont know, the master, anthichrist, shining, bellville, 8 1/2
if only i had stuff like these in my parts of the woods...
Thanks, top left is Network.
I want to know what left middle is.
Well, where do you live?
Thus guy gets it
How ambitious a project is it? Having a producer is not always necessary. It depends on how large the cast and crew has to be. If it's your passion project and it's not too complicated, there's no reason you can't do the producer work yourself.
I'm a pretty decent editor and want to write and direct films. How would you guys suggest I go about trying to get a foot in the door? I live in Philly and I think it's a pretty active film city./
see:
You can put together a reel and try and get a job as an editor and start meeting film folk that way. Then you'll probably need to start making your own shorts etc. to get started or start as a PA and slowly move your way up the ranks.
The Duplass brothers started as editors and saved up money while working to make their films.
Greece
I don't have eternal favorites, to be honest. Like, there are films that I like a lot due to their style and techniques, yet I'm well aware that they're not very good. I use those as occasional learning touchpoints.
As well, there are extremely good films (whether they're beloved by critics or not) which I also wouldn't consider favorites because it would take a great deal of effort to fully explore why I find them so good. In a word, less teachable than the ones above, but more enjoyable wholly.
And there's everything in between.
IMO, it's better to ask, "Lately, what films have made you think about filmmaking differently?"
To that, I'd say The Man Who Knew Too Much (the 50s remake), which made me rethink my notion that unnecessary international films are automatically bad (and of course, all the usual things in a Hitchcock film: crafting suspense and audience interest, how important should characters be, setpieces, etc.).
It's not that ambitious in terms of production values. It's actually incredibly minimalist, wrote it that way for several reasons.
I agree with you, but to be eligible for funding, a producer that isn't you is mandatory otherwise its an auto-rejection. Writer/Director is doable since it's understandable that a starting writer would want to direct his own stuff but trying to juggle more than that won't be taken seriously. It's like in The Room where half the crew list is TOMMY WISEAU, you know?
Move somewhere more central. I know Greece is a shitshow at the moment, but there are probably still people trying to make independent films.
Ah yes. Sorry, I forgot you planned on applying for funding.
What is even expected of you as far as contributing as an editor though? Like how do you get the files and transfer them back to the prods/director?
That's alright mate. Honestly, it's a pain in the arse but it's in my best interests. They can take all this technical stuff off my hands so I can focus on the directing aspect. Extra important seeing as i have no prior experience.
I guess. Being able to focus is good, but its also great to learn as much of the business as possible. It all ties together eventually. Anyway, good luck with it.
Oh yeah, that doesn't mean I won't be working with the propducer every step of the way but I won't have to spend countless days trying to organize the small bits like drafting contracts, getting the crew to play ball together and all that nitty gritty stuff.
Thanks a lot. I'll get to doing some edits and then get to doing up a treatment.
They send you the files (either through download or flash drives) you edit the movie or short together using your talents as an editor and then send it back the same way they sent it to you. Look at some job postings for editors and watch this: youtube.com
Also one last thing! Fucking storyboard. Do a shitty one for yourself. Do it! It's like pre-directing. It's the easiest way to maintain an air of being in control, which is half of a director's job really.
So much of a director's job is just having an opinion on how something should be done. The less times you equivocate or hesitate, the more competent you'll appear, and the more competent your cast and crew will feel and act.
It's difficult to explain exactly, but a storyboard gives is a great help in achieving this.
Ugh
Someone pitch me a logline for a short film in the vein of childhood of a leader
...I'll give you credit
Is it mandatory I do it myself? I have no artistic skill whatsoever. I do have a great artist buddy who is willing to do it for me eventually if it looks to be happening.
Well no, but have it well before shooting. Storyboard don't have to be pretty either. It's just about knowing your shots visually prior to shooting. The only problem with delegating all the work is that less and less of the project is realised prior to shooting. It depends on how much control of the project you want to have. I would say you should have a (provisional) storyboard made up very soon after the completion of your script.
Then I'll just have to get to that, then! thank you! This is gonna look fucking horrendous as I can barely draw stickfigures properly, but I can just take stills with my phonecamera instead I guess. That way it's easier to communicate what I want to show my artist buddy so he can draw things better.
The seeds of darkness are sown early in the innocence of childhood.
I dunno brah. How cheesy do you want it to be?
I dunno, I wanted basic inspiration for the story direction of a short that had a similar feel because I loved it so now I want to copy it
I'm being ridiculously vague though cause I don't really know. Thanks anyway
bump
An user recently used the app Prisma with his phone camera in the locations he wanted to shoot and then applied the Heisenberg filter which worked awesomely for making it look like sketches. I found the Curly Hair filter worked better though. I found the filtered pictures worked a lot better than just a normal image. I'll take a picture out my balcony and show before and after pictures.
Good progress on my script. It's a 94 page script about a group of troubled delinquents, inspired by some of the works of Larry Clark, except without sex.
Once I finish it up and have it nice and tidy, I need to make friends to give feedback on it. After that I can move onto something else. For right now I'm just trying think of shit I can realistically film independently, in my city.
I heard of the Prisma filter, some are using it to take photos of their warhammer 40k miniatures over on /tg/. It didn't click that I could use it for this purpose, that's real good to know, looking forward to them.
Sorry for the wait.
pg 2
pg 3
Holy shit, I just gave it a try and took a random photo of my room. I have a shitty Lenovo with a 1 or 2 megapixel camera so anything that isn't light up like midday outside looks grainy as fuck and this app makes it look like a masterpiece.
Daddy's gonna have some fun with this one.
So I was gonna take it out my balcony but the screen material is causing an awful moire effect and ruining the look. This is just of my desk, it's not a great example but it'll show the basics for the anons that aren't familiar with it. It works much better when you're actually out on location/taking wider shots.
pg 4
Also, there's a bunch more options for filters beyond these two. I just think they're the best for getting that storyboard look.
Post it!
This shit is fucking beautiful. You could take a storyboard with this easily, eliminating the need for an artist alltogether.
You could film a visual novel-style short even! How about that idea? Something like the Harbingers or Warlords stuff Blizzard pumped out.