$10,000.00 Feature Film : Lay out the rules

[Searcher]

Awesome thread.

I like the idea of a feature film competition on here (i'm assuming DVXUser has never had a feature film comp?):

2012 DVXUser Under 10k FeatureFest

Of course it wouldn't really be about "winning" the comp. Anyone who manages to make a "good" film would be a winner.

[Zak Forsman]

I think a producer is overkill for a $10k film. A good produced is absolutely a benefit, but not in this case.

Director/DP/Grip
Sound
Makeup
Perhaps a PA.

I'm at the tail end of making a feature-length crime thriller right now. Raised the budget on kickstarter. http://kck.st/qB45dd And while it is more than $10k, we have stretched our dollar to allow for a 35 day shooting schedule. I think the roles we have in place would scale pretty well. Currently these are what each person on the six person crew is doing.

1. Director, Writer, Cinematographer, Camera Op, Make-Up, Special Effects, VFX Supervisor, Asst Editor, Casting
2. Producer, Locations, Scheduling, Props, Call Sheets, Contracts, Transpo
3. First AD, Transpo, Call Sheets, Scheduling, Slate
4. Gaffer, Grip, Asst Camera, Steadicam Op
5. Asst Camera, Grip, Transpo, Catering/Crafty, Props, Second Boom Op
6. Editor, Location Sound Mixer, Boom Op, Wardrobe

[Kholi]

I think documentary work should not be allowed. Seems far more possible to do than a fictional narrative, and poor video is more forgivable in a documentary.

OldCorpse: Anything can be projected in a theater including YouTube videos (see it at our local Alamo Drafthouse all the time), so I don't think that's a valid goal.

I will come back to address some posts and update the first, watching something right now, but I had to stop and comment on this. Hands down, I am with Gary here. For a while now I think we've all gotten this backward: just about anything looks awesome on a big screen. And I do mean anything. I've seen some horrible shorts projected onto large screens and somehow, through whatever hurricane magic is occurring, they DO look much better than they ever would on a computer screen.

A large screen will ultimately level the playing field now. This day and age, if I were shooting a web series, I'd rather shoot Epic 5K over anything else, because at least I know it'll always look good in anyone's web browser/video viewer. You cannot say the same for Canon Footage, etc.

Today, I spent some time playing with the GH2 Hack Footage that I shot, and an Epic @ 2K + S16mm Zoom... spat out of a 2K projector in a color suite.

You really have no idea how far these tools have come until you get into a situation like that. To be able to sit there and see this walk-about footage with the GH2 + Hack look as good as 2K Epic footage when projected blew my freakin' mind. You couldn't have told me two years ago that this kinda firepower would fit into my hoodie pocket.

And this was with both etc mode on and off.

However, I will add Old Corpse's note to the list, it is fair.

[David G. Smith]

I'm at the tail end of making a feature-length crime thriller right now. Raised the budget on kickstarter. http://kck.st/qB45dd And while it is more than $10k, we have stretched our dollar to allow for a 35 day shooting schedule. I think the roles we have in place would scale pretty well. Currently these are what each person on the six person crew is doing.

1. Director, Writer, Cinematographer, Camera Op, Make-Up, Special Effects, VFX Supervisor, Asst Editor, Casting
2. Producer, Locations, Scheduling, Props, Call Sheets, Contracts, Transpo
3. First AD, Transpo, Call Sheets, Scheduling, Slate
4. Gaffer, Grip, Asst Camera, Steadicam Op
5. Asst Camera, Grip, Transpo, Catering/Crafty, Props, Second Boom Op
6. Editor, Location Sound Mixer, Boom Op, Wardrobe

With a situation like that Zak, exactly how is the financial participation of the project spread out over those six folks? Are you using a combination of points, deferred pay and straight pay and, if you do not mind, how is that spread out? Also, if you don't mind, those that are getting straight pay, what kind of ball park money are we talking? Are you handling that as salary, hourly wages, flat fees or something else?

I also noted that art department chores are handled as their components, make-up, props, locations and wardrobe, but who was responsible for over all production design, the Director?

You said that you thought that your approach, "...Would scale pretty well". What aspects of your production do you think would need to be "Scaled" down to meet a $10,000 budget? I would guess that shooting days would most definitely be one of those elements. What kind of shooting schedule do you think, scaling from your project, would be realistic?

Thanks.

[creative media]

lofty goal friends. im in post on a feature that was shot this summer. starting budget was around your mark, but it in the end it'll be about double that. Now our goal wasn't to stay within a certain budget, just to get it done. But starting out $10,000 was the projected budget. It was just me and the director, I was cinematographer/camera opp/gaffer, and worked with no assistants. No producers, no Ad's just whoever the director could talk into helping out for the day. The only paid crew was a MUA used two or three times for SFX shots. I'm working for deffered. We ran out of money about three quarters the way through a twenty-day shoot. So my point is look really hard and extra close at your projections, and then pad yourself for the unknown and the unexpected, otherwise you may run dry before you finish despite all your best intentions. there are always more costs than you think, and when peddling your film you always need more money. I'm not saying either that we didn't make mistakes and couldve done better, we certainly could have sterched thing further if that was the goal. As it turned out for us we were able to get more investors without intuurupting production, but we were lucky.
Anyways, I think its do-able, but completeley depends on a number of variables(locations,props,sets,SFX,ect). Also how much you have planned as far as festivals and marketing will make a big difference.
I think to really pull it off well you'd have to be able to pull together the right group of people who can bring the right things to the table and work well together. To pull it off would kinda be like the PERFECT STORM. you'd need all those magic ingredients to come together in just the right way.

[dop16mm]

The Class of '92 or so, El Mariachi, Clerks, Slacker, The Brothers McMullen.... Would all be sub 10k now, because all of the budget when to film and lab. The Problem now is that the cost of entry is so low that there are so many big steaming piles of crap that never should have been made, festival programmers are overwhelmed, and the few genuine talents can get lost in the shuffle. Everyone just takes things more seriously when you shoot film. I've shot 1-1 on film and got useable takes, with digital you can roll forever and still not capture the magic. I'm not saying go back to shooting film, because there are so much better ways to put money on the screen, but I think even volunteer actors were more serious when they knew you had some serious cash on the line.

Now what if we flipped the argument, that you wouldn't be allowed to call it a feature unless you spent at least 10k on it with tangible receipts, and 6 months of food and rent for yourself doesn't count.

[Kegan]

So, rules done? This thing a go? Don't want to see this thread die out now!

Kegan

[Gary Huff]

Since Kholi started this thread, I think he should make the ultimate post with the rules listed before we consider it a go. Like re-edit the OP and have the words "FINAL RULES" or something to that effect with the implementation of all the suggestions that has been agreed upon so far.

[Chris Adler]

It's established that the output from this exercise is nothing but a learning experience, correct?

[Kholi]

It's established that the output from this exercise is nothing but a learning experience, correct?

The output's whatever it ends up at. Whatever kind of distro, whatever kind of learning experience. Success will be judged by how far it moves.

I'm gonna update the top of the list, still churning this.

My recent question was this: does it matter what gear you use? If it's already in your reach or it's donated, does that take away from it? Or does the gear only become factored in if you have to pay anything for it?