35mm Film Out

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i dont expect you to listen to us, why should you really, but filming live events requires a completely different skill set than directing a feature film. There really isnt anything filming 100 live performances would offer you to prepare for a feature length narrative.

So again we're back one 8 min short from high school.

im sure not a single person here would disagree that finishing a couple shorts first is what you have to do.

let us know when we can see the video
 
Hey Punk.

Believe me. You are listenng from more experienced folks then yourself (present poster excluded, maybe, I don't know).

Let me give you a piece of advice. Maybe just tell a story:

I'm trying to shoot my first 35mm short. (I only directed a 16mm and some DV). I'm graduating from film school this year, and that will be my graduation film. WITH school support, and all the extensive discounts that gives me, my budget was around 30K (dollars). With plenty of rewritting and some creative budgeting, I cut it to 5K (School pays lab costs, of course). Maybe I'll be able to make it afterall, but I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up being shot on the HVX.

If I had a feature inside me, I'd do anything to let it out, so I'm not advocatting you should direct more shorts. I for one hand still don't feel confortable doing a feature. I'm just too much a perfectionist to fool myself. Usually my work has to be REALLY good for me to be slightly satisfied, and even then, I tend only to see the faults... (I think that is a good thing, in a way... But I've got to tell you, that makes me a terrible documentary editor. I always cut through whole interviews without mercy... hehe)

Anyway I digress. I talked about my short. The point is: If you have a feature inside you, and is in highschool, don't depend on 800K because, honestly, that's not going to happen (and if you feel that you *NEED* all this money to make it work, can it be that you're trying to impose a limitation on yourself? Maybe it could be asubconcious fear, if you know what I mean...).

If it's a one man show, as you say, go out and shoot it. Rewrite it, make it cheap. Shoot it for 1K, 2K. It can be done. But the most important thing is not 800K, but to let it out. Don't feel like you are wasting a great idea. There's always more where that came from, and besides, a great idea is only great for a limited ammount of time.

Now the practical advice:

The DVX transfers fine for 35. Not great, but fine. If you play a 35mm copy right after it, it looks like garbage. If you play an HDV copy after it, it looks low res, and if you just plays it, it looks fine. Still if you really plan on a feature, best of luck with that, shoot with an HVX. It's a definite better tool for the job, no question about it. If you get a little more money (VERY HARD, but can happen, considering shooting S16, doing a 2K master (for later transfer to film) and an HDCAM SR master for festivals. The problem is that you'll have to pay for the 2K conforming and color correction.

Shoot your film, make an HD tape master, maybe HDCAM SR (you'd have to pay a little for your copy, but much less than a film transfer), and use that to get into some festivals. If you get distribution, you'll get money for your transfer.
 
I would go through my school in second but the downside..... Movie would not be sell able.... simply because.... the school is non profit... meaning If I use the schools equipment, I can't do a thing with it. And the big thing to me is.... I could never shoot on film 35mm nor 16mm...... It just seems like to much extra work then is needed. I Could shoot on the HVX-200 edit using Media Composer and have a finish product I can take to E-Film for transfer (Besides audio). Now-a-days I'm able to sit in a movie theater and tell what is HD and what is FILM..... to me film looks slightly noisier, and duller (faded). HD is just sharp and clear, which I prefer. I'd shoot 24K if it existed and squeeze all of those extra pixels onto a 35mm print. (12 times the pixels in the same place as 1.)
 
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lol, and immidiately Taubkin contrdicts me :D

but he touched on something. He, just as I described, is a perfectionist, and knows that if he directed a feature with his current experience, he would be extremely dissapointed with the result, as I would if I tackled my first feature right now. If I was going to pay a lot of money for a feature I would need to garauntee i would be able to make it meet my expectations.

If this isn't important to you, then by all means...

btw, i'm 20, so not much older than you. So this isn't coming from a 40yo has been (omg I'm going to regret saying that) it's coming from a fellow a/v "wonder kid" who only wants to make the best projects and not make anything he'll be embarassed showing later on
 
i move we pay to send john hudson to fly to NJ, help punk get his 800k and document the whole impending disaster.

I would gladly pay $8.50 to see that movie
 
Cheesesailor77 said:
i move we pay to send john hudson to fly to NJ, help punk get his 800k and document the whole impending disaster.

I would gladly pay $8.50 to see that movie
Click to expand...

I second that.
 
you live in new jersey, take the "800k" spend it at film school.
Check out:
Rutgers (no film major) but a club with class credit, and you can build your own major.
In philly theres
Temple
Drexel
Arts Institute
University of the Arts (where i go currently)
New York:
NYU
Prat
Fit
and probably plenty more.

fine tune your craft, and then be a one man army.
I also live in jersey. If you wanna chat, send me a message.
 
LOL...

Hey Cheese I wasn;t exactly contradicting you. I doubt this guy can make it, just like everybody. It's a tough carrer choice...

BUT I just said, if he wants to do it, just do it. And gave the best advice I could. I entirely agree with your point of view. I'm 24 and I think I'm pretty inexperienced. But if I had a feaure that I believed in, I'd have to find a way to do it...

EDIT - Removed already?

hehe, hey Punk don't let it get to you, everybody here have a similar story to tell (when you show your first masterpiece and discover it sucks...). It doesn't mean you don't have a future in this! If my opinion has any value, I too recommend you go to film school, and never give up. 4 years from now, you'll be looking at this same video and laughing from this too...
 
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epsilonbass, he's already explained he doesn't need any more tuning his craft. He's shot 2 thirds of his schools performances, why would he need to go to film school?
 
Cheesesailor77 said:
epsilonbass, he's already explained he doesn't need any more tuning his craft. He's shot 2 thirds of his schools performances, why would he need to go to film school?
Click to expand...

Well film school is worthless to a guy who is 17 and already trolling internet boards.
 
Okay, when it comes down to it, I didn't really care about making that video, it was a history project, that I didn't want to do. I did a half-ass job, and that's what you get, none of my shots where planned or anything. We went down to the beach and they said their lines and I cut it. Got an 80.... Was it good? Not at all, I know that..... but this was the only video I had to show.... Guess I shouldn't of. And to top it off this two years old..... I would never do a project like this again. I take my time with projects now, planning each and every shot instead of just shooting whatever happens, I treated almost like a live performance. I don't do that anymore. Atleast my video wasn't completely washed out like the kid from school that shoot a feature last year. Everything was blown out, couldn't make out any details in the video.
 
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well the burn bus is fun and all, but i got my flame on earlier. It's easy to become the big fish in the little pond, but that doesnt mean you have to shut him out when he hits the ocean.

The dude has determination, thats obvious, i see way too much money being wasted away at school by kids that pay the tuition and then just sit on their ass.

This kid probably has gained a lot of experience under his belt in the last 2 or 3 years, and maybe this is the only thing he has to show at the moment. But he was brave enough to come here, brave enough to post (albeit already removed) his movie. And i think that if he goes to train at a school, he can easily run circles around all the waste of space classmates.
 
the very fact that you posted that video shows your completely not ready. I have a video or two like that in my back catalouge (although they were still better than that) but I make damn sure they never see the light of day.

I work extremely hard studying and practicing so that I can produce things I'm not embarrassed to show. My first year doing any video stuff sucked because wanted to see what I was working on but i didn't want to show them because it wasn't any good, it was my motivation to get really good at the craft so when someone asked, what do you do, I could finally go well here, and pop in a dvd that would blow them away.

Posting that video shows that either you don't have anything else to show, or you don't think its that bad. Either way your obviously not taking it seriously at all and not worth the 2 cents of most of the ppl here, let alone $800k.

So instead of beating you up over it and insulting you all night, lets leave it at that and you go and produce something decent, JUST decent, and come back and post it and everyone here will go, yeah, this kids knows his stuff and and is motivated.
 
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Hero Fest is coming up. I recommend you take a look at the entries. It will give you an idea of the kind of quality that we've come to expect here. Some entries will be less than stellar by filmmakers doing their first (or an early) project. They're taking the opportunity to advance their dream by making a video and putting it out there for (hopefully) constructive criticism, which they will then use to make their next effort that much better. Others will be stunning.
 
i wish i still had my school class asignment video projects.

half way through we just clipped on a game that included throwing bricks at a fax machine from a 2nd story patio. And ended with my group donning intruments and playing an improvised song.

Take that required reading: the bean trees
 
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