Shooting Feature $100k budget (need help)

[sotty]

Third, there is no way in hell that I would recommend purchasing a pair of camera's with a $100k total budget. Why buy a pair of cameras, hang adapters in front of them when you could rent a great camera and great glass and get a MUCH better film for the same amount of money. This makes no sense to me at all.

Appreciate all this good info and advice. The list I attached is what I own already and not part of the budget. I realize I could have rented a better camera than the HVX but as I said this is what I have already. Plus I will trust the HVX/M2 to do what I need for "most" of the film.

 

[sotty]

Are you setting aside promotional $$$? If you want to get your movie out there, you will need to set aside money for that.

I own an Internet marketing company, that plus around $20k allowed for promotional.

 

[khmuse]

I missed that detail, but I still would recommend going for a high end camera for a film with a $100k budget. Don't get me wrong, I really like the HVX, but not when there are resources for a better camera.

In the end, get a great DP and listen to their recommendations.

Best of luck on your feature!

 

[Boomerang]

Are you going MAC or PC.

If you can grab on an older powerbook for P2 downloading to external drives...... and back up to a second external each download! P2 store will not be enough space. plus you cannot check out the footage as you go. It can be helpful if you do any on the fly shooting.

 

[craigbowman]

Still can't figure out how Rodriquez did it for that money. My hat goes off to him.

He shot it in Mexico. $7K in Mexico goes a tad further than in the U.S.

 

[Ralph Oshiro]

Right on with the choice of Steadicam Flyer. I bought one last year for my DVX100, and now, I use it with my new, 15lb. Sony DSR450 full-sized camera (used with a full-sized Anton Bauer 14.4 ProPack brick powering both the sled and the camera). Either configuration really ROCKS! Also, I might ad that I think there are HUGE pluses to owning, versus, renting the camera. You can pick up stock and beauty shots whenever they occur. You can "re-shoot" anytime. I shot a much-needed cut-away while editing my HorrorFest entry, right in my editing room, just hours before the deadline.

 

[rachell001]

Hey Sooty,
I would be interested in helping in any way I can, I studied and worked as actor, writer, director on 100's feature film sets in Los Angeles. We should talk. I just moved to Sarasota and intend to shoot my film in and around Fl region.

 

[Nik Manning]

Okay maybe I overlooked this but how long will the shoot be? Also I would recommend setting up a professional color correction session and audio mixing session.

Audio is key! I am sure the HVX200's will be great if you shoot it 1080p. Best of luck.

 

[Dore.Dormir]

Going it alone

Going it alone

First off congratulations on taking on the art of film making. The budget could really save you.

I would ask a few questions first. What have you shot in the past? Are you ready as a director to go for a feature? If this is money coming out of your own pocket do you intend to make the money back?

If you do intend to recover your cost the first person that you should speak to is the producer. They can help you figure out what your business cycle for the film is going to be.

Is the script already written? How long is it? Is it set in modern day?

Like many people here have suggested after you get a producer your next best friend is your DP. That person will be with you for the rest of the pre production and production (hopefully some post as well). This is the core team. I wouldn't jump the gun with that much money on the line.

I highly recommend that you don't try and do everything on your own. In the end this can really hurt the film. I have noticed, with few exceptions, that lone gunners tend to make one dimensional film projects. Get other people involved and the rest of these questions will begin to be answered by knowledgeable people.

Lastly I also would say that $100K is the perfect amount for an independent film. It's low enough to not put you in serious debt and high enough to get the picture made.

I'm in California as well so I couldn't work on the project but it sounds exciting and I wish to here more specifics without giving anything secret away.

Regards,
Dore Dormir

P.S. If you get a chance check out the Project Green Light dvd series. It's a great way to see some of the pitfalls that can hurt a low budget film.

 

[GaryinCalifornia]

Still can't figure out how Rodriquez did it for that money. My hat goes off to him.

Yes he shot the first film for that much. But the studio bought the rights to remake it. Then somehow the first film took off and everyone started talking about it so the studio put over $1m into the final film.

A friend said she saw the first film because her cousin was an editor at the studio at the time. Said it was good or really what it did was say hey give this kid some money and then lets see what he can do.

 

[GaryinCalifornia]

It can be done for the $140,000 I belive you said.

How many weeks shooting.

The biggest thing is do prep work, do it again and again and again. Because the closer you get to shooting or if you're shooting you won't have time to get something cheaper.

I still get an actor that will sell the film. Who knows see if Wes Studi will do a cameo. He isn't that big a draw. But he's a somewhat named actor.

 

[escozooz]

Good luck on your project!

Some humble thoughts/recommendations:

- If you have already bought the HVX/M2 thats great. Its a nice camera. But if you can I would recommend the Cine-Alta w/ a nice Cinema Zoom or if the rental house is nice enough a Zeiss Digizoom.

Even the older F900 has a much clearer picture than the HVX. It is better for low light situations and HDCAM is a great codec to finish on. Go the rental house and look at the difference between F900 and HVX on a 26" HD monitor.

- For a low budget film casting is 90% of the job. Camera, lights, sound, location, production design, editing, etc. need to be good too but if your actors are less than "good" than it will all have been for nothing. I can forgive a cheap set or sloppy lighting without distubring the film but bad acting is an immediate turn off.

- Definitely try to find a producer/casting director who will be interested in helping your project and who hopefully can get your script to some good SAG actors.

Good luck and keep a post/journal going so we can see the progress.

Cheers,

:beer: Matt

 

[sotty]

Okay maybe I overlooked this but how long will the shoot be? Also I would recommend setting up a professional color correction session and audio mixing session.

Audio is key! I am sure the HVX200's will be great if you shoot it 1080p. Best of luck.

I'm hoping to complete the shooting of the horror flick in 3 weeks.

 

[sotty]

First off congratulations on taking on the art of film making. The budget could really save you.

I would ask a few questions first. What have you shot in the past? Are you ready as a director to go for a feature? If this is money coming out of your own pocket do you intend to make the money back?

Shot some music videos, nothing special. I'd say I'm ready. My motto is when you have everything prepared to shoot, just do it. This is my money, not at all worried about getting it back. I am a business person first, so if the project goes well, of course I will do everything in my power to get it "known", so to speak.

If you do intend to recover your cost the first person that you should speak to is the producer. They can help you figure out what your business cycle for the film is going to be.

I am the producer.

Is the script already written? How long is it? Is it set in modern day?

Two scripts, one modern the other is not.
Half written, with many bullets and impact scenes. 90-120 minutes.

Like many people here have suggested after you get a producer your next best friend is your DP. That person will be with you for the rest of the pre production and production (hopefully some post as well). This is the core team. I wouldn't jump the gun with that much money on the line.

I do have a DP.

I highly recommend that you don't try and do everything on your own. In the end this can really hurt the film. I have noticed, with few exceptions, that lone gunners tend to make one dimensional film projects. Get other people involved and the rest of these questions will begin to be answered by knowledgeable people.

I am looking to have 4-5 key people on the shot.
Expert in sound, DP, lighting, just to start.

Lastly I also would say that $100K is the perfect amount for an independent film. It's low enough to not put you in serious debt and high enough to get the picture made.

$100k is the max. Like i said I am a business person, though I had a very long musical career.

I'm in California as well so I couldn't work on the project but it sounds exciting and I wish to here more specifics without giving anything secret away.
Regards,
Dore Dormir

P.S. If you get a chance check out the Project Green Light dvd series. It's a great way to see some of the pitfalls that can hurt a low budget film.

Will do, thanks for the advice.

 

[sotty]

Good luck on your project!

Some humble thoughts/recommendations:

- If you have already bought the HVX/M2 thats great. Its a nice camera. But if you can I would recommend the Cine-Alta w/ a nice Cinema Zoom or if the rental house is nice enough a Zeiss Digizoom.

Even the older F900 has a much clearer picture than the HVX. It is better for low light situations and HDCAM is a great codec to finish on. Go the rental house and look at the difference between F900 and HVX on a 26" HD monitor.

- For a low budget film casting is 90% of the job. Camera, lights, sound, location, production design, editing, etc. need to be good too but if your actors are less than "good" than it will all have been for nothing. I can forgive a cheap set or sloppy lighting without distubring the film but bad acting is an immediate turn off.

- Definitely try to find a producer/casting director who will be interested in helping your project and who hopefully can get your script to some good SAG actors.

Good luck and keep a post/journal going so we can see the progress.

Cheers,

:beer: Matt

We are shooting the thriller movie first. And yes I did seek other cameras.
But I am relying more on lighting, DP, sound and camera angles to produce results with the hvx/m2/nikon setup. I believe this will be sufficient, and if we find that after a days shoot its not, then we will absolutely consider a better camera. Fas as acting, 100% correct. This film (on p2) will never commence until we have the actors. No way, its everything, as you say. I was a stage actor for a few years so I can judge talent. People will tolerate bad acting for a few minutes, bad sound for a few more and a bad script for 10 minutes.

I am having some trouble finding a good casting director here in Sarasota, FL.

 

[sotty]

It can be done for the $140,000 I belive you said.

How many weeks shooting.

The biggest thing is do prep work, do it again and again and again. Because the closer you get to shooting or if you're shooting you won't have time to get something cheaper.

I still get an actor that will sell the film. Who knows see if Wes Studi will do a cameo. He isn't that big a draw. But he's a somewhat named actor.

3 to 4 weeks shooting.

Wes Studi has a good image for the second feature, fo sure. I will probably
do a last minute call and throw out $20k for an hours work to a name actor.

 

[GaryinCalifornia]

As per talent see in any local colleges have acting programs. Plus if you post you need actors they'll come out of the wood work.

I'd spend as much time as I said early prepping the film etc. Also how far you from Miami.

You can pm also which I'm sure you've gotten a lot request so far if you have any questions.

 

[GaryinCalifornia]

3 to 4 weeks shooting.

Wes Studi has a good image for the second feature, fo sure. I will probably
do a last minute call and throw out $20k for an hours work to a name actor.

Not saying for sure. But I think you could get Wes Studi for $5,000 for a day's work.

 

[ernesto]

Also, I understand you're making two features. I would prioritize one of them, you don't want to have two half-finished features. It just doesn't seem like a good idea to tackle two features at the same time with no previous experience on filming features.

Make one, learn from your mistakes, then make the second.

 

[sotty]

Not saying for sure. But I think you could get Wes Studi for $5,000 for a day's work.

$5k a day? Sounds awful cheap. I'd jump all over that, he would be a good fit.