"Trinity River" - Feature Film shot on HVX200

Congrats on the 10k, good luck with the rest. It would be cool to hear your stories on how you persuade and even get these investors.
 
wew hew! Looking forward to work on this film Norm. And.. of course watching it's progress along the way. :)

*edit, I can't speel nothing right*

/j
 
Okay, I've been behind the 8-ball lately with other stuff, and need to get back on TRINITY RIVER this coming next two weeks, as I still want to hold firm to my deadline of 1/31/07 to have the funds.

Just finished a BTS video for WHERE SILENCE FALLS (our dramafest entry for DVXuser), which also mentioned TRINITY RIVER ... I may show it to investors if it'll help give them a tangible sense about the film, etc.: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showpost.php?p=752616&postcount=2
 
Hey Norm,

I know how difficult it can be to balance out the needs of multiple projects simultaneously. Let me know if you need any assistance at any level for your investor presentation. Perhaps a mention of potentially attached talent (including their materials) along with a bit of market analysis?

In the meetings that I have sat in on, momentum seems to be the biggest motivator to spur action by most. It seems that contagious enthusiasm for a project is what gets things going.
 
Norm, sorry I haven't seen this thread until now.

Congrats and good luck!

You really seem to have a firm grasp on all of the legal mumble-jumble. I may have to turn to you and Kevin (khmuse) when I get in that ballpark!

Congrats on the first 10k. I hope the rest falls in place soon.

I don't think that I can be of much help but it there is ANYTHING that I can do, please ask. No compensation required!

Best of luck to you. I'll be watching this thread now.

-Ted
 
Ted, you've got to be the most polite guy I've ever come across ... apologizing for not seeing a thread until now. Obviously, you're totally cool, and thanks for checking in.

Thank you also, Kevin, for the offer to help (as well as you Ted & others) ... right now, the money burden really lies on my shoulders, and it's just a matter of finding the time to fit everything in ... MUCH of which could be solved by just not peeking in on DVXuser so much, lol.

I'll be making quite a few follow up calls today with the investors & hope to have updates soon.
 
Polite? Oh, man... was I doing that again? I'm sorry... I mean.... I'm NOT sorry! I meant to say, "F'n A man. Thanks a freak'n lot for not telling me that you started a new thread! Nice man. Real nice!"
 
Thanks for asking, Shawn .... this Miami trip has totally derailed me from my self-imposed deadline, not to mention the short film, WHERE SILENCE FALLS.

Aside from that, I also found out on this trip that I'll have to be coming back here either the 3rd or last week of March, which means it would cut right into the scheduled production of TRINITY RIVER anyway. So, since I'll have to push the production of the film back to April now (already spoke with Michael Jones, should work out), it also gives me some breathing room on the investors as well, though I'll be able to finally follow up with them in the way I intended this coming Monday.
 
Well now that DramaFest is in the can and we're a week into February...do you think you can raise the funding in the next three weeks to film in April? If that doesn't work what is the next window in Michael's schedule? Dang, you just need to find that eccentric millionaire who likes you!
 
Oh geez, I thought I had already responded to that post a long time ago. Oops!

Well, the official is that we're holding off until July to film. However, I've got to keep a balance with this current short film (BERLIN) so that it doesn't completely take up the time I need to get the investors off the fence (still have nearly 10 that haven't said either way yet - though I've not pushed for quite some time because the schedule got pushed out).

We rescheduled for a multitude of reasons, the largest one being my current travel to/from Miami so frequently. My last trip there will be the 2nd week of April. Aside from that, exterior shots will be better during that time period as well (not having trees in bloom, etc. to reflect Spring vs. Summer/Fall), and as far as extras go for the large church scene, it'll be easier to have kids in the middle of the week when we're also not competing for school time.

Lastly, it was getting close enough already at the time, that it really would have been RUSHING things just to make a movie, which is not what I want to do for my first feature.

There were about 2-3 other valid reasons as well, but those are the first & foremost that come to mind.
 
Norm -

Your project is extremely well organized and it is clear you have a strong vision both artistically and financially. However, I have a few ideas you may wish to consider:

1.) Consider shooting in New Mexico. Any and all projects, no matter how small the budget, qualify for a 25% REBATE, that is issued by the state within 90 days of turning in your paperwork to the film office in Santa Fe. This would allow you to raise less money and wait for the rebate check to complete post or it would allow you to do a bigger budget movie. I recently relocated from Seattle to Albuquerque and I've worked on 3 projects that have used this rebate (including my own short movie.) I've been stunned by how easy it is to work with the State Film Office.

2.) I'd be willing to consider working a deal with you for the use of Prodigi Rentals equipment. I don't know how much gear you have or if you were planning on renting a professional grip & lighting package, but Prodigi Rentals caters to independent motion picture makers. Prodigi Rentals has the lowest prices in the country. Here is a link to the site:

http://www.prodigirentals.com

3.) Are you casting in Los Angeles or New York? You should consider this. I did this for my last project and it cost less than $1,000.00. I ran the session on my own without a casting agent. We had 2,500 actors audition for 3 roles. All were willing to work for free (although I chose to pay them $100.00 a day.) Since your project is only 125K you'll qualify for the SAG low budget feature film agreement. I'd be willing to explain additional details about this process privately.

You can read up on some additional details that may be of use by clicking on the link below, which outlines my experiences on my latest short movie, also shot on an HVX200:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=91046

4.) If you're looking or actors, I can recommend two, Michael Scovotti and Ross Marquand. They possess what I call the "Holy Trinity" of castability...solid craft, interesting faces that the camera loves (without looking like the pseudo-models on any given WB-style show) and extraordinary professionalism. These guys just care about delivering a great performance. I'll give you their contact information if you are interested.
 
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..completely agreed. all too often i think people try to hide or shine behind the sort of equipment used on a project.. all the while the audience ..and most other people in general, couldnt care less. films shot on a PD150 have gone far beyond wher alot of 35mm ones have. anyway.. best of luck to you on this film Norm. hope it all goes well with investments and production, and beyond :)
 
I'm hoping that TR is next. Of the projects I want to do, it'll be the lowest budget achievable, but still be able to do well.

Kind of embarrassing that this thread's been around so long, and no pre-production has began, but such is life.

BERLIN is coming along quite well. In many ways, it's exceeded my expectations, but of course in others (because most of us are our own worst critiques) there are areas I wish could have been done differently, etc. That said, it's something I'm most proud of so far, and can't wait to finish up the last details, get it on DVD with all the BTS (proving to be more involving than I'd hoped), and then get it out to fests! It'll hopefully be the key to getting funding for TR as well.
 
Oh you're right, this thread is a year old. Eh, such is life. I am behind on pretty much every single thing I need to/want to do in filmmaking. The important thing is to just make progress and not give up. I know too many filmmakers who can make crappy films sequentially with no noticeable improvement from film to film. Thankfully, you are not among them :-).
 
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