HVX200 feature sold to lionsgate!

Hey nice to hear someone else with a kids making their dreams come true.
You truly have to eat, sleep and desire what inspires you.
Thanks for the inspiration.

T
 
This is the kind of news that keeps a lot of us going. This is an extremely tough business to even get your foot in the door. Huge kudos to you and your team. Never give up on your dreams guys and girls.

Just a side note, people sometimes ask me if all the low pay and long hours will pay off? I say maybe, maybe not, but when my days are done I hope I go out doing what I love to do, have my eye to a camera thats telling a story.
 
That's awesome... So freaking cool.

The trailer looks great. I can't help but think that working in a morgue would have somehow contributed to some really cool ideas. ; )
 
Thanks guys! the madness of it all is how simple I thought it would be... Looking back on it I just have to laugh at how silly I was when I started the project.

On my latest feature I've actually been more realistic about what needs to be done and how much time it will take. I'm in post now and am in no rush to finish the film as I now know that delivering a solid product is the only thing that matters.

Keep working is what I keep telling myself, I want to be able to shoot movies for a living!

P.S. Some more big news might be on the horizion for this project! I'll let yall know as soon as I do!
 
Kudos as all have said. I remember seeing some of this when you showed it a while back and loved it then.. and it's only fitting that you got the baby sold. I too have learned personally and through a friend about the deliverables and I take care of that while the process is going along but there's always something that gets overlooked.


I knew it would happen when one of the dvxuser minions get their flick picked up and congrats on that again. Is it going to have a limited theatical release or straight to video and will there be a premiere? CHEERS and drink a couple for all of us here when you show the bugger!
 
With the pal requirements and all, What setting did you shoot in, or should you shoot in? (1080i 24 pa etc.)
 
Shot stock HVX 1080i 24pa. Converted all footage to true 1920x1080 at shooters post in Philly and then used the HDCAM master to make all dups. The hard part of it is, see, if your going to pay for a pan and scan you have to leave it up to the post house to re-frame all of your shots, or sit in, or do what I did and actually DIY(because lets face it Pan and scan sessions arn't cheap). As for the PAL convert, I tried it in FCP and it seemed to work out OK but it still introduced some image degridation so I had to have it done at the lab.
 
Big congrats. What machine specs did you edit on?

Is the film in theaters in April or only on dvd then? We'd all like to support you and give you numbers if it's in theaters that day, so keep us posted.
 
Congrats on Film Deal!

Congrats on Film Deal!

Way to go, man. Rock on!

Lionsgate rules- After I saw Open Water, I was decided I definitely want to try them for distributing a lo-budget feature.

Stories like yours from the indie world are very inspiring, and make all those maxed out credit cards for gear and sleepless nights for all of us seem worthwhile!

Keep it up- congrats again. :thumbup:
 
HDKILLEDFILM...

Thank you! Your achievement...believe it or not...is really a success for all of us! You are brightening up those lights that shine upon the HVX as something we can make progress with.

thank you for posting this. This is a great 1st hand experience of the rough road we have to take in order to reach cinematic paradise, which is simply making enough money to live and be happy by doing what you love to do.

This is perfect! What this threat proves is a lot! It actually shatters a lot of preconcieved notions that filmmakers are subjected to....

WHAT THIS THREAD PROVES WRONG! (SWEET!)

1. You can only make a film if you have a a **** load of money = False

2. You cannot make a feature on an HVX worth watching= False

3. You cannot make a feature that a Studio would be interested in = False

4. You cannot sell a screenplay unless its groundbreaking cinema = false

5. You cannot sell a screenplay unless you are professionally solicited by an Agent = FALSE

6. being an independent filmmaker is the least successful and least profitable way of entering the entertainent business = FALSE

7. You will only make money in the industry if you work for someone else first = FALSE

8. Studio's will not purchase a film that was shot on an HVX = FALSE

9. Working hard gets you nowhere = FALSE

10. After a long run of being unsuccessful, you should give up and find another job = FALSE!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING THIS! I am going to let everyone know about your achievement. Now, you can really keep the torch going by continuing to produce HVX films and by encouraging/enlightening others upon other critical situations..just like this one right here. THANK YOU!


SWEET!!!
 
Thanks guys! The machine I edited this on is funny to me really, I mean really funny.

It's a powerbook G4, with under 2 gigs of ram and a 1.67 gig processor.

Funny right? Yes I edited it all on my old laptop. No desktop.

This was not easy but I'm kind of from the old school (When I started out I was watching super 16mm on reels and doing hot splices) so editing on a slow machine is more my style anyway. I know I've said this before on other threads but I prefer to use 4gig P2 cards so that I can dump and review more often (I'm actually forced to) which is almost like changing mags.

The SFX on this film were done by another indie film buddie of mine Doug Sakmann who is a really talented gore machine and overall great guy to have on set. He also doubled as a boom op and grip and just about everything else.

Our lead actor Clayton Haske aslo doubled as our locations manager and Producer and casting agent plus helped out in about every other way...

On a film like this where your budget doesn't exist you need good people who are willing to help out without limitations. Your ability to make a film period is often based on your ability to attract others to a project.

I will however say, with all the people helping you in the world you have to be ready and able to do everything yourself. This is because if your not paying people they will naturally gravitate to paying work no matter how good your production is. Money talks.

One of my great friends and a guy who recently secured 1.2 mil for a feature he wrote and will star in told me that the only difference between an indie film and a major hollywood production is that when a problem comes up on a major hollywood set they usually have money to throw at it. You still have problems but you don't have the money in indie film making so you need to use creativity and logic to get yourself out of binds. If that means that you need to break into an abandoned row home in the very nice part of the badlands in philly and shoot an entire scene with stunt hits razor wounds on lots of blood then do it. Just be ready to spend the night in jail ;)

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I don't know if I'll ever make a hollywood feature, I just don't know if I'm able to give up the creativity of the three man crew. It's like being on the road in a small band, you all sleep in shady motels, drink PBR specials and eat pizza, it a great time and the friendships you make durring the rough times are the best. I'm sure if an offer comes up I'll take the chance but as of right now I'm in post on yet another no budget feature and by no budget I mean that you pay for your own beer ;)

Thanks again guys I'll keep posting. We're not getting theatrical on this one but we do have more in the works ;)

-rock-Adam
 
Inspiring thread, Adam - congrats.

We've all heard the phrase, "write what you know" - so it's only fitting that you should gravitate to the horror genre.
What's worked out well, is that there is a built-in market for horror films.

I'm looking forward to see this one. Kudos.
 
I like what I am reading. We are doing a horror pic this spring with the HVX 200. My partner and have a podcast as well and we discus your great news. You can hear it at http://www.maddogmovies.com/podcast/.

We discus independent film making and related subjects.

We would like to have as a guest on the next installment if possible.
 
It looks like SIGHT will be on DVD May 20. Not clear whether they'll be in Blockbuster then for sale (or rent)?
 
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