ryan brown
lOwEr CaSe Member
+1:smiley_up:smiley_up
EDIT: That doesn't really work on a new page, does it?
EDIT: That doesn't really work on a new page, does it?
Anyone have the free time to just randomly shoot shorts for fun with no planning?
- Thread starter Tabula Rasa Productions
- Start date
Nathyn
Low Budget Ninja
Oh, I understood exactly where you're coming from. I'm in the same boat. Never was a fan of shorts. My producer is a million times better director than me but I can't get him to make a feature. He's excellent but all about the short. And he's great screenwriter. I've learned a lot from him.
I'm speaking from the POV of a person who wants to do features. (That's why I said no offense to people who do shorts). Which I'm assuming is Tabula Rasa Production's ultimate goal after shooting all these shorts, but then again when you ASS-U-ME...
I simply don't like doing shorts because I don't get the same sense of accomplishment nor do I love the work as much. It's a mental thing.
-Nate
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Dvader
Well-known member
I have to absolutely disagree, this is one o f the most wrong things I've ever read in my entire life. It is undoubtedly better to do something than nothing.
GageFX I dig what youre saying about being serious towards art and putting care and time into your projects, but the TS here is just beginning his life in filmmaking, and what he is doing is what most people CANT do, making films purely for the love of it.
When you are ready, that is the time to seriously concentrate and plan a project.
Work the way you work.
GageFX
Carbonite Member
Or be taught a potentially better way.
Your advice for someone to beat their head against a wall until they finally break through, to me, is very damaging. To show that the person can just walk AROUND the wall, or NOT work the way they THINK they need to work, jst might be a better solution.
But that's just me.
Dvader
Well-known member
Dude, just to be clear. I never said work the way you but don't be open to new ideas...and I never said beat your head against the wall until you break through, I never even brought up breaking through, which is vague anyway. Where did any of that even come from.
My point are clear but nonetheless I'll restate them even clearer: Any work is better than no work, creating films purely for the love of it is rare and meaningful, and be yourself (work the way you work).
My point are clear but nonetheless I'll restate them even clearer: Any work is better than no work, creating films purely for the love of it is rare and meaningful, and be yourself (work the way you work).
Nathyn
Low Budget Ninja
I don't know. I'm torn here. One of the best films I ever made was seen by no one but a few friends. A comedy short called Rodrego's Dance. (Referenced in "Wages of Sin"). It was about a hype who thought he was a big time drug dealer. It was funny and actually had some meaning. This was done without a script, off the top of our heads and put together, that day. But I've found the better I plan the better things actually turn out in terms of production value.
-Nate
Mattykins
Cute Member
Unplanned film = BNice = disaster
Planned film = Perchance = hopefully a decent product.
I learned from the beginning to always plan when putting money in or trying to get a decent product. It makes the film flow better on set and in the edit room. You have to plan for every contingency when shooting a feature or any film for that matter.
Countless people waste money thinking they can make the best film ever and not plan it like it should be planned. I break down scripts for people and help with budgets at my school on a lot of films. I save people money, and a lot of it. And even a meticulously scheduled film can fall apart if contingencies are not planned for.
But you can shoot some things to get used to the camera, how it works, effective blocking, and on-the-spot direction and creativity. If you are looking to make a film that you can sell - or use well. Plan it.
Planned film = Perchance = hopefully a decent product.
I learned from the beginning to always plan when putting money in or trying to get a decent product. It makes the film flow better on set and in the edit room. You have to plan for every contingency when shooting a feature or any film for that matter.
Countless people waste money thinking they can make the best film ever and not plan it like it should be planned. I break down scripts for people and help with budgets at my school on a lot of films. I save people money, and a lot of it. And even a meticulously scheduled film can fall apart if contingencies are not planned for.
But you can shoot some things to get used to the camera, how it works, effective blocking, and on-the-spot direction and creativity. If you are looking to make a film that you can sell - or use well. Plan it.
Nathyn
Low Budget Ninja
My second feature film. A martial art action thingy. I decided to self distribute instead of giving it to the distributor (who will go unnamed here) so they can make money on it and I see none. My first film "Mask of the Antichrist" has been selling in America, North Africa, Indonesia and other places overseas. Shows what one can do with a DVX and $700. It wasn't a great film but the distributor has made money.
We bought the character of Rodrego (played by J. H. Rogers III) back for "Wages of Sin". At this point he still thinks he's a big shot because he stole some drugs from his partner. That didn't work out well for him.
-Nate
Nathyn
Low Budget Ninja
Thanks. As for money, not yet, but I'm planning on marketing the thing hard this year along with other things I'm doing. So far I've made about $200 or $300 off of it but it's been out since 07 so you can do the math on that one. The goal is using the film as part of an overall campaign that if it works should prove profitable in the next year or so. Thanks to TV ads, Apple TV coming out and Hungryflix I got a huge boost last year as far as my name being out there. I had made it up to a 10,000 or some such rating on IMDB, which is about where many big name B-celebs fall. I was moving toward 5000 up there with Joe Estivez and people like that for awhile. My major problem is I think too much instead of doing. But right now things seem to be falling in line. I'm planning my next project and doing a lot of writing.
-Nate
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Nathyn
Low Budget Ninja
Nope. What they do is offer you a deal, that says after they make a certain amount of money back (think about $55,000 or something) they will start to pay you. That's called a charge back. They're charging you for marketing, but they're not marketing just you but their whole catalog. They make a lot of money on these films. Even if they're bad, they just sale them overseas which is where a lot of their money comes from.
The only thing they need to know is "is there's something (a theme) they can sale the movies on". If there is, then they want it. Originally it was the "Urban" theme which is actually how they made their money, ironically I know the guy who made one of their first urban films which made millions (so they started buying anything that had to do with the ghetto), then there's action and horror of course, religious and then erotic thrillers, etc. Eventually they stopped paying money upfront and devised this new contract so you don't see any money until they make their money back. My film had black characters, action, martial arts and religious themes. Basically I made a fim with everything and they gave me a contract for it.
In 2007 I started pushing "Wages of Sin". Same thing, minorities, action, martial arts, and religion. They were all over it. The woman over acquisitions got pissed when I turned their deal down and started yelling at me about not being able to deliver and all this BS. (Keep in mind the film cost me over $4000 make and some people think I paid about $10,000). So I figured if they thought that much of it, hell I could sale it myself.
Basically they press a number of DVDs (which will cost them about $2000 max and not even that). These are DVD-5 not 9s. They have no extras and the owner of the company openly lies. She was quoted as saying any of her DVDs without extras are bootlegs, that have made it into stores. But it's a known fact her company rarely makes anything but barebones DVDs. I sent extras and they didn't use them. Hell, I even sent them a fully authored DVD to replicate from. But nope. It's actually sad they prefer to be substandard when I made it easy on them to do better. I gave them a whole package.
-Nate
phloespace
Member
well you mentioned waisting time shooting. If Im not shooting for a project Im out shooting content for stock video.
Moojangles
Well-known member
does stock video actually pay well? i've never really gotten into it. I know stock photography as a profession is essentially dead because of digital.