Cost to film a feature ? (what did u spend?)

Maybe after a couple more revisions of my supernatural thriller who knows I might just indie that myself if it does not sell; that script really motivates me, i found myself all choked up and crying emotionally over the script as i proofread the 3rd draft--i knew it was fiction (i wrote the damn thing!) but the characters and story got me all choked up! I did get coverage on it from a couple of consultants, so this winter i am going to work on the 4th revision and if I can take it from good to great i might just shoot it in a few years myself. So I get your drift, I just need to the script to be great, and as you say a script or story to tell that really moves me so I would be motivated to see it through.

craigbowman said:
You need to figure out what you have a burning passion for and then just go do that. ...
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Randall_Oelerich said:
So is it perhaps better then to just focus on writing and selling the scripts for indies, leave the indie filmmaking to the studios' indie divisions.
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The new theory is that if you want to make a living writing for Hollywood you should do everything BUT write a screenplay.

The landscape has shifted.
 
Randall_Oelerich said:
How so? (can you explain what you mean by that theory, and what the basis for it is?)
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I'll clarify, I didn't say it as well as I could've.

It's not my theory, but it comes from credible sources. The idea is this is a post literary world and if you want to get in to Hollywood and write and make movies you're better off doing other things first -- like short films, webisodes, comic books, commercials, self produced feature films. No one would say it's a mistake to write screenplays it's just a lot would say it's no longer the first thing you should do if you want to break in.
 
The big successfull writers in Hollywood like J.J. Abrams have been retianed by studios like Paramount. That means less free lance stuff for small writers.
 
Randall,

All I was saying earlier is if you have a good script that you are going to turn into a feature put it out there, it might get picked up, if it does you'll have some money to fund your second script / production. If it does not get picked up (more than likely) you can stay on track with your original plan and make it yourself.

We have really drifted off topic, I guess part of that was my fault.
 
No problem from me with that, sometimes the path less taken is more interesting (some famous writer said something like that so i can not take credit!) =)R

ChipG said:
...We have really drifted off topic, I guess part of that was my fault.
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ChipG said:
So your saying you'll be lucky to end up with any money from a distributor?

Man,

What's the point of trying to get one?
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To this day I haven't seen any cash from "The 4th Beast". I knew going in the distributor in question was known for being shady but I was more concerned with getting the film out than anything else. When this same distributor came to me with a deal I said give me $12,000 upfront. They said no and offered me the standard deal. I turned it down. I'll take my chances.

The woman was shocked and actually got really irrate. I stayed cool and stated "I can deliver everything I said, but honestly your deal isn't worth my time. You want a free movie and I don't want to give it to you." Obviously by knowing not only their reputation but also what I was turning down it gave me the courage to turn it down. Shooting an $800 movie and getting it distributed is one thing but beyond that the answer is no.

I have a few friends who've dealt with the distributor in question and they let me know the deal upfront. I had one friend that was successful with them when they started out as they made over a few million dollars on his film at the height of the "urban" film explosion. They chopped his film up and there were other issues. He had to sue and all kind of things to get his money.

Basically distributors can be super shady, so it's important to find the right one. And it's funny but entertainment seems to be a business shadier than many others. Why are so many shady attracted to it? Maybe because it's easy to take advantage of "fame seekers" or "dreamers" but it does seem people are quick to cut throats in this business more than any other.

jls4 said:
Have a story that either fits into a niche market, i.e. "No Greater Love" (Christian) or "Corrado" (Action) . Niche markets are better because there's always a need for movies. This need is unquencable. Over 60% of Amercians consider themselves Christian, and at least 20% are true evangelical/born again - I'm not faking it - Christians. That's a huge market. 12 to 21 year old men have serious testosterone issues, so Action is a huge seller.
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And don't forget my market, Biblically based urban action films.

filmman said:
A filmmaker who has a distributor selling his movie at the AFM for example is going to make some money.
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Not if the distributor is shady.

jls4 said:
The reason I bring this up is that we are all different. If I could have had a full crew/post production I would have done it. But when I went in without an AD, it wasn't a problem for me because I'm part Director but part Producer. I rarely wanted an "extra shot" my DP and I argued because I was ready to move on and HE wanted the extra shot. It's easy for me to stay on schedule, although for some it's more difficult. The same goes for lighting. When I was shooting, I did 90% of the Lighting work. I would work the lighting, while the actors went over the scene by themselves to work out their own rhythm. Once the light was 80% we'd set up for the first shot and I'd review the scene once or twice with them, giving preference to who was in the first shot (usually a close).
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I feel you. I would've liked a pro (or at least dedicated) camera op for times when I wasn't shooting. Not that any of the quys were bad but just the idea of the stability would've been nice. Having the same person to shoot all the time. I can do generally everything but that doesn't mean I should. I would like more than anything a boom op that can get good clean sound. I managed to pull off getting good clean sound in an outside environment on a busy street by tucking a mic into the phone booth I was on. I also got good sound in car by closing the sun roof on mic and letting it dangle between the two. I both cases the mic was out of camera sight and yet right by my or the other actor's mouths. Still would've preferred a dedicated boom guy though. Someone to get clean sound all the time. Makes my job a lot easier in post. There were sometimes I should've had total control over a space but novice booming messed it up. It only happened twice in "Wages" but sound was a horrible problem in "Beast."

Also time is a factor to me in many shoots. We light to shoot quickly and it works well but a dedicated lighting person would be nice because they would bring the lights, not me, they would have what's needed to light night scenes and etc. I know some would do this on differed pay but a lot of people do differed and never see any money. For my next film, if nothing else I'm going to get lighting for night shoots and not depend just on downtown lighting, which gives a great look but sometimes you simply need more.

-Nate
 
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I think you are right in that there are other avenues now for writers to pursue to help get noticed, and sell their writing services. But I also hear from screenwriters not doing those things, but just plain writing, cranking out feature spec screenplays--that they are selling screenplays that way without doing the other avenues (comic books, short films etc). Of course optimally doing both would seem to be smart-- i.e. crank out lots of spec scripts, make shorts, write a comic book, etc.

brianluce said:
I'll clarify, I didn't say it as well as I could've. It's not my theory, but it comes from credible sources. The idea is this is a post literary world and if you want to get in to Hollywood and write and make movies you're better off doing other things first -- like short films, webisodes, comic books, commercials, self produced feature films. No one would say it's a mistake to write screenplays it's just a lot would say it's no longer the first thing you should do if you want to break in.
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They're probably really good writers, though. For every 10 writers I meet, .5 of them are good. That means half of one writer is good enough to get repped; I am not that person.

What kind of features are the majority shooting? Plot and Genre driven? Character and Genre Driven? Random?
 
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Nathyn said:
I have a few friends who've dealt with the distributor in question and they let me know the deal upfront. I had one friend that was successful with them when they started out as they made over a few million dollars on his film at the height of the "urban" film explosion. They chopped his film up and there were other issues. He had to sue and all kind of things to get his money.

Basically distributors can be super shady, so it's important to find the right one. And it's funny but entertainment seems to be a business shadier than many others. Why are so many shady attracted to it?

Also time is a factor to me in many shoots. We light to shoot quickly and it works well but a dedicated lighting person would be nice because they would bring the lights, not me, they would have what's needed to light night scenes and etc. I know some would do this on differed pay but a lot of people do differed and never see any money. For my next film, if nothing else I'm going to get lighting for night shoots and not depend just on downtown lighting, which gives a great look but sometimes you simply need more.
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Distributors are both good and bad. I'd rather have $5 in my hand than the thought of $50K on the backend after they recoup costs while they won't allow me to see the accounting.

It's funny, a lot of actors/crew are like this. They want their money upfront because of all the problems getting money from producers. But I analyze everything. If you know the person and are trying to create a "relationship" it's different than a "stranger" distributor that may only talk with you one time and snatch up your movie.

I don't want to work the way I have. I have an audio guy now and boy the audio for "Voices" is about 95% of what I wanted. A few snags here and there, but a huge improvement over my last feature. But lighting, I can't find a good lighting person. People either light too bright, or light too low, or not at all, or for television. I just can't find anybody that I trust yet. And anyone who works with me knows by basic rule: "I'll do it until I run into somebody that can do it better" - at that point I concede the position.
 
jls4 said:
Distributors are both good and bad. I'd rather have $5 in my hand than the thought of $50K on the backend after they recoup costs while they won't allow me to see the accounting.
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Yes, this is exactly the reason I didn't let them move "Wages". I may in the future after I've exhausted all possibilities. I've sold a few DVDs and downloads but nothing major. But I've seen nothing from the first film at all.

jls4 said:
I don't want to work the way I have. I have an audio guy now and boy the audio for "Voices" is about 95% of what I wanted. A few snags here and there, but a huge improvement over my last feature. But lighting, I can't find a good lighting person. People either light too bright, or light too low, or not at all, or for television. I just can't find anybody that I trust yet. And anyone who works with me knows by basic rule: "I'll do it until I run into somebody that can do it better" - at that point I concede the position.
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Yep, this is where I'm at now. I'm actually surround by people that can do sound, it's the booming that's the problem. LOL.

-Nate
 
jls4 said:
Distributors are both good and bad. I'd rather have $5 in my hand than the thought of $50K on the backend after they recoup costs while they won't allow me to see the accounting.

.
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I would think anyone agreeing to back end points from an overseas territory will end up with nothing and you'll have no recourse unless you want to travel to Malaysia or wherever and hire a lawyer.
 
I would say that is also the case from some American distributors as well, that's why certain distributors will never rise above a certain quality of film. Our distributor is known for a horrible horror film (that spawned 2 squeals). The second person I dealt with years ago was knew and admitted their product was bad after we chatted for about 45 minutes. She said she'd watch a few minutes of it and it was over. But it sold enough to make money so they did another one. That simple.

-Nate
 
To film a feature will cost you everything, asking how much it will cost to complete your feature is a mute point. Who knows what will happen to you during filming? Be ready to give everything ( and I mean more than cash, I'm talking about everything you have) if your not ready to break the bank and go for broke than maybe this project isn't the right one for you. Just remember, different people will wind up spending different things because of circumstance, and talent. If you think you can do it then shoot it on paper over and over, prep the heck out of it because that's free, and then shoot.:beer:
 
Spoken like someone who broke the bank and lived out of a vehicle to get it done. Cheers to doin' it!
 
I've only seen one of their horror films (one they financed). Was it watchable? Yes, but so is drying paint. I smiled at my poorly lit, under financed volunteer acted $800 action film when I saw what they were releasing for $250,000. The company simply doesn't seem to care about anything but their bottom line.

I caught of snippet of the CEO saying all their disc come with extras and if you (a consumer) got one that didn't it was a bootleg. Keep in mind it's a known fact this company doesn't do extras, if they do it's only on their big budget DVDs. I sent them extras and they didn't use them. LOL . These guys do instant play DVDs. Even VHS movies had trailers. Mine had no menu and if you press "menu" you get four boxes and one of them has a clip from the movie in it, the others are blank. The DVDs I burn from iMovie are more professional than the ones from this company. (Actually I've seen people actually sale pretty good movies using iDVD templates, they're not bad at all).

-Nate
 
HDkilledFILM. said:
To film a feature will cost you everything, asking how much it will cost to complete your feature is a mute point. Who knows what will happen to you during filming? Be ready to give everything ( and I mean more than cash, I'm talking about everything you have) if your not ready to break the bank and go for broke than maybe this project isn't the right one for you. Just remember, different people will wind up spending different things because of circumstance, and talent. If you think you can do it then shoot it on paper over and over, prep the heck out of it because that's free, and then shoot.:beer:
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Anything you ever create can have unpredicatable elements. Its why its important to have a completion bond. Its certainly not bullet proof but its why you do your best to prepare for disaster. Just look what happened to Terry Gilliam in Lost in LaMancha!
 
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