Money involved with these films

That one was more. Everyone was volunteer, but we had a big crew, so I know it was several hundred dollars in food alone. Plus, the DP wanted a certain camera, so he rented that. And the plane ticket for me to fly there to work on it. And we licensed the music for $300.

So that one def added up.
 
Mark Harris said:
That one was more. Everyone was volunteer, but we had a big crew, so I know it was several hundred dollars in food alone. Plus, the DP wanted a certain camera, so he rented that. And the plane ticket for me to fly there to work on it. And we licensed the music for $300.

So that one def added up.
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What about the prosthetic of the man with half a face? Wasn't that a fairly large sum?

My Nephew has an old man mask and it was around $600.00
Looks AMAZING though! It's the real deal.

He's always creeping people out with it. He went to his buddies work and really had them going. They had no idea it was him.

So far I have spent $25.00 on a room to audition in at the local library.
I'm having a bit of a rehearsal at my place today and one person is coming over for an audition because they know someone who already has a part in it.

Food will end up being the biggest part of my budget.
 
No, the make-up guy did that for us for free, well in trade. joe was doing sound mix on one of that guy's films in return. I think we paid him back for the fake blood?
 
If it's your first film, (or one of your first) I say make it simple and cheap. It's a learning experience and you shouldn't have to risk next years rent, but for those that think of filmmaking as anything more than a casual hobby, I think it's good to pay people as much as possible. If filmmaking is your chosen profession, then isn't it necessary to put money into it, to create our own little Economy of sorts? Get some cash flowing around?

If we look it purely as business, shorts are usually not good business decisions, but they can sometimes break even, like in the case of Broadcast, if you count their prizes as income. More often than not, they are losing propositions.

In the case of Anti De Presence, we spent about $1200, which ended up mostly in the hands and bellies of the cast and crew. The actors mentioned to me several times how appreciative they were of the nominal pay, and they probably wouldn't have auditioned if it was a freebie, so I think your chances of getting a better cast and crew are much greater if pay is offered, and your movie will be better because of it! It's win win, and I wouldn't do it any other way now.

I think it would be great if we started a "promising filmmakers fund" or something like it here on DVXUSER that we could all chip in a voluntary 5-10 bucks to a few people so they can have a budget to work with. Maybe even have it as a prize or something? The "winners" of the money would then be able to hire professionals from their area.
 
Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
Either way, this is a great place to practice your craft.

MAH
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It's actually quite amazing. There are people on here that want to be scriptwriters, cinematographers, lighting screw, etc. Having these contests gets people to collaborate and practice their skills. If the film is a success story, those individuals are successful as well. Even if the film doesn't happen to take flight, it's still nice to know you were apart of a film and that's a success in itself.
 
yeehaanow said:
If it's your first film, (or one of your first) I say make it simple and cheap. It's a learning experience and you shouldn't have to risk next years rent, but for those that think of filmmaking as anything more than a casual hobby, I think it's good to pay people as much as possible. If filmmaking is your chosen profession, then isn't it necessary to put money into it, to create our own little Economy of sorts? Get some cash flowing around?

If we look it purely as business, shorts are usually not good business decisions, but they can sometimes break even, like in the case of Broadcast, if you count their prizes as income. More often than not, they are losing propositions.

In the case of Anti De Presence, we spent about $1200, which ended up mostly in the hands and bellies of the cast and crew. The actors mentioned to me several times how appreciative they were of the nominal pay, and they probably wouldn't have auditioned if it was a freebie, so I think your chances of getting a better cast and crew are much greater if pay is offered, and your movie will be better because of it! It's win win, and I wouldn't do it any other way now.

I think it would be great if we started a "promising filmmakers fund" or something like it here on DVXUSER that we could all chip in a voluntary 5-10 bucks to a few people so they can have a budget to work with. Maybe even have it as a prize or something? The "winners" of the money would then be able to hire professionals from their area.
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Some great and inspiring advice there man! Thank you!

Seems I started kind of a heartwarming thread unwittingly lol.
 
The majority of my films have been just a few hundred dollars or less. WHERE SILENCE FALLS (2nd place - Drama Fest) was less than $400. My current entry is also less than $400, I believe. Pretty much try to attract folks on the basis of them being a part of something of quality, having a good time with no drama on set, and being valued for their input & part in the process.

BERLIN is my only big spend so far, with a total production budget of approx $4,500, but you can see it on the screen with all the set design, equipment, and a lot you can't see on the screen with food spent to feed such a large crowd, and insurance costs for locations & rentals.
 
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Are you paying your actors?.. your crew?

No, but meals & copy, credit, the usual.

Are you paying to shoot in certain locations?

No, all guerilla, but permits aren't really needed in New Zealand.

Do you profit off of the produced films?

I hope to on Dust Request, but it may be ahead of its time.

What happens to the films after lossfest? Do you run them through other festivals?

i'm going to post it everywhere for free for anyone that can spare their time

[/QUOTE]
 
kevinkshah said:
Do you profit off of the produced films?

I hope to on Dust Request, but it may be ahead of its time.

What happens to the films after lossfest? Do you run them through other festivals?

i'm going to post it everywhere for free for anyone that can spare their time
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some might see these two as a contradiction. I don't.
 
Are you paying your actors?.. your crew?

Are you paying to shoot in certain locations?

Do you profit off of the produced films?

What happens to the films after lossfest? Do you run them through other festivals?
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1.) Nay
2.) no
3.) Hopefully.
4.) Yes, more festivals. The SF Asian American Film Festival, etc.
 
Thomas Lew said:
1. How is money involved with your lossfest film entries?

2. Are you paying your actors?.. your crew?

3. Are you paying to shoot in certain locations?

4. Do you profit off of the produced films?

5. What happens to the films after lossfest? Do you run them through other festivals?
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1. i think we spent about 5 dollars total. 2 on candle sticks, and 3 on a prop i won't reveal now...

2. noo. we are the actors and crew at the same time. we are one entity. we destroy.

3. HAHA.

4. It usually gets me a few bucks off at the grocery store.

5. It will be in a fuller version online in a web series I am producing. May put into other fests though if people on here dig it.
 
Thomas Lew said:
So I was curious about something.. how is money involved with your lossfest film entries? (to the people currently entering)
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Not entering LossFest, but the prior films we've done usually cost around $3,000 each.

Are you paying your actors?.. your crew?
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ALWAYS. Even if it's only $100. Sometimes quite a bit more. People can and do work for free; I've worked for free on DVXFest films for others before, but when it's my production people get paid.

Are you paying to shoot in certain locations?
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Sometimes. Usually people let you have it for free. Sometimes you have to pay. LMTF was shot in my garage and in my yard. Unawakening was shot in my yard and in a brand new model home that they let us have for free. Cold Calls was shot in a multi-million-dollar "mansion" that we had to pay a location fee for.

Do you profit off of the produced films?
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Depends on what you mean by profit. Do we make money off the sale of the films? Nope. Do we get to be the opening-night premiere film at Slamdance (and into another top-10-in-the-world film festival, which we can't announce yet until they do)? Yep. Will that lead to hugely profitable things in the future? Maybe. The first short film I really put money into back in 1999 cost $10,000. Never sold it, never made a dime off it. But I did get an investor to back us in writing the screenplay for a feature film version of it, and that investor put up $60,000. Wouldn't have gotten that sixty without spending the 10, so I consider that one highly profitable.

What happens to the films after lossfest? Do you run them through other festivals?
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Yep, plus other things that will eventually hopefully lead to bigger things.
 
Morox said:
It's actually quite amazing. There are people on here that want to be scriptwriters, cinematographers, lighting crew, etc. Having these contests gets people to collaborate and practice their skills. If the film is a success story, those individuals are successful as well. Even if the film doesn't happen to take flight, it's still nice to know you were apart of a film and that's a success in itself.
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That's why DVeStore loves to sponsor the fests. We enjoy encouraging people to go through the entire filmmaking process; pre-production, production, post-production, and delivery. Props to all of those that have completed an entry - especially on a low budget. Future props to all of those that will be completing an entry.
 
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