Nick Royer
Well-known member
Hi All,
DVXUser has been an invaluable resource for me over the years. I started making short films at 13, worked weddings and small corporates in high school, and branched out to become a freelance DP for network docs in the last few years. My goal was to become a feature film DP, but being based in Nebraska, I couldn't find enough quality projects to work on locally.
My wife, Emily, found some grant funding from Univ. of Neb. at Omaha, where we were both students. So we set out, in our early 20s, to produce a feature film in the filmmaking 'black hole' of the midwest, with very little funding and an entirely volunteer cast and crew. We decided to shoot the film over 17 days rather than shoot weekends like many indie filmmakers do. I work as a freelancer, so I took a month off of projects to work on AIR.
One day before the start of our shoot, we got the call that we had just one month to vacate our rental home, and had to go through the process of packing, moving, and purchasing a home. We seriously considered postponing the production, but I've seen far too many projects fail for similar reasons - so we pushed on. The project certainly suffered a bit as a result of the stress and time constraints of doing both at the same time, but it was a small price to pay to ensure the project was completed, and not pushed off a year or two.
Now, one year later - AIR is complete and has sales representation. It's gotten interest from many international distributors (though no sales yet - its a long process). At 21, I've directed and produced a feature, and am now raising investment funding to do a significantly larger second film.
I wanted to share the film and the story behind it so that others can learn from it, and see what is possible even with a shoestring budget in an area where filmmaking is virtually nonexistent. It's easy to forget, but when I made my first 'big' short film seven years ago, a 35mm digital cinema camera was unheard of under $300k, the Red One was still a year away, and the 5D even further.
It's amazing far how things have come in such a short time, and I know there are many others out there who now have the capability to do something like this - so I encourage you to go out there and make it happen!
Full-Length Film (80 mins): AIR Feature Film on YouTube
Behind the Series: AIR BTS Series on YouTube
DVXUser has been an invaluable resource for me over the years. I started making short films at 13, worked weddings and small corporates in high school, and branched out to become a freelance DP for network docs in the last few years. My goal was to become a feature film DP, but being based in Nebraska, I couldn't find enough quality projects to work on locally.
My wife, Emily, found some grant funding from Univ. of Neb. at Omaha, where we were both students. So we set out, in our early 20s, to produce a feature film in the filmmaking 'black hole' of the midwest, with very little funding and an entirely volunteer cast and crew. We decided to shoot the film over 17 days rather than shoot weekends like many indie filmmakers do. I work as a freelancer, so I took a month off of projects to work on AIR.
One day before the start of our shoot, we got the call that we had just one month to vacate our rental home, and had to go through the process of packing, moving, and purchasing a home. We seriously considered postponing the production, but I've seen far too many projects fail for similar reasons - so we pushed on. The project certainly suffered a bit as a result of the stress and time constraints of doing both at the same time, but it was a small price to pay to ensure the project was completed, and not pushed off a year or two.
Now, one year later - AIR is complete and has sales representation. It's gotten interest from many international distributors (though no sales yet - its a long process). At 21, I've directed and produced a feature, and am now raising investment funding to do a significantly larger second film.
I wanted to share the film and the story behind it so that others can learn from it, and see what is possible even with a shoestring budget in an area where filmmaking is virtually nonexistent. It's easy to forget, but when I made my first 'big' short film seven years ago, a 35mm digital cinema camera was unheard of under $300k, the Red One was still a year away, and the 5D even further.
It's amazing far how things have come in such a short time, and I know there are many others out there who now have the capability to do something like this - so I encourage you to go out there and make it happen!
Full-Length Film (80 mins): AIR Feature Film on YouTube
Behind the Series: AIR BTS Series on YouTube
