Corrado Part II

FilmBoy77 said:
adam do you have a day job or are you doing filmmaking 24/7? you respond to Q&A here almost in real-time.
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Filmmaking 24/7. I do however, have contracts from my old job that need to be fulfilled stretching into early 2010. I must make myself available for those. Even when I did work full time I had a wide open schedule, I was self employed as an independent contractor for the last decade so whereas I had a desk, I never truly had a desk job. I couldn'tve done prepro on Corrado while working a "normal" job.
 
that's sweet. that's pretty much how i'm trying to position myself. contracting (outside of a typical desk job) is a whole lot more flexible in terms of juggling filmmaking, etc. i figured there was no way you could be doing a regular 9 to 5, an entire film, editing, posting blogs, directing, etc, etc at the same time.
 
I've uploaded a new version of the trailer. It's identical to the other one content wise, but this one has Shoreline's logo on it and is an HD version cut from the HD master. Colorwise, it's much better and much crisper.

I forget, some guy on here said we didn't know how to light or crush our blacks, and in this version you can see the true color....with one caveat.

I don't know if it's me but Vimeo's compression still "uncrushes" my blacks to a degree. I can't explain it - it doesn't look as nice as the HD master. No matter, it looks 1000 times nicer than the SD master.

Enjoy....

http://www.vimeo.com/2841145
 
I may have mentioned this before but I love Sizemore in the scene where he's wearing the red suit. I liked the delivery.

-Nate
 
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Hey,

I apologize if this was already answered, but I don't wanna go through all of the pages :)

Just wanted to know some steps after the script is developed, and what YOU did personally.

I plan on writing and directing ONLY a short film (10-15) minutes in length, and after I have written the thing, what's my next step? To find a producer? And if so, what's the best method of doing so?

Thanks,

Robbie
 
Robbie Comeau said:
Hey,

I apologize if this was already answered, but I don't wanna go through all of the pages :)

Just wanted to know some steps after the script is developed, and what YOU did personally.

I plan on writing and directing ONLY a short film (10-15) minutes in length, and after I have written the thing, what's my next step? To find a producer? And if so, what's the best method of doing so?

Thanks,

Robbie
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Ah, Toronto, my home town.

I actually don't think your question was answered in the thread anyways, so here goes:

First, I have said it before in a few places, but I think I should reiterate:

A short is a short, a feature is a feature. Two shorts don't make a feature. what do I mean?

Simply put: I don't believe in making a short as a calling card to then go make a feature. I think it's a waste of time, money, and resources. Others may disagree, but here's the real deal: By the time you make a feature, you should have made dozens of shorts already.

These are "no budget" shorts shot on your own camera.

But making a short with a budget, one that requires crew or money or locations is a waste.

A short is not a wise investment for anyone, has virtually no chance of recouping any money, and will not win you any awards unless either a) You are Zak Forsman, or B) it is so freaking amazing that you are immediately branded a genius, in which case you'd be Zak Forsman.

I know, man. My first short cost $35K and was shot on 35mm film, bro. It went nowhere. Don't do it.

Instead, make a feature. Scrape together 10 or 15K and go make one. Nathyn's doing it, Graham Robbins is doing it, lots of people have done it. Go do that.

So let's pretend your question relates to a feature.

How do I find a producer: I'm certain by this you mean "how do I find money", in which case you must take your finished script and attempt to convince someone to loan you the money. In my case, I went and got some actors attached and then went to a guy I knew had the jack, and convinced him to loan me the dough. Plain and simple.

How did I get the actors attached without the cash in hand? Let's just say they didn't know that I didn't have the cash, and neither did their agents. Your mileage may vary.

If you are doing the size of production I think you are doing, all of this won't matter. You'll find some local guy to lend you the cash based on your enthusiasm, the promise of some profit, and the glamor of making a film. There's really not much else you can offer a potential investor.

Make a great script is the first step, attach cast the second (if applicable), finding an investor is the third.
 
Thanks for all of that, but yea that's basically what I'm doing at this stage in the game.

Making many shorts, then a feature, and I'm still a little scared/iffy on making a feature...So I'm not ready for that.

I don't have much business sense either, why I'd like someone to take care of that for me.

How did you pay off your debts? that's a lot of money!

I'm actually moving to Newport soon man, hopefully we can meet up.

Robbie
 
Robbie Comeau said:
How did you pay off your debts? that's a lot of money!

Robbie
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Oh, they haven't been paid yet! I'm finally at the stage where I can start recouping some of the investment. It takes a while, bro.

If you're moving to Newport Beach, you'll have no problems finding producer types. Whether they have any business sense is another story....
 
taormina said:
I don't believe in making a short as a calling card to then go make a feature.
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ouch, but - i'm realising - sadly true.

taormina said:
B) it is so freaking amazing that you are immediately branded a genius, in which case you'd be Zak Forsman.
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true. but i was written up as being one to watch. well, i was.

taormina said:
I know, man. My first short cost $35K and was shot on 35mm film, bro. It went nowhere. Don't do it.
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ours was $5k, still, aside from some good reviews and a few DVD sales... nothing.

taormina said:
Instead, make a feature. Scrape together 10 or 15K and go make one. Nathyn's doing it, Graham Robbins is doing it, lots of people have done it. Go do that.
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for some reason, finally, this hit home. we'd been trying to get a feature going. instead, we are now going to focus on getting a feature - that's cheap, sellable and fun - under our belts and worry about "art" later.

you've been a huge inspiration since i read the first "corrado" thread some time ago. now you've kick started me and my guys. we're pumped, bro! :beer:

seriously, great stuff adam.
 
Your Colorist is very Gifted ... Super Job! Also noticed that each and every Actor had strong clearly defined Intent in their eyes ... That says a lot about your Direction.


DogDay.
 
taormina said:
Ah, Toronto, my home town.

I actually don't think your question was answered in the thread anyways, so here goes:

First, I have said it before in a few places, but I think I should reiterate:

Simply put: I don't believe in making a short as a calling card to then go make a feature. I think it's a waste of time, money, and resources. Others may disagree, but here's the real deal: By the time you make a feature, you should have made dozens of shorts already.

These are "no budget" shorts shot on your own camera.

But making a short with a budget, one that requires crew or money or locations is a waste.

A short is not a wise investment for anyone, has virtually no chance of recouping any money, and will not win you any awards unless either a) You are Zak Forsman, or B) it is so freaking amazing that you are immediately branded a genius, in which case you'd be Zak Forsman.
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I try to tell people this and they think I'm insane. I know how to do a short, I had to learn how to make a feature.

-Nate
 
taormina said:
Simply put: I don't believe in making a short as a calling card to then go make a feature. I think it's a waste of time, money, and resources. Others may disagree, but here's the real deal: By the time you make a feature, you should have made dozens of shorts already.

These are "no budget" shorts shot on your own camera.

But making a short with a budget, one that requires crew or money or locations is a waste.

A short is not a wise investment for anyone, has virtually no chance of recouping any money...
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Nathyn said:
I try to tell people this and they think I'm insane. I know how to do a short, I had to learn how to make a feature.

-Nate
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3 for features first! I too am a feature guy - I believe in doing a few shorts, espeically helping those others out on their shorts. Learn on other people's dime. But I don't believe that a short will help you out that much in trying to get money for a feature... unless like Adam said you're Zak. Which is crazy cause there's only one Zak. LOL :)
 
Shorts are good for festivals. It's more likely to be accepted in festivals with a short. And I found out the best length for a festival short is between 5 and 15 minutes.

Also, you can sell shorts as iPod downloads and similar devices. This might be a trend in the future.

Some people have succeeded with shorts as a calling card. But if you're a serious filmmaker, I agree, feature films are the only way to go.

I had a guy call me about buying some 35mm film and he said he was doing a short. I'd rather that people shoot features because then they buy 100,000 ft of film from me. LOL

So he was saying to me, "I'd rather make a brilliant short film rather than a feature film that was slow and all over the place."

I blurted out, "I'd rather make a slow feature film that's all over the place than a brilliant short." LOL

He laughed out loud too. He didn't buy the film from me and I never heard from him again, and I never heard about him either since.

I also talked to another director a couple of years ago, who told me, "I've won all kinds of awards with shorts, I've done it, it's a dead end road; I want to make a feature film now."

As far as I'm concerned, I'd rather make a feature film that only a few friends get to see than a brilliant short that wins twenty festivals. But that's just me. LOL
 
i don't think shorts are a waste of time. i think festivals are a waste of time unless you treat it like a theatrical release and charge screening fees to the festival or split the box office take and/or sell DVDs. as well intentioned as they are, fests do NOTHING to help a filmmaker monetize their work.

and i know we're generally talking about narrative fiction, but there is money in short docs. Tiffany Shlain made well over a million on a 25 minute doc called The Tribe by topping itunes at #1 and selling the dvd for $250 to educational institutions.
 
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I have nothing against people doing shorts in order to get ready for Features. Especially the no budget shorts.

One thing I hate though, watching a crappy Independent Feature and thinking.... "This guy really should have refined his craft a little more before spending money on this garbage!"

taormina said:
Simply put: I don't believe in making a short as a calling card to then go make a feature. I think it's a waste of time, money, and resources. Others may disagree, but here's the real deal: By the time you make a feature, you should have made dozens of shorts already.
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I wish more people would do this before tackling Features.

Not pointing fingers at anyone here. I've seen plenty of "Features" in my local area that look like garbage when compared to some of the short films I've seen here.

MAH
 
Well from a viewer's perspective I can see what you mean, Michael.

From a financial standpoint, however, even the crappiest feature can just about get distribution from a York or Maverick.
 
taormina said:
Well from a viewer's perspective I can see what you mean, Michael.

From a financial standpoint, however, even the crappiest feature can just about get distribution from a York or Maverick.
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I'm actually well aware of that and couldn't agree more. I've seen it with my own eyes.

Personally though, I'm going to refine my craft before investing $$ into a Feature. I want to give it a fighting chance.

Either way, it's a great way to learn. :beer:

MAH
 
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