Do I have what I need to shoot a feature?

D

dreallen

Active member
I made this little video of my gear to see if I can get some feedback about whether I am prepared to shoot my indie feature or if I am missing some things I need before I start. Please keep in mind I did not list my Atomos Ninja2, my Lowel 4 light tungsten kit, or my lenses which are a Sigma 50mm, Noktor 25mm, and the old tried and true Lumix 14-140mm! Please watch and any guidance you can give me would be HUGELY appreciated. Also be kind because everything I have learned so far has been from watching all of you! lol. Thanks so much.

WATCH HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMgQOYZAmaI&feature=youtu.be

Dre
 
I think for an amatuer setup it could work, I don't think your gonna be hiring a pro grip or gaffer with the hardware i'm seeing, I also didn't see much kit for shaping light, which to me is first and foremost. (flags, grip heads, grip arms, scrims, gobos, cstands ,barndoors, diffusion, gels, boom, sandbags, stingers, ect... any hotlight setup should ALWAYS, ALWAYS HAVE sand bags, fire extinguisher. 2,000 watt lights don't seem like much, but knock a stand over, and hit someone, that light will stick to their face, or catch a curtain on fire. As a film teacher, I focus heavily on set safety. Lots of liability. I had a grip set a light that was used for a while then unplugged and set next to a refridgerator, well just the heat from the light melted the panel, it warped and needed replaced, yup over a grand. Now you see where i'm going with this:)

I don't see any reason you couldn't shoot a feature with a camera tripod and basic light kit as long as you know what your doing.

I can tell you this, if your passionate about what your doing, nothing can stop you.
 
Thanks MARANFILMS! I am gonna get on those flags and gels. I have more grip equipment and a ton of sandbags. Definitely don't want any liability issues if I can help it. I definitely need a fire extinguisher. Grab that tomorrow. Got difussion covered and my grips are hired hands that aren't really super pros. More like heavy object movers. Im going to be pulling quadruple duty but one of them has a little knowledge as a director so we should be fine. Thanks again.
 
Festen (The Celebration) was shot with a Sony DCR-PC7E Handycam with no lights or grip equipment (I think they attached the camera to a broom handle for one shot).

That film was distributed worldwide and it worked because the story was great and they had good actors. Do you have a great story and good actors?
 
I have a story that's never been told quite like I am about to ell it. Not only that but a great script, great actors, & a willingness to win. Just building up the confidence to execute. Kinda like a test lap...then its a full sprint! lol
 
dreallen said:
I made this little video of my gear to see if I can get some feedback about whether I am prepared to shoot my indie feature or if I am missing some things I need before I start.
Dre
Click to expand...

My thoughts... And yes I know there is a whole crop of people out there that hate when I post stuff like this, but... It's the Artist, not the brush!

You could own all the gear in the world, and still not be prepared to shoot a feature film. So much more goes into a successful feature film than "the gear". As a matter of fact, most of the people I know who are truly qualified to direct a feature film don't own any gear aside from a family camera. So I'll pose the question back yo you. Aside from the gear you own, are you prepared to shoot a feature film?

All the Best!

Dave
 
Ok so you have lights, items to control that light and its temperature, stands, sand bags, extinguisher.

tripod, dolly and a crane.

markee for a food tent.

limited but useable set of lenses.

Clapper.

On paper you have enough equipment to make a film, more has been done with less and less has been done with more.

if you great actors, great script and the time you could make something great.

any reason this is not a short film and is a feature?
 
I think YOU sound ready, and that's the most important part. You have more stuff than I do, so I'm not going to critique your equipment. The one thing that I think would help you out a lot would be a couple more lenses in longer focal lengths. Someone, somewhere in the AF100 forum (I have no idea who or which thread) was saying that in mainstream features, there's only a handful of total shots that are with a really wide lens. I think he said that the widest typical shot would be the equivalent to a 24mm lens on M43, but I may be off a bit. But then of course, if you feel that a wide shot is right for your movie, then use it. I think I'm going to rent that lens (the 7 - 14, that is) for an upcoming shoot I have inside of a small airplane. The focus will be the student learning to fly, so wide will be very helpful.

Take a look at Rokinon's 85mm T1.5 cine lens. Erik Naso has a recent thread reviewing it and he gave it a big thumbs up. I really want to get the lens.
 
David W. Jones said:
My thoughts... And yes I know there is a whole crop of people out there that hate when I post stuff like this, but... It's the Artist, not the brush!

You could own all the gear in the world, and still not be prepared to shoot a feature film. So much more goes into a successful feature film than "the gear". As a matter of fact, most of the people I know who are truly qualified to direct a feature film don't own any gear aside from a family camera. So I'll pose the question back yo you. Aside from the gear you own, are you prepared to shoot a feature film?

All the Best!

Dave
Click to expand...

Whether people want to hear it or not, this is the most important advice. It is far more important that you have a great story and great crew (you included) that knows how to most effectively utilize what you have, than that you have a checklist full of the "right" equipment.
 
In all my long years, and out of all the movies I've seen, I have never thought to myself:

"What a piece of crap! I didn't see ONE crane shot."

My advice is to make the best movie you can with the tools you have. I understand your thought process though. I suffer from it myself. The problem is ... there's always one more piece of equipment that I don't have. And I suppose there always will be.
 
I just shot a feature with virtually the same setup, except I don't have a mattebox, and my lights , rather than "hardware" lights, are made for film work. I have several soft boxes (flattering on faces and quite safe to use) and Cool Lights CDM (look like fresnels but generate a fraction of the heat, much safer).
 
I worry about your bedsheets being used as diffusion--would think those could catch on fire pretty easily. A plastic shower curtain might be a better bet (if you can't afford a pro solution).
 
Indeed, I have used plastic shower curtains while in a pinch, and they did all right. Joanne fabrics sales cheap muslin, you can buy flat alum stock at home depot and make a square frame. or buy the 1/2 inch elec. conduit tubeing to do the same, I think if you stretch the muslin a bit, you will be better off. but a simple spray bottle with water will remove any big wrinkles in the fabric. A cheap set of walkie talkies can be a huge help when working too. I found several sets of motorolla on ebay.
 
maranfilms said:
Indeed, I have used plastic shower curtains while in a pinch, and they did all right. Joanne fabrics sales cheap muslin, you can buy flat alum stock at home depot and make a square frame. or buy the 1/2 inch elec. conduit tubeing to do the same, I think if you stretch the muslin a bit, you will be better off. but a simple spray bottle with water will remove any big wrinkles in the fabric. A cheap set of walkie talkies can be a huge help when working too. I found several sets of motorolla on ebay.
Click to expand...

Great tips!
 
"Brush artist..." I like. A friend said something similar: "it's not the gun but the man behind it." Break the script down into a shot-list that you can execute with what you have. End of story. None of us have seen the script but you, you know what the script requires. Is it a one location shoot with kids trapped in a house or do you have skydiving in it? Then oops, you're not ready. Does it require a helicopter shot? Then you're not ready. Does it require a car chase scene with the ultimate arm? Then you're not ready. No one can tell you that. It's like showing people a modified street-racer and asking if you're ready. We dont' know what skills you have, what training you've had, and we don't know if it's a drag race or a more complicated course.

Diagnosis: fear and self-doubt. I suffer from that more than anyone else. That's why I'm planning to face my fear. I'm going to do my first feature with much less than you have. What's giving me confidence are the other things I'm bringing to the table: a little knowledge of casting to pick the right actor, some say that's 70% of direction. A few acting classes to facilitate communication between actor and director. Shot composition and basic lighting experience, but I'll be leaving lighting to the DP if I've chosen a competent one. That's a fraction of what goes into directing a feature. Not the equipment. Much has been done with less and less has been done with more. I've seen cellphone films that kick thigh, (missed the ass) but kicked nonetheless, and I've seen RED films that sucked ass. I think I saw a few nice things you shot. Why worry? The crane won't save your film, you will. The steadicam won't save your film, you will. Your camera won't save your film, you will. All you need is camera and a tripod. You could get an ASC BSC DP and your film could still be terrible. What bothers most of us (let me speak for myself) is a fear of failure. Man, I'm such a coward. If they ever start giving Oscars for that, I'll beat everyone hands down. Biggest coward of the century. I remember in 2008 when I first bought my DVX100b, I didn't open the box for two months. Boogie monsters ravaged me with "what if I pick up the camera and all I shoot is s*%t?" "Ooooh, all these buttons on the camera, what do they do?" I went out and failed but learned as I went. This is a trailer of the last thing I shot. All by myself, replete with errors but man did i learn. 7 pages, one day shoot, one-man crew: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBaFrLl-EYQ What this told me was that with a competent crew, I would have done significantly better.

Hate to sound like Nike, sir, but JUST DO IT, and learn from it. Look at all the big shots, their first feature wasn't spectacular, and none are remembered for their crane shots or smoooooth shots. See Clerks, Reservoir dogs, Swingers, She's gotta have it, etc.

I just read Dov Simiens' book and put aside all my super expensive scripts. (i.e $3-5 Million) I wrote a cheap one for LA that I'm hoping to get funding for (one location sci-fi feature) and now I'm writing an even cheaper one for London that I can shoot and show LA investors that I've done it before on a $3000 camera.

Look at films that are similar to what you're trying to shoot, watch a lot of them. Don't go for fancy "look at me" director shots. Be invisible and tell the story, let the story shine and not the shots (I'm sure you know what I mean). No one part should be better than the whole. Yes, you do have a money shot to get, but just tell the story.

Here is my directorial debut, the first time I'd direct a narrative after going out and shooting weddings etc. It was experimental and my goal was to prove that you don't need a lot to shoot. I shot with the AF100, a skate rolling dolly and a voigtlander 25mm ONLY. I had Nikons 85mm, 50mm, I even had 70-200mm but I instructed the DP to use only the 25mm to prove a point. Sure this is also replete with errors and boy the drama on on my debut day wasn't pretty, but here it is, naked with all the editing errors. The opening sequence I shot myself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPDLE2vKemE

You have enough equipment, sir. Do you have enough director? Only you can answer that.
Here's a scene from Clerks - 99% of the shots in the film are master shots. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDAWmEdubkM

If all fails, shoot coverage. Let's exorcise these demons now. Self-doubt and fear be gone!
 
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DTZ! Brilliant my friend...thank you for that profound and intensely creative reply. Appreciated on many levels. Actually one of your youtube pieces was one of my inspirations during my learning process. The HAUNTED video...loved the look of it. Love the piece with the women discussing the husbands infidelity. Great dialog. Great shots in general. I am just absorbing all this knowledge like a sponge...lol
 
Glad to have been of some assistance. Keep us all posted. I'm still terrified of my up-coming London shoot, but I'm going right ahead. - It's a kickstarter event so I don't even have the funds for it yet. Just my enthusiasm and equipment, but hey, come what may. I'll be in here to lean on people. I'll actually do what DAD did.
 
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