Does anyone have advice on finding a volunteer camera crew.

F

FilmmakersStudio

Member
The thing is I go out of my way to construct a well-thought out ad on Craigslist that specifically says down at the bottom that there is no compensation.

Believe me when I tell you all if I had the funding and the means to put up a budget to get some solid cameraman for my projects I would have done that by now. It's not that I don't want to pay people, it's just that I can't afford it right now .

If you are still someone like me who wants to learn and grow in your filmmaking what are certain tricks to writing and finding good, solid production crew who want to grow with you.

Also are their any sites anyone has used to post crew positions for your shoots? What has worked for everyone in the past?

Let me know as I could really use anyone's input on this subject.
 
- Don't leave the 'no compensation' aspect to the end of the listing, it's ending your pitch on a sour note.
- Be upfront about looking for 'other volunteers and collaborators' to help you bring your film to life
- Reassure people that they'll be well fed and their petrol costs will be covered
- Offer 'profit-share' as an incentive. Odds are your low-budget production will never earn so much as a dime (and most people know that going in), but if by some miracle it does, the people who contributed to it's creation deserve a percentage of that dime.
- Don't expect anyone to provide equipment for free, they might give their time, and if you're REALLY lucky they might bring a few bits of gear along - but don't ever expect people to give you free usage of equipment they spend good money on for 'your' project - it comes across as ungrateful (as though them giving their time isn't enough) and rubs people up the wrong way.
- Look for students, bulletin boards at film-schools are probably the single best place to find volunteer crew.


Those are the basics I'd suggest sticking to.
 
A thing I've HEARD (never been down this road myself) --- don't try to make a feature (doesn't say whether you're looking to do a feature yet) shooting weekends for 3 years, condense into several weeks shooting all week and be done, much easier to get folks to commit for that kind of timespan, and fewer problems than you'd have letting it drag on and on.

Also, if you get honest to God professionals to help you (and you could, you never know), realize that in all likelihood (this I HAVE experienced) they will drop your project in a heartbeat if a paid gig comes up during one of your shooting days, so be able to work without them or have several folks lined up for each position.
 
Try to make a teaser based on one day shooting of the feature .

This may attract producers so your whole project get fund, and then you get proper crew and equipments.

Try mandy.com for crew and talent postings.

Good luck...
 
One thing I suggest is, don't make it seem like what you are doing is going to be "great exposure" for the person. Too many people here locally make ads and talk like the projects they are doing is going to be the greatest thing ever for a person. Just be honest with what you want and you never know!
 
There's a few questions that come to mind (and sometimes mouth) when I'm asked to do something for free:

How far does the "no budget" go, e.g

- Are you getting paid for it?
- Is anyone else getting paid for it?
- Will you cover travel and expenses, plus any other costs e.g hire of kit

What's in it for me? E.g:

- Is there a possibility of a pay out in the future, e.g if the project gets noticed on completion and starts earning money, will I see a pay out? Would that be on a profit share basis, or would it be against normal rates/invoice?
- Does the project provide me with an opportunity to try something different, or test out some new kit?

What have you done to try and get funding e.g have you made any attempts to get a backer, distribution, commission etc?

Who else is involved, i.e. does it provide me with an opportunity to work alongside people who may be able to provide me with other work?

What's the exposure? This is a tricky one, if anyone leads with a "you'll get a credit and it'll make you famous" style line, then I'd be off like a shot. However equally as much, if I think the project could be a winner and may be well received, then it could get my interest. So understanding exactly what the project entails, timelines for completion, distribution channels, would all be important to me.


And as somebody mentioned earlier, I would only ever agree on the basis that paid work would take priority.

With all that said, despite being asked a number of times in the last 5 years, I've taken on just two freebies. The first is (hopefully) about to get a commision, when it does we'll get paid normally based on accrued work at our standard rates, the second was more a very valid excuse to test out some new equipment and methods.
 
There's a lot of good advice above, so I'll just add a few thoughts on the topic:
I've done a few freebies, but nothing gets me there like a paycheck even if it's just a small one. Scrape up some cash and it will go much better.
I'm not doing a freebie for someone who is seeking to profit off my work.
I will do a freebie for friends if the subject or people involved look like it could be fun. …or have social value like a fundraiser for a cause I believe in.
I will do freebies for people who also have some paying gigs that I've been hired on. People who do commercial work also like to make some films just for fun on the side.
You will be on my shitlist very quickly if you don't appreciate my working free for you, and give the next paying gig to someone else.
Be upfront about what you expect and what you can realistically offer. Don't promise me a Hollywood career for working on your short unless you can actually deliver one.
Nobody likes to be taken advantage of.
Everyone likes to have fun and do some meaningful work.
Make sure your project sees the light of day.
 
I think Stuart has the right frame of mind and I will do what it takes to get those questions answered when I am approached by a potential camera person. That makes more sense to have those questions prepared especially when it's hard for you to scrape up some cash when there is none available. You may have a wonderful purposal like I do but no where from which to get funding yet. I do hope to and believe me I am working on it and I am very committed to the cause . In the end , that is my goal to have a budget , and to be able to pay other actors and talent.

However, being someone brought up on the Christian faith and helping others I know I will find my crew. It may take time , maybe days to scrounge up a good crew but believe me it's going to happen.

I know people take film seriously and want some day to get steady work in it but where I come from we should always lend a helping hand to those in need. We need more of that in this world especially for those like me who would be very appreciative of their work and would never take credit for someone else's work.

Money isn't everything and shame on those who think it is. We can either agree to disagree but I'm not here to argue on what I strongly feel.
 
FilmmakersStudio said:
I know people take film seriously and want some day to get steady work in it but where I come from we should always lend a helping hand to those in need. We need more of that in this world especially for those like me who would be very appreciative of their work and would never take credit for someone else's work.

Money isn't everything and shame on those who think it is. We can either agree to disagree but I'm not here to argue on what I strongly feel.
Click to expand...

Can I ask a serious question, do you have some other job at which you are employed other than filmmaking?
 
Filmmakersstudio, No need to get defensive. You just need to understand that for professionals who actually work in the field that this is our real job and our income and not something "to fall back on". That said, there are times and there are people who will do some jobs for free, but you can't go in expecting that everyone will do that. Once you understand that not everyone is eager to work, and it is work, for you for free then you will also understand that you will need to make it worthwhile for them. That's it. The rest of it is just details.
 
Andrius, I understand that part. However, like I said in the beginning if I can get to a point later on when I can pay someone rest assured I will. With things the way they are right now I really have no choice to resort to this method for awhile. Like you said not everyone will do it for free but some will. Those that will , will have a nice experience with me.

It's not that I'm being difficult or withholding out on payment that I can afford . No I really can't afford even to give them a small payment. When I cross that bridge when things pick up it will be a whole different ball game.

So although I do appreciate all the advice given that is about as far as I can go right now with this. No offense.
 
Andrius Simutis said:
There's a lot of good advice above, so I'll just add a few thoughts on the topic:
I've done a few freebies, but nothing gets me there like a paycheck even if it's just a small one. Scrape up some cash and it will go much better.
I'm not doing a freebie for someone who is seeking to profit off my work.
I will do a freebie for friends if the subject or people involved look like it could be fun. …or have social value like a fundraiser for a cause I believe in.
I will do freebies for people who also have some paying gigs that I've been hired on. People who do commercial work also like to make some films just for fun on the side.
You will be on my s*%tlist very quickly if you don't appreciate my working free for you, and give the next paying gig to someone else.
Be upfront about what you expect and what you can realistically offer. Don't promise me a Hollywood career for working on your short unless you can actually deliver one.
Nobody likes to be taken advantage of.
Everyone likes to have fun and do some meaningful work.
Make sure your project sees the light of day.
Click to expand...

This.

The most important being: if I think the project is going to be truly great, I will want to work on it for free. If you don't have something great to show (previous work, awesome script, etc), starting with a short teaser is the way to go.
(this is ME and I also have a completely unrelated job that pays the bills; YMMV, but in any case you don't need everybody to be willing to work with you for free, just enough people to shoot what you want to shoot)
 
Haven't read all of the responses, but here's my 2 cents...

First, assure them that you have a great script. And that had better be true. If it's not, stop where you are and turn your script into a great script before proceeding. Otherwise, you're wasting your time and everyone else's.

For a really great script, people will do a lot. :-)

Next, tell them about your background and experience, if you have any. If you've produced decent quality stuff before, then give them links to where they can see your work online. Nothing draws quality people like knowing that YOU do quality work.

If this is your first production, then say so. That's not necessarily a deal breaker, if you have a great script. The first film I ever did -- when I was nobody, and nobody in the business knew me from Adam -- was a short called 'Three Wishes'. All I could offer was the standard 'meals, credit and copy'. I had a good script and was passionate about it. And I managed to get a decent cast and crew, including a director who drove 700 miles (on his own dime) and brought 2 cameras and a lighting kit with him. The film wasn't great, but for a first effort it turned out pretty darned good.

Keep your shooting schedule as short as you can, while still getting a good amount of coverage. "Three Wishes" shot over a 3-day weekend. The whole story took place in one house, and many of the cast and crew bunked either at that house or at my house -- so 'accommodations' were included. Many people were willing to help simply because it was a minimal time investment for them. If the shoot had spanned a week or more, I'd have gotten fewer takers.

In summary -- if you have a great script, a decent track record, and a short shooting schedule, you can get good people to come and help you for deferred-pay plus meals, credit and copy.
 
David W. Richardson said:
Haven't read all of the responses, but here's my 2 cents...

First, assure them that you have a great script. And that had better be true. If it's not, stop where you are and turn your script into a great script before proceeding. Otherwise, you're wasting your time and everyone else's.
Click to expand...

I've responded to a number of 'need photography/director' type craigslist ads for people 'with scripts'... only to find out their idea of 'script' was sort of a brief scenario, if that...
In a couple of cases I turned their 'scenario' into a short 2-3 page 'script'... never heard back...
 
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