How do I find a crew?

Stryfe,

Read as much as you can about all aspects of film making and then use that basis to make a movie. Especially if you plan on DPing as well. Especially if you think all a DP does is hit record. And small amount of interiors can be shot by a 3 year old but if you want a good movie it has to be shot by a DP. Lighting is almost always required.
 
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I've never thought that all a DP does is hit record. I was saying in regards to my a one camera "KISS" method movie, there isn't much else I can think of besides lighting in regards to what a DP could help with. And if I end up going with natural lighting, that would make the job very simple. But yeah, I don't know everything a DP does.

I'll send you my script, Kess.

I do have other locations: Saw Mill, Bowling Alley, Movie Theatre(which would be the most DP necessary). I've been using all my contacts for lot's of the locations. I'd like to use more but, again, this is my first so I don't want to make it any harder for myself than it already is.

I'll find a DP and Audio guy. I'm sure of it.

I also am always researching and reading all types of books on Digital Filmmaking.

I attended Dov Simens 2-Day Film School as well, and have a B.A. in Theatre.

I'm shooting a short I wrote today this weekend just to test out my stuff and talent. So I'll be ready in about a month for the real thing.
 
You need to learn about composition as well. Composition is one of the most important factors in cinematography next to lighting. A one camera operation has nothing to do with needing a DP or not. Productions rarely use more then one camera.
 
Stryfe said:
Don't get so defensive. I'm not trying to insult DP's. On anything else I'd say it's definite you'd need a DP.
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He's not being defensive, he's telling you the way this stuff works. And even though I promised myself I wouldn't rant, now I can't help it...

Let me try to put it this way. I've been taking acting classes for about five years, mainly to help me as a director. I've also been in a few plays, got an agent, and even had some parts in low budget stuff. Still, whenever someone mistakes me for an actor, I correct them. It's not because I think I'm above acting, far from it; it's because I honestly respect good actors and all the hard work they do to learn their craft. I don't like to marginalize what they do and I frankly get tired of all the people who go, "Oh, I can be a movie star. I've got a cool look and was in a play once!" I also know how irritating that is for my actor friends who have been doing this seriously for years.

By the same token, I, and most people in my position, get even more tired when we see people taking the same attitude to being behind the camera. Sometimes it's an actor or sometimes it's someone who has nothing to do with the film medium. They decide that, despite having no experience, they'll no doubt be able to craft a great film and have no trouble pulling double duty writer/director/star/DP/camera-man/and sound mixer. You wouldn't go up to a software engineer and tell them, "I can do that! It's no big deal. You just have to do a little coding."

And I don't want to imply that I look down on someone who is green. I've been working at this for years and I'm still no where close where I need to be. It's great that so many want to jump in and give it a shot. That's how you learn.

The problem more comes from what seems like a lack of respect. All those who say, "I just have to point and shoot" or, in your case, "Put a camera on a tripod and press record. Forget all the artsy crap and get what you need." I promise you that even in a character driven piece, how you compose your shots, how you pace your scenes, and all the other things a director does are amazingly important. I'm finishing post on a project and my biggest concern was that I didn't do my actor's justice because some of my behind-the-camera stuff wasn't up to snuff. There are tons of films without any "artys crap" that still require a huge amount of craft and subtly to allow the audience to experience the story and the acting. You can EASILY screw up a good script with bad directing.

You will screw up. You will make mistakes. That's fine, and that's how you learn. But to learn you've gotta be critical of yourself and not just say, "it'll be fine, I wrote a great script, it doesn't matter that I've never directed before and am planning to DP when I don't really know what a DP does." Confidence is great to inspire people to work with you but you've also gotta beat yourself up some times if you wanna get any better. Saying, "Clerks got away with it" is a lousy rational since it ignores the countless other films which ended up terrible using your same mindset.


I'm shooting a short I wrote today this weekend just to test out my stuff and talent. So I'll be ready in about a month for the real thing.
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That's a very good start. Good luck. And, if possible, don't act in the damn thing.
 
Craigslist is good. Insist on meeting them at your production office (your home,etc.) or at a place nearby to make sure they are not completely insane. Tell them in your posting what your film is about, get them involved besides just the low pay.

Stryfe said:
You've always got Peter Jackson to use as inspiration though. I've got...Billy Bob I guess.

I'll try Craigslist and Mandy.com.

I'll try the filmschools but so far no one has seemed interested in even reading the script or anthing, according to the professors that passed out the notice. Lazy people down here.
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kevinkshah said:
Craigslist is good. Insist on meeting them at your production office (your home,etc.) or at a place nearby to make sure they are not completely insane. Tell them in your posting what your film is about, get them involved besides just the low pay.
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Meet them at a local diner, just in case they are insane. You don't want them to know where you live ;)
 
I hate people that always say "You're going to mess up" whenever you try to do anything in film. Worse than that is people that say "You're going to make mistakes and that's how you learn". It's not like it's a rite of passage or anything. How's about this, "Some people DON'T mess up"! Hard truth right there. If everyone "messed up" on a film, how would there be a clear separation of talent? Wouldn't we all be Hollywood big shots if it were a rite of passage to make mistakes on their first film or two? That would mean that filmmaker A is no different than George Lucas or Steven Spielberg because they too had issues on their films even when they made it big.

This negative attitude appears to be, in my opinion, more on the side self justification rather than an offer of helpful advice. Why squash someone's positive energy before they even get out the door? Stryfe sounds like he wants to get to work and have some fun with this movie, the only thing holding him back is the lack of crew. So, what's the point in someone attacking him and trying to bring him down to "their level"? Wouldn't that make them, by today's slang, a "Hater"?

Plus, what good does it do him if he's only going to go out and be encountered with bumps in the road anyway, yeah, I know, what I'm saying sounds the same but I'm not saying it like it's an impossible roadblock that he'll never be able to get past. Bumps in the road could be anything. Camera wasn't recording, someone trips over a cable, actor shows up late, location is compromised for an hour or two, left the clapper at home, nothing big that can't be dealt with especially for the kind of movie being described.

I know I shouldn't rant on here too but the way the "advice" was sounding was more like "You're going to fail" and that kind of attitude I don't agree with at all.

As far as crew goes, the best thing is to do like everyone has said, make postings on Craigslist, make fliers for local colleges, etc. and don't forget to make postings on DVXUser! :thumbsup:

Enjoy making your movie, Stryfe, I'm sure you're going to have a lot of fun with it.
 
Thanks man. I'm sure some things will go wrong but that's why I tried to make it as simple as possible.

Thanks for bringing back some positive energy. I'm shooting a short today and tomorrow which should give me some experience to bring into the feature.

Still got around a month to find my crew so I'm sure I'll be alright. I'm just glad most of the money spending has ended. I've spent a little over 3K on all my equipment, registering and script doctoring my screenplay, and other stuff. Then comes the money spending for marketing and festivals.
 
Jack_Felis said:
I hate people that always say "You're going to mess up" whenever you try to do anything in film. Worse than that is people that say "You're going to make mistakes and that's how you learn". It's not like it's a rite of passage or anything. How's about this, "Some people DON'T mess up"! Hard truth right there. If everyone "messed up" on a film, how would there be a clear separation of talent? Wouldn't we all be Hollywood big shots if it were a rite of passage to make mistakes on their first film or two? That would mean that filmmaker A is no different than George Lucas or Steven Spielberg because they too had issues on their films even when they made it big.
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I'd really love to know who you think hasn't ever messed up. Honestly. Michael Mann once said of his days in film school, "film school is where you make a lot of horrible films that you probably shouldn't let anybody ever see so you can learn to do better."

Do you HONESTLY think that every successful person just does it right on the first try? Really?

This negative attitude appears to be, in my opinion, more on the side self justification rather than an offer of helpful advice. Why squash someone's positive energy before they even get out the door? Stryfe sounds like he wants to get to work and have some fun with this movie, the only thing holding him back is the lack of crew. So, what's the point in someone attacking him and trying to bring him down to "their level"? Wouldn't that make them, by today's slang, a "Hater"?
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Well, I'd certainly agree that there's a lot of self-justification to my and others view of young people suddenly deciding to be filmmakers. It's only natural to want to say, "Look at the mistakes he's making; thank God I won't make those particular mistakes again, at least I've learned and grown as a filmmaker." I highly doubt anyone on these boards is exactly where they want to be in life and we all need ways to make ourselves feel better :D

That said, I stand by my comments and those of others because while our own attitudes may be problematic, so is the one that he demonstrated and the one that you seem to demonstrate. It seems so many have this idea of entitlement. Like when you mention the line between Speilberg and "Filmmaker A." It's this idea that there are only a select few who are just born with talent and they're going to make it no matter what. Of course, the people I see who tend to espouse this view of course always think that they are one of the select few with the talent. It's the, "I know I've got talent so I'll succeede no matter what" attitude. Or, in this case, his comments came across as, "Someone told me I had a good script so it'll be great even if I don't know how to direct, don't have a DP, and am pulling triple duty when two of the jobs I've never done before. All the complicated stuff a director or DP does is just 'artsy crap.'"

Anything good takes hard work and a lot of agony. The professionals whom I respect most may often put on a confident exterior but they still agonize over every little thing because that's what forces them to grow and get better. I really respect the desire to just jump in and do the best you can but you should be ready for problems and eager to learn from your mistakes. If you're not doubting yourself just a bit on some level then there's nothing driving you to do better. I actually think one of the major differences between those who are great at what they do and those who aren't is how much they learn from their last endever. I've known countless people with real talent who spend years not ammounting to anything because they are so sure of their talent that they never grow (ESPECIALLY actors). The actors I know who I've enjoyed working with and who really impress me do doubt themseles and strive to improve.

Orson Welles, perhaps the best example of someone "doing it perfect on the first try," once said that he felt the later failures of his career were from believing that everything he touched would turn to gold. He said he wished that, when he was young, someone just once wouldn't have told him that this was the best painting ever, the best play ever, the best movie ever...

Plus, what good does it do him if he's only going to go out and be encountered with bumps in the road anyway, yeah, I know, what I'm saying sounds the same but I'm not saying it like it's an impossible roadblock that he'll never be able to get past.
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Please tell me where I or anyone said "this is an impossible roadblock you'll never be able to get passed." Like I said before, I still ignore a lot of others telling me my limitations until I fall flat on my face. And then I correct the problem. That said, I wished I'd listened to some of them instead of screwing up.

I know I shouldn't rant on here too but the way the "advice" was sounding was more like "You're going to fail" and that kind of attitude I don't agree with at all.
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Big difference between, "you're going to fail" and "you're going to make mistakes." I don't like an overly pessimistic attitude any more than you do but I've also gotten a bit tired of seeing the overly possitive ones in this business. When you're making movies, you're not just spending your time and energy but other peoples (and often money). In such a situation I think you owe it to those you work with to be hard on yourself.
 
Who said I'm not the kind of guy who beats himself up? I may seem confident but it's like you said, confident on the exterior. If I knew everything would I be on the dvxuser boards asking for help everyday?

I'm always doing self improvement in every aspect of life. I'll never be content with my talent or anything else in life, which will always drive me to be better.

Some people are natuarally just good and some will never have it. I'm not saying I am but I hope I am. I've seen it in acting and writing. When someone tells me they're going to be an actor cause acting's easy or writing's easy I don't get insulted. There are naturals who can just do it, and as they go they'll improve and be even better.

Michael Mann's first movies may have sucked, but probably just compared to his later work. I bet it's a hundred times better than Filmmaker A's first movies.

At the same time, I'm confident that I'll be great at this or else I wouldn't have spent about 3K on equipment and dedicated so much of my life to this project.

If I suck, well, okay. Try a few more times, and if I still don't have the talent I thought I had, oh well. Give it up and go be a dentist, haha. At least I'll know if I could do it and not wonder about when I'm 50.
 
Is there a reason why you can't hold production until you find the crew you need? If you are going to DP your film you should at least have an operator to at least monitor the frame.

Have you posted in the jobs section here? I may be mistaken, but I don't recall seeing anything.
 
I feel the necessity for deadlines. Plus it's always the first quesiton a potential DP has when I interview them. I'm starting to find some guys now that live within my own state. Who knew?

I'll post in the jobs section as well. Didn't get anything out of it last time, when I was looking for a Hispanic actress. But might get better results this time.
 
Stryfe. In all honesty I think you should just go for it. It will probably be a train reck but in the long run it will be a great learning experience.
 
Stryfe said:
There's a community college a litle over an hour away but I'm not sure if I should trust a student filmmaker from there.

Any help would be appreciated.
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I think the answer is in there somewhere .... maybe you and your crew will have to "grow" together ...
 
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