how long did your first full-length feature take?

non

non

Active member
basically, I'm just curious. I started shooting mine earlier this month. I've done 4 days, averaging about 4-6 hours a day(keeping it pretty liad-back since nobody is beign paid). I'd priginally thought I'd knock out alot more in a shorter time but now I realize it's gonna take a few months jsut to shoot.
was curious what others did.

Thanks in advance
 
Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

Our AD just knocked out our preliminary schedules, and we're looking at 14 days, 10 hours each day, depending. That will be in three locations, Anza Borrego, Yuma, and a ranch in San Diego,CA. It's all about pre-production to keep things in check. Good luck.
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I edited this post, because I remembered the last feature I worked on, which took 5 months due to really poor pre-production, which will not be the case this time out. Just another reason to work hard on your shot list, storyboards, scheduling, crew meetings, blocking, etc..

Good luck...again.
 
Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

I'm finishing the editing of a 90 minute feature right now. It took 7 weeks and 36 MiniDV tapes to shoot. This was after a LOT of pre-production planning and storyboarding every single shot. We eventually guessed that it would take us 1 hour per shot. We were about right, and only went over the schedule by 2 days. We were shooting from 8am until 4pm every day, and then watched the dailies and got everything ready for the next day. That was in the Summer of 2003. Be prepared to spend a LONG time capturing and logging your footage. And get at least 500GB of Hard Disk space. You're going to need it.

Best of luck!
 
Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

The first 20 minutes of a feature that I shot took 11 days, mostly all fairly full (limited by the working hours that minors are allowed to be on set) averaging about 7 - 9 1/2 hours each day. We had a cast of 13 with a lot of extras, multiple locations (both sound stage and permitted locations). Logistics, was one of the biggest challenges, there was one scene where we had 7 principals (all working actors) and had a terrible time finding a chuck of time when both the location and cast was available, one ended up flying across the country to make get that single scene. Likely, the size of your cast, the access to locations, and the size of your crew and equipment requirements will strongly influence the amount of time you should budget. Pre planning is the best (and cheapest) way to shoot anything.

Have a great shoot!
 
Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

one of my no budget films ended up to be 4 months instead of 2 weeks of the given time. But because it was an independent production, we had no set of strict schedules so we had to go by the weekends or when people weren't busy. But just to reemphasize that being prepared-though common sense- is something most of us underestimate because we all like to just 'wing' it.

 unless you're riding on someone else's time and money- that helps to get everyone's butt moving.
 
Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

we also need to take production requirements into consideration as i'm sure "Signs" or "panic room" took less time to shoot than let's say Gladiator.
 
Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

my first film was shot over three years. For the first year we shot on and off then our lead quit. We then reshot the film with a new cast over 2 years. I then edited for another year and a half - two. It has been sititng on my comptuer for over a year untouched. The composer finished the music and now i have to remix some audio but am stalling because it is hard to look at it now 6 years after starting!

started shooting my second film last summer. I hope to finish by next september. I shto for 3 weeks and then dropped an actor. Did some rewrites and am now shooting documentary footage that will be incorporated in the film. Then, some winter exteriors in january/feb and the bulk of the film in july/august.

good luck!
tom
www.stationhousefilms.com
 
Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

we started shooting in July 2004 over the weekends and it took us 19 days to finish principal photography. we are now in the last phases of post production. so it took us a good year from scritping to this final stage of post production. not too bad eh....

you can have a look at the teaser trailers and prodction photos at our website www.unkreative.com

cheerio
amit
 
Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

Hi

Mine took 6 months for a 120 min feature. shooting only weekends . Independent production so had to work with peoples schedules. Editing took 3 months. so three months shooting and three months editing.

Shot with a self build steadycam . 15 mini dv tapes . well rehersed shots taken very carefully.

Shot with Pana Dvx100
edited on premiere 6.5
Background music Gigastudio3 and Swarshala

Thanks
 
Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

ok, my second feature took me 10 days to shoot and now I am learning Vegas and then start editing...so it is still not finished .... but the first feature I was shooting for 5 months!

I had 30 tapes then (first feature) - now I have only 15 tapes (second feature) so I am kind of improving. Or at least saving tapes.

Still have to learn my editing skills. So I can finally see what I have done :)
 
Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

geez you guys all have your own features, im so jealous...and inspired
 
Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

Two days ago, I made a short movie (5 min), with DVX100 ofcourse, and I filmed it for only a hour. It is edited, and it looks fantastic. It is about a killer who kills a gay man who pays him for sexual action.
 
Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

Re: how long did your first full-length feature ta

I'm starting mine this summer.. 30 days of shooting, 5 days a week. I can't wait! ;D
 
My first feature took from April of 2004 until early October 2004. With everyone's work schedules it became more of a get it while you can style shoot. There was a great wealth of make up f/x gags, including one main character that endured his three hour make up damn near every day. We used a DVX on a Glidecam Pro for quite a bit of the footage which I do believe ended up being about 17 tapes worth of stuff. I cut on Final Cut Pro for three weeks, sleeping every third day, if I had not there would have been no way we would have ever hit our Oct. 29th premiere, somehow, I finished the final cut the morning of said premiere.
My experience of what not to do was of course, don't last minute yourself, and always be prepared for something to go wrong, break, someone be late, or all of the above, I can remember an entire night of shooting have to succumb to the desire of theblood hoses to repeatedly break, foiled by a hose. Anyways, sorry to ramble on, best of luck and I hope you enjoy making your picture non.
 
12 Shooting Days, 6 Vacation Days, 4 Locations...

12 Shooting Days, 6 Vacation Days, 4 Locations...

check it out - just for you guys here's some "behind the scenes" stuff I'll share with you...

http://www.blixafilms.com/dirmastersched.htm

I work a full-time "exec" job in the biz so we had to crunch this down to the minimum we could to make it work for me.

-b
 
I've got two more scenes to shoot for a non budget DV film we started shooting back in October. Our shooting schedule was sporadic at best, considering that we didn't shoot the whole month of January or February.

The nice thing about our shoot was that it relied on two major sets, so once we had those sets we were able to schedule the days and bang them out quickly. When all is said and done our actual shooting days will number eleven.

Rob
 
My first feature...

My first feature...

We did it for 5,000.00 (all actors and crew were deferred) and we shot in just under 30 days. There was an original schedule of 22 days that got stretched to 26, then we went back for an additional week. Those were 12-16 hour days, mind you, and quite organized as well. We shot on 2 Canon XL-1s with quite an elaborate detail, they were about 14 grand each outfitted.

You can check our propaganda at www.onenightinportland.com

Editing took five months, including effects, final mix and so on, then we spent an additional 6 months rotoscoping it. I don't think there has ever been anything quite like it, and it's starting to make some waves. It was one of those, "We have the time, let's see if we can make a no budget film" exercises.

I have done a lot of directing, and certainly a ton of DV shooting, so anything anyone wants an opinion on, let me know.

The reason I'm here is that I directed a commercial a few months ago and was given a DVX100a to keep, if I would try to get some B-roll when I wasn't watching over the guys on the Varicam, and I love it. I am constantly amazed at how fantastic this little camera is! I have used all of the Canons, and they suck compared to this little Panasonic. I don't care anything about the XL-2 (without the servo lens, the B&W viewfinder, an add-on LCD, real rack focus and a lot of other stuff it's simply useless) and I spent a day with the new "Pro" version of the Sony HDV camera last week and I hate it too.

I have seen three features blown up to 35 shot on the DVX, and I think they are beautiful. Obviously, they won't let me, but if clients would, I would use this camera for a lot! I honestly believe that the DVX and a Sennheiser MKH66 plus Avid Pro HD with BCC, BRed, Magic Bullet, FilmFX2 and Knoll Light Factory are the way to go. I love that I can take a grip kit consisting of an ARRI roller with a 1k softbank, 2 650s and a few inkies, a crate full of diffusion, tape and three sets of road rags, and just blow people away with the quality DV can rise to.

The DVX is absolutely the cornerstone of indie filmmaking. I wish I could go back and make ONIP with it...
 
I haven't yet shot a feature, but I did shoot my short film over the course of 6 days..

around 6-8 hour days... cost me around $700.. the finished film is 28min. Was shot on a Cannon XL1s..

and as stated in the last post.. I also wish I could re-shoot with my DVX... would be a hundred times better.
 
It's a good idea to give yourself a deadline. At least try to. That gives you a clearer set of goals in my opinion.
 
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