Jan 1st - The final status check thread

Started working on securing some locations, props, and crew. Did some lighting tests. Got some tentative financing. Haven't shot the first frame. Wrote the script, it's now in revision and getting really good. But, like all writing, it sort of took on legs of its own once I sat down to put it to paper, and now I'm not sure if it will be an entry in this contest at all. It really wants to be a feature, I think, and short of that anything less than 10-15 minutes doesn't seem to do it justice. So I may just shoot that 15 minute version, toss it to some of the other guys at the company here and see if they feel like a 5 minute version can be done.

Otherwise, the movie's more important than the contest.
 
dougspice said:
Started working on securing some locations, props, and crew. Did some lighting tests. Got some tentative financing. Haven't shot the first frame. Wrote the script, it's now in revision and getting really good. But, like all writing, it sort of took on legs of its own once I sat down to put it to paper, and now I'm not sure if it will be an entry in this contest at all. It really wants to be a feature, I think, and short of that anything less than 10-15 minutes doesn't seem to do it justice. So I may just shoot that 15 minute version, toss it to some of the other guys at the company here and see if they feel like a 5 minute version can be done.

Otherwise, the movie's more important than the contest.
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Either way you should cut a 5 min version just to get it in the fest!
 
We have the first 2 min done , now the rest I hope this weekend ...always seems to be the weather that is causing problems . we are on track though. Sure wish I had Bricemans problem of too much footage .
Can't wait to see some of the CGI that's being done .
Ian
 
I'm dropping my main idea. Couldn't get the cities blessing soon enough. We couldn't really do the script we had w/o the citie's blessing. We might throw something together real quick just to make sure we stay busy. We are still going to do our sci-fi script, just at a later date when we have more money, etc. Hopefully we can pull something decent together real quick.
 
does the arunning time restriction include the credits. or can it be 6 minutes plus x amount for credits?
 
Jan 2nd - One of our actors can't make it to the shoot. This made is nessecary to re-write much of the ending of our script. Luckily, the second draft is actually much better than the first.
 
JimtheJib said:
does the arunning time restriction include the credits. or can it be 6 minutes plus x amount for credits?
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6 mins total. You can have 6 mins of credits if ya want.
 
dougspice said:
Got some tentative financing.
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How BIG of a budget are you looking at, that you have to seek financing for it?!?! Our largest cost, by far, was food which ran around $250 for all three days & a cast/crew of around 10 people. We'll be well under $400 for total out of pocket hard costs.

If we really were to pay for everything up front, then sure we'd be in the thousands for locations, talent, crew, props we weren't able to return :evil:, etc. ... but, that's where we got creative & either deferred pay (they know it's really free ... just IF we ever made any money they'd get paid first) or bartered our production services in exchange for location(s), craft services, etc.

Briceman, you mentioned sacrificing character development for a 5-6 minute version ... I think that's a given. You can tell a QUICK story, but you can't really have much time to get into the character, have an arc, etc.
 
yeah - that's why a good short is: built on a twist or a punchline -- no time for character development -- just enough time to set up an expectation and defy it. You could also fulfill it but that's when you get the "uh ... yes, and?" feeling at the end of the short. Ex: Boy meets girl, looks like they'll wind up together ... they do ... uh yes and? This is OK in the long form because after the section where it looks like they might wind up together there is a long section of the movie convicing us (though sledom effectively) that they won't, so when they do the story feels both ineveitable and unlikely (whole). In a short you don't get to turn away from one outcome only to come back to it, so you just get the one turn away which is often a punchline or twist -- i.e. the cowboy hero in the zombie movie is no hero at all but using the zombie is part of a con.

Now having said that - my short hinges on character as much as, if not more than, story and the twist ... we'll see if I can pull it off ... don't hold your breathe!
 
Either way you should cut a 5 min version just to get it in the fest!
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I'd like to, but if this thing is really going to run that much longer, it's going to need a lot more pre-production. I don't want to rush things just to get it done. We'll see how it goes.

How BIG of a budget are you looking at, that you have to seek financing for it?!?!
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Not a huge amount, certainly, but maybe something on the order of $1200-1500. I can pay maybe half of that out of pocket, even in my state of relative poverty, so the rest has to come from somewhere. If it didn't, I'd find another way to do it, scale back the idea a bit, replace the one or two people who are going to want to be paid, etc. But I don't want to do that unless I have to. You know how it goes.

Regardless of whether or not I get something finished, I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of what sound like really interesting and ambitious projects!
 
Yeah. The twist is what makes it work. We finished our final shoot tonight. It went great. We shot two alternate endings. Trying to decide which to use. My VFX guy started working on some of my effects, muzzle flashes and filters right now.

Side Note: On the topic of budget. We spent a little over 100 bucks for food, props, makeup, etc. Worked perfect for us.
 
Well since our team pulled out because of wanting to make the original short longer and is vey ambitious I started one on my own but its going to be very tiny. I am just using my daughters to get something in and have an idea but no script. I shot and edited the ending scene to see if it works before I go on to the other stuff. So far so good and I should be shooting the rest this weekend with no script except for the images in my mind.
 
Thanks man. I'll let my guy know, I'm not sure what he's using.

Also: Our Logo/Graphic Design Guy just finished a logo for the film. It looks gorgeous!
 
Jan. 4 -
Finished a locked picture of our long version (11 min). I am leaving for vacation to Florida tomorrow. My composer will be scoring the long version this week, and next, as I finish up some of the VFX, and edit/mix all the audio, and finalize Color Correction. Then from there, I'll work it down to my six minute sci-fest version.
 
Jan 4 - Secured location for shooting. Tomorrow morning, we are going on location to figure out how to set up. Principle Photography this weekend, January 7th and 8th.
 
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