questions about a budget feature post work-

roei z

roei z

Veteran
Hi. hope this is the right place.

after i'll finish shooting and editing my (about 10,000$) budget feature,
i'll have to solve how to produce a decent on-line ready to be screened.
let's say i know my way around sound mixing, and have professional help and favors.
but i need some help on how to "budget" my way through the visual post work.

yes, i know i need someone with lot's of experience in coloring
that's my main problem :(
but besides that:
is AE enough to finalize the film?
if not, what's the other common budget software solutions?

(the film doesn't have CGI, just fixing a few shots and mainly colorizing and all the usual final touch ups)

i have no clue on "preparing for theater screening" workflow for budget DSLR shot indies,
so i'll appreciate any reading material links or tips and advices.

thanks.
 
In your case, budget what you can raise or already have. That's about all there is too it. You can't afford the real going rates, so you'll have to rely on the strength of your pitch and your product to get what you need done.

If you already have sound mixing covered, that's more important than the grade or image to be honest. In the event that you don't have sound mix and design covered, spend more money there and take a hit on the image.

For an actual theater release, there are standards to adhere too. Chances are, though, you won't have to worry about that. AE will be enough to finish your feature, I'd suggest finding someone who wants some reel material and who's work you can massage to your taste, so that you both get something out of it.
 
Kholi said:
For an actual theater release, there are standards to adhere too. Chances are, though, you won't have to worry about that.
Click to expand...

thanks.
can you please explain a bit more about the above?
what exactly the standards you refer to ?
by me not needing to worry, you mean- if and when it will come to that, they'll take care of it?
and what if i plan to send it to festivals? won't i have to prepare it by the standards you mentioned ?
 
For theatrical distribution you have to deliver a REC 709 I believe? I may be wrong about which REC it is.

Getting to that spec requires someone who knows what they're doing on all fronts, which means you're probably going to pay for it. It's almost an unecessary thing to budget, though, because festivals will screen whatever as long as it's in the right delivery format. And, if you're talking about theatrical distribution, well there's always a chance! But, the likely hood is no, so spending money on that isn't something a producer of a low-no-budget feature film without names etc should do?

THat's what I meant. But, mileage varies and there's no right way.

I'd spend more on sound than anything
 
Sound on my low budget feature was a lot more hours than that. There was close to 20 hours alone on the dialog edit. Add to that foley, SFX, then music editing, then the mix (one for stereo, one for 5.1) then from there all the deliverables that may be requested by a distributor.

Michael
 
no way I could pull off these sizes of favors...
Hmmm.. What to do?
make a rough mix out of Avid and try to screen it for
Some finance?
 
MichaelP said:
Sound on my low budget feature was a lot more hours than that. There was close to 20 hours alone on the dialog edit. Add to that foley, SFX, then music editing, then the mix (one for stereo, one for 5.1) then from there all the deliverables that may be requested by a distributor.

Michael
Click to expand...


Agreed. It's taken about 10 or so man hours on Sound Design, Dialogue, Foley, etc on our trailer.

And you're also talking ADR, etc... 50 hours it will not be, at least not for something decent.

Live and learn, of course! Roei, without knowing too much about what kind of project you have going, getting financing from outside sources pretty much means death for your project. If you went in self-financed, your best bet is to crowdfund what you need for post processing. This is where the strength of your material is going to matter the most. It sounds like you're going to pull a lot of favors soon, and the way to get those favors to stick is to have something that people want to donate time and/or money to.

You're still in production, from one newbie feature film producer to another... make it count.
 
i'm about to finish shooting in the next 2 weeks..
then i'll start editing (+trailer)
so basically what your saying is: ask for favors with some kind of promise in my hands.
you mean an off-line with a rough mix?
or relay on a trailer alone?
 
Well, if you don't have the money to actually pay someone the rate that they normally get to work, then the trade-off is that you're a great person to work with, are moving forward with your career as a filmmaker, and that you have a product (movie) that someone would like to get a very nice credit on in exchange for a lower rate or pro bono work.

Short version: you should find someone who wants to grow with you and sees potential in your work.

The only thing you can realistically promise to anyone is that you'll make it as easy on them as possible in exchange for their help, and you'll give them a credit. Everything else for the most part is out of your control without the capital to make things move.

So, do the best you can do on the trailer and the movie editing and see how far you can get with it.

You're also in a different country, it may be easier to find someone who just wants to do what they love to help you out?
 
art, is not something this country is known for.. and so are the people living here.
as i am told, there is not ONE person in Israel who could qualify to pull out a decent AE post work on a feature.
there are only 2-3 places with the more pro expensive on-line coloring hardware that make all Israeli features.
so it's either i find a young talented AE magician (as far as on-line and coloring) and take my chances, or i'm pretty much stuck.
 
It is a tough position to be in, and don't call the game until it's actually over of course.

These are some of the pitfalls that lots of people mention, or warn no to low budget producers of. Although not a cold hard rule, the very last things in the chain are the first things that a producer should be thinking of, near completely in reverse once a script has been decided upon.

Distribution -> Post Process -> Production -> Pre-Production
 
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