DOC: Retirement Home

Just to let you know about the process of talking with film distributors:
There's a mention in the crowdfunding of interest from distributors in this film but now it's getting more serious.

Here (Portugal) there's one major distributor that monopolizes almost all of distribution, Lusomundo. A few that are independent and show artsy/auter films that don't make pratically no money and live from subsidies (they're small companies and have like one or two employees - the boss being one of them).
And the one that I'm talking to which is the only independent distribution company in the country that still is able to make profit and have a good number of employees. They're like the Asterix and Obélix village of distribution here.
It's very difficult for a documentary to have any profit here (we only only 10 million habitants) and the number of people that watch documentaries rarely goes above 3.000 spectators. So, the number of documentaries distributed in Portugal is something like 3 to 5 documentaries per year.

What we're trying is to maybe apply to a subsidy that helps national distribution. But first they need to watch the film once it's done, to know for sure if they want to show it.
So please, if you can, here it is - http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/retirement-home/x/4192945
Thanks very much in advance to everyone who can help!
 
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Hi guys,

We're now at 20% of our objective - http://igg.me/at/retirementhomefilm/x/4192945. If there's any question (technical /aesthetical/themathic) about the film I can try to reply.

I can say that the AF101 was the best camera that I could have given the situation I was in. Because of budget, portability and because I did everything in this shoot by myself (cinematography, sound, etc)...
I used the Sanken CS-1e to record sound directly to the camera and the presets worked great - I had one level on the right channel and other in the left one and I didn't had a single shot ruined because of sound (in more than 100 hours of footage).
 
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So, the crowdfunding is now at 20% https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/retirement-home/x/4192945 and I confirmed the sound designer for the film.
He mixed the sound of more than 200 films and tv series and is one of the most renowned sound designers of Portugal.

He hasn't sent me the budget yet though, bet it's not gonna be a pretty sight :undecided

Can someone please say how much does it cost in your country a sound mix for a doc feature?
With just one track of sound - direct sound -, no effects, and music (in 15% of the film).
 
Hi, Fernando.

If you can find a way to FTP a copy of your film to me, I can show it to some of my colleagues here in the USA. I work with very low budgets, and they may be able to make you a good quote. I have a few separate people for soundtracking and mixing.

But I thought that you had music all set. Did that fall through?
 
Hi, Finn :)

Thanks a lot for the offer but I prefer to do it here, it's better to be there and be able to give some direct feedback as the work goes along...
The soundtrack is all done, mixed and mastered... What I'm gonna do next, as soon as I finish the editing, is the overall sound mix of the film.

In your case, you normally do the color grading before or after the sound mix?
Just out of curiosity...
 
Many thanks, Bob :)
I'm going use this camera in my next film... It's a great camera that still has a lot to give..
I don't like very much the looks of the Blackmagic - even the 4k that's coming, I doubt that I'll like it. It has a very plastic look and not very film like.
This camera has a 16mm vibe to it, when it comes to digital filmmaking, that I'm very fond of.
 
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Guys, please consider to donate. And if later you need any help on a project of yours please let me know.
This time it's me asking for help, next time it might be you, and I can help you out as well.

Many thanks to this great community!
 
Fernando. Good luck with your journey. I would ask that you don't make multiple threads. I've merged your thread from AF100 forum to here so nothing is lost.
 
The equipment used to make this film:

Camera: Panasonic AF101
Lens: Voigtlander 25 mm f/0.95 (just one lens used in the entire shoot)
Microphone: Sanken Cs1e (with the sound recorded on camera 98% of the time - the rest to the external recorder)
Cable for the micro: Rycote TAC!T
Microphone suspension on camera for the micro: Rycote universal suspension
External sound recorder: Zoom h4n
Tripod: Manfrotto 701HDV head + 055XBK Mini Pro Aluminum Tripod System (Black) legs
Shoulder brace: Olof AF100 Shoulder brace (http://www.westsideavstore.com/index.php?p=catalog&parent=8&pg=1)
 
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Status of the indiegogo campaign, other funding and some reminiscences

Indiegogo campaign: http://igg.me/at/retirementhomefilm/x/4192945 (34%)

I'm now in talks with two companies to support the film and waiting for their response.
I need more than the 1000€ that I'm asking in the Indiegogo campaign: the budget spent solely on the film will be around 2600€ ($3600).
1000€ for the sound mix (an estimate) + 1600€ for the soundtrack (composition, recording and mixing).

Which is not a lot given that this is a feature film!
But considering the time that it took and to shoot, to edit, to produce and do other jobs in order to buy the equipment (see post above). I did an estimation the other day:
40 hours per week x 52 weeks x 4 years = 8320 hours

Let's imagine I'd receive 1000€ per month for making this film. Around 6€ per hour.
Which is the average that a freelance cameramen or filmmaker with a constant workflow makes in Portugal.

8320 x 6 = 49.920€

49.920€ or $68.966

That's the amount of money that ideally I'd need to make to compensate me for all the time I spent working in this film. Will I make it? I doubt it very very much...
And my movie is great, I know that. But there was probably 1 or 2 documentaries in the last 10 years in Portugal that made that kind of money.

The other day a moderator here in DVXuser advised me to speak about the difficulties of making this film.
And I thought to myself that "I'd need to write a book to explain all the crap that I had to endure to make this film!". Maybe someday I will because I need to take that out of my system!

This film started as a commission from an association in the town where the film was done. They wanted me to do an institutional documentary about that association, it's history, workers, etc.
They paid no money but would buy some equipment to make it: an iMac 27', the Panasonic HDC HS300, a cheap Hama tripod and a cheap microphone.
I was 23 at that time. I had just come from Amsterdam where I worked as a scheduler for MGM Central Europe and I wanted to take any chance I could to work in the area.

I started recording everything I could (they have 3 clinics, a pharmacy...) but I was always inclined to their retirement home. I think that in the second or third month I thought "Ok, I could use this equipment they gave me and try to make an artistic documentary."
In that process I thought that the camera they gave me wasn't good enough and I'd have to buy better one.

At first I considered to buy a Canon that I can't recall, but then I started considering the AF101.
A lot because of a video that I found here from Bob Gundu, with the Voigtlander 25mm. This one: https://vimeo.com/27936794
The image had the kind of shallow depth that I was looking for and I found the video very cinematic.

I'll continue this journal another day, thanks for reading!
 
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Status of the indiegogo campaign, other funding and some reminiscences (2nd part)

Indiegogo campaign: http://igg.me/at/retirementhomefilm/x/4192945 (37%) - 9 days to the end of the crowdfunding

I started shooting in October of 2012. It took me about three days to find the right picture profile for the AF100.
If you want to know it please PM me so I can send it to you. It's kind of a secret recipe... :)
At first I considered to do a few interviews and I did some with some elders but I wasn't liking the way they were turning out so I decided for the film to be direct style documentarism only.

My job was basically the same as one of a fisherman or a hunter. Sometimes I had to wait for the right moments to shoot to happen and I waited. Other times I had to go find them, run after them so I could capture them without them getting away.
I searched for moments that could serve as representation of what it's life in that retirement home, of how it's like to be an older person living in Portugal and how it's like to be an older person in general.

It took me 6 months to shoot, I had days that I shot maybe 4 or 5 hours of footage. Sometimes takes would last 1 or 2 hours. Sometimes they would be fast paced so I could catch different reactions to one particular event.
The worst part was the editing. Besides the really slow paced of some moments I think I had to become an elder myself to try for the film to have some kind of truth.

It's been a year since I started editing and the film had inumerous versions and changes since I got to the 1st version, which was 5 months ago.
The film still needs some work to be polished but I think I'm close.
 
The soundtrack

The soundtrack took about 5 months to compose, record and mix... As in most things of this film it was made almost without any money.
The composer spent money from his own pocket (80€) to rent a studio to record the piano sections of the music.
The producer and mixer did the gig for free and the studio used to record the guitar takes was borrowed for free by a portuguese musician called Luís Varatojo.

Pedro Gaspar is the guitar player of a band called O Experimentar Na M'Incomoda and I thought of him because I like a lot the guitars in their their records. Their music has a lot mentions of portuguese folklore and how it is like to live in small villages in Portugal.
Although this project is from the island of Azores in spirit their music remind me of my childhood in the small village where I was brought up. I contacted them and they related to the film.

The soundtrack will also be given as a reward in most perks of the crowdfunding of the film: http://igg.me/at/retirementhomefilm/x/4192945, so please feel free to contribute. Many thanks.
 
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