schleppin' productions

I'm also thinking of blowing up this movie to 35mm for theatrical projection all over the world. If you're planning to do the same, send me an email from my website > http://www.felliniesque.com

We can cut costs down if we work together. I'm also planning to go into distribution by next year, so contact me about that as well.
 
if there is a chance you're going to go theatrical and need 35mm release prints, you should be shooting 35mm, otherwise you'll end up having to come up with $80,000 for DI's, Interpositives, Internegatives and release print costs.

seldom do distributors put up the money for the blow up from digital; they'll ask you to do it and if you can't they won't even pick up your movie for digital distribution.

so if you're experimenting or making a short, by all means shoot digital, and if you have another Star Wars movie, then go ahead do it digitally because there is no way you're going to be able to make a $100,000,000 movie in 35mm.

but if your movie is a standard movie that requires a moderate amount of special effects and you have a shot at theatrical, you're better off shooting 35mm film.

Anyway, I offer short ends 35mm film cinematic all speeds tested at fraction of cost of digital Prompt reply & quote http://www.releasing.net/rawstock/
 
But that's the trade-off when not using a script; 35mm is too expensive.
So next time I'll have to think long and hard about what the subject matter is and how I should handle the cinematography.
 
You shot TRQ on a the Sony Z1U right? Cr2nk was shot with Canon A1 and a bunch of HF10. No matter what people thought about the quality of the story, the film's look was fine. If I'm correct you shot with the Sony Z1U. There's no reason you can't screen this in a theater via a high-quality projector like everyone else does.

Also, in the trailer there's a guy with a sword. Red steps to him. What does she say to him that makes him make that look then back away. By the way am I to assume that the Red Queen is actually a play of some sort and in real life Red is just an actress playing a part but in her dreams she actually is the Red Queen? That's the story of this film isn't it.

The music and the hot chicks make the trailer work otherwise this wouldn't grab me. But you can sell this at raves and make a bundle. Next time I want to see the Red Queen take on some zombies. Never have a chick with a sword be inactive for the whole trailer. This will be TRQ2: Rise of the Red Queen. Think about it. Do some research on a film called Lost Highway the trailer is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMWMCbQxEsE this even though you say TRQ doesn't have a story, everything has a story.

By the way, the TRQ cover should look like this:
lotr-pinball.jpg
or this
LOTR%20Return%20of%20the%20King.jpg
or this
narnia.jpg


Obviously these are examples and your settings will be different but you get the point. I think you were kind of going for this style. I assume you have contact info for your actors. Call them back in to do a cover (I have feeling you can get in contact with Liv if no one else). Get them back in costume and take each one's photo against a green screen with a good digital camera, think a minimum of 6 megapixels.

Also, it's annoying when people move their lips but we don't know what they're saying. You do that a lot in the TRQ trailer. And Red sounds like she could be a bad ass when she says, "What do you want from these kids!" But we don't see any of that in the trailer. There is a fencing scene right? At least one right? Right? I do like the way you ended the trailer, with her saying that line and dude's like "I want them to like my music" then the music drops out and cuts to the credits. LOL.

-Nate
 
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Thanks for the feedback! I always take off on such comments.
Working alone behind the camera and doing the editing myself means there are a lot of blind spots.
I love the artwork you posted. It definitely gives me ideas. I like that look a lot. My movie is contemporary (in fact it's way ahead of its genre:)
I'd love to be able to screen it in a theater with an audience that's never seen an avant garde movie.
I've seen one digitally projected movie so far that I thought was ok -- almost as good as a 16mm movie blown up to 35mm. It was in an AMC theater in Burbank, and they, I'm sure, had the $500,000 projector set up. But in a small theater -- a 100 seat theater -- perhaps a digital projection might be okay.

Yes, I shot the movie with my Sony Z1U. It handled the pitch black night locations better than any camera I've ever seen. Of course, there was a bit of light here and there, mostly laser lights and some spot lights, the rest was just the reflection of the fire acts.

I'm going to see if we can rent that RED QUEEN costume again, or some other Elizabethan queen costume and take a high resolution digital picture of Liv (who luckily is my wife, so I'm sure I can convince her to do it for free:) The kid in the Netherlands will do the poster for $500, which is reasonable for the quality of work he's doing, but right now I'm not in a position to commission him.

I checked out Lost Highway. It's a really creapy movie, but it's interesting how creative it is. My movie is weird in a different way. I'd never thought of screening it at rave parties. I must look into it.

Thanks again for the comments, Nate.
 
I figured Liv was your wife. I think you just like to see her on a big screen in 35mm, that's what that's all about. I think I figured you out. LOL. And do you have a digital camera? (I'm sure you do). If not get one. 6 - 10 mega pixels is what you want. You can get them used on eBay. I'm looking into the Canon 7D. As for the projection thing, the reality is most people won't care if you're telling a great story (or at least keeping their interest).

Once you get a great cover, I'd send this everything to Nationwide or Discmakers and get 1000 of them packaged and shrink wrapped and market the hell out of the thing. You got my "Action Filmmaking" book, just check out the marketing and promotion section. Sell them from your site, (you should still use CS and Amazon too) and keep them on you at all times. Carry an iPod with your trailer on it to show to people.

-Nate
 
I guess DVD marketing is the next phase of releasing the movie. I'm going to have to bite the bullet and spend a grand on a 1000 DVDs and, like you say, market the hell out of it. Actually the movie is a little bit about hell and how to escape it. LOL
 
Another idea came to me today: THE RED QUEEN poster could be like a Hippie art of the 60's. The movie is actually a neo-60s happening anyway:)
 
Neo hippie? I hope you and Sir Ivan "Peaceman" never cross paths. LOL.

-Nate
 
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I have only the Sony Z1U. It's really a great camera. I was considering the EX1 and EX3, but I found out the only thing they have extra is the 24p -- which I don't need as when it comes to shooting 24p for a feature film, I'll just shoot my 35mm Arri.
 
Oh, yes, and a month ago Disney was shooting a TV show in a park a few hundred yards from me. I was taking a walk around the block and I saw they had the movie trucks and a ton of gear outside in the park. There were two cameras set up side by side: a Sony F900 and a Sony Z1U. I asked the operators, they said, "Yeah, we use the Sony Z1 as the B camera." The footage is interchangeable. That was enough for me.
 
I assume you develop your own footage? Because the cost of development alone (for me) is enough to shoot a feature on HD. The freedom and comfort are additional reason. And isn't the Red Queen a feature? Didn't you do some filmlook process, or at least run it through Magic Bullet or something. I mean you don't want this looking like video when people see it, unless you're going for a specific effect or looking to sell to the BBC and even they shoot everything in 25p HD now. Dr. Who is shot in 25p HD and it's been shot in video for 20 some odd years. I have nothing against the look of video, one day I may even shoot a feature with that look (probably horror).

If you're shooting on the Z1U, (which is a nice camera) you can run things through Magic bullet, tweak it and color correct it to get some filmic looks to it. Even if you're going to keep the video look, give it some spice. I actually like the trailer. It grew on me. My problem is the Red Queen is too inactive. It's like she's just walking through everything doing nothing. You don't get any real vibe from her until the very end.

The irony about the V1U is that I used to want that one but wished it did 24p. Now the FX1000 does 24p and I've moved on to solid state. LOL. If nothing else you're certainly using one of the best looking cameras this side of the Canon Xh-l1. (I hope Canon stays with that on the shoulder look for their big cameras). And Disney filmlooks a lot of their stuff too. BTW, because I think they shoot exclusively in video for their network.

-Nate
 
For 35mm shooting, developing the negative is 10 cents per foot. Film is on the average between 10 cents and 15 cents per foot for certain emulsions. Film runs 90 ft per minute through the projector, so a 90 minute movie is 8,100 ft. If you're shooting a 5:1 ratio, that's 40,500 ft of 35mm film. So for less than $10,000 you have yourself a 35mm feature film -- that is if you telecine everything -- which you really don't have to, if you have a script girl (continuity person), you can save another $1000.

If you rent a professional digital camera, you will spend more than $10,000 for camera rental and at the end what do you have? A digital movie that will cost you over a $100,000 to do a film-out. Oh, I know, the distributors will pay for the film-out. Yeah, right; ask someone -- if you can find someone -- what it cost them in the end. The fact of the matter is 99% of the features shot on digital find a dead end as far as distribution is concerned. They're biggest glory days are if ... if they make the festival circuit and if they get picked up by a distributor or an agent.

But for learning how to make features and for having an interesting lifestyle (going to festivals and partying with talented people), digital is perfect, because you can do creative stuff in the editing that wouldn't be cost-effective with an ultra low budget production.

The Sony Z1U is everything I want in a camera for experimentation and immediacy as far as posting video clips on the Internet; but as for making it in the Hollywood Industry, 35mm is the only way to go.

And just shooting 35mm isn't everything. There are a few other factors. I know these factors because I've done the whole trip. I've shot features all over the world and I have received the recognition.

1223427337_l.gif


Now I'm on a different kick because I'm older and I want to limit my liabilities and find the freedom of living as a creative filmmaker -- so I shoot by myself and learn as much as I can about the digital media from young people who are themselves learning and trying to find a niche in the emerging Internet technologies. It's great to interact with digital people who are trying to build up a body of work before going onto big budget movies. The transition is interesting to watch.

I think what you're doing, Nate, makes a lot of sense, because you're using the digital media very intelligently. You're not camera crazy (every camera that comes out you don't go nuts); you're practical and pragmatic.

I like your creative and business suggestions very much. I'm lucky to have you for a friend:)
 
This is a frame from THE RED QUEEN. It comes early in the movie as the group does a dance routine before the Red Queen and Demonis.

l_d6563b4f092dd7b38972b4b9bb48db42.jpg

The actors are Monica Huntington, Brent Stevens and Jenessy Elshire.
 
I shot the movie with the Sony Z1U. I had no movie lights, except for the laser lights and occasional beam lights. Here's an interesting shot:
l_ad4bbed65ab84484816a82ba5e61651b.jpg
 
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