Screw it! I have 20k And im Making my Feature!

duranracing23

duranracing23

Well-known member
Hello all, I am finally taking the plunge and i am going to be making my feature fllm. I come from the Dominican Republic and in recent theatrical trends in my country there has been a bunch of crap being releases that the Dominican film market is probably the laughing stock of Latin America. That said, i am going to be aiming at a spanglish market ages between 16-30.

I have shot many music videos and commercials throughout the years and i have been very successful doing so. I have never shot a short film non the less have i shot a feature. But the knowledge i do have. I have studied many films and read many books on the art of directing and i think i am ready. "Is only my loss if i fail". SO I NEED TO SUCCEED!

I set a couple of rules for myself to shoot this feature and i will abide by them.

#1. I will not have a bigger crew than 5 people.

Why? Because i am a HUUUGE Robert Rodriguez fan and if he did what he did with "El Mariachi" Almost 20 years ago, with little support and with few technologies at that time. Why cant i do the same? With Huge support from this Forum and with much better filming and editing technologies of today i know it can be done on such a scale.

#2. I will not spend money unless its going on the "screen".

Why? Because sometimes i sit and watch some of the garbage that Hollywood throws at us and then the credits roll.......With like 200 or more people!!! Where did all that money go i ask myself! Sometimes i feel that Hollywood makes movies just to keep their crews with work and not to satisfy a hungry audience.

#3. My total equipment cost will not exceed more than $5000.00

Why? Because i will be shooting this film with a 5DMKII. Which years ago would have cost so much money to achieve this cam does and better sometimes. And its not the gear that you have its how you use it.
Also it bothers me sometimes when i see people not to mention any names per se, that spend so much money on their gear and they never do nothing with it but just take pictures of their rig and thats it. Come on guys put that gear to work and show something for it!

That being said i wrote this movie with budget constraints in my head. I dint put any helicopter scenes in my movie because i know that costs money and there are always workarounds to every scene if your creative.

I will keep this thread alive and kicking while on my way to this feat. I wil try and update it with everything regarding this movie.

I will update this thread with details of the story, equipment used etc etc.
 
Street Melody
Written and Directed by: Ed Duran

Genre: Crime,Music,Drama

Synopsis:
Chris Melody is a street thief and hustler with little goals and nothing going for him in his life. After looking at one of his ex classmates on a magazine and noticing all the success he is having in the music industry. He starts feeling really confused as to why he has done nothing for his life and so decides to quit his life of crime.
While out and about looking for a job. He gets hired at a run down diner and there he meets Justin. A super talented beat producer wasting his time washing dishes. The two connect, and team up to make music. Where Chris is going to use his life experiences and bring it to life. When the local "it" rapper discovers Chris' new and more commercial style of music is climbing the ranks at local clubs. He wants chris out of the game for good. Chris has then to decide if he wants his music or if he wants to invite the trouble in

A Couple of Screen grabs from some potential actors test shoot.
screenshot20091019at958.png

screenshot20091019at956.png


So i was trying out these actors. Some ill keep and some i wont! None have acted before and i they have alot of work to do. I pulled out my 5D and rolled away. I edited in FCP in about 20 mins this is what i got.

DISCLAIMER: Some Foul Language is used in video.
http://vimeo.com/7158045
 
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I wish you the best of luck and I believe its completely possible. Please keep us as up to date as you can!

Kegan
 
Yes i will update with updates. One of the inspirations of mine has been the "Deuce of Spades" With so many updates she has made and kept us updated for the ride.
 
Looking forward to seeing how it turns out for you!

In the meantime, maybe it's just my monitor (a 30" Apple cinema display) but the red text in your bullet points is about as close to unreadable as it gets. It's so hot against the grey background that it looks almost animated.

Anyone else have the same problem with it?
 
Are you going to make a felliniesque movie?
I ask because you haven't mentioned anything about a script.
Let me know if you're shooting without a script; I have some tips for you:)
 
Best of luck with the project, but I still have a feeling inside me that says you should go out and make a few profesional shorts, just to get the idea of directing narrative, a structed story, to get that experience and learn from its mistakes.

Also doing it with only a crew of 5 people is brave, which roles are these 5 people going to do?

I understand doing it the Robert Rodriguez way, i admire the man too, but if you can get more people for free, who have a love for film then you should, he didn't limit himself you have to remember that, he just got all the people he could get for free or for really really cheap and made the film, but he didn't limit himself.

Best of luck with everything dude, and keep us updated.
 
Thanks Guys for all the good words. I will definitely keep you guys updated.

As For the 5 People that i will be using are

Director-Myself
DP
Sound Person
Grip
Make Up Artist

As Per Nav09: I am definitely open to anyone who wants to do it and join in. Send me a PM.
 
Well D, you know I'm down for my guest directing spot, so let me know the dates and I'm on a plane ASAP.
 
Oh and I forgot, guys I've seen some test shots, and lets just say this D is gonna have an awesome film, I have no doubts about it.
 
Please make sure you have a very good sound person that will allow you to use as much of production sound as possible (don't forget about tones for everyplace shot in too :)

And make sure you have some coin for post like for a good sound mixer for instance.

I am just finishing up my first feature (See thread for Everything's Eventual) and I wish I had more money or had planned better for post production. Especially sound and digital effects.

Remember that your film may be shot in production but your film is created in post.

JP
 
Hahah, Im start production on my $10,000 Feature horror comedey, June 20th. I two am only using a 5 man crew. I got lucky and I have a visual effect guy who is a current Dream Works Visual Effects artist. My gear is all coming free as well sponosorship kind of deal. Plus I am shooting in the Donnie Darko Mansion. Family friend owns the place.

So I wish you the best of luck, Im sure you will do great, I think money often times can hurt projects.
 
I don't know if you considered this, but if you record the sound live, chances are it'll sound like crap when you're working in this budget range. Go watch a bunch of indie flicks in this range and you'll see what I mean. Go watch the opening scenes of "Open Water". And that's a more expensive film. Sounds like crap. A better, but more time consuming way is to do ADR for the entire film. I've used this process on two features and a load of shorts. Everyone tells me that my films really stand out in the sound area. What's great is that you don't have to worry at all about production sound (allowing you to shoot with cars in the background and planes flying overhead), but you will have to be able to rerecord it all after the film is cut and sync it all up (which isn't that bad, thanks to waveforms) Check out the poor man's film school series (part 3) on my site for some tips on good sound. Yeah, this isn't how most people do things, but if you want to make a quality film for no money, you gotta break some rules. =)

I'd also recommend doing a short or two first, especially if you're not running camera, that way you learn how to communicate with your DP, actors, etc.... And be sure to learn your editing software inside and out if you haven't already.
 
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i'd recommend shooting all the non dialogue scenes without sound, i recorded my short film recently without sound and re-recording the sound is or can be a little annoying but its worth it, you have total control over everything and can get high quality sound of any object or scenery you want.
 
El Director said:
I don't know if you considered this, but if you record the sound live, chances are it'll sound like crap when you're working in this budget range. Go watch a bunch of indie flicks in this range and you'll see what I mean. Go watch the opening scenes of "Open Water". And that's a more expensive film. Sounds like crap. A better, but more time consuming way is to do ADR for the entire film. I've used this process on two features and a load of shorts. Everyone tells me that my films really stand out in the sound area. What's great is that you don't have to worry at all about production sound (allowing you to shoot with cars in the background and planes flying overhead), but you will have to be able to rerecord it all after the film is cut and sync it all up (which isn't that bad, thanks to waveforms) Check out the poor man's film school series (part 3) on my site for some tips on good sound. Yeah, this isn't how most people do things, but if you want to make a quality film for no money, you gotta break some rules. =)

I'd also recommend doing a short or two first, especially if you're not running camera, that way you learn how to communicate with your DP, actors, etc.... And be sure to learn your editing software inside and out if you haven't already.
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Thanks for your advice, and i totally agree with the sound situation. I am not again recording ADR at all in post. Im am lucky enough to own a Pro Tools HD recording studio with 7k mics so i think im covered in that area.

I also know that i should do some shorts but really i just dont want to waste my time with them. As i mentioned before i have shot many music videos and commercials so i do know how to communicate with a crew.

GrahamRobbins said:
Hahah, Im start production on my $10,000 Feature horror comedey, June 20th. I two am only using a 5 man crew. I got lucky and I have a visual effect guy who is a current Dream Works Visual Effects artist. My gear is all coming free as well sponosorship kind of deal. Plus I am shooting in the Donnie Darko Mansion. Family friend owns the place.

So I wish you the best of luck, Im sure you will do great, I think money often times can hurt projects.
Click to expand...

That is awesome man! Congrats and i also agree on the fact that money ruins productions sometimes. Just because i have the 20k doesn't mean im not going to try and not use all of it. I certainly want to hold myself back from doing as cheaply as possible.

Your so lucky that you have those connections man. Too bad i dont have any crazy VFX in my movie becuase i know a pretty bad ass VFX by the name of Andrew.
 
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