Shooting Your First Feature??

abalex

abalex

Well-known member
Okay guys, I need some help here, I guess I just need advice more than anything.

I'm planning on shooting my first feature next summer and I'm really confused about what kind of genre I should choose. Personally i love comedy, drama, bit of horror mixed w/ sci-fi and that's about it. I have a script for every genre and I really like them all but I just can decide which one to turn into my feature directorial debut.

I'm scared to choose one genre(let's say action) and then get pigeonhole or lets say people wont believe I'm able to shoot comedies, know what I'm saying?

I understand that in order to continue getting more jobs int eh future or more money you need to give a good impression, in other words, your first movie needs to be good/great.

For example I've directed this short film NO MIDDLE GROUND and lots of people have asked me if I'm going to shoot the feature version of it or if I've thought about it. The short's even going to be air on IFC tv.

I wasn't plannig on turning NMG into a feature but should I do what the market wants(wants to buy) or what I'm pationate about it, even if what I'm pationate about doesn't sale.

at this moment I only have 10k to direct a low budget movie and I'm trying to decide what's the best genre or story to go for. Most of my movies are written to be low budget but I just don't know which one to choose.

Hopefully this makes sense, :)

thanks for your advice


gv.
 
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I think the best genre to go for is the best script you have. Action, of course is going to cost you more, and need more people on the set. Horror being in high demand, costs less, but in order to be original it'll take alot out of you.

First films gotta be good? ha, every good filmmaker out there today has horrible first films. As a matter a fact, I've watched so many DVXuser shorts, and their amazing compared to what big named directors made back in the days.

Get a good script..find good actors, don't underestimate the actors, and the rest should flow.
 
I think you should worry about making the best possible film you can, at least for yourself. Don't worry about a market, don't worry about the "right" genre. Just go with your gut, and make a film, then you can worry later if it'll get distributed, or make any money, or if it'll impress other people and get you bigger and better work. Any film is kind of hit or miss. Look at Blair Witch. It was shot mostly on Hi8, and wasn't very good, but it made several boatloads of money. But what have the Blair Witch guys done since then? A couple of cheesy straight to video horror movies. No one could have expected films like Pulp Fiction, Napoleon Dynamite, or Clerks to be as big and popular as they are. What did Francis Ford Coppola do before The Godfather? He made a couple of small comedy/dramas that no one even talks about today, and some horror films for Roger Corman. So the short answer would be: just shoot the script you're most interested in now.
 
when it's the right one, you will know. my experience is that you keep thinking about it all the time. (or i just may have an obsessive compulsive disorder, not sure yet.)
 
No middle ground rocked. If you can keep that up for 90 minutes then go for it but you need to start writing like now if you are going to shoot in the summer.
One of my first shorts from the DVXuser fests also got onto IFC channel also for being at the most highest ranked on their site for like 3 months straight. Congrats.
 
Yes, you have to trust your gut. But you also need to be aware of the market. Genre films are easier to market because they have a built in audience. I would see if you can find a sales agent or distributor that would be willing to talk to you. Offer to buy them lunch and explain that you are not looking for them to distribute your film, but you just want some advice. Work your scripts into good pitches, give them the 2 minute spiel and see what they think.

It doesn't mean that they will be right, but it might help you narrow down your choices. Sometimes just bouncing your ideas off of an objective third party clarifies things for you before they say a word. Plus you get an education about distribution for the price of a lunch.

Selling a movie (which is what I assume you want to do) is sadly often not about how good it is, or how passionate you are about it. It's often about how well the script fits into a logline, who's in it and what the poster looks like. But don't let that discourage you. I believe we can all find projects that we can pour ourselves into that are commercially viable.
 
Go with the comedy genre, you just can't go wrong with comedy if done right, if you look at the numbers Comedy and Horror are what audiences crave more than anything. I'd say do Horror, but like one poster said, you have to be real original.

But my final answer is, go with your gut instinct.
 
I was going to ask... are you sure that you are ready for a feature? Then I saw that you mentioned "No Middle Ground". I remembered that movie and took a second look. Ignore my initial reaction. :)

Get a good bunch of dedicated people together and go with your gut. Or if you come across a great script... run with it.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Mike
 
KNOW your niche! Why did I make a faith-based film for my first "BIG" project? Because that market is extremely weak, and I felt even with a low low budget (basically no budget) I could compete in that market... Like Robert Rodriguez and El Mariachi
 
capitalP said:
Go with the comedy genre, you just can't go wrong with comedy if done right
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. Comedies may do well domestically, but rarely do they do well internationally without big name stars. The was a time when the US dominated distribution dollars. Now international sales account for about 75% of all grosses (IIRC). Comedies don't translate well.
 
And, like Brando said, the biggest dearth right now seems to be in family friendly films, especially if you are going directly to video. There's a lot of dollars out there for movies that people can watch with their kids.

I have seen some pretty poorly made films get deals in that genre. Not only that, the producers have been offered pretty sizeable budgets to do more.
 
Thanks guys! I really appreciated. very informative.

I also think I need to go with my guts. I've worked on several short films, the longest one been 45min. I do feel I'm ready to go for a feature I just want to make sure I choose the right script.

I'm not really into action "no middle ground" types of movies, I'm more of a garden state type of director. If someone volunteers to write a kick ass feature version of No middle ground then i'm all for it. i just don't feel like writing it myself now. Right now I'm into comedy-coming of age mode.

Any ways, thanks for your imput and I'll keep everyone posted.
 
Horror will be easier to sell. But when you're about to spend two years with a project, you have to make sure that you're going to be passionate every step of the way. If horror is a mode you go in and out of, then you will go in and out of your passion for it and your movie will suffer. It's easy to think of the finished product at the starting line, but 8 months down the road on your 4th week of shooting at 3 a.m. in the morning, you're running five hours late, your dolly just broke and your lead actor hates the scene... the only thing that's going to get you out of that situation is your extreme passion for the movie. If you're just making the movie because it has a better chance to sell, I guarantee you will not be as enthusiastic about solving those problems. Stick with what you're going to put 100% into every single day. That's the one that will become the best movie.
 
Brandon Rice said:
KNOW your niche! Why did I make a faith-based film for my first "BIG" project? Because that market is extremely weak, and I felt even with a low low budget (basically no budget) I could compete in that market... Like Robert Rodriguez and El Mariachi
Click to expand...

So how has it been doing? Hasn't your faith film been done for a while now?
 
c.g._eads said:
Horror will be easier to sell. But when you're about to spend two years with a project, you have to make sure that you're going to be passionate every step of the way. If horror is a mode you go in and out of, then you will go in and out of your passion for it and your movie will suffer. It's easy to think of the finished product at the starting line, but 8 months down the road on your 4th week of shooting at 3 a.m. in the morning, you're running five hours late, your dolly just broke and your lead actor hates the scene... the only thing that's going to get you out of that situation is your extreme passion for the movie. If you're just making the movie because it has a better chance to sell, I guarantee you will not be as enthusiastic about solving those problems. Stick with what you're going to put 100% into every single day. That's the one that will become the best movie.
Click to expand...

This is some good advice.
 
Most of the people I know who go to AFM say that there are far more sellers for horror than buyers. I'm not saying that it isn't a reliable genre, because it is. But A LOT of people make horror films; far more than distributors will buy.
 
These things also go in cycles.
We've been on a horror kick for quite a while now - who knows where the market will be when your film gets finished?
 
EXCELLENT!

I'm sure you can't give all the details yet, but please share once the deal is done. Congrats.
 
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