The question we all had at some point...

Beat Takeshi

Beat Takeshi

Two-Hip Shakur
I sat here thinking "what post can I come up with that will get alot of responses that will mean something to everyone"..
I guess this is part of a trials and tribulations of becoming a film maker from start to death. We all must have gone through the butterflies in the stomach before a shoot syndrome with the question of "What if I f(_)ck up" in the back of our heads. Im sure some even accepted a project just because the opportunity knocked and afterwards thought "what the hell was I thinking? I never did that before."
SooOOooo..
When is/was the moment when you decided that you are good enough and ready to take on that "big" project?
 
Re: The question we all had at some point...

I started in entertainment over 30 years ago and to this day I still get butterflies.  I am confident that I can do the job but still think it is good the adrenaline is still flowing. And I always feel a little bit overwhelmed.

When you can put together a crew that you trust then you know you are ready. That crew might number in the 100's or it might just be you and the soundman. Just make sure they are better than you.

I do a great deal of pre-vis stuff and try to get all my ducks in a row before I shoot.  Still on the day of the production I have that energy that makes me feel like it is impossible and possible at the same time.

It is rush that is for sure. But when you are on a set in a foreign land, softball diamond or just hanging out with your crew you will find that if you do your best to prepare it will all turn out just fine when it is in the can.

Then you get to start all over again. What a life!
 
Re: The question we all had at some point...

I have yet to make my FIRST OFFICIAL work. All of my experience has been on other peoples LO/NO's, Student Films, a Couple real bad Straight Video Films that I wont mention ever...

It dawned on me once that:

1. I was tired of working on other peoples films. The last film I worked on I started in Pre-production and was slated ot work into Production. It was another Deferred pay bullshit opportunity. I was doing everything from helping with One Sheet designs and was slated to work as a Grip. For Free. At this time I was like, dude, bro. I need at least a small stipend here. I have bills to pay, at least minimum wage... Afterall, this film had several actors involved that were making $25,000 and up a day. These certain actors are fairly big. (Think Hellboy, think Midnight Express)

Well, after busting my balls on this damn thing, I finally just said, forget about it. No more free **** unless it s for ME.

Anyway, thats my story. Im in a position to make my own shite now. BE patient my frinds, you will see work from Johnny all year long!
 
Re: The question we all had at some point...

You know, after posting that question, I was wondering if I stated it right. I did other people projects for 4 years but as "a partner" which really meant you can say you are a partner, but dont expect to get anywhere near as much of the money as the person that started it. I finally said the hell with other peoples stuff just recently and its been liberating. I dont mind starting a project with someone but it will only go on a project by project basis. No more going on board someone elses dream with promises to be taken care of later. I will still help out other people as much as I can and I dont mind giving a day here and there to just be part of the process and possibly learn something new.
Thats my short story and I plan on having work to show all year long too.
 
Re: The question we all had at some point...

Ditto everything ckalan1 said, espeially this part: [quote author=ckalan1 link=board=Offtopic;num=1078860544;start=0#1 date=03/09/04 at 12:53:14]
When you can put together a crew that you trust then you know you are ready. That crew might number in the 100's or it might just be you and the soundman.  Just make sure they are better than you.
[/quote]
 
Re: The question we all had at some point...

Well, as far as I'm concerned, a year ago I barely even knew what a camcorder was. I had a fairly good technical (and, one hopes, artistic) background in photography but, regarding things that move, my expertise was strictly limited to Flash.

But then, there's this very big treasure hunt here in France which is called On The Path of The Golden Owl (a bit like Masquerade in the US), and last year we were planning nationwide celebrations for the 10th anniversary of the launch of the book that contains the riddles. The author wishes to remain anonymous and I'm one of the very few people who actually know him. I said to him, "Look, we're planning this big get-together, it would be nice if you would give a little present to those tens of thousands who have been looking for the Owl for all those years... How about an interview ?"

He said "OK, but I don't wanna have no crew or anything. You'll have to do it yourself." So, before I knew it, I was committed to a project I had no clue how to bring about from a technical viewpoint. I convinced a friend to lend me his camcorder (a Canon XM-1, or GL-1 in the US) and started experimenting. Then I thought it would be better to shoot the interview with two cameras, so as to be able to change angles, and I went out to buy one, only to find out that they didn't make the XM-1 any more, so I got an XM-2. Then I thought the interview itself could be enriched by interviewing also some of the treasure hunters, and so I went scouting for possible interesting outdoor locations... Then I had to figure out how to show all that to the intended audience... At that time I would have sworn that non-linear editing meant tweaking text in a word processor... Learning Premiere was quite an experience, not to mention how to do a face blur on the author's visage...

Anyway, I ended up with a 40-minute movie on a DVD, the contents of which apparently satisfied people because I've sold quite a number of them since then... After that, I had to make another movie on the big celebration day itself, and that was a 1.2-hour project... way out of my league, but again people seemed to like it and it sold even better than the first one...

Today, when I look back on my very recent and limited experience as a... well, I guess "documentary filmmaker", I can't help but see all the flaws in those movies... On both occasions when I said "OK, I'll do it," I really had no clue whatsoever what I was getting into, and still I had so much fun doing it !

I'm now working on an even larger project to which I want to give a more "film-like" look and feel, which is why I'm now in the process of trading my faithful XM-2 for a DVX100A--and learning so much from you guys. The next film will still be about that same treasure hunt, but it will tell the quest from the hunters' perspective, and will not be released until after the game is complete and the treasure has been found. Once again, I now feel like I'm tackling something quite out of my league, but who knows... it's fun to try and do something that seems out of reach...!

I'd also love to shoot fiction, but that involves a "real" crew, actors, and a huge lot of artistic and technical knowledge I do not possess. Some day, though, maybe...  8)
 
Re: The question we all had at some point...

Not to get too off topic, but that On The Path of The Golden Owl sounds like a very interesting project Monglane.  What's the name of it in french so I can look more into it?
 
Re: The question we all had at some point...

Hey Jive,

The French name is Sur la trace de la Chouette d'Or. The forum is at www.lachouette.net (but be warned : even if your French is good, you won't understand much of what is said there if you're not familiar with the hunt's background) and my own website on treasure hunting is at http://perso.wanadoo/fr/monglane.

If you'd like more info, send me a PM and I'll be happy to oblige.
 
Re: The question we all had at some point...

It's strange...getting that first big "thing" together, as I am attempting to do that right now. Godard once noted that he didn't understand how filmmakers couldn't own their own equipment...so I cashed out (sold many belongings, got loans and credit cards) and bought the DVX100 a few weeks ago. And I feel that this camera truly gives you enough leg room to be creative and to control your color, black levels, and even fps! Jesus!

So I am preparing for my "big" project right now (and juggling a handful of other needless and exhausting tasks). Yeesh, I've never done narrative fiction before.

Mike
 
Re: The question we all had at some point...

Oppressor_LOB good topic to post.
I aquired the DVX a little while ago because it took alot of the filmlike approach and made it possible for everyman.

I am coming upon a big shoot this weekend, 2 VX1000's, 2 XL1's and my DVX 100. It is a big fashion show piece so I am nervous yet excited.

It is being able to face your fears full on,  and face them bravely all the way throught to post and give all you've got to make a cohesive and interesting film.

If you are carrying all the costs yourself.....
What really matters is that in the end you are happy with it.
 
Re: The question we all had at some point...

Well put Taylor! And welcome back!

That is true for me as well. No more talking about it. So mnay years dreaming about it or talking about it. The days of Super16 and maxing out the 10 credit cards to make your film.

I would never have been able to do that. Ill take a risk, albiet a calculated one. From here on out, it is possible for the everyman to make it happen. Its up to me now. No more talk.
 
Re: The question we all had at some point...

This could become the DVXusers slogan "NO MORE TALK, NO MORE TALK".
;D
 
Re: The question we all had at some point...

Good thought, John –

It was “Raiders,” too, which made me want to make movies. It, and the other Lucasfilm movies of some repute, were the subjects of some of the first behind-the-scenes specials I ever saw, and seeing them, I knew what I wanted to do. And I tried then; of course, in those days, it was my dad’s Super 8 with toy spaceships (remember the Starbird, which made those acceleration/deceleration sounds when you tipped it?) and sound recorded on a mono tape recorder with a big orange button – and sound playback was on the same machine, with me trying to synchronize it with the projection. Lab fees? Not that I ever knew how much it cost to develop the film; it just meant raking and mowing hundreds of lawns. Editing? Let’s just say we filmed in sequence.

Of course we get older, more “mature,” more “responsible,” and realize that instead of giving up everything, moving to California, and trying to break into a brutal, nepotistic, and vastly unfair industry for years while waiting tables and living in shoeboxes, we’d rather, well, get some education and make some money “first.” Things get put on “hold.”

Then, here in my early thirties, comes the convergence of financial success and the progress of technology. Sure, some things are still criminally expensive, but the essentials are well within the grasp of the individual . . . the DVX, the desktop editing, the DVD burners . . . it’s all available. The rest can be rented, borrowed, commandeered, or otherwise appropriated.

So, there are no more excuses. I have the tools. I’m confident in my talent. I’ve been sponging up the technical aspect of things, and I’ve been studying film and filmmaking pretty much since I saw those first BTS specials . . . so now, it’s up to me to produce something.

So, THIS is that point, Opp. I either step through the door and DO it, or sell everything and put the fantasy to bed. I know that I can – but the question is, WILL I? That question produces more butterflies than anything. I no longer have the blind optimism of my teenage days, when “someday” was some point in an infinite future. I feel the tug of life’s responsibilities distracting my attention away. Spending money is easy. Committing the time and energy? Not as.
 
Re: The question we all had at some point...

Jubal

What you just said is a blueprint of my story. Thats weird! :o

Ver Batum!
 
Re: The question we all had at some point...

This is a post from another board. I just left it, but realize it probably applies here, as well. Hope it means something to someone:

Can I add one thing? We need to all learn to be happy with the equipment we've been able to scrape up--and use it! You should be very confident with that DVX100 in your hands.

Like you, I don't have much money, (very little in fact), and debt, and no health insurance. That can make a man crumble. I've had two Canon GL2's in the past two years and I did nothing with them.
Why? Because I was paralyzed. The camera was something I couldn't really afford, and as soon as it arrived, huge buyer's remorse set in, and I tried to put it out of my mind for a while and didn't use the camera because I didn't want to wear it down so I could always chicken out, back down and sell the thing--just get it off my hands and out of my mind and get "real". I'd expect I'm not the only one that this happens to.

And then I sold it, and felt relief at first, but then the lust and the need to make things came back. I often simply walked away from my job(s), telling myself that life is worth more than, (fill in the blank), dollars per hour. You have to do what you want to do.

And then I bought another camera, and the same thing happened until the last week of three months of ownership and I had a FANTASTIC time making a short movie with my brother, and you know how I honored that great feeling? As soon as we wrapped, I sold that camera, too. (ebaY makes this backing out stuff way too easy.)

And then the bug to buy a camera and get rolling hit me again, as it always will, if it's what you're meant to do.

So you start shopping for the right camera again and whoops, something better is coming out in three months, or someone advises you that if you just wait until such and such consumer electronics fair in Seattle or Vegas or wherever, new cameras will be out and even if you don't like them, the one you had your eye on will drop significantly in price. (I can only imagine the self torture people on this board put themselves through when the DVX100A came out shortly after they bought a DVX100). The same thing happens with Apple and their hardware and editing software.

But you know what? It wasn't just the camera, or the computer, or the editing tools. My doubt started way back in film school.

Yes, I enrolled in film school, and to be honest, 2 semesters into it I panicked and began to wonder "Good God what have I done? I've banked on this and if it doesn't work out the way I planned I'm going to end up a loser with no health insurance."

But somehow I stuck it out, and graduated, and relapsed and have been working crappy jobs since then, for five years now.

I have also moved to LA three times and lost my nerve and moved back to the Midwest. Finally, I've found a compromise. A place that is like home yet a short ride away from the center of mass media. It's called Northern California.

I guess the point is, no matter what happens, when you do what your gut leads you to do, and you honor the grand possibilities of life in that way, and when you are spontaneous and true to yourself and are not swayed by the lure and the trappings of 401K and the money for a payment on a new car and a woman who only wants a financially stable and predictable kind of man, (nevermind he has no dreams and in five years she will be bored with him), then you have already won. That is freedom. In a world that seems more and more designed to trap us all in a consumer cycle, you do have a choice to do what you want and making that choice to be free is a glorious thing.

You will have fun with your camera and if you persist, the jobs will start rolling in and you'll make money to pay it off and make funny little quirky films on the side, until eventually you have a reel, and someday when MTV releases your director DVD, all of those just-for-fun films will be included on it.

I have to tell myself these things everyday, because if you can't tell yourself these things and believe them, who will? It's up to you. The choice is yours. Freedom to do what you want is within your grasp. You've taken a step forward. Do not falter. March on.
 
Re: The question we all had at some point...

I didn't catch the bug until a friend asked me to help him make a feature length movie of one of his scripts which won a scifi writing contest. How hard could it be, right?

Anyway, I learned a lot of what not to do on that project, and wanted more, so leapt at the chance when the next project came along (which happened to be 'Modern Drunkard, the Movie', as an asst dir!)

Now, I can honestly say I've fully committed to this hobby, as a hobby. I've done some small pay jobs, but the real nervousness will come when there is a project where a bad screwup can't be easily paid for by myself. At that point, I think I'll be where Oppressor was asking about.

Every job is a learning process, just like every new computer job I do is chock full of new stuff. Fear is for... uhh... fearful people.
 
Re: The question we all had at some point...

One last thing--debt, in my opinion, is never a good thing. Debt of any kind can be crushing, mentally and physically. The best thing to bet on is yourself, of course, but it's not always necessary. If, for example, you feel the camera was too much and you had to go into debt for it, you can always sell it for a great price, cut your losses, regroup, and start saving your pennies. That way when you come back to buy the camera with cash, free and clear, you will feel twice as good.

On the other hand, it might take a camera to make money to buy the camera. If the camera is the only thing you had to purchase, I'm sure there's a way to use it to pay for itself.

It all depends on what you're comfortable with. If you are a strict and practical guy, there's no harm in doing everything with cash only. In the meantime you can write your scripts or use a cheaper camera to make small movies.

Any little start will do, so long as you never stop.
 
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