Got filmmaking questions?
 

Hi indies,

Recently we had our first showing on our feature length indie film Night Things. This was shot on Super 16mm film for less money than The Blair Witch Project.

When I was making it I found it really hard to find answers to all the millions of questions I had on how I could make my own movie. So I just thought I would start this thread to offer any answers I could on the experience, and how we made a good movie happen for so cheap (I'll give you a hint, we mostly paid for it in blood).

So any aspiring filmmakers, ask away!


P.S. Before you ask, no we don't have distribution yet :) But you can ask about our experience with that process as well.

P.P.S. Oh, and you can see a trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVHee1F6ISs

Do you mind me asking what was the problem you've had with distribution?

distribution
 

Couple things. First is that 90% of the distributors you find on various lists are out of business before their first year, so it is hard to find the active ones. Seems like they all go into business thinking that there are like a million Paranormal Activities out there that for some reason just aren't picked up.


But perhaps a larger reason was because we shot on film right before it got really cheap to shoot in HD. So once upon a time it wouldn't have mattered much, but now most distributors won't take SD because things like Netflix streaming and Hulu won't take it. So whatever you shoot on, make sure you have an HD rendering for distributors. We're looking to get it reconverted right now, but that is an expensive process that would also involve re-editing.

Just bad luck on our timing, if we had shot 6 months later we probably would have shot on HD instead of Super 16.

Fascinating-I knew the industry was trying to force HD onto us but I didn't know they were going to these extremes. Sad that distributors are forcing film-makers to go through such an expensive and (in my opinion) unnecessary process.

Hd
 

Yeah expensive is right. It involves having the lab re-transfer the film to digital, and then re-editing the whole thing. It's kind of a death sentence.

And really, for what? I mean our movie is good because of plot and dialogue and sound design. It's not good because of 10 million dollar computer graphics, it really doesn't look any better in HD. And that same thing goes for about 95% of films out there.

What type of camera was this shot on? How much did it cost? I'm a film student looking do a mockumentry/pov/found footage horror film. Yes I know this sub genre has been done way to much but I like it. I want the Blair witch feel to the film. I have a great subject that would make a great documentary by it's itself but I want to turn it into a horror film. I loved the Blair Witch Project and to try create something with little to no money. I have Adobe CS 6 master collection with all the editing programs plus others. I even have a great idea for a production company. Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated.

indie films
 

I can't remember the camera name, but it was an old Russian Super -16mm model. Not the kind of thing you would want for what you are doing. "Found footage" is going to either be on digital or sometime like old 8mm. Or a mix (which I think Blair Witch did). Adobe CS6 is plenty good for editing. My one tip here is shoot on HD, because Video on Demand services like Netflix these days require HD. If you want to go cheap, this is the right kind of movie for it, and HD cameras are cheap these days.

As far as the sub genre being played out, well some might say that no genre is played out as long as someone can make a great movie in it. But the downside is that you will be accused of copying, so make sure you have some really fresh things to throw in.

Any recommendations for camera purchase around the $200 mark?

Most of the top brands make similar stat cams around that price, just get the best you can afford, you arent gonna get anything amazing in that budget. Panasonic do some decent low budget cameras and the canon legria range isnt too bad (might have a different name in the states). I'd probably go refurbished or second hand though. Either way you are gonna have problems filming in low light so bare that in mind whatever you buy. We have a few amaetuer film makers knocking around the forum so they might be able to give you some better/ more specific advice. :cool:

Never thought about refurbished cameras. I'm gonna have to take a look into those.

How did you raise the funding for your film? I am planning on launching a Kickstarter for a feature film I am working on, and any tips would be appreciated!

www.facebook.com/solacefeaturefilm

bank robbery - or if you don't dig felony charges - convince people they can be in our film if they donate time $$ or stuff. then make them an associate producer.

Aw funding
 

Funding is always an important question, and rarely has a good answer. I haven't tried kickstarter for funding but I have heard of a lot of films trying to get funding that route, and can't recall ever actually watching one that succeeded in it. I might be wrong about that, but the one rule of thumb for kickstarter is that your video is everything.

We tried a lot of funding options, including having people contribute to get in the credits (we got some contributors in this way, but never made more than tiny bits of funding). We looked for angel investors, but those people didn't get rich by investing in something as risky as a movie. We even considered the Coen brothers method of calling all the dentists in the phone book, but I'm not much of a salesmen.

Ultimately we went the Kevin Smith route and funded it with credit cards. The idea being that if you really believe in your movie you should be willing to put yourself on the line, and if you don't then you shouldn't ask other people too. Michael Bay used his directors pay for Bad Boys to fund an explosion the studio wouldn't pay for, because he believed it was necessary to make the film a hit (of course if you watch any Michael Bay film you know he believes this is all it takes to make a film a hit).

So, paying for a film with credit cards is possible if all else fails. I should mention this did result in actual bankruptcy court for me, but fuck Visa, not many people can say they have a feature length movie.

My advice is think bigger! There are a ton of states in the US and countries around the world that have film tax credit incentives and grants. A lot of them are seriously complex and confusing but find a producer who has used them before, get them onboard and you're onto a winner. That's how big budget movies do it but the same avenues are open to low budget films.

There's also the possibility of getting pre-sale money from distributors - again this is TOUGH but possible. It does happen. If you have the right idea and can prove that there's an audience for it you can get some money from a distributor upfront.

Kickstarter etc are great for filling funding gaps but it's very very tough to raise any sort of decent amount to pay for you and your crew/cast's time.

A site called filmspecific has a ton of great advice from working filmmakers and producers on how they do it - there really is a tried and tested formula once you start looking closer. Unfirtunatley you do have to pay to subscribe to that site but I would say it's worth it to get your knowledge to that next level. I think we all wish we could just make our films and not worry about the finance side of things but the further along you get the more you realise that you have to put as much effort into that side of things as the creative side to get by.

Hope any of that is helpful!

Oh and sorry I never gave advice on Kickstarter - my best advice there would be to study the ones who have succeeded in reaching their goals, even try to get in touch with the filmmakers and ask what they did.

And once your campaign is running - promote the hell out of it any way you can! Don't forget your local press - they can be your best friend when other avenues seem difficult.

Best of luck!!

May I ask what was the total budget of the movie?

super secret budget
 

That is a little hard to answer, because the costs don't come in all at once and are spread across a million things. Also we are potentially looking at having to re-edit in high def which would be another $3000. And of course, they say you should never say the budget because it might hurt your ability to negotiate.

BUT, it used to drive me crazy when I was starting out that I could never get a straight answer on how much a movie cost to make. So here it is, best guess is we made it for $20,000 (that is counting every single thing). The target was $12,000. If I made it again today on high def video instead of Super-16mm film, I think I could shave off at least $3000.

My target was $12,000 because the amazing film Primer was made for that much. Some things you can skimp on and some you can't, know which is which. Most of the crew you can get for free (well, barter for helping on their movies), but pay the actors something. Don't ever treat sound as less important than visual, it is more important. And if you are making a horror, get your makeup/gore effects guy in as soon as possible, let him help with concept work. Hell, I could write a whole book on the topic...

Interesting...

How did you distribute your movie? And how did it do, was it well received?

Distribution
 

Well that's the thing right there, we still haven't found distribution. Reading the how to make a movie books starting out they all made it sound easy, like you just shoot the thing, go to a market, and stand at a table and wait for the offers. But guess what, ever film festival in the country is showing the same 6 movies as Sundance, and those movie markets don't even really exist. Half the distribution companies you enquire with aren't even in business anymore, and the other half are full up.

I'm not saying it is hopeless, but you do have to be prepared in filmmaking for the possibility of bankrupting yourself and giving up everything important in your life to make a movie, only to have no one have a way to see it.

I have seen the problem you are talking about here with Distribution companies. What I have seen done is self-Distribution, Net, Horror film festivals booths, independent video stores and some non-independent stores, ads in horror mags, websites, screenings. I find a lot of films that way, however, down side is; no Money. This dose take money, you are somewhat making a mom and pop distribution company, that is starting on the right foot, you know your limit. However, you could put a ton of work into advertising working to get your film out there and have nothing to show for it. I shudder to think of all the indy films that are awesome that I will never get to see because the film market is a hard thing to bust into. Getting your work out is easy, youtube, facebook... etc, its hard to remake the money you have put into it a film when you have to build the advertising foundation, for your film. That's why you should look at it more like you are building a small business, learning, slowly growing something, that has the potential to bring in the money but knows it's limit and knowlage of the film world. There are people like me filmmaker/fans who look for and seeks movies like yours, it may not pull the millions and millions that a big budget movies dose, but it builds a fan base if the passion is there and the script is good. This is why indy filmmakers should always budget for a small amount of avertising for pushing there film into the market if they do not find a distribution company.