I have a script! ...now what?

[Terry Lee]

Originally Posted by George Kroonder

Wait with buying a camera , any gear really, until you know for a fact that it will be what you need.

Of course... I'm not spending any money until I know exactly what I need. I've been researching this for about a year now and haven't bought a single thing.

[Andy Graham]

I obviously don't know your friend so i won't comment on him but i do know my friends who work with me, we talk to each other and listen to each other and we are always willing to hear and consider any opinion or idea. We are all very much on the same page and having gone through two feature films.....problems and all we still love working together. You need people like that around you or you'll just end up fighting with each other.

Ask yourself this, do you both like the same films and have the same ideas as to where a film career will take you? do you both want to do the same job? are you both as serious about filmmaking as eachother?

Its important you work well together.

[Terry Lee]

Originally Posted by Andy Graham

Ask yourself this, do you both like the same films and have the same ideas as to where a film career will take you? do you both want to do the same job? are you both as serious about filmmaking as eachother?

Its important you work well together.

Well, he and I have ambitions in the same directions only I have ambitions to do other things as well. He simply wants to make comedy films and he believes that his ideas (mine included) are good enough to perpetuate the film(s) to success. However, he doesn't show any interest in contributing other than to be an actor in a film. Every time I bring up our budget, script or pre production preperations, he says nothing for about 2 minutes then acts like I said nothing at all (kind of like a little kid would..) and goes on talking about something else.

I think if he sees things happening, he will become more involved.

[Cole McDonald]

I'm a couple of semesters and my field school away from completion on both majors :) I like that anthropology is mostly a conceptual look at the overarching systems of humanity, I find that fascinating which is probably what I love about film as well.

For a mac, you can edit HDV on anything they currently have out... including the iMac. You'll want to max it out for RAM and buy the biggest internal HD and a large external as well. I use a weibetech (sp?) drive dock so I can buy inexpensive internal ide drives and connect them when I need them.

My workflow is when I fire up FCP I set the scratch drive to whatever project folder I'm going to work on. When I switch projects, I just have to switch folders which makes it possible to have each project I'm working on reside on an external drive (120Gb can hold 5-10 10 minute short films - depending on how you capture the footage and how much audio work you do in soundtrack. I have my feature on a single 250Gb drive, which I've backed up out of paranoia to another).

With this setup, as I run out of room, I just buy another inexpensive ide drive and edit away without cluttering up my system drive. I've currently got about 1.5-2 Tb of drive space in smaller chunks in a stack of internal bare drives on my desk.

You can probably hook up a decent editing system with Final Cut Studio and a bunch of RAM and HD for (checking apple store) $1599 for the 20"iMac with max HD and RAM and $1299 for FCS full license. You can get about a $100 discount on the machine as a student ($1509), but I wouldn't get the *amazing* student discount ($699) on the software as the license doesn't allow you to make projects for commercial use.

I would add the apple support plan to the order too, just in case...cause electronics break. I would make sure to wait until after this week though as the WWDC is coming up this week and there's usually something introduced there that can potentially drop prices.

[Terry Lee]

Hey Cole, I went to the Apple Store and looked at their refurbished units but they didn't have anything with the right combination of RAM and disk space...So I went ahead and built one and it costs about $3800.

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...uWPEcCo/1.?p=0

I got 1TB of Disk space but only 2GB of RAM as well as a second 20" monitor. Only thing I don't have on there is the protection plan. I want to get 1TB external HD but where would I go to get one those cheap for Mac? TigerDirect...?

[Andy Graham]

Terry do you plan to make this on your own?...i.e you and your friends?.......if so you'll need the advice of the people on this site as you go. There are many people here willing to give you advice and guide you through it the best they........we can.....ask questions, theres a lot of filmmakers here of all skills.

It sounds to me like you are, given that you are buying or considering buying the gear to do so.

I made my first film cold turkey before i knew of this place, i wish i had the knowlage and experience of the people on this site to guide me then........it may have been completed.

Andy.

[Terry Lee]

Andy, I certainly plan on doing this myself. I am not one to give up on anything. This has certainly been something I have been wanting to do for quite a long time and regardless if my friends I started this thing with are with me, I am going to go through with it. I know once I get everything situated it will not be hard to find participants. The friends are still a little afraid of change, and this for them is a big change. I think it simply scares them that there is a big price tag on this. They don't understand where the money is going and are re-contemplating going through with it. I think maybe thats the reason they are acting so akward when I bring things up. Me on the other hand, I have been investing thousands into vehicles not knowing if I will get my money back. Luckly I was successful and am making a good profit. The biggest thing they have invested their money in is gas...

This forum has certainly helped me out. In fact, it has taught me everything I know about the business. I kind of like to think of it as the big Verizon network...ever seen that commercial with like 1000 people behind this one guy walking down the street? Hmmmm....wonder how I could actually organize that.... :)

[Andy Graham]

You have the right attitude towards filmmaking, It's going to be tough and i know its easy to start second guessing yourself about wether or not you are shooting it properly and getting the coverage you need...........i was the same and i still am. It gets easier to see the angles and anticipate problems.

All i can say is stay focused and do the best you can and most importantly enjoy it.

All the best of luck.

Andy

[Terry Lee]

Out of my mind last night at the casino playing black jack and won $500. Then got home and found a $100 chip in my pocket under my keys haha... think that might help me out a bit here...

CHEERS!

[Craig Parkes]

Terry - my advice is before you go any further buy and read this book:

http://www.medialawyer.com/indiefilm/excerpt_1.html

It's the best book out there that I have read letting you know what you are really in for in terms of legal logistics if you want to make a potentially successful indie feature film. It's a couple of years old but the legal landscape doesn't change anywhere near as rapidly as the technological landscape.

Then I'd buy and read this book

http://www.livingspirit.com/GFMMB1.htm

It's the best hands on guide to writing, directing and producing an independent feature I have ever come across. It's very thorough (it's from a UK point of view but all the practical aspects are very sound). The technological parts are also going to be a few years out of date - but 98% of it holds up in terms of what actually needs to happen in terms of making a film.

These two books are small investments - and while they won't really help you make your film (trust, nothing but actually going out and making stuff ever really helps you learn what you are ultimately in for) they will give you a fair indication of the mountain you actually have to climb if you want to make and release a truly independent feature film that actually attracts international sales.

What you want to do is hard. Prepare yourself as best you can.

[Terry Lee]

Hey thanks alot Craig...I actually found The Guerilla Film Makers Movie Blueprint on Amazon for cheap and have it in my cart..

[Andy Graham]

LOL, Terry I'm sure you'll do fine.

[Terry Lee]

What? the Casino? haha! You should have been there to stop me I was up $1000 and lost $400...

[Terry Lee]

Hey! I went to the Apple Store online and built this machine...

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...Us4EB5G/1.?p=0


What do you think?? do I have the power where I need it?

[Andy Graham]

Terry the link doesn't work for me.

Man it's 01:15 and iv got a recce for a job tomorrow at 8 in the mornin and after havin a drink with my buddies i am not lookin forward to gettin up..........worst of it is i know theres no point to it, the only reason for going is to see how my hd100 reacts to the low light of a ballet theatre and iv since been told the lighting guy won't have it ready for me to test it.

Completely pointles venture at a horribe time of a sunday morning............sorry just venting some frustration :).

Andy.