Estimate for Solid Indie Short at DVinfo.net

September 30th, 2002, 04:08 PM

My name is Sean, and I'm new to the form (and independent film in general). I want to write and direct my own 30-minute short, shot in one location, on digital. I was wondering what the overall estimate would be finacially to produce something of quality within those boundaries (i.e. what camera to use, equipment, etc). Or, better yet, what should I consider purchasing or what I should consider borrowing within some kind of arrangement. A broad topic, I know, but if anyone has any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot!

Sean Wheeler

Rob Lohman · October 1st, 2002, 07:03 AM

Welcome aboard Sean. I'm not going to try and answer your
questions because it is a big questions (broad) to which I do
not have all the answers. There also have been numerous
posts on this board over the last couple of months with subjects
kinda like your own or parts of it. Try browsing through the
forums to see if you can find some threads that are of interest.
Otherwise you might try to use the search function in the upper
right corner to find interesting posts with a keyword search.

General people tend to want: a good story, a camera that
produces nice images within ones budget and some form of
lighting equipment etc. A lot of people who want to help out
comes in handy too.

Hope this is of some help to you. Good luck.

Dylan Couper · October 1st, 2002, 03:09 PM

You haven't really told us enough about your shoot to get an idea of what it will cost you, but there are three main things that may empty your wallet. Talent, crew and gear.

Talent you may be able to get for free. You may have friends that can act in it. You may want to try getting some drama students from the local university to volunteer for the experience of it. If you are going to hire professionals, that's a whole different story.

Crew. A good crew might bring their own gear, so this could take care of you gear problem. OK, say you don't know anyone in the production industry. Try local film schools, put ads up asking for the positions you need. Make sure to expain it's a volunteer project. Hopefully you will find someone with a camera and light kit. Make sure you get an experienced cameraman/director of photography. Heed his/her advice at all times.

Gear. If you can't beg, borrow or steal it, rent it. A Canon XL1 rents for about $100us per day in Vancouver. A basic Lowel light kit is $60us I think. That's your basic gear. You may need more, like a wide angle lens, or better microphones. This is all up to you. Don't buy something if you are only going to use it for a day or two.

Hope this has helped any, but more info on your project would be good. Remember to always feed your cast and crew!

September 30th, 2002, 04:08 PM	#1
sewheele Posts: n/a	Estimate for Solid Indie Short My name is Sean, and I'm new to the form (and independent film in general). I want to write and direct my own 30-minute short, shot in one location, on digital. I was wondering what the overall estimate would be finacially to produce something of quality within those boundaries (i.e. what camera to use, equipment, etc). Or, better yet, what should I consider purchasing or what I should consider borrowing within some kind of arrangement. A broad topic, I know, but if anyone has any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot! Sean Wheeler

October 1st, 2002, 07:03 AM	#2
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	Welcome aboard Sean. I'm not going to try and answer your questions because it is a big questions (broad) to which I do not have all the answers. There also have been numerous posts on this board over the last couple of months with subjects kinda like your own or parts of it. Try browsing through the forums to see if you can find some threads that are of interest. Otherwise you might try to use the search function in the upper right corner to find interesting posts with a keyword search. General people tend to want: a good story, a camera that produces nice images within ones budget and some form of lighting equipment etc. A lot of people who want to help out comes in handy too. Hope this is of some help to you. Good luck. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

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October 1st, 2002, 03:09 PM	#3
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	You haven't really told us enough about your shoot to get an idea of what it will cost you, but there are three main things that may empty your wallet. Talent, crew and gear. Talent you may be able to get for free. You may have friends that can act in it. You may want to try getting some drama students from the local university to volunteer for the experience of it. If you are going to hire professionals, that's a whole different story. Crew. A good crew might bring their own gear, so this could take care of you gear problem. OK, say you don't know anyone in the production industry. Try local film schools, put ads up asking for the positions you need. Make sure to expain it's a volunteer project. Hopefully you will find someone with a camera and light kit. Make sure you get an experienced cameraman/director of photography. Heed his/her advice at all times. Gear. If you can't beg, borrow or steal it, rent it. A Canon XL1 rents for about $100us per day in Vancouver. A basic Lowel light kit is $60us I think. That's your basic gear. You may need more, like a wide angle lens, or better microphones. This is all up to you. Don't buy something if you are only going to use it for a day or two. Hope this has helped any, but more info on your project would be good. Remember to always feed your cast and crew!