How do you get this type of blue sunlight cinematography?

[Ryan Elder]

Originally Posted by Brian Drysdale

Adding new characters doesn't always cover holes in the plot or story, quite a few films have holes if you stop and think about them. It's how you handle them with a slight of hand that covers them, so the audience don;'t notice them. Solving them may need the writer to do some thinking and may involve going back and rethinking their set ups.

An amusing thing about the time of the USSR was that a number of Russians would speak English with a North American accent.

Sometimes, I get the feeling that your film making friends like winding you up.

Yeah most movies I have seen have holes and the movies were still successes, no one seems to care, but for maybe beta readers are more picky about them because the are looking compared to most viewers?

Oh well the submarine script would be set in modern times and not the former USSR I don't think, if that makes any difference.

But for the current script I was wanting to do as well, which I think would still cost less, it was said before on here, that I am trying to emulate movies that are too big budget.

What microbudget movies should I try to be inspired by more, in the crime thriller genre then, if anyone has any ideas on that?

[Paul R Johnson]

Do the Russians still have an operating submarine fleet?

[Ryan Elder]

The submarine used in the plot is older, but the plot is still set in modern times.

[Brian Drysdale]

Here are some low budget examples: https://screenrant.com/low-budget-th...-blockbusters/

https://www.raindance.org/25-low-bud...nched-careers/

Although, most have a bigger budget than yours, especially if you allow for inflation.

Regarding Russian subs:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/hisutto...h=33e39c807a6e

https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/se...submarine-show

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay thanks. I've seen two of the movies but I can chek out the rest. Well normally in a crime thriller there is going to be physical altercations between the characters, if you want someone to get killed especially, so would something like these be do-able on a low budget, if it made sense to the plot to have them:

Jack Bauer Slaughters Abu Fayed - 24 Season 6 - YouTube

The Chaser - Fight Scene - YouTube

There are also scenes of people being shot though, since cops bring guns to arrests of course, so would something like this be do-able, with today's low bduget effects:

L.A. Confidential (5/10) Movie CLIP - Shotgun Ed (1997) HD - YouTube

I don't want to go for anything too flashy or over the top but develop the characters through the violence, that drives the plot if that makes sense.

[Brian Drysdale]

You want to drive the story, not the plot.

The needs of the characters will drive the story, to meet their need some characters will use violence.

Physical altercations are doable on a low budget, rolling trucks are less so, unless you've got connections and old trucks.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay thanks. Well I was thinking for the truck, we just shoot it with a green screen behind the truck, and we just flip it in post and have the actors climb out of it, as if it was flipped over, when it's actually right side up during shooting. But this would just be a bonus and I do not have to have this, but still wanted to try and experiment to see if it would work.

[Brian Drysdale]

The truck was discussed earlier, if you're shooting on a tight schedule, you could easily spend a couple of hours getting one shot.

[Paul R Johnson]

Would this just look totally unrealistic. I’m not sure I could make this look real. So many problems. Hair, loose items etc. Sounds like a nightmare and time consuming and equipment heavy

[Pete Cofrancesco]

Reminds me of the SNL Toonces the cat skit. Features stock footage that 70s movies were so fond of the car driving off a cliff into a canyon.

Speaking of doing things you shouldn’t. What ever happened to recording the gun shots? You spent months planning and talking about it. Did you ever do it?

[Ryan Elder]

Well perhaps if I do the effect I can show them start to climb out of the truck, but then cut away quickly, so the audience just got the idea that they got out and escaped. The characters are wearing hood masks though, since they are in the commission of crimes, and do not want to be recognized. So loose hair may not be a problem therefore.

Yes I did record the gunshots.

[Pete Cofrancesco]

So what were the results? I assume they didn’t sound like what you hear in movies and would have been better off buying professionally recorded sound effects. I think that was the consensus in that thread.

[Ryan Elder]

Yeah they didn't sound the best, but it was still a good sound recording learning experience. Some movies do use the live gun shots, like I read Heat (1995) did, so I guess the live recordings are preferred sometimes then, if that's the case?

[Brian Drysdale]

I don't know why you put in the "if that's the case" question. There is reasoning behind using live audio in "Heat" because of the building's reverberation etc so it was probably recorded in stereo. They were also using assault rifles which are puncher than pistols.

Heat Shootout Behind the Scenes Feature - YouTube

What works in "Heat" may not work in your film because you don't have the resources. However, there lots of times in documentaries and news where live gunshots are recorded. It depends on what you want, bearing in mind that most feature films replace the live shots and that seems to drive you more than anything.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay. I can use sound effects. As for recording in stereo, why does that make a difference, if the mics are right next to each other? Don't the mics need to be significantly further apart for stereo to be effective?

I was also wondering in my script, it said before that I reveal too many plot points too fast. I was wondering, how long should I wait in between plot points before revealing the next one, if there is a good guideline for that?