Filmmaking tips, How do I schedule my shoot to save money?
Filmmaking Tips
Directing a single camera interview
Most members of a production team - from runner to director - are likely to do a single camera interview at some point. Want to know how to make yours the best? Nigel Maslin from BBC Training & Development explains how.
Converting QuickTime to AVI for Windows
There many occasions where you will need to change from a QuickTime file format (.mov or .qt file-name extensions) to an AVI (.avi file-name extension) – for example if making a Video CD or using VirtualDub mod – both of which will accept AVIs but not QuickTime file formats. plugincinema has an online guide click on the link above to find out how to do it.
How do I schedule my shoot to save money?
By Carole Dean from www.fromtheheartproductions.com - the people behind The Roy W. Dean Film and Writing Grants - Try to schedule your shoot over a weekend, if possible. Rental companies might make a deal with you to rent equipment over the weekend which could be 3 days for a one day price.
- Question every price for rentals, do your homework and do not accept the first quote. Prices aren’t the same everywhere.
- See if you could get a discount on equipment by offering a link to your website, screen credit, etc.
- When hiring your crew, make a flat buyout agreement with them. That means the person accepts a flat rate for whatever hours they work – you do not pay overtime. Negotiate your rate for the whole show, just in case you do one shoot, and your second shoot might not happen for many months later. Schedule your start and wrap day (if known), scouting or prep days, wrap days and travel days. Negotiate your per diem, credits, and deferments, if any. Promise them a pay date too.
- Put your crew on hold, but do not confirm until you are sure of your exact production shoot date.
- Think carefully when scheduling a shoot for multiple cities. Determine if it’s cheaper to do it in one trip or multiple trips.
- Someone who works for free seems to be cheaper than an experienced person. But who will work faster, and add more to your film? Don’t skimp on cameraperson, editor or writer.
- If a person or event is on a remote location, schedule your interview, B roll, etc at one time, do not travel to the same location twice.
- Create a realistic shooting schedule – keep in mind it takes longer to light an interior set than it does to light a day light exterior set. It’s easier to shoot one interior and one exterior on the same day, rather than 2 interiors.
- When on distant location, hire local crews when possible. Call film commissions in the state and city you are working in to get personnel.
- Have the camera and sound people take thorough notes, and label the tapes. It will save you time in the editing bay.
- Purchase stock footage if it would be difficult or expensive to shoot the same subject.
- When covering military or NASA events, it is possible an event will be photographed by a governmental agency, in which case the footage is public domain and you can get access to it.
- Purchase phone cards for long distance calls, it’s especially cheap at the 99 cents store. It’s less expensive than using a long distance phone company calling card.
- Whatever equipment you rent, make a detailed list of each piece, it’s ID # to insure all equipment is returned to the rental company, and nothing is lost in transit.
- Network with other filmmakers to purchase tape stock in bulk, if you are using the same stock, and divide it among all of you.
Carole Dean is teaching in Austin, Texas in June a full day seminar on “The Art of Funding Your Film & Manifesting Your Future” www.fromtheheartproductions.com
Tips on Financing from Louise Levison, who is a donor to the Roy W. Dean grants and the author of “Filmmakers & Financing” now in its fourth printing. What are the most imortant elements in a business plan (Or how to get funding with the least chance of later lawsuits.) The Money: The two questions that equity investors ask most are, “How much money am I going to make?” and “When am I going to make it?” No matter what equity investors’ (including nonprofit organizations) reasons for financing a feature film or theatrical documentary, at the very least they don’t want to lose money. Learning how to do the financials is probably the most important part of the business plan. If investors think that your forecast is a fantasy, they will simply walk away... The Spin: Out of the total world movie population, who is likely to rush out to see it the first weekend? Discussing potential target markets is a strong selling point for your business plan. Most films will not appeal to “everyone" but will have smaller target markets. In addition to the usual genres of comedy, horror, thriller there are specific groups of people. For example, your film may be about women. Although there may not be a lot of documentaries with the same subject, you might want to discuss how movie going habits among women have changed. For demographic information, admissions and the latest on numbers of screens go the www.mpaa.org
The Story: A recent client told me she didn’t want to give away too much of the ending. Her synopsis ended with “And then this strange thing happens . . . .” What strange thing? You are looking to get money from potential investors, not trying to chase them away. You also don’t want someone suing you later, because you left out the scene where the buffalo are slaughtered or the priest leaves the church. (Don’t fool yourself. Individuals or organizations who invest in docs do that too.) Explain the major plot points from beginning to the end, while keeping it to one page. Yourself: Have fun and use common sense. And, by the way, don’t include in your bio that you were CEO of Paramount Pictures, unless, of course, you were. Louisel@earthlink.net and www.moviemoney.com Louise writes business plans.
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