Just encountered a film budget that is over a million, but has less than $15,000 towards post production. Were they thinking of hiring the director’s nephew to edit this thing in his mom’s basement on iMovie while smoking weed?
Advice to low budget and/or newbie producers:
-DON’T SCRIMP ON POST. If you need a guideline, films on the $500K range typically put aside $100K towards post production (this includes telecine, sound, editing, music, finishing). A $150K budget would still fork out $25K-$50K on post. Budget for 6 months of post and remember you’ll be employing folks for that period of time.
“ Well, being an AD, that’s the same mentality as being a producer, isn’t it?
— Lloyd Kaufman from Troma, today in the EZ’s parking lot on North Lamar after he congratulated me on the producing work I’ve been doing and I mumbled “well, I’m mostly an AD…”
nbrunskill:
Automatic functions of the camera and lenses should not be used. Once that happens the film belongs to the machine and not the filmmaker.
This is such a good point, and I want this to be the opening entry for this upcoming week. Since it’s a holiday, I’m not going to be up for posting the long, winding entries I normally do. Rather, I’d like to post small bits of advice for beginning filmmakers and low budget folks out there.
This one is essential. Turn everything to manual and learn how to make it work. This could be a metaphor for life as well.
Happy Friday, everyone!
But mostly because I’ve been relatively busy with PaperWork and Schedules and Producers Coming Into Town Looking At Budgets.
But this entry isn’t about me. It’s about you. Yes, you. What the hell am I talking about?
Well, it’s this…
Filmmaking is a collaborative effort. It’s not always about the individual, but rather, the overall collective consciousness. I do not work just to please myself and placate my ego, I work also to please the collectiveness that helps me. I work not only to pay the bills, I work for YOU. You, the director. You, the producer. You, the talent. You, the crew member. You, the audience. It’s basic human relationship 101. It’s sharing is caring. It’s every dorky watered down piece of philosophy we were spoonfed as children.
When I’m doing well, I do what I can for YOU to do well. You = my friends. My peers. My partners in crime. Without YOU, I can’t do what I do.
Get me?
Don’t go into production acting like it’s all about you. And this is especially for you aspiring directors out there. I’m a first AD. I see as much objectively as possible. If YOU are not working for me, I am not working for You. And if I’m not working for You, I’m not going to be calling You for the next gig.
Is that clearer?
This industry is all about who you know. But just knowing someone doesn’t get you anywhere. It’s more like who you HELP.
So next time you’re on a shoot, remember that I’ll work for You if you work for Me.
This post brought to you by the past few weeks of being able to hire talented and wonderful people who have worked for me into positions they have been coveting and seeing the absolute joy that comes from it. This business isn’t all doom and gloom, folks. There’s some real awesome stuff that happens.
… I am making a call sheet from scratch for the short film. Since it’s such a simple project and we’re dealing with the barebones of an already skeleton crew, I can use the untainted white space to “Cornify” the call sheet. I hope this crew loves kittens and rainbows and unicorns as much as I fucking do!
Ah, the joy of call sheets.
Got an interview on Saturday for a first AD position on a feature in a few weeks. Wish me luck, dear lovely readers…
This weekend, I will be ADing a short narrative. The script is one of the most simplistic scripts I’ve ever come across, but that doesn’t mean production hasn’t had its share of issues.
I’m also technically a co-producer on the project and have been digging in to find different crew members and equipment. Unfortunately for our little SAG short, it’s Big Union Show Time here in Austin and our Right-To-Work state has taken many of our beloved boys to shows like Predators and Friday Night Lights and, on a lesser scale, Legend of Hell’s Gate up in Granberry. Which is awesome (who says there’s no work in Texas again? What ass has your head been hiding in again?), but it’s been rough for the smaller, one-off projects here in terms of crew. One could say we can find some great non-union talent in terms of the G&E crew, which is very true, but you’d be surprised at how few non-union gaffers there are here in Austin.
(So, if you really want to get work and you are into lighting/electric in Texas, start gaffing. Non-unions need you.)
We solved our crew issues, but then a small scheduling snafu almost threw everything off when one of the actors realized he was booked for the night of the main dialog scene. This is when working with producers is incredibly important. You’re not just a friend of the director, you need to be good with the producer. I expressed the issue that came up and got a text at 4AM stating that the solution has been made - let’s switch the nights and give that actor Saturday off to do his gig and shoot the stuff we were supposed to shoot on Friday on Sunday instead. Trust me, it makes more sense than my description of it.
Outside of this, I’ve been really looking forward to this one, mostly because it’s with two actors I’m really excited to work with. The script is pretty solid and the director’s sharp, so it’ll be a nice change of pace from the half-assed, heartless projects that I’ve had to deal with in the past. But this project is definitely a reminder that no matter how small or simple the shoot, you still have to be prepared for anything, I mean, anything, to happen.
…it’s just that it’s my favorite time of the year. And no, I’m not going as an assistant director for halloween. No one would get me wearing a northface jacket and a walkie with bags under my eyes and a clipboard stapled to my arm. Or maybe they would.
Anyway, get off the internet and go hunt brains and scare little children. It’s fucking halloween!
“ @bcfilmmaker RT @rexsikes LISTEN LIVE script brkdwn & scheduln w 1st AD Peter D. Marshall Friday Noon ET 11aCT 9aPT http://snipurl.com/snuaj
— Check out this interview tomorrow with 1st AD Peter Marshall. Ooh, script breakdowns and schedules! My favorite kind of paperwork…
