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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

An Offer to Disgruntled Filmmakers Who Feel They Missed Out on a Cheap SCARLET....

Meryem,
This is one of the most generous offers I have ever seen. I applaud you for it. If you ever happen to be in Maine, please look me up.

Meryem Ersoz said:
So you have the Great American Movie you want to make. Only RED smashed your dream to smithereens by pricing SCARLET out of your reach.

This should not be a stopper. But let's just say that access to REDCODE, RAW, 4K+, and HDRx reallly do offer certain irreplaceable competitive advantages.

I have an EPIC. And I'm willing to donate it, my services, and the services of my studio to bring your dream to life.

You: have a finished script, a budget (you can now subtract camera and accessories purchase from that), a business plan, a realistic schedule, a crew, production insurance, a cast, and your locations secured. You also own a minimum of 8TB of hard drive space + enough hard drives to back up these 8TB x 2.

Me: I'm a good producer. I can shoot. I can wrangle your data. I know people who can elevate the quality of your film without breaking the bank. I have a goal, to make 3 feature films that I can be really proud of, before I turn 55 - that gives me seven years to fulfill my dream.

So for all of you disgruntled folks who feel like RED dumped on your dream by raising the price of the SCARLET, I'm offering you a trade.

Pitch me an awesome idea. Put together your package. If your film falls into the category of a feature film that I can really be proud of (be unique, intelligent, engaging - no Pulp Fiction/Res Dogs derivative wannabes, please)

...then we can probably work something out.

Making a good film is so much more than owning a camera. If you can do all those other things, pull a dream and a team together, I'll give you the camera and my full support to your endeavor. We can help each other make everyone's dreams come true.

Shoot me a PM if you are seriously obsessed with your vision and are serious about working your ass off to make a great film. I get pitched screenplay ideas constantly and the honest truth is most of them either a) suck or b) they can't be made on a true indie budget.

But here's hoping that one of these perfect projects by an earnest indie lands in the right place, certainly not impossible, I just helped to produce a small indie which was shot by a merry band of LA actors who rented a house in Estes Park, Colorado - they had a great script and a plan and they shot their film in 3 weeks. So I know good projects are out there, waiting for the good people behind them to find a helping hand.

This offer is primarily geared towards continental US but I'll consider Hawaii, Bhutan, and Australia!

Let's see who is out there....
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G Lap said:
Meryem's a girl, isn't she? :)
Click to expand...

yes, yes indeed...thanks for the insight, G.

reduser is loaded with insomniacs and an international cast of characters...

Iin the short hours that I slept, we picked up offers from Morocco, Paris, Maine. The guys with guns to shoot found their own angel in George Butterfield. And we have acquired the advisory capacities of Gunleik, who totes around a load of RED knowledge, history, and experience. There is lots of help out there to bring a film to life. Consider with the money that we have already raised, potentially, you would even be halfway to your SCARLET-X purchase - just sayin - if you are the lucky winner, you will learn how little you actually need it...

...because what I have learned from my own projects is how badly people want to work on great projects. Even A-list actors - that is how I was able to sign up Malcolm Mcdowell for mine...even A-list actors, like the rest of us, want to have great experiences. It is why we do this. For the love of beautiful images and life-altering experiences.

and wow, I even have two actual proposals in the PM already. keep em coming - I know that there is an inspired, hard-working, and talented filmmaker out there, waiting to take advantage of all this awesome energy....

I'm about to get ready to go shop my own project around AFM (it's in post-production) this morning a bit, all part of expanding the most important knowledge base to making a film - SELLING THE DAMN THING! but I'll check in periodically to see how the operation unfolds...

There's some amazing creatives here. We need more sales agents and acquisition executives to populate reduser! Now - if someone could just point me towards one, I could wrap this one and get on with the next!
 
This is quite the offer. I am a filmmaker with alot of passion but right now I don't have a script to send up but do have a scarlet on the way. If you shoot on the west coast I will come help out. If you need a director for this adventure I would love to help out there as well.
 
You're welcome Meryem. The best of luck with your project and this initiative.
 
this is a phantastic collaboration happening here. I can't contribute right now, I'm in Europe, but this is the spirit, this is the best use of internet forums. I want to express my deepest joy for this tremendous generosity from you people.
 
Tim Whitcomb said:
Nice work Meryem... er but Im not disappointed by the announcement.... :P

I have now read well over 170 to 180 scripts in the last 4 years and there should be no surprise that... MOST SUCK when it comes to story... or at least follow this pattern:
1. LA scripts all have excellent structure and shootable formulas... (most come from screenwriting classes) but they almost all have unusually thin characters with often weaker dialogue.
2. Everywhere else in the USA usually lacks the structure above, but have excellent characters and dialogue. They almost all need story help and structure.

It all starts with a GREAT script...(ive only found/optioned 4 great stories out of 175 so far - 2 will cost over $50M to make- period films - 2 that can be shot for under $200K)
After you find that great script, don't forget it is followed by:
A. lots of smart scheduling and budgeting, followed by
B. lots of unpaid prep, followed by
C. a killer casting director, followed by
D. everything else that comes with making an indie film. time and effort

Good luck guys!
Click to expand...

I want to acknowledge Tim's post - this is a very intelligent reflection of my own experiences, and he kind of extrapolates what I was saying with my original categories - A (suck) and B (unrealistic about budget).

Good projects that can be produced at reasonable prices are hard to find, for all the reasons that he lists. That is why people want to work on them, when they surface. I probably read about 300-400 before I found one that I bought. I'm willing to give redusers a hearing here, because I think the self-selective nature of redusers means that we are already drawing from a higher quality pool.

Once you have a script, breaking it down yourself - or finding someone to help you with that process (that is something a good AD, production manager, or someone like me can help you with) - then that will help you know if it is a good project. A good project is not even just a good story with strong characters. A good project is one that can get made.

Remember this is indie world - if you are THAT GUY or THAT GIRL, you have to be willing to wear all the hats and that means you either do it or find someone with the knowledge that you lack.

The alternative is, you sit around hoping someone will notice you. The energy vortex will build around you, when you show others what you can do and what you are willing to attempt. I can guide, but you--whoever you are--have to execute.
 
Meryem Ersoz said:
I want to acknowledge Tim's post - this is a very intelligent reflection of my own experiences, and he kind of extrapolates what I was saying with my original categories - A (suck) and B (unrealistic about budget).
Click to expand...

+1 I've read a 100+ scripts in the past year.

Issues I see:
- So commercial & formulaic there's no heart. One LA reader phrased it "perfectly structured $h#t".
- So non-commercial there's no story.
- So much dialog it's not a movie - it's a radio show.
- Mediocre scene work. No dramatic engine pumping the story forward and keeping the audience engaged.
- Weak concept. This has more to do with getting and making money - but it's usually important.

- Single biggest note: Characters are forced by the writer to do things they would never do for the convenience of the plot. I think it's the hardest thing for writers and readers to spot because it's so prevalent. Usually an audience points it out later (yes, I've had it happen to me).

But I'm not saying it's easy. I study screenwriting more than anything. It's not easy to have a great story and great characters.

When Paramount buys a relationship drama for 4 Million shot on a 7D it all becomes clear. No camera is more important than a great story well crafted. Anyone here complaining they can't make their movie because they can't afford Scarlet is insane. No offense.
 
i'm a film director/editor, and i have my post production company , consider that you've got your, dit, edit, grading, finishing done.
i'll travel with my brother 'director/editor assistant' where ever the job wants us to be, along with our equipments if you could.
 
So I'm seeing a true World Production Effort - possibly a new Global Group Source Filmmaking business model. We get a script that lends itself to different locations with different actors and plot lines whereby each Epic contributor can do so on a local level then send the dailies up to a private Vimeo site where the Director(s) can review and comment. The Director then sends the approved RAW clips to the Editor via FTP who builds the film for all stakeholders to view on the private Vimeo site.

We build a film where the entire Team never meets personally. We have access to locations and resources on a global scale for free. Once we get the mojo going on this concept we hit up RED for any missing resources. We premiere the film at RED Studios in 4K on their 40' screen with a hi rez simulcast to the entire solar system. We put Jim and Jarred in charge of creating Hype & Buzz ; )

Robert Rodriguez would be proud! I am fuckin stoked on this concept!!
 
I love this thread. Thanks for starting it , Meryem. And thanks for acknowledging that the screenplay is everything. Once you have that killer script, everything else falls into place.
 
Actually, Jaime, there are so many legs to a successful film that it's not even funny. There are five Everest-styled peaks to scale to make even a reasonably successful film.

The screenplay just gives you the pass to start developing the film.

The pre-production - a killer amount of work - gives you the pass to shoot it.

The production, if you survive all the things that can go wrong, gives you the right to enter post-production.

The post-production is like an octopus - edit, sound design, effects, clean-up, color correction and finishing - and if you survive it, you get:

To expand your knowledge base of how to get someone to buy it and distribute it.


And you thought you needed a SCARLET - shit, I'll give somebody the camera and all the gear they can eat, to use.

All I want in return is to work on a great project from someone with the personality and the energy and the gumption, who can survive and thrive their way through this process. All of it, not just the fun, sexy aspects of working on a set. As hard as production is - it is actually the easiest part, in a certain way, because that's where all the fun is, too.

I'm not just interested in working with a great screenplay, I could dig that up on my own. And I'm not interested in taking on your work. You would be taking your own ball and running with it.

I'm looking for that person who wants to transform themselves, who wants to embrace the whole deal.

And believe me, you won't be the same person, on the other side. You will be a titan.
 
Meryem Ersoz said:
The post-production is like an octopus - edit, sound design, effects, clean-up, color correction and finishing - and if you survive it, you get:
Click to expand...

Yes, post production!
So, in the spirit of this thread, I'd like to contribute my grading services on this project. That is, if it ever get's to that point:biggrin5:
 
Meryem Ersoz said:
that looks like a pretty interesting project, Jeremy - we can add it to the (growing) list, if you like.
Click to expand...

Yeah, please do. I would appreciate that. It's a movie I've been shooting for 7 years in 12 countries and has been my dream to complete. Just need a dedicated and talented team to help me get there.
 
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