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Student Filmmaker

Nathan Garofalos

Nathan Garofalos

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Would anyone be willing to donate any useful materials (time, resources, contacts, etc…) to an aspiring student filmmaker? I am shooting a new feature in early 2008 with the hopes of premiering it at Sundance in 2009. If anyone could help me out in any way that would be great, thanks.

Nathan
 
Tenshredd7, everyone's pretty generous out here. But it's more of a two-way community thing than a one-way donation thing... I hope!

So, talk to people in your area, try to help them out (whether in your specific areas of expertise, or whether it's just being a PA for a day - I've done both ;) and people will get to like you and try to help you.

Most of us would love to be shooting a feature in early 2008 too with hopes of premiering it at Sundance in 2009 but it's not really practical. I must say, you might want to delay things a bit if you haven't done enough pre-production (early 2008 is soon!).

Anyway: here's my plan:
1. be nice to people and help them out

2. Once you have been nice to people, and they start offering to help you out, you'll want to have evidence of creative filmmaking talent (good short film, etc), plus a killer script / great idea... eg something worthwhile for people to get excited about.

Then... very important:
3. Continue to be nice to people, once they've done you favors.

You can go the other route (just burn your way through credit cards, other peoples' money, favors, etc in the hope that your film will be a huge success and you'll be the next hot director), but that's not what Reduser is about, I hope. Some directors definitely used that method to get to the top though :(

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com
 
Yeah, what he said.:biggrin:
 
exactly, offer help, don't ask for it.

Everyone understands what you really want, but THAT's how you get things
 
I will give you a tip for starters....Don't put all your eggs into one basket and focus just on Sundance. It wreaks of "student filmmaker". Better to start with making the best film you can and letting the schedule and such fall where they may. I've seen more than one filmmaker (myself included) base everything around Sundance and miss other important opportunities that could have made their film successful. Keep in mind that getting into Sundance can also be very political, like a lot of big festivals...so it's about more than just making a great movie.
 
What would be other festivals that would be appropriate for me to take my film too? Also on annother note, what are film schools looking for in a potential student?
 
I'm just a student. I didn't get accepted into my top choices the first time around. So I am re applying with the hopes of getting in. Do you have any advice?
 
Give up any idea of a feature until you've done at least a dozen short films.

Ditto to earlier advice, first offer to help others. Learning from other's screw ups is much cheaper, and less stressful.

Btw, public access will let you use cameras, editing bays and basic light kits/audio kits for free. Check your local area.
 
Why not make your own short with a DV camera and edit on a PC or MAC? You will still need all the same elements as a feature but with far less outlay. The hardest part of my recent award winning 84 minute doc was the first 5 minutes.

I had a 100 page script for a 90 minute project but the beggining was crap. I kept putting it off - eventually and after about 6 unsuccessful attempts I came up with a beggining that was just right.

If you already have an idea - make a demo of a few mintues and get some reaction/advise from people in the know.

All the best, Phil
 
Shawn Nelson said:
Give up any idea of a feature until you've done at least a dozen short films.

Ditto to earlier advice, first offer to help others. Learning from other's screw ups is much cheaper, and less stressful.

Btw, public access will let you use cameras, editing bays and basic light kits/audio kits for free. Check your local area.
Click to expand...

No one buys shorts, if you have a feature length script, shoot the feature.
 
adobeone said:
No one buys shorts, if you have a feature length script, shoot the feature.
Click to expand...

hey Adobeone, I like your posts and the way you think, but on this point I disagree.

The point to this is long-term sustainability, the ability to get into the industry and stay there. I agree that shorts don't make money, I am painfully aware of that. However, what are the odds of a first-time filmmaker's first feature making any money? All together now - zero!

However, taking the same amount of money and effort of a single feature, and instead put that into 12 shorts, he'd come out the other side knowing pretty well what it takes, and could then do a feature with a hope of selling it.

Most indies don't learn much from their features, because they put too much time and money and are too close to them. They make mistakes that could have been rectified in one short but instead are spread over 90 minutes. Then they get mad when no one wants to buy their $30k jewel.
 
withoutabox

withoutabox

Tenshredd7 said:
What would be other festivals that would be appropriate for me to take my film too? Also on annother note, what are film schools looking for in a potential student?
Click to expand...

If you subscribe to withoutabox.com you will find out about many other festivals and when your film is ready you can submit it through the site too.
 
Shawn Nelson said:
hey Adobeone, I like your posts and the way you think, but on this point I disagree.

The point to this is long-term sustainability, the ability to get into the industry and stay there. I agree that shorts don't make money, I am painfully aware of that. However, what are the odds of a first-time filmmaker's first feature making any money? All together now - zero!

However, taking the same amount of money and effort of a single feature, and instead put that into 12 shorts, he'd come out the other side knowing pretty well what it takes, and could then do a feature with a hope of selling it.

Most indies don't learn much from their features, because they put too much time and money and are too close to them. They make mistakes that could have been rectified in one short but instead are spread over 90 minutes. Then they get mad when no one wants to buy their $30k jewel.
Click to expand...

There is one Axiom in the film business, lost to 80% of the artist that make them.

Adobeone film Maxim number 1. The art of cinema is the seamless blend of art and commerce.

First rule of commerce, if you have something that more than one person is willing to pay for you have leverage.

The effort it takes to do 12 shorts, is the same if not more, that it takes to make a feature. Mistakes are made everyday by more experienced filmmakers, than the person we a talking about.

Our young filmmaker could crash and burn, or hit a home run. It happens everyday in Hollywood. Their are so many ancillary markets for feature length films. Even a 30,000 gem can make allot of money.

You prove way more to me as a Producer, and an Investor if you can complete a full feature, than twelve separate short films.
 
adobeone said:
You prove way more to me as a Producer, and an Investor if you can complete a full feature, than twelve separate short films.
Click to expand...

Since we are talking about very limited budgets, what about a really nice looking short (that is a cut down from a feature length script) vs. a poor looking feature? A nice looking, proof-of-concept short could be pedaled around to investors in hopes of raising money to shoot the feature on a bigger budget.


-A
 
I have made less than a dozen shorts, but about every one is five minutes or more, My script is done, and i have a casting call for actors in january, then i plan on rehersing for a few months along side with my location scouting. I have a storyboard, a very rough story board that doesnt corospond to my locations, that i want to complete as soon as i get my locations set. I also am now toying with the idea fo doing shorts instead to get me into college, rather than liek 7 shorts and a feature. But what shuold i do about lights? i want to shoot more than a basic 3point set up, but dont want to spend a ton of money on it. Any ideas? Thanks.
 
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