Moving!

Video Drone is now located here. Blogger/Blogspot has been giving me far too many issues lately.

Second drafts are the most work

So I've been working on my second draft, including refining the personalities of the principal cast, making scene flow a bit better, revising parts of the plot and cutting/adding a lot of scenes, and let me tell you this is probably the most work I've had to do on the script.

See, I ran into a few problems as I was looking over the first 15 pages or so. First off, while we get a good idea of our protagonist's character, we don't learn anything about his boss (a critical character) as far as personality and even a bit of history is concerned. I actually ran into the same problem with our protagonist's ex-girlfriend, which is a bit of a travesty since she's critically important to the plot and character development.

So naturally I had to take the metaphorical red pen to my script. I actually do all my writing on a computer since, well, I'm terrible for losing physical copies of documents. Plus it makes it a bit more easy to keep track of all my changes and ideas. It does, however, kinda bother me that this takes so long. I know it shouldn't, seeing as a lot of scripts have a huuuuuuge writing time, but hey, I'm allowed to be impatient as long as I'm working instead of complaining about it.

At the end of the second draft I may go into a bit more detail about the movie itself. I'm not keeping it hush-hush because I'm afraid the INTERNET WILL STEAL MY IDEAS (lord knows this blog isn't popular enough for that to be an issue) but more because at this point so much might change that I'd have to do script AND blog revisions and that's just a little silly.

Union regulations and all that.

Discovery is now a non-union production.

After a lot of research into the extra fees that come with unions, specific regulations (a lot of which make sense and DO do a great job of protecting the worker/employer) and various hiring policies, it just ended up being far too much money for an independent production to bare. All in all it looks like union workers add a good 10% to my budget. That's, well, kinda hard to cut when a lot of this might have to be guerilla filmmaking.

I finally got a chance to hear back from ACTRA and was VERY pleased with how much money I could have saved. For the first production it cuts a huge chunk of the union fees of and even cuts 45% off the actor salary. Unfortunately, it also requires me to be CFTPA certified, which requires two recommendations from CFTPA voting members and a lot of money. Money which I'm going to have to used to incorporate so I can get the tax breaks an safeties that come with that.


So now I'm wondering if this is going to cause me any issues, long term. I mean, non-union actors aren't too hard to find, but good ones are. On the plus side, a paycheque promise would probably bring me a better selection of applications. Well, we'll see how it all goes.

BACKUPS! THEY ARE IMPORTANT!

The other day my Macbook suffered a pretty critical hardware failure and I lost all of my script files. It took me about 3 hours to get my files back and that was far too long. In fact, the fact it took any time at ALL was a pretty harsh indicator that I needed to get a proper backup solution.

I started looking around to see what was best for me. I knew that since these were script files I'd need to have the option to revert to an earlier version, I knew I needed to have a solution that would not involve me having to manually backup files, I knew it had to be cross-platform since I work in Windows and OSX,and I knew it had to be free because, well, I'm poor!

Enter Dropbox. This was exactly what I needed and am now using. The 2GB plan is free (and more than ample for backing up your screenplays), it allows me to set up a specific folder to sync so I can just save my scripts there, and I can use it from Windows, OSX and a handful of other platforms if I so desire. It's pretty much the idea solution and since it works from anywhere I can always have a copy of my script on me wherever I have computer access.

But yes, one of the reasons you didn't hear from me was because I was pretty much fighting these computer issues every step of the way. It was a bit annoying.

Kinda sick

Updates are going to be a bit slow since I'm trying to focus my energy more on making sure I don't die and such. Looks like this script is going to possibly require a third draft, though it's more an "edit out" draft so it won't take too long.

Attitude adjustment

I'm probably going to step on a few toes here, but I think that "aspiring filmmaker" is one of the most ridiculous titles anyone can apply to themselves. If you call yourself an "aspiring filmmaker" it strikes me as giving yourself an excuse. If something goes wrong, you didn't lose much; after all, it was just a goal, nothing you were really making a go at. It's a terrible way to think and I've seen it bite people on the ass.

You have to call yourself a "filmmaker." You have to BE a filmmaker. You have to sit down, have your idea and say "I am going to make this if it goddamn kills me." This is a level beyond simply aspiring to be a filmmaker, this is getting yourself into a state of mind where you are going to get shit done. For instance, I am going to make Discovery. It's already way above what I was expecting the budget to end up being and I'm going to have a hell of a time raising the funds, but I WILL make this movie. If I had my old attitude of "I'll get around to it" the damn thing would never get made.

Some people will, of course, tell you that you can't make it. And you know what? Statistically speaking, they're probably right. Try not to listen to them though, they might also just be assholes. If you start hearing things like "you'll never make it in the film industry" or "you'll never be able to make the movie" then you're probably talking to assholes. However, if you start hearing things like "you haven't planned how you're going to shoot this at all" or "this is completely unshootable on your budget" then maybe you should pay some attention to them, since they're at least giving their criticism thought.

Making a film is HARD. I'm not even done getting pre-production organised and I'm pulling my hair out at times. I still need to get some things done, like talking to ACTRA to potentially cut down my actor's wages. I also still need to contact Six Shooter Records about some music licensing costs, get my post-budget ready and make sure I can get my cast and crew on the dates I'll need them. It's hard, it's stressful and I have constant headaches but I'm a filmmaker. It's my job.

POINT PROVEN BY SATIRE NEWS SITE

Wrapping up the production budget!

Okay, we've covered actors, crew, cameras, lights, sound and all that noise, but we're forgetting a couple of miscellaneous bits that usually come up. Thankfully, these things aren't too expensive and shouldn't push our $60,665 budget much higher, so let's take a look at what we're left out until now:

C-Stands: C-Stands are fairly common on sets and really useful if you need to prop up large reflector boards or other such things. They're also REALLY cheap to rent and come with the arms you need. $9 a day and I'll probably want four of them, so that'll be $320.

Hand reflector: These are REALLY handy and also REALLY cheap. They can be collapsed at a whim and are super easy to transport and store. Plus they're basically essential for daytime shooting when you need to soften your actor's shadows and bring them up a stop. I'll probably want about three of these and they cost $65 each, so that's $195.

Sandbags: ALWAYS sandbag your gear if you care about it. I can not stress that enough. Sandbags are essential to making sure things do not get tipped over easily on a shoot. And believe me, the last thing you want to happen is a light stand falling over and ruining not only your light, but somebody's face. Lights get HOT. $25 each for 10. $250. BUY SANDBAGS.

Tripods: Oh, right. This was actually supposed to be included in the update about cameras but somehow got past me. My personal favourite brand for tripods is, like many others, Manfrotto. For this shoot, I'll be using a pair of two-stage aluminium tripod with the 501HDV head. It's a lot cheaper to buy than rent for this length of shoot, so that means $475 for two, which is $950.

Extension cords: Obvious reason for these. Basically you're looking at $20 a cord and you'll probably want about six of them, so that's $120.

Light gels: Gels are CHEAP. Don't let anyone try and rip you off with them. You're looking at $6 or so per gel. For an entire set of gels for each situation we'd encounter? $75 total.

C-Clamps: If you want to hang anything anywhere ever, you need clamps! A good set of C-Clamps and pony clamps will cost you about $15 and you'll want at least two sets. That's $30.

So we've done it. We've got our production budget done and it's... $1,940 plus $60,665 is... $62,605! That's a lot of money! And the worst part? We aren't done yet! We still need to consider our pre and post budgets! I guess I'll be covering those soon too!

Oh right, lights!

Okay, so, we've covered cameras, actors, crew and audio. Now it's time to cover other things people sometimes forget: lights and junk! Lights are important for a lot of reasons. Proper lighting helps set the tone of a scene, helps delineate actors from the background and makes the scene visible. Not much point in a movie you can't actually see.

When we last left off, we had a budget of $58,215 going. Let's jump right into the fun!

Lights are tricky business. The best option I've seen for getting a quick and dirty light setup that'll work for most beginning filmmakers is the Arri fresnel 4-light combo. It's only about $2,450 and comes with its own transport case, which is something you don't normally get with rentals. It is actually SO well featured that I'll break down what it comes with in its entirety:

2x Arri Fresnel 300W lights: Normally $30 a day per light, which means that as a rental this would cost $600 for the shoot.

2x Arri Fresnel 650W lights: Normally $40 a day per light, so that's $800 for the shoot.

4x light stands: These are usually cheap anyway, but they come with the kit. Normally they're $5 a day per stand, so that's $200 for the whole shoot.

4x barn doors: This kind of amuses me because they aren't included in the rental cost but at dirt cheap to rent. $1 a day per door, so $40.

4x filter frames: Just like the barn doors, these are really cheap but not included in rental costs. $40 again!

8x scrims: Wow, lot of tiny little costs in rentals. That's another $80!

2x 300W replacement lamps: these actually cost $40 each and you have to buy them. That's $80

2x 650W replacement lamps. Same deal as above, and another $80.

1x Arri accessory box. This includes a lot of handy stuff you'll need like a pair of leather gloves for handling the lights, wooden clothes pins, a lamp storage case, a 3 outlet extension cord and a carrying bag. This typically costs another $90.

1x Heavy duty location case. This is my favourite thing in the kit. It drastically cuts the amount of worry in transporting your lights over long distances since it's designed to take a hit. It also has built-in wheels so it's a lot easy to move around than it could be. This normally sells for about $430.

So, after all that, getting the same equipment with rentals would be about $2,440. If you REALLY wanted to scrimp and save, then you could rent and save yourself that whole $10, but really, this case is a really great deal if you ever plan on shooting more than once. This is a long article considering all it does is bring our budget up to $60,665 but it's something you REALLY have to consider.

A couple of afterthoughts and notes on today's update:

I'm not a shill, I promise! You'll notice that I usually link to Amazon.com or B&H a lot, but that's because I mostly really trust them with my orders. If Amazon has it in stock you'll usually see it in a day or two but yes, you could easily check your nearest bookstore. B&H is just amazing though and I'd trust them with any order.

Also, on a more personal note, I'm in a new place now, so updates should be more regular and probably a bit lighter in tone now that I'm about 90% less stressed about everything.

Potential delays

I moved to a new temporary lodging, so there may be a couple of delays in posting. On the plus side, for those of you with normal sleep schedules: No more 2-4am updates! Updates will now probably be at either noon or 6pm, give or take a couple hours. I should have the update about the last bits of equipment up tomorrow sometime.

Even MORE equipment.

Once again it's time for a ludicrously late blog post about budgeting! This time I'm going to cover some things that requires rental instead of purchasing. It's also one of the things I dislike because it involves something that can really make or break a film.

I am talking about, of course, audio.

I've had audio go wrong before on a short for school. Either something went wrong with the mic input, the camera settings or somebody wasn't paying attention, but we ended up with absolutely no sound on a bunch of scenes and we had no time to do ADR. I was mortified. The entire project was pretty much ruined and all I could do was take a clip from a scene in the middle of the film, slow it down and set it to Chariots of Fire.

ANYWAY, we last left off with the budget resting at a rather lofty $57,095. Yikes. Now, with audio equipment, it's one of the rare instances I'm finding where it's actually cheaper to rent than it is to buy. Probably because renting out a Senhieser is $45 a day instead of dropping about $1,800. Boom poles are expensive too and I'd rather not risk putting expensive equipment on something homemade.


So let's start breaking down costs!


Boom mics: I really like Senhieser's stereo shotgun mics. They've always offered me good performance when I've used them in the hands of people who know what they're doing. $45 a day and I'll probably want to grab two of them. That brings us to $900 for the shoot, which is about half of what it costs to buy just ONE.


Boom pole: Really, any brand here is good. If they're operated right and you keep them out of the shot, you're golden. Two of them as well at $25 a day. $500.


Mixers: I actually had to ask around about this one since it's outside of my area of expertise. Given that there's no such thing as too many backups, a mixer with a built in recording system seemed best. It came down to the Sound Devices 552. It's a 5-channel mixer with a built in SD card slot for recording. $55 a day, I only need one. $550 for the shoot.


Lavalieres: I'd have to go wireless for this, and if I did, I'd need to take special care to make sure no distortion came through. Plus I'd need three of them if I was to actually use them since they're lapels. I'm going to go with a temporary no-go on these. $0.


XLR cables: These are pretty cheap. 4 20 foot cables, purchased. $80.


XLR to 3.5mm: There's no reason not to get this and it may well be VERY important at some point, so it's best not to leave them. Last thing you want is to not be able to record audio to something you may need to. 3 of them for $60 total.


That... was actually a lot more painless than I thought. Of course, it DOES tack $1,130 to our budget, bringing us to $58,215, which isn't TOO bad of an increase. Tomorrow I'll be moving, but I'll be covering additional video equipment and possibly some other stuff! Stay tuned!