Camera advice

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maestro

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Hi,

I am new to filmmaking. The only movie i have made is two minute video on Youtube, but i am preparing to make my first serious short film. i am kind of learning as i go and have many questions. too many for one post, so here are two major ones:

1. I was wondering if i should get a better camera before i shoot this movie. the camera i have now is a consumer-grade Sony Handycam. this worked fine my Youtube video, but if anyone thinks i should have a better camera for an actual movie, let me know what kind. i should point out, the most i could afford for a camera right now is probably no more than $1000.

2. My second question is about actors. i am desperately in need for some actors for this movie. if anyone knows a actors in the Kansas City area who would be willing to work for no money, please contact me. my email is [email protected]. i need two male actors between the ages of 20-30, a female actor 20-30, and a male actor 40-50.

Thank you!
 
This is my advice to you:

1) $1,000 may not take you as far up the picture quality ranking as you may want. What I'd do is put a no/ deferred pay job on mandy.com or craigslist.com (of your area) for a DP, and save the money.

2) Same deal with actors. Put an ad up on mandy.com or craigslist.com specifying what you want and stating that there will be no pay, you may be surprised how many people will show up for an audition. Find out what your local arts magazines are, and put an audition notice there too. Finding actors is rarely a problem, but finding good ones can be. Also finding actors who won't flake on you on a long project can be an issue at times. So choose well.

Best of luck to you sir.
 
I disagree on getting a dp. Depending on what kind of film this is (genre) i would consider shooting on the camera I had. But you should be able to get a good camera for $1000.

Secondly on actors , you probably have a local publing library so ask permission to hold a casting call there. You'd probably get a good response there.

I also have some questions for you.

Is this a feature?

What genre is this?

Whats it about (if you don't mind)?

Can you post a link to your youtube video?

I'm filming my first feature right now and I don't have a lot of connections to actors in my area , so what I'm getting at is my film is about to orphaned twin brothers that go on a crime spree and I'm playing both those parts , cause I'm also an actor. So keep things like that in mind. Maybe one actor or actress could play both parts?

I have one more question.

What did you write your script with? Microsoft Word? Final Draft? Celtx?
 
thx for the advice! this film is a short noir-ish type film. i guess you could also call it a sci-fi, but there aren't any special effects like flying cars or lasers or anything like that.

it's set in the very slight future when a fatal desease runs rampant throughout the country. the main character is one of the lucky few who is immune to the desease. he's also one of the unlucky few whose job it is to dump the bodies of those who died from the desease away from the city. he starts to lose his mind and doesn't know if his immunity is wearing off, or if all the death he is constantly around has finally taken its toll.
 
i almost forgot, here is a link to my youtube video. keep in mind: it's supposed to be stupid! i don't know if i mentioned, i am only 15 years old.

tohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKGhOjtZ01o
 
I'm in my late teens. So I'm a young dude too. I've tried watching your youtube video and my computer says the page can not be found it won't even go to that youtube page. It may just be my computer so I'll try again.
 
bummer that you can't watch the video. i would act in the movie if it weren't for two very important reasons:

1. i need an actor who is about 20-30 years old.
2. i am no actor. lol

i think my brother, who is 22, might be able to hook me up with some friends of his that would be willing to act in it, so i'll wait to hear what he says before i try to get outside help, but thx very much. btw, i wrote the script using microsoft word.
 
Thats good I hope your brother can hook ya up. I'm probably going to finish up filmming my film this weekend or sometime next week.

On script writing I would suggest going to a website called celtx and downloading their software. I would also create accounts on their project central and their forums. This would allow yout to collaborate with someone and the script if you wanted too.
 
thx for all the helpful advice you've already given me, man. but what do you think about the camera situation? i mean, do i even need a better camera or is mine fine?
 
i don't know exactly how long it will be, but the script is 17 pages.
 
Then the film will be about 15 to 17 minutes. It just depends on how you write. I think I would just use the camera I got , since this is a directing debut and this isn't anything extremely long. That camera should work fine since there isn't a lot of special effects. Let me ask you how are you going to edit this? Do you have video editing software on your computer or are you going to edit it plugging your camera into your vcr or what?

I could give you some advice on the script if you p.m. it to me.
 
i have windows moviemaker on my computer. that reminds me of another question: do i need a better editing software or is windows moviemaker fine?

about the script, i don't mean to be rude or anything cuz you've been extremely helpful, but i'm kinda protective over my scripts. i don't generally seek any outside help, mainly cuz i don't want anybody to change anything. :) i appreciate the offer, though.
 
Yes you would need a different editing software. At a filmfest you would most likely be sending in a dvd copy of your film. On Windows movie maker you could only burn your finished version of your film to CD and that would only allow your film to be viewed on a computer. At any film fest you send your film too will most likely be playing your film on a projector and require a DVD copy. So yes you would need new editing software. You could get some decent software at your local BESTBUY or CIRCUIT CITY for around $50.

As far as the script go's , I understand completely. Just as a fellow filmmaker who (no offence) but I have more experience in these things than you do , because I've done it longer. I'm no expert , but I've made more films than you have. So what I was gonna do is tell you if I thought that the scrip was ready for filmming and if not what you could do to make it ready for filmming.
 
Best of luck to you. Didn't mean to sound like a butthole about the script , but I understand completely. Hopefully I can see your film.
 
Casting calls are okay. But don't underestimate the power of just asking people in your theatre department who are good. They'll be flattered that you want them in your film. As for the camera dilema, you really won't find a "good" camera for $1000 unfortunately. Of course this is all very relative to how one qualifies "good". I would say for $1500 you could get a very good camera. You could get an ag-dvc30, a dvx100 (used), Pdx10, pd150, gs400, maybe an xl-1 used. Just some ideas. I think its good to own a camera initially, but I think you'll find that as you make more movies, you'll start to like the idea of renting, because it is significantly cheaper than buying, and you can rent some really good cameras. just some ideas... good luck.
 
don't worry, you didn't seem a like a butthole at all. i know you have more experience than i do. heck, that's why i'm asking all these questions! :D thx, i will definately get a better editing software then. i hate to just keep asking questions, but do you know of any specific editing softwares that would be good for a pc?
 
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