Every one has an opinion...

[Ryze2]

New to filmmaking. I've toyed with the idea for years, I just was always under the impression I'd never get to go to college. Well I've decided I'm going to do it myself, and to hell with other people. That being said, I'm going to be on a budget when I look into a camera.

The question is : Given a budget of 1500$ *Ish* what would be my best bang for my buck.

Keep in mind, I recently build a comp to work on the film with. Dual SLI cards, Dual Core 3.2ghz , 1/2 tera byte HD using Sata hook ups. 2 gigs ram. And have the ability to get most software if needed....

Pro's/Con's of your choice if you would as well....

Thank you.
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Volcano Classic Vaporizer

 

[Ryze2]

Apparently NOT every one has an opinion
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Vf700S

 

[director15]

I'm doing the same thing your doing. I don't know if you have a camera yet , but if you get a good deal on a camera that will run you about $800. Try something like a Panasonic AG-DVC7 thats a pretty decent camera it will run you about $879. O.k. and you said you had a $1500 budget. O.k. your working with about $700 now. I'm going to tell you about how to cut down on the rest of your cost.

Screenplay: O.k. I don't , but I would imagine by the way you were talking that you've already written your film, but if you hadn't , take stock of what you have , you have a small town build your film around your small town , you need guns in your script , buy fake cap guns , you have a dog build your film around your dog.

Equipment: like I told you about your camera don't need nothing really fancy. Ok. lighting equipment just go to your local harware store or Lowes or Home Depot get to regular outdoor spotlights nothing real big. For indoor film this look fine. If you want a dolly , go find a wheel chair. or something like that , this is cheap and it will look fine.

Cast and Crew : O.k. you be the crew you don't have money to hire a bunch of people. Your actors will just be standing around get them to help you. Ok. I'll bet your already thinking I don't have money to pay actors just go to the local public library and see if they'll let you hold a casting call there. Most of these local up and coming actors or older actors who just act at the local theatre on the side would volunteer to be in your film.

 

[ralck]

The first step in buying a camera is to figure out what you want it to do. Find the different features you want it to have (what kind of manual controls and such, what size/weight, image processing, etc). Then start looking at cameras that have these specs. I won't offer any cameras as I don't really know what you want to do with it (fast motion, 24p, low light, etc).

As far as your budget is concerned, you'll want to buy more than just a camera, as Director15 said.

Some things you'll want to consider are:
-- Sound - Sound can make or break a feature. The acting and story could be amazing, but if the sound sucks, the film will suck. Look at getting a shotgun mic. I just ordered an NTG-2 mic, which is a pretty good budget mic. You'll also want to consider a microphone boom (can build a DIY one for about 30-40 bucks at Home Depot), and also possibly an XLR adapter (Beachtek and SignVideo make some good ones). For about $500 or maybe a little less you can get a pretty decent budget sound kit with mic, shock mount, boom, XLR adapter, some XLR cables, a good pair of headphones, and a windscreen.
-- Lighting - As Director15 said, on a budget go to Home Depot or your local hardware store and pick up some work lights. Look for ones that either come with a clamp or a stand. Consider picking up 3 lights to start with, so you can do traditional 3-point lighting and think about getting some stuff for DIY softboxes, reflectors, flags, etc. Just becareful because work lights (as well as professional video lights) can get pretty hot.
-- Camera placement/movement - You'll want to be able to move the camera in your shots, so look into ways you might like to do this. You could buy PVC to make a DIY Fig Rig for handheld stability. A good tripod (preferably with fluid heads) is a must, and look into either building a DIY dolly or use something like a wheel chair for dolly shots. One last thing you could look into building or buying is a crane/jib, but these can get a bit expensive, so you might want to hold off on your first feature.
-- Props - Don't forget you may need to go buy props. There are plenty of ways to do this cheap: either buy used, or make things that will look like the real thing on camera.
-- Talent/Crew - Don't forget that, while there are a lot of people out there who will act or help out on crew for free, it's still not really free: you'll probably have to buy them lunch and such, so keep that in mind for your budget.

When all is said and done, you may find yourself wanting/needing to spend a little more than $1500. I'd say for about $2000 you could definitely get a nice setup with a little left over for your first film.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

 

[Ryze2]

thnx for the info.

thnx for the info.

Awsome ! and thnx for the info.... as for the camera itself, anything a bit higher priced / better quality in say between 1000-1500 ish?

The 1500$ budget is something I'm looking to spend just on the camera.
I would be looking for decent low light and normal light. Pref a film-ish type look. Manual controls would probably be a plus, since I would need to learn to do it myself any ways.

As for the props and such, I've gotten a jig built up ..two actualy, one has two points of articulation... I''ve also taken a few notes from books and stuff and have been working on a "vasi - glide" system. Great idea on the wheel chair..... And I've got quite a sound setup from back in the day. I built myself a sound proofed recording studio for my highschool rock band. So that being said, I've managed to have 4-5 Real good mics, mixing boards etc etc. So may as well use it right?

Any other tips/info/pearls of wisdom is always wanted

PS : Cause of my past job, part of what im hopefully gona work on is already done. I worked at Midevil Times in orlando for a few summers , as well as worked at some ren fairs doing sword fights and exibitions and such. As well as was in law enforcment for a time. Soooo.... Guns - check ....Swords, axes, knives, armor, clothes - check..... too much time - check.....

Thnx
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Medical cannabis seeds

 

[director15]

Own just the camera? thats o.k. but put more of your money on the screen. an eight to nine hundred dollar camera will be just as good as one you could get for $1500.

 

[ralck]

The Panasonic DVX-100 would probably fit your specs pretty well. Of course, it's a bit on the expensive side so you'd probably have to look on Ebay for a used one to fit your budget.

The DVC-30 is also a pretty decent camera: not quite as good as the 100, but also cheaper.

The Canon GL2 is a pretty decent camera as well, though it's not the best for low light.

The Sony VX-2100 is also a pretty decent camera, though it can't do 24p. It is the best at lowlight of the models I've listed.

I personally would recomend you take a look at the DVC-30 and DVC-100 and see if either of those would work for you. Although, these are all SD cameras, so if you wanted HD, you'd have to look at different cameras.

One last thing I think I might have forgotten to mention is you'll want to make sure you budget for editing software. You'll want to decide what you want to do with the software and then get what will work for you (there are consumer-grade and professional grade software, all at different costs). Of course, you could use Windows Movie Maker or iMovie, but those aren't very powerful and are pretty limited with number of video tracks, transitions, and effects you can do.

Good luck and keep us updated!

P.S. What is a vasiglide system?

 

[Ryze2]

Vasi Glide :Think kind of a pre made rail road for a camera to slide on. Either right to left, or left to right. Basicly its a bunch of saw horses connected and fited using a leveler so thers no pitch change. You lube the hell outa the top part. And you snap your camera onto a metal mount you gotta bend outa some sheet metal. You then have an nice set up that can slide fluidly in basicly any terain you need. Just need to adjust the legs etc for rocks and what not.

Thnx for the info btw. Right now I'm in the getting stuff together mode. Any bits of info are always welcome
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MERCEDES-BENZ F 200 IMAGINATION SPECIFICATIONS

 

[ralck]

Interesting. The vasiglide seems like it could give you some really nice results.

I'm going to build a dolly system soon. It's just two pieces of 1/2" wood screwed together with some roller blade wheels on the bottom at angles so they sit on PVC piping track. It's not the best system, but it has given a lot of other people great results and is pretty cheap to make. It's also very easy to set up, which was important to me.

I'll be able to use pieces of wood and other shims to keep the PVC level on the ground. Not quite as versatile as proper saw horses like yours will have, but I think it will be a little easier to set up.

Let me know how your build goes!

 

[director15]

for a dolly you could also get like and offive chair with wheels of course get like a bungy cord and strap yourself have someone push you around while your filming.

 

[ralck]

I personally would never use a office chair for a dolly. Sure it's a cheap setup, but it uses casters on the bottom. If you've ever noticed, these aren't the best for smooth movement (take a look at a shopping cart), especially when turning or changing direction. Besides, the casters can only be used on a completely flat surface and would also mean I could drift further or closer to my talen, which I would not want to happen.

An office chair is a cheap solution, but anyone serious about filmmaking probably wouldn't use it unless they wanted a very specific vantage point that casters can give them.

 

[director15]

I personally would never use a office chair for a dolly. Sure it's a cheap setup, but it uses casters on the bottom. If you've ever noticed, these aren't the best for smooth movement (take a look at a shopping cart), especially when turning or changing direction. Besides, the casters can only be used on a completely flat surface and would also mean I could drift further or closer to my talen, which I would not want to happen.

An office chair is a cheap solution, but anyone serious about filmmaking probably wouldn't use it unless they wanted a very specific vantage point that casters can give them.

Anyone serious about filmmaking probably wouldn't do that? You do whatever you have to do with what you have. You get that money hose to going and you just can't stop. I know a guy that spent $30,000 on a 15 minute short and thats ridiculous. First of all he used 35 mill. He could have cut his cost in half if he had of used 16 mill and then blowed it up to 35 afterward or he could have shot it digitally and it would have looked just as nice. Then instead of making a dvd copy he made another film negative. Not only did that cost him twice as much money , but it made his final cut of the film look really rough and worn out. I wouldn't want to do the chair thing either , but would you rather him do that and not start spending money and make a good film for cheap or tell him to start spending money and he gets that money hose to going and he can't stop and winds up spending several hundred thousand dollars , when he could have made the film just as good for $3,000 or $10,000 tops?

 

[Ryze2]

about vasi-glide

about vasi-glide

In my opinion, the vasi-glide works a bit better than most. The thing is, wheels be it office chair or roller blades produce vibration. With the vasi-glide thing. It doesnt cause there is no real "moving" parts, just the bracket gliding down the lubed up part. So its smooth and easy to do.

Got the idea from sam rami / bruce. Apparently it was something they made when making films early on. Yay for books, learn alot in them.
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Honda rc116

 

[ralck]

The rollerblades, because of their bearings inside (they generally have pretty good bearings because they will have to support the weight of a person), do a great job of reducing friction and vibration.

I can't say the same about office chair wheels (although, yes, Director15, it would work in a no-budget film, but I think a wheelchair would be as easy to get and work a lot better).

I agree that the vasiglide sounds better and smoother, but I only suggested it because of it's easy portability, easy setup, easy operation, and cheap price. It seems easier to setup than the vasiglide (although I still agree that the vasiglide would probably give slightly better results). Also, it can be very easily made for only about $30-50 (including track). If that's too much money, then you'll have trouble affording an office chair if you don't already have one!

And also, there is no 'right' amount to spend for any length film. Look at the millions spent on Superbowl commercials and then look at Primer, a feature film that was done with only $7000. The amount of money for the project is simply what you want to spend on it, and though I agree there are plenty of ways to make shortcuts (light bulb changer for a boom pole, for example), there are certain things that I would not want to skimp on, and that's the quality of my shots.

I realize now that I should have chosen my words more wisely. What I should have said (and what I meant) was that I think there are better alternatives in the price range of an office chair (even if that price range is 'free' by already having the chair).

 

[director15]

The rollerblades, because of their bearings inside (they generally have pretty good bearings because they will have to support the weight of a person), do a great job of reducing friction and vibration.

I can't say the same about office chair wheels (although, yes, Director15, it would work in a no-budget film, but I think a wheelchair would be as easy to get and work a lot better).

I agree that the vasiglide sounds better and smoother, but I only suggested it because of it's easy portability, easy setup, easy operation, and cheap price. It seems easier to setup than the vasiglide (although I still agree that the vasiglide would probably give slightly better results). Also, it can be very easily made for only about $30-50 (including track). If that's too much money, then you'll have trouble affording an office chair if you don't already have one!

And also, there is no 'right' amount to spend for any length film. Look at the millions spent on Superbowl commercials and then look at Primer, a feature film that was done with only $7000. The amount of money for the project is simply what you want to spend on it, and though I agree there are plenty of ways to make shortcuts (light bulb changer for a boom pole, for example), there are certain things that I would not want to skimp on, and that's the quality of my shots.

I realize now that I should have chosen my words more wisely. What I should have said (and what I meant) was that I think there are better alternatives in the price range of an office chair (even if that price range is 'free' by already having the chair).

Correct you refuse to spend money. And like I said I wouldn't have wanted to use an office chair either. The reason I suggested the office chair , is that it would be a way that he wouldn't have to spend any money. The ideal way without having to spend money is go find someone who owns a wheelchair , but doesn't need it or use it and borrow it from them.

 

[director15]

Ryze2 how is your film coming along?