My first bit of advice (considering this is your first time) is to do a shorter length project. Instead of a feature try a 5 or 10 minute short. It will give you a chance to shake our any bugs and get a good overall feel for the technical side. You will also see very quickly where you need to improve.

I also suggest picking and sticking to one side of the camera or the other.

To address your questions:

Unless the camera is equipped with wide-screen CCDs then you sacrifice image quality in 16x9 mode. Shoot in 4x3 and as you frame your shoots keep in mind you will crop it later; frame for widescreen.

I would discourage separate (unsync) sound recording. To do it well you'll need a portable DAT or two; their cost alone is around $2,000. A product like the XLR-PRO will provide XLR inputs to the camera. One good boom mic and maybe a cheap but effective lavaliere (even wireless) should cover your sound needs. Consider renting as an option if the cost is prohibitive.

Yes, everyone (including you) should have at a minimum a general release, liability waiver, and work contract that outlines payment schedules. None of it will prevent you from being sued but it will help your case. They're great examples on the web but an hour with an attorney in your area would be advised. If participants are under 18 then a parent or guardian must sign. As long as this is not a union project and you are hiring everyone on a contract only basis labor laws do not apply.

Every franchise (like 7/11) has certain rules/regulations they follow. More than likely you would have to talk to someone in upper management. An alternative is to find a "mom & pop" style business. The general rule is that if it is in plain view from a public space (like the ext. of 7/11 would be from the street) then it is O.K. to shoot it. Inside is a different story.

Your local film commission can really help you out in this area. Personal experience has taught me to play up the "poor filmmaker artist" and offer a copy of the completed film and a logo or special thanks in the credits.

Good luck.

wouldnt a minidisk recorder work for sync recording too?

Thanks for the info.

Just to cover my background, I started out I suppose as an actor, but happen to do writing at the same time, and because of those two I naturally wanted to start directing. Funny thing is that one of the producers actually told me that I should consider sticking to directing and find somebody to fill in my character?s role.

I?ve done a couple shorts about ten minutes each, but I?ve never put ?full force? into it. They were lower quality as far as the technical side is concerned. I didn?t do them in wide screen. Because this is a feature, I wanted to know about the possibility of wide screen. Thanks for the heads up on how it works.

In my previous experience, I have dealt with *signing* contracts, but never making them. What you said was what I thought was the deal, but I plan to get some advice if/when I can from a couple lawyers I have contacts with.

While thinking about boom mics (that I don?t have yet), I just had an idea. I?m also a musician and have mic stands, and had the thought of converting them. I went to look to see if it could be done and sure enough, they work perfectly after removing the base and extend from two and a half to five feet. And if I want to do some more converting, could get it up to nine and a half feet. I suppose I have boom mics after all.

Huh, I?m surprised I never thought about doing that before, or hearing about that before. Oh well, I?m going to do it, and that will probably save a hundred dollars or so. And even a dollar in savings is terrific at this level. So I have the sound covered after all, except for the adapter, which come to think of it I might be able to get a loan through a musical acquaintance.

Hey, apparently my musical hobby is helping a lot in the sound as well as the films music.

I could always separate the sound from the audio in post I suppose, just as long as it?s good. I?m actually more worried about achieving good sound than good picture.

I also have not dealt with the filming of businesses. I knew the general rules of filming them, and the need for permission, but I don?t know how to make contact with said business or how to deal with them.

When you said a mom and pop place I actually had an idea. I?m not sure if it will work because the scene calls for late at night and being at a fast food restaurant, but there?s a diner that might work that is a ?mom and pop place? and in fact is popular in the area.

However I don?t think they are open that late at night which would be good for filming but bad for realism. Perhaps they would say yes. I don?t know, a diner would require some story changes, but I don?t think it really would affect the plot. Come to think of it, I don?t think the film has a plot, so who cares.

It?s this gas station though that?s the problem. See, it?s actually very important. It?s where the film ends; in fact, roughly the last fifteen minutes of the film are spent at the gas station. We need to be able to film it from the street, the parking lot, and from inside.

Sounds like a really interesting and exciting film doesn?t it?

It seems that?s all need for help right now. How do I make contact with a gas station to film, and what type of agreement should I expect?

Is there an actually possibility that I could get to use these places for ?free?, by giving them special thanks, or maybe a percentage of the profits (which will more than likely be none).

One more thing, what is the rule about filming in front of businesses that have been shut down? Say a closed Wal-Mart, Kroger?s, or fast food place?

Also, about doing some shorts, I?m working on one right now with the soul purpose of practice for the feature. So it?s advice that I agree with.

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"Excuse me. I don't mean to impose, but I am the Ocean."

Hey,

I just thought of a question. Do you need written permission from the owner of a house, if you want to film there? Meaning the owner, not just resident (in case they are renting)?

I?m certain it?s yes, but just want to make sure.

O.F.F.

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"Excuse me. I don't mean to impose, but I am the Ocean."

I think if you are just doing it for fun or school/uni work, I think you just have to get the residents permission, but for almost anything else (such as making money from it) you need the permission of the resident and the permission of the actual owner.

If you really want seperate sound then a Minidisk will work fine: yes, there's a small quality loss compared to DAT, but you'll be really lucky to be shooting in locations where the quality loss will be noticeable over the sounds of cars passing, airplanes flying over, babies crying, dogs barking, nearby football games, and choirs practicing in the background (all problems I've had to deal with on low-budget shoots).

Otherwise DAT is 16-bit 44/48kHz and DV is 12/16-bit 32/44/48kHz, so if you stick to 16-bit 48kHz there's not going to be any significant benefit to recording seperately unless the camera has a noisy mike input.

For 16:9, the best way to shoot 16:9 with the VX2000/2100 is to get an anamorphic lens to stick on the front: though that introduces problems of its own due to zooming limitations and the bulk of the extra lens. Otherwise, as suggested, shoot 4:3 and crop in post.

As for franchise shoots, yes, you generally need permission from the head office, and it can be a real pain in the ass. If possible find a local business where the owner actually owns it and shoot there: then it's just one person to talk to, not a big faceless corporation that probably couldn't care less about a low-budget DV shoot. A number of times in the past we've had the managers of stores happy to let us shoot there, but after weeks of discussion with the people at the head office had to give up and shoot elsewhere.

Also, for 'closed stores', I believe the general rule is that if it's just in the background (e.g. you're shooting people walking down the street past a number of stores, or an establishing shot of a cityscape) you don't need permission, but if you're using it as a specific location for your shot (e.g. a scene standing outside one specific store) then you do.