Welcome to filmmaking.net, dren.

I hear ya. Making sense of how to get started is tough.

You said you don't have the time to make it go anywhere.
You want complete control over how your film is created
but your time is being spent on something more important.
That's a huge hurdle to jump. If you don't have the time to
make movies then I don't know what advice to give you.

quote:

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Originally posted by dren
Basically, I am asking for a broad range of help. Is there any way I can work with someone on my movie idea without spending heaps of cash ($100 is a lot to us poor people), and keeping most, if not all of my original ideas and creative aspects?

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I don't know of anyone who charges a writer $100 to help
with a movie idea. You're a writer, write the movie idea into
a complete script with no help at all. Then you can start
looking for a director and/or producer who is willing to work
with you. You can do that research for free, too. When you
find the right producer, the one who believes in your script
and is willing to allow you the complete control over the film
you will be paid for your work - you won't have to pay at all.

As you know, that's going to be very, very difficult. You will
need to find a producer who will then find investors and a
director who will have no control over the project at all. Very
few creative people like that arrangement and very few people
with money like that arrangement. But that's what you want.

So you have your work cut out for you. But you won't need to
pay anyone $100.

quote:

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So please, can anyone help me with ideas concerning cheap but decent movie making?

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For cheap but decent movie making ideas there are over a hundred
posts here on the boards that offer some amazing, creative, helpful
ideas. I know you don't really have the time to devote to that so if
you can be more specific I can help.

What kinds of ideas are you looking for? I think you're going to find
that movie making is expensive.

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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

There is an old saying, you want it (1) High quality, (2) Fast, (3) Cheap. Pick two out of three. That's the sort of conundrum you're putting yourself into.

You want it all and the result is you'll get nothing. You're either gonna have to (1) Share and dilute your vision with a partner, (2) Do it yourself and sacrifice your own time, or (3) Pay a screenwriter and preserve your vision at cost in cash. There is no other option that I'm aware of. At least not until you are a name in Hollywood.

RJSchwarz

Yeah, I visited this one site like a few months ago and it said I had to buy a CD-ROM for about that much, but even $20 is too much for someone who works at Wal-Mart for $7 an hour. Oh, and thanks for the welcome.

As far as time goes, yeah, I work at Wal-Mart and I'm in the Army Reserve (I live in America by the way). So although I have a few hours a day to myself where I could write a script or treatment (I'm not very good at scriptwriting - I'm more of a story-writer, but I'm trying anyway), the process of researching and finding a director or producer, and then somehow managing to get in touch with the one I want, and then collaborating with them... It just seems like I can't find anyone online. I can't just leave North Carolina and drive or fly to California, so yeah, I've been looking online but maybe I've just been looking in the wrong places because I havent found anything very helpful, aside from this site, and the Writer's Guild, who wants money...

As far as directing goes, the director can more or less do what he wants as long as I have SOME say in it. I just want to be able to have control over the casting, the story-telling, and aspects like that. Sure, camera angles are important, but I trust directors enough to leave most of that sort of thing to them.

Hmm, high quality, expediency, and cost... Well, I can't just pull money out of a hat, so it HAS to be cheap unless someone else is going to pay for it. As far as quickness, I dont care if it takes the rest of my life, but I do have a family to take care of and I can't just drop everything at a moment's notice for a movie. That doesn't mean that my story is not important to me. It is. But there has to be a flexible schedule. So "Fast" isnt really an issue, but flexibility is. And who knows, maybe that will change once things pick up. Maybe once the movie is a reality and not just something that plays in my head, I can devote more time to it. Yes, quality is important to me. It is the most important thing. I dont really care about sensationalism like explosions and high-tech graphics like most creators these days. I just want a good story.

Thanks for your help, both of you. I will continue to research the film-making business and I will get to work on advancing my scriptwriting ability. But I cant do any of that until I get a new job. I'm about to be unemployed and the lease on my apartment is almost up, so yeah, I have other priorities right now. Again, thank you.

What I?m reading here are all the reasons you can?t make a movie.
And they are all very good reasons: work, Army Reserve and
family.

All these things get in the way of making a movie. And every
filmmaker you admire has had to deal with similar things that get
in the way. All the filmmakers you?ve never heard of - like me
for example - have had to face the same issues.

I know that doesn?t help you, but maybe you will understand that
you aren?t alone. We all must find the reasons we CAN do it, not
find the reasons we can?t.

I?m thinking you don?t need to leave North Carolina and go to
California. Movies can be made all over. Even in North Carolina.
They have a thriving film community. The North Carolina?Film
Office can be helpful - EUE/Screen Gems Studios is in Wilmington
- there are producers and directors and actors and crew and
writers all over North Carolina.

And you don?t need to pay anything to advance your screenwriting
ability. Not a dime. You can write every day - even for a half an
hour - and it won?t cost you anything.

But I understand your priorities are on many other things than
making a movie. When you can spend a little time - even if it?s
just asking questions here - we will be happy to offer any tips
and ideas.

Just ask!

Yeah, I forgot about Screen Gems. It's right next to where my father works. I think I am going to work on putting all my ideas on a site, with the short stories I've written, and everything else I have, so I can look at it all at once and decide where I will go from there. Once that is done, I think I'm gonna start writing a script with someone. I doubt I could do it alone. I tend to get side-tracked and not finish a lot of projects. Then once I have what I believe is a decent script, maybe I will bring it here to see what y'all think, for advice and things like that. I guess that's a start. And of course, I will do more online research.

Thanks a lot.

Oh, before I go, how do I write a music-action scene in a script? Or do I just have to let the directors and music people decide what music to use for the scene after I write the script?

A word of caution: If you are hoping to find a co-writer who will motivate you
you may get even more frustrated. I have found that dedicated writers have a
hard enough time motivating themselves. Trying to motivate their partner can
often create more tension than creativity. From your posts here I get the impression
you want complete control - that, too make having a writing partner very difficult.

I think you can do alone.

You're in the Army Reserve. You have learned discipline in a lot of areas. You
can take that and apply t to writing. I'm not suggesting it's easy - I'm a writer,
I know it's very difficult - but the Army Reserve isn't easy either, yet you take
the time to put in your time and you do it to the best of your ability. You can
learn to do the same thing with writing.

As a writer, the music cues in the final film is not your responsibility. I also
know you want complete control. So you have another difficult path to cross.
For a script that you are planning to offer for sale, you shouldn't put in any
music cues at all. But since you will only sell if you also get complete control
then maybe you should include the music you will want to use. Maybe someone
else can asnwer the "how". I've never put music in a script so I don't know how
it's done.

You are really making a very difficult process even more difficult, aren't you?

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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

Yes, that is true, about the co-writer. But I have attempted to write stories with my best friend, and although we didnt get very far because one or both of us lost interest in the piece, we had fun and we were in agreement with almost everything. However, we did have a problem with one or both of us staying motivated, so I guess we have to make sure we both want to do it before we even start.

Yeah, me and the Army dont get along, but I understand where you're coming from.

Hahaha, well, the thing is, the movie is pretty much already done in my head, and I really, really dont want some "pro" changing a lot to make it better for, no offense, dumb audiences. I hate dumb-downed movies with no story or meaning. So that is why I am picky, because I have it almost completely finished in my head. And I'm stubborn.

Oh, and I started the script today but since the setting changed dramatically from the first scene to the second (Hellish world to Junior High School, yes very big difference), I hit a writer's block pretty early on. So now I'm trying to find a job as a movie extra. Yes, I know I could call Talent6 or whatever it's called, but I'm very antisocial and I would really prefer to do contact an agency via email, or just walk in. Actually, I think I'm just afraid of talking to people over the phone. Anyway, would it be possible to walk in to a place like Screen Gems and just ask if they need extras, or is their an email address for stuff like that? What is your recommendation?

I would suggest the following, from what you've written: (1) Get your cowriter buddy to write up a short screenplay. (2) Get a movie camera. Either rent it or get an employee discount where you work. (3) Shoot the short movie. Shoot more than one.

Make them short and fun and put them on the internet. You are likely to get more attention, quicker, with short films than with writing that has to be found and then read. If your videos attract attention you may find people want to talk to you about other projects. Longer projects.

In this scenerio it doesn't matter where you live and as long as you keep each film short you can do them in your extra time while a full length movie takes a long ass time just to write the screenplay let alone the rest of the process.

RJSchwarz

Yep, that makes a lot of sense RJSchwarz. But again, no matter how short or low budget/quality the movie is, I simply dont have the money. Right now I have less than $50 in my checking account and that has to last a week or two until my next pay check. I dont have bills but I have a car that needs gas and I'm running out of food to "scrounge" for around the apartment, which I am about to leave. As it is, after my lease is up, I'm going to have to live with either my mother or my sister while I look for a job until my "house" is built with my savings, which I share with my mother to help out the family. I do have a digital camera and a webcam that I HAVE made short, stupid little movies with, such as me fighting with my little brother or us running around the front yard shooting each other with toy guns, but if I wanted to make a "proper" short film for the internet, I would need not only a camera that is better than a webcam and a digital camera with no sound, but also a cast. My best friend is in South Carolina and also in the Army. He SOMETIMES gets weekends off. As for my family, my mother doesnt care about any of this so she wont help, my sisters think it's "stupid" or "boring" so they wont help either, and my little brother, although loves to make movies with me, is only 11 and not very good at following scripts. And that is the extent of my "network". I dont make friends easily because I'm antisocial, and anyone I do talk to about this is going to think the same thing my sisters think, that it's a stupid idea and it wont go anywhere, and they dont want to waste their time.

But...I will ask them anyway. The screenplay is still going to be the hardest part. My best friend is busy and he's never done it before, so I'll just do it myself.

Thanks RJSchwarz.

I have another question. I made some "trailers" for my story by cutting and editing various already-made videos and audio bits with the actors and actresses and models I want for my movie. I like making trailers from already-made vids, so how do I get a job doing that? Who does make the trailers for real movies?

quote:

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Originally posted by dren
Who does make the trailers for real movies?

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The trailers are made by the distributors marketing
team. They have full time editors who are experts
at marketing and advertising. You get a job like that
either by getting your degree in advertising or working
your way up in marketing.

"I'm antisocial" - Dren

That is going to be a huge problem in the movie business. Filmmaking is a collaborative art, you have to get along with people. If you truly are antisocial you might want to consider novels or some other medium to be creative. Something that doesn't require cast and crew and money people.

RJSchwarz

Yeah, I know. I've been working on my social skills at work, but it seems like it will be some time before I can become comfortable around strangers. I do write novels, but I haven't tried to get them published. I'm sure that costs money too, heh. So I've started my script, another trailer with the actors I want, and I've been reading movie scripts that are most like the one I wanna make. So far, the best scripts, in my opinion, are the ones with terrible grammar, haha. Unfortunately, I am a grammar Nazi and a perfectionist, so just typing "he runs down the hall and - BOOM! the walls explode - this happens and then the other thing occurs and suddenly the lights BLINK OUT before the man spontaneously turns into a pot roast - POOF!" kinda makes me twitch.

I think that is one of the things holding me back, the fact that script-writing is SO picky and detail-oriented. Yes, I'm a perfectionist sometimes, but having to constantly stop to make sure my spacing or margins or caps-lock is done perfectly after everything I type gets on my nerves. It's one reason why I prefer writing stories and novels. But I think if the movie ever did get made, it would be very rewarding to see it on-screen and in actuality.

As far as advertising and marketing goes, I might be able to do that, but a big problem with TODAY'S trailers is that everyone wants to see the movie in 20 seconds. It seems like every movie trailer has all the best bits of the movie, and you dont even need to go see the movie because of the damn narrator.

"In a world..." God, I hate that phrase. "...where lizards rule, and hallways explode for no apparent reason, one man must rise up against the tyranny. But his wife...is a spy...and before he can fight the lizard people with his rag-tag band of stereotypical heroes, he must get a divorce and do a bunch of action scenes that have absolutely nothing to do with the storyline. But when he finally does encounter the evil-doing lizard creatures...he is confronted by his own past, in a twist that no one could have possibly foreseen." (Image of protagonist's wife being a lizard monster).

So yeah, anyway, sometimes I like being a smart-ass, heh.

There is script writing software that takes care of the most of the nit-picky stuff for you. Some of it is even free.

RJSchwarz