Four Big Tips for First Time Film Makers

Realistic Help Getting Started on the Road to a Finished Project

The success of low budget films such as The Blair Witch Project, American Movie, and the reality TV show Project Greenlight have given thousands of people hope of making an indie film. First time indie filmmakers are motivated by too many directors for an exhaustive list, but anyone who ever watched Kevin Smith’s ‘Clerks’ and yearned to reach for a camera knows all about inspiration. The actual execution can be a daunting prospect. No matter if you are shooting on video with a consumer-grade camera or using professional gear, making that first film means a big step from dreaming to actual work. Robert Rodriguez wrote a book called Rebel Without A Crew detailing how he made his breakout film, El Mariachi, for around seven thousand dollars using an indie cast and only himself and a partner as crew most of the time. After reading this book, it’s easy to understand why beginners feel they can repeat the creative success Rodriguez enjoyed, but there are some basic principles about low budget filmmaking that can bring the most promising film to a screeching halt if ignored. 1. It’s All About Script Pretty footage is great, but take a lesson from George Lucas; a good story is the most important part of your film. If you don’t have it committed to paper, you can’t make sense of your project. A script is not just a collection of dialogue; it’s a roadmap for your director to follow to maximize your budget. How many scenes do you plan on taking place in that convenience store? It makes a lot of sense to shoot all your footage in that location at the same time. First time filmmakers sometimes forget that simple organizational tricks like this will help them in the long run. A lot of first time filmmakers are daunted by a full-length project, and often it’s best to get your feet wet with a short film so you can learn the ropes without committing to something that winds up feeling impossible to finish. Lucas began his film career doing just that-his original version of the feature-length THX-1138 was a much shorter student film called Electronic Labyrinth. He developed the basic story in this version, expanding and improving it for the full length movie. 2. Write to Your Limitations If your special effects budget is twenty dollars, perhaps you should reconsider writing that space opera, and concentrate on something a bit more down to earth. THX 1138 was shot on a first-timers budget, Lucas could not afford to construct the vast sets he needed for a film about an impersonal, computer-controlled society. What he did instead was take advantage of some appropriately odd-looking structures; parking garages and buildings still under construction. Creative editing kept all the familiar contents of these buildings out of the finished film, and Lucas succeeded in achieving the illusion of a larger budget. Write your story to take full advantage of available locations. If you have no access to weapons and armor, don’t write a medieval war script. If you have the costumes and sets available, write to what you CAN achieve realistically; save that more epic concept for another day when you may have better funding and access to the tools you need to tell the story properly 3. Casting There is a temptation to cast your friends in your film, but let’s be honest here, acting requires talent, and if your friends can’t hack an audition, they have no business having speaking parts in your film. A dedicated actor is another story altogether, these are people who want to hone their craft and many beginning actors are willing to take parts for credit only-they know they won’t get themselves into those high paying gigs without being able to convince a director they are worth the risk of hiring.The most convincing way is to prove that other directors were willing to take the same chance on a particular actor. Put out a casting call in your local paper, online and put flyers around the campuses and records stores in your area, and don’t give up too easily. Your film is worth the extra effort. Robert Rodriquez managed to succeed in using his family and friends in his earliest short films because he capitalized on the strengths of each cast member and kept the dialogue to a minimum, but his success in that department tends to be the exception unless your directing skills are very strong. Don’t assume you can exercise the same directorial prowess in your first effort. 4. Shooting There are many things to remember when shooting for the first time, but the most important to remember is that the director controls the set. You are like a military officer leading troops into battle-you must be decisive, authoritative and sensitive to the needs of your crew. You are the leader of a group of people trying to help you realize your vision, they will always look to you for the final word on what to do. If your crew shows up constantly late and not ready to perform, you have to figure out the best way to motivate them to spend your valuable time making the film, instead of smoking cigarettes, oversleeping and showing up hung over. Because your first project is most likely a volunteer effort, you have to provide some kind of incentive to keep the crew interested in working on the film. It’s traditional for a filmmaker to feed his crew on shooting days, and very surprising how this alone can provide an incentive to keep working. Your first indie film project might be an expensive venture complete with investors, professional equipment and card carrying Screen Actors Guild talent; or it could be as simple as a two person story shot on a hand held home video camera. Either way, these four tips can help you keep your project on track and under budget with a happy crew eager to work with you.