Making Movies?

Me and a friend are going to try to make some kind of action oriented movie. What do I need to make it look 'good'? We have access to good cameras and some some idea as to how to do it, but is there anything basic that I need to know before we invest anything into it?

i made a few porno movies they were fairly easy to make! a guy a girl or two some cheesy music and a video camera!:D

what are you going to shoot on? video? (dv, beta, hi8, vhs???) film?(super16, 16, super8?) do you have a budget? a script?, how are you going to edit?........ film shcool sucks

I wanna be in it mang.

I wanna be the drug kingpin. I can talk like Tony Montana if you want.

Or I could be Antonio Banderas in Desperado. I wanta blast people all sicc with all those guns.

Make sure you get permits or else you'll have to pay heavy fines.

We're (I think) going to shoot on VHS and digitally edit. So far we have 0 budget, and just want to get an idea on how much it would cost to make a movie that wont suck. I don't think its going to be that long (under an hour)

For effects and whatnot we're going to use two cameras, one home video, and another (the good one) which we're going to rent.

Right now we're just planning the whole story out and trying to find people to be in it. No script yet.

Are there any basic special effects that you people know about?

yeah, about the permits. where could i get one/how expensive are they? We're going to try to be real quick with all of this because we're going to work on a really tight budget and want to be in and out wherever we go. it isnt going to be real public either.

Try the police dept. I think someone mentioned using fake guns somewhere and the cops came and told them they should gotta permit for a few bucks then ended up having to pay some serious cash for the ticket. Be careful since it's an action flick.

you need kid rock in the soundtrack while you are diving away from an explosion. just think of how fucking awesome it will be when there's fire everywhere and it's in slow motion with "ba wit da ba badang dang diggy diggy"

good call Pistol. hit me on AIM cen12bke.

dont use vhs, it sucks, you should rent a minidv if you can, 3ccd. you should film on super 8 film, looks really retro, go to a swap meet, camera are really cheap...

bump

Originally posted by sofarok

dont use vhs, it sucks, you should rent a minidv if you can, 3ccd. you should film on super 8 film, looks really retro, go to a swap meet, camera are really cheap...

How much would a minidv or whatever cost online? like a really cheap one. just to get the video to be decent quality, better than vhs.

and what kind of equipment do you need to get the sound to be halfway decent?

Originally posted by Harpo Marx

...just want to get an idea on how much it would cost to make a movie that wont suck... No script yet.

Most "low budget" films you see that have actually made it to a good number of screens, at the lowest, probably cost upwards of half a million dollars or more. Anything made for less that you can actually find is a rare phenomenon.

Originally posted by Ted Wakowski

 

Most "low budget" films you see that have actually made it to a good number of screens, at the lowest, probably cost upwards of half a million dollars or more. Anything made for less that you can actually find is a rare phenomenon.

blair witch project

clerks

many more..

Originally posted by Ted Wakowski

 

Most "low budget" films you see that have actually made it to a good number of screens, at the lowest, probably cost upwards of half a million dollars or more. Anything made for less that you can actually find is a rare phenomenon.

El Mariachi, $7,500 budget, damn easy to find. But then again our friend Robert has made it mainstream...so nevermind...

get a permit, I got fined, it sucks, around here if you flase a school ID and lie you get yourself a free permit, other than that, they are cheap, the more public though the more it will cost.

Originally posted by Harpo Marx

...What do I need to make it look 'good'? We have access to good cameras and some some idea as to how to do it, but is there anything basic that I need to know before we invest anything into it?

robert de niro.

kill yourself.

__________________

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you need kid rock in the soundtrack while you are diving away from an explosion. just think of how fucking awesome it will be when there's fire everywhere and it's in slow motion with "ba wit da ba badang dang diggy diggy"

dude....your a fucking genius. lets make a movie.

at the drive in needs to be on the soundtrack as well.....you can put "invalid litter departement" in so many places in a movie and have it sound "right".

How much would a minidv or whatever cost online? like a really cheap one. just to get the video to be decent quality, better than vhs.

sony dcr-vx2000 or the canon gl-1 or xl-1.....most of these are used for high end skating videos due to their clean quality and all that stuff....3ccds on all of them and a plethora of other features that, according to the catalog, "are for independant filmakers". expect any of them to set you back at least 2000....and thats a conservative estimate

dont make a movie on vhs....god thatd suck.

movies are my thing....

me and my homie are gonna make a sick video.....its gonna be tight...

surf skate graf...girls...parties...he has a song he wants to edit it to..so do i....but underwater cameras will be involved....should be tight...

http://www.blacktights.org/gallery/adrya_1996_40wattclub.jpg'>

"OHHHHHHHH I AM THE ROTTING BEAST OF SOCIETY WHICH THRIVES WITH SADNESS CREATED BY WHIRLWINDS OF BLACK CATS DANCING UPON THE GRAVES OF ALL THAT IS SACRED IN MY LIFE FOR I AM THE FILTH IN THE CUPBOARD AND THE GRIME ON THE SINK. LIFE IS PUTRID."

i think you need to realize that making a hour long movie isnt a simple task. ive done three minute pieces that i spent upwards of 10-15 hours editing, and i still hated how they came out...if you want the image to come out half decent with a not so good camera than you should consider using black and white, its much smoother and you dont have to worry about lighting so much...avoid VHS at all costs, go with something digital. getting good actors is essential and also make sure that you have a shot sheet before you shoot, it makes everything much quicker and will help alot when your editing and trying to make sense of jumbled footage. the best way to go about sound is to always use an external mic. or to use all seperate sound that you add later. i guess if your really serious about this then be prepared to work hard, spend money and read a few books on lighting/sound ect. good luck.

we were gonna use the crappy camera for b&w only, anyways

Originally posted by CIPHER_one

 

 

clerks

all bullshit aside this is one of the dopest fucking movies ever.

and its all cause its got jay and silent bob. and lots of cursing. and references to sex. and great timing for puns.

and cause dante screams at his girlfriend as she walks across the parking lot:

"try not to suck any dick on the way through the parking lot!"

Originally posted by CIPHER_one

 

blair witch project

clerks

many more..

These are the types of rare phenomenons I'm talking about.

You can pick out quite a few movies that were made for as little as a few thousand dollars but when compared to the rest of the industry, they're needles in the haystack. Also, the fact that they've reached a mainstream audience probably means that a lot of money has been spent on them by distributors who picked the films up after seeing them (or other work by the filmmakers) on the festival circuit (or somewhere else).

Sometimes a film that's seen as having serious commercial potential will be bought and polished up through additional post production, so you might not be seeing what the filmmakers originally produced.

Bottom line, to make a good film you're going to have to spend some money.