My Parents Are Trying to Seize Control of My Money! conversation reopened

[elaine567]

6 hours ago, ironpony said:

The Blair Witch Project was shot for 60K

 "Shot on an original budget of $35,000–60,000, the final cost was $200,000–750,000 after post-production edits."

[ironpony]

Oh okay, where did the 2000-750 go to in the edits?  The editors themselves?  Because it's not like the movi has much music for example.

Or in my situation, perhaps I will actually have to make mine for less than 100K.  Some people told me not to go over 30K, because then at least I will not be spending as much on it, and not putting so much pressure on myself therefore.

Edited August 10, 2020 by ironpony

[jspice]

2 minutes ago, ironpony said:

Oh okay, where did the 2000-750 go to in the edits?  The editors themselves?  Because it's not like the movi has much music for example.

You should know this. 
why don’t you research this for yourself?
 

you don’t seem to know anything about filmmaking. You don’t read up about things you want to know. 
 

All your posts here make you sound incredibly lazy with a bunch of excuses. 
Read. 
stop asking people questions you can find the answers to yourself. 
 

how are you going to make a movie if you don’t even know how much it costs??

[ironpony]

6 minutes ago, jspice said:

You should know this. 
why don’t you research this for yourself?
 

you don’t seem to know anything about filmmaking. You don’t read up about things you want to know. 
 

All your posts here make you sound incredibly lazy with a bunch of excuses. 
Read. 
stop asking people questions you can find the answers to yourself. 
 

how are you going to make a movie if you don’t even know how much it costs??

Oh okay, well I feel I know a good amount about it, aside from the money.  For example I took a filmmaking course on it, and learned how do do things, but they didnt' really go into how much it will all cost.

I was told before to get a line producer to help figure out how much it will cost, so I will do that.

Edited August 10, 2020 by ironpony

[elaine567]

I don't know but I would guess they paid people to tidy it all up and make it more "professional" and ready for general release.
BUT I am not a filmmaker...
The BW Project was successful because it was so different from the films produced at the time and it had a smart marketing strategy.
It was a love/hate kind of a movie, but it created a bit of a buzz and made money... it was also 20 years ago...

9 minutes ago, ironpony said:

I was told before to get a line producer to help figure out how much it will cost, so I will do that.

How much will a line producer cost?
Seems to me all these "salaries" are going to quickly mount up.
 

[ironpony]

Yeah it my calculations they are all adding up but was I advised by other filmmakers to hire  a line producer to try to keep everything from mounting up and trying to find ways around that.

[Wiseman2]

What do you do for a living now? What is your experience or training in filmmaking?

You may get a cult following making amateur smut and gore stuff, but keep your day job.

[d0nnivain]

12 hours ago, ironpony said:

Oh okay, well I have a lot of things planned out such as the script, locations, blocking, it's just things involving permits and insurance can be kind of tricky, and different lawyers have different things to say.  So I'm still working on that part.

That's great that you have some of that planned out in your head but you still need to write it all down especially the money parts.  

There are resources out there about budgeting & finance.  Use them!  

[ironpony]

4 hours ago, Wiseman2 said:

What do you do for a living now? What is your experience or training in filmmaking?

You may get a cult following making amateur smut and gore stuff, but keep your day job.

Now I don't have a job because of covid, but I do have one coming up next month when the company is going to start up again.  I don't want to make amateur smut or gore stuff though.

[d0nnivain]

Because you have time on your hands now is the time to devote to the details of your film.  Do the research & get moving.  Investors aren't going to come to you.  

[ironpony]

Oh yeah, I am doing a lot right now.  I can't cast it now and make it because of covid but I am doing a lot of pre-planning.

[d0nnivain]

Good for you.  

You should have a list of the actors you want & some back ups. 

You really need to work on how you are going to market the film & identifying your target audience.  

[ironpony]

Marketing I was thinking of leaving to a more marketing expert perhaps.  As for actors, I am not sure.  I will have to put out casting calls and see who there is, but is that a bad way of going about it?

[d0nnivain]

2 hours ago, ironpony said:

Marketing I was thinking of leaving to a more marketing expert perhaps.  As for actors, I am not sure.  I will have to put out casting calls and see who there is, but is that a bad way of going about it?

I have no idea who you go about casting a movie but since you are the one who wants to make a movie you better figure it out. It seems to me you would be better served reaching out to theater students who are also searching for their big break.  Established actors probably won't want to work with an unproven director / producer 

You probably can't afford to work with a marketing person.  They are ghastly expensive.  Since it's your movie you need a sense of who the audience will be -- teens?  Men?  Women?  Older people?  

[ironpony]

Yeah for sure.  I worked with theater actors before but I was told to work with actors are use to being on camera, because their acting came off as too 'stage-ish', or that is what I was told before.  So perhaps I can avoid theater actors, or at least try to work with them differently, therefore.

I would say the audience would be adult women and men.

[d0nnivain]

By theater majors I don't mean stage actors.  I mean people are majoring in theater  in college who want to work in film.  

Women & men is too general.  You need to narrow it down by decade & zip code or income or interest.  Not all men & women.  

Edited August 10, 2020 by d0nnivain

[basil67]

3 hours ago, ironpony said:

Oh yeah, I am doing a lot right now.  I can't cast it now and make it because of covid but I am doing a lot of pre-planning.

You may not be able to sign contracts, but you can gauge interest, see if anyone wants to act in it and find out what their costs are.   

[ironpony]

18 minutes ago, d0nnivain said:

By theater majors I don't mean stage actors.  I mean people are majoring in theater  in college who want to work in film.  

Women & men is too general.  You need to narrow it down by decade & zip code or income or interest.  Not all men & women.  

Oh okay, well I don't know the zip codes of who the audience will be, but I feel that people who like crime thrillers will hopefully like it, and I was told that more European and maybe Asian audiences would probably like it more.

Edited August 10, 2020 by ironpony

[Piddy]

16 hours ago, ironpony said:

Oh okay, well I don't know the zip codes of who the audience will be, but I feel that people who like crime thrillers will hopefully like it, and I was told that more European and maybe Asian audiences would probably like it more.

This is a nice fantasy to have, but realistically it's a huge challenge that you seem very naive about.  You and anyone else can certainly make a film that their budget allows, but who's going to see it?

Distribution costs are huge.  And without someone paying to have it distributed then no one on any scale will see it.  Who is going to distribute your film?  You'll only get someone to put up money for distribution if they can see a return on their money.

What you should be doing is like the kid who works part time at my local Jersey Mikes sub shop.   He's going to school studying acting / directing.  He would like to be a director someday and is pursuing that goal by going to school and learning.

My cousin's son graduated from film school and is now employed by a company that provides / leases equipment to film makers (movies, TV, commercials etc.)  There's many jobs in the film industry.  But, you don't get there on just a dream alone.  

What's the saying, 'an idea without a plan is just a dream'.  You just have a dream as of now.  Nothing wrong with that, as long as you know what it will take to make that dream a reality and take it to the next level.  And that takes a plan.  You have no plan as of now.

You have a hobby.

Edited August 11, 2020 by Piddy

[ironpony]

Oh okay, well I could hire a line producer then if that would help. I feel I have about as much of a plan as I can get for it, aside from trying to keep the budget down lower.  So should I hire a line produce then to help formulate a plan?

I don't mean to come off as naive about it, it's just if I let the obstacles stop me, then it won't happen, so I feel I have to put myself in a state of mind, where I can look past the obstacles, unless that is a bad way of looking at it?

Edited August 11, 2020 by ironpony

[d0nnivain]

No you should not hire a line producer.  You should EDUCATE yourself.  If you have no idea what you are doing or talking about anybody you hire will rob you blind.  

Your unwillingness to treat this like a business is why everyone who knows you is so skeptical about your ability to pull this off.  

[ironpony]

Oh well I didn't say I wasn't willing to treat it like a business. I want to treat it like a business, how do I do that without working with experts in their fields.  Other filmmakers I have worked with before, tell me to hire a line producer, so I thought they would know better than me, unless that is bad advise.  But I feel I need to work with people in their fields though, rather than try to educate myself on everything, unless I should try to do the entire business plan myself, with no type or help whatsoever?

It's just I feel like in order to do it, I need help and collaboration and that filmmaking is a collaboration.  Unless that's a bad way of thinking?

But if I am unwilling to treat it like a business, what am I doing particularly that is not treating it like one?  I want to get into the movie making business, and feel that the only way to get is to make a movie to get noticed, but isn't that treating it like a business, since it's a business investment?

Edited August 11, 2020 by ironpony

[basil67]

I suggest you have a single meeting with a line producer to discuss your budget.   Ask the producer about all the different people you will need to hire to do all the jobs.  And ask for an estimate on what it will all cost.   I would also ask them to give their honest opinion about the chances of success for your idea.

Also, find someone in the industry who will critique your script.  You may need to pay them.  No matter how good your filming may be, if the script is poor, the movie will not succeed.  

[d0nnivain]

22 minutes ago, ironpony said:

Oh well I didn't say I wasn't willing to treat it like a business. I want to treat it like a business, how do I do that without working with experts in their fields.  Other filmmakers I have worked with before, tell me to hire a line producer, so I thought they would know better than me, unless that is bad advise.  But I feel I need to work with people in their fields though, rather than try to educate myself on everything, unless I should try to do the entire business plan myself, with no type or help whatsoever?

It's just I feel like in order to do it, I need help and collaboration and that filmmaking is a collaboration.  Unless that's a bad way of thinking?

But if I am unwilling to treat it like a business, what am I doing particularly that is not treating it like one?  I want to get into the movie making business, and feel that the only way to get is to make a movie to get noticed, but isn't that treating it like a business, since it's a business investment?

When you have a million dollar budget any business is a collaborative effort.  Until you factor the costs of all this help into your budget, any small business is a self help endeavor.  You may be the CEO, but you are also the CFO, the bookkeeper, customer service, the receptionist, the marketing department, accounts receivable & the janitor.  

I PM'd you with some FREE resources from the Canadian government for small businesses.  Most small businesses fail from lack of planning & undercapitalization.  At this point you have no plan & no capital.  

[ironpony]

Oh okay thanks.  But I still will need actors, a DP and a PSM, and make up, bare minimum though, wouldn't I, as far as collaboration goes?