... it seems clear to me that you might want to re-think ... you are setting yourself up to fail. And as a producer...you always should be setting yourself (and your team) up to succeed.
Some have suggested to you ways to acquire more expensive cameras for shorter periods of time that would give you better results. 1 was to rent. Which you suggested was not possible due to a 6 month shoot time. As a producer, when I hear 6 month shoot time my eyebrow gets raised. Some hundred million dollar tent-poles don't have a 6 month shoot time. Why is that necessary? Is this a documentary where you are following someone down the amazon river for half a year or something? Or is this a scripted feature?
I don't really care what the answer is...I am just posting things to think about.
I never said we were shooting 180 days
in a row. Don't make ridiculous assumptions.
You accuse me of being
incompetent as a producer, but you "don't really care what the answer is" to your questions? Wow. Nice... that's really a great way to deal with people: judge them first, and walk away before the truth has a chance to correct your prejudices! That way, you can
never be wrong!
Actually it's fine that you "don't care" what the answer is, because frankly I don't feel the need to explain myself to a stranger on the internet who knows absolutely NOTHING about the circumstances of this production, but feels entitled to criticize anyway. The proof is in the pudding, and I'll let the film speak for itself when it's completed.
...the best person to answer your questions are your DP. Or are you shooting, directing, producing, editing this whole thing yourself? If you are doing the one-person show here I would strongly encourage you to reconsider that as the beauty of filmmaking is that it is a team effort and the sum of the many creative parts will always make something better than any one part can do on their own.
First of all, I didn't come to the ML forums asking technical and specific questions so that someone
who's opinion has not been vetted by an impressive list of IMDB credits, could talk down to me about the "beauty of filmmaking" as a collaborative art form.
Second, perhaps you have heard the word "auteur." Arguably the greatest directors of all time wore multiple hats across departments, as DP/director, Producer/director, writer/director, director/editor, director/composer, director/lead actor, etc. Orson Welles and Charlie Chaplin among many others.
Third, your presumption that if a film maker directs and produces, or directs and is behind the camera, they have somehow failed to leverage the "team" aspect of film making, is a
gross injustice to the dozens of actors, crew, assistants, set designers, costumers, special effects people, technicians, and community supporters involved in any feature film.
It doesn't matter if a director wears one hat, or six, a feature film is NEVER, EVER a "one person show." So many filmmakers today fail to properly budget for post-production. They think once the film is shot and they get through production...that is all the money they need. Then they spend months in post-production hell learning that post production is usually MORE expensive than production. Especially with regards to sound. It is a fact that sound is more important to the audience perception of a film than picture. Our brains will forgive not-so perfect images (almost rationalizing them as creative choices)...but WILL NOT forgive poor sound. You could shoot on an iPhone and if the dialogue is clear and the sound design is massive and enveloping...people will be wowed, entertained and moved. But then again...sound is getting away from the point of this forum's focus.
No kidding. Everything you've said has been away from the point of this forum's focus.
And again, I am really not interested in being dressed down by a stranger because "so many film makers" fail to properly budget for post-production or don't understand the importance of sound. Please don't assume things about me, or this production without actually having ANY facts. Good manners would be first asking a question ("how are you doing your sound?" or "how are you doing your post production?") not presuming I am an idiot because you've run into some idiots.
I'm not going to waste what little free time I have answering your implied questions/points, because
I am not on trial here for how I'm co-producing this film. Frankly, if you were in my shoes, I doubt you could shoot a 30 second commercial for $10,000, much less an indie feature.
I've personally had friends who shot no-budget features for a mere $3,000 over the course of 2+ years, and another year in post, and won festival awards. I can't IMAGINE what you might have told them had you run into them before they got started. The world would have never enjoyed the beauty of their work. #indiepride
