Financing your film

Financing your film:

Every film needs finance of some form. Even the most basic short film needs finance. Finance pays for the Cast Crew Equipment postproduction music creature comforts and locations. Films cost money. However you can be very clever with how you make your film happen. I personally have made three many films where three months out from shooting we had no money and ended up with about $50,000 Cash Budget and about $500,000 of Contributios on the first shooting day. Where there is a will there is a way and when you set a deadline, everything will fall in your way to make the film happen.

The Prime Directive of Micro Budget Film Production:

The Principal of Micro Budget works on the fact that
• every contribution
• every free location
• every crew member who works as a co- owner and
share holder
• every actor who works for a percentage
• equipment that you can get at a reduced price
is Finance for your Film.

This is your Non Cash Budget and should be 80% or more of a total budget for your micro film budget

It is difficult to get everything donated, if you are making a professional standard Film. Minimum professional Standards imply that you look after
Crew and Cast and feed them and treat them well. This costs money. Sometimes a location will cost money. Sometimes you have to pay for Equipment hire Editors and Sound Mixes.Here is a great rule of thumb and only a guide. Everysituation is different.

Budget Categories:
Home Video $ 0 – $100
Amateur short film $ 1,000
Professional Short Film $2,000 – 5,000
Micro Budget Feature Film $ 50,000 – $100K
Low Budget Feature Film $200K-$1millionK
Low budget Feature with a B Star $1 millK – $4millK
Mid Range Feature $4 mill – $10millK
High Range $10 million plus,
Studio Big Budget $50 – 200 million

If you are starting out, think about jumping to Professional Short Film level. It is ultimately more fun and what our film courses are all about. I guarantee film students of mine will become more compeditive than 98% of those trying to make their first few films. This means Film festival exposure work and faster rise to your film goals.

There are six different methods for raising finance and our Online Film School and our Weekend Film Schools will show you how to raise your finance.
One of the methods is my new favourite. By taking our Online Film School or Weekend Film School you will be able to use a combination of the finance methods to make your budget. The Online Film School or/and the Weekend Film Schools  will be worth literally thousands of dollars in finance for you.

Best till next week

Colm O’Murchu

Director Australian Film Base

16 Steps to make your film happen now

The Director on set

I know it has been a while since I last wrote to you. Life has been busy and the first month of the year  has just slipped away. My highlight of the month was my trip to New Zealand and the Auckland Weekend Film School. I also visited the South Island and paid a visit to some of the locations for Lord of the Rings near Glenorchy.

Today I would like to talk about the Director on Set. There are many different seasons in the film process and ironically the Shoot is the most intense exciting  and shortest season of all.

In Film Production, there are two different types of Directors.

The Heart and Soul Director is involved with the script from start to finish, feels passionate about the film, will take a salary cut to get the perfect scene, is involved deeply in postproduction and often hangs out at film festivals and screenings and meets the audience.

The Gun for Hire Director is motivated by money and keeping a job. They are recruited often just before preproduction starts and in some cases they only hang around for The shoot.
However the vast majority of Gun for Hire directors will work on Post production for some months after the shoot. Once they have a Directors Cut, they will hand it over to the Creative Producer who will make  further adjustments to the film.

Both types of Directors are at the centre of the production in the shooting process.
The shoot involves many different people.  The Director speaks to only certain Key people in the Crew. The main people are:

The Actors: Obviously the Director will direct the actors.

The DOP (Director of Photography). The Director requires the DOP to execute the Shot List or Storyboard and create the visual look that the director is after. Its very important that these two people get along.

The First AD The person who keeps the film on schedule and the crew working hard. The Driector will be in constant communication with the Director.

The Continuity Person. This person sits side by side with the Director at Video Village and looks for any continuity errors and problems with the shot. For example, microphones that have slipped into frame ,any nasty camera reflections. She is also a sounding board for the Director. They can be very close in the shoot.

The Sound Recordist The Director talks to the Sound Recordist about any sound issues during shooting

Standby Wardrobe. If the Director is not happy with any costumes, Standby wardrobe will hear about it.

Standby Makeup Likewise the Director may not be happy with certain makeup and will want a change

Standby Props. If props are needed to be altered or placed in different places Standy props will need to change them.

These are some of the people that the director will talk to during the shoot.   A Director is tested throughout the shoot. It takes experience to learn how to be a Director so it is very important to learn from  a Directing School and learn how to Direct.

Please look at our Film Directing Schools on

http://www.australianfilmbase.com/

Till next time
Have a great one.

Colm O’Murchu

Morning Glory Review

The Sydney Three Month Film School Starts January 29th

Yes it is the New Year and I believe this is always a great time to get involved in Film Making

Firstly The Makeover, a film that I wrote directed produced edited on a miniscule budget is now ready for Release into the World.
The Australian, New Zealand Release is in April 2011. The Makeover won Best Comedy Drama at the New York City Film Festival and as a result has just being picked up by a major American Film Company and will get a considerable exposure and sales in the US. Needless to say we are very pleased.
I would love to teach you how to make a film.

We are presenting our last Three Month Film School this February – April 2011. This is the last time I will be teaching the practical Three Month Film School.
My main focus after April will be my next Feature Film. After this Three Month Film School, we will only do One Week Film Schools in Sydney and Chris Hobart will be teaching this course.

So why look at the Three Month Film School.

On The Three Month Film School you can still do the school and keep your Day Job as
the course is on Tuesday Nights and some Saturdays.

We actually teach you how to make a film by actually making a real film.
We use all the Camera Lights and Sound Equipment that we used on The Makeover.
We  have a real casting, shoot on real locations and have a real edit and do Sound Post Production with a full Professional Sound Designer who works for Channel 9

Please have a look at the final Three Month Film School which starts on Saturday Morning  29th January.
You will learn how to make a film properly and join with fellow course participants to make many more films once the course has concluded.

For further details about the Three Month Film School please look at,
http://www.australianfilmbase.com/courses/three-month-film-school-sydney-january-2011

Here are the following Australian Film Courses scheduled for 2011

• The Auckland Weekend Film School
  15th, 16th January 2011
  The Quality Hotel
  10-20 Gladstone Road Parnell, Auckland  New Zealand
• The Sydney Three Month Film Directors School
  29th January – April 2011
  Screen Australia Studios
  101 Eton Road Lindfield Sydney
• The Melbourne One Week Film Directors School
  8th February – 13th February 2011
  Graduate House
  Melbourne University
  Carlton Melbourne
• The Brisbane Weekend Film School
  Saturday Sunday, 5th 6th March 2011
  Griffith Film School
  Southbank Brisbane

Colm O’Murchu’s Top Ten Films of 2010

My Top 10 Films of 2010:

Today is December 29th and it is now time to list my Top 10 Films of the year. I love going to the cinema where I believe one gets the true cinematic experience. I avoid watching films at home unless I have missed them in the cinema. I make films for a living and I still love to see films as it helps me appreciate what an amazing job that film makers and actors do. They create entertainment and stories for the world.

Top Film lists are always to an extent subjective and there are possibly films on my list that may not resonate with you. However most of my top 10 films have been on the top list of nearly all the top critics.

Firstly here is an interesting piece of trivia. The most disappointing film of 2010 in my opinion was EAT PREY LOVE with Julia Roberts. It promised so much and delivered so little. The performance by Julia Roberts was insipid and lacked energy. The Indian scenes looked more like the back lot of a Studio than India. It was a struggle to keep awake at this film and it left you with an empty feeling.

THE SOCIAL NETWORK was one of the best films of 2010 as I will comment on later in my Post

Lets look at the Australian Box Office as they were both released in October here in Australia.
EAT PREY LOVE                 $ 10,782,747
THE SOCIAL NETWORK   $ 4,129,428

How could that be?

The Star makes the difference. Julia Roberts persuaded the Public to see this bit of dribble.

The Social Network was an exceptionally better film but its biggest start was Justin Timberlake who is better known for singing than acting.  Therefore less than half the amount of people saw one of the very best films of the year.

The Film Sales Agents always want a NAME in any film that they are selling around the world as they know this makes for an easy sale. The consumer decides on the basis of Who is in it? As in the example of Eat Prey Love, the consumer thinking process goes like this “Julia Roberts….. It must be good”

Back to the main purpose of this article. My Top 10 Films of 2010.

Number 10 Wall Street Money never Sleeps. 7.5 out of 10
Director, Oliver Stone shows his amazing film making craft in this sequel to the Oscar 80s hit “Wall Street.”While most of the story is engaging, the major problem is some weak story moments that pull you out of this film.  80% of the Film is great and then… a clanger scene.

The very weak end lets the film down as Oliver Stone attempts to make a happy end that just does not work. Still 80 % of this film is so good.  Shame that a few script flaws stopped this film from being much higher up this list. Exceptionally well shot and edited as the mise- en- scene dazzles.  From a Director POV, I love to see films like this.

Number 9 Animal Kingdom.  8 out of 10
Well done David Michod. Stellar Australian Cast and an exceptionally well crafted Australian Film. If you have not seen it, see why the world and Australia is raving about this film.

Australian Movies are back again with 2009 and 2010 showing us that the new film financing system in Australia is working.  May there be plenty more Australian Films to cheer about in 2011.

Number 8    The Special Relationship. 8 out of 10
I loved this film. This is possibly because I studied Politics at university. Seeing the inside relationship between Tony Blair and Bill Clinton was fascinating. One also gets an insight into how Tony Blair was a war hungry zealot.  The tension builds up as we are aware that the special relationship was not that harmonious and happy as we thought.

Brilliant performances, great story and exceptionally well shot.

Number 7   Love and Other Drugs  8 out of 10
WOW This film very much surprised me. I was expecting a light rom com film.
Instead this film dealt with very deep issues as  a very ill Maggie ( Anne Hathaway) attracts her opposite in shallow viagra salesman Jamie (Jake Gyllenhaal).  This film definitely turns on the water works in its final act. The Love scenes are visually erotic and sizzling hot. Anne Hathaway performance is stellar

The best Chick Flick of the Year as it is meaningful and keeps you thinking about the characters for days after.  My only gripe was that the sound was very flat. This could have been the cinema that I saw the film at. That is more a Film Directors Gripe than an audience gripe.

Number 6  The Waiting City  8.5 out of 10
My personal favourite Australian film is “The Waiting City”. I could see this film a second time and really enjoy it. Its a film that deserves to be seen in the Cinema as its stunning sumptuous cinematography draws you into the story. I have been to India on a two month journey and this film made me feel like I was back in India.
I loved the change in the female lead character as she at first resists India and then flows with India. For those of you who have traveled there, you know that it is a Love Hate relationship and that it poses challenges that change you for the better You realize that India is an incredible place. This film highlights this journey for its two main characters. Absolutely brilliant and with Animal Kingdom, two Australian Films have made my Top 10 this Year.

Number 5 The Kids Are All Right  8 out of 10

This was my top surprise of the year. This heartfelt drama really hits the heart strings. The film is about the struggles of an ordinary family. However the Mum and the Dad are both women as Annette Benning and Juliana Moore star as the same sex couple who struggle with the family issues.
This was a Sundance favourite and one of mine.

Number 4 The Social Network.  9 out of 10
Most of you will have seen this film. Dialogue driven and extremely well crafted, this film takes you on the ride of becoming a billionaire. This was potentially a very boring story about a bunch of nerds fighting it out over who owns Facebook.

However the film makers including the very brilliant director  David Fincher  and West Wing writer Aaron Sorkin bring us one of the Top Films of the Year.
Be prepared to concentrate as these nerds talk fast.

Number 3 The Green Zone 9 out of 10
This is the best action film of the year and after the disappointment of The Hurt Locker, this film actually has a story. Matt Damon stars in Peter Greengrass film about the Iraq War. He plays the disillusioned America GI who can not find Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq.

This is a realistic portrayal of how the Americans lost the heart and souls of the Iraqi people. If you have not seen this film, see it and go for the ride. Top Notch Action and Story combined.

Number 2  The Kings Speech 9.5 out of 10
I loved yes I repeat loved this film. It has Oscar nomination performances from both the leads. My bet is that Colin Firth will take out Best Actor on February 27th .

I love the story and how, we, the audience get the  eye on the wall look at the Royal Family machinations. Excellent. You have to see this Film.

Number 1  Inception  10 out of 10
Truly Brilliant and technically the very best film of 2010.
Seeing this film on the big screen is a treat I will never forget. Christopher Nolan pulls off one of the most complex films from a story point of view. How he keeps this complex story together without loosing the audience.. Well we have a genius film maker creating this film.

If you have not seen it, this is the best Studio film of the year and yes Hollywood can make intelligent films. Technically superb, this trip pulls you in. This film must be seen on the BIG SCREEN. Christopher Nolan you are the Rodger Federer of Movies.

I am so looking forward to 2011 and all the great films that I will see then. I will write about every film that I seen in the Cinema next year. I see one a week usually on the first night that it opens.  I usually pick my movies carefully so that you can only see the very cinema.

If you would like to enroll in any of our Film Director Film Schools please hit the links on our website

http://internationalfilmbase.com/

Wishing you an awesome 2011.

Colm O’Murchu

Director International FIlm Base

  How long should one take to produce a Film? 

This question is somewhat akin to asking, “How long is a piece of string.”

However, it really is important to have time structures to work your film production around. A predicted time schedule helps the Film Maker make the film happen.

When you are starting out in the film making game, it is very important to go through the process with someone experienced. Here lies the challenge, as most experienced Film Directors are way too busy to help emerging Film Directors make films.

You could search out work on other people’s films and see what happens on set. But this can be an obstacle too because most established Film Producers want someone with some experience.

You can volunteer for no budget films that you hear about. But once again they will want someone to have been to Film School or worked on at least a couple of short films before. Even if you were lucky to get a job on a voluntary film or any film for that matter,  you still only see a fraction of what happens in the production of a film.

You miss totally the edit the casting the sound mix and the music scoring.

So the number one best way to learn how to make films is to do one of our courses and the reason for this is that you see how a film is made from script development stage to final Sound Post. You also work with a very experienced Film Director. All our Film Instructors are experienced Film Makers.

When you enrol, you are involved with the casting, the rehearsals, the wardrobe, the shoot, the edit, the music and the sound post. When you have been through the process once, it is far easier to go out there and shoot your film the second time.

When you are producing any film, there are ten areas you have to get right. To name them, Casting, Crew, Locations, Film Equipment, Post production, Set Design, Office and Shoot Organization, Catering, Marketing and Publicity.

Learn in detail about how to produce and direct a film on our courses.

Strong Mindset is exceptionally important in the film business.

Strong Mindset is exceptionally important in the film business.

Why is that? Well when you start out in the film world, it can seem like Mount Everest is in front of you. It seems like you will never get to the summit and this can lead talented people to give up.

I think the mountain analogy is a wonderful one. I remember when I climbed Mount Kinabalu in Borneo, I was not prepared for how difficult it would be to climb. My mindset was not initially strong.

Mount Kinabalu is exceptionally steep. It just rises out of the ocean and goes up and up to 4300 meters or about 14000 feet.  It is the biggest moutain in South East Asia.  There is no let up, it is just one direction…UP.  When I started to climb the mountain, I kept looking up at what was ahead and it seemed nearly impossible. I felt exhausted and dispirited.

Once you get to the half way point at 2100 meters, you naturally begin to feel altitude sickness. What I discovered is that if I just looked at my feet and took it one step at a time, I discovered that I did not get tired or dispirited. If I just kept focused on my feet, I began to feel fine and just found a rythm. However, if I looked to the top I would once again become exhausted. When I stayed focused on the now and on where I was now, I felt fine and energized. And what happened after two days of climbing, I arrived at the summit and could see all over the island of Borneo. Beautiful.

The same is true for film. Just stay with what you are doing that day.If you are starting out in film, set a goal of making your own short film now and take one step at a time. Keep with what you can achieve that day and when you have completed production, do your very best to get your short film out to the world via film festivals and the internet( You tube, Blip TV)

Then move on to the next film. It is a great idea to get five short films behind you and then move on to feature films or documentary at that point. Till that point, do not even think about them. Just one short film at a time.  Five Short films gives you a chance to learn how to produce and direct films and learn via film courses how to make them better and better.

The second part of a strong mindset is having a supportive team and people you like working with. Everyone has their strong points and therefore teams that work the best is where everyone is working to their strong points. That is a Producer and Director team.

There is nothing worst than feeling lost and isolated and not knowing how to get motivated to make a film. That is why it is so important to attend film courses like ours.

Why because you will

Learn how to make a short film

Network with people who want to make films

Become very motivated and find that strong mindset that you need to make films.

And if you have all ready made short films, you will re-energize and get your next film happening with enthusiasm and gusto.

Please look at our film schools on our website and we look forward to meeting you there.

Till next time, have a great week          Colm

Colm O’Murchu is the owner of Australian and International Film Base.

He has produed and directed films for the past 15 years.

What’s the best Camera to use on your film shoot?

Post

In many of our film Schools, people always want to know what camera they should buy or rent. They also want to know whether their $1500 camera can shoot a film.

There is now a mobile Film Festival that screens only films shot on a mobile phone.

In one sense, I guess that proves that one can shoot a film on any camera.

So if you have nothing better than a mobile phone to shoot your film on, well you may as well get out there and shoot something. But that is all it is….. Something and possibly practice at best.

In the final analysis, we all want the same thing. Films that sell and get seen by an audience. We also want quality films that sell. I still love going to the cinema and seeing a properly produced quality film on the big screen. I believe therefore there is a certain quality camera that one should shoot on and the best low priced camera starts about $4,000.

One can buy the high end cameras that cost about $50k – $250k , but these days you can get excellent results on some of the lower end cameras for around $4k – $15K.

It is very difficult to work out exactly what one needs and what one should pay for their equipment. What to buy and where to buy your camera?

Should one rent the gear?  Knowledge can save you thousands of Dollars in costly expensive mistakes. Also how does one use this equipment?

For example, Australian Film Base can get you all the professional $10K Cameras, Tripods, Lights and  Sound Equipment and tracks with a dolly for $500 rental  for a two day shoot   But you must know how to use the equipment and what is the best equipment to use.

That is why we have created the Weekend Film Schools now happening in Brisbane Sydney and Melbourne.   This is to help the emerging enthusiastic film maker learn how to make their own films.

Why I loved the weather this week.

One thing I would like to talk about is the weather this week. Yes I got rained out on the weekend but that is not the reason.

 I have just completed a three day shoot which now concludes the extra shooting on A Day in the Life. Every day we got  exactly the weather we needed. This never happens in Film Making. Usually you get “Murphy Law.”  In other words, the weather you do not want.

Day 1 Saturday: It rained cats and dogs, but we were shooting interiors in an Eastern Suburbs house. Who cares? There is nothing better than shooting interiors on a wet day.
Day 2 Monday:  We were shooting at the Chinese Gardens in Darling Harbour. We needed a dull day with clouds so we could put in smoke to make it look misty.
We got exactly that. 
Day 3 Tuesday: We were shooting at a Harbour Front Mansion with a swimming pool with three swimsuit models and our one of our key actors Steve (Ricardo).

I was asked by some of you why there is extra shooting days on A Day in the Life movie
The reason is that the film came in at 75 minutes of pure quality. However we need 85 minutes and so we have shot 10 more hilarious minutes for the end of the film. The film is now even better and will be finished by Easter. The main shoot was 31 days.
The second small shoot is four days. One day in January and three days in a row this week. (Feb)

 And what fun scenes.
One scene is set in Northern Thailand where one of our protagonists has become a buddist monk. It does not take him long to get on the wrong side of his Master.

The other scene is where our biggest loser student Ricardo has won $20 million dollars in lotto and is now living it up with three  beautiful models. What happens? You will have to wait and see the movie. 

We cast Jessica Kahawaty as the lead model. She is currently Miss Lebanon and came fifth in Miss World in Macua last year.  It is a very funny scene and beautifully shot mainly at 30 frames per second.  Have a look at our WIP Trailer  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF6nWJjjXTM&feature=player_embedded
You can also see some First Time Student films made through our courses on More from Australian Film Base.

I worked with DOP John Biggins who is one of the best DOPS. He has such an eye and together we collaborated to create some wonderful scenes. The crew were wonderful and one of my great pleasures is recruiting the most enthusiasitic talented students from our recent courses to do small crew roles and get their first major credit. 

Three people who attended the November Weekend Film School and then went on to our One Week Directors Film School in January worked on the Three day shoot of Day in the Life. I know they had a wonderful time and it is very inspiring for them. They are also gearing up to make their own films and music videos and that is the sign of a wonderful film school. That is when film school participants are out there making their own films now.

Join the dream and have a look at our film courses. Details above for the film school schedule for this year. 

If you book into one of our courses this weekend, I will extend the discount for the courses for the weekend. The $200 discount ended yesterday  but if you are  a fan of my blog, please take advantage of this discount and book now for the discount. 

Have a great week

Colm O’Murchu

http://internationalfilmbase.com/

http://www.australianfilmbase.com/

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