Financing your film
April 20, 2011 by colm
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
April 14, 2011 by colm
Today I want to talk about the first of sixteen steps in making your film. Step One is Screenplay.
Screenplay is the foundation of any great film. However it is very important to prepare before writing a screenplay whether it is a short film or a feature film.
There are several areas one needs to get ready before writing your script. Here are just a few of them.
- Idea generation. The Script writer needs to get in the right frame of mind to generate ideas.
- Character Creation: One needs to work out the physical, sociological and psychological profiles of your characters. This is one of the most important aspects of developing a screenplay. Often it is ignored. When I was writing The Makeover, I wrote approximately 10 pages on each character and I could tell you everything about their life. I had all the detail on their family on the characters first job, first girlfriend, their obsessions, their relationship with their father mother and what their hobbies the character had. I wrote these profiles using 27 areas of character, I teach in the Online Film School.
- Scene by Scene Outline is so important before you write your script. This means that you actually work out what happens in each scene. All you have to do is write the briefest of Synopses and then you have the map that will help you during the writing process.
The above is only some of what you need to prepare before writing your script. The rest we outline in the Online Film School Screenplay section.
When you actually write the first draft of the script, one of the best ways to write is to write 3 pages per day.
That means if you write five days a week, it will take you two months to complete your 120 page screenplay.
Three pages a day usually only takes a maximum of 90 minutes and can be written a lot faster. Writing a small amount every day means that you will enjoy the process, keep your day job and have a fun topic of conversation at the dinner party that weekend.
Of course you will need a script writing software. On the Online Film School we supply a free download of a script writing software that would normally be worth $200 – $300 if you bought Final Draft. Why not get the Online Film School and get a free scriptwriting software download.
Formatting your script is so important if you want to make films.
To the fun of making films. Till next week
Have a great one.
The Director on set
February 11, 2011 by colm
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
January 25, 2011 by colm
Its taken me till January 21st for me to see my first film of the year. For someone who researches and loves to see movies, that is a huge amount of time without seeing a movie on the big screen. Due to trips to the Snowy Mountains in NSW and to New Zealand, I have not been near a cinema since late December.
One of the major problems with this film is that the story is very predictable as the grumpy Mike Pomeroy is won over slowly by the energetic young producer Becky. However, this is made up for the wonderful sharp dialogue that flips off the tongues of the actors. You have to admire the script writing.
This film is light , some might say fluffy but ulitmately very entertaining. If you want to have a very light escapist 107 minutes this film definitley delivers the goods.
- I only see films that I really want to see or that I want to take a chance on.
- I do this by researching on Rotten Tomatoes and other well know sites that helps pick the Top 70 movies of the year.
- I only count current films showing theatrically in the cinema
- I see about one a week usually on opening night or on Friday. Last year I saw 65 movies in the cinema theatrically.
The Sydney Three Month Film School Starts January 29th
January 11, 2011 by colm
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