Need to talk serious about a fan movie project

[dark hunter]

thanks for the kind words guys , i have spent thousands of pounds on stuff over the years to do with all sorts of crap in the movie genre and i would love to have something that I and a team create.
As I have said this is just the start so it is a long time before your gonna see jason drowning in his own blood or maybe not ...

I used the word serious in my title so to avoid new comers and little guys coming in saying " Oh I think my mom can drive me to your house with my rubies mask and we can pretend to have a knife! ". I just wanted to let you guys know i am " serious " about this and if I'm gonna put the money into it I don't want to end up in a shambles. I will be picking up a few special effects softwares ( not high end stuff ) and starting to teach myself from guides and experience the basics and so on. The money from now will hit a bank I cannot touch and whatever I can spare will be dropping into there.
The courses should start sometime in April and carrying on from there.
I am most definitely going to take this slow and won't be rushing around for as some people have mentioned health reasons and just for the obvious reasons such as not to waste time or money.
About the hd thing Lee , to be honest i hadn't even thought about it yet , after this course ( or courses ) i figures with more knowledge around it I would pick a new one up then. Sorry for not answering the first time , i completely forgot !!.
Any more feedback questions or what not is welcome. Thanks , Tay.

 

[ptgreek]

Time, Money, patience and most important the ability to tell a simple story is what I have learned about making the "short film". Spend as much time with pre-production as possible. Cover as many bases as possible because you will hit many snags along the way. Dont freak out in front of your crew ( especially if you are the producer or director) team moral will be needed because you will be spending looooong hours on set. Funniest thing...when budgeting your short film, allocate a large sum for food. You will be asking for a lot of favors from friends. People will always be glad to help out, but will be much happier if they are fed...it is the least that you can do. Make sure that you keep these three specific jobs separate. The Producer, The director, and most importantly, the A.D. ( assistant director) dont try to double up on these positions, they will create confusion amongst the cast and crew. Find some sort of production software to help outlining your project. There are some expensive programs like Movie Magic, cheaper, Gorilla and free, Celtx. Celtx ( celtx.com) is a great program it is free and covers all bases when putting a production together. Classes are definitely the way to go. Of course if you have the time, look for a local small budget production in town. Volunteer your time as a grip, PA, locations or any other entry level job...you will learn a lot ( even sometimes what not to do). As for shooting. Are you planning on shooting yourself or are you going to hire a D.P. ( director of photography ) look into film and filter tests ( this works with digital as well ) check different camera's for what they are capable of. This will determine your film's "look" You can do a lot in post with effects, but unfortunately on a limited budget sometimes poor after effects will show. Again this is a problem that can be discussed in pre-production. All can be worked out with tests and meetings, but make sure you have it nailed down by production, because what may seem like the simplest of things in a script can take hours to shoot. Trust me...on one shoot that I directed, poor planning caused a five hour lighting set up to shoot 4 seconds of film. That sucked! Most importantly, once the script is finished ( dont be afraid of re-writes...you may have to "kill your Babies" more then once and change a scene that you like so that it stays true to your story) Have fun...thats what it is all about...hell! you're making a movie...that is so cool. Hope this helps a bit. Good luck with your project!

 

[greyback]

Maybe you know the expression "each movie is made 3 times". Once in preproduction , again when you’re on set and AGAIN when you’re editing.

In preproduction (where you are now, kinda) you may come up with great ideas. However not everything what you can think up is gonna be realised easily. Because "on set" you realise that "simple" shot of the pred rising up out of Crystal Lake isn’t quite as simply as you thought it would be. Most time on set is filled with waiting, waiting for people until they’ve done their job, waiting for the set up, camera, sound, light, anything. The bigger the production, the longer the wait. Imagine a predator walking kneedeep through the lake (not a particular hard shot to shoot you’d think), but assume you need, for whatever reason, a retake. If it has a camera move you need to go back to set up the shot. If you use natural lighting, is it still the same? You will need to wait again for your crew while they do their work. Meanwhile the actor in the suit stands there in the lake, the suit soaking up water. Depending on when you shoot (summer, winter) he’ll either freeze or sweat like a pig. It will either way be very uncomfortable for both actors in costume. And this is just for regular shots, not even something that involves action or special effects.
My point I’m trying to make is DON’T overdo it. Do it AS simple AS possible. Don’t get fooled in thinking you’ll need big explosions and lotsa dramatic camera moves and FX. Because you don’t, really. Best example out there is probably Dead End. It had big production values (to fanmovie standards) but if you break it down to shot per shot, it’s not overly complex. Yet I'm assured some stuff was hard as hell to shoot. They focussed on composition, lightning and cinematography, the actors don’t move all that much. They do their part, raise arm, turn head, whatever, and it comes together great on film.

Another thing I would really suggest (if you’re serious about finding a crew, next to Assistant Director and Director of Photography) is try to find someone who can play ‘production manager’ for you. It’s someone who will help you organising this entire endeavour. You will need someone who occupies himself with all the **** that will be coming flying at YOU when you start this project, and tries to deal with it so the stress doesn’t fall back on you too much. Imagine for instance a certain prop hasn’t arrived yet or is missing, someone you’re waiting for hasn’t called you back, one of the actors is ill and you really need to shoot the next day, people start whining why they haven’t received some of the money yet as stated in the contract…or are hungry! LOL It are ALL problems you will encounter if you work with a semi- pro crew so it’s really good to think about this before you’re gonna leap into it and spend a chunk of your life on this project.
Also note a production manager is not a director, he will never make an artistic choice for you. He will give advice whether your idea will or will not be doable or advisable , but he should never interfere with the ‘vision’ a director has but try to come up with the cheapests and fastest solution to realise it.
He's the main big organiser doing all the calls and shedules for you so you can focus on the artist side of the production. He should also always back you up on the decisions YOU have made. (that are approved) He’s basicly one big cogwheel that keeps the machine (realising your dream) turning. YOU must also be able to trust his decisions blindly for 100 %. But ofcourse, someone who you can depend on that much doesn’t work for free. He knows he’s not expendable and vital to the production so he will eat up a big part of your budget. But on a ’serious’ production, there’s no way you’ll be filming without one. Otherwise you’ll have to cut yourself into 20 pieces and occupy yourself with 20 different things you’ll be burned out even before the actual shoot.
Don’t, DON’T, DON'T think you’ll be able to do it all by yourself, really, it is not possible. I have seen quite a few projects fall apart because of poor or inexperienced management
Don’t underestimate good planning and logic thought, I’m serious : )

I’m always eager to see more fan movies realised! I honestly hope you will try to pull it of, even if it’s just a goofy film shot with some buddies. : ) I wish you the best of luck.

On a site note, I didn’t knew the people involved with SEED posted on this forum! (goes to show my extend of Pred knowledge^^ Pretty awesome what you pulled off. You have reached internet cult status in my book : )

 

[punhulk]

I have to say that the idea of Jason VS Predator does not appeal to me. I would understand Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers, but mixing horror with sci-fi is not an easy thing to do. One of the only movies that has succeeded was Event Horizon. If you haven't seen it, check it out because it mixes sci-fi with horror beautifully.

Predator hunting Jason? It would be over right away. Pop goes Jason's head and then its done. Many fans have speculated that if his head were removed, he would die for good, but alas nothing in horror is ever truly over.

Greyback did a storyboard idea of Hellraiser VS Predator, and it was well done, but I'm not sure if it would make a good movie...

Anywho, I'm just giving my perspective. I'm a Jason fan almost as much as I am a Predator fan, but I would not want to see the two merged into one movie.

If you feel that you have the funds and the support, then go for it.

i think in the bases of all being living or dead if they have a head you take it off they die
but that is very true horror films always try to surpass all giving reality or realization to the point that no matter what you do your helpless however for a predator i have to agree i dont think jason would have the upper hand couple plasma blast a couple shurikan passes and jason limbs would be gone and all his strength than off the head would go

 

[dark hunter]

I have had no sleep again so im gonna sleep then reply to this thread because if do i now , i will just talk crap ...