Jan '19 *
The idea has been brewing in my head for some time. Has anyone ever had their own ideas about getting involved in something like this before? Curious to know. Obviously the main hurdle for most people is cash. No one really has vast sums of money lying around to invest (throwaway?) on a project like this but I think I could get some cash together if I really wanted to do this (and could persuade family members that I am not completely insane). Not a lot of cash, but enough for a micro-budget I reckon. I may even consider selling the house and downshifting to a smaller place if it ever came to it and the passion was totally in control of me, but I have a family and that is obviously a huge risk (and the wife would be extremely pissed). But if I found a script that was good enough, why not gamble? Trouble is, where do you go to find that magic script. There are literally 1000s out there, some with original ideas, some with not so original ideas but probably decent enough. But "decent" would not cut it. As for actually filming it, and getting it made.. it's obviously a hugely competitive market but if you did get lucky, as we know, the financial rewards could be substantial. Hell, if you made 0.5% of what Paranormal Activity or The Blair Witch Project made, you'd probably be content and consider it to be a successful venture. Maybe I am being hugely naive, but I think I know enough about horror and have seen enough horror movies to know what works and what doesn't. And then it's all in the marketing, how to get people interested, and that's where most of the costs are incurred.. trying to get it into festivals, etc.
The other thing for me personally, is that I write music and would love to do a score for any movie but getting your foot in the door is extremely difficult. By financing my own movie, I would obviously have that opportunity.
What do you guys reckon? Should I take the gamble or should I stop being so fucking naive and stick with a day job and care about your family needs first, etc.? And where would I go to find scripts?! Just ask around the horror community I guess.. I'd probably get a bunch of crap, or stuff that is way too hard to film with a micro-budget, but there might be something that crops up..
The other thing for me personally, is that I write music and would love to do a score for any movie but getting your foot in the door is extremely difficult. By financing my own movie, I would obviously have that opportunity.
What do you guys reckon? Should I take the gamble or should I stop being so fucking naive and stick with a day job and care about your family needs first, etc.? And where would I go to find scripts?! Just ask around the horror community I guess.. I'd probably get a bunch of crap, or stuff that is way too hard to film with a micro-budget, but there might be something that crops up..
. I could get a loan from my parents, but they'd probably think I was wasting my time and money and try to talk me out of it. You're quite right though, downsizing is rather drastic. I know projects can go massively over budget and that is usually when crazy decisions are made to get it done.. same with many business start-ups.
I used to make short films. I gave up on that because I often get carried away in the big picture, and I can never figure out where to start. Plus, I don't have connections, and again, I'm too damn lazy. Time is also a factor. I work regular jobs, so I don't have time to fit in anything that could be considered fun.
If you're seriously considering doing this, a good script wont be hard to find. Hell, you can shoot the shit, figure out a theme, figure out a story, and the screenplay would come easily. That's the fun part. Then, you gotta think about how far you'll go with it, and how involved you plan to be.
I think great movies can be made on low budgets. Micro budgets, if you will. Your actors will probably want to get paid, because they have to make ends meet too, right? That's why I think it's best to keep things minimal. Keep things simple. Channel some of your inner Carpenter and make well-paced, simply stories, score them yourself, cast your friends, and bam. It might work.