DoItYourselfMovie

Do It Yourself Movie

What do you need to make your own movie? I think we can split this into artistic contributions and technical issues.

Philosophy

Motivations for making films:

• All I can think of so far is "Because it would be cool."

Artistic Contributions

• Script

  • Work our way up from sketches to longer-form.

  • Persist in getting better at improv.

    • Make off with your best ideas as the basis for scripts.
  • If DoItYourselfMusic gets off the ground, we could always try shooting a video....
  • Go the Mike Leigh route -- start with a rough sketch of a script, have a group of improvisors 'get inside' the characters, and then film lots of improvised material.

• Cast

  • Grab interested parties from the Hideout scene. Pay with beer.

• Music

  • This is another possible do it yourself project.

  • Another possibility:

    1. Go to any spot in Austin.
    2. Swing a dead cat.
    3. When you hit a musician, ask said musician about composing music for your film.
    4. Pay musician with beer.

Technical Contributions

We should bug Shelly about this.

• Filming Equipment

  • Celluloid

    • Frankly, I don't think this is an option for the amateur. Film costs money. Developing film costs money. Film cameras cost mad crazy money.

    • However, real film has its advantages:

      • Higher resolution.

      • Higher contrast: all digital cameras are renowned for becoming grainy in low-light situations

        • See the Micetro photos from my still camera, which is one of the best mid-priced still cameras for low-light situations.
      • Better color reproduction (although this topic is hotly debated)

      • More options

        • With film cameras, you can crank the film speed for proper slow-motion shots.
        • Even the best digital cameras have few interchangeable lenses. You're almost always limited to just the zoom. No tight close-ups. No wide-angle shots.

  • Digital (mini-DV)

    • The Canon Optura used to film 405 runs about $1,200
    • Of course, with the technology still somewhat in flux, renting is a very good option. :)

  • Audio

    • Where do we get a boom mike?

• Editing

  • Celluloid

    • Again, doesn't seem to be a reasonable option for the amateur enthusiast. Film editing typically requires scanning in the film to an editing machine (e. g., an AVID), then working with that to develop the splice list (what's the right term here?). So you either have to have a machine (who has an extra $20k?), or rent/finagle time on a machine.
    • Advantage: It will do edits/transitions/etc. in real time, as opposed to making you wait a minute or two (YMMV) to see what your cross-fade will look like.

  • Digital

    • Get a pretty badass computer ( $2000) with a massive hard drive, lots of memory, a fast processor, a Firewire connection, and a nice, accurate monitor.

    • Get editing software:

      • Adobe Premiere ( $550) is the market leader for the home consumer market.
      • Media Studio ( $200) is said to have many of the same features for a far lower price.
      • Kino ( free) - nonlinear digital video editor for Linux
    • (Bob) Wheedle time on your old boss' $20k digital editing suite out in Wimberly...

How to Get Started

• Help various film students (see below) with their projects, or just observe them in action

• Start as simple as possible, with a project like MobileSuitPotemkin. (Never underestimate the power of starting a project you can actually finish.)

  • Or film some sketch comedy for No Shame.
• ???

Links

• There is an excellent series of articles about DV at 24fps.com: http://www.24fps.com/Article/digital%20video.htm.
• Multimedian has a thorough DV section.

People to Consult Who Know About Film

• René
• ShellyMiller

Outlets for Creative Output

• Buy a DVD-burner for your computer ($400)
• Public Access -- "The Reel Deal" seems willing to put up local artists' film clips.
• No Shame Theatre can always use more filmed work.