Shooting a Low Budget Masterpiece

When I was in film school, I always wanted to make an epic film. It never really turned out that way, because of budgetary issues. Film is expensive and in some cases you have to pay actors, pay for transportation, food, and cover expenses for your crew.

With digital video more or less taking over the industry, it's become relatively inexpensive to shoot a low budget film. While many take advantage of the technology to create something that looks hip and slick. Some filmmakers go out of their way to make something campy and that has an obvious, low budget look.

One filmmaker who made notoriously low budget films was Ed Wood. His Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) has often been called the worst film ever made. Actually most of his films are pretty bad, but they're now considered cult classics because of this.

In some cases filmmakers don't intentionally go out of their way to make a film that isn't well received; sometimes is just a weird twist of fate. Many low budget films (or B Movies) of the 1950s were box office flops, yet they've achieved a highly regarded status today because of the clumsiness of the filmmaking. That's not to discourage filmmakers from trying their best, but some directors have capitalized on this trend and made films as an intentional homage to the B Movie genre.

One film in particular that stands out is Black Dynamite (2009) an homage to the Blaxploitation genre. The film actually had a very low budget and was shot on 16mm film to give it a washed out look, usually associated with the films of the early 1970s. The film features intentional 'mistakes' such as boom microphones appearing in shots and actors reading stage directions prior to their lines. Also of note is heavily exaggerated cinematography, including racked focus and jittery use of the zoom lens. The film was a critical success.

Some low budget films have turned out to be critical masterpieces, such as David Lynch's Eraserhead, which took 6 years to film and had a shoe string budget, was critically derided when it was released, yet today it's considered one of his finest films. The same can be said of John Waters' Pink Flamingos (1972), which cost about $10,000 to make and George Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968), which helped reinvent the zombie genre and was produced on a budget of roughly $115,000.

The best way to make this type of film in film school is to study the bad ones. Get a sense of how they managed to stretch their minuscule budgets and especially study their obvious mistakes. Some film schools may not advise you to go this route, yet there is an audience for them. Everyone finds some sort of inspiration, and while these films are enjoyable to watch, you may not want to venture into this realm at first, yet it can be a rewarding exercise to some degree.

These kinds of parodies can be successful in the long run. It's always fun to experiment in film school; some of my classmates ventured into this genre, which were always well received, because we all knew that they were done as more of an homage. Some film schools may not be entirely in favor of these types of films, yet it's one way to learn about filmmaking and may provide an entry into a profitable genre.

Original article

7 Easy Steps to Shooting Great Videos

Many people are so intimidated by their video camera that they rarely use it! With just a few steps, you too can be a great shooter of your family films.

1. Know Your Camera
While you don't need to know every last feature of your camera, you should know the basics of how to use it. Some cameras now offer an "Easy Button" where everything is automatic. This can be wonderful for many filming situations. For times when you don't want your camera's focus to constantly change during an interview, for example, do a few test runs before using the manual focus button.

2. Know Why You're Filming
Before you turn your camera on, think about what you're about to film. What is it that you want people to take away from your shots? What do you want them to remember? Is it the actions in the shot? Or what someone is thinking or feeling at the time? If it's a long action shot (say a school play), consider investing in a tripod for a steady long shot (and a thankful right arm!) If it's a personal interview, consider investing in a better microphone.

3. Establish Yourself
Once you've figured out your main objective of the shoot, you want to take a hint from the pro's and make sure you get an establishing shot, ideally at the start of filming. An establishing shot simply establishes where the filming is taking place or identifies without words what you are filming. This could mean a wide shot including as much or all of the action in the shot as possible. For the school play example, it could be a shot of the entire stage. Or perhaps a quick shot of the front of the school or a sign naming the play. Once you've established for your audience "where" you are, you can then vary your shots with closer-in shots (called medium and close-up shots.)

4. Let The Action Tell The Story
Too often, people think they have to do more with their camera to make their home movies interesting. This often means that pesky zoom button is in constant use! Not only does this lower your production value, it leaves your audience feeling a bit seasick. Instead, try to use your zoom button only to change shots (from say establishing to close-up) and then let what's happening in the shot play out. Your audience will definitely thank you!

5. It's All About the Lighting
Have you ever noticed how your home movies shot outdoors look beautiful and the ones inside look noisy or grainy? This is because natural light (sunlight) is much stronger than tungsten (indoor light) and most consumer video cameras require a great deal of light to make a beautiful picture. Therefore, when indoors, these cameras will do something called auto gain which creates additional "artificial" light but also adds grain to your picture. So remember--when shooting indoors, use as much available light as possible, and make sure that available sunlight is in the right place--to the front or side of your subject to light up their face--not behind them where they will be in silhouette.

6. Sound Is A Beautiful Thing
Hearing someone's voice is equally as important, and sometimes more so, than seeing their face. So know your camera and its microphone capabilities. If you are sitting in the back row of the school play and are just using an internal microphone on your camera, don't expect to hear your daughter's lines clearly. Do some tests ahead of time to evaluate if your filming situation requires a different or additional kind of microphone.

7. Be Prepared
The most important thing you can do is make sure you have lots of blank tape (or drive space) and several charged batteries! Without them, all of the above is meaningless. So take the time to be prepared for your shoot.

DMB Pictures is a boutique video production company specializing in producing broadcast-quality personal stories for families, non-profits and small businesses. The company opened its doors in January 2006 led by Debbie Mintz Brodsky, a three-time Emmy Award-winning television producer with more than 20 years of experience.

Visit us at http://www.dmbpictures.com/

Original article

You want to make a film? Stop wishing and start shooting

If you are wishing you were a filmmaker, stop wishing and start to make a movie!

You have a few choices. You can move to the city of New York, Toronto or Hollywood. But that takes money and a huge life change. What of all the people in America who want to tell stories? These are the cities where the film industry is not a realistic option when it comes to earning a livelihood. However, it is not a dead dream. Do what others who came you have been and continue to do: simply tell everyday stories.

These stories can come as blogs, reviews, and poems. You can keep these to yourself, operation course, but what is share? Tell your stories to an audience, even if only 1 person.

You can start on the road to film making by getting your hands on mobile camera of your parents. Film children Headquarters acting on the last story of Disney. Your daughter may be Rapunzel and his classmate may be Flynn Rider. Good luck finding Maximus, however. Horses is not easy to work with I hear. Mister Ed was a diva. Or you can configure the Legos or other dolls and try the effect of stop-motion. Here's another idea: take a camera and a documentary. There are situations endless doc-style all around you, stories of begging just to be informed. You have just in time for it to make and execute the plan.

Your creativity (if you think you have it or not) is somewhat like a muscle. The more you exercise, becomes more your muscles. It works the same way with writing and filmmaking. Don't be afraid to fail a bunch of times until you come down with a good product (or adjust properly until you get a good). This lesson also comes in the form of cliché "practice makes perfect". While you might not the next Christopher Nolan, of millions of dollars off the coast of your recent backyard on a super hero movie, you can still tell a story with you. Even if only your immediate family there is first of all, you're always tell a story, and this is really what is at the heart of the achievement. With today's technology, you can display it online and eventually share with the world! Start with more short films (5-10 minutes) and go from there. A characteristic (90 minutes or more) is a large enterprise.

Use the resources around you. If this is a high school drama club or a local theatre troupe, you probably have a community of people around you, who want to tell stories, too. Look around writers groups if you are not a writer and want to put words in the film. Ask surrounding schools there is drama in which you can involve yourself. Film festivals are ideal places for the network. In Michigan, the Waterfront Film Festival is a great event to meet people and finally to submit your work (especially of short films). Locate a festival in your area to connect with and start networking.

Works hard. Cinema is the work difficult and often will not pay much, if anything. Work hard and work well and you will begin to build a network of trustworthy people to help make your dream of film come true.

Want to read more about it? Subscribe to this blog to follow us. You can also check in this article, which we found to make a movie on a small budget. You can find some good ideas there.

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Dan Moyle djembes creativity of writing film and many mediums between. Dan day job is writer AmeriFirst home mortgage as the marketing department. However, his other interests include film & television, books and other places to tell stories. Looking for a nascent production company? Find out more about 0323 Productions at any time.

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